Luxist

The Syringe that Killed Michael Jackson MIGHT Be Going Up for Auction

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) — Mar 24th 2010 5:01AM

The syringe that was allegedly used to administer the final and fatal dose of medications to Michael Jackson might be going up for auction in Las Vegas on the anniversary of his death (June 25th), and if it does actually make it to the block estimates are it could go for as much as $5 million.

The whole situation does not sound like a good one, however, with the syringe having been 'obtained secretly' (i.e. stolen) and Michael Jackson's family opposing the sale and trying to stop it. The seller isn't even sure yet if he can legally auction it off (he's in talks with lawyers). Guess we'll have to wait and see.

His personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray is facing charges of involuntary manslaughter for allegedly administering drugs such as Valium, lorazepam and propofol to Jackson. California's attorney general Jerry Brown has asked the court to bar Murray from practicing medicine until the charges are resolved. He has filed papers requesting that a judge restrict Murray's medical license as a condition of his bail. Dr. Murray, a cardiologist, went back to work after Jackson's death.

Tags: auction, celebrity, michael jackson, MichaelJackson, syringe

Schindler's List Up For Sale

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Mar 24th 2010 4:01AM

The list that spawned an Academy-Award winning movie is up for auction. Schindler's List was based on the story of Oskar Schindler, a Czech businessman, who drew up a list of Jewish people to be saved from the the Nazi death camps. Schindler saved the lives of Polish Jewish refugees during the Holocaust by giving them jobs in his factories. The AFP reports that the only privately held copy of the famous list is for sale for $2.2 million. Document specialist Gary Zimet says the 13-page list put together by Schindler and his accountant Itzhak Stern, is dated April 18, 1945. It lists 801 men along with their occupations and birthdates.

Zimet is selling the document on behalf of an anonymous seller privately rather than through in auction. The four other extant copies of the list all have homes, oe is in the US Holocaust Museum, one at the German federal archives in Koblenz, and two others are at the Yad Vashem museum in Israel. It seems likely that at this point this one will be headed toward a museum as well.

Tags: oskar schindler, schindlers list

AMG Reportedly Working on New Smaller Performance Model

by Jeremy Korzeniewski (RSS feed) — Mar 24th 2010 3:02AM

style="text-align: center;">Mercedes-Benz F800 Concept – Click above for high-res image gallery

Rumors of a smaller, entry-level new saloon for Mercedes-Benz's in-house tuning division AMG just won't seem to go away. As before, these latest reports suggest that the next-generation of the B-Class would be the model to get the AMG fitment, but Autocar is now suggesting that an entirely new type of engine will power the car.

The new AMG engine would reportedly be based on a turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 that is currently slated for the CLS350. The mill would be downsized to 3.2 liters and upfitted with an electrically operated pressure wave supercharger. Not too familiar with the technology? Don't fret, neither were we. The all-knowing Wiki comes to the rescue.

Autocar further posits that the engine would make somewhere around 400 horsepower and could potentially send its prodigious power output to all four wheels with a rear-biased power split. If it ever comes to fruition, the new AMG model would go up against the likes of the Volkswagen Golf R, BMW 1 Series and any other entry-level hotted-up luxe models in the works. Styling would follow the example set by the F800 Style concept from the Geneva Motor Show.

Gallery: Mercedes-Benz F800 Style

[Source: Autocar]

Tags: 2011 Mercedes-Benz, 2011 mercedes-benz b-class amg, 2011Mercedes-benz, 2011Mercedes-benzB-classAmg, AMG, b-class, B-Class AMG, B-classAmg, entry-level amg, Entry-levelAmg, mercedes, Mercedes Benz, mercedes-benz, mercedes-benz amg, mercedes-benz b-class, mercedes-benz b-class amg, Mercedes-benzAmg, Mercedes-benzB-class, Mercedes-benzB-classAmg, MercedesBenz

How To Spend $100,000 In One Night, Jason Giambi Style

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Mar 24th 2010 2:01AM

Baseball player Jason Giambi knows a bit about living a lavish lifestyle. He is a co-owner in the Hard Rock's Vanity night club in Las Vegas and has created a truly amazing way to blow $100,000 on a good time.

Our friends at Thrillist reveal that the Vanity Affair with Jason Giambi includes taking over the nightclub's most exclusive table, sipping on one of only 100 3-liter, gold sheathed, laser-etched bottles of 1995 Dom Perignon white gold Jeroboam plus a three-night stay for you and 11 guests at Giambi's nine-bedroom vacation villa in Cabo San Lucas villa. You and your guests will fly first class to Cabo where will you stay in the villa and be catered to by the staff. The villa includes a gym, movie theater, poker table, putting green and a split-level swimming pool area.

Tags: cabo, cabo san lucas, Entertainment-software-association, hard rock hotel, Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, hard rock hotel casino, Jason Giambi, las vegas strip, nightclub trend, vanity

Hurtigruten Creates Custom Wine For Cruises

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Mar 24th 2010 1:01AM

What do you call a house wine on a cruise ship, the boat wine? The Norwegian cruise line Hurtigruten has worked with Portuguese winery José Maria da Fonseca and commissioned two popular Portuguese wines. The two wines one red and one white were chosen from more than 60 possibilities and and the winemaker agreed to some tweaks to make them unique Hurtigruten wines. The red is described as having a balanced flavor with soft tannins and a fruity aroma, while the white is a pale yellow with aromas of lychee and lime and a full fruity flavor.

They will be offered as the house wine on all Hurtigruten ships making the daily sailing along Norway's 1,250-mile fjord-filled west coast as well as aboard the MS Fram on its expedition cruises to Greenland, Antarctica and the Arctic island of Spitsbergen.

Tags: cruise wine, cruises, hurtigruten, wine

Karim Rashid's Corian House

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) — Mar 24th 2010 12:01AM

We've seen designers work in Corian before, Zaha Hadid did a complete Corian kitchen a few years back, but blob-o-centric designer Karim Rashid has done a whole Corian house. The Smart-ologic Corian Living home will debut at i Saloni April 14-19 in Milan.

The concept home has a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and living room done in Corian styled in Rashid's colorful, curving shapes. Corian has gone green, new versions of the solid surface material made with environmentally sustainable, bio-sourced components and recycled materials will be displayed for the first time. DuPont has also created the Energain panels which help with energy consumption reduction as well as DuPont building integrated photovoltaic modules as part of the 'smart-ologic Corian® living' brand designed to showcase the company's efforts to decrease its environmental footprint.

Gallery: Karim Rashid's Corian House

Tags: corian, decor, design, energain, karim rashid, sustainable design

BMW launches Z4 GT3 for the Gentleman Racer

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) — Mar 23rd 2010 11:01PM

Mario Theissen and his crew at BMW Motorsport have had some extra time on their hands. First they pulled out of Formula One, selling their team back to Sauber. Then they streamlined their World Touring Car Championship teams, eliminating several cars in the process. So what have they been doing with their newfound spare time? You're looking at it: the BMW Z4 GT3.

Designed for the "gentleman racer", the GT3-spec Z4 gets a heart transplant courtesy of the M3's 4-liter, 480-horsepower V8. Coupled to a six-speed sequential and managed by Munich's ECU408 control unit, that ought to be enough to quicken the heartrates of Bimmerfiles worldwide. But wait, there's more! Like competition-spec ABS, a full roll-cage, central-locking rims and a new front axle with adjustable tubular stabilizer. Oh, and significant weight has been shaved through the use of carbon fiber for the wings, hood, roof and fenders.

BMW will sell you a race-ready car – eligible for such series as the FIA GT3 European Championship, International GT Open and Germany's own ADAC GT Masters – for €298,000, or about $400k in American funds.

Gallery: BMW Motorsport Z4 GT3

Tags: bmw, bmw motorsport, bmw motorsports, bmw z4, bmw z4 gt3, BmwMotorsport, BmwMotorsports, BmwZ4, BmwZ4Gt3, gt3, z4, z4 gt3, Z4Gt3

The Big Deals TEFAF Didn't Mention

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) — Mar 23rd 2010 10:02PM

You know how it is in the art scene: big checks, big names and big egos like to stay under the radar. Anonymity is the norm, of course, and the buyers of Rothkos and Basquiats don't like to see their names in press releases. Yet, a look under the covers of the TEFAF Maasricht art fair shows that some pretty important pieces moved for some rather hefty amounts. The billionaires came out to play, and dealer and galleries were more than ready to accommodate.

Over 10-days, $2.7 billion of inventory was offered t dealers and museums from around the world. Prices edged higher thanks to a recovering art market, and impressive pieces found new homes. Jean-Michel's Basquiat's "Busted Atlas 2" was picked up for $2.4 million by a German collector, sold by Van de Weghe Fine Art, a gallery in New York.

Nonetheless, it's not like the art bubble. David Leiber, of New York's Sperone Westwater gallery, tells Bloomberg News, "Collectors are adjusting to the new values. We have to charge these prices because we can't replace these works." He adds, "There may be some people who went a little overboard at the auctions," a sentiment echoed by Paolo Vedovi of Galerie Odermatt-Vedovi. Vedovi observes, "Auctions are almost a separate market," continuing, "We don't see many of those people. Art fairs aren't as spontaneous. Buyers are cautious and they need to think."

Tags: art collecting, art collection, art collector, art dealer, art fair, art galleries, Art Gallery, art market, basquiat, galleries, gallery, maastricht, rothko, tefaf

Tag Heuer Limited-Edition Anniversary Chest

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) — Mar 23rd 2010 9:02PM

Tag Heuer is celebrating its 150th anniversary in many ways, one of which is by offering this limited edition 'coffret' that will be officially unveiled at the Baselworld Watch and Jewelry Show in Switzerland and available for purchase sometime in early April. Only 150 will be made, one for each year Tag Heuer has been in business, and each will come with a limited-edition Grand Carrera Calibre 17 RS2 Chronograph watch and one of their hand-assembled smartphones, the Meridiist. Designed by French master craftsman Fred Pinel, the chests are customizable and prices start at €14,900 (about $20,000).

Tags: cell phone, CellPhone, mobile phone, MobilePhone, tag heuer, TagHeuer, watch

Then and Now: Mercedes Gullwings at the Carrera Panamericana Mexico

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) — Mar 23rd 2010 8:01PM

Porsche may use names like Targa, Carrera and even Panamera. But these labels – all derived from the dangerous world of sportscar road rallies – didn't always belong to them and them alone.

Among the most prominent of these bygone races was the Carrera Panamericana. The event was fielded in Mexico in the early 1950s before it was disbanded. Not before Mercedes pulled off a most impressive feat, however. In 1952, a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL won the event with a spectacular one-two finish. But along the way, the first car struck a condor, damaging the car and its co-pilot. The mechanics fitted the windshield with steel bars to prevent any further damage, and those bars remain on the car today.

That very same vehicle has now left the Mercedes-Benz racing museum in Stuttgart and returned, alongside its modern-day successor, the new SLS AMG, to participate in the Carrera Panamericana Mexico revival.

Gallery: Mercedes Gullwings at the Carrera Panamericana Mexico

Tags: carrera, carrera panamericana, carrera panamericana mexico, mercedes, mercedes-benz, mercedes-benz 300 sl, mercedes-benz sls amg, panamericana

Readers' Choice Awards for Best in Entertainment

Is there a coffee house that offers both ambiance and a great cup o' Joe? Do you have a favorite ...

Choose the Best Little Black Dress for Your Body Type

Every woman needs a little black dress (LBD) in her closet that she loves, feels sexy in, and can ...

Learn More»

Luxist bloggers (30 days)

#	Blogger	Posts	Cmts
1	Deidre Woollard	156	1
2	Rigel Celeste	74	0
3	Jared Paul Stern	57	0
4	Noah Joseph	52	0
5	Ariel Adams	42	0
6	Carrie Coolidge	40	0
7	Annie Scott	26	2
8	Tom Johansmeyer	24	0
9	Jonathon Ramsey	18	0
10	Marsha Reid	16	0
11	Jeremy Korzeniewski	14	0
12	Deb West	8	0
13	Ann Brenoff	8	0
14	David Kiley	7	0
15	Laura Malesich	6	0
16	Susan Kime	5	0
17	Sam Abuelsamid	4	1
18	Alison Wellner	4	0
19	Kristin Young	4	0
20	Ariston Anderson	2	0