Sometimes even Karl Rove wants to travel to a simpler time. With the release of his new book slated to drop this Monday, Courage and Consequence: My Life as a Conservative in the Fight, Rove is making the 2000 presidential election an issue again by admitting to some of his worst mistakes as the 'Architect' of Bush's win, and accusing a former Gore staffer (and, perhaps unintentionally, a major media ally) of putting into motion the news story that may have led to the Florida recount. (more...)

Though digital magazines were conspicuously missing at the iPad's debut, Interview, according to the HuffPo, previewed its digital brethren last night at its 40th anniversary party at the Hudson Hotel's Good Units. The Factory would be proud on so many levels.

"When Andy Warhol founded Interview four decades ago, he did so with an ethos that  embraced the new," the magazine said in an announcement. "As with his art, Warhol re-wrote the rulebook with Interview, creating an innovative, intelligent, sophisticated, cutting-edge magazine that was culturally impactful, pushed the boundaries of the medium, and reinvented what a magazine could be. So it's entirely fitting that Interview is once again at the forefront of reinventing the magazine experience for Apple's iPad, combining the benefits of the digital age with the familiar advantages of Guttenberg's printing press to deliver a groundbreaking, knock-out reader experience. One could call Interview magazine on the iPad 'an affordable Warhol screenprint.'"

The preview has a few noises that I hope will be disabled on the real app, but overall, it looks like a success. The application beautifully integrates text, video, audio and images, provides easy browsing and zoom, rating and sharing capabilities. But perhaps best of all, the iPad lets Interview's remarkable photography shine. Generally speaking, fashion and photo spreads in online magazines are about as impressive as finger paintings--not at the fault of the photographer but simply the current state of the medium. However, if Interview's preview is any indication of what's to come, then the iPad may restore digital magazines to a level that Warhol would be proud of. By the time the iPad drops (yeah, I went there), the 40th anniversary issue, featuring Kristen Stewart, the December/January 2010 (Penelope Cruz), February 2010 (Jay-Z) and March 2010 (fashion) will be ready for your viewing pleasure. You can watch the full preview video here.

video Just a few days after asserting that his past troubles with domestic violence, steroid use, alimony, and the IRS were "not an embarrassment" to the Democratic Party, Illinois Lt. Governor candidate Scott Lee Cohen took to a local bar to announce his exit from the race. Cohen's departure was to be expected after a shocking appearance on regional program Chicago Tonight, where last week he tried to dispel rumors of domestic violence, tax issues, attempted rape, steroid use, and not paying his alimony in time - by bringing his ex-wife, Debra York Cohen, on the air to confirm them all. There, host Phil Ponce did a superb job of carefully extracting from his subjects every last shocking detail, from his divorce proceedings to the legal albeit seedy fact that Cohen owns a pawn shop. (more...)

collection The recent New Yorker Christmas cover, featuring a brilliant Barry Blitt illustration of President Obama bowing deeply to Santa Claus, reminds us of how much we like the long tradition of magazines making bold holiday statements on their covers for the December issue. We went to our local newsstand looking for more of these covers and found… very little. What was once considered essential for any magazine worth its ink and paper has now obviously been banished by an aggressive War on Christmas Magazine Covers by the Forces of Evil. (more...)

exclusive Bill Simmons is many things to many sports fans: a popular ESPN columnist, an influential Twitterer, and now, the author of a New York Times #1 bestselling book, The Book of Basketball. Mediaite recently spoke to Simmons about the pressures of fame and bestsellerdom, his feelings about a fanboy named Will Leitch, and his plans to take over the Power Grid: (more...)

POLL

We've all witnessed the rise, fall and rebirth (repeat) of those special creatures who have been famous since childhood. Classically, there's Judy Garland and Michael Jackson, and more recently Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan. Each have their misfires, quirks, and claims to fame, and occasionally the train wreck aspects of their careers overshadow the good times. This fall, a few glossy magazines have reserved their cover spot for women who came of age under the spotlight, but with new projects (and new bodies!) they seem to be doing all right. But which cover most successfully documents the embattled maturation of a child star? Cover Wars decides. (more...)