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Yes, it’s a bowling ball. It just looks like the head of a zombie! Artist Oliver Paass painted a set of these balls that were then placed in German bowling alleys to advertise a TV channel specializing in horror films. Link -via @johncfarrier
By now, you likely already heard about the marines who asked Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake to the Marine Corps Ball and got positive responses from the actors. While those stories are cute and surprising, I prefer the newest addition to the celebrity invitation parade, the guy who asks Betty White to the ball. Betty, if you’re reading this, please say “yes.”
Via BuzzFeed
A shopping center in Perth, Scotland was flooded with small red balls when a contest went awry. An Alfa Romeo was filled with balls for a “guess how many” contest at St. John’s Shopping Centre to benefit Comic Relief. However, the contest organizers failed to ensure that all the car doors were locked. A child, thought to be about three years old, opened the passenger door and released hundreds of balls.
Crowds gathered and cheered the farcical scene as several of the centre’s security team battled to gather up the balls, while many young children were seen making off with a few.
Siobhan McConnell, the shopping centre manager, said: “This was a bit more comic relief than we had originally planned.
Most of the balls were eventually retrieved, and the contest will resume this Friday. Link -via Arbroath
Even though Truman Capote’s masquerade was the hottest ticket in 1966, at the advice of Evie Backer, Truman purposely made the decor at his event as understated as possible – no elaborate centerpieces or ice sculptures. The eye candy at his event would be the guests themselves. As his guest of honor, he chose Kay Graham, who had been the publisher of the Washington Post since her husband’s suicide three years earlier. This was very much to the surprise of New York society: Kay wasn’t deeply entrenched in their ranks and rarely wore makeup or got gussied up… which was exactly why Truman chose her. He spent months and months perfecting his guest list – only 500 people would be invited and he wanted a mix of people more interesting than just the usual suspects. When the coveted invitations were finally sent, they included requests that everyone wear masks and ladies carry fans. Most people complied with the mask requirement (Andy Warhol was a noted holdout) but a lot of women dispensed with the fans – it was too hard to carry a mask and a fan at the same time.
Check out the menu, some first-hand accounts and some of the guest list here.
Capote wasn’t the first to hold such a grand event in high society, though, not by a long shot. On March 26, 1883, the Vanderbilts held the most extravagant and exclusive masquerade probably ever held in the U.S. up until that point. It was such an event that it even caused the richest families to kiss and make up (sort of) so they would be included – apparently, there was a long-standing feud between the Vanderbilts and the Astors. Caroline Astor had her own “In and Out” list of 400 “worthy” people, which purposely excluded their Vanderbilt rivals. But when the Vandy masquerade party was announced and the Astors weren’t invited, Caroline visited Alva Vanderbilt (that’s her in the picture) and made the proper apologies so her teenage daughter would be invited to the grand event. And she was. But anyway, the masquerade was rumored to have cost more than $250,000. Even though some rich families wouldn’t bat an eyelash at spending that on, say, a Sweet Sixteen party these days, it was an absolutely astronomical sum for 1883. People pulled out every last stop at the ball – Alice Vanderbilt came dressed as “Electric Light” and was festooned in diamonds and a headpiece that lit up.
