November 14, 2004

SECRET AGENT; D.C. LAWYERMOONLIGHTSFOR POLITICOS

The buzz in the publishing world this week has been about the auction, currently underway, for the memoirs of former CIA director George Tenet. The bidding - which should end...

CHICKEN JERK & ALIEN BEES; 'VIRAL' ADS CREATE BUZZ, BUT MAY NOT SELL

When ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky dreamed up the "subservient chicken," an Internet character to hawk Burger King's new chicken tenders, marketers had no idea whether the offbeat campaign...

CELEB PARENTS FIND NEW FAD: KIDS CLOTHES

The latest status symbol for baby-toting celebrities is to design their own children's clothing line. The star attraction is Madonna, who has launched a line based on her popular children's...

THE BLAIR SWITCH PROJECT - WITH PAXIL AND HIS PARENTS,THE TIMES' PLAGIARIST REBUILDS

Jayson Blair, the diminutive ex-journalist who shook up the mighty New York Times when his serial plagiarism was revealed last year, has all but evaporated from public view. Now seeing...

SOUL MATES - ALICIA KEYS AND USHER ARE THE HOTTEST DUO ON 'THE AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS'

R&B is in the house tonight, literally. The 32nd American Music Awards, broadcast live from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, will feature a performance by this year's reigning king...

GREAT ESCAPE - 'NOVA' DOCUMENTARY LOCATES SECRET TUNNEL DUG BY POWS

NO one escaped by motorcycle in the real-life "Great Escape," but the true story is perhaps more heroic than the 1963 Steve McQueen movie. The real escape plot's heroism lies...

MOVIE PIX - OUR MOVIE CRITIC MEGAN LEHMANN'S BEST FILMS OF THE WEEK

MY FAIR LADY Sunday, 10 a.m., TCM Isn't it loverly? A slew of top-notch Lerner and Loewe songs and the outsized charisma of Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn spark this...

TV BEHIND NATIONWIDE TEEN POKER CRAZE

THERE'S actually something about this sudden poker rage/epidemic that we like. And it isn't that poker teaches kids concepts in probability and statistics. What we like about it is that...

WASHED-UP - WITH TARNISHED GUEST STARS, 'WILL & GRACE' IS THE NEW 'LOVE BOAT'

THIS show sounds familiar - it features a parade of formerly luminescent stars almost each week. Many times they even get to play themselves and get sucked into comically contrived...

'BUFFY,' ETC. NOT THE STUFF OF ACADEMIA

WHY send your kids to college when you can save thousands in tuition fees by plopping them down in front of the TV set for four years? Apparently, some college...

THE DON'T MISS LIST

DRAMA Bedside manner HERE'S a doctor who's so disheveled and scruffy that you wouldn't want him going near you, let alone diagnosing you. In "House," Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie)...

AMERICANS SHINE WITH FOREIGN AID

THE American teams had surprising success in last month's world Olympiad - as well as extraordinary help from unlikely sources. The men's team, for the first time, consisted entirely of...

LOUISE BROOKS' LULU IS BACK IN TOWN

THE thing you remember most about Louise Brooks is her smile. Sure, there's the trademark black helmet of hair. But that smile - promising so much, innocent and deadly at...

A BREED APART; DON'T BE DUPED BY PRICEY DESIGNER MUTTS

A recent cover story called "The Perfect Dog?" in the newly re launched Life magazine has touched off an alarming new trend: "designer" dogs. Pet shops and Internet advertisers are...

HOT LIST - WHAT WE'RE OBSESSED WITH THIS WEEK

1 Jamie Foxx's skull tattoo Think about getting the ink (with no fat for padding to make it hurt less!) and then bandaging it up and keeping it clean while...

SPONGEBOB SQUAREFANS - YES, ADULTS LOVE THE YELLOW FELLOW, TOO

Lynne Palazzi gets funny looks when she hits the town in her SpongeBob SquarePants flip-flops. That's understandable. You don't expect to see a successful 36-year-old magazine editor walking down Fifth...

HEAR THIS

IN CONCERT * At Irving Plaza: Finnish love metalers HIM on Monday. Country-rocker Kasey Chambers on Tuesday. Welsh crooner Tom Jones plays Wednesday through Saturday. Taking Back Sunday at Roseland...

THE SOUL SURVIVORS - GEORGIA ROCKERS TALK ABOUT DEATH, DIVORCE & DITCHING THEIR RECORD LABEL

Collective Soul disappeared from rock and was in the hard place of having to fire a record company, find new bandmates, deal with divorces and cope with death. The multi-platinum...

THIS WEEK'S CDS

Chingy "Powerballin' " * * * * (four stars) Capitol Records On his new disc, Chingy presents his own version of lifestyles of the rich and famous. Here, (the other)...

DELGADOS LET LIGHT IN - ONCE-GLOOMY SCOTTISH BAND 'NOT SO NEGATIVE' - BUT DON'T DESPAIR: THEY CAN STILL ROCK

The Delgados, a melodic-pop outfit from Glasgow known for a gloomy nature, have discovered the sunny side of the street. On their new disc, "Universal Audio," the four-piece act decided...

FOOD CRITIC DISHES IT OUT

FORK IT OVER Alan Richman (three stars) HarperCollins, $24.95 I've always enjoyed GQ restaurant critic Alan Richman's globe-trotting food escapades. The 11-time James Beard Award winner for culinary journalism has...

EDUCATION OF PEDRO - SPANISH DIRECTOR ALMODOVAR TACKLES PERVY PRIESTS OF HIS PAST IN NEW FILM

Pedro Almodovar, the world's most popular non-English-language director, says his new film isn't autobiographical - even though, like a central character, he's a gay director who was educated in Spain's...

THIS WEEK'S MOVIES

NATIONAL TREASURE Our founding fathers hid a great national treasure, and clues to its whereabouts are hidden on the back of the Declaration of Independence and on U.S. currency. Nicolas...

HOW NOT TO LOOK FAT - A SLIM GYM STATE OF MIND

Don't be fooled by the photos - I haven't turned into a fitness freak. I can count on two fingers the number of times I've exercised in the past three...

SHOPAHOLIC - MARIA MANIA - 'ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT' ANCHOR MARIA MENOUNOS IS ONE SPEEDY SHOPPER WHO CAN FIND IT ALL INSIDE THE MALL

"Entertainment Tonight" news anchor Maria Menounos made heads whirl when she wore a $2.5 million, breast-baring diamond gown to the Academy Awards in February. She also made an Internet splash....

MEET MARKET - THE PLACE WHERE THE POST HOOKS YOU UP AND SENDS YOU OUT

ROCK 'N' JOCK GUY NEEDS PLAY PARTNER This week, our Meet Market challenge is to match up handsome Adam, 27, with the woman of his dreams - or at least...

NEW LOHAN LIP-LOCKER?

FRIENDS of Lindsay Lohan are saying that her actor ex-boyfriend, Wilmer Valderrama, was just using her for the press and blame him for her hard-partying ways. Despite being on the...

SHERLOCK'S A CLUE 'HOUND'

Devilish creatures, dangerous canines, murder and age-old curses abound in "The Hound of the Baskervilles," a Sherlock Holmes mystery by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The book, which was first published...

HEARTS BURN FOR 'MARLBORO MAN'

The young Marine dubbed the "Marlboro Man" after his front-page appearance in The Post has become a celebrity poster boy for the U.S. effort in Fallujah, a heartthrob to women...

SAD HOME BECOMES A MOURNERS' MECCA

Grieving neighbors and relatives of Laci Peterson lined the beautiful former cheerleader's home with flowers, candles and stuffed animals in the hours after her husband was convicted of murdering her...

EVIL SPIRIT OF O.J. SWAYED GUILTY VERDICT

SCOTT PETERSON never had a chance. It started as a joke. From Day 1, jurors in Peterson's double-murder trial were fond of saying to one another: "We don't want to...

PALESTINIAN ELECTION 'BY JAN. 9'

As grieving Palestinians flocked to Yasser Arafat's tomb to pay their last respects, his successors yesterday promised a swift election to replace him. While there have been no elections since...

WEIRD BUT TRUE

A lucky Iowa man has the lottery's number, winning the jackpot for the second time since 2000. K. Morris Richardson, 79, picked up his second jackpot on Tuesday after picking...

'KIDNAP' TURNS 1G PUP INTO HOT DOG

A Long Island woman was pinched for puppy pilfering yesterday after allegedly snatching an expensive dachshund from a pet store where she had been employed for a grand total of...

FALLUJAH FALLS TO GIS; 1,000 REBELS KILLED INSIDE RAT'S NEST

U.S. troops battling to retake Fallujah declared their mission accomplished yesterday, occupying the entire city after more than 1,000 rebels were killed and with no major resistance left there. But...

BX. ZOO'S 'STAR REINDEER' ON NAUGHTY LIST AFTER ANTLER ANTICS

A reindeer with a broken antler is about to undergo major cosmetic surgery at the Bronx Zoo - and officials are crossing their fingers they'll be able to patch him...

NYPD DAILY BLOTTER

MANHATTAN *** Police are seeking the public's help in locating this 62-year-old man (above) who is in poor health and who disappeared from his Harlem residence last week. Earl Sumner,...

STAR'S BRIDAL POWER

"Bridezilla" stormed Park Avenue yesterday, as guests gathered at St. Bartholomew's Church amid movie-set lighting and flower-bedecked white arches for Star Jones' corporate-sponsored wedding to Al Reynolds. "The View" gabber...

REAGAN DAUGHTER'S WOE OVER STEM CELLS

In an emotional TV interview airing tonight, Ronald Reagan's daughter says President Bush's re-election is "tragic" because it could curtail badly needed embryonic stem-cell research. Four years of delay in...

CAIMAN COPS WERE HUNGRY FOR INFO

When NYPD Emergency Service Unit cops showed up at the Bronx Zoo to rescue a deranged naked man who climbed into a pit to greet two crocodile-like caimans, one of...

MYSTERY FOTOG SPURS FALSE 'TERROR' ALARM AT SCHOOL

Panicky parents of kids in an Upper East Side public school are upset over an incident in which a mysterious Middle Eastern-appearing man was caught taking pictures outside - sparking...

KNIFE-WIELDING S.I. MAN STABS GAL PAL, SELF: COPS

A Staten Island woman was brutally stabbed in the stomach yesterday by her boyfriend, who then started knifing himself, cops said. Luis Arroyo, 45, held his girlfriend hostage in her...

UNGRATEFUL GOTHAM

Thirty-eight billion bucks. That's how much cash went to victims of 9/11, mostly in the New York area, a Rand study last week said. It's a lot of dough -...

CHENEY HAS HEART FRIGHT ; OK AFTER HOSPITAL VISIT

Panic gripped Washington at its highest levels yesterday as heart-attack prone Vice President Dick Cheney checked into an area hospital suffering from shortness of breath. But calm was quickly restored...

COPS HUNT MAN WHO KILLED CON

Police yesterday were searching for the crazed killer who stabbed to death the beau of his estranged girlfriend - the mother of his three kids - after he walked in...

ED. BIGS' HOTEL SPREE ; FUROR OVER $2M NO-BID DEAL WITH MARRIOTT

THE new math being practiced by school executives could slam taxpayers with a $2.4 million bill from the plush Brooklyn Marriott. The Department of Education has signed a three-year, no-bid...

'REINDEER GAMES' ROUGH FOR BUCK

A reindeer with a broken antler is about to undergo cosmetic surgery at the Bronx Zoo - and officials are hoping they'll be able to patch him up for the...

MARLBORO MARINE FIRES UP TROOP MORALE

The young Marine dubbed the "Marlboro Man" after his front-page appearance in The Post has become a celebrity poster boy for the U.S. effort in Fallujah and a hero in...

STAR-BRIGHT RITES ; JONES WEDS AT CELEB-FILLED EXTRAVAGANZA

Star "Bridezilla" Jones stomped her way to wedded bliss last night, as she tied the knot with banker Al Reynolds in a lavish, celeb-packed ceremony on Park Avenue. The gabber...

DOWN AND DIRTY ; HOW U.S. TROOPS SHONE IN THE HOUSE-TO-HOUSE FIGHTING IN FALLUJAH

IT all comes down to the grunt. Our military assault on Fallujah employed spectacular military technologies and innovative teamwork between services, thorough planning and overwhelming force. But the Infantry squad...

SICKO 'LOVE' NOTES; GAL GAVE PERVY LETTERS TO 8-YR.-OLD 'BABY'

If they couldn't have daily sex, they could at least share "long kisses" to show their love, a 29-year-old woman and alleged sex predator wrote to the 8-year-old she's accused...

AN 'INNOCENT' SOVIET SPY

ALGER HISS'S LOOKING-GLASS WAR: THE COVERT LIFE OF A SOVIET SPYBY G. EDWARD WHITE OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 297 PAGES, $30 SAVE for Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, there is no greater...

SCHOOLHOUSE 'JAIL'; TROUBLEMAKERS STUCK IN HS LOCKDOWN

City schools' ballyhooed "New Beginnings" program is supposed to get non-violent high-school troublemakers who cut class and lag in their coursework back on the right academic track - but it's...

QNS. LANDLADY, 94, ESCAPES FIRE

A kindly 94-year-old landlady, who is hard of hearing and uses a walker, was rescued by her quick-thinking neighbor from a deadly Queens blaze that killed a tenant who had...

DEAD 'DIRTY BASTARD' - RAPPER DIES AT STUDIO

Revered, troubled and often outlandish rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard mysteriously collapsed and died yesterday at a Manhattan recording studio, police said. The 35-year-old ODB, one of the founding members of...

L.I. 'KIDNAP' TURNS 1G PUP INTO ONE HOT DOG

A Long Island woman was pinched for puppy pilfering yesterday after allegedly snatching an expensive dachshund from a pet store where she had been employed for a grand total of...

ED. BIGS OK HOTEL SPREE - CITY SLAMS $2M NO-BID DEAL

THE new math being practiced by school executives could slam taxpayers with a $2.4 million bill from the plush Brooklyn Marriott. The Department of Education has signed a three-year, no-bid...

STAR-BRIGHT RITES; JONES WEDS AT CELEB-FILLED EXTRAVAGANZA

Star "Bridezilla" Jones stomped her way to wedded bliss last night, as she tied the knot with banker Al Reynolds in a lavish, celeb-packed ceremony on Park Avenue. The gabber...

DVD-CAPITATION; IRAQ MURDER DOCUMENTARY IN STORES

A grotesque documentary that includes gory scenes of American Nicholas Berg's beheading and an Iraqi doctor getting his hand chopped off is on sale in New York - and its...

ALL'$ WELLS IN N.J.; SPIELBERG TURNS LOCALS INTO 'WAR' PROFITEERS

Martians have invaded New Jersey - and the little green men have very deep pockets. "War of the Worlds" director Steven Spielberg is sparing no expense as he burns through...

DIETERS RAVE OVER NEW 'WONDER PILL'

Denise Ripley used to begin each day at her local coffee shop, grabbing a bagel slathered with butter and large French vanilla cappuccino to go. Then she'd drive home from...

JAYSON AGONY - HE CAN'T RECALL AFTER GUN WENT OFF

ALEXANDRIA TOWNSHIP, N.J. - Jayson Williams says he does not remember what happened the fateful night almost three years ago when a limo driver was shot to death at his...

SCHOOLHOUSE 'JAIL' - TROUBLEMAKERS STUCK IN HS LOCKDOWN

City schools' ballyhooed "New Beginnings" program is supposed to get non-violent high-school troublemakers who cut class and lag in their coursework back on the right academic track - but it's...

BETTMAN PLAYS 'THE LYING GAME'

"First of all, you don't have to get rid of guaranteed contracts with a salary cap. Secondly, we've never discussed the issue with the union. Never." - Gary Bettman, Oct....

BOSOX BLO-OUT ; BLOHARDS CELEBRATE WITH TROPHY

FOR George Steinbrenner's sake, it was a good thing the Boss didn't amble into the distinguished Yale Club on Friday night. Here, in the heart of Yankee Country, hundreds of...

NO TIME TO BE TIM-ID ; THOMAS BELIEVES HE CAN FIND WAY TO ERASE DOUBTS

Thursday was not the best day for Tim Thomas. The Knicks were about to sign a player at his position, Eddie Robinson. Thomas, shooting 9 of 30 in the first...

HAISLIP NOW ON ISIAH'S RADAR

KNICK NOTES When Isiah Thomas pursued free-agent swingman Eddie Robinson to fill his opened roster spot, he spoke his usual mantra of having to build the Knicks through "unconventional ways."...

HUNTERS' VENISON DONATIONS HIT 230 MILLION MEALS

FOR years, hunters quietly have helped the needy by donating part of their harvest to food banks throughout New York and the rest of the country. On the other side...

BORES OF THE RING ; THESE HEAVIES ARE LIGHTWEIGHTS

A dubious cast of characters squared off last night at the Garden for what was billed as "The Battle for Supremacy" in the heavyweight division. Who cares if the best...

SUHR-PLUS OF HELP

I know how fussy my customers are. I know they want their irony folded and unwrinkled, and I aim to please. Before signing a four-year coaching contract with the Pacers,...

FINDING THE 'PATH' TO VICTORY

Track was rated sloppy for first two races, upgraded to muddy for third, to good for seventh; was sealed through first five races, harrowed for sixth. Rafael Bejarano, Shaun Bridgmohan...

'CLASSIC' COASTS IN STUYVESANT

Classic Endeavor, rated along perfectly on the lead by Edgar Prado, waltzed home yesterday at Aqueduct for a 11/2-length score in the Grade 3, $100,000 Stuyvesant Handicap, capping a remarkable...

FINALLY, PLANINIC CAN TALK A GOOD GAME

At times last year, Zoran Planinic didn't look quick enough for the NBA. The 6-foot-7 Croatian's problem had nothing to do with his feet and everything to do with his...

KNICK PIZZA, CHICAGO STYLE

AFTER a week of continuous chatter between the Knicks and Eddie Robin son's representative and the expense of flying three talent scouts to Chicago to check out the freaky frequent...

NO ANSWERS FOR NOWITZKI

Mavs 94Nets 78 Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki was in the midst of a put-the-game away roll in the fourth quarter. Off the dribble, catch-and-shoot, left wing, right corner. When he...

BURRELL STEPS UP FOR GOVERNORS

PSAL PLAYOFFS Clinton 13Lehman 12 Jamar Burrell had an inconsistent season at quarterback, struggling the last two weeks in losses to Kennedy and Lehman. But the Clinton junior felt he...

KIDD STEPPING UP REHAB

Jason Kidd has taken his rehab one day at a time. Although this week, he'll actually take it five days at a time. Kidd, who ran four days last week,...

KNEE WILL COST MERCER MONTH

NET NOTES Ron Mercer is hoping it's a simple clean-up. But if doctors find anything worse in his left knee tomorrow, then he'll be out for some time. As it...

METS KEEPING AN EYE ON SOSA'S OPTION PLAY

If Sammy Sosa gets traded to the Mets or anybody else, he may cost less money than expected after all. Sosa's contract has a 2006 option for $18 million that...

BC'S PARTING SHOT ; ROUT OF WVU KEEPS LEAGUE TITLE IN REACH

Boston College 36West Virginia 17 MORGANTOWN, W. Va. - Boston College arrived at Mountaineer Stadium yesterday amid a cascade of boos, with the sold-out crowd giving them the finger and...

KNICKS ARE ROAD KILL - START GRUELING TRIPWITH LOSS AT INDYAS 'D' GOES AWOL

Pacers 103Knicks 97 INDIANAPOLIS - The pain has already begun for the Knicks on their four-game road trip, and they haven't even hit Texas yet. It all began alarmingly when...

ARTEST: KNICK DEAL WON'T HAPPEN

KNICK NOTES INDIANAPOLIS - Embattled Pacer Ron Artest says Knicks president Isiah Thomas can try, but doubts he'll land him in a trade. "It's not happening," Artest said before facing...

PITT'S PALKO SWEARS BY HIS PANTHERS

NBC Sports was forced to apologize during its broadcast of Notre Dame's 41-38 loss to Pittsburgh yesterday after excited Panthers quarterback Tyler Palko used an expletive as an adjective in...

'LEGEND' LAYS INTO 'VANDER

Almost 20 years to the day that Evander Holyfield's brilliant and gallant career began at the Garden, his fans can only hope it ended last night in the World's Most...

KNICKS ARE ROAD KILL - START GRUELING TRIPWITH LOSS AT INDY

Pacers 103 Knicks 97 INDIANAPOLIS - Jerome Williams said on Friday the Knicks don't have enough players in their locker room who take pride in defense. "We do need defense,"...

GOLOTA ROBBED - RUIZ KEEPS TITLE AT GARDEN FIGHT FEST

It was a night of Desperate Heavyweights in the Garden. Big men with huge dreams, whose careers have hit the high and low on the brutal road of boxing, were...

COUGHLIN'S OFFENSE COULD RUN AWAY FROM TURNOVERS

GIANT NOTES TEMPE, Ariz - Despite Tom Coughlin's threat last week, the Giants this afternoon will do more than pound away in the running game against the Cardinals. Angrily addressing...

MARTIN, VILMA GIVE RAY RESPECT

JET NOTES There's a moving force on the Ravens' defense the Jets are going to have to deal with for 60 minutes today, and then some, if necessary. You either...

OPEN BOOK - FASSEL HAS WRITE STUFF FOR NEXT COACHING JOB

Jim Fassel's 2005 calendar is full. He knows when he is going to open the first mini-camp of the year. He knows when the players will report to training camp....

STARTING OVER - JETS EXPECT QB CARTER TO KEEP SEASON ON TRACK

Know your job. Be yourself. The first is Herman Edwards' message to his team, which must rally around its backup quarterback, Quincy Carter, the replacement for injured Chad Pennington making...

LEAVING IT ALL UP TO "Q" - JETS QB CARTER IS NOT STRANGER TO ADVERSITY

The tears would stream down 3-year-old Quincy Carter's face as his mother's car passed the Little League field in Decatur, Ga. He ached to play with the other boys. He...

GLASS HALF-FULL - BIG BLUE CLAIMS MISFORTUNE WON'T RUIN REST OF SEASON

TEMPE, Ariz. - There is no way around it. The Giants have many battles to wage today and only one of them is with the improving Arizona Cardinals. The Giants...

ARTEST'S SOUR NOTE - HE'S NOT ALONE FORGETTING FANS

RON ARTEST is backtracking now, spinning like mad, scrambling to satisfy people who might have been a bit peeved at the notion he wanted to take a few weeks off...

HEAD TO HEAD

Post Knicks beat writer Marc Berman and columnists Jay Greenberg slug it out over whether Lenny Wilkens is the right man to lead the Knicks into the future. BERMAN: Wilkens...

HOT STOVE RECIPE - IT TAKES SOME TIME FOR DEALS TO HEAT UP

The first major signing of last year's offseason came Nov. 19 when Raul Ibanez joined the Mariners. Nearly two months later, on Jan. 11, Vladimir Guerrero signed with the Angels....

BIRTHDAY PRESENT - NEGRO LEAGUE LEGEND O'NEIL CELEBRATES HIRING OF RANDOLPH

Negro League living legend Buck O'Neil said it was a long time coming for Willie Randolph - and for New York City. "It's progress," said O'Neil, who turned 93 yesterday,...