
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are stopping by Barnes & Noble (the Union Square one) on Tuesday to read from their new book Influence, the coffee table book with photographs of the girls and "interviews with some of the most influential tastemakers in the world," like Mary-Kate. And Ashley.
Be there at 12:30pm sharp, sketch pad in hand.

Heath Ledger was paying $22k for his loft in SoHo at the time of his death in January. Now, the apartment is back on the market, with a four thousand dollar boost in price. What's weird about this story of the post-postmortem rent increase is…..didn't the one of the Olsen twins own that apartment? (Yes, the listing price in that post is one grand less than the one that is quoted now.)
So did Mary-Kate jack the price of her Broome St. pad? If she's capable of such morbid decisions, you can't put it past her to purposely wait until the Dark Knight hit the theaters before putting the apartment back on the market to increase buzz.
That, or Little Olsen had nothing to do with the re-listing of the property, because she is too rich, too famous, and too thin to concern herself with such matters. That's what brokers are for. Brokers with incredibly bad taste or incredibly good timing.
On Friday, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen will turn 22 years old. We’re assuming you would like to send gifts to the twins, so PETA has a great suggestion: Cut off some of your hair and mail it to the girls with a note reading, “Please, use my hair instead of the animals’. Happy birthday.” Because that’s not creepy at all.
RUDE Kent Brownridge's Maxim knows how to keep his magazine in the headlines: By naming only one Olsen twin to its Hot 100 list, and putting Ashlee Simpson thirty-five spots ahead of sis Jessica. [P6]
Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen weren't swapping oversized totes for masks to hide from the paparazzi, claims People. At stylist Estee Stanley's Los Angeles wedding on Saturday, human hangars Ashley (a bridesmaid) and M-K joined in the themed festivities, where everyone covered their faces to hide the embarrassment of, um, having to wear masks at a wedding. Us Weekly, which bought the same photos of the event from Flynet, tells a different story, insisting it was a disguise to hide from photogs. But nothing can mask those twig legs!

In photographing and videotaping Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen while they walked the streets of Paris, paparazzi agency X17 may have broken French and international law.
The French have much stricter privacy laws protecting non-public officials than America does, keeping even the most famous of celebrities out of public eye, since individuals must give their permission to be hounded by photogs. (After the death of Princess Diana in 1997 in Paris, a campaign was launched to further tighten regulations for civilians.)
But that didn't keep the agency helmed by Francois and Brandy Navarre from harassing the Olsen twins on the street and while they dined inside Cafe de Flore.
Possibly, X17 could claim they only photographed the Olsens inside France's borders, but did not sell photos there. And that strategy might work — if those photos only circulate inside the U.S., where privacy laws are nil.
But if those photos are sold inside any part of Europe, X17 may face trouble.
In 2004, Princess Caroline of Monaco successfully sued photographers for snapping her in France and then selling the pictures to German magazines. The defense that "we didn't sell them in France" didn't hold weight before the European Court of Human Rights, as Caroline claimed a violation under Article 8 of the Human Rights Convention, which protects one's right to private and family life. Even Britain, which has looser laws than France (which goes so far as to ban photographs of crime suspects in handcuffs, because it could sway public opinion against someone presumed innocent) but stricter than the U.S., must now take the ruling "into account" when making its own right to privacy rulings. In Italy, prison terms are being threatened against invasive photogs.
The regulations in France are so tight, the tabloid magazines there are essentially forced to focus on foreign celebrities, including Americans, because they cannot secure legal photos of their own stars. But when those Americans, like Mary-Kate and Ashley, step into France's borders, they're afforded the same protections as citizens. And foreign photographers who follow them, like X17, are afforded the same legal liabilities for hounding them.
DEEP THOUGHTS Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are collaborating on a new book titled Influence, which chronicles the style mavens and artists who helped shape the twins' into the young women they are today. So when the book hits this fall, expect a forward from The Barbie Twins and a chapter on Margaux Hemingway's diet. [HuffPo]
• Lance Armstrong grossly makes out with random blond chick to alleviate suspicion that he's dating an Olsen.
• Even more irrefutable proof that Britney Spears is all kinds of knocked up.
• Celebrities pump their own gas, just like us! Only difference is, they can actually afford premium gasoline despite the soaring oil prices.
• Naomi Campbell continues to forget that she is, in fact, an aging supermodel—and lacks the requisite interpersonal skills required of even "honorary" diplomats.
• Wait, so this week's episode of The Real World ended with a racist catfight? Yeah, this is us, pretending to be surprised.
• Hey, ladies! Wayne Newton wants you to know he's heterosexual. Just, you know, FYI.
• Lance Armstrong insults our intelligence (and makes us question his) by insisting he's just friends with Ashley Olsen, and referring to her as a "nice, smart lady."
• Spice Girls fill in for Kanye West at the Victoria's Secret fashion show. Throughout the performance, Posh was overheard murmuring quietly to herself, "Th-th-that that don't kill me. Will only make me stronger."
• Meanwhile, Heidi Klum has altogether too much fun with her Bedazzler.
• Natalie Portman becomes the latest unattached celebrity to say she won't get married until the gays do.
• TMZ: The doctor who "operated on Kanye West's mom the day before she died" also left a sponge inside of another patient. And now there's a warrant out for his arrest. Not that we're directly accusing him of anything, mind you. But allegedly? He totally killed Mama West.
• Meanwhile, Ashley Olsen is reportedly going to great lengths to please her new boyfriend, Lance Armstrong. Including allowing his twin six year-old daughters to bring her into school as "Show & Tell." [via Dlisted]
• Heidi Montag loves breast implants, long walks on the beach and the Bible, says religion is "how I got to where I am."
• Tom Cruise proves that white man can neither jump nor dance.
• Heidi Klum horrifies Seal, her family by borrowing a few parenting tips from Britney Spears.
• Ashlee Simpson's dress is almost as transparent as her desire to surgically alter her face until she's the spitting image of her more successful older sister.
Maybe Lance Armstrong was only trying to connect with his kids, but he’s been macking it hardcore to the Ashley half of Michelle Tanner. The two were spotted canoodling at Rose Bar on Monday night, no doubt talking about that episode of Full House where Uncle Joey taught Michelle how to ride a bike. At some point, Lance’s heroic battle with cancer and triumphs in the Tour de France will not the hide the fact that the dude is a straight-up player.
This photo montage of Ashley Olsen parking her car in a handicapped spot raises many questions, but especially these: Is she secretly handicapped? Or just an over-privileged asshat?
If it's the former, it calls to mind something a wise man (or was it a fictional character?) once said on the subject, namely, "She's got everything I've always wanted in another human being. Except for the walking." Which totally doesn't describe Ashley! Besides, if she really couldn't walk, you know she'd have already sprung for the Cougar 9000.*
[Image via CelebrityBabylon]
*"It's the Rolls Royce of wheelchairs. This is like, you're almost glad to be handicapped."

Mary-Kate is everywhere lately: on the cover of Bazaar, looking homeless while shopping at Barney’s, and last night on Conan O’Brien.
We get that Mary-Kate is promoting her role as a Christian pothead for The Weeds. But just because your sister has a reason to be in the press, doesn’t mean you need to stay out of the tabs.
We miss you! For old time’s sakes, can’t you up put on a pair of gigantic sunglasses and walk around with a venti coffee?

At the Van Cleef & Arpels show last night, we learned a lot of things about New York society.
First off, living in "changing" neighborhood and working in our pajamas, it’s easy to forget that there is a whole portion of New York who spends more on maintaining a wrinkle free neck than we make. Secondly, that without a press pass, we’d never have the fashion sense or wealth to get invited to these things.
The “red carpet”—which was really more of a magenta—was littered with D-list stars. Julie Newmar arrived in a cab. Her companion was wearing a Paul Smith suit with pink strips that would have made Andy Dick blush. Sarah Michelle Gellar looked kind of old, but smiled as if her mortgage depended on it. Jared Kushner was as boyishly handsome in real life as he is in ink dot drawings.
The better stars arrived later. Ashley Olsen was escorted upstairs before photographers could shout Ashley at her a million times; Eve did not make it into the show, but was happy to report that her DUI ankle bracelet was safe for the shower, but not for the tub. Due a fire code violation, other stars didn’t even make it in.
CONTINUED »

• "Nicole will be a wonderful mom!" predicts Paris, based on their long history of snorting cocaine together.
• Paul McCartney and Heather Mills enter the second leg (sorry, Heather!) of divorce negotiations.
• Q. How do you know you're an unfit mom? A. You're getting parenting advice from US Weekly.
• Portfolio is looking for a "Tina Fey" type to head up their on-air news division. And the hits just keep on coming!
• Olsen twin offends Muslim people while simultaneously carrying around her sister in a small-child sized Balenciaga.
• Not only isn't Kanye West gay, he's also not overly defensive about it.
As we write this, we’re looking out the window and salivating over the picture perfect weather outside, currently being wasted on lazy unemployed persons and pretentious NYU students. And so, for your sanity and ours, we’ve decided to kick off a glorious new feature called “Comment of the Day,” to provide a transient glimmer of entertainment for all you working stiffs who would much rather be downing margaritas poolside on the Jersey Shore (while fending off advances from married, guidos named Tony) than slaving away in your cubicles.
Today’s “Comment of the Day” comes to us from Best Week Ever, and it regards BWE's serious, and completely open-ended question, namely: has anyone actually seen the Olsen twins' parents, and—if not—are we sure they exist?
Fortunately, "bird" was on hand to answer this question, with all the free-versed hostility it deserves.
• According to Pamela Anderson, "40 is the new 20." Which is funny, because that's exactly what her plastic surgeon said.
• Matthew McConaughey convinces C-list actresses to "take off their tops" for the sake of art.
• LSD has always been known for its psychedelic goodness. But who knew its lesser known side effects include amazing 60's hair??
• Ashley Olsen continues to adhere to her all-Starbucks diet.
• These pics of Enrique Iglesias with Anna Kournikova remind us that even second-rate tennis stars aren't immune to "settling."
• Katie Couric might be striking out at CBS. But she's bowling strikes in the battle against colon cancer!
• Who would've thought that prissy Brit, Tim Roth, could play "a vicious mercenary who becomes even stronger than the Hulk."
• What better way to spend your Wednesday afternoon than by taking a look at the Olsens' former noses?!
• This girl's not even D-List yet. But we'd still rather see her in a gold bikini than Kathy Griffin any day.
• The irrelevant David Gest can't wait to tongue-kiss Amy Winehouse's Stage 1 melanoma.
• Paul Rudd wins our hearts as "Wasted Rocker Guy" on Veronica Mars. We're kidding, of course. He had us at "what-ever!"




