The connection between a Paul Frankl mirror, a Karl Springer glass chandelier and the Eliot Spitzer sex scandal is not immediately obvious, but when the designer Alexander Gorlin was asked to create a vignette using the works on offer at this weekend's 20th Century Two-Day Modern sale at Sollo Rago, suddenly these disparate elements came together. A number of top designers, such as Amy Lau, Juan Montoya, and Steven Sclaroff, took the challenge, but Gorlin's timely take on Spitzer's indiscretion stands out. Gorlin transformed his 200 square-foot blank canvas into a room at the Mayflower Hotel and called it "Client 9," casting a pair of male and female Leo Sewell sculptures as the supposed sex-seeking New York governor and his infamous Jersey call girl. A Jean Royère daybed covered with a white goatskin is well placed, calling to mind fancy things that seem, well, a little cheap. If you look closely, you'll see the face of the man is a dartboard. And as stationary and erect as it is -- one can't help but notice -- it makes quite the easy target. --LIZ MCDANIEL

SOLLO RAGO
"Modern Masters" on view April 5-11
204 North Union Street
Lambertville, NJ

20th Century Two Day Modern Sale
April 12-13
Doors open at 9am

(Photo via wynnphoto.com for Sollo Rago Auctions)

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Marking the fifth year anniversary of the Iraq Invasion, PBS's Frontline will be presenting a two-part documentary, Bush's War, tonight and tomorrow. The series details the plans behind the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the power struggles among the highest political figures in office. Part one begins with the attacks on September 11, 2001. Part two examines the Iraq war, the early mistakes that were made, and the war's effects on the Iraqi people, the American military and the rest of the world.

For Bush's War, director and writer Michael Kirk and his team talked to key behind-the-scenes players in Washington and amassed over 400 other interviews. "Parts of this history have been told before," said Kirk. "But no one has laid out the entire narrative to reveal in one epic story the scope and detail of how this war began and how it has been fought, both on the ground and deep inside the government."

Part one of Bush's War will premiere on PBS on Monday, March 24, at 9 p.m. and continues with part two on March 25. --EMILY TAN

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MVSTAT: Frontline, now in its 25th year, has won a total of 12 George Foster Peabody Awards, 20 Alfred I. duPont Awards, 38 Emmys, and one Pulitzer Prize...

My first reaction to Barack Obama's now widely known -- and dissected -- NCAA picks:  "He is out of his mind if he thinks Pitt is going to the Final Four."

Still, on the face of it, the "Baracket" is clearly the work of an astute college hoops fan -- and a candidate who happens to be embroiled in a tight battle for the Democratic nomination. The choices are stylish, if a little safe (not unlike the man himself), and his upset picks feature teams from the next two major primary battlegrounds, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. While Davidson (from North Carolina) over Gonzaga (Washington state) is a popular pick among the NCAA-prognosticating set (Obama, of course, already won the Washington primary on February 19), St. Joe's (Philadelphia) over Oklahoma is not one I have seen.

Then there is the punishing of Ohio for handing a March 4 victory to Hillary Clinton in the form of Duke (North Carolina again) over Cincinnati-based Xavier, and the thumping of Texas (UT out in the Sweet Sixteen?); the shout out to David Geffen and the senator's Hollywood donors (UCLA all the way to the finals!); and the nod to the ancestral homeland (Kansas, needless to say, must make the Final Four). Meanwhile, taking Pittsburgh to go to the Final Four is a near certain bracket buster, but one that is sure to please voters in western Pennsylvania. In fact, an impressive geographical diversity courses through Obama's Final Four brackets. (50-state strategy, anyone?)

But, in the end, political expediency wins out as UNC sails to the national championship in San Antonio. (Obama on 6-foot-9 power forward Tyler Hansbrough: "That's a big boy, there.") The question remains: Will Tar Heel voters reward the senator's loyalty on May 6? --SAM ERICKSON

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Perhaps New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg was belatedly celebrating his decision to (allegedly/supposedly/probably/maybe) stay out of the presidential race this year when he dressed up in denim cutoffs, purple metallic leggings and teal leg warmers to perform with the Broadway cast Xanadu for the press' annual Inner Circle Dinner on Saturday. Whatever the reason, it's good to see that despite construction-crane tragedies and collapsing investment banks plaguing the city recently, Bloomberg hasn't lost his sense of humor. Of course, this sort of thing isn't exactly unprecedented; his predecessor knew his way around lipstick, fishnet stockings and a feather boa, and there's ample photographic documentation of this. But in a campaign climate that has honed in on more mundane image issues like Obama stowing his American flag pin and Hillary's depressing army of pantsuits, it's no surprise Giuliani didn't last long. Bloomberg, in seeming to fold his presidential cards, might just have the foresight his predecessor lacked. America may be ready for a different kind of president, but a grown man paying homage to Olivia Newton-John movies? Not a chance. --Wyatt Jansen

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Barack Obama may not have clinched a decisive victory over Hillary Clinton in the delegate race after yesterday's primaries, but his Men's Vogue cover story from 2006 continues to make news. On Feb. 28, Mos Def cited the September/October 2006 article -- which reported on the then-distant rumors that the up-and-coming Democrat would run for the Oval Office -- in his decision to endorse Obama. "When I saw him on the cover of Men's Vogue even before he threw his hat in," the rapper and actor told Rolling Stone contributing editor Anthony DeCurtis at an event in the 92nd Street Y, "I was like, 'This guy is going to run for president, and he's going to win.' And he's going to win because he's an author and he looks good. The best-looking guy for the job, at this point, is a black guy. I'm cool with that."

Also in that 2006 article, Obama told writer Jacob Weisberg that he sided with now confirmed Republican nominee John McCain on ethics reform. In fact, Obama spoke highly of the Arizona senator: "People see John McCain as a prima donna," he joked to the elites gathered at an event. "I think of him as a role model."

If Obama does become the Democratic nominee and faces McCain in the general election, those words may take on even more significance. --EMILY TAN

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