Achtung, HBO, achtung! This week in New York Magazine Kurt Andersen is all filled with Weltschmertz about the 29% drop in HBO's audience over the past three years. Where oh where is the Sturm und Drang of The Sopranos? Larry David, schnell, schell and do some more episodes! Andersen, who must be übergeschnappt (aka meshuggenah) if he thinks Fat Actress is any good, wants us all to say auf wiedersehen to any Schadenfreude we might feel for an HBO slump and instead give a big ol' Wilkommen to Groszügigkeit in all its HBO-affirming spiritual magnanimity. After all, the über-hotties of Entourage are still totally wunderbar and Deadwood knows how to work a "der Fick" and "Schwanzlutscher" reference with the best of 'em. So, bitte, cut HBO a little slacken, ja? For Kurt. We know he'd say danke schoen. [NY Mag]

Judith Regan, in the almost-flesh: Apparently bombshell publishing diva Judith Regan has gone all Oprah on the latest ReganBooks catalog, slapping her sultry image on the cover for all her fans to enjoy. On the interior fold-out, an NY Observer cartoon from back in April shows Regan presiding over one of her now-infamous planned salons, surrounded by headlines about her splashy move to LA, where she still hasn't quite landed. Here's a cool idea: Judith Regan Salon + Math Club. There's a lowest common denominator joke in there somewhere. [NYT via FishbowlLA]

Lowdown keeps us Posted: Today's "Lowdown" reports that staffers at the New York Post can't use IM without special permission, and when they do their private messages are subject to management scrutiny. Wow - we'd forgotten all about that. Looks like things haven't changed since we reported that back in April. Thanks for staying on the story, Lowdown! [NYDN]