Saturday, January 17, 2009

GRAYDON CARTER IS GOOOOOD

Quoting the ending of the Editor's Letter in the February 2009 Vanity Fair
"If this is the Second Great Depression, or the Great Retrenchment, or the Great Reckoning, or whatever it's going to be called, there has to be a silver lining somewhere. Perhaps all those expensive educations and burning talents that wound up on Wall Street moving money around will be redirected to fields of endeavor with some tangible output.
In the years between 1929 and 1939, creative talent in the U.S. flowered as in no other period of the last century. The 30's a decade of devastating hardship for so many, was also the golden age of art, photography, theater, and film. In New York City alone the
Empire State Building,

the Chrysler Building, and Rockafeller Center

were built during the 10 years beginning in 1929,

The Museum of Modern Art,

the Whitney


the Frick


and the Guggenheim all opened their doors during this period. And many of our great magazines, including Fortune, Life, Newsweek, and Esquire, were started during the decade. After the collapse of Wall Street in the 1920s, the culture stopped being all about money, and the country survived and ultimately flourished. Amid the wreckage we're created, America will most certainly rise again, and it might even be a better place to live and dream." Graydon Carter

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

GOIN' TO CALIFORNIA

It's that time of year again and we're headed to warmer places. Had a room booked at Whiskey Pete's--$19.95 and when we got there they informed us that they only worked on weekends. They moved us over the street into an o.k. room----except for the guys in the parking lot that were jimmying a locked van. We called security and they informed us that the guys owned the van and were employee's. Why then were they going through the van with a flashlight once they got it opened. Things must be tough all over.

We have a different apartment than we've had for several years in the past. It's nice but smaller and more adult than family oriented.