In my world, if it bleeds, it’s skipped. Here are a few excerpts from the morning paper:
“Lorenzo Robinson, the longtime and loquacious men’s room sentry at the lofty 21 Club died. Now..the restaurant’s general manager said he expected to put a small plaque honoring him in the men’s room ‘and call it a day,’ without replacing him…
” ‘They really are a throwback to another era…like a hat check girl. Who wears a hat any more? What are you going to do–check your Yankees baseball cap?’ “
and
“Are there words that are universally understood across all countries and cultures? A team of linguists has proposed one: ‘huh.’ ”
and Artemis Cooper, who just wrote a biography of Leigh Fermor, was quoted: “It’s a terrible thing being a biographer. One is such a rat.”
And finally: When people ask me what is the right size cage for a macaw..there is no right size cage for a macaw. It’s 35 square miles.”
So much for the Times.
The Wall Street Journal had a piece about Norman Rockwell, with this interesting painting I’d never seen before, called “The Connoisseur.” In it, a figure (Rockwell?) contemplates a Jackson Pollock painting (which, of course, Rockwell painted). About Pollock, Rockwell, the most representational of painters, said, “If I were young, I’d paint like that.”
In a story about director Robert Evans and shirts for the Great Gatsby, he recounts seeing a shirt he liked while shooting in London, and going to Turnbull & Asser to see if he could have it by the end of the week. He was told: “Mr. Evans, it takes three months to make a shirt. And not less than three months. I know who you are, but we also take care of Prince Charles, Prince Phillip and this Duke and Gianni Angelli. And they wait. I think you’ll have to do the same.”
He replied, “I don’t think so, Mr. Williams. I’m doing ‘Gatsby.’ There’s a scene where Robert Redford opens the door of his closet and you see 50 shirts. There are two ways of shooting it. One is: He opens the door and the camera goes on his eyes. The other one is over the shoulder, and you see all 50 shirts and they’re Turnbull & Asser.” He looks at me and says, “You’ll have your shirt on Friday, Mr. Evans.” Which I did, and I became his biggest customer.
As for adjusting to daylight savings, Larry says: “It’s depressing to be up for hours and find out it’s only 9 o’clock.”
I’m not quite sure upbeat is the term for these tidbits, but I’m with Larry on daylight savings and its even worse to feel like going to bed and learn its only 6pm.
I second that, Jean! I often stay up really late to spite Daylight Savings, but of course, I’m just spiting myself.
When I worked at Tavern of the Unseen Spleen in the 80’s they still had “sentries” in the women’s and men’s rooms. I always felt uneasy in their presence and unless absolutely necessary avoided them. So much tension and warped history in a rather small perfumed place.
Well put! I added a few items to this post you might enjoy…