AIDS Prevention
Here's another blast from the past. Not real estate related this time, but fascinating anyway:
New York State, seeking to slow the spread of AIDS, empowered local health officials yesterday to close homosexual bathhouses and other places where ''high-risk sexual activities'' take place.
The decision gave health authorities the right to padlock such places as ''public nuisances'' for the next 60 days. The emergency regulations, which can be extended, went into effect immediately after the vote by the state's Public Health Council, a few minutes after 11 A.M.
That's from the October 26, 1985 edition of the New York Times.
It was 20 years ago today...
From the New York Times:
Despite some of the lowest mortgage rates in years, housing sales fell 2.6 percent in September, the Government reported today. It was the second consecutive monthly decline. Some analysts, blaming slow personal income growth and high consumer debt burdens, said the drop in housing sales would be likely to depress overall economic activity in coming months. Sales of new single-family homes declined to an annual rate of 681,000 units last month, following a 5.4 percent decline in August, according to the Departments of Commerce and Housing and Urban Development.
Sounds familiar, doesn't it? More talk of the housing bubble bursting. But wait...there's more. Here's the next sentence of the article:
The declines came despite the fact that fixed-rate mortgages can be obtained in many parts of the country for about 12.25 percent, down from a high of 15.2 percent a year ago. The rate now is the lowest in five years.
The article was published on October 31, 1985...exactly 20 years ago today. Ah, how quickly we forget!
Envy
One of the most envy-inducing emails I've ever gotten:
well i just did it. i just quit my job.
i am in my bikini now ... in
a beachside internet cafe. i'm going to go
take a swim now. and have a beer.
africa here i come!
i wish you were here.
Wellington Mara, redux
If George Steinbrenner were still mentally all here, rather than suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's as I've heard, I would cut out a copy of Wellington Mara's obituary and some of the various and sundry other
glowing articles about the man that have been published in the past week, and I would send them to Steinbrenner with a note pointing out that his own obituary, when he finally passes away, will be absolutely nothing like this.
Not that it would make a difference.
Wellington Mara
Wellington Mara died yesterday. I'd like to think that the last thing he was thinking of was the dramatic comeback victory his
Giants pulled off on Sunday evening.
The New York Times
obituary contains a wonderful profile of the man, but my favorite part was this:
[Mara] played a role in the early 1960's in the N.F.L.'s first national television contract in which teams shared equally in revenue, whatever the size of their market, an arrangement that brought long-term prosperity to the league. Pete Rozelle, the commissioner at the time, once recalled how the Giants were getting $175,000 from CBS under the previous contract - the highest payout to any team - while the Green Bay Packers were getting $35,000. "Well argued that the N.F.L. was only as strong as its weakest link, that Green Bay should receive as much money as any of the other teams," Rozelle said.
Every baseball team owner in America should read those words.
Irrational Consumerism
Although Mexico and Florida have been getting most of the press, it appears that Cuba got slammed by Hurricane Wilma as well. A combination of high tide, torrential rains and storm surge created flooding up to six feet deep for several blocks inland from Havana’s Malecon, the seawall that lines the city.
Castro, however, was quick to
point out how different the reaction of Cubans was to that of Mexicans and Americans slammed by this and other storms.
''Fidel contrasted the peacefulness, discipline and the organization shown by our people before the blow by this dangerous phenomenon, with the scenes of looking of stores and markets seen in the United States during Katrina and now in the Yucatan, Mexico,'' the state news agency reported.
“This is the great different between capitalism, which promotes irrational consumerism, selfishness and craziness that leads people to loot a mall when a disaster of this type comes, and our socialist society where there's an enormous effort for equality, solidarity and justice.”
If it turns out that he’s right and Cuba escapes the looting that plagued New Orleans and the Yucatan, he has something to be proud of. And I certainly can’t condemn his criticism of the irrational consumerism that’s taken over our country. I read a story in the New York Times this weekend about how stores can’t keep
this modest little item on their shelves.
Of course, some might argue that the absence of crime and looting in Cuba has more to do with it being a police state than a socialist state.
Football
Every once in a while it's fun to be a Giants fan.
The Apocalypse
My office building recently installed
Captivate Network in our elevators. You know, those screens that show a constant display of advertising and news programming and advertising disguised as news programming. Because after all, I wouldn’t want to be able to spend 15 whole seconds of my day free from a blitz of useless information.
Today, in the time it took me to get from the 23rd floor, where my office is, to the ground floor, I learned these two terrifying bits of “news”:
1. At the age of 59, Sylvestor Stallone will be returning to the silver screen to star (for the sixth time) as Rocky Balboa. And yes, he will be getting back into the ring. But at least the film has a clever title. It’s going to be called...“Rocky Balboa.”
2. At the age of 56, Rick Springfield will be returning to General Hospital to reprise his role as Dr. Noah Drake. I fear that a re-make of “Jessie’s Girl”, followed by a world-wide tour, cannot be far behind.
Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins may be right after all. The apocalypse is nigh.
Uh-oh
Was planning on spending a couple of days
here between Christmas and New Year's. Hope
this doesn't ruin those plans.
Er...not that it's all about me, of course.
The Usual
A beautiful thing happened to me this weekend. A beautiful thing that I cannot believe has never happened to me before. Because this beautiful thing happened in a bar and for better or worse I have spent far, far more time in bars than the average person who is neither English nor Irish.
The beautiful thing was this: I walked into my neighborhood bar, which is a delightfully laid-back, dimly lit and non-touristy place with a fabulous jukebox and an eclectic cast of regulars and a collection of books in the back that are perfect for browsing while waiting on line for the restroom and a lovely set of photos of Old New York on the walls that are perfect for gazing at while your companion is in the restroom and after seven days and seven nights
the rain had finally stopped and the sun had come out and all felt right in the world and the bartender walked up to me and instead of asking "what can I get you?" or "what are you having?" or even "how are you doing?" he simply said "the usual?"
The usual.
In all my years in New York and all my years in bars around the world no bartender has ever walked up to me and simply said "the usual?" And in part that's my own fault because I've spent so much of my life moving from city to city and from neighborhood to neighborhood within cities and even from bar to bar within neighborhoods and I've always been one for trying new things and I've never been much for putting down roots.
But now...
The usual.
It was sort of like that moment when you've moved to a new place and you've finally gotten the lay of the land and one day someone stops you and asks for directions and you know exactly how to get there and you tell them and you walk away suddenly feeling like you belong.
It was sort of like that, but so much better.
The usual. It's funny how much pleasure those two little words gave me.
Celebrity Non-Sightings
So I was at dinner once in Soho with a bunch of friends and we sat right next to Fred Durst (lead singer of Limp Biskit) and Donnie Wahlberg (former New Kid on the Block and brother of Mark Wahlberg). Talk about a B-list celebrity sighting! Of course, in typical me fashion, I would never have noticed either one of them if they hadn't been pointed out to me, even though they were sitting so close to me I could've reached out and touched them.
Sigh. I'm so oblivious. I walked past Ted Danson once and didn't even know it. And Harrison Ford. Who's much shorter than you'd think he would be, by the way. Oh, and I sat next to Daniel Day Lewis in a restaurant about five years ago and didn't recognize him either. I did recognize Johnny Cochran at my beauty salon, though. Of course, he was wearing a lemon yellow suit and carrying a purse at the time. And I have on several occasions recognized Ric Ocasek walking around the Gramercy Park area, but he's so freaky-looking you'd have to be far more oblivious than even I am to miss him.
Let's see, what other celebrities have I completely failed to notice until they were pointed out to me? Danny Aiello, at the Russian Tea Room. Robbie Williams, in a black Range Rover (Land Rover?) driving around Notting Hill. The chick who played Charlotte on Sex in the City at a Broadway show (Frankie and Johnny on the Clair de Lune, in case you're interested, back when Edie Falco and Stanly Tucci were in it and it was great, as opposed to Rosie Perez and Joe Pantaliano who replaced them and apparently sucked). Jesse Jackson on the shuttle flight to D.C. Actually, I did notice him, but only because they held the flight up for him AND he was sitting only two rows in front of me.
And that concludes this morning's presentation of "Celebrities I Have Failed to Recognize," which has been brought to you by "It's Friday And I Don't Feel Like Working, Inc." Use or reproduction of the contents of this post without the express written consent of the author is strictly prohibited. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you at government expense. God Save the Queen.
Harriet Miers Blog
By now you've probably come across
this already, but I still think it's one of the funniest things I've seen lately.
And the best part is that whoever wrote it began doing so long before the Texas State Library and Archives Commission, in response to open records requests,
released correspondence yesterday in which Miers told Bush he was "the best governor ever" and that he was "cool" and that he and his wife were "the greatest."
So either it's a very funny coincidence, or the author of this little blog is someone who somehow knows that in her personal correspondence, Miers has a tendency to take on the tone of a thirteen-year-old girl.
But I think what amazes me the most is the amount of time and energy someone spent to put this together.
The Meaning of Life
So what is it that makes life meaningful?
The reason I ask is that I get depressed because I feel like my stupid job as a lawyer isn't making a damn bit of difference in the world and I wish I'd been a journalist or something important like that, and then I speak to my friend who IS a journalist and she feels like her stupid job as a journalist isn't making a damn bit of difference in the world and she wishes she'd been a lawyer or something important like that.
So is it just that no matter what you do, eventually it'll feel stupid and meaningless, or is it that there ARE jobs out there that aren't stupid and meaningless but it just happens that none of my generally very intelligent, motivated and interesting friends have managed to find one?
Modern Love
I generally think the New York Times' "Modern Love" column on Sundays is one of the greatest wastes of space in the entire newspaper. The only other thing that comes close is, well, pretty much the entire Sunday Styles section. And of course, anything written by
Amanda Hesser.
But there was a quote in
this story in last week's edition that made the whole thing worth while. It read "to survive in Manhattan, you need three things: a good neighborhood dive bar, a support system of friends and a plump salary."
Amen to that--particularly the first part.
Drinking Quotes, Part III
And finally, there's this one:
"I know a man who gave up smoking, drinking, sex, and rich food. He was healthy right up to the time he killed himself."
--Johnny Carson
On that note, I think I'm going to go out and have a drink.
Drinking Quotes, Part II
While we're on the subject of drinking quotations, here's one of my personal favorites. I once found a postcard in London that had this one on it, but I lost it when I was drunk. It goes:
"Work is the curse of the drinking classes."
--Oscar Wilde
Drinking Quotes
My new favorite quote (and the perfect response when people ask me how my writing is going):
"Even though I have read a lot, I have drunk even more. I have written much less than most people who write; but I have drunk much more than most people who drink. It is understood that all this has left me verylittle time for writing, and that is exactly as it should be: writing should remain a rare thing, since one must have drunk for a long time before finding excellence."
--Guy Debord
The entire quote can be found
here.
Bad Dreams
I've been having a lot of strange dreams lately. On Sunday night I dreamed that I was on one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center. I remember thinking, well, at least now I'll find out what it feels like to die, but then I woke up. On Tuesday night I dreamed that I was in an elevator in the World Trade Center when one of the planes hit.
Hmm...do you think I have some unresolved issues here?
Childfree
Since I'm on the topic of childlessness this week, here are some quotes from people who decided not to have children, which you'll either love or hate depending on your views on the matter. I can't vouch for their veracity, but I cite the site they came from below.
Helen Gurley Brown: "My sister, Mary, had polio and was in a wheelchair all her life," Brown says. "I know what it is to care for somebody. I didn't want the responsibility for any other little creatures. I have never regretted that decision."
Ralph Fiennes: "Children? Ewww!"Bill Maher: "I don't dislike children; I just don't particularly want to be around them a lot."
Rudolph Nureyev: "They wouldn't be as good as I am, and then I wouldn't know what to do with the little imbeciles."
More quotes, as well as a list of noteworthy figures who don't have children, can be found
here.
Single and Childless
Earlier today, President George Bush selected Harriet Miers as his nominee to fill the vacancy left by Sandra Day O'Connor's resignation from the Supreme Court of the United States. She's never been a judge, so it's difficult to determine her position on various issues, a fact that's sure to cause considerable controversy over the days and weeks to come.
Here's some background on Miers. She's currently serving as White House counsel, and was Bush's personal and campaign attorney back in Texas, where he also appointed her to head the Texas Lottery Commission. At the White House, she's been promoted twice, from staff secretary to deputy chief of staff for policy, and then to legal counsel. According to the Washington Post, Bush once described her as a "pit bull in size 6 shoes."
But what I find interesting about Miers is that, like the most powerful woman in Bush's circle, Condoleeza Rice, Miers is single and childless. I don't want to read too much into this (after all, O'Connor has three children and Ruth Bader Ginsburg has two) but it couldn't help but catch my attention. I wonder how many of Bush's senior male advisors are single and childless?
Tracking Taxis
So apparently New York's taxi drivers are up in arms about a plan to equip their cabs with tracking devices that would allow the companies they work for to determine where they are at all times.
I don't have a lot of details on this; I just heard a brief bit on NPR this morning. I'm assuming that the cab companies would claim it's for safety reasons...a bit disingenuous, is my sense, given that you quite rarely hear about incidents involving taxicabs. On the other hand, my understanding is that cab drivers get paid a portion of what they take in, so I can't imagine that cab companies are concerned that their drivers are spending too much time malingering.
How would I feel about this, if I drove a cab? I'd think it was an infringement of my privacy. And I'd be up in arms about it too.
