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Friday, May 16, 2003

ZORN, ARGER, WUT

I had almost finished writing a 5,000-word essay on socialism and the environment, and it disappeared (the culprit, I believe, was a burp in the line, not blogspot).

I am NOT happy.

Keep in mind that you are NOT off the hook. I will, God willing, rewrite the damn thing from memory, links and all. But not today.

So instead, I will post two incredibly unimportant gossip items about entirely forgettable celebrities from today's New York Post that nevertheless tell important cultural stories. Item # 1:

May 16, 2003 -- GUITAR legend Johnny Winter was singing the blues after he lost a sweet rent-stabilized penthouse at 501 E. 87 St. A Manhattan Supreme Court judge ordered him to pay more than $30,000 in back rent last month. Winter had been living in the double-balconied pad on the Upper East Side with his wife since 1974, and paying cut-rate rent the whole time. But when he renewed his lease three years ago under the corporate name "Ole Pa" rather than under his own name, the landlord argued that the spread was no longer protected by rent stabilization laws. The judge agreed and Winter is now strumming his guitar in Connecticut. [emphasis added]


I don't care at all about this person, but the story is an important reminder of one of the inexorable lessons of socialism: Socialism invariably results in the poor subsidizing the wealthy. In this case, in the form of New York City taxpayers paying cash to support rock stars. For 26 freakin' years.

Item # 2:
May 16, 2003 -- ACTRESS Selma Blair might think Gucci model Anthony Natiello is her new beau, but his girlfriend has something to say about that. Brooke Bogach fumed when she saw our item linking the two and reporting that they were all over each other at a recent Interview magazine party at 66. Bogach, Natiello's love of six years, says "We are expecting our first child on May 21, 2003. This article has caused a tremendous conflict between Anthony and I [sic]. . . Anthony says it was strictly a business matter and that his agent Ingrid Mcallough, from Clear Model Management, said it would be a great publicity opportunity for him to get noticed." [emphasis added]


I have been saying for a long time that we are rapidly becoming a society where who you are is defined by who you are ****ing. But I thought I was being metaphorical.



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