I am an ordinary woman who was called onstage at an extraordinary time,” she wrote in the prologue to her first autobiography. “I was no different once I became first lady than I had been before. But through an accident of history, I had become interesting to people.
— Betty Ford, RIP
Ocean Drive: It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad (Fashion) World →
Okay, I don’t want to be one of those people, but I watched the very first episode of Mad Men when it first aired live on actual television. To say it’s been a longtime love is a bit of an understatement.
So I was just pleased as punch when The Coveteur dropped in on
Sally Draper…
If I had an orchard, I’d work till I’m sore
If I had $895, I would take you home and call you Winston.
Available for purchase at Jonathan Adler.
For my dad on Father’s Day, the only person I’ve ever known who loves Neil more than me.
Things I Want But Cannot Have
Things I want but cannot have: the Edie purse from J.Crew. I practically drooled all over the thing when I was in the store last week. The red is so bright, and the structure so classic, it’s a miracle I managed to find some restraint and not buy the darn thing (trying to do the whole “responsible” thing and be more careful with my cash). One day, I’ll become rich famous and absolutely laugh at the notion that $238 was once pretty much out of budget for the perfect bag. Until then…
Edie purse, J.Crew. $238.
I went to journalism school, so there are few cows more sacred to me than the New York Times. Like all my other nerdy j-school friends, I was pretty stoked to see “Page One” a documentary focused on how America’s most important newspaper is struggling to survive in the era of digital media. Or, at least, I was until none other but the Times itself eviscerated the film in a review today.
Seems like a conflict of interest, right? Psh, come on. We’re talking about the New York Times here. They wouldn’t fall for that. So they ran out and got an unbiased third party, former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley. Kinsley writes, “Like a shopper at the supermarket without a shopping list, ‘Page One’ careers around the aisles picking up this item and that one, ultimately coming home with three jars of peanut butter and no 2-percent milk. “
I’ll probably see the movie all the same, but I’m a total sucker for a good grocery store metaphor.
p.s. Watch what happens when executive editor Bill Keller let Jason Jones into the Times newsroom in 2009. I’ll maintain it’s one of the best Daily Show segments ever.
Who What Wear’s Style Spotlight of Kristen Dunst is just one of the many things making me happy today.
I like to have a martini,
Two at the very most
After three I’m under the table,
After four I’m under my host
— the eternally quotable Dorothy Parker. I have this really wonderful edition of the Portable Dorothy Parker. Very highly recommended reading.
Wait, Wait, Please Tell Me
Don’t forget to donate to This American Life! Yeah, blah blah, Stuff White People Like, we know, whatever. Is it a super obvious cliche that I can’t live without NPR? Sure. But let’s not let that cloud your judgement: the show is still home to some of the most powerful storytelling in America. So, okay, you could use your $10 to buy some local brews this week, or hops to brew your own beer, or rolling papers to make your cigarettes or whatever other stereotypes are out there, or you could use it to support a broadcast institution. Up to you, dudes.
p.s. like, Ira Glass in this photo? (Sigh)
Picking apples for kings and queens of things I have never seen
Go West, Young (Wo)Man
Note: This post originally appeared on my OTHER blog, Ocean Drive. I just wanted it here, too! For some of that East Coast/West Coast lovin’, check me (and my lovely friend Corinne) out there as well.
I’ve been living in Massachusetts for five years, but I’ve somehow never made it out to the Berkshires. Maybe it’s all my Bostonian buddies who colored my thinking on it, but I was always under the impression that western Mass was for hippies and hill people. I can now report first-hand that, hippies and hill people there may be, but there’s also a vivid art scene and a almost blinding amount of lush, lovely green space.
We stayed at the Porches Inn, a tongue-in-cheek retro ode to the old-fashioned New England B&B. While North Adams was definitely gritty, MASS MoCA, built by Williams College academic-types in an old electric company complex, is definitely not to be missed. The art was avant-guard, thought-provoking, mystifying and - occasionally - very, very good. The two hour car drive was almost worth it for thisalone. Mezze offered up one of the best meals I’ve ever had, complete with several of my favorite cocktail.
As unexpectedly high-culture as the whole trip was, my heart warmed at the site of the Prudential Center. Call me crazy, but I just love that dirty water.
I already posted this over on Ocean Drive, but just in case anyone is reading my ramblings over here and not there (this isn’t a zero-sum game, anyway. You could read both):
Happy 70th to Bob Dylan. I wanted to post “Forever Young” but I couldn’t find footage of it on YouTube. You can, however, check out a seriously awesome performance of it fromThe Last Waltz here. I would also suggest you check out this fascinating op-ed in today’s NYT that explores the connection to Bob Dylan’s age group and the advent of rock an roll. Ch-ch-check it out here.
P.S. Isn’t it completely ridiculous how young he looks in the footage from the Newport Folk Festival? Enough to make a 23 year old feel old…
