Mount Washington Observatory Tower

 

Said to be home to the worst weather in the world. But it's in New Hampshire!

Shoe Me The Money

That 'orrible little man Bernie Madoff: his personal possessions, shoes and other crap, were quietly auctioned off these last couple of weeks by the U.S. Marshals at the Sheraton Hotel here in Manhattan. Size 8 and a half loafers in abundance... and Rolex watches... and other tat and junk.

The response to Bernard Madoff's crimes struck me as odd. People went out of their way to describe him as monstrous, worse than Satan, a real bastard. His victims were the type of people who would say: "can you believe we only took seven vacations this year, that's how much money we lost!"

With next to no expert knowledge and equally limited access to Madoff's mind, I still feel as if his scam perpetuated itself more than that he worked actively to rip off the semi-stinking rich. Isn't it possible that he screwed up one or two or three times, but was able to paper over the gaping shortfalls created by some bad investments, with money from other areas of his investing which had done well. He may have just kept on doing this, hoping to one day fix it, but pedaling forward and being pushed forward by the thing he had created. Above left, note the uncanny physical similarity between Bernie and George Washington.

James Beard Ruins Everything

Smacking his lips from beyond the grave, James Beard just made me go "eeeewwww!"

 

How can you simultaneously ruin the food concepts of bread, pudding and bread pudding? Throw in some leeks! Beard is probably dipping cupcakes in ketchup right now, and gobbling them down. Gross...

What a Piece

At the Neue Galerie, a fascinating, bizarre exhibition, through January 10th: the busts of Franz Xaver Messerschmidt. The exhibition blurb:

Around 1770, there was a rupture in Messerschmidt’s life. The artist was thought to have psychological problems, lost his position at the university, and decided to return to Wiesensteig, his native Bavarian town. From that period on, Messerschmidt devoted himself to the creation of his “character heads,” the body of work for which he would become best known. To produce these works, the artist would look into the mirror, pinching his body and contorting his face. He then rendered, with great precision, his distorted expressions. Messerschmidt is known to have produced more than 60 of these astonishing works before he died in 1783 at the age of 47.

 This one is called "The Yawner." The Neue Galerie is at 1048 Fifth Avenue at 86th Street, is frequently mispelt in the press, and unfortunately charges $15 for admission; hours: Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

As someone pointed out, "The Yawner" is probably unique in Western art for its accurate portrayal of the underside of the human tongue... And now, a warning! A cliché.

What piece of work is a man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable!