I had two drinks – but only two – at Biddy’s with Kirk last night. David Clayton, M.D., author of “The Healthy Guide to Unhealthy Living,” says one or two drinks a night is actually good for you, whether it’s a glass of red wine, a bottle of beer or a shot of scotch – they’re all more or less equal, although red wine does contain some antioxidants not found in other liquors. Kirk is still going strong with his New World Order theories and the apocalyptic mentality of the incurably paranoid. Kirk is an absolute nut, but he does have his entertainment value. I’m not saying there isn’t any truth to them, but there have been people predicting various sorts of apocalypses for centuries now – it’s not exactly a new thing. My view is that everything is cyclical. There will always be evil in the world and there will always be good, every so often evil gets the upper hand, but good always seems to bring it back down again eventually. Empires never last, although it’s true the Roman one lasted quite a while – but still only the blink of an eye on the vast stage of world history. Kirk told me about the Bohemian Grove, some weird pagan party in the woods of California where all the most powerful people in the world secretly meet and there are gay orgies held there and apparently there’s footage of Richard Milhaus Nixon disparaging the “goddamned faggots prancing around the redwoods” somewhere on YouTube. I should check it out but somehow the subject doesn’t command my attention enough. Kirk thinks President Obama and his right-hand man Rahm Emanuel may be gay lovers, that Obama is bi and that’s part of why he’s so into Lincoln. He theorizes that’s why Michelle Obama is so “manly.” I don’t exactly think she’s manly. She’s big boned, certainly not petite, but “manly” to me is a butch dyke with a mustache and flannels. Michelle has a somewhat androgynous body, and I’ve always found people with androgynous bodies among the most attractive people around. Ziggy Stardust, anyone?
A woman at the Hat Party told me about the PX90 diet/workout program, which operates on the theory of “muscle confusion.” Athletes use it a lot. She said that no matter how much you exercise, you eventually hit a wall where you can’t go any further, the best you can do is maintain. But with the PX90, you continually rotate different areas of your body for workout, meaning you never hit that wall, because your body never settles into a groove of knowing what to expect, so you can just keep going, getting in better and better shape. I’ll have to check that out if pilates reaches what economists refer to as “the law of diminishing returns.”
Unfortunately most of the Hat Party footage is just too dark to be of much use, I think. I’ll have to break the news to Pat gently. Although I might be able to salvage some of it through the magic of post-production.
I caught a press screening of "Adventureland" this morning - the new movie by the director of "Superbad." It was really quite good. Heterosexuals are so cute.
Do I write with a quill of poison? Nay, my friend, my pen is equal parts poison, magic and gold. It just depends which one you deserve....and on the mercurial mood of the tiger.
the way I see it the roman empire never did fall. it simply consolidated it's organizational structure into the catholic church, which in turn maintained, and even grew rome's control over europe and beyond until the protestant reformation. it's quite brilliant actually. instead of an empire that becomes increasingly complicated and unmanageable with each occupied region, you have an organization that can quite effectively dictate policy on an even broader scope because each king requires vatican support for their subjects to view them as the least bit legitimate. in a funny way it embodies the eastern philosophy of bending like a reed in the wind versus breaking like an oak. and the cosa nostra mafia (whose origins some trace back to the Medici family) also reflects roman hierarchy to a certain degree.
ReplyDeletebut more fascinating is the relay baton that is empire itself. you might say that really started with the greeks, was picked up and advanced by the romans, traded hands throughout europe several times in the middle ages, the spanish ran with it during the renaisance, england and france played a long game of tug-a-war with it before england finally took it and held it until the twentieth century, when america became top dog. there's real direct lineages you can follow, and the more isolated from that other cultures have been the less likely they were to adopt policies of conquest too far beyond their own borders. it's almost like a disease. but arguably worse.
well, diseases can be terminal. what's worse than that?
ReplyDeleteI don't know, empire expansion has killed an awful lot of people.
ReplyDelete