Balkan Barbie

Here is Vogel's quote about his life as a Spyswapper, "I was neither a resistance fighter nor a good Samaritan. My paths were neither white nor black. They had to be grey, otherwise it would not have worked." Does it mean the Cold War? The brilliant thing about Vogel is that he kept the system going, but he did not become a martyr or a victim. Here is the obituary of Wolfgang Vogel from the Financial Times (Aug 30/31, 2008, p. 8). His nickname was "The Devil's Lawyer." Does every political era have its moral order? What is ours? Who (what) is in the middle of the "war on terror," keeping it going by doing its dirty work, work it denounces by day?

The oft-talked about NYC Breakers poster on display at Exile on Main Street. Found in a 1983 K-Tel Records compilation aptly named Breakdance . From the web site of the people who supply my CD player, Exile on Main St.

I think New Year comes around twice a year. We have the conventional one on January 1. Then, there is the one that starts as summer moves into fall, as school starts, as the weather cools, as you face your routines, as your face who you are again. You face your mortality as the leaves fall and the grass dies and the flowers die and one part of yourself asks the other part if you are gonna finish off these last four months any better than the last eight, or is it already over? The thing about the "Back To School" New Year is that it is private, so you don't have to let anyone know what is going on in your head, and you don't have to pretend to take change seriously or, if you do, you don't have to pretend to be "positive" or full of hope about it. You can be exhausted and angry, that is fine. There is no emotional script or role you have to fill. So just keep on going that way for a few months.

Paris Hilton for President (click here to watch video). The line, "I'll tell you about my energy policy, right after I read this article about where to fly to to get the best tan!" They are playing the national anthem in the background! Paris Hilton is brilliant. This is the perfect response to the McCain ad because it is a "thank you" for putting my name out there in a new arena - I was looking for something to do this fall. As always with Paris Hilton, she is playing smart and stupid and cunning. Brilliant. It is also a spoof. And she's having fun. And it is fun to watch.