THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
The "poverty pimps"
of the 1960s have given way to the "democracy"
pimps of the 21st century.
—Justin
Raimondo
Kevin
Michael Grace, 11.09 pm, 14 November 2006►
PENSÉE
Grace's Law Of Consumption: Every advance in
personal technology begins as a luxury but quickly becomes
a necessity.
Kevin
Michael Grace, 9.49 pm, 13 November 2006►
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
Two erstwhile war supporters
among Canada's punditocracy recently published their
post-mortems on Iraq. Jonathan
Kay threw in the towel, while Andrew
Coyne dug his heels in and employed a
standard defence—he separated the
war from its justifications. "To say that the
invasion was a mistake," said Coyne, "requires
us to believe that because Saddam had not rebuilt his WMD
capacity at the time, he never would."
This argument has always done
my head in. To say (hypothetically, of course) that
downing 14 pints last Saturday night was a mistake
requires us to believe that I wouldn't have accidentally
burned the house down had I not gone out, or been mowed
down by a bus on my way back from a movie. This is
stretching a point, obviously, but you can use this sort
of logic to extricate yourself from every single mistake
you ever made or supported.
The US and UK went to Iraq
because, they said, Saddam had WMDs. He didn't. Ergo, it
says here, the invasion was a mistake before it even
began. Can a war be considered successful if it doesn't
achieve its primary goal? I wouldn't have thought so. So I
wouldn't have thought an invasion could be considered
successful when its primary target turned out not even to
exist.
Either Bush and Blair lied or
they were victims of a spectacular intelligence failure.
This is an odd platform on which to even want
success, let alone claim it. That's not to say that any
and all invasions of Iraq would have been in error —
just the one that actually happened, which is what
I've always said. It makes absolutely no
sense to me that someone could support invading a
sovereign nation on fraudulent grounds and then
subsequently claim anything better than failure,
especially when that nation is the smoking crater that is
Iraq circa November 2006.
—Chris
Selley
Kevin
Michael Grace, 8.31 pm, 13 November 2006►
PENSÉE
Low-fat yogurt = metrosexual soul food.
Kevin
Michael Grace, 2.23 am, 9 November 2006►
PUTTING
THE POMP BACK IN POMPADOUR
Oh, what a night! I've just returned from Katie
Hawthorne's 30th-birthday blowout. Everything was just so
(or "cuddlerama," as Darling Katie would say),
from the world-class location (the Fair Lakes Shopping
Center in Fairfax), to the world-class Tyler Florence Huge
Flavor menu selections at Applebee's (I had the Bruschetta
Burger, scrumptious!), to the world-class guest list, a
veritable galaxy of stars from the literary, musical and
political, er, galaxies: Edward St Aubyn, Olivia St
Claire, Roxanne St Claire, Kate St John, Lara St John,
Lauren St John and the late Henry St John, 1st Viscount
Bolingbroke. And at the table of honor, our hostess,
looking (as always) resplendent and very John
Singer Sargent, seated next to her life partner (making a
rare public appearance), the mysterious Costa Rican-born
Bogdan Preljubnik.
Katie and Bogdan: A handsome couple, nu?
As the Seagram's Cooler Escapes™ flowed (flew?) like
wine, and "I Bet You Look Good On The Dance
Floor" pounded from the jukebox, it was impossible
not to observe this glittering scene and not be reminded
of Versailles during the halcyon days of Louis XIV. (Too
many negatives? Too many Bahama Mamas!)
Perhaps it was an overindulgence in spirituous liquors
that accounted for the hash I made of my toast. I had
cleverly cribbed (or so it seemed at the time) from the Phantasmagoria
of Lewis Carroll, but it didn't go down at all well
(unlike the Bahama Mamas!):
Thirty is an age
When girls may be ENGAGING, but they somehow don't ENGAGE.
When I was done, poor Katie was ashen, while Bogdan
fixed me with a glare I can describe only as Balkan. After
a decent interval, I made my way to their table and
attempted to make amends with some well-chosen (or so it
seemed at the time) words of flattery. "Bogdan,"
I said, fixing Katie with my most obsequious smile,
"you are a lucky man. For Katie is surely the Barbara
Amiel of the cultural commentariat: as quote-worthy as she
is well-preserved. This one's a keeper." I must have put my foot in it
again, because Katie rushed sobbing to the restroom, while
Bogdan cursed and then spat on the floor. (I can't say
exactly what he said, but it sounded an awful lot like Rluipa!)
I departed presently, and subsequent attempts to reach
Katie by telephone proved unavailing. But we'll kiss and
make up, as we always do, for what distinguishes Katie
above and beyond her beauty, brains and constancy is a
truly humbling generosity of spirit.
Kevin
Michael Grace, 2.18 am, 9 November 2006►
POETRY CORNER
A Lady Who Thinks She Is Thirty
Unwillingly
Miranda wakes,
Feels the sun with terror,
One unwilling step she takes,
Shuddering to the mirror.
Miranda
in Miranda's sight
Is old and gray and dirty;
Twenty-nine she was last night;
This morning she is thirty.
Shining
like the morning star,
Like the twilight shining,
Haunted by a calendar,
Miranda is a-pining.
Silly
girl, silver girl,
Draw the mirror toward you;
Time who makes the years to whirl
Adorned as he adored you.
Time
is timelessness for you;
Calendars for the human;
What's a year, or thirty, to
Loveliness made woman?
Oh, Night will not see thirty again,
Yet soft her wing, Miranda;
Pick up your glass and tell me, then—
How old is Spring, Miranda?
—Ogden Nash
Happy birthday, Katie!
Kevin
Michael Grace, 12.06 am, 8 November 2006►
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
The child thinks of growing old
as an almost obscene calamity, which for some mysterious
reason will never happen to itself. All who have passed
the age of thirty are joyless grotesques, endlessly
fussing about things of no importance and staying alive
without, so far as the child can see, having anything to
live for.
—George
Orwell "Such, Such Were The Joys"
Kevin
Michael Grace, 12.01 am, 8 November 2006►
