It’s up!
The Times saw fit to print my letter this morning. Here it is.
Finally!
Here it is! A guide to Friendster photos and what they mean….
Every blogger’s fear…
I don’t normally get too jazzed up by The Onion. But this article puts all of our fears right out there, dear blogging friends.
If any of my family is reading, stop. Now.
Bastard out of the Inter-ether
Here’s an e-mail I just received:
Subject: Coco Chanel
From: David Van Virden
From: David Van Virden
…of course if you could think for yourself, you wouldn’t really need
religion, would you dear?
religion, would you dear?
out of the ether,
David Van Virden
San Francisco
Here’s my response:
Such an original thought, David! So witty and funny! And your
stupendous insight made me reconsider everything I think and
believe!
stupendous insight made me reconsider everything I think and
believe!
I’ll just note that you sound like every
other pseudo-intellectual out there on the topic of religion. Glad you can’t
think for yourself and that the thoughts in your head don’t exist.
-N
Do we really need to flame, people?
Lady Peaceful
I know I shouldn’t laugh, but this had me rolling. I think my
favorite line may be: “But instead, he said, she started drinking vodka while
she was out and returned to the hotel intoxicated. He claims she threw a lamp at
him and tried to beat up their security guard, screaming and running from room
to room.”
I am still laughing, but I feel bad
about the misfortunes of others….
New York Times
October 22,
2003
Liza Minnelli’s Almost-Ex-Husband Sues Her, Claiming She Beat Him
By
SUSAN SAULNY
David Gest sued Liza Minnelli yesterday, claiming that while
they lived together she went into numerous alcohol-induced rages and beat him so
badly that he “suffers from virtually constant, unrelenting pain” in his
head.
According to Mr. Gest’s lawsuit, Ms. Minnelli gained physical
strength from drinking vodka, and would routinely turn that strength against him
with her fists. Mr. Gest’s complaint, filed in State Supreme Court in Manhattan,
details several instances in which he says he was beaten. The couple has been
separated since July, and Mr. Gest’s lawyer, Raoul L. Felder, expects that
formal divorce papers will be filed within a week or so.
In a union that
from the start had all the makings of a publicity extravaganza, filing a lawsuit
claiming assault before filing for divorce could have been Mr. Gest’s way of
airing his grievances before the court — or the public — in advance of any
procedure to end the marriage. Mr. Felder would not discuss the specifics of the
lawsuit.
Ms. Minnelli had not yet filed a response in court last evening,
and a call to her lawyer, Allan Arrow, was not immediately returned, nor were
calls to one of her aides, the agency that represented the couple when they were
married, and Ms. Minnelli’s booking agency.
In the papers submitted in
court, Mr. Gest described himself as “a world-renown event and concert
producer-promoter,” and Ms. Minnelli as someone whose “career had been eclipsed,
she was an alcoholic, overweight, unable to be effectively merchandised, could
not get insurance to perform concert dates on stage, or in any other artistic
media.”
Describing one of their typical fights, Mr. Gest said in the
complaint that while he and Ms. Minnelli were visiting London in June, she left
their hotel saying she was going “to fetch take-out food.” But instead, he said,
she started drinking vodka while she was out and returned to the hotel
intoxicated. He claims she threw a lamp at him and tried to beat up their
security guard, screaming and running from room to room.
In the suit,
which asks for $10 million, Mr. Gest said that he “limited his actions to trying
to avoid the blows by crossing his arms over his face and shouting repeatedly,
`Liza, stop it, stop it!’ “
While Mr. Felder would not comment on Mr.
Gest’s case, he said he would welcome the opportunity to talk about domestic
violence against men. “I think it takes a certain kind of strength to reveal
it,” he said.
Ms. Minnelli and Mr. Gest were married with much ado in March 2002
before 1,100 guests at Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan. At the
reception, Carol Channing, a guest, compared the whole thing “to when
they opened the World’s Fair.”
Few updates
A few new links over in the navigation section. I read these folks enough that it’s time to recognize that.
Oh, oh!
Seattlites are considering a tax on espresso beverages. Read about it here.
I fear that if they did this here in Cambridge, I would have to start paying an amount equivalent to my federal income taxes….
Hahahahahaha!
I was just checking my referrer logs, and I learned that if you type
“had sex with nate” into google (as someone apparently did), this blog
is the first site to come up.
No need to worry, my friends — I’m not running anything “illicit” on
the side here. It comes from having Nate as my name on the site
and from discussing the gay sex that has made me permanently ineligible
to give blood.
But it’s quickly followed by sites that ask if Mormons believe that God had sex with the Virgin Mary.
Where do I fall?
I just read this post on “metablogging.” Crawford makes a fine analysis of the several styles of blogging available. I have this feeling that mine runs between specialist and extrovert. Probably more to the specialist side (on politics and religion) than the extrovert, since if I were to talk too much about Boston, I’d do a lot of complaining….
U2 Sermons
There’s a site of U2 sermons! What’s more, Cowley is going to publish them later this year, with the funds going to TASO, an African AIDS charity.
Awesome!
Ecto blogging software