I'm lethargic. I have a sinus thingy, and the antibiotics make me sleepy. Random thoughts:

At what point did people with money start to look so much worse than many people described as "bums" did in the 40s?

Three bums from South Ferry flophouses. At Battery Park N.Y.C.
1941

I found this image while browsing images from the Charles W. Cushman Photograph Collection, thanks to Gothamist.

__

What were they thinking when they made the movie Max? It's painfully bad, but not in a good way. Why didn't John Cusack just say, "You gotta be kidding me?" The history is bad, the characters seem underwritten and silly, and we're subjected to dialog like:

Nina: You seem pensive.
Max: I'm just thinking.

Aaarrgh.

__

On the extreme other end of quality of films I've seen lately is Godard's Contempt (Le Mepris). It's beautifully filmed, the sound design and score by George Delerue are eccentric and wonderful, and you get people like Brigitte Bardot playing the difficult, unfathomable French Woman, Jack Palance playing a crude American movie producer, and Fritz Lang playing himself, sort of. Feel free to go buy me the DVD.

__

We watched one of the episodes of Art:21 after having bought it on DVD -- the one with Collier Schorr. I'm glad I finally saw an interview with her, because I find her work interesting, but also troubling with its focus on voyeurism, particularly when the German youth/Nazi connection comes to the fore. It all makes a lot more sense to me now than it once did. We got a photograph by her at the recent New Festival benefit.

__

One day before the Times Under $25 Review appeared for Bar Jamón, we shared a bottle of a nice Spanish rosé and some olives there with my college (and initial NYC) roommate Andrew and his wife Erin, visiting from Dallas. It's beautiful. I just hope one will be able to get back in at some point. It plus the tapas restaurant next door, Casa Mono, are the latest project from Batali. I love that man. He spends a lot of time on restaurants affordable by "the masses", and I'm grateful for it, not to mention for the existence of Esca.

__

What was with having "God Bless The USA" be the song they played at midnight in Times Square? I hadn't realized this country had invented New Year's Eve, other than the commercial idea of it of course. It seems to contrast with the "Hope for Unity" theme of the 2003 crystals on the big ball.