tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64218221179969032452024-03-14T13:18:02.386-07:00The Lion's DenChicago's Engine RoomGSLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903412564467078538noreply@blogger.comBlogger142125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6421822117996903245.post-50911536018928243082020-09-20T09:46:00.024-07:002022-09-24T06:46:14.967-07:00Gender Studies with GSL<p> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DkIfnCkIxJI/X2dAjx1FRII/AAAAAAAALjQ/5QcXVxod--8QlPTojXIGPQczT9VwG_jWQCNcBGAsYHQ/s281/jackieJune281965flickr.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="255" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DkIfnCkIxJI/X2dAjx1FRII/AAAAAAAALjQ/5QcXVxod--8QlPTojXIGPQczT9VwG_jWQCNcBGAsYHQ/w581-h640/jackieJune281965flickr.jpg" width="581" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jackie from June 1965. Never has a woman been better positioned to change the world for the better than Jackie at that point in time. I don't fault for not realizing her opportunity but a shame GSL wasn't there to provide guidance on how to leverage her vast power. If you were to privately poll women of any age which 20C woman they most <i>admire</i>, who would surpass the support of Marie Curie, Rosalind Franklin, Jane Addams, and Toni Morrison combined? I'd love to ask them why looking fab in clothes designed especially for her by Cassini or Givenchy is more <i>admirable</i> than winning a Nobel Prize in Physics AND Chemistry.<br /><i>pic from Timmy Jr on Flickr</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>I had a little disagreement on IG earlier today. The esteemed Mark McGinnis was paying tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg and someone I follow made a valid, but I think misplaced, observation that she didn't understand men who didn't appreciate smart women. OK, fair enough but far more women don't appreciate smart highly accomplished women in the public eye unless they happen to be beautiful and/or glamorous and I'll present evidence.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kXo6nCzld6M/X2dR-RFWOdI/AAAAAAAALjc/hwMo7B16zYkl38GL2A1C6pIbIU65ricIgCNcBGAsYHQ/s375/RBG.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="300" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kXo6nCzld6M/X2dR-RFWOdI/AAAAAAAALjc/hwMo7B16zYkl38GL2A1C6pIbIU65ricIgCNcBGAsYHQ/w512-h640/RBG.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A couple years ago celebrating 'The Notorious RBG' became trendy with all the Usual Suspects late arriving to what we <i>Crafty Old Pros</i> have known for decades. Her close friendship with ideological opponent Justice Scalia was best reflected in their mutual love of Opera. Of course, the last arrival to the RBG Celebration was that endlessly annoying American-born Duchess who referred to RBG as her childhood inspiration. Somehow that 'Duchess' found 15 women more inspiring than RBG, as she battled cancer, when she did that feature for Vogue...that included Christy Turlington.<br /><i>pic: Wikipedia</i></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>As longtime Den readers (across 6 continents and counting) will attest, GSL is a champion of women of merit due to his strong matrilineal line. My Great-Grandmother was widowed at age 26 when her husband died in the Spanish Flu Epidemic (is it racist for me to call it that?) of 1918. She had 4 hungry children under 6yo to feed yet she didn't do victim. She began selling insurance in rural Ohio to supplement her teacher's income and sent those 4 children to college. My grandmother & mother were equally strong and resourceful even if their circumstances were less daunting. I have vivid recollections of Mum & Grandma Cooper singing my Great-Grandmother's praises of overcoming the adversity she faced but they never once put her success in the context of men making negative comments or being an obstacle. I'm sure some men did underestimate her and made belittling comments but G-Grammy didn't catalog those slights to pity-party over nor teach her daughters to either. One reason I suspect is because men were usually the buyers of those insurance policies and more often than not felt duty bound to offer encouragement and referrals to a young widow raising 4 young children...just as I would.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-urXlKq1zhxQ/VU89OmrCepI/AAAAAAAADqs/7jtFjSjbp68RIYjy9oQbhrEvhHhBqmC3wCPcBGAYYCw/s736/CooperFamily1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="736" height="454" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-urXlKq1zhxQ/VU89OmrCepI/AAAAAAAADqs/7jtFjSjbp68RIYjy9oQbhrEvhHhBqmC3wCPcBGAYYCw/w640-h454/CooperFamily1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From left Grandpa Cooper, Great-Grandmother Long, Uncle David, Mum, Grandma Cooper in Ohio circa 1945. G-Grammy widowed from Spanish Flu Epidemic of 1918 supplemented her teacher's salary by selling insurance sending her 4 children to college. A self taught organist known as among the best in Ohio likely went a long way in convincing potential clients she had the smarts if not the formal biz background of most men.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>How many times have we heard the reason some of the best early women writers used male pseudonyms because male owned publishing houses wouldn't publish female authors? Let's put that bullshit to rest and chalk it up to <i>Feminist S & M Fantasies</i>. First of all, Elizabeth Carter, publishing under her own name, earned 1000 pounds, a staggering sum in 1758, for the first English translation of Epictetus. I'd bet the ranch at least 90% of the buyers/readers were men whose purchase was largely due to Dr Johnson's high praise.</p><p>Maybe all that male oppression of 19C women writers can be laid at the feet of 'misogynist' George Eliot whose 1856 essay<i> Silly Novels by Lady Novelists</i> expressed disgust over their low quality...yet we've been told women writers couldn't get published?</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dTGqyFH8BXw/X2dqOGaTUOI/AAAAAAAALjo/6_p2oJCHm8QdSpEpBlt5QvY8_we6dKFwgCNcBGAsYHQ/s377/georgeeliot.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="377" data-original-width="300" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dTGqyFH8BXw/X2dqOGaTUOI/AAAAAAAALjo/6_p2oJCHm8QdSpEpBlt5QvY8_we6dKFwgCNcBGAsYHQ/w510-h640/georgeeliot.jpg" width="510" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is that 19C misogynist George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) who wrote the nasty essay so dismissive of her sister writers' literary output. Georgey continues to endure male oppression with her <i>Middlemarch</i> considered the greatest novel in the English language by none other than Julian Barnes, Martin Amis, and polls by BBC and The Telegraph.<br />pic: Wikipedia</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>Hey girls, perhaps those Whine Merchants in the faculty lounges of Gender Studies <i>(</i>that Camille Paglia astutely notes, incomprehensibly make no allowance for Biological examination) have been peddling snake oil all these years. I think the real reason first rate women writers used male pseudonyms is because they wanted to be taken seriously and not be associated with all the garbage then being published, purchased, and read by women. Dickens knew at once <i>Middlemarch</i>, that he rated highly, was written by a woman. They'd never say it at Vasser or Wellesley but the best female writers historically had, as their early champions, men rather than women, and valued the readership and affirmation of men over women (ouch!).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Htc_hvqhZSw/X2dymeeh_0I/AAAAAAAALj0/HuMuafp9CasCzb8Rv-3SK3H8exJKc-PQgCNcBGAsYHQ/s1000/Doris_lessing_20060312.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="820" data-original-width="1000" height="524" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Htc_hvqhZSw/X2dymeeh_0I/AAAAAAAALj0/HuMuafp9CasCzb8Rv-3SK3H8exJKc-PQgCNcBGAsYHQ/w640-h524/Doris_lessing_20060312.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nobel Prize winning Doris Lessing became a Feminist Icon with her touchstone <i>The Golden Notebook</i>.</td></tr></tbody></table> After winning Nobel and selling zillions of copies to Seven Sisters idolaters, Ms Lessing attributed GN's zealous acclaim by Feminists as a "hysterical misreading". Ouch!<br /><p>GSL thinks it no accident that 'Feminist Icon' Jane Austen has Mr Bennet the parent that appreciates and encourages his precocious daughter's intellectual attainments and Mrs Bennet silly and ridiculous who only desires her daughters marry well. Jane Austen was mostly educated by her father and brother Henry was her great champion. </p><p><i>It is a truth universally acknowledged that a woman in possession of a good intellect must be in want of a GSL.</i></p><p>I'll be here all week.</p><p><br /></p><p>P.S. The Den has been especially disappointed by the neglect female readers have for <a href="https://chicagolionsden.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-guns-of-august.html" target="_blank">Barbara Tuchman</a> and <a href="https://chicagolionsden.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-gender-gap-narcissism.html">Hillary Mantel</a> . GSL is also grateful to Peter Hitchens for his recommending the largely forgotten <a href="https://chicagolionsden.blogspot.com/2016/04/josephine-tey.html">Josephine Tey</a>.</p><p><br /></p>GSLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903412564467078538noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6421822117996903245.post-2873346383327005902020-08-23T12:19:00.004-07:002022-09-24T07:00:09.982-07:00The Hungry Boy<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daniel Day-Lewis and Vicky Krieps in<i> Phantom Thread</i><br />
superbly written & directed by Paul Thomas Anderson</td></tr>
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With all the unpleasantness going on in the world, uplifting Artistic Expression becomes even more important. I know 'Blogging' is so 2014 with far more superficial social media platforms now in vogue requiring far less effort and even more self aggrandizement yet we're astonished at the traffic the Den still generates even with our recent inactivity thus we feel duty bound to throw a bone to those that still seek GSL's guidance on the <i>Ways of the World.</i><br />
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Today we introduce you to the greatest first meeting in the History of Cinema. It's <i>The Hungry Boy</i> scene from <i>Phantom Thread </i>the Den wrote about <a href="https://chicagolionsden.blogspot.com/2019/05/elements-of-style-phantom-thread.html" target="_blank">here</a>. You may also recall, being Hopeless Romantics, we do not encourage <a href="https://chicagolionsden.blogspot.com/2016/07/may-december.html" target="_blank">May-December</a> couplings however sometimes they actually do work and when they do it's because Cupid, feeling merciful, arranges for two peculiar souls to rescue each other from a life of silent misery and seeing that process unfold despite some adversity is beautiful to behold.<br /><br />
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Just a word of caution on <i>Phantom Thread</i>. It's not a popcorn movie. You need to be in a 'curl up by the fire with a good book' mood to really appreciate its full effect. My guess is having <i>The Love of Your Life</i> or a dear lifelong friend to share it with would make it even more special. I would compare <i>PT</i> to Julian Barne's excellent novella <i>The Sense of An Ending</i> which, when I read the first time, was preoccupied, so never really connected. A couple months later, I gave it another go and loved it and even more the 3rd time.<br />
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You'd be right to assume GSL has sugar-plum visions of ordering Welsh Rabbit...and some sausages.<br />
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<br />GSLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903412564467078538noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6421822117996903245.post-71288855345724536752019-09-28T12:45:00.000-07:002019-10-26T16:19:07.670-07:00Women We Love: Amber Butchart<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>A Stitch in Time</i> hostess, the beguiling Amber Butchart. GSL knows Green the way Valentino knows Red and given many a vivacious redhead a proper intro. Amber Butchart is obviously familiar with GSL's work.<br />
pic from Metro</td></tr>
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GSL has been crushing on this BBC Fashion Historian Amber Butchart. Yesterday afternoon, I was enjoying a couple bottles of Pinot Noir with dear friend <i>Terry Drama</i> who was showing me his recent Fall Wardrobe acquisitions so the talk veered to crisp tailoring and the cut and thrust of Terry's new Ralph Lauren bluesy check jacket is extra crispy. TD then suggested we watch a fave BBC doco he knew I hadn't yet seen. We are both avowed Anglophiles with Terry virtually memorizing the entire Black Adder series occasionally sprinkling in references which always amuse as they go over head. About 10 minutes into Episode 1 of <i>A Stitch in Time,</i> I was smitten with Amber Butchart and fascinated with the subject matter.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Over Pinot Noir, GSL & Terry Drama discussed how we're gonna lay siege to the Chicago Cultural landscape . TD is so named because everyone upon first meeting say he reminds them of Truman Capote. While there is a physical resemblance, it is his effect that rings so '<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMwlsac0t0k" target="_blank">Tru</a>'. Over Manhattans at our local, Drama effortlessly glides from belting out a little Diana Ross (his <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOzO_4NS8NI" target="_blank">Love Hangover</a> exceeds Ms Ross espesh shimmy windup at power ballad to disco funk transition) to that aria from Les Miz with his thunderous bass baritone dazzling 3 blocks away.</td></tr>
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Ordinarily, GSL doesn't go for OTT Style unless it's done well and it seldom is. Ms Butchart does everything well. We find her fascinating to look at and listen to. Her series is a spellbinding celebration of Art History, Fashion, Dressmaking, and textiles.<br />
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<a href="https://chronicadomus.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">CD,</a> this show is right in your wheelhouse as Amber Butchart is in mine.<br />
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Have a look for yourself.<br />
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<br />GSLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903412564467078538noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6421822117996903245.post-79208447025883649522019-08-21T19:09:00.000-07:002019-08-25T02:53:00.304-07:00POTUS MAXIMUS & The Ingenue<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the right is Denmark's Prime Minister: Mette "Dumb-Dumb" Frederiksen<br />
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Imagine you are a 41 year old freshly christened Prime Minister of a small NATO ally, who pays about 60% of the outlays they've agreed to whose first appearance on the world stage is to mock NATO's 800 lb gorilla who has been wondering aloud what purpose and necessity NATO has for America's National Interests especially when having to do most of the heavy lifting for a bunch of deadbeats. I'm sure her phone has been blowing up with various renditions of STFU!!! in heavy Eastern European dialects.</td></tr>
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GSL is frequently encouraged by loyal Den readers (across 6 continents and counting) to give his take on world events and one especially tantalizing psychodrama unfolded yesterday. One or two of you out there may not yet know what all the fuss is about so in a nutshell here it is. Four or five days ago, word leaked out that Trump has been kicking around the idea of acquiring semi-autonomous Greenland from Denmark. This is nothing new. President Harry Truman looked into it at the end of World War II and Senator Tom Cotton (Republican from Arkansas) even mentioned it to the Danish Ambassador a few months ago in a meeting. The appeal from the American side is Greenland's strategic importance to counter Russia's aggressive ambitions in Arctic waters. A major American presence in Greenland would help the US protect Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. In addition to a more robust US/NATO security blanket, Denmark could reap a windfall while unloading a vastly underutilized asset freeing up $740 million per year in carrying costs. Of course, the US would look to exploit those abundant untapped mineral reserves in Greenland.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Danish PM Mette Frederiksen<br />
<i>Theatre of the 'Absurd'</i><br />
Would have loved to have spent the last 48 hours with the Glamazon PM after the International Press was screaming headlines that she found Trump's Greenland ambitions "absurd". I'm sure she found the first few hours delightful with all the 'Progressive' Global Elites clucking "you go girl" encouragements, a call from Anna Wintour's people inquiring re glam photo-shoot for next issue of Vogue. Then came those STFU outrages from Eastern-Euro leaders shitting bricks over Trump pulling out of NATO...and then Trump cancels his 2 day visit along with State Dinner hosted by Queen Margrethe.</td></tr>
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Now we know what you're thinking: <i>"Come on GSL. you Crafty Old Pro, step in and help this poor girl fix the mess she put herself in."</i> Of course GSL, The Flower of Anglo-Saxon Chivalry, isn't just going to stand back and allow this silly girl to be humiliated on the world stage...that's Justin Trudeau's racket.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nsHHtHkSPtc/XV3wPeFC-yI/AAAAAAAAKiw/_6GEdDVSZ5olf318CLwbT97BbEzHoQuGQCLcBGAs/s1600/putin-topless-sq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="290" data-original-width="290" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nsHHtHkSPtc/XV3wPeFC-yI/AAAAAAAAKiw/_6GEdDVSZ5olf318CLwbT97BbEzHoQuGQCLcBGAs/s640/putin-topless-sq.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PM Fredericksen: I hope you understand that within hours of a US pullout of NATO, Vladdy would be photographed running wind sprints across Greenland's frozen tundra with his shirt off.</td></tr>
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OK, Miss Prime: here's what we're gonna do; Have your staff arrange for a call with POTUS in the next couple of days and then tell him:<i> Mr President, please let me explain. I was caught off guard, said something off the cuff, was taken out of context, and while selling Greenland at first blush probably isn't workable, there are likely some joint agreements we can work towards that benefit both of us. Mr President, I realize we haven't fulfilled our financial commitments with NATO but we want to get there and if I can have you here with me, I can better make my case to Parliament which will also help you since you well know we would make large purchases from American Defense Contractors..."</i><br />
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Miss Prime you would instantly become POTUS's little darling which would be enormously helpful for Denmark in general and you in particular and no more "Dumb-Dumb"and DJT will be on his best behavior and have Queen Margrethe in a swoon. Now regarding this Vogue shoot for Anna, I have a few ideas....<br />
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**UPDATE: It appears Miss Prime followed GSL's marching orders to the letter.<br />
<a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7389803/Trump-says-Danish-PM-wonderful-woman-phone-call-leader-called-nasty.html">https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7389803/Trump-says-Danish-PM-wonderful-woman-phone-call-leader-called-nasty.html</a><br />
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<br />GSLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903412564467078538noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6421822117996903245.post-48369700502206779302019-05-11T16:45:00.003-07:002020-12-27T12:13:05.167-08:00Elements of Style: Phantom Thread<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6aZRm5ZKYmU/XNc_df4ObYI/AAAAAAAAJws/OhR4iqBpoUUZOSF52Y_m7msZ2z01A3kLACLcBGAs/s1600/vicky-krieps-2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><i><img border="0" data-original-height="415" data-original-width="640" height="414" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6aZRm5ZKYmU/XNc_df4ObYI/AAAAAAAAJws/OhR4iqBpoUUZOSF52Y_m7msZ2z01A3kLACLcBGAs/s640/vicky-krieps-2.jpg" width="640" /></i></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Vicky Krieps as Alma in Phantom Thread. The Den values "interesting" over "pretty" when it comes to faces and Reynolds Woodcock and GSL are in complete agreement that Alma possesses an arresting face that upon second glance reveals how beautiful she is.<br />pic from WWD</i></td></tr>
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The Den would like to add the inimitable Reynolds Woodcock to our illustrious roster, and, of course, his formidable sister Cyril. The scene below confirms <i>The Siblings Woodcock</i> and The Den's core Philosophy are in perfect harmony.<br />
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We do recommend you set aside a couple hours and watch<i> Phantom Thread</i> which may seem to meander but ultimately leads you to a place you'll find richly rewarding. This little gem was written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson who also collaborated with Daniel Day-Lewis on their tour de force <i>There Will Be Blood.</i><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daniel Day-Lewis as 'Reynolds Woodcock' in <i>Phantom Thread</i>. The Den places DDL alongside Gary Oldman and Ralph Fiennes as Greatest Dramatic Artists. Let's hope DDL has not retired from Film as reported.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F21Jszbf0RY/XNdadBEJCRI/AAAAAAAAJyM/Gxe7lMqNquUstwAR6o4cFeSl9Ma07XwwgCLcBGAs/s1600/CyrilLesleyManvilleVogue.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="1333" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-F21Jszbf0RY/XNdadBEJCRI/AAAAAAAAJyM/Gxe7lMqNquUstwAR6o4cFeSl9Ma07XwwgCLcBGAs/s400/CyrilLesleyManvilleVogue.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reynold's imposing sister Cyril Woodcock perfectly played by Lesley Manville.<br />
pic from Vogue</td></tr>
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Of course GSL was instantly smitten with Alma and we couldn't help but notice the resemblance she has for another great beauty The Den holds dear...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Magnificent <a href="https://maitaicollection.com/pages/blog-posts" target="_blank">MaiTai</a>, with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWdcZqG02Ls" target="_blank">Jeans On</a>, heading out to picnic luncheon. The Den has overheard whispers that Reynolds Woodcock's choosing Alma as Muse follows a pattern after his first Muse (love?) amid references to his long association with MaiTai. Cyril has been rather tight-lipped on the subject as it agitates her brother even more than the Henrietta Harding snub.</td></tr>
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<br />GSLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903412564467078538noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6421822117996903245.post-45701962679154893622019-04-12T19:43:00.000-07:002019-04-25T08:20:39.382-07:00Man Talk Part 4- Put Up Your Dukes<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi) in<i> From Russia With Love</i> shared GSL's impatience for bitchy broads <br />
who try to take honorable men down.</td></tr>
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As you may recall, several posts ago directly following the pathetic whimpers of <i>Pussy Hat Poseurs</i> and the Justice Kavanaugh Smear Campaign, The Den was itching to return fire on these Resentniks.<br />
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GSL's fiery temper has cooled and we've decided an instructive approach would have greater efficacy. As we've often said, the best instruction a child can receive is the wisdom from The Den's fave Nursery Couplet:<br />
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<i>Sticks & Stones may break my bones</i><br />
<i> But words will never hurt me</i><br />
<i><br /></i> My mother first introduced Sticks & Stones when I was about 4yo just after 2 older boys were calling me names at the playground swings. I reported those 2 hecklers hoping mum would give them a thrashing with a Hot Wheel Track as she did me whenever my behavior veered ever so slightly from Gentlemanly.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is dashing Little GSL (with Sam-Sam) minutes after absorbing<i> Sticks & Stones</i> transforming<br />
his thin skin into a hide as impenetrable as a rhino in chain-mail onezy.</td></tr>
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The Sticks & Stones lesson applies to Modern Women too. Why enable 7 Billion people to inflict harm with a rude remark? So what if a few political movements and academic departments have to cancel their pity parties? We at The Den wish to see strong women empowered and strive for excellence which can't happen if one seeks to constantly whine over slights: real or imagined. Wouldn't all that emotional energy spent whining and pouting be better spent cleverly counter-punching with a countenance of cool indifference? GSL finds it a hell of a lot sexier than any size 2<br />
'woke' blond prattling virtue signals and measuring privilege.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dWyWQ2mYoxc/XLFFbNPuzvI/AAAAAAAAJto/k2QQNXtgHxEWbTkRTSSUMpsHxotapZFLQCLcBGAs/s1600/MelTellMeSecrets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dWyWQ2mYoxc/XLFFbNPuzvI/AAAAAAAAJto/k2QQNXtgHxEWbTkRTSSUMpsHxotapZFLQCLcBGAs/s640/MelTellMeSecrets.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Estella on her Welsh Pony,<i> Tell Me Secrets,</i> back in the day.</td></tr>
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I started thinking how my <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estella_(Great_Expectations)" target="_blank">Estella</a> is so different from all the other Bergdorf Blondes/Brunette/Redheads (B3Rs). Why does my 'Stel never get rattled by the silly nonsense that makes those over-primped and pampered whine merchants foam at the mouth? Physical courage is a big part of it and any equestrienne has physical courage and 'Stel is 2nd only to <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2019/01/royal-horse-has-died" target="_blank">QE2</a> when it comes to handling pups and ponies. Also, the <i>GSL Effect</i> can't be discounted. 'Stel has a memory like a steel trap and cataloged GSL's rejoinders for future reference. In our mid-teens, 'Stel cognizant that GSL, while no brawler, had a reputation as a boy who could handle himself in a scrap; especially for a boy his size, asked for a few pointers. I taught her how to throw combinations and before long 'Stel (naturally quite strong without an ounce of fat...then or now) could throw a very respectable 1-2-3 combination (left jab- sledgehammer overhand right - left-hook to the body) and GSL noticed the self-confidence it instilled, and together with the GSL inspired repartee, made her far more formidable, attractive, and a man-eating Battleship.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CWtp8diZY3s/VF-_4dv-u-I/AAAAAAAABuI/VvXubNLKGZQdi63SYe6Fv99krWghSCyTACPcBGAYYCw/s1600/Estella.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="598" data-original-width="336" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CWtp8diZY3s/VF-_4dv-u-I/AAAAAAAABuI/VvXubNLKGZQdi63SYe6Fv99krWghSCyTACPcBGAYYCw/s640/Estella.jpg" width="358" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here's 'Stel about 15 years ago as the Man Eating Battleship GSL helped shape.<br />
Cool self-possession and borrowed quips had her making mince-meat of a schmuck every month</td></tr>
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How did so many women lose their way?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Godmother of Modern Feminism: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Klebb" target="_blank">Rosa Klebb</a><br />
Disciple Rachel Maddow also self-inflicts the <i>Butch-Bob</i></td></tr>
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The Den's R & D department discovered a technical flaw in how women's self defense is taught and corrective action is underway.<br />
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Watch Rosa Klebb's encounter with a straight white male dripping with privilege and try not to look away.<br />
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Wasn't that pathetic! Colonel Klebb, the high ranking Counter-Intel officer of SMERSH, and she's fighting for her life but looks like she's playing patty-cake. Thankfully our Tatiana was also disgusted and put her out of our misery.<br />
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The Den has forwarded this just declassified footage to all Gender Studies departments and Feminist groups along with information regarding Den Sponsored seminars on how to throw combinations.<br />
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Girls, time to toughen up.<br />
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***Man Talk is among The Den's most popular series. For others see <a href="https://chicagolionsden.blogspot.com/2015/03/man-talk.html" target="_blank">Part 1</a>, <a href="https://chicagolionsden.blogspot.com/2015/05/man-talk-part-ii-hammer-lane.html" target="_blank">Part 2</a>, <a href="https://chicagolionsden.blogspot.com/2016/05/man-talk-sausage-pinch.html" target="_blank">Part 3</a>GSLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903412564467078538noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6421822117996903245.post-52051189212677194142019-02-11T09:19:00.004-08:002021-12-17T06:50:48.125-08:00Bringing Sexy Back<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t-Ss5jvToO0/XGGqdYJGnYI/AAAAAAAAJqc/OgQ9VMhiQfkSNoETTyfj0g_ReXK1ZbUCQCLcBGAs/s1600/elizabeth-hurley-1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="428" data-original-width="615" height="444" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-t-Ss5jvToO0/XGGqdYJGnYI/AAAAAAAAJqc/OgQ9VMhiQfkSNoETTyfj0g_ReXK1ZbUCQCLcBGAs/s640/elizabeth-hurley-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is actually one of the more demure Elizabeth Hurley offerings. Yes, she has a spectacular figure for any woman...espesh a gal at half-century mark and she has bikini biz to help pay the bills. Of course I find the far too frequent/intimate pics with handsome son creepy. GSL is a fan of Liz but would counsel she'd gain ten-fold by cutting exposure in half.<br /><br /></td></tr>
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GSL can't even leave the house without Liz Hurley throwing her tits in his face. Nice tits they surely are but wouldn't we all be better served having those well nourished puppies under warmer wrap? As my <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estella_(Great_Expectations)" target="_blank">Estella</a> would gratefully confirm, GSL is a caboose man although he fully appreciates how a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJrqpuMmfa0">bodacious set of ta-tas</a> enhance a woman's figure but even more so in silhouette rather than spilling into your Cosmo.<div><br /><div>
T & A can't carry the day...it's all about the hustle...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/O0zTY0y8VQ0" width="320" youtube-src-id="O0zTY0y8VQ0"></iframe></div><br /><div><br />
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...and the Crazy Rich Asian version...<br />
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<br /></div></div>GSLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903412564467078538noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6421822117996903245.post-79927497937384966942019-02-02T12:19:00.001-08:002020-11-09T11:48:18.984-08:00My Huckleberry Friend<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estella_(Great_Expectations)" target="_blank">Estella</a> has long known of GSL's ambition to make the Groundhog's Day pilgrimage to Western Pennsylvania donning stovepipe lid and hip-flask of cask strength bourbon for 6am curtain like the gentlemen below:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ik-p1u9YIv4/XFXjVPnVDJI/AAAAAAAAJoY/Ljvga3LHClAZcgIAULm8QsTAfoZExvkkgCLcBGAs/s1600/punxsutawney-phil-ground-hog-day.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="618" height="424" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ik-p1u9YIv4/XFXjVPnVDJI/AAAAAAAAJoY/Ljvga3LHClAZcgIAULm8QsTAfoZExvkkgCLcBGAs/s640/punxsutawney-phil-ground-hog-day.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Punxsutawney Phil, <i>The Nostradamus of Rodents</i>, didn't see his shadow at Gobbler's Knob this morning resulting in jubilant Pennsylvania Turnpike snow plow operators booking Caribbean Vacays for early March. No offense Phil, but GSL smells a rat.</td></tr>
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Now back to Our Dear Audrey and that exquisitely charming showcase she's best remembered for: <i>Breakfast at Tiffany's</i> that certainly had a few flaws and strayed quite a bit from Truman Capote's novella yet the movie remains one of the most beloved works of Visual Art of the 20th Century and why is that? Well, of course it's Audrey whose luminous screen presence eclipsed every other actress (or actor) in the history of the medium. Her presence was so singularly powerful she overwhelmed any story-line. If you had to describe her in a word what would it be? Beautiful?Glamorous? Elegant? Well yes of course all three but none quite get it do they. Grace Kelly, Elizabeth Taylor, and Rita Hayworth were beautiful, glamorous, and elegant but all fell short of Audrey in one key aspect allowing them to play characters quite apart from themselves. You must ascend to a higher realm to best capture Audrey Hepburn. It's a realm both men and women appreciate mostly on a subconscious level. Audrey Hepburn was, first and foremost, <i>Lovely</i> and most beautiful, glamorous, and sexy women are not. <i>Lovely</i> is an aspect that exceeds beauty and glamour because it never fades nor recedes with familiarity. A<i> Lovely</i> young woman of 22 is even <i>Lovelier</i> at 62 and still more at 82. Audrey's presence was so powerful because in addition to being <i>Lovely</i> she was also beautiful, glamorous, and elegant which only enhanced how <i>Lovely</i> she was.<br />
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Marilyn Monroe was who Truman Capote and director Blake Edwards thought best suited for the role and she was if a faithful adaptation was paramount. Nobody that watches <i>Breakfast at Tiffany's </i>thinks for a moment that the AH Holly Golightly is really a call girl fucking disgusting old men for money and we all know Marilyn would have vast empirical knowledge to draw from. Director Blake Edwards wisely doesn't even touch on this absurdity (no silly, the $50 for the powder room isn't a sordid transaction). The <i>Loveliness</i> of Audrey Hepburn carries over to Holly Golightly prompting<i> Gallantry</i> in better men. <i>Gallantry</i> is the even more rare male counterpart of <i>Loveliness</i>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">UNICEF Ambassador Audrey Hepburn</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sigrid, The Norwegian Siren. This is the daughter <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estella_(Great_Expectations)" target="_blank">Estella</a> & GSL never had...or did we? Come clean 'Stel; back in the mid 90s when you hosted GSL during frequent summons to stand at wedding, might you have tippy-toed into his chambers in the wee smalls for clandestine cuddle?<br />
photo by Knut Aaserud</td></tr>
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I stumbled across this little spitfire only a few weeks ago. In case you were wondering what you get if you place GSL in a petri dish and extract Why Chromosome the results are below.<br />
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As you can plainly see, no matter the mare, GSL genes assert Toy Bulldog dominance. I know exactly how this charming little vid went down.... Label sets up shoot and sends team. Sigrid shows up in jeans, t-shirt, sneaks: sends choreographer out for coffee, tells director with Kurosawa meets Kubrick film school pretensions to just get proper lighting, point camera, and stay outta the way...."I've got this".<br />
Just try and not watch at least a dozen times in the next week.<br />
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Estella did love being GSL's "Plus One" at those many weddings we attended. GSL would be closing the deal with a cute bridesmaid and a song 'Stella liked would beckon...she then appears just off GSL's left shoulder giving cute bridesmaid <i>"get lost sweetie"</i> smile and realizes every girl's dream....shuckin' & jivin' to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYHxGBH6o4M" target="_blank">Rick James</a> with GSL<br />
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Below vid is a fairly accurate representation of 'Stella's dance moves (eye roll isn't even close)....and she looks like Sophie Ellis Bextor too.<br />
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<br />GSLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903412564467078538noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6421822117996903245.post-40140787673116068882018-10-14T13:50:00.000-07:002019-12-10T07:32:01.054-08:00J' Accuse & The Kavanaugh Affair<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">French Novelist Emile Zola whose <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Translation:J%27Accuse...!" target="_blank">open letter</a> to President Felix Faure called out Anti-Semitism during The Dreyfus Affair. GSL sees parallels in <i>The Kavanaugh Affair</i> with <i>"mysterious women who sell condemning evidences at night..."</i><br />
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BTW: GSL has been test driving Pince-nez with bushy mutton chops to punctuate rhetorical flourishes with Late Victorian Menace.</td></tr>
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With our <i>Maslow's Penthouse </i>Intro of last post, GSL did promise The Den's fave Gentleman Farmer a comprehensive assessment of the #MeToo movement with Bill Clinton in a starring role and a Battalion of then complicit Bergdorf Blondes now <i>Pussy Hat Poseurs</i> facing a little Den Chamber Music. While heavy artillery transits from Fort Sill, we'll issue a Warning Order to include a directive for a Bergdorf Brunette who may fear she'll be targeted in the upcoming barrage. GSL has decreed her <i>Safe Passage</i> and she should be grateful <i>The Flower of Anglo-Saxon Chivalry</i> is kinda sweet on her.<br />
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We'll soon be giving the #MeToo Movement our full attention but The Den wanted to quickly convey our thoughts on this nasty Kavanaugh business.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doesn't Justice Kavanaugh look like just the sort of man who wishes to destroy women? His lovely daughters are trembling with fear aren't they.</td></tr>
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This Justice Kavanaugh is an evil monster hellbent on killing women to hear his opponents tell it....in front of banks of telly cameras. GSL watched or heard every second of the testimony from Justice Kavanaugh and Dr. Ford with scurrilous allegations coming from other accusers and the #MeToo Mafia shrieking like banshees for Kavanaugh's head. We smelled a rat. GSL knows the Brett Kavanaugh types of the world quite well. We are of similar socio-economic background and belief system and he had a wild side to him back in high school and college as nearly all of us do but his better angels governed his development into an Elite Legal Mind and devoted husband and father who garnered a 30+ year professional record without so much as a hint of blemish especially from his numerous female clerks and colleagues. A letter from a long ago acquaintance of Kavanaugh, by the name of Dr Christine Blasey Ford, was sent to her Congresswoman in late June. A few weeks later it was forwarded to her Senator, and ranking Judicial Committee member, Diane Feinstein who sat on it for 7+ weeks thru the vetting process of SCOTUS nominee Kavanaugh. Yes, Dr Ford wished to remain anonymous and no wonder given her absurd allegations with a few inconvenient revelations yet to come out. The whole purpose of this 11th hour bombshell allegation was to postpone the vote until after election day which the Democrats hoped would have them regain control of the Senate enabling a NO vote on Kavanaugh on their way to impeaching Trump. They badly overplayed their hand.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr Christine Blasey Ford in Fab outfit, smart glasses, #tdf comb-out, and middle school-girl voice. She didn't know where or when the alleged incident occurred, how she got there or how she left. She presented 4 corroborating witnesses who didn't corroborate. One of her corroborating witnesses, her then best friend Leland Keyser, said she doesn't remember any such party and said she had never even met Brett Kavanaugh at a party or any other time.<br />
Dr Ford testified then 15 year old Christine Blasey had one beer at this party.<br />
One beer.<br />
Her vivid recollections are 17yo Kavanaugh and a friend attempted to rape and accidentally kill her and she had one beer.<br />
Over the next 30+ years she told not a soul.</td></tr>
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I noticed how the <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/409651-dr-fords-credibility-problem" target="_blank">sworn statement</a> of Dr Ford's ex boyfriend of 6 years, given to the FBI never got much attention in the Establishment Media. It refuted some of Dr Ford's claims about fear of flying and living spaces with only 1 door, said how Ford, a psychologist, coached her friend, Monica McClean, on how to take a polygraph when interviewing with FBI & DOJ, and, after breakup, he says Ford lied about charging over $600 on his credit card, and only admitting after he threatened to have his bank do a fraud investigation. Ford's very same polygraph coached friend, Monica McClean, now working for FBI, <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/news/410050-ford-friend-leland-keyser-i-was-pressured-by-ford-allies-to-revisit-kavanaugh" target="_blank">intimidated</a> the (un)corroborating witness, Leland Keyser, into altering her statement to say while she doesn't ever remember meeting Kavanaugh, she believes Dr Ford....based on no evidence; only pressure from an FBI agent to be more helpful to Dr Ford.<br />
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Dr Christine Blasey Ford's <a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/brett-kavanaughs-supreme-court-hearing-sparks-dueling-gofundme-pages-2018-09-28" target="_blank">GoFundMe accounts</a> are around $1,000,000 and she was just given a Distinguished Alumnae award from her Alma Mater, the University of North Carolina.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On left is 2nd Accusser Deborah Ramirez, a Yale Classmate of Kavanaugh, who says Kav<i> might</i> have exposed himself to her amid cheering bystanders during a drinking game. She was snozzled herself and couldn't find any corroborating witnesses among the dozens of likely attendees she called telling several she didn't remember who it was. Nonetheless, she huddled with a lawyer/Democratic Party apparatchik for 6 days to assess her memory of the 30+ year old incident and then bravely stepped forward into the adoring embrace of the #MeToo movement and anybody who hates Trump.</td></tr>
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This next accuser was brought to us by none other than Ronan Farrow and Jane Mayer, they being the original #MeToo trumpeteers in The New Yorker. Their Ramirez story was journalism at it's worst. Their star witness admitting to being very drunk during this drinking game but thinks possibly Kavanaugh exposed himself to her on a lark to cheering bystanders and in her shooing away offending 'member' accidentally touched it thereby causing her to be a 'sexual assault' victim. Sounds horrific doesn't it. But then again she wasn't sure who did it and called dozens of fellow Yale Classmates asking if they knew and nobody remembered any such incident....except Kavanaugh's ex-roomie/sworn enemy who declared to Ronan Farrow with "100% certainty" that he knew of somebody that witnessed the incident but couldn't reach him to verify. After the bombshell revelation from the New Yorker made International Headlines, they found that <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/ronan-farrow-disgraces-himself-brett-kavanaugh-story/" target="_blank">ex-roomie's 100% certain "eyewitness"</a> who had no idea what he was talking about and never saw such a thing. Oopsie!!! Ronan and reckless sidekick Jane now say they were only trying to see if they could <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2018/10/09/janey-mayer-new-yorker-kavanaugh-ramirez/" target="_blank">establish a pattern</a>,<br />
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Deborah Ramirez is a heroine of the #MeToo movement whose career prospects no doubt have blossomed.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sleazeball Lawyer Michael Avenatti & 3rd Accuser Julie Swetnick who graduated from high school in 1980.<br />
Two years out of high school, Ms Swetnick attended high school parties with Kavanaugh's (Class of 1983) crowd where girls were, according to her, repeatedly gang-raped. She was so outraged she did nothing while attending over a dozen of these gang-rape parties until claiming to be gang-raped herself. Her lawyer of course represents <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/18/politics/stormy-daniels-book/index.html" target="_blank">Stormy Daniels</a> who apparently is quite at ease among clients with ISH-YEWS and lawyer Avenatti now has legal <a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-avenatti-bankruptcy-20180711-story.html" target="_blank">ISH-YEWS</a> of his own.</td></tr>
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This last one is GSL's personal fave. Where to begin with this Julie Swetnick. Let's start with her sleazeball lawyer who, after having his services retained by Stormy Daniels, of the Stag Film/Pole-Dancing Daniels, has made over 500 telly appearances on CNN, MSNBC et al because they are so charmed with his unique brand of Trump Hate that he's even being bandied about as the Democratic Nominee in 2020. Here's what we now know of Ms Swetnick. She's had sexual harrassment allegations filed against her, lied to her employer saying she graduated from Johns Hopkins (Johns Hopkins says they have no record of her ever attending and Swetnick's estranged father says she never went to college). Ms Swetnick had a <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2018/09/26/ex-boyfriend-filed-restraining-order-against-kavanaugh-accuser-845348" target="_blank">restraining order</a> filed against her by a former boyfriend after she threatened him, his new wife, and unborn child telling him "he'd never see his child alive". During the past 25 years, Ms. Swetnick has been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/julie-swetnick-brett-kavanaugh-accuser-past-legal-disputes-2018-10" target="_blank">involved in 6 lawsuits</a>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That well fed guy on the left is Dennis Ketterer, a Washington DC weatherman, who once dated the charming chubby chaser Ms Swetnick but Mr Ketterer broke things off once she informed him of wanting to engage in <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/news/weatherman-says-swetnick-confessed-to-enjoying-group-sex/" target="_blank">sex with multiple men</a>. I think her lawyer has a contact who can hook her up with a few gang-bangs.</td></tr>
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The most strident opposition to Kavanaugh's nomination and confirmation to SCOTUS invokes Obama March 2016 SCOTUS nominee Merrick Garland with the nonsense that he was treated 'worse' than Kavanaugh since he was never even brought up for a vote. Nobody ever attacked him personally or professionally and they were following what then VP and former Senate colleague Joe Biden said during 1992 regarding Presidential Election year SCOTUS nominees. The Republicans were merely heeding VP Biden's wise counsel. How often is this brought up in the Establishment Media?<br />
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Lastly, my <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estella_(Great_Expectations)" target="_blank">Estella's</a> dear mother, as I've mentioned before. is hardly a Ms Havisham but a lovely, charming, and warm-hearted woman who has had a tough go of late on account of Hurricane Florence forcing her evacuation from her Coastal Carolina Elder Care abode. She's slowly transitioning back but the whole business has been quite unsettling so I was glad to at least be present in spirit at today's birthday celebration (actual day tomorrow) and Estella sent me the below pic a few minutes ago reporting the parcel was well received by the birthday girl.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy Birthday Millie!</td></tr>
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<br />GSLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903412564467078538noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6421822117996903245.post-23108538201789812462018-09-24T10:27:00.000-07:002019-02-22T13:10:38.476-08:00Maslow's Penthouse: A Preview <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The recently departed Tom Wolfe helped usher in The New Journalism of the 1960s.<br />
GSL just loved the way his always beautifully tailored ice cream suit sneered at convention. In addition to writing the decade defining blockbuster, <i>Bonfire of the Vanities</i>, Mr Wolfe introduced <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_chic" target="_blank">Radical Chic</a>.<br />
pic by Getty Images</td></tr>
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I've been meaning to introduce this segment for months with a false start only hours after that Las Vegas Mandalay Bay massacre that still hasn't produced a motive or convinced us skeptics that something very significant isn't kept hidden. I titled that post, that I deleted once I heard about the massacre, <i>The Keen Zest</i> inspired by The Den's Senior Artistic Adviser, Anthony Blanche, from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brideshead_Revisited" target="_blank">Brideshead</a> in that unforgettable scene with Charles Ryder in The Blue Grotto:<br />
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Relevant subject matter occurs in first 5 minutes.<br />
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In The Blue Grotto, Anthony Blanche gave his withering assessment of Charles Ryder's pictures...and life. I was thunderstruck at how author Evelyn Waugh, no doubt speaking about, and to, his clever and talented aristocratic friends thru Blanche, touched on something that is killing far more than Art & Love in contemporary society. This uniquely Anglo Affectation later crossed the Atlantic (The Den's Investigative Team suspects in a case of Pimms) mutating into a Puritanical Strain noticed quite famously by Tom Wolfe in his iconic essay: <a href="http://nymag.com/news/features/46170/" target="_blank">Radical Chic: That Party at Lenny's</a>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The New York Magazine pic for Tom Wolfe's essay <i>Radical Chic: That Party at Lenny's.</i> Sitting is Leonard Bernstein flanked by his wife and Black Panther Donald Cox aka<i> Field Marshall DC.</i> Cloaked in cute black outfit and somber earnestness, can't you just <i>feel </i>Lenny's high minded rectitude oozing from his every pore?</td></tr>
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The Radical Chic strain found eager hosts in Ivy League Faculty Lounges, UES and Georgetown Salons manifesting in a dogma infecting today's Ruling Elite not just in America but wherever The Well Bred wish to preen in a setting The Den identifies as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs" target="_blank">Maslow's Penthouse</a>. Often referred to as Political Correctness, and derided as silly and ridiculous, which it is, but if examined closely, is far more malignant.</div>
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Those stylish, shapely. and fluffy female habitues of Maslow's Penthouse GSL refers to as Bergdorf Blondes/Brunettes/Redheads or collectively as B3/R</div>
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Glamour is their False Prophet.</div>
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GSLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903412564467078538noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6421822117996903245.post-18761331824802589732018-06-10T12:56:00.000-07:002019-03-22T20:46:16.122-07:00Art of The Deal<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VuhdFYrEo60/Wx1rQZVgYiI/AAAAAAAAIp4/PDC1UJ6Bi8Qd9OW6NySxe2cAs0nnD0P1QCLcBGAs/s1600/TrumpTrudeau.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="840" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VuhdFYrEo60/Wx1rQZVgYiI/AAAAAAAAIp4/PDC1UJ6Bi8Qd9OW6NySxe2cAs0nnD0P1QCLcBGAs/s640/TrumpTrudeau.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"As Flies to Wanton Boys Are We to the Gods..."</i><br />
DJT assuring this charming couple that he has some urgent business with Little Rocket Man so just sit tight as he sets the table. Artful Deals require a certain theatrical element. An inversion of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chekhov%27s_gun" target="_blank">Chekhov's Pistol</a>, DJT's First Act often features <i>Trump's Tantrum. </i>While he shares<i> </i>King Lear's need of praise and lacks his soaring rhetoric, Trump's energy, cunning, and guile make him far more formidable.<br />
Sophie's Choice of Soft Lavender is quite lovely.</td></tr>
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The Charmed Life Progressives (CLPs) have their <i>French Cuts</i> in a twist again. Yes, that Global Menace, DJT, pulled out of the G7 Communique yesterday. The predictable indignant squeals soon followed. Obviously, another GSL primer on RealPolitik is in order.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zE0JFPwBpew/Wx18sa6NOVI/AAAAAAAAIqE/Jh3-CbPlS4sEIFWEUZG26wOV00iYBCxzwCLcBGAs/s1600/TrudeauIndia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="416" data-original-width="306" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zE0JFPwBpew/Wx18sa6NOVI/AAAAAAAAIqE/Jh3-CbPlS4sEIFWEUZG26wOV00iYBCxzwCLcBGAs/s640/TrudeauIndia.jpg" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Den has already highlighted Trudeau's trip to India that was described as a "Colossal Failure".<br />
The Den predicts after these early missteps he'll grow into the Great World Leader that our closest ally deserves.</td></tr>
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It wasn't until I watched PM Trudeau's closing G7 presser that I figured out what exactly is going on. Trudeau said nothing that warranted all the "stab in the back" rhetoric prompting today's talk show hissy fits. The intended audience of this stalking horse sideshow is Little Rocket Man (LRM) of North Korea.<br />
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All the feigned indignation from the Trump Camp is designed to show Trump is a Strong Man who doesn't hesitate to slap guys around who step out of line. Of course it's "beneath the dignity" of sophisticated G-7 Leaders to behave in such a way but remember "Dignified G-7 Leadership" is exactly what hasn't worked with LRM...and now he has nukes. What none of the so-called "experts" understand in this dangerous dance, and that Clinton, Bush, and Obama allowed to get worse, is what LRM most covets: to stand on the World Stage opposite <i>Planet Big Boy</i> and be treated like a fellow <i>Tough Guy</i>. LRM has followed the Western Press and knows what a 'schmuck' Trudeau is seen as by like-minded wannabes so Trump slapping Trudeau around and then giving Little Rocket Man a manly handshake deal will make his <i>Tough Guy</i> toes tingle while being cognizant of the enormous economic bennies he would then accrue. For a fellow Crafty Old Pro like DJT, executing this plan is a lay-up drill.<br />
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Of course, a lot can go wrong but this <i>Trump Tough Guy Option</i> has a real chance to succeed and a de-nuked Korean Peninsula along with a grateful South Korea, Japan, and China has gigantic upside possibilities both diplomatically and economically.<br />
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Trump understands the psychology at work here better than anybody...well almost anybody.<br />
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I wouldn't be surprised if he's already walked Trudeau thru this scenario telling him we'll later get the NAFTA deal Win/Win/Win and then GSL will book his rezzy for the Grand Opening of Trump Tower/Mount Rushmore...where I'll likely do a turn on the dance floor with Mrs. Trudeau....a far better turn than her husband could ever hope to do...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w6a3s0Ya5U4/Wx2AeXxoceI/AAAAAAAAIqQ/HsrNsr8Ja8809NZGWeOmrRTl6bTAoKqZACLcBGAs/s1600/DJTpoetry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="314" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-w6a3s0Ya5U4/Wx2AeXxoceI/AAAAAAAAIqQ/HsrNsr8Ja8809NZGWeOmrRTl6bTAoKqZACLcBGAs/s640/DJTpoetry.jpg" width="402" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">GSL also can't wait to run barefoot thru the lobby of Trump Tower/Lake District</td></tr>
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<br />GSLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903412564467078538noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6421822117996903245.post-69065514439227135232018-04-19T00:07:00.000-07:002018-05-10T21:16:24.822-07:00Central Casting Part VI: Finest Hour<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-22kh6LauCEk/Ws6AD2VGfnI/AAAAAAAAIm8/rE94ucb17Z0Zov6VdciCsCJday8g3wglACLcBGAs/s1600/garyOLdmanDarkestHour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="410" data-original-width="820" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-22kh6LauCEk/Ws6AD2VGfnI/AAAAAAAAIm8/rE94ucb17Z0Zov6VdciCsCJday8g3wglACLcBGAs/s640/garyOLdmanDarkestHour.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gary Oldman, the World's Greatest Living Artist, as Winston Churchill in <i>Darkest Hour. </i>Oldman's portrayal was the best screen performance I've ever seen. Churchill's iconic mannerisms often lead to caricature distracting viewers into focusing on the mechanics of impersonation rather than a protagonist who "mobilized the English language and sent it into battle".</td></tr>
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Loyal Den readers have long known our high regard for Gary Oldman. It's became a cliche for Oscar recognition going to an actor playing a mentally handicapped character (Daniel Day-Lewis in My Left Foot and Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man among them) and actress for playing a hooker such as Liz Taylor in<i> Butterfield 8</i> and Jane Fonda in <i>Klute</i> along with <a href="http://www.neatorama.com/2012/02/23/13-women-who-won-an-academy-award-by-playing-a-hooker/" target="_blank">11 others</a> anticipating young women tarting up for Halloween. We think it is a far greater Artistic Achievement to convincingly play a Great Man such as a Churchill or Beethoven as Gary Oldman has done so brilliantly. Of course the same is true for a woman and GSL wishes more movies were made about great and highly intelligent women portrayed by great and highly intelligent actresses.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EkvHhy1-h_4/WtgyoHCynxI/AAAAAAAAIoM/p55vO_QjEPYGlgOtPAcM31NdHMpZSAwzQCLcBGAs/s1600/LizButterfield8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="550" height="316" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EkvHhy1-h_4/WtgyoHCynxI/AAAAAAAAIoM/p55vO_QjEPYGlgOtPAcM31NdHMpZSAwzQCLcBGAs/s640/LizButterfield8.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Elizabeth Taylor as a hooker in Butterfield 8 winning her an Oscar among a parade of supposedly 'serious actresses' that have played a hooker to critical acclaim. Old Soul GSL would prefer to see top notch actresses portray characters from a newer profession.</td></tr>
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Editor's Note: As mentioned in comments section below, above pic is from Liz in <i>Cat on a Hot Tin Roof</i> not Butterfield 8 per Eagle -Eyed Jill.<br />
<i></i><i></i><br />
Speaking of Liz Taylor, I remember her quoting Old Hollywood screenwriter Frances Marion: "an actress is something more than a woman and an actor something less than a man" which Liz said she largely agreed with. That certainly isn't the case with Gary Oldman and wouldn't be the case for women with better casting and screenplays better written to showcase a great actress's talent. By the way, Ms. Frances Marion was the first screenwriter to win two Oscars back before World War II when women had more power than men in Hollywood....at least according to <a href="http://archive.org/stream/pictureplaymagaz24unse#page/n647/mode/2up" target="_blank">Helen Klumph</a>. How did we go from that to #MeToo?<br />
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Movies about great women The Den would like to see:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZYG6hcpZjAA/Wtgt7SNB-3I/AAAAAAAAIn0/Vx-4jxqvbCUjcvH82Xga3MyHGvt_ytenACLcBGAs/s1600/Madame_de_Sta%25C3%25ABl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="464" data-original-width="330" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZYG6hcpZjAA/Wtgt7SNB-3I/AAAAAAAAIn0/Vx-4jxqvbCUjcvH82Xga3MyHGvt_ytenACLcBGAs/s640/Madame_de_Sta%25C3%25ABl.jpg" width="454" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Madame de Stael: A brilliant conversationalist she was a central figure during the French Revolution and Napoleon's reign.<br />
We'd mount a global search to find an actress with enough gravitas to play a woman upon whom it was remarked: "...there are 3 great powers struggling against Napoleon for the soul of Europe: England, Russia, and Madame de Stael"</td></tr>
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We'd love to see a fabulous ensemble cast depict the Bluestockings, the mid to late 18C literary salon of women <i>and men(!)</i> who met to discuss the important cultural and political issues of the day. The group was founded by Elizabeth Montagu and Elizabeth Vesey with my personal hero, Samuel Johnson often in attendance. GSL would canvass the theatres of London, New York, Chicago, and Toronto cherry picking those worthy of portraying that impressive group of women. A new generation of Maggie Smiths, Joan Plowrights, Vanessa Redgraves, and distant cousin Phyllida Law would be discovered with Ms Law's daughters Emma and Sophie Thompson featured prominently.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QRE-sylX-ic/Wtgw2A38U1I/AAAAAAAAIoA/dCHWPRMTT94HevCM-PsThAe17Lb1MaTUACLcBGAs/s1600/Muses_in_the_Temple_of_Apollo_by_Richard_SamuelBluestockings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="861" data-original-width="1024" height="538" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QRE-sylX-ic/Wtgw2A38U1I/AAAAAAAAIoA/dCHWPRMTT94HevCM-PsThAe17Lb1MaTUACLcBGAs/s640/Muses_in_the_Temple_of_Apollo_by_Richard_SamuelBluestockings.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Portraits in the characters of the Muses in the Temple of Apollo </i>by Richard Samuel. The sitters are members of the Bluestockings.</td></tr>
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The Central Casting series is among The Den's most popular features. For other installments click for <a href="http://chicagolionsden.blogspot.com/2014/09/central-casting-part-i.html" target="_blank">Part 1</a>, <a href="http://chicagolionsden.blogspot.com/2014/09/central-casting-part-ii.html" target="_blank">Part 2</a>, <a href="http://chicagolionsden.blogspot.com/2014/09/central-casting-part-iii.html" target="_blank">Part 3</a>, <a href="http://chicagolionsden.blogspot.com/2016/01/central-casting-part-iv.html" target="_blank">Part 4</a>, <a href="http://chicagolionsden.blogspot.com/2016/03/central-casting-part-v-makng-gatsby.html" target="_blank">Part 5</a>.<br />
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GSLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903412564467078538noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6421822117996903245.post-31823932981599171462018-03-13T10:53:00.001-07:002022-11-16T00:11:02.726-08:00Beta Males and Tone Deaf<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mR6-bp_kxa0/WqfsGpiYyCI/AAAAAAAAIj0/sWHrF1NwD54SOGAnYJU7Js_pTnI9enfbgCLcBGAs/s1600/hollywoodreporter.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="998" data-original-width="768" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mR6-bp_kxa0/WqfsGpiYyCI/AAAAAAAAIj0/sWHrF1NwD54SOGAnYJU7Js_pTnI9enfbgCLcBGAs/s640/hollywoodreporter.jpg" width="492" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aren't they just darling?<br />
No doubting these boys observe the courtesy of a <a href="https://youtu.be/P2vkiLHiTcY" target="_blank">reach around</a><br />
Hard to argue with HR's premise.<br />
*Caution over above link from <i>Full Metal Jacket</i>. Quite profane.</td></tr>
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Recent events have provoked GSL.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T2Vf8IhA4tE/Wqf1jV5xdII/AAAAAAAAIkE/thRCh-x8zeYuGpohd3XDO1ScLsVrTzXHgCLcBGAs/s1600/queen-elizabeth-20.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1204" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T2Vf8IhA4tE/Wqf1jV5xdII/AAAAAAAAIkE/thRCh-x8zeYuGpohd3XDO1ScLsVrTzXHgCLcBGAs/s640/queen-elizabeth-20.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I can't remember the last time a minor incident bothered me more. Anna's whole life has been about visual presentation and style and this misstep was colossal. Imagine if she had those sunnies in her left hand while sharing a giggle with one of History's Greatest Women. QE2's robin's egg suit is sublime. An instantly iconic moment is lost by Anna's idiocy.</td></tr>
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As many longtime Den readers (across 6 continents and counting) can attest, we have long been in Anna Wintour's corner but there is a limit.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zWUERXvfGEI/Wqf4Bt9xndI/AAAAAAAAIkQ/71Qx2N9xC_89aZpr6Rcj4cfIhXK3p2sGwCLcBGAs/s1600/QE2Thatcher.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="370" data-original-width="300" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-zWUERXvfGEI/Wqf4Bt9xndI/AAAAAAAAIkQ/71Qx2N9xC_89aZpr6Rcj4cfIhXK3p2sGwCLcBGAs/s640/QE2Thatcher.jpg" width="518" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anna, this is how the most powerful woman in the English Speaking World since QE1 chose to address QE2.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2VYjwKnDChg/Wqf-p0K62II/AAAAAAAAIk0/cbAewzyYMCkFBoQq8Rfgiq2qD6qaUGmMQCLcBGAs/s1600/PierreSophie.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="366" data-original-width="650" height="360" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2VYjwKnDChg/Wqf-p0K62II/AAAAAAAAIk0/cbAewzyYMCkFBoQq8Rfgiq2qD6qaUGmMQCLcBGAs/s640/PierreSophie.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aren't they just darling?<br />
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As previously <a href="http://chicagolionsden.blogspot.com/2016/09/kate-does-canada.html" target="_blank">noted</a>, The Den thinks Sophie's Choice in hats is wanting</td></tr>
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We were <a href="http://chicagolionsden.blogspot.com/2016/11/sophies-choice.html" target="_blank">right</a> about The Backroom Boy of the G8 too. From admired World Leader to International Laughing Stock in less than 2 years crushed The Den's Over/Under line of 30 months.<br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gTuOHpSwzTE/WqgLSx8xUOI/AAAAAAAAIlE/mpCmXlEctkshAD_hswsIUpI0WK5JG7BLwCEwYBhgL/s1600/PrincegeorgeTrudeau3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gTuOHpSwzTE/WqgLSx8xUOI/AAAAAAAAIlE/mpCmXlEctkshAD_hswsIUpI0WK5JG7BLwCEwYBhgL/s1600/PrincegeorgeTrudeau3.jpg" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BtwwvPH3Pb4/WqgLXFKDxVI/AAAAAAAAIlI/Fv_RxVHQmEs6KWs70TCWtijKaNI58jjTACEwYBhgL/s1600/PrinceGeorgeTrudeau.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="349" data-original-width="620" height="180" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BtwwvPH3Pb4/WqgLXFKDxVI/AAAAAAAAIlI/Fv_RxVHQmEs6KWs70TCWtijKaNI58jjTACEwYBhgL/s320/PrinceGeorgeTrudeau.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prince George, having received GSL's scouting report, gave the PM a Royal Snub <br />
on this pathetic High Five Diplomacy Gambit.</td></tr>
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Did you hear about this?<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ItsGW1Nlm3c/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ItsGW1Nlm3c?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe>P</div>
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Or this?<br />
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'Colossal Failure' doesn't sound very promising does it.<br />
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It seems the darling of Charmed Life Progressives can't get out of his own way. How he delivers for ordinary Canadians will far outweigh tone deaf pandering to Pampered Elites.<br />
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Of course we know in certain quarters our DJT is thought of as a joke and much worse but is delivering in spades for those most in need...working class Americans. Job growth and manufacturing job growth in particular is surging and Black Unemployment lowest since they began keeping record back in 1972. Trump's poll numbers continue to climb but not among those Charmed Life Progressives that have long held sway over popular opinion from their power centers in the Media-Academic Complex. Nowadays nobody outside their cosseted Echo Chamber pay them any mind.<br />
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Back to Beta Males. They certainly are ascendant and we find nothing wrong with this recent development but The Den's first order of business has always been to <i>Make Fair Maidens Swoon</i> and we have yet to see a Beta Male do that!<br />
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The Den will be far more active in the coming weeks.<br />
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We have updated The Den's Avatar to reflect a more assertive posture on upcoming posts.<br />
Girls, no more patty cake.<br />
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High Time for some GSL Pushback.<br />
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GSLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903412564467078538noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6421822117996903245.post-53948489243439478582017-08-09T23:21:00.002-07:002017-10-01T08:16:18.328-07:00The Nation and their Bombshell<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZsRr8AtTfuo/WYv25sz9q3I/AAAAAAAAISk/MTbrAbFEUQIRlAEMy-ECrcyKG1s-igcRwCLcBGAs/s1600/katrinavandenheuvel_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZsRr8AtTfuo/WYv25sz9q3I/AAAAAAAAISk/MTbrAbFEUQIRlAEMy-ECrcyKG1s-igcRwCLcBGAs/s640/katrinavandenheuvel_small.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katrina vanden Huevel: editor, publisher, and part owner of <em>The Nation</em> perhaps the most prestigious Progressive/Liberal<br />
publication in America.; while extremely smart, sexy, and accomplished, Ms vanden Huevel is not the bombshell<br />
to which GSL refers. </td></tr>
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The term bombshell is too often used on our cable news shows but it appears the very Left leaning, and highly respected magazine, The <em>Nation</em>, only minutes ago, dropped the biggest political story since Watergate written by veteran reporter Patrick Lawrence. Official Washington and Establishment Media may soon be doing damage control.<br />
<br />
Here is the article hot off the press:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/a-new-report-raises-big-questions-about-last-years-dnc-hack/">https://www.thenation.com/article/a-new-report-raises-big-questions-about-last-years-dnc-hack/</a><br />
<br />
*This thoroughly researched piece of increasingly rare actual<em> journalism</em> very strongly implies that those notorious emails that were hacked from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) couldn't have been downloaded from a remote location at the speed they now know it occurred. Those emails had to have been leaked (downloaded) locally and onto a thumb drive or similar device thus destroying the whole<em> "Russia hacked the election"</em> narrative. Journalist Patrick Lawrence offers convincing evidence it was an inside job.<br />
<br />
*This article sheds new light on why the DNC wouldn't allow the FBI to do forensic analysis of their servers.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qjvQDG8Ny1o/WZDoOH8uL6I/AAAAAAAAITA/czg0GJWMbv8IEgBNPr77aBrN-pC810I0ACLcBGAs/s1600/Patrick-Lawrence-300x225.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="300" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qjvQDG8Ny1o/WZDoOH8uL6I/AAAAAAAAITA/czg0GJWMbv8IEgBNPr77aBrN-pC810I0ACLcBGAs/s640/Patrick-Lawrence-300x225.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ace Journalist <a href="http://patricklawrence.us/about/" target="_blank">Patrick Lawrence</a>, photo by Deanie Perna</td></tr>
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<br />
Not mentioned in article but worth considering:<br />
<br />
*Former DNC Chair Deborah Wasserman Schultz's IT vendors were Pakistani brothers who had ties to Hezbollah and are now under criminal investigation. They had access to DNC servers.<br />
<br />
*According to some reports, these Pakistani brothers/vendors were with DNC staffer Seth Rich (who The Den introduced you to <a href="http://chicagolionsden.blogspot.com/2016/10/october-surprises.html" target="_blank">here</a>) the night he was murdered. The DNC has gone to great pains to say this was a botched robbery with no witnesses, no suspects, and no personal items such as wallet, phone, watch taken.<br />
<br />
Many Intel Community reputations may soon be in tatters and New York Times and Washington Post staff may need to be put on suicide watch.<br />
<br />
It will be fascinating to watch this unfold.<br />
<br />
<em>ADDENDUM</em><br />
<br />
**After receiving breathless communiques from our Paris based Franco-Russian Temptress, perhaps a little GSL analysis would be helpful to our vast audience (across 6 continents and counting) who may lack GSL's sophistication in all matters Realpolitik.<br />
<br />
This story as reported looks quite strong and will be a massive help to Trump. It makes the whole Russia collusion story collapse. Taking huge hits will be virtually everybody associated with the Obama Administration who have been screaming from the same Russia Collusion Hymn sheet. Former Intel Hierarchy may face legal consequences and Obama himself would at the very least have a whole lot of explaining to do. Top DNC staff are lawyering up this very minute if they haven't already.<br />
<br />
The strange Donald Trump Junior meeting with a Russian lawyer offering dirt on Hillary always seemed like a set-up. This entire Russian bogeyman narrative has been an orchestrated shama-lama ding-dong of duplicity lapped up by the 4th Estate like buttermilk gravy. Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, whose house/financial records were raided by FBI a couple weeks ago, likely took some under the table cash (not paying federal tax) during previous consulting/lobbying work for Ukraine, and the FBI was going to use that to try and squeeze him to flip and offer evidence of Russian collusion to implicate Trump....which looks silly if/when there was none.<br />
<br />
And remember what will give this story such credibility is not only the quality of the reporting but <em>The Nation</em> is very anti-Trump and very pro-Obama/Hillary. They can't just shrug this off as a Fox News/Alt-Right wacky hit piece.GSLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903412564467078538noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6421822117996903245.post-40612661496921472382017-07-10T21:49:00.000-07:002017-08-09T09:55:35.798-07:00Melania<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hRyN-UHtx6I/WWQqnPr0dzI/AAAAAAAAIPU/u0yUeHvjgtcCes5aM1_g8ydXRQYYQb3hgCLcBGAs/s1600/MelaniaBigRedCape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1181" data-original-width="739" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hRyN-UHtx6I/WWQqnPr0dzI/AAAAAAAAIPU/u0yUeHvjgtcCes5aM1_g8ydXRQYYQb3hgCLcBGAs/s640/MelaniaBigRedCape.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just love FLOTUS rockin' the Red Cape!</td></tr>
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The recent G-20 summit was nothing short of a triumph for The Den's new 'It Gal' Melania Trump.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jJKqOOUuUbA/WWQuhvH-OVI/AAAAAAAAIPg/1qqANVqkgpIEwXEO_aCFAbHysRKOfJ5ngCLcBGAs/s1600/Melanialightpurple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="887" data-original-width="620" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jJKqOOUuUbA/WWQuhvH-OVI/AAAAAAAAIPg/1qqANVqkgpIEwXEO_aCFAbHysRKOfJ5ngCLcBGAs/s640/Melanialightpurple.jpg" width="446" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We just love how Melania works colour!</td></tr>
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My <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estella_(Great_Expectations)" target="_blank">Estella</a> and I have our daily phone chats that always include the latest fashion offerings featured on The Daily Mail which we both never miss. Estella, after four decades of GSL tutelage, has developed a keen eye but always wants to hear the GSL verdict from on high.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y6tTmP6iggA/WWQvD6vYyZI/AAAAAAAAIPk/RA7L0NxY7hA7_6YS4O-xXEpymR4ZxGEDgCLcBGAs/s1600/melaniaColorblock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="898" height="498" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Y6tTmP6iggA/WWQvD6vYyZI/AAAAAAAAIPk/RA7L0NxY7hA7_6YS4O-xXEpymR4ZxGEDgCLcBGAs/s640/melaniaColorblock.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FLOTUS isn't afraid to have a go at unusual, interesting, but still perfect for occasion outfits. Estella thinks she's fab but thinks she'd be even more so with shorter. darker hair. GSL disagrees. Melania, keep doing what you do!</td></tr>
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<br />
We both love Melania and to my best recollection she hasn't made a false fashion move since Inauguration Day. She's gradually becoming more comfortable at podium and it must be quite nerve racking delivering a speech in the 4th or 5th language you learned while under intense scrutiny.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-axxe0Gz3d3M/WWQ7Nx5Z7oI/AAAAAAAAIP0/FGJ--uxQBEgP-piTaehyWPw0z6sIN5iTwCLcBGAs/s1600/MelaniaWhiteCoat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="799" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-axxe0Gz3d3M/WWQ7Nx5Z7oI/AAAAAAAAIP0/FGJ--uxQBEgP-piTaehyWPw0z6sIN5iTwCLcBGAs/s640/MelaniaWhiteCoat.jpg" width="398" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everybody knows how The Den loves <a href="http://chicagolionsden.blogspot.com/2014/11/winter-white.html" target="_blank">Winter White!</a></td></tr>
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Love this!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6BQ9jhKNyJI/WWQ8JR1SbJI/AAAAAAAAIP4/s8bQOSM7rUsvswnqTrOVDXo4bMUbK_XDACLcBGAs/s1600/MelaniaWhiteSleeves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6BQ9jhKNyJI/WWQ8JR1SbJI/AAAAAAAAIP4/s8bQOSM7rUsvswnqTrOVDXo4bMUbK_XDACLcBGAs/s640/MelaniaWhiteSleeves.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Melania can work Summer White too as this was from last July's Republican convention.<br />
Yes, she took heat as her speech writer had lifted some rather mundane passages from Michelle Obama's speechwriter.</td></tr>
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<br />
...and this!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A58fSjwUqTs/WWQ9OfoSOsI/AAAAAAAAIP8/je0IfpzSR6A_6H85bdizgRmB9r6lhWcywCEwYBhgL/s1600/MelaniaBD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="799" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A58fSjwUqTs/WWQ9OfoSOsI/AAAAAAAAIP8/je0IfpzSR6A_6H85bdizgRmB9r6lhWcywCEwYBhgL/s640/MelaniaBD.jpg" width="398" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mrs. Trump's LBD<br />
Estella, those long locks add dramatic updo volume!</td></tr>
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Getting Shifty...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_eSjSWdEnGA/WWRIvUPckzI/AAAAAAAAIQo/m16l9Gj6j0cqnkW0UGrP4HbMPB2EHiApwCLcBGAs/s1600/MelaniaShifty.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1152" data-original-width="683" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_eSjSWdEnGA/WWRIvUPckzI/AAAAAAAAIQo/m16l9Gj6j0cqnkW0UGrP4HbMPB2EHiApwCLcBGAs/s640/MelaniaShifty.png" width="378" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Flapper-Fringe comeback is official.</td></tr>
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...updoing by day<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0cdal4UFqMw/WWQ-VGgNkmI/AAAAAAAAIQA/GvUWDW6ynF4JxS19ADmkwDSQklpHQ1gKwCLcBGAs/s1600/MelaniachildrenHospital.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="669" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0cdal4UFqMw/WWQ-VGgNkmI/AAAAAAAAIQA/GvUWDW6ynF4JxS19ADmkwDSQklpHQ1gKwCLcBGAs/s640/MelaniachildrenHospital.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This young girl wanted a selfie with FLOTUS at a children's hospital.</td></tr>
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<br />
....and more colour!!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XvroUyPkWl8/WWRASe905wI/AAAAAAAAIQQ/9o4U2Orv6hQ7CfhZohnloMOr_Dqv5bKngCLcBGAs/s1600/Melania-Trump-landing-in-Poland-991604.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="590" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XvroUyPkWl8/WWRASe905wI/AAAAAAAAIQQ/9o4U2Orv6hQ7CfhZohnloMOr_Dqv5bKngCLcBGAs/s640/Melania-Trump-landing-in-Poland-991604.jpg" width="558" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking smashing in emerald green when arriving in Poland,</td></tr>
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At the G-20 summit there were lots of stylish First Ladies:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9dsbAnRAeqA/WWQ_N9xQPPI/AAAAAAAAIQI/TWKC0TUa5MwvVCzxh3dRL-y05c6nZha2QCEwYBhgL/s1600/MelaniaMacron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="712" data-original-width="445" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9dsbAnRAeqA/WWQ_N9xQPPI/AAAAAAAAIQI/TWKC0TUa5MwvVCzxh3dRL-y05c6nZha2QCEwYBhgL/s640/MelaniaMacron.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Melania is France's First Lady Brigitte Macron a former school teacher who married a man several years her junior. I'm sure a RomCom is now being developed where a 41year old teacher and her 15 year old student meet cute.<br />
She does have a nice set of gams but the dress is too short for a G-20 First Spouse event.</td></tr>
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Hemline Issues...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FEk6LNDRj-g/WWRGXM44kPI/AAAAAAAAIQg/LZcW4FCcTCYkVvIUKXKna_e1avVlA_wJgCLcBGAs/s1600/BrigitteMacronJulianaAwada.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FEk6LNDRj-g/WWRGXM44kPI/AAAAAAAAIQg/LZcW4FCcTCYkVvIUKXKna_e1avVlA_wJgCLcBGAs/s640/BrigitteMacronJulianaAwada.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brigitte Macron with Argentina's Juliana Awada. I'm old enough to remember when it was considered bad form for forty-something school teachers to cavort with 15 year old boys and micro-minis on 64 year old women at Official State Functions was a no-no.</td></tr>
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Moving on...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zp2Ea8O-K-o/WWREFK-LtaI/AAAAAAAAIQY/aNlzGViOreA_Tj1PHUBcAR_cjFRkcWYpgCLcBGAs/s1600/MelaniaJulianaAwada.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="308" data-original-width="428" height="460" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Zp2Ea8O-K-o/WWREFK-LtaI/AAAAAAAAIQY/aNlzGViOreA_Tj1PHUBcAR_cjFRkcWYpgCLcBGAs/s640/MelaniaJulianaAwada.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Melania with Argentina's First Lady Juliana Awada during a recent White House visit. GSL would love some Bilateral Negotiations with Ms Awada.</td></tr>
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<br />
This is where it all started.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N1lZ9Ko48qs/WWQ_N8S0ojI/AAAAAAAAIQE/Q8gMqSeFCRsj2OOx2kFgHLyv6RZhDCn6wCEwYBhgL/s1600/melania.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="306" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N1lZ9Ko48qs/WWQ_N8S0ojI/AAAAAAAAIQE/Q8gMqSeFCRsj2OOx2kFgHLyv6RZhDCn6wCEwYBhgL/s640/melania.jpg" width="366" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was at the Inauguration back in January and this is one of the greatest outfits I've ever seen.</td></tr>
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<br />
and then a backlash...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TgQn58e-HQg/WWRJ6mcQr6I/AAAAAAAAIQs/CyO0KQtAN4g5Lhqbfgs2PjiIW66yTnZPQCLcBGAs/s1600/jackie-0f2e086b-a812-4ce0-bf36-07c10065daec.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="455" data-original-width="480" height="606" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TgQn58e-HQg/WWRJ6mcQr6I/AAAAAAAAIQs/CyO0KQtAN4g5Lhqbfgs2PjiIW66yTnZPQCLcBGAs/s640/jackie-0f2e086b-a812-4ce0-bf36-07c10065daec.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Many noted that Melania was 'channeling' Jackie.</td></tr>
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The days following Inauguration had some Jackie fans viciously hating on our Melania and some members of the press have been conspicuously mean spirited to Melania, Ivanka, and several women associated with the Trump White House. GSL didn't like the Love Jackie-Hate Melania mud slinging that ensued as I don't think many of those hating on Melania have thought this through. GSL is a Jackie fan but like most of us, she wasn't perfect and had some unflattering moments.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WkluZ1r_z7M/WWRNiy9YhqI/AAAAAAAAIQ0/iOo1xGsZZSgyr6lhEwTJqTTFVLMxQ1gngCLcBGAs/s1600/JackieAri.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="716" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WkluZ1r_z7M/WWRNiy9YhqI/AAAAAAAAIQ0/iOo1xGsZZSgyr6lhEwTJqTTFVLMxQ1gngCLcBGAs/s640/JackieAri.jpg" width="446" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We wonder if those hating on Melania do so because she is the wife of a man they think won a <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/1997/nov/09/news/mn-51973" target="_blank">rigged Presidential election</a> or they think she's fair game for marrying a "vulgar billionaire".<br />
The classy Aristotle Onassis used to boast to a former Senior Kennedy White House Advisor (I believe it was Ted Sorensen) in disgusting detail about bedroom activities he enjoyed with our former First Lady the previous evening. When Ari died, Jackie shook down his grieving daughter for $35million on the airport tarmac before the Greek Shipping Magnate's body was cold.</td></tr>
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<br />
We do know Jackie Kennedy despised Martin Luther King, and would publicly belittle teenage daughter <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vhFnTjia_I" target="_blank">Sweet-Tooth Caroline</a> when she ordered dessert and tell her she was getting fat and nobody would ever want to marry her. Jackie told designer Oleg Cassini how she wanted to wear classy outfits that fat middle aged American women couldn't get. From what I've read, Jackie was a world class Fat Shamer. When Melania's husband mentions how a female employee "sure likes her candy" or returns fire on Rosie O'Donnell who had mocked his physical appearance, he's labeled a misogynist while Jackie remains beloved as a Style Icon to Instagram Feminists. The classy Rosie O'Donnell speculated over twitter to 1.1 million followers whether Melania's 11 year old son was autistic. GSL's first instinct is to be protective of devoted mothers of young children and doesn't like seeing them being attacked by those who keep two sets of books.<br />
<br />
Jackie Kennedy was a fine First Lady and devoted mother with great style and grace and the same can be said about our current First Lady.<br />
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<br />GSLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903412564467078538noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6421822117996903245.post-6774716348414698762017-06-13T02:50:00.000-07:002019-06-19T01:08:50.036-07:00Four Sisters and a Mother<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j4zLMRVnnH0/WT-QaV10IGI/AAAAAAAAIKw/nEHqg3awyH0nB60Bv_r8KReQc6A4QZ-KACLcB/s1600/20170611_154542.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-j4zLMRVnnH0/WT-QaV10IGI/AAAAAAAAIKw/nEHqg3awyH0nB60Bv_r8KReQc6A4QZ-KACLcB/s640/20170611_154542.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Two Sisters, Valencia</i> (1909) by Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida<br />
Art Institute of Chicago</td></tr>
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<br />
This past Sunday had a lot going on here in Chicago. The annual Old Town Art Fair has been held every June for 70 years but GSL has an Ex on the Planning Committee who has created a little <i>Beer & Wine Garden Drama</i> for about 10 of those 70 years. GSL decided that a scorching hot and muggy 94 degrees wasn't likely to help her find 'deep in cups' closure. An indoor air-conditioned Drama-free venue seemed a far better option to whet one's aesthetic 'Whistle'.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">GSL boarded the Brown Line 'L' Train bound for the Loop and our wonderful Art Institute. As we snaked thru Old Town, GSL knelt for cover under window view as we passed over the Beer/Wine Garden.<br />
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The Art Institute of Chicago on Michigan Avenue sits right in front of Grant Park.</td></tr>
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I remembered that this was the very last day to see a work of iconic American art that hasn't been in Chicago since the Old Town Art Fair began.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ojHUCmd3qQo/WT-V42kaUgI/AAAAAAAAILI/wtLZo-zOYGEpNH8ybhCPCLwvsmgpasHigCLcB/s1600/20170611_153817.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ojHUCmd3qQo/WT-V42kaUgI/AAAAAAAAILI/wtLZo-zOYGEpNH8ybhCPCLwvsmgpasHigCLcB/s640/20170611_153817.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Upon arrival, I realized that my membership card had recently expired and had it renewed within a few short minutes.<br />
This floral arrangement is among the best I've ever seen.</td></tr>
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In fact, within 75 feet of each other for the first time ever were three of the most famous works of American Art. I'll bet you could guess one quite easily and the other two would come to mind in a short while.<br />
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But first, I always pay my respects to The Den's Kindred Spirit.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Paris Street, Rainy Day</em> by Gustave Caillebotte</td></tr>
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Then stop by to see the most beautiful painting in the collection.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Two Sisters on the Terrace</em> by Renoir.</td></tr>
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OK, ready for those three Icons of American Art?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>American Gothic</em> by Grant Wood.</td></tr>
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This next one has inspired numerous imitations.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Nighthawks</em> by Edward Hopper</td></tr>
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This last one was here for only a short time as it's owned by the French State.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em>Whistler's Mother</em> by James McNeill Whistler<br />
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Early in '<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_for_Jeeves" target="_blank">Ring for Jeeves</a>' a jubilant waiter at The Goose & Gerkin boasted of putting 5 bob down (at 33 to 1) on filly 'Whistler's Mother' in the Epsom Oaks. For such a dour looking old widow, she gets around quite well doesn't she.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I picked up a couple of books in the gift shop.</td></tr>
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I had no idea <em>Whistler's Mother</em> was so well known internationally. By coincidence, Den reader, Yvonne from Down Under, commented on a post I did on <a href="http://chicagolionsden.blogspot.com/2016/04/admen-famous-well-past-15-minutes.html" target="_blank">Norman Rockwell and Andy Warhol</a> mentioning how <i>Whistler's Mother</i> was then on tour in Melbourne and only a couple hours prior to her comment, I was reading a novel by the fabulous Scottish crime writer <a href="http://chicagolionsden.blogspot.com/2016/04/josephine-tey.html" target="_blank">Josephine Tey</a> where a central character was said to resemble <i>Whistler's Mother. </i>I didn't know then that she'd soon make her way to Chicago.<br />
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The small and combative James Abbott McNeill Whistler had feuds with Oscar Wilde, who satirized him in <em>The Picture of</em> <em>Dorian Gray,</em> and John Ruskin. Whistler's guiding principle was "Art for Art's Sake" and he wasn't bashful about ruffling feathers and even wrote a book titled <em>The Art of Making Enemies</em>.<br />
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Portrait of Whistler by</div>
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William Merritt Chase circa 1885 resides in Boston's MFA.</div>
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Whistler and the entire Art World thought Chase lampooned Whistler's dandyish ways and preening self regard. Whistler and Chase remained 'frenemies' forever after.</div>
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GSL wonders how Whistler handled his Beer/Wine Garden Drama.</div>
GSLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903412564467078538noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6421822117996903245.post-55328522342537835602017-05-23T11:50:00.002-07:002021-02-09T02:26:56.379-08:00The Write Stuff and Dark Arts<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vIxB6pKMc60/WSRZHBFFI9I/AAAAAAAAIFo/HI6P2kpp7XYzFYEMY_HlzZtHiOp6So1qgCLcB/s1600/ProustKarlieKloss.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vIxB6pKMc60/WSRZHBFFI9I/AAAAAAAAIFo/HI6P2kpp7XYzFYEMY_HlzZtHiOp6So1qgCLcB/s640/ProustKarlieKloss.jpg" width="458" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interesting article in the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/15/t-magazine/william-friedkin-marcel-proust.html?_r=0" target="_blank">New York Times</a> by movie director William Friedkin who was married to Jeanne Moreau when he first began retracing Proust's early steps. I intend on secluding myself for a couple months and reading all 7 installments of <em>In Search of Lost Time</em>. I've tried doing the audiobooks but it's far too subtle and complex to pull you in while driving.<br />
*this pic was poached from <a href="http://slimpaley.com/fashion/hang-it-up/" target="_blank">Slim Paley</a> who identifies the model (or is it designer?) as Karlie Kloss</td></tr>
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Long absence so much to catch up on. First off a few books. John le Carre's wonderful memoir <i>The</i> <i>Pigeon Tunnel</i> is narrated (audiobook) by the master himself. Like P. G. Wodehouse and Patrick O'Brian, le Carre' elevated his genre into the very highest rank of Literature. I made the mistake of reading his magnum opus <em>A Perfect Spy</em> and beginning <em>To Kill a</em> <i>Mockingbird </i>the<i> next </i>day. Atticus Finch & Scout never had a chance so soon after inhabiting the fascinating interior life of Magnus Pym.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">85 year old John le Carre' at his home in Penzance, Cornwall. GSL has been summoned to St. Ives, Cornwall this August (but might be delayed til next summer) so may have to arrange for a meet. He's still going strong and has a new novel out in September: <i>A Legacy of Spies</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-joQ49Xqnrl8/WSRrl1Wbg3I/AAAAAAAAIGU/ztf3RibGGUEL3ZE1JwB3eyWIKYH2-vrWQCLcB/s1600/Mailer.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="354" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-joQ49Xqnrl8/WSRrl1Wbg3I/AAAAAAAAIGU/ztf3RibGGUEL3ZE1JwB3eyWIKYH2-vrWQCLcB/s640/Mailer.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Read Norman Mailer's <em>The Spooky Art: Some Thoughts on Writing</em> and came away slightly less impressed with Mailer although it was an interesting read. Mailer's magnum opus was <em>Harlot's Ghost</em> about the CIA that unfortunately didn't find the wide audience and critical acclaim it deserved.</td></tr>
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Interesting to compare le Carre' and Mailer as both had massive international fame at an early age. Mailer set out to become a prominent Public Intellectual while le Carre' kept a low profile and eschewed literary awards which Mailer craved. It's become something of a joke that le Carre' freely acknowledges in the <i>Pigeon Tunnel </i>Introduction that he always resolutely proclaims, during an interview how he's a private man and this is the absolute last interview he'll ever do and blasts writers that always seek to dazzle while dining at High Table (was he thinking of Mailer?) when they should be secluded in their writing cabin. A few of us noticed how le Carre' began these tantrums before doing about 5 extensive telly interviews, offering his biographer (the brilliant Adam Sisman) 40+ hours of recorded interviews, and then of course the memoir....and let's not forget that <i>A Perfect</i> <i>Spy</i> was hugely autobiographical. While hearing le Carre's reluctant admission, I couldn't help but think of a very talented writer I know who has shared more personal details than I know about my own mother or virtually anybody else while simultaneously proclaiming how private she is and then has reminded me how private she is...across 4 different social media platforms. Like my talented friend, le Carre isn't really private but goes thru periods of craving solitude and has a few things he'd rather keep hidden or offer a more interesting account as biographer Sisman noted a few <i>Pigeon Tunnel</i> anecdotes had suddenly acquired a fresh polish....always a telltale sign of a first-rate creative mind.<br />
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Any thoughts on John le Carre', Norman Mailer, Proust, or recent reads?GSLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903412564467078538noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6421822117996903245.post-23287369264065025322017-01-21T06:57:00.001-08:002017-07-21T18:57:51.003-07:00Recent Developments...and Zsa Zsa<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gKJHF0oa9Ak/WINlFbxGUAI/AAAAAAAAHlA/DnDECdN0RZszuu2P7NcpFsdoYwowh_kSwCLcB/s1600/FFJ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gKJHF0oa9Ak/WINlFbxGUAI/AAAAAAAAHlA/DnDECdN0RZszuu2P7NcpFsdoYwowh_kSwCLcB/s640/FFJ.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This movie deserves to be seen. GSL has never been a fan of Meryl Streep or Hugh Grant but both were superb in this little gem. We were introduced to the real FFJ about 15 years ago by <a href="http://chicagolionsden.blogspot.com/2014/08/dramatis-personae.html" target="_blank">Terry Drama</a> as he owns an original recording of her Carnegie Hall Massacre of<em> Queen of the Night</em>. Yes, I saw Meryl Streep's Golden Globes speech with her sudden concern for press freedoms. Where was Meryl and her Hollywood 'Activists', so concerned about Women's Empowerment, when the first female editor of the New York Times, Jill Abramson, got sacked for expressing outrage over the Obama Administration's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONyy-VspGX8" target="_blank">criminalization of press freedoms</a>?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With his strong, subdued performance in FFJ, The Den has considered elevating HG to <em>Den Whipping Boy</em> <em>Emeritus</em>.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We lost George Michael. His superb album, <em>Older</em>, came out in 1996 barely making a ripple in America. GSL had <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHAQlFq6TFg" target="_blank">Fastlove</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyEhb9cj2yk" target="_blank">Move On</a> in heavy rotation during the late '90s.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gRR1jwDDFiE/WINyIDpjm0I/AAAAAAAAHlo/Sslg3Eo_-f0PlhFLQfeaPFeUWQImFgwawCLcB/s1600/zsa-zsa-gabor-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gRR1jwDDFiE/WINyIDpjm0I/AAAAAAAAHlo/Sslg3Eo_-f0PlhFLQfeaPFeUWQImFgwawCLcB/s640/zsa-zsa-gabor-7.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We lost Zsa Zsa. This is how I remember her, in a similar OTT outfit going on the Johnny Carson show dripping in jewels. Johnny adored Zsa Zsa and was perfect straight man as she tried to remember, in that thick Hungrarian accent, which husband she was on while proudly replying to Johnny she was indeed a marvelous housekeeper: "<i>dahling</i>...<em>every time I leave a man, I keep his house.....</em>"<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_s4VUX5P2Gc/WINzc8sg8FI/AAAAAAAAHl0/B1bjpYf7B1IkHAU-JqN_OWS4pDxh9x5LwCLcB/s1600/ZsaZsaMugshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_s4VUX5P2Gc/WINzc8sg8FI/AAAAAAAAHl0/B1bjpYf7B1IkHAU-JqN_OWS4pDxh9x5LwCLcB/s640/ZsaZsaMugshot.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Zsa Zsa has always been a huge inspiration to The Den's <a href="http://chicagolionsden.blogspot.com/2016/05/man-talk-sausage-pinch.html" target="_blank">Sausage Pinch Workshop</a> attendees. In her honor, we are re-naming our workshop the <em>Zsa Zsa Gabor Institute For Advanced Sausage Pinch Studies</em>. Oh sure, everybody belittled her meager acting talents, but nobody has ever emerged from a Rolls Royce to <a href="http://people.com/archive/zsa-zsa-gabor-has-been-courted-before-but-this-time-its-a-trial-vol-32-no-11/" target="_blank">bitch-slap a cop</a> (6 foot 4 and thickset) on Rodeo Drive with greater panache.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We lost Debbie Reynolds and her daughter, Carrie Fisher. Whenever Debbie Reynolds is mentioned, I remember this sweet little man I called on in the mid 1980s just out of Uni. Since I was only 22ish, and looked 12, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a return call from the Purchasing Director of a fairly large stationary company (now long gone) only minutes after leaving a message with an underling. A few days later he greeted me in lobby and once back in his office, shared a detailed recollection of meeting my mother at a convention in Miami Beach in the early 1960s when she got dolled-up for a night out with my father. He closed his charming anecdote with: "your mother was the spitting image of Debbie Reynolds..."<br />
***Debbie Reynolds was also quite a collector of Hollywood Memorabilia which our friend Jill posted on <a href="http://www.everythingjustso.net/2017/01/with-gratitude-to-debbie-reynolds.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<br />GSLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903412564467078538noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6421822117996903245.post-10679726163365180002016-11-27T12:00:00.000-08:002017-07-31T17:32:18.131-07:00Sophie's Choice<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Canada's First Lady: Sophie Gregoire Trudeau is a stunner who first caught GSL's keen eye during Kate Middleton's recent triumphant Canadian tour the Den featured <a href="http://chicagolionsden.blogspot.com/2016/09/kate-does-canada.html" target="_blank">here</a>. With the extensive International scrutiny always put on American leaders, we thought we'd get in on the act and train our sights on a few Foreign leaders...especially those <em>All The Big Names</em> fawn over....<br />
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We think Georgie-Porgie may have been on to something. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prince George knew something was amiss the moment he deplaned in British Columbia.</td></tr>
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This is when he smelled the rat...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Oh hell no Prime!" is exactly what that Royal body language is saying. Prince George knows a schmuck when he sees one and knows as long as he's in knee pants he needn't put on a false front.</td></tr>
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...and then we saw this. Is it a Canadian tradition for the PM's wife to spontaneously break out in song during Martin Luther King Day Celebrations?<br />
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...then this. These two have a terminal case of <a href="http://chicagolionsden.blogspot.com/2015/02/media-hollow-and-first-hipster.html" target="_blank">Media Hollow</a>. You can see how their love of spotlight triggers a smarmy persona deluded with a mistaken sense they are charming.<br />
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...but nothing could have prepared us for this...<br />
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Now a few personality quirks are natural but we sense a tone deaf quality that is already manifesting itself in Affairs of State. The PM's ridiculously effusive eulogy for the murderous dictator Fidel Castro may be a telling indicator as his honeymoon ends and difficult controversial decisions lie ahead. It doesn't appear Mrs Gregoire Trudeau will provide a helpful sounding board at home.<br />
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You know if that PM gig doesn't work out, The Den thinks they'd make a fab <em>Lounge Act</em> like Steve & Eydie back in the day...GSL just knows they'd knock 'em dead at the Winnipeg Holiday Inn-Airport.<br />
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Treat youself to a deep dish of Steve & Eydie Retro Schmaltz below:<br />
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***Oh we are well aware of our future POTUS's many shortcomings and they are rightly given saturation coverage (though oftentimes without The Den's illuminating context and precision) worldwide but also keep your eye on these telegenic media darlings.<br />
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<br />GSLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903412564467078538noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6421822117996903245.post-31407306106679197262016-11-26T11:18:00.000-08:002017-01-14T13:03:35.046-08:00Trumpus Maximus<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DJT ain't bashful about putting up his dukes.</td></tr>
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Brass Balls are Back!<br />
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The Den has been getting heavy drive-by traffic since the election but we thought it best to let the passage of time heal wounds and then perhaps GSL's spot on analysis can sink in and better help you deal with recent events and what lies ahead.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camille Paglia has Brass Balls!</td></tr>
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As loyal Den readers (across 6 continents and counting) can attest, we were not Trump supporters early on. Carly Fiorina was who we hoped to see grow into a formidable candidate and leader and first female POTUS but after one good debate showed herself not to have the necessary mettle to win and lead. I mistakenly favorably compared her up and down biz career to George Washington and Steve Jobs who had early career stumbles and came back smarter and willed themselves into greatness. That analogy was falsely premised because when Carly got fired at Hewlett-Packard, she ran out the door with a golden parachute and there was no 2nd Act.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aussie Julian Assange has a pair of Brassies the size of coconuts.</td></tr>
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By all the sniveling hysterics, you'd think Hannibal's War Elephants were stampeding thru the Catskills & San Gabrials to rape and pillage New York and LA. All this melodrama and google emigration search trending isn't anything but a <em>Free Radical Chic</em> group hug hissy fit taking their cues from <em>All The Big Names</em>. <em>Misogyny</em> has become the most overused and misused word in the English language. Was misogyny ever used to describe the mean-spirited criticism of Margaret Thatcher? Like when all those morons sang "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead" when her death was announced. Where was the Big Name Feminist's outrage when Sarah Palin was described as having that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEvkOPidWkY" target="_blank">"slutty flight attendant look"</a> or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_QVzYAWkKo" target="_blank">when they went after her 14 year old daughter?</a> By the way have you ever heard Trump belittle a group of young women the way Gloria Steinem does <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr1qLVSOe7c" target="_blank">here</a>, make a more mean spirited comment than former Secretary of State Madelleine Albright does <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-WBy1B4gFE" target="_blank">here</a>, or made a more point-blank sexist comment than Michelle Obama does <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cjuvnVBzlo" target="_blank">here?</a> Insisting on double standards while expressing outrage over double standards must be exhausting.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Den is smitten with Ann Coulter who gladly takes on all comers. Any time. Any place. She can flat out bring it!<br />
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Were you outraged over the violence stoking rhetoric Trump used? What about when Obama <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/ben-smith/2008/06/obama-brings-a-gun-to-a-knife-fight-009692" target="_blank">used it.</a>? Are you outraged that the Russkys may have hacked into some emails exposing the Democrats double-dealing and skullduggery? Were you outraged over reports Obama tapped close ally German Chancellor <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/10407282/Barack-Obama-approved-tapping-Angela-Merkels-phone-3-years-ago.html" target="_blank">Angela Merkel's cell phone</a>? Are you worried Trump might take the law into his own hands like when Obama <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/04/23/the-u-s-keeps-killing-americans-in-drone-strikes-mostly-by-accident/" target="_blank">executed at least 2 Americans</a> without Constitutionally guaranteed due process?<br />
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The Den digs the Pride of Ireland, Conor McGregor, whose <em>Billionaire Strut</em> is taking the sporting world by storm.<br />
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The following vid perfectly illustrates what the election was about and the clueless, sneering condescension of the cultural elites. Watching this, I suddenly realized why Martin Amis mostly fails miserably as a novelist while being the world's greatest writing talent. He doesn't understand the first thing about people so can't create interesting characters or gripping narratives but does understand writing better than anybody so writes about that with profound force and insight. Only the BBC and Martin Amis could think that Amis moving to Brooklyn would give him a deep understanding of America. He sounds like a long-in-tooth back-bench editorial staff hack for <em>The Guardian</em>. Amis' lazy, erroneous arguments are nearly overshadowed by the BBC's incompetent interviewer.<br />
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53% of white women voted for Trump. Minorities will come around to Trump very quickly after they see what he is about. Trump showed he had the brass balls to take on the Establishment Media, The Republican Establishment, Fox News, the Koch Brothers, the Bush Dynasty, and the ruling elite so now his voters believe he will impose that same force of will to rescue the American economy. Last week William Clay Ford Jr (great-grandson of Henry Ford) called Trump to tell him Ford wasn't going to move the Lincoln MKC production out of the country and will now keep it in Kentucky. This weekend Trump has been putting the thumbscrews to Carrier, an air conditioner manufacturer in Indianapolis, that announced plans to lay off 1500 workers and move production to Mexico. The Carrier leadership is shitting bricks now because Trump put them on blast and now his supporters would rather pay more for a domestic make competitor than buy from a company that abandoned their fellow American workers. Trump supporters also notice how that Conde' Naste Crowd boo-hooing over the election won't buy American if something more fashionable is on offer. All that emigration google trending is just another fashionable pose they strike. They won't go anywhere if it involves sacrifice. Trump voters are the ones that don a uniform or badge and take up arms to serve and protect. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Obama has been very classy in how he's handling the transition much like George W. Bush was and unlike the Clinton to Bush transition. Obama's greatness lies ahead and trust me, or just remember I said it, these 2 will become great allies. I <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oprah-winfrey-reflects-president-elect-trump-hope-is-still-alive-946316" target="_blank">agree with Oprah</a><span id="goog_533021140"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a><span id="goog_533021141"></span> that Trump has been humbled and after living a life of extreme privilege was moved by the throngs of ordinary Americans desperately needing a champion turning out en masse (always undercounted by news reports) to support him and now need him to deliver.</td></tr>
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My co-worker is a 45yo husband and father of 3 born and raised in Manchester, England of Indian/Muslim extraction. We rode by the Lordstown, Ohio GM plant a few days ago where they build the Chevy Cruze and I told "Chan" how a local informed me there are plans to close that plant and move it to Mexico and about that phone call Trump had with Bill Ford. My buddy Chan said: "no fucking way Trump will let them leave....Trump's a badass and that's why I like him".<br />
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GSL just loves the <em>All The Big Names</em> au courant smugness in this charming vid!<br />
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<br />GSLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903412564467078538noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6421822117996903245.post-23798638877999115472016-10-31T14:34:00.000-07:002016-12-04T14:27:32.771-08:00Oh, what a tangled web...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/His_Girl_Friday" target="_blank">Her Girl Friday</a>:: Huma Abedin, (this is what Amal Clooney will look like after she ends the hunger strike) who is Hillary Clinton's closest confidante, is now lawyering up and lying low.</td></tr>
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Friday night had GSL's beloved Cubs playing in a World Series game at Wrigley Field for the first time in 71 years and I wound up not watching the game or even wanting to. GSL, like the rest of the political world, was rocked by the revelation that the FBI Criminal Investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails was back on.<br />
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After hunkering down in The Den's Situation Room monitoring developments, GSL offers the following astute analysis based on how things stand now.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is Huma's classy husband who is under criminal investigation for allegedly sending pics like this (many with 4yo son) to underage girls.</td></tr>
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The Clinton camp scorched earth defense is the only card they can play. Hillary gets to play victim which is always her go-to move. The FBI Director James Comey (appointed by Obama) who as recently as last week received high praise from running mate along with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, et al....is now depicted as driven by partisan motives with the always convenient S & M (sexist/misogynist) subtext to stoke outrage among true believers.<br />
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FBI: the additional 650,000 emails were found on Huma Abedin's perv hubby Anthony Weiner's laptop (apparently shared with Huma) who resigned in disgrace from Congress due to an earlier sexting scandal. The New York FBI office subpoenaed and seized Weiner's electronic devices (relating to his indictment over sexting a 15yo girl) and stumbled on this mother lode. What is noteworthy is they started looking at the laptop several weeks ago and only officially notified FBI Director Comey last Thursday, the day before he sent that letter to Congressional leaders of both parties notifying them that recent discoveries regarding HRC's email case merited further investigation. They then sought a warrant allowing them to search the laptop specifically for HRC correspondence. I'm sure once those local FBI agents stumbled onto all those HRC emails, they took a peek and already know there are explosive revelations coming and intimated thru colleagues so that Director Comey had a sense he was on solid ground before sending that game changer letter. Senators Reid and Boxer have made scathing comments against Director Comey, a man they had enormous respect for a week ago. What tells crafty old pro GSL, that Comey is holding a good hand is how White House Spokesman Josh Earnest just issued a surprisingly strong statement backing Comey which tells me that Obama moles at Justice/FBI have passed along that Comey has a strong hand and Hillary is holding <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_man%27s_hand" target="_blank">Aces & Eights.</a><br />
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Huma: hard to predict how this will shake out for Huma. Is the laptop with the motherlode really hubby Wiener's and she never used it? If so, how did thousands of emails to HRC's private server get there. Maybe Weiner surreptitiously downloaded all those emails to his laptop as an 'insurance policy' to have a hole card should he ever need pardon, lucrative opportunities, or launch a political comeback.<br />
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Only recently, on this <a href="http://chicagolionsden.blogspot.com/2016/07/broadcast-news.html" target="_blank">post</a>, I praised Democratic National Committee Chair Donna Brazile as one of the most honest people in public life. WikiLeaks now proves that false. While working as commentator for CNN, she secretly shared debate questions ahead of time to Hillary's campaign team. CNN was quick to cut all ties to DB. If this was any week but this week, Bernie supporters would demand her immediate resignation from DNC Chairmanship which now will come no later than next week. A stunning fall from grace.</div>
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Unfortunately, Diogenes lantern couldn't shine on an honest man or woman in today's Washington.</div>
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<br />GSLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903412564467078538noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6421822117996903245.post-7752916047247937892016-10-06T06:56:00.002-07:002016-10-06T12:32:18.656-07:00A Full Deck<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">GSL opened for business 52 years ago today. I only vaguely recall this shoot but can assure you that no hair product was involved. Yes, I know; that suit looks like I slept in it.</td></tr>
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Picking up Mum at Midway in a couple hours. Tonight over cake and ice cream, we'll celebrate her life's work.<br />
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If October is not the very best month of the year, I don't know what is. Only May could even make an argument. From now til Christmas Eve is my fave time of year.<br />
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Hoping your Oktoberfest is off to a good start.GSLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903412564467078538noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6421822117996903245.post-11959271625964561692016-10-03T17:42:00.000-07:002017-08-09T23:47:19.366-07:00October Surprises<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julian Assange, Founder of WikiLeaks<br />
There are reports <a href="http://www.torontosun.com/2016/10/03/hillary-clinton-suggested-taking-out-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-with-drone-report" target="_blank">Hillary Clinton wanted a drone strike to take out Mr. Assange</a>. <br />
HRC will be taking shelter from incoming tomorrow.</td></tr>
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Tomorrow should be interesting as Julian Assange releases documents that are promised to be damaging to Hillary Clinton just over a month prior to election day. Much speculation has been made to the hacker's identity with the Clinton camp and Obama Administration expressing outrage the Russians (who they allege to be the perps) would try to influence an American Presidential Election.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Democratic National Committee staffer <a href="http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Man-Shot-Killed-in-Northwest-DC-386316391.html" target="_blank">Seth Rich was mudered in Washington</a>. Shot in the back twice and nothing was stolen. No witnesses, no suspects, no leads. Julian Assange put a $20,000 reward for tips leading to his assailants successful prosecution. Was Seth Rich the leaker of the DNC emails confirming top brass worked against Bernie Sanders or is this a clever Assange smokescreen?</td></tr>
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Perhaps Obama forgets he went out of his way to support the Remainers in the UK's EU referendum along with a threat they would be punished and pushed to the "back of the queue" if they Brexited. Obama & Clinton also may think we didn't notice the Obama <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/international/291552-state-depts-funding-of-anti-netanyahu-campaign-out-of-line" target="_blank">State Department appropriating $465,000 in TaxPayer funds</a> supporting efforts to oust Israel Prime Minister 'Bibi' Netanyahu.<br />
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Here is Obama lecturing and threatening the Brits not to dare disobey him and leave the EU. The Brits answered with a resounding STFU.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Den will be providing a Trump Survival Guide for those needing comfort to endure our next President. The Hitler comparisons are ridiculous. Have you ever read <i>Mein Kampf</i>? I have. Hitler put all his cards on the table well in advance.<br />
Trump has a nearly 50 year track record of mostly successfully doing business with people all over the world. Actual psychopaths show their true colors early on as Hitler did.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vBBguVL8dX0/V_LwK1KEwmI/AAAAAAAAGLo/jHpohpj7O0wZBrgjQp2YqKkF9xnC-a-EQCLcB/s1600/Bill-Clinton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="474" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vBBguVL8dX0/V_LwK1KEwmI/AAAAAAAAGLo/jHpohpj7O0wZBrgjQp2YqKkF9xnC-a-EQCLcB/s640/Bill-Clinton.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="640" /></a><br />
I always found Bill Clinton's actual treatment of women far worse than Trump's ungentlemanly comments. Clinton is one of those men I despise who use their power and influence to prey upon vulnerable women. The rape allegation by Juanita Broaddrick is taken very seriously by Obama's favorite online newsource, Vox, since she had a highly credible contemporaneous immediate aftermath witness. Here is Vox's account <a href="http://www.vox.com/2016/1/6/10722580/bill-clinton-juanita-broaddrick" target="_blank">with lengthy NBC interview here.</a> And no this isn't just about Bill, Hillary was always complicit in silencing, intimidating, and harassing the women or in Monica Lewinsky's case, trotting White House staff out to trash a young woman to the press as a "delusional stalker".</div>
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GSL wonders if Trump supporter Kid Rock has lost any fans?</div>
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<br />GSLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903412564467078538noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6421822117996903245.post-68325600495575569772016-09-27T08:45:00.001-07:002016-10-02T09:24:37.759-07:00Kate Conquers Canada<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ladies, retract those claws and admit K-Middy rocks this red!</td></tr>
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I think my K-Middy was tired of <a href="http://naomipicks.blogspot.com/2016/09/september-2016-carpeted-items-doggie.html" target="_blank">all the abuse</a> and stepped up her game just as ol' GSL knew she would.<br />
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This should make those naysayers (you know who you are) Evergreen with envy.</div>
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Kate trying to remain calm amid the <i>thunder</i>. Not sure if 'Scorch' is with the Royal Household.</div>
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Canada's First Lady Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau</div>
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That lid perhaps better suited for an Al Capone biopic premiere.</div>
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Georgie Porgie Pudding Pie; stiffed the PM and made him cry.</div>
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The Den likes ol' George who <a href="http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-moms/news/prince-george-rejects-justin-trudeaus-high-five-in-canada-w442083" target="_blank">can't be bothered to high-five</a> the backroom boy of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Group_of_Eight" target="_blank">G-8</a></div>
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<span style="color: red;">UPDATE</span>: The Den is delighted to report one of our workshop attendees has gone on to glory.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://chicagolionsden.blogspot.com/2016/05/man-talk-sausage-pinch.html" target="_blank">Sausage Pinch Workshop</a> Honor Graduate Mary Jordan of Bellevue, Ohio had a little tussle with a Mickey Ds employee.</td></tr>
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<br />GSLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04903412564467078538noreply@blogger.com8