Gender Studies with GSL

 

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 admire, 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 admirable than winning a Nobel Prize in Physics AND Chemistry.
pic from Timmy Jr on Flickr

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.

A couple years ago celebrating 'The Notorious RBG' became trendy with all the Usual Suspects late arriving to what we Crafty Old Pros 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.
pic: Wikipedia

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.

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.

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 Feminist S & M Fantasies. 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.

Maybe all that male oppression of 19C women writers can be laid at the feet of  'misogynist' George Eliot whose 1856 essay Silly Novels by Lady Novelists expressed disgust over their low quality...yet we've been told women writers couldn't get published?

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 Middlemarch considered the greatest novel in the English language by none other than Julian Barnes, Martin Amis, and polls by BBC and The Telegraph.
pic: Wikipedia

Hey girls, perhaps those Whine Merchants in the faculty lounges of Gender Studies (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 Middlemarch, 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!).

Nobel Prize winning Doris Lessing became a Feminist Icon with her touchstone The Golden Notebook.

 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!

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. 

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a woman in possession of a good intellect must be in want of a GSL.

I'll be here all week.

P.S. The Den has been especially disappointed by the neglect female readers have for Barbara Tuchman  and Hillary Mantel .  GSL is also grateful to Peter Hitchens for his recommending the largely forgotten Josephine Tey.

The Hungry Boy

Daniel Day-Lewis and Vicky Krieps in Phantom Thread
superbly written & directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

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 Ways of the World.

Today we introduce you to the greatest first meeting in the History of Cinema. It's The Hungry Boy scene from Phantom Thread the Den wrote about here. You may also recall, being Hopeless Romantics, we do not encourage May-December 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.

Just a word of caution on Phantom Thread. 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 The Love of Your Life or a dear lifelong friend to share it with would make it even more special. I would compare PT to Julian Barne's excellent novella The Sense of An Ending 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.

You'd be right to assume GSL has sugar-plum visions of ordering Welsh Rabbit...and some sausages.

Women We Love: Amber Butchart

A Stitch in Time 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.
pic from Metro

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 Terry Drama 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 A Stitch in Time, I was smitten with Amber Butchart and fascinated with the subject matter.

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 'Tru'.  Over Manhattans at our local, Drama effortlessly glides from belting out a little Diana Ross (his Love Hangover 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.

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.

CD, this show is right in your wheelhouse as Amber Butchart is in mine.

Have a look for yourself.

POTUS MAXIMUS & The Ingenue

On the right is Denmark's Prime Minister: Mette "Dumb-Dumb" Frederiksen

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.

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.

Danish PM Mette Frederiksen
Theatre of the 'Absurd'
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.

Now we know what you're thinking: "Come on GSL. you Crafty Old Pro, step in and help this poor girl fix the mess she put herself in." 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.

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.

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: 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..."

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....

**UPDATE:  It appears Miss Prime followed GSL's marching orders to the letter.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7389803/Trump-says-Danish-PM-wonderful-woman-phone-call-leader-called-nasty.html

Elements of Style: Phantom Thread

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.
pic from WWD

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 The Siblings Woodcock and The Den's core Philosophy are in perfect harmony.

We do recommend you set aside a couple hours and watch Phantom Thread 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 There Will Be Blood.

Daniel Day-Lewis as 'Reynolds Woodcock' in Phantom Thread.  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.

Reynold's imposing sister Cyril Woodcock perfectly played by Lesley Manville.
pic from Vogue

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...

The Magnificent MaiTai, with Jeans On, 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.

Man Talk Part 4- Put Up Your Dukes

Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi) in From Russia With Love shared GSL's impatience for bitchy broads
who try to take honorable men down.

As you may recall, several posts ago directly following the pathetic whimpers of Pussy Hat Poseurs and the Justice Kavanaugh Smear Campaign, The Den was itching to return fire on these Resentniks.

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:

                                                    Sticks & Stones may break my bones
                                                    But words will never hurt me

  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.

Here is dashing Little GSL (with Sam-Sam) minutes after absorbing Sticks & Stones transforming
his thin skin into a hide as impenetrable as a rhino in chain-mail onezy.

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
'woke' blond prattling virtue signals and measuring privilege.

Estella on her Welsh Pony, Tell Me Secrets, back in the day.

I started thinking how my Estella 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 QE2 when it comes to handling pups and ponies.  Also, the GSL Effect 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.

Here's 'Stel about 15 years ago as the Man Eating Battleship GSL helped shape.
Cool self-possession and borrowed quips had her making mince-meat of a schmuck every month

How did so many women lose their way?

The Godmother of Modern Feminism: Rosa Klebb
Disciple Rachel Maddow also self-inflicts the Butch-Bob

The Den's R & D department discovered a technical flaw in how women's self defense is taught and corrective action is underway.

Watch Rosa Klebb's encounter with a straight white male dripping with privilege and try not to look away.

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.

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.

Girls, time to toughen up.

***Man Talk is among The Den's most popular series. For others see Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Bringing Sexy Back

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.

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 Estella would gratefully confirm, GSL is a caboose man although he fully appreciates how a bodacious set of ta-tas enhance a woman's figure but even more so in silhouette rather than spilling into your Cosmo.

T & A can't carry the day...it's all about the hustle...

...and the Crazy Rich Asian version...

My Huckleberry Friend

My Estella 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:

Punxsutawney Phil, The Nostradamus of Rodents, 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.

Now back to Our Dear Audrey and that exquisitely charming showcase she's best remembered for: Breakfast at Tiffany's 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, Lovely and most beautiful, glamorous, and sexy women are not. Lovely is an aspect that exceeds beauty and glamour because it never fades nor recedes with familiarity. A Lovely young woman of 22 is even Lovelier at 62 and still more at 82.  Audrey's presence was so powerful because in addition to being Lovely she was also beautiful, glamorous, and elegant which only enhanced how Lovely she was.

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 Breakfast at Tiffany's 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 Loveliness of Audrey Hepburn carries over to Holly Golightly prompting Gallantry in better men.  Gallantry is the even more rare male counterpart of Loveliness.

UNICEF Ambassador Audrey Hepburn

Women We Love: Sigrid

Sigrid, The Norwegian Siren.  This is the daughter Estella & 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?
photo by Knut Aaserud

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.

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".
Just try and not watch at least a dozen times in the next week.

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 "get lost sweetie" smile and realizes every girl's dream....shuckin' & jivin' to Rick James with GSL

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.

J' Accuse & The Kavanaugh Affair

French Novelist Emile Zola whose open letter to President Felix Faure called out Anti-Semitism during The Dreyfus Affair. GSL sees parallels in The Kavanaugh Affair with "mysterious women who sell condemning evidences at night..."

BTW: GSL has been test driving Pince-nez with bushy mutton chops to punctuate rhetorical flourishes with Late Victorian Menace.

With our Maslow's Penthouse 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 Pussy Hat Poseurs 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 Safe Passage and she should be grateful The Flower of Anglo-Saxon Chivalry is kinda sweet on her.

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.

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.

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.

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.
Dr Ford testified then 15 year old Christine Blasey had one beer at this party.
One beer.
Her vivid recollections are 17yo Kavanaugh and a friend attempted to rape and accidentally kill her and she had one beer.
Over the next 30+ years she told not a soul.

I noticed how the sworn statement 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, intimidated 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.

Dr Christine Blasey Ford's GoFundMe accounts are around $1,000,000 and she was just given a Distinguished Alumnae award from her Alma Mater, the University of North Carolina.

On left is 2nd Accusser Deborah Ramirez, a Yale Classmate of Kavanaugh, who says Kav might 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.

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 ex-roomie's 100% certain "eyewitness" 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 establish a pattern,

Deborah Ramirez is a heroine of the #MeToo movement whose career prospects no doubt have blossomed.

Sleazeball Lawyer Michael Avenatti & 3rd Accuser Julie Swetnick who graduated from high school in 1980.
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 Stormy Daniels who apparently is quite at ease among clients with ISH-YEWS and lawyer Avenatti now has legal ISH-YEWS of his own.

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 restraining order 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 involved in 6 lawsuits.

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 sex with multiple men. I think her lawyer has a contact who can hook her up with a few gang-bangs.

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?

Lastly, my Estella's 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.

Happy Birthday Millie!

Maslow's Penthouse: A Preview

The recently departed Tom Wolfe helped usher in The New Journalism of the 1960s.
GSL just loved the way his always beautifully tailored ice cream suit sneered at convention. In addition to writing the decade defining blockbuster, Bonfire of the Vanities, Mr Wolfe introduced Radical Chic.
pic by Getty Images

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, The Keen Zest inspired by The Den's Senior Artistic Adviser, Anthony Blanche, from Brideshead in that unforgettable scene with Charles Ryder in The Blue Grotto:

                                         Relevant subject matter occurs in first 5 minutes.

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: Radical Chic: That Party at Lenny's.

The New York Magazine pic for Tom Wolfe's essay Radical Chic: That Party at Lenny's. Sitting is Leonard Bernstein flanked by his wife and Black Panther Donald Cox aka Field Marshall DC. Cloaked in cute black outfit and somber earnestness, can't you just feel Lenny's  high minded rectitude oozing from his every pore?

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 Maslow's Penthouse. Often referred to as Political Correctness, and derided as silly and ridiculous, which it is, but if examined closely, is far more malignant.

Those stylish, shapely. and fluffy female habitues of Maslow's Penthouse GSL refers to as Bergdorf Blondes/Brunettes/Redheads or collectively as B3/R

Glamour is their False Prophet.

Art of The Deal

"As Flies to Wanton Boys Are We to the Gods..."
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 Chekhov's Pistol, DJT's First Act often features Trump's Tantrum. While he shares King Lear's need of praise and lacks his soaring rhetoric,  Trump's energy, cunning, and guile make him far more formidable.
Sophie's Choice of Soft Lavender is quite lovely.

The Charmed Life Progressives (CLPs) have their French Cuts 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.

The Den has already highlighted Trudeau's trip to India that was described as a "Colossal Failure".
The Den predicts after these early missteps he'll grow into the Great World Leader that our closest ally deserves.

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.

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 Planet Big Boy and be treated like a fellow Tough Guy. 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 Tough Guy 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.

Of course, a lot can go wrong but this Trump Tough Guy Option 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.

Trump understands the psychology at work here better than anybody...well almost anybody.

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...

GSL also can't wait to run barefoot thru the lobby of Trump Tower/Lake District

Central Casting Part VI: Finest Hour

Gary Oldman, the World's Greatest Living Artist, as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour. 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".

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 Butterfield 8 and Jane Fonda in Klute along with 11 others 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.

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.

Editor's Note: As mentioned in comments section below, above pic is from Liz in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof not Butterfield 8 per Eagle -Eyed Jill.

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 Helen Klumph. How did we go from that to #MeToo?

Movies about great women The Den would like to see:

Madame de Stael: A brilliant conversationalist she was a central figure during the French Revolution and Napoleon's reign.
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"

We'd love to see a fabulous ensemble cast depict the Bluestockings, the mid to late 18C literary salon of women and men(!) 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.

Portraits in the characters of the Muses in the Temple of Apollo by Richard Samuel. The sitters are members of the Bluestockings.

The Central Casting series is among The Den's most popular features. For other installments click for Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.

Beta Males and Tone Deaf

Aren't they just darling?
No doubting these boys observe the courtesy of a reach around
Hard to argue with HR's premise.
*Caution over above link from Full Metal Jacket. Quite profane.

Recent events have provoked GSL.

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.

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.

Anna, this is how the most powerful woman in the English Speaking World since QE1 chose to address QE2.

Aren't they just darling?

As previously noted, The Den thinks Sophie's Choice in hats is wanting

We were right 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.

Prince George, having received GSL's scouting report, gave the PM a Royal Snub
on this pathetic High Five Diplomacy Gambit.

Did you hear about this?

P

Or this?

'Colossal Failure' doesn't sound very promising does it.

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.

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.

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 Make Fair Maidens Swoon and we have yet to see a Beta Male do that!

The Den will be far more active in the coming weeks.

We have updated The Den's Avatar to reflect a more assertive posture on upcoming posts.
Girls, no more patty cake.

High Time for some GSL Pushback.