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| At the foot of Federal Hall on Wall Street. 2:30 PM. Photo: Jeffrey Hirsch. |
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| Wednesday, May 15, 2013. Another bright, sunny, yet slightly chilly day in mid-May in New York. The Wintour of Our Disconnect.There was a funny piece in yesterday’s Daily Mail Online about how Anna Wintour allegedly wouldn’t allow the Kardashians’ mother, Kris Jenner, to attend the Met Costume Ball. Because – as reported in the Mail– Wintour is alleged to have said:“One Kardashian is enough!” (And one more than was allowed entry in 2012.)
The Kardashians merely took a page out of the Hiltons’ textbook and hit the bigtime. Someone out there is laughing all the way to the bank, Anna Wintour or no Anna Wintour. The article reminded me: I went to a dinner party last Friday night where I ran into the designer/retailer Lisa Perry and her husband Richard Perry. She was telling a couple of friends about going to the Met Costume Ball and what she designed for her daughter who also attended. Everyone loved hearing about the evening. When asked why it wasn’t in the press, she said the photogs were after the celebrities and weren’t interested (although a lot of the celebrities wanted to know where her daughter got the dress). |
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| I asked her if she had any pictures of the dress, and she got her iPhone out of her bag and showed us these photos. Wanting to make something original and artful she got the idea of painting some fabric and making a skirt out of it. She got the fabric and laid it out on the floor of the gallery of her apartment on Sutton Place South (big gallery), and painted it and cut out the pattern. And voila! She achieved her goal. I think it’s beautiful. |
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| Last night I went over to Roosevelt House to hear a lecture by David Stockman who wrote the current bestseller “The Great Deformation; The Corruption of Capitalism in America.” Roosevelt House is part of Hunter College. Its official name is Roosevelt House/Public Policy Institute at Hunter College. It is located in twin townhouses built by Sara Delano Roosevelt for herself and her son and only child Franklin, and his wife Eleanor and their children.
Hunter’s president Jennifer Raab, in introducing David Stockman last night, remarked about the amusing irony that much of the early economic policies of FDR in the first days of his Presidency, some of which Stockman takes issue with in his book, were very probably hatched in the very room we were sitting in. I am familiar with the Stockman book, and you may be too. Although I haven’t read it yet, I will because its subject is, in my opinion, as pertinent to the health of our society as ecology is to our planet. The book and Mr. Stockman have had a lot of media exposure including many of the financial blogs including the non-mainstream financial media. So I was curious to see what he would talk about. He’s a very good speech-giver. I hadn’t known that he had been a Congressman (from Michigan) before he joined the Reagan Administration at its beginning. He learned well. He began his adult life in Divinity School. His path that led to politics and finances seems entirely coincidental in the telling. Although in retrospect he must have had a proactive attitude about what interested him. His story on how he became involved with Ronald Reagan and Reagan’s first Director of the OMB is a fascinating political anecdote, and an accidentally rewarding story (and a story of political reward).
His is not the first of this line. What is different, or most effective about his knowledge and opinion is that he remains a man who understands what it means to You and Me -- what used to be called The Man On the Street. He understands the financial mechanisms. He understands the political process, the Wall Street process, and the ramifications that hit You and Me. It was an engaging and enlightening talk. He communicates on a learned but nevertheless understandable level. He would have been a very good teacher. Because that is basically what his book is. When pressed for a thought on what he thinks this is all leading to, like a consummate politician, he avoided a direct answer but provided other substantive thoughts to consider. You can tell I was impressed? As I said, it’s a tome, “The Great Deformation.” But I’m not so afraid of tomes anymore, if I think I’m going to learn something. I have a strong feeling this is one of those books. I also came away from the evening with a much altered personal opinion of this man whose public image and political/economic history was familiar to me. He’s very reliable in telling us about ourselves, which is ultimately what politics and finance are: us and how we respond to the mechanism of corruption in the human condition. |
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| As the season rolls along there is even more catching up: Late last month, the Auxiliary at Lenox Hill Hospital hosted its annual A Healthy Give & Take Luncheon on a Monday at The Metropolitan Club. The program addressed real issues facing women today with the theme of “Taking Care of Yourself,” focusing on financial, mental and physical well-being. Jane Hanson, the Emmy Award winning television journalist and media/presentation coach moderated a panel of Lenox Hill physicians and guests including: Bryan Bruno, MD, acting chairman of the Department of Psychiatry; Susan Scott, MD, attending surgeon, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery; and Karen Drancik, vice president, Neuberger Berman Advisor Institute. |
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| Also, a few days later down at the Bowery Hotel (355 Bowery) The African Rainforest Conservancy and Lauren Hutton hosted the 22nd Annual Artists for Africa. The benefit celebrated the discovery of a new species of frog in Tanzania’s rainforest which was named in honor of Norway. The evening honored Norway with the New Species Award, celebrating the discovery of a new species of frog in Tanzania’s rainforest, and also Thomas J. McGrath with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Tom McGrath who has had a long career as a prominent estate lawyer here in New York, has also had a long dedication to the cause of Tanzania and its rainforest. |
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| The program featured a live art auction by CK Swett, a special African musical dance performance, as well as dinner, and after-party with a sponsored open bar to follow. The evening's attire was "Out of Africa” chic. The African Rainforest Conservancy works to preserve and restore African rainforests, which are among the oldest and most biodiverse in the world. |
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| And last Thursday at Pier 60 at the Chelsea Piers, the Tick-Borne Disease Alliance (TBDA) celebrated its 2013 Annual Benefit and raised nearly $750,000 to support its mission in building awareness, supporting initiatives and promoting advocacy to find a cure for Lyme and other tick-borne diseases. Candice Accola of the hit television show The Vampire Diaries was Emcee, and Grammy award winner, the great Roberta Flack performed. TBDA Co-Chairs David Roth, a managing director at the Blackstone Real Estate Group, and Charles Balducci, a senior vice president a Merrill Lynch, also joined the festivities. |
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Contact DPC here. |