The Red Elephant up the street re-appears. And now I know it's a political statement.

I've been keeping my eye on, and posting pictures of, this interesting little house for years. Here, here, and here.

Another loss, but he made it to 86 so that's not bad. And we still have Cavett. I hope there's some kind of heaven so Vidal can see this headline.

I'm really getting weary of all these great writers dying lately -- Nora Ephron was one I failed to note on my blog. (Talk about a funny lady -- and a class act.) At least Ephron, Hitchens, and Vidal leave behind books to be read and re-read.

And for anyone who loves a good political confrontation check out Vidal vs Buckley discussing life as we knew it in August 1968 here. Please do not watch if you'll be offended by the words "queer" and "crypto-Nazi." In my opinion Vidal won the battle because he never really lost his cool and he didn't lunge out of his chair the way Buckley did.

A word from The Wise. "Love them back, you ingrates."

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The eccentric artist up the street adds a new sculpture to his front yard. When the wind blows so does this art.

Other shots from this house are here and here and here.

Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) has been removed from the latest DSM. A shame. It was such a useful label.

From the NYT.
The central requirement for N.P.D. is a special kind of self-absorption: a grandiose sense of self, a serious miscalculation of one’s abilities and potential that is often accompanied by fantasies of greatness....

The second requirement for N.P.D.: since the narcissist is so convinced of his high station, he automatically expects that others will recognize his superior qualities and will tell him so. This is often referred to as “mirroring.” It’s not enough that he knows he’s great. Others must confirm it as well, and they must do so in the spirit of “vote early, and vote often.”

Finally, the narcissist, who longs for the approval and admiration of others, is often clueless about how things look from someone else’s perspective. Narcissists are very sensitive to being overlooked or slighted in the smallest fashion, but they often fail to recognize when they are doing it to others.


I think it's the last sentence that most succinctly captures the spirit of a true narcissist.

Annoying things.

Some years ago my friend SEC started a list of things that annoyed her. I've watched this list, now listS, grow over the years, and now SEC has graciously allowed me to put her lists on a blog. So here they are. Two of them. More to follow. I'll make no deletions, although I may add an item or two.

My dad's handiwork.