The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

It’s Who You Know

Posted on | February 11, 2010 | 10 Comments

Alexandra Penney calls herself an artist:

 I take pictures of blowup dolls, and I use them as ciphers to comment on society, about sex and consumerism, to comment about artifice and superficiality.

Alexandra Penney used to be editor of Self magazine. She is the author of How to Make Love to a Man. (Apparently, some people are so stupid they needed a book for that.)

Alexandra Penney lives in an Upper East Side apartment. She has a maid named Carmina whom she describes as “part of my family.”

And she invested all her money with Bernie Madoff.

OK, what did Alexandra Penney do when the crisis hit?

After the Madoff scandal happened, I had to figure out how to make instant money to pay the bills. I wasn’t even thinking of the mortgage. I was thinking electricity. And luckily, the day after this whole Madoff thing happened, I called an agent of mine from years ago and said I need work. He called me back and said, “Tina Brown wants you to do a blog.”

That happens to the rest of us all the time.

The ex-rich are different than you and me. They have maids. And their agents have Tina Brown on speed-dial.

Category: Blogging

Comments

10 Responses to “It’s Who You Know”

  1. Ed Rasimus
    February 11th, 2010 @ 6:53 pm

    I love that line, “I had to figure out how to make instant money…” Symptomatic, to say the least.

  2. Ed Rasimus
    February 11th, 2010 @ 1:53 pm

    I love that line, “I had to figure out how to make instant money…” Symptomatic, to say the least.

  3. young4eyes
    February 11th, 2010 @ 8:21 pm

    Ed, symptomatic of what? Society in general? Capitalism?
    I suppose when Stacy asks readers to hit the tip jar the idea is to not make instant money?
    Slowly I am beginning to understand the Conservative neurosis:
    Americans playing the stock market to-gasp!- make instant money=good.
    Americans that live in the North-East or West Coast trying to make instant money with whatever means at their disposal=bad.
    In some circles of Conservatism a post like this is known as “class warfare”. Which proves that Conservatism is devoid of principles, as when the author of this blog seeks to tap into his readers’ inferiority complex by tweaking them with anti “elitist” sentiment( elitist by virtue of the fact that someone lives in the Upper East Side).
    But hey, Conservatism is consistent in it’s inconsistency, which is a whole new kind of consistency that only applies to the bizarro universe Cons inhabit.
    Which makes for much laughter and good times for folks like me. For reference, see the hurdles that Newt Gingrich is currently tripping over trying to explain away his inconsistency regarding National security.
    Good times!

  4. young4eyes
    February 11th, 2010 @ 3:21 pm

    Ed, symptomatic of what? Society in general? Capitalism?
    I suppose when Stacy asks readers to hit the tip jar the idea is to not make instant money?
    Slowly I am beginning to understand the Conservative neurosis:
    Americans playing the stock market to-gasp!- make instant money=good.
    Americans that live in the North-East or West Coast trying to make instant money with whatever means at their disposal=bad.
    In some circles of Conservatism a post like this is known as “class warfare”. Which proves that Conservatism is devoid of principles, as when the author of this blog seeks to tap into his readers’ inferiority complex by tweaking them with anti “elitist” sentiment( elitist by virtue of the fact that someone lives in the Upper East Side).
    But hey, Conservatism is consistent in it’s inconsistency, which is a whole new kind of consistency that only applies to the bizarro universe Cons inhabit.
    Which makes for much laughter and good times for folks like me. For reference, see the hurdles that Newt Gingrich is currently tripping over trying to explain away his inconsistency regarding National security.
    Good times!

  5. Ed Rasimus
    February 11th, 2010 @ 9:19 pm

    I learned long ago that “instant money” is a euphemism for something given to you or unearned. The sort of privileged existance that assumes an unrealistic rate of return ala Madoff or an entitlement to more than a subsistance life-style without hard work is the symptom I referenced.

    When 43% of Americans pay zero federal income tax and the increasing expectation is that all things can be given to you by a benevolent government confiscting “obscene profits” from those who achieve success we have the symptoms demonstrated in epidemic proportion.

    Class warfare references to “elitism”, ad hominems like “consistent in it’s inconsistency, cutesy names like “bizarro universe”, non sequiturs like “Conservative neurosis” are not contributions to discussion but increasingly a manifestation of the superficiality of political dialog in our declining republic.

  6. Ed Rasimus
    February 11th, 2010 @ 4:19 pm

    I learned long ago that “instant money” is a euphemism for something given to you or unearned. The sort of privileged existance that assumes an unrealistic rate of return ala Madoff or an entitlement to more than a subsistance life-style without hard work is the symptom I referenced.

    When 43% of Americans pay zero federal income tax and the increasing expectation is that all things can be given to you by a benevolent government confiscting “obscene profits” from those who achieve success we have the symptoms demonstrated in epidemic proportion.

    Class warfare references to “elitism”, ad hominems like “consistent in it’s inconsistency, cutesy names like “bizarro universe”, non sequiturs like “Conservative neurosis” are not contributions to discussion but increasingly a manifestation of the superficiality of political dialog in our declining republic.

  7. Chuck Cross
    February 11th, 2010 @ 9:57 pm

    Upper East Side? zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

    Sometimes you need liquidity to renew a yacht-slip lease in St. Tropez!

  8. Chuck Cross
    February 11th, 2010 @ 4:57 pm

    Upper East Side? zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

    Sometimes you need liquidity to renew a yacht-slip lease in St. Tropez!

  9. Roxeanne de Luca
    February 12th, 2010 @ 12:04 am

    as when the author of this blog seeks to tap into his readers’ inferiority complex

    What always cracks me up about liberals is the way that they think that voting for Democrats is the equivalent of an honourary PhD and that our conservative tendencies negate anything we’ve accomplished or who we are as people. Apparently, you’re actually stupid enough to believe that since we don’t run around telling people how smart and urbane we are, that we’re a bunch of uneducated rubes.

  10. Roxeanne de Luca
    February 11th, 2010 @ 7:04 pm

    as when the author of this blog seeks to tap into his readers’ inferiority complex

    What always cracks me up about liberals is the way that they think that voting for Democrats is the equivalent of an honourary PhD and that our conservative tendencies negate anything we’ve accomplished or who we are as people. Apparently, you’re actually stupid enough to believe that since we don’t run around telling people how smart and urbane we are, that we’re a bunch of uneducated rubes.