A Few Of My Favorite Things in 2010

“I like doing this because it’s what I’ve always wanted my entire life — people asking me my opinion.”
Fran Lebowitz

“I live like Marie Antoinette, if she had had money.
I like to live well & that takes work”.
Joan Rivers

Documentary films are having a golden age in the first decade of the 21st century, & 2 of my favorite films of 2010 were surprisingly honest documentaries about very funny New York women, both are favorites at Post-Apocalyptic Bohemia: Public Speaking, Martin Scorcese’s conversation with Fran Lebowitz & Joan Rivers: A Piece Of Work from Ricki Stern & Anne Sundberg.


Directed with inimitable & energetic style, Scorsese filmed Fran Lebowitz sitting & talking from 11pm-5am for a few nights, seated at her regular table at the Waverly Inn, in an onstage discussion with longtime friend- writer Toni Morrison & on the streets of NYC. Scorsese’s idea, Lebowitz said. The subject matter was not known ahead of time, her idea. Lebowitz: “The only deal that Marty & I made was Marty said, ‘O.K., we will not leave Manhattan.’ ”





“We live in a world where people think happiness is a condition, but it’s not; it’s a sensation. It’s momentary. So do I have little moments of happiness? Yes. Is that my general condition? No. Is that anyone’s general condition? I can’t believe that’s the case. Are there people that are generally more buoyant than I am? Yes, most people. I don’t think of myself as being unhappy, I think of myself as being morose, but it’s just natural, it’s not my circumstances so much. I can be in bad circumstances like anyone else, or I can be in good circumstances, but in general, if you broke into my apartment & I didn’t know you were there, you would not see me whistling around the house.”


Fran Lebowitz is smart, sharp,& very funny. She started in the New York literary scene in the early 1970s when Andy Warhol hired right off the bus to write a column for Interview magazine. Decades later, she’s an acclaimed author with fans like me who clamber for her acerbic wit.

Lebowitz offers insights on gender, race & gay rights, as well as her pet peeves: celebrity culture, smoking bans, tourists & strollers. Lebowitz: “Gender is a very big piece of luck. Any white gentile straight male who is not President of the United States failed.” On Barack Obama & racism: "Racism a fantasy of superiority & a fantasy can end, you know. It probably won’t, but it can.” On aging: “At a certain point, the worst picture taken of you when you were 25 is better than the best picture taken of you when you’re 45.” About NYC: “New York was not better in the 1970s because there was more crime. It was better because it was cheaper.”


Public Speaking is on HBO on Demand this month. I plan to watch it several more times. I really need to get my cranky on & Fran helps. It receives an A on the Steve Report Card.


I saw Joan Rivers: A Piece Of Work on a first date on a beautiful summer evening. The Husband & I were double dating with our dear friend Lil’ Jake & his new beau- Special K. To me, a movie seems an odd first date, just as dining does, sitting with a stranger, performing an intimate act not always meant to be shared: Crying, Laughing, Chewing.


That first date went well, & now we face the true test of a friendship involving 2 couples- Travel. The Husband & I, Li’l Jake & Special K are going to attempt to visit Palm Springs in mid-February for Modernist Festival. After viewing Joan Rivers: A Piece Of Work, we all agreed that it was a superior documentary, entertaining, insightful, & freighting (including Ms. Rivers without make-up).



In the film, Rivers is presented as deeply human, motivated by anger, desperation, & fear. & yet Rivers' displays of sadness, grief, & outrage might be calculated for the film makers. Is Rivers just playing the part of an aging celebrity baring her soul in a documentary? Worth watching for the very funny & vulgar humor balanced with unexpected honesty & lack of vanity. An exceptional film about a complex woman. It receives an A on the Steve Report Card.

Put these 2 films on your Netflicks Queue.

Born On This Day- October 27th... New York City Wit Fran Lebowitz

“Very few people possess true artistic ability. It is therefore both unseemly and unproductive to irritate the situation by making an effort. If you have a burning, restless urge to write or paint, simply eat something sweet and the feeling will pass”.


I always loved & looked forward to Fran Lebowitz's pieces in Interview Magazine, hired by Andy Warhol himself. I will still re-read her books- Social Studies & Metropolitan Life. Cranky, sardonic, witty, & dry; her essays make me think & make me laugh. She was named one most stylish women in Vanity Fair's International Best-Dressed List, & is known to sport tailored suits by the Savile Row tailor Anderson & Sheppard. Lebowitz has a reoccuring role on Law & Order as a judge. She had the best Proust Questionaire, on the back page of Vanity Fair, ever. I think her quips are on a par with Dorothy Parker:



All God's children are not beautiful. Most of God's children are, in fact, barely presentable.

Andy Warhol made fame more famous.

As a teenager you are at the last stage in your life when you will be happy to hear that the phone is for you.


Ask your child what he wants for dinner only if he's buying.


If you are a dog and your owner suggests that you wear a sweater suggest that he wear a tail.


If you are of the opinion that the contemplation of suicide is sufficient evidence of a poetic nature, do not forget that actions speak louder than words.


In real life, I assure you, there is no such thing as algebra.

Polite conversation is rarely either.


Romantic love is mental illness. But it's a pleasurable one. It's a drug. It distorts reality, and that's the point of it. It would be impossible to fall in love with someone that you really saw.

The opposite of talking isn't listening. The opposite of talking is waiting.

quote of the day

If you removed all of the homosexuals and homosexual influence from what is generally regarded as American culture, you would pretty much be left with "Let's Make a Deal."
Fran Lebowitz