last call for July 2004 issue of _Vanity Fair_
There may be a slim chance of folks being able to pick up a copy of the July 2004 issue of _Vanity Fair_ (No. 527) if they hurry; it's got a shirtless David Beckham on the cover with a hoodie (i.e., hooded sweatshirt) on his head, sporting both low-riders and a smoldering gaze. (Beckham's photo was taken by Annie Liebovitz, though one should probably be forgiven for guessing that Bruce Weber was the shutterbug.) The cover copy reads: "Me David Beckham, You America." (I guess we should be thankful that the editors didn't go with "Bend Over For Beckham." Sheeeesh....)
There are two articles in the July _VF_ that I'd like to recommend to the attention of any and all who are interested in U.S. politics:
Alexandra Robbins, who wrote a book on the Yale secret society Skull and Bones called _Secrets of the Tomb_, published in 2002, revisits said society for _Vanity Fair_, in an article entitled "Powerful Secrets" (pps. 116-21; pps.156-59); the reason for the piece is because the 2004 U.S. presidential election seems to be a race for a "Bonesman" to win: both current president George W. ("Dubya") Bush and putative Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry were members of the Skull and Bones (or "Bonesmen"), though "Dubya" got the tap on the shoulder two years after Kerry did. (Kerry was inducted in 1966, Bush in 1968.)
The main tidbit in this article that I'd like to recommend to you comes on p. 158:
"Soon after initiation, each knight [undergraduate] is
assigned a Bones name, which the society will call him
from then on. There are three ways to acquire a nick-
name: receive one from a patriarch [alumnus] who wishes
to pass his down....; accept a traditionally assigned
name, such as 'Magog,' which is given to the knight
with the most sexual experience (Robert Alphonso Taft
and William Howard Taft each earned this distinction);
or choose your own.... George W. Bush, unable to come
up with his own name, was dubbed 'Temporary,' and never
managed to decide on a replacement."
William Howard Taft, the stoutest U.S. president thus far (and, I believe, the first president to install a modern bathtub in the White House), a merry cocksman?? The mind boggles. Dubya, stumped for an alias? Not as big of a scoop, but perhaps worthy of prominent mention if only because he does have the bully pulpit, and every little bit of contra-Bush news helps.
_Vanity Fair_'s been running a fair number of good political articles lately, in addition to their societal stuff, and the current issue is no exception; Christopher Hitchens, a regular columnist for _VF_ and _Slate_, has a good piece about the "civil war" raging in the Republican Party ("Rumble on the Right," pps. 70-5), and James Wolcott, another regular, weighs in with a worthy -- and disturbing -- piece on the women in Dubya's life ("The Bush Bunch" -- yes, the illustration at the start of the article is a spoof of the opening of _The Brady Bunch_; pps. 76-85). Here's an unsettling tidbit from Wolcott's piece:
"Bush's national security adviser [Condoleeza Rice] recently boggled the guests at a dinner party hosted by the Washington-bureau chief of _The New York Times_ by blurting, 'As I was telling my husb--,' then, catching and correcting herself, continued, 'As I was telling President Bush.' An understandable slip. Rice consecrates herself to Bush with bridal devotion. She believed in the war because she believes in
him with her entire unthrobbing being."
-- p. 80
There are three other articles about the Iraq war and occupation, as well as articles about Tom ("The Hammer") DeLay and Richard Clarke; the article about Saint-Tropez is tsk-tsk-inducing, but nothing more. A regular feature of _VF_, the last page "Proust Questionnaire" -- wherein various celebrities answer the same questions apparently used by Marcel Proust for his interview subjects -- is somewhat more interesting than usual in this issue also: the notable interviewed here is none other than a still healthy, still performing Mort Sahl. Yow. Live long and prosper, Mr. Sahl.
There are two articles in the July _VF_ that I'd like to recommend to the attention of any and all who are interested in U.S. politics:
Alexandra Robbins, who wrote a book on the Yale secret society Skull and Bones called _Secrets of the Tomb_, published in 2002, revisits said society for _Vanity Fair_, in an article entitled "Powerful Secrets" (pps. 116-21; pps.156-59); the reason for the piece is because the 2004 U.S. presidential election seems to be a race for a "Bonesman" to win: both current president George W. ("Dubya") Bush and putative Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry were members of the Skull and Bones (or "Bonesmen"), though "Dubya" got the tap on the shoulder two years after Kerry did. (Kerry was inducted in 1966, Bush in 1968.)
The main tidbit in this article that I'd like to recommend to you comes on p. 158:
"Soon after initiation, each knight [undergraduate] is
assigned a Bones name, which the society will call him
from then on. There are three ways to acquire a nick-
name: receive one from a patriarch [alumnus] who wishes
to pass his down....; accept a traditionally assigned
name, such as 'Magog,' which is given to the knight
with the most sexual experience (Robert Alphonso Taft
and William Howard Taft each earned this distinction);
or choose your own.... George W. Bush, unable to come
up with his own name, was dubbed 'Temporary,' and never
managed to decide on a replacement."
William Howard Taft, the stoutest U.S. president thus far (and, I believe, the first president to install a modern bathtub in the White House), a merry cocksman?? The mind boggles. Dubya, stumped for an alias? Not as big of a scoop, but perhaps worthy of prominent mention if only because he does have the bully pulpit, and every little bit of contra-Bush news helps.
_Vanity Fair_'s been running a fair number of good political articles lately, in addition to their societal stuff, and the current issue is no exception; Christopher Hitchens, a regular columnist for _VF_ and _Slate_, has a good piece about the "civil war" raging in the Republican Party ("Rumble on the Right," pps. 70-5), and James Wolcott, another regular, weighs in with a worthy -- and disturbing -- piece on the women in Dubya's life ("The Bush Bunch" -- yes, the illustration at the start of the article is a spoof of the opening of _The Brady Bunch_; pps. 76-85). Here's an unsettling tidbit from Wolcott's piece:
"Bush's national security adviser [Condoleeza Rice] recently boggled the guests at a dinner party hosted by the Washington-bureau chief of _The New York Times_ by blurting, 'As I was telling my husb--,' then, catching and correcting herself, continued, 'As I was telling President Bush.' An understandable slip. Rice consecrates herself to Bush with bridal devotion. She believed in the war because she believes in
him with her entire unthrobbing being."
-- p. 80
There are three other articles about the Iraq war and occupation, as well as articles about Tom ("The Hammer") DeLay and Richard Clarke; the article about Saint-Tropez is tsk-tsk-inducing, but nothing more. A regular feature of _VF_, the last page "Proust Questionnaire" -- wherein various celebrities answer the same questions apparently used by Marcel Proust for his interview subjects -- is somewhat more interesting than usual in this issue also: the notable interviewed here is none other than a still healthy, still performing Mort Sahl. Yow. Live long and prosper, Mr. Sahl.