From Spy’s 40th Anniversary Substack: One of Spy’s best-known pranks was written up as the July 1990 cover story, “Who Is America’s Cheapest Zillionaire?” The premise was simple: the magazine sent checks for $1.11 to a series of wealthy celebrities such as Rupert Murdoch, Bill Cosby, Cher, and Adnan Khashoggi to see who would bother …
SPY AT 40: “Who Is America’s Cheapest Zillionaire?” Read More »
10.29 Patrick Stewart dies at 86. 10.29 Paul Krugman: “We’ve seen this movie before. The IT boom of the late 1990s changed the world, but it also ended with many tech leaders going bankrupt because they couldn’t monetize their achievements. During the last few weeks, lenders to AI companies seem to be having a collective …
Above, the underestimated skyline, featuring the New York Life Insurance Building (1928) and Met Life Tower (1909); Far left, Village Potter (2026), by Roberto Lugo; Near Left: Admiral Farragut (1881), by Augustus Saint- Gaudens; Street art; The Flatiron Building (1902), designed by Daniel Burnham
Presidential sightings throughout the state. Clockwise from left: Life mask of George Washington (Morgan Library, Manhattan); Grave of Martin Van Buren (Kinderhook); Tomb of Ulysses Grant (Manhattan); bust of Franklin Roosevelt (Hyde Park); Commentary on the Incumbent (Cleremont).
Big Pink 10.22 Ron Duguay dies at 69. 10.22 Paul Krugman: “Control of Starlink must, one way or another, be taken away from Elon Musk. It’s a matter of national security: we cannot let private individuals make foreign and defense policy, and it would be totally irresponsible to leave a crucial military asset in the …
56 PARNASSUS LANE, WEST SAUGERTIES NY, OCTOBER 9, 2026 Read More »
Erstwhile speechwriters gather: Noah Rayman, Tom Topousis, me, Pam Widener, Amy Hubbard.
Old J. Pierpont himself. A Gutenberg Bible. Another one, this time with a fancy cover. Robert Louis Stevenson‘s original manuscript of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde. Finally, interiors.
Photo by Patrick McMullan.