'TBH Politoons'
Thanks, again, Tim!
Toe-Suckers In The News
from Alex
Marty, this is good for a laugh:
DICK Morris - disputing a "lie" in Hillary Clinton's new book, "Living History"
- has told for the first time how Bill Clinton "tried to beat me up in May of 1990."
Morris, in a "Dear Hillary" letter, disputes her version of why he was reluctant "to help you
and Bill avert defeat in the congressional election of 1994." Hillary's book quoted Morris as
saying, "I don't like the way I was treated, Hillary. People were so mean to me."
The letter will appear in full in Morris' newsletter, which is available by e-mailing
dickmorrisreports@ashlee.com.
Dick 'Toe-Sucker' Morris Whines
Alex
Thanks, Alex!
Mr. Morris more than lives up to his first name. What a schmuck.
Reader Comment
Re: In-Depth Reporting
NBC Nightly news did respectable tributes to Gregory Peck and David Brinkley tonight. I was glad they closed with a few of the opening notes of Beethoven's Ninth, what I have come to call "The Huntley-Brinkley Movement".
Amidst all the glowing remarks, I remind myself that the newscasters also make glaring misreadings of the importance of some stories. My favorite:
Feb 7, 1964: "Chet Huntley ends the day's Huntley-Brinkley Report by stating that he sees no need to show the national audience the film NBC cameramen made of The Beatles arriving at Kennedy Airport."
-- The Beatles - A Day In The Life - The Day-by-Day Diary 1960-1970 Compiled by Tom Schultheiss
It's truly amazing how accurately they gauged the insignificant impact those 4 guys from Liverpool were making on the post-war boomer generation.
Ray M
Thanks, Ray! Nothing like a 'Beethoven' movement...
OTOH, Tom Lehrer's 'So Long Mom, I'm Off To Drop The Bomb' has been stuck in my head...
Reader Comment
Re: George Washington's Whiskey
Hi,
MoBud here. Where was his pot patch ?
Good question, Mo.
Couldn't find the key to the gardens at Mt. Vernon, but found this quote -
"Make the most you can of the Indian Hemp seed and sow it everywhere."
--President George Washington, 1794
(Note to the gardener at Mount Vernon, 1794
"The Writings of George Washington"
Volume 33, page 270 (Library of Congress) )
And, these links...
'The Writings of George Washington'
Quotes on Prohibition
Hemp Museum
Those That Grew
More from Mark
Dr. Paul's Words of Wisdom
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
June gloom hung on til nearly 2pm. Lovely day, weather-wise.
The kid slept in on his first day of summer vacation. I followed suit.
Tonight, Saturday, CBS starts the night with a RERUN 'The Price Is Right: Million Dollar Spectacular', followed by a
RERUN 'The District', then a RERUN 'The Agency'.
NBC opens the evening with a RERUN 'Fear Factor', followed by a FRESH 'special' - 'Maxim's
Hot 100', then a RERUN 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'.
Of course, 'SNL' is a RERUN.
ABC fills the night with the RERUN 'The Beach Boys: An American Family'.
The WB has the movie 'Basic Instinct'.
Faux offers the traditional RERUN 'Cops', followed by a RERUN 'Cops', and then 'America's Most Wanted'.
UPN has the movie 'Beautiful Girls'.
A&E has 'American Justice', followed by 'Cold Case Files', and then a RERUN 'Crossing Jordan'.
AMC offers the movie 'Young Guns', followed by the movie 'Highlander'.
BBC America offers 'Keeping Up Appearances' - Episode 3 (6pm),
'Keeping Up Appearances' - Episode 4 (6:40pm),
'Keeping Up Appearances' - Episode 5 (7:20pm),
'Wire in the Blood' - Justice Painted Blind (8pm),
'Wish You Were Here' (10pm),
'Wire in the Blood' - Justice Painted Blind (12am), and
'Wish You Were Here' (2am) (ALL TIMES ET)
Bravo has 'Cirque du Soleil: Varekai', followed by 'Cirque du Soleil: Varekai'.
History offers 'Blood From A Stone', followed by 'The Big Red One'.
SciFi has the movie 'Operation Sandman: Warriors In Hell', followed by the movie 'Encrypt'.
TCM offers the movie 'The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty' (starring Danny Kaye), followed by the movie 'It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World', then the movie 'The Killing', and finally the movie 'Georgy Girl'.
Anyone have any opinions?
Or reviews?
(See below for addresses)
Verdell Primeaux and Johnny Mike accept the award for best Native American music album for 'Bless the People - Harmonized Peyote Songs' during the 44th annual Grammy Awards, on Feb. 27, 2002, in Los Angeles. Primeaux's next album, 'Veterans and Honor Songs,' which was released Tuesday, June 10, 2003, is dedicated to Army Spc. Lori Piestewa. The 23-year-old Hopi tribal member from Tuba City, Ariz., was killed March 23, 2003, when her unit was ambushed near Nasiriyah in Iraq.
Photo by Kevork Djansezian
Remember This Date
Thursday, June 26, 2003
Letterman, Monday Night
Hillary Clinton
Jay Leno has higher ratings, but David Letterman works in New York.
So which late-night television host do you think New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is visiting first on her book publicity tour?
Clinton — whose White House memoir, "Living History," is now in bookstores — will appear on Letterman's "Late Show" next Monday. It will be her sixth time on the show, and first since Sept. 27, 2001.
Hillary Clinton
www.cbs.com/latenight/lateshow/
The Information One-Stop
Moose & Squirrel
Becomes a Grandfather
Warren Zevon
Singer-songwriter Warren Zevon, who announced last fall that he's dying of lung cancer, became a grandfather twice over when his daughter, Ariel, gave birth to twin boys.
Augustus Warren Zevon-Powell and Maximus Patrick Zevon-Powell were born Thursday at a Los Angeles hospital, said Zevon's publicist, Diana Baron. Their father is Ariel's husband, Ben Powell.
"The best news was that Warren was able to be at the hospital for the babies' birth," Baron said.
"He's doing all right," Baron said of the musician's condition. "Listen, when he first started talking about his illness, he was hoping he could make it to see the next James Bond movie. And that was last Christmas. So every day is a blessing."
Warren Zevon
Seeks Ban on Industry-Paid FCC Travel
Senators
U.S. Federal Communications Commission officials would be banned from getting reimbursed by industry groups to travel to attend conventions and conferences under a bill introduced in the Senate on Friday.
A watchdog group said last month that FCC officials have received more than 2,500 trips costing some $2.8 million since 1995 paid for by the telecommunications and media industries which are regulated by the agency.
The limitation was included in legislation to reauthorize the agency's operations which was introduced on Friday by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain, Republican of Arizona, and Sen. Ernest Hollings, Democrat of South Carolina.
On travel reimbursements, the Center for Public Integrity complained that the FCC was too cozy with those it regulates in the media and telecommunications industries.
The FCC defended accepting travel reimbursements because the agency might not otherwise hear from people who cannot afford lobbyists or trips to the FCC. (Ha ha - name one - just one)
Senators
In celebration of the start of the 32nd season of the game show 'The Price Is Right' CBS surprised Bob Barker with a 12 x 16 foot mural of his likeness on the wall of CBS' Stage 46 in Los Angeles. Barker poses with the mural in Los Angeles on June 12, 2003.
Photo by Monty Brinton
Addressed Ohio Graduates
Christopher Reeve
Former "Superman" star Christopher Reeve drew cheers and laughter from Ohio State University graduates Friday despite the serious message of his commencement speech.
In a speech focused on integrity and morality, Reeve mentioned the New York Times plagiarism scandal and Sammy Sosa's corked bat as examples of the need to avoid taking shortcuts and cheating.
During commencement, media mogul and CNN founder Ted Turner received an honorary degree in humane letters.
Christopher Reeve
Maui Film Festival
Rob Reiner & Geena Davis
Actor-director Rob Reiner thinks there will always be a place for romantic comedies.
"The tough part is finding a fresh way of doing them, because people have done so many of them over the years," Reiner said Thursday night as he was honored with the Maui Film Festival's Lights! Camera! Passion! Award.
Reiner's award was given "for his heartfelt professional commitment to making films that matter and his long held personal commitment to work for social justice and the triumph of the human spirit."
Oscar winning actress Geena Davis was presented the festival's Stella Award for selecting roles that show women making choices that empower their lives.
Rob Reiner & Geena Davis
Receives AFI Award
Robert De Niro
The American Film Institute honored Robert De Niro with its 31st Life Achievement Award.
The 59-year-old star of "Taxi Driver" and "GoodFellas" accepted the honor Thursday evening at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, site of the annual Academy Awards.
James Woods, who starred opposite De Niro in director Sergio Leone's 1984 crime epic "Once Upon a Time in America," said the actor suggested Woods wear a set of perfect, bright white teeth to demonstrate the aging character's wealth and vanity. The producers balked at the cost, so De Niro paid for them himself.
The evening's praise came with some mockery. Woods described "Rocky & Bullwinkle" as an "alimony movie" and AFI screened some of De Niro's less artistic works: a decades-old car commercial and his bit part as a pot-smoking cabbie in 1971's "Jennifer On My Mind."
The De Niro tribute is scheduled to air at 9 p.m. EDT June 23 on USA Network.
Robert De Niro
American Film Institute Web site
Eyes Top Spot at Music Biz Lobby
Mary Bono
Rep. Mary Bono (R-'Death's Waiting Room') has tossed her hat in the ring as a potential successor to Hilary Rosen as chairman/CEO of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which lobbies on behalf of the major U.S. music labels.
According to her chief of staff, "she hasn't pro-actively gone after the job," says the spokesperson, "and RIAA has not yet approached her directly, although friends and colleagues have asked her about it. If RIAA were to do so, it would be very hard for her to turn it down."
The RIAA would not comment on the search or the possibility of Bono taking over, beyond Rosen saying, "I love Mary Bono; she's great."
Mary Bono
Birthday Honors List
Queen Elizabeth II
Celluloid spy hero Roger Moore became real-life Sir Roger on Queen Elizabeth II's birthday honors list, saluted for his charity work along with scores of artists, scientists and less-celebrated Britons.
Helen Mirren, one of Britain's most-admired actresses and star of the "Prime Suspect" television police dramas, became a dame, the female equivalent of a knight, as did renowned chimpanzee expert Jane Goodall and Anita Roddick, founder of the Body Shop cosmetics chain.
In descending order, the honors are knighthoods, Commander of the British Empire, Member of the Order of British Empire and Officer of the British Empire. Those who are awarded CBEs, MBEs and OBEs have no title but can put the letters after their names.
Pop star Sting was made a CBE as was 100-year-old Lilian Doris Thompson — for her leadership of Blackpool's Pleasure Beach, where she continued testing the amusement park's new rides throughout her 90s.
Fashion designer Alexander McQueen also became a CBE, and television's "Naked Chef," Jamie Oliver, was made an MBE.
Actress Kristin Scott Thomas, Oscar-nominated for her role in "The English Patient," became an Officer of the British Empire, or OBE. A CBE went to actor Simon Russell Beale, who is regarded as one of the country's finest Shakespearean actors. And stage actor Richard Briers, also a favorite from television sitcoms, was made a CBE.
Former Pink Floyd lead guitarist Dave Gilmour, who recently donated $5.9 million from the sale of his London home to a project to house the homeless, also became a CBE.
Actor Jim Dale, who read the Harry Potter books for audio tapes, was made an MBE. So was Gerry Marsden, of the 1960s pop group Gerry and the Pacemakers, for services to charity. Gary Brooker, who formed the Procol Harum group in 1967, and Errol Brown, lead singer with the 1970s band Hot Chocolate, also became MBEs.
Queen Elizabeth II
28.35 Grams To The Ounce
Fish Tale
A French fisherman netted a surprise catch this week -- 66 pounds of cannabis.
The man was fishing on the river Yvette, on the southern edge of Paris, when he spotted something strange in the water, French media reported Friday.
Taking a closer look, he discovered 28 bags, each containing a little over a kilogram of cannabis resin and immediately alerted the police.
Fish Tale
Tim H
Thanks, Tim!
Experience Music Project in Seattle
Jimi Hendrix
The revamped Jimi Hendrix Gallery at the Experience Music Project in Seattle, which opened to the public last week, has doubled in size with previously undisplayed additions from Jimi's family, patrons and the museum's collection.
Hendrix died in London in 1970 at age 27 after a brief but rich career that influenced a generation of musicians who were drawn to his virtuoso electric-guitar playing as well as his innovative distortion and feedback techniques.
The new exhibit at the Experience Music Project, a museum funded by Microsoft co-founder and Hendrix enthusiast Paul Allen, is organized according to various periods in Jimi's life including his childhood years, Army stint, time as a band player for Little Richard and the Isley Brothers, as well his London breakthrough and return to the United States, where he played at Woodstock in 1969.
The exhibit provides Jimi's family history, including letters and photos of his grandparents, who settled in Vancouver, Canada after coming to the region as members of a vaudeville troupe.
Jimi Hendrix
In The Kitchen With BartCop & Friends
Wax Model To Get Inflatable Breasts
Britney Spears
U.S. pop star Britney Spears is to get a pair of inflatable, throbbing breasts that will pulsate in time to her dancing -- at least her waxwork model will at Madame Tussauds museum in London.
"There are plans to make a new figure of Britney Spears," a spokeswoman said Friday. "She'll be very sexy and she'll have heaving bosoms. But this is only in the very early stages of planning."
"Brad Pitt has got a squeezable (latex) bum, but Britney would be the first with heaving bosoms," added the spokeswoman.
Britney Spears
Vice President Dick Cheney, center,cuts an Army birthday cake at the Pentagon, Friday, June 13, 2003, as they celebrated the Army's 228 years of service to the country. Left to right; Vice Chief of Staff, Army General John Keane, Cheney, Sergeant Major Jack Tilley.
Photo by Ron Edmonds
Mad Again
Lars Ulrich
Metallica's Lars Ulrich isn't happy that the U.S. military has reportedly used the group's music to terrify captured Iraqis. Speaking in Europe, the drummer said he feels horrible about it.
Ulrich is quoted as saying there's nothing he can do about Metallica's music being used. He asked, "What am I supposed to do about it "get George Bush on the phone and tell him to get his generals to play some Venom?"
Lars Ulrich
With Neil Diamond
Smash Mouth
Smash Mouth's new album Get The Picture will be released on August 5. The first single from the set, the reggae-flavored "You're My Number One," was co-written with legendary singer-songwriter Neil Diamond.
Smash Mouth singer Steve Harwell told anchor Julie Chen from CBS-TV's the Early Show that the band has gone back to basics for the new album. "We're just having a blast," Harwell said. "The song is really fun. We've kind of gotten back to the old style. I think everybody's gonna love it."
This is not the first time Smash Mouth has been linked with Diamond. Diamond also wrote "I'm A Believer," which was first made popular by the Monkees, and then regained popularity recently when Smash Mouth covered the song for the blockbuster hit movie Shrek.
Smash Mouth
Celebrity Photos For Charity
Reporters Without Borders
Stars such as Jodie Foster and Monica Bellucci have been busy snapping photos so that fans can bid for a glimpse of life through their eyes in a fund-raising auction next week.
Under its second "Star Photos" auction, the Paris-based press watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) will put more than 60 disposable cameras up for auction, each containing undeveloped mystery snaps taken by celebrities.
RSF, which fights for freedom of speech and to free jailed journalists around the world, hopes to raise even more on June 16 than the $63,000 it generated from last year's sale.
Three days before the auction, bidders were lining up on the RSF Web site,
www.rsf.org, with by far the highest bid a $3,000 euro offer for French actor Vincent Cassel's camera.
Reporters Without Borders
Germany's Herbert von Karajan Prize
Anne-Sophie Mutter
Renowned German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter will be the first recipient of the Herbert von Karajan prize for outstanding contemporary musicians, organizers announced.
Mutter is to accept the prize, which is accompanied by a 50,000-euro (59,000-dollar) award, Sunday at the end of the Baden-Baden Pentecost music festival where she will perform with the Munich Chamber Orchestra.
A child prodigy, Mutter made her debut with the legendary conductor Karajan (1908-1989) in 1977 at the Salzburg festival, launching her career as one of the world's most respected soloists.
The glamorous Mutter, 39, married the conductor, composer and pianist Andre Previn in New York last August.
Anne-Sophie Mutter
World Tour Starts in October
David Bowie
David Bowie will embark on his most extensive tour in more than a decade with the A Reality world tour, which will begin Oct. 7 in Copenhagen and hit Europe, North America, Australia, and Japan before wrapping in March 2004, Billboard has learned. The tour is expected to be announced Monday (June 16).
The tour will support a new ISO/Columbia release set for September, which is also the month North American tickets will first go on sale. European ticket sales begin the weekend of June 20. The Dandy Warhols will likely support that leg of the tour. Bowie will play 30 arenas in Europe; North American dates are tentatively set to begin Dec. 4 and run through January.
Bowie's touring band is guitarists Gerry Leonard and Earl Slick, drummer Sterling Campbell, bassist/backing vocalist Gail Ann Dorsey, keyboardist Mike Garson, and keyboardist/backing vocalist Catherine Russell.
David Bowie
Formerly 'The Vidiot'
A Church, A Script & A 'Deep Throat'?
Mel Gibson
Actor Mel Gibson, breaking his silence on his controversial film depicting the last 12 hours in the life of Jesus Christ, denied on Friday that his movie was anti-Semitic and insisted the film is "meant to inspire, not offend."
Gibson's comments were contained in a statement announcing that the Roman Catholic Church has agreed to help his production company, Icon, retrieve copies of an early draft of the movie script that Icon says was obtained without permission by a "deep throat" working for an ad-hoc group of Catholic and Jewish scholars.
In his first public comments about the film since the controversy began, Gibson said, "Neither I nor my film are anti-Semitic ... Nor do I hate anybody -- certainly not the Jews. They are my friends and associates ... Anti-Semitism is not only contrary to my personal beliefs, it is also contrary to the core message of my movie."
He added that the film is "meant to inspire, not offend. ... For those concerned about the content of this film, know that it conforms to the narratives of Christ's passion and death found in the four Gospels of the New Testament."
Mel Gibson
A pair of ruby-encrusted sandals valued at $1.5 million dollars is displayed at Isetan Department store in Tokyo June 13, 2003. The 'Wizard of Oz' sandal is designed by New York's shoe designer Stuart Weitzman and decorated with 642 rubies by jewelry maker Oscar Heyman & Brothers.
Photo by Yuriko Nakao
Missing Statuette Found in Fla
Oscar
FBI agents on a drug investigation were startled to find one of three missing Oscars stolen three years ago from a loading dock in Los Angeles, authorities said Friday.
The statuette, found Thursday, has been verified by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences as one of 55 stolen after they were shipped from their Chicago manufacturer to Los Angeles, the FBI said.
Fifty-two of the gold-plated statuettes were recovered next to a trash bin nine days after the theft — but three had remained missing.
"There's (sic) still two out there," FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela said Friday.
Oscar
Suffered Botched Ear Piercing
Rembrandt
Rembrandt, like countless young people in recent years, was a victim of a botched ear piercing, according to the latest issue of the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.
The author, Ben Cohen, a retired London ear, nose and throat specialist, says he was struck by self-portraits in which the Dutch master showed off a left ear that bore all the hallmarks of a piercing that went pear-shaped.
Starting in 1628 and ending in 1669, the painter shows a swollen earlobe -- a classic result of a piercing infection, in which a puss-filled abscess or dermatoid cyst is created that eventually discharges but leads to thickened and hardened tissue, says Cohen.
Rembrandt clearly wanted to show off the ugly, deformed ear, a sign that he was "intensely honest" with himself, Cohen suggests.
Rembrandt
Discloses SEC Inquiry
Penthouse International
Adult magazine publisher Penthouse International said on Friday the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has begun an inquiry into its full-year 2002 and first-quarter 2003 results.
In a regulatory filing, Penthouse said it was cooperating fully with the SEC probe, which also touches on its accounting treatment of a Web site management agreement and changes in auditing or accounting services during 2002 and 2003.
Penthouse said the SEC had advised it that the inquiry should not be construed as an indication that any violation of law has occurred.
New York-based Penthouse, overseen by Robert Guccione, announced in late May its auditor Eisner LLP had resigned in a dispute over the quarterly report's contents.
Penthouse International
Artist Copies Paintings in 3D
J. Seward Johnson Jr.
J. Seward Johnson Jr. makes those realistic bronze figures that you can sit next to on park benches. Now he has a new gimmick: copying famous French impressionist paintings in three dimensions.
"Beyond the Frame," his first one-man show at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, opens Sept. 13. The title explains that he's copying not only 18 impressionist and post-impressionist paintings, but also portraying the surrounding rooms and landscapes — things the original artists left out altogether.
Visitors will be able to walk into Vincent van Gogh's "The Bedroom" in Arles, France. They will be invited to touch the objects, to the expected horror of conservative museum folks. They will even be able to lie down on the bed, though they won't be able to get under the covers.
At 73, Johnson figures that since 1971 he's sculpted 170 of his bronze street figures.
J. Seward Johnson Jr.
Corcoran Gallery of Art
J. Seward Johnson Jr.
Retrospective Goes to Philadelphia
Louis Faurer
A retrospective of the work of Louis Faurer, a street photographer whose black-and-white images captured the grit and poetry of city life in the middle of the 20th century, is making its final stop in the city where his life and art began.
Born in blue-collar South Philadelphia in 1916 to Polish immigrants, Faurer bought his first camera in 1937 and chronicled the disenfranchised and down-and-out on the streets of his hometown. The same year, his photograph of a boy under a row of blaring trombones won a photography prize from a Philadelphia newspaper and steered him toward New York City and what would be his lifelong career.
But unlike his contemporaries in the New York School — Robert Frank, William Klein and Diane Arbus, among others — Faurer's work remains largely unknown outside photography circles.
An exhibition of approximately 130 photographs, the first survey of his work in the United States since 1981, opens Saturday at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and aims to add him to the canon of the post-World War II era's top photographers.
For more, Louis Faurer
www.philamuseum.org
In Memory
Tony Roma
Tony Roma, whose casual rib joint became an international restaurant empire after it caught the attention of a Texas financier in the 1970s, died Friday of lung cancer at a hospice. He was 78.
Roma opened his first barbecue restaurant in North Miami, Fla., in the early 1970s, according to his company's Web site. The restaurant originally specialized in steaks and burgers, but that changed when Roma and his chef decided to offer barbecued ribs as a weekend special.
The ribs proved so popular that they came to dominate the menu, and Roma's restaurants eventually opened across the United States, in Japan, England and Canada.
The company went international after the late Texas financier and Dallas Cowboys owner Clint Murchison Jr. visited Miami for the 1976 Super Bowl and stopped at Roma's restaurant.
He enjoyed the food so much, according to the corporate Web site, that he purchased the majority U.S. franchise rights from Roma and established a jointly owned company.
The restaurants expanded rapidly through the 1980s and now number more than 250.
Roma lived in Palm Springs, but moved to the hospice in Hemet, 90 miles southeast of Los Angeles, about 10 days ago, said Faye Otto, the hospice owner and a friend of the restaurateur.
Tony Roma
www.tonyromas.com/
Thanks, Mr. 2E!
In Memory
Selma Koch
Selma Koch, the Bra Lady who fitted generations of women without tiring or tape measure and became famous in old age for refusing to regret or retire, has died at 95.
Koch, who died Thursday, had been hospitalized since last week, when she fell and broke her hip at the Town Shop, whose threshold she first crossed in 1927, when she married Henry Koch and his lingerie business.
Her grandson Danny Koch said that after doctors warned her of a long recovery, "she just sort of decided to throw in the towel."
She had one demand. "She warned me in the hospital: When I die, do not close that store," her grandson said Friday. "So our hearts are heavy, but we are here."
Selma Koch and the Town Shop had long been New York favorites. But last year, after national news stories appeared about an old woman who still found a reason to believe - in life, in work and in the importance of a bra that fits - she suddenly became famous. Letters poured in from across the country. More reporters showed up. Rosie O'Donnell interviewed her.
"She loved the celebrity status," her grandson said. "It was really a nice thing to happen to her at that age."
But she was loath to admit it. With great charm, she would smile and nod to customers at the store at Broadway and 82nd Street who carried in newspaper clippings bearing her photograph. After they walked away, she would turn to her grandson and grumble, "What's the big deal? It's just a bra."
She worked 10 hours a day, six days week, right up to last week. She wore crimson lipstick and plunging, but tasteful, necklines.
She prided herself on being able to determine a woman's bra size just by looking. "We don't measure anything," she said. "We're trained to know."
She stocked more than 8,000 varieties of bras in sizes covering half the alphabet. She ordered the latest trends in lingerie, though some baffled her. The thong, for instance. In an interview last year, she wrinkled her nose at its mention. "Why would you want to wear something that ... well, you know," she said.
She was an independent woman before anyone called it that. She graduated from Columbia University's School of Journalism in 1925 and landed a job as a copywriter at an advertising agency.
That is how she met Henry Koch. She went to his successful business - there were four stores then - to handle his account. He asked for her home number. She haughtily turned him down. Then she learned he was one of New York's most eligible bachelors.
"So I went back," she said. "With a little more charm."
When he died in 1970, she closed all but one of the stores to care for her two sons and to be closer to their Manhattan apartment. Her boys, now in their 70s, grew up in the Town Shop. So did her grandchildren.
Over the years, she sold trousseaus to women who later sent their daughters and granddaughters.
She is survived by sons Peter and David, six grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Funeral services are scheduled for Sunday. The store, her grandson said, will be closed that day.
Selma Koch
A mother cheetah yawns beside one of her young cubs at the De Wildt Cheetah center in South Africa June 12, 2003 which has just launched a nationwide census to find the number of the endangered big cats living wild in South Africa. Using radio collars, cameras, aircraft and DNA testing, the survey is the first comprehensive study of any country's cheetah population, says Ann van Dyk, who started the De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Trust 32 years ago. The De Wildt is the only approved cheetah-breeding center in the world. The census is expected to take between five and eight years to complete. Picture taken June 12, 2003.
Photo by Juda Ngwenya
'Ark of Darkness'
"The Ark of Darkness", a Political/Science-Fiction work, in tidy, weekly installments (and updated every Friday).
'The Osbournes'
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 4
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 3
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 2
'The Osbournes' ~ Page 1
