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"The Patented Trump Palaver": Time to Reread Singer!
Filed under: Looked Into Tagged: Alex Pareene, Donald Trump, Marc Singer, New Yorker, Profiles, Salon
Emily Gordon writes:
Anyone who’s surprised by reports about Donald Trump’s wiggly business sense—and anyone who’ll enjoy a little extra schadenfreude and outrage in this crazy-making political season—need only read Marc Singer’s classic 1997 Profile of the three-card-monte king. A sample:Months earlier, I’d asked Trump whom he customarily confided in during moments of tribulation. “Nobody,” he said. “It’s just not my thing”—a reply that didn’t surprise me a bit. Salesmen, and Trump is nothing if not a brilliant salesman, specialize in simulated intimacy rather than the real thing. His modus operandi had a sharp focus: fly the flag, never budge from the premise that the universe revolves around you, and, above all, stay in character. The Trump tour de force—his evolution from rough-edged rich kid with Brooklyn and Queens political-clubhouse connections to an international name-brand commodity—remains, unmistakably, the most rewarding accomplishment of his ingenious career. The patented Trump palaver, a gaseous blather of “fantastic”s and “amazing”s and “terrific”s and “incredible”s and various synonyms for “biggest,” is an indispensable ingredient of the name brand. In addition to connoting a certain quality of construction, service, and security—perhaps only Trump can explicate the meaningful distinctions between “super luxury” and “super super luxury”—his eponym subliminally suggests that a building belongs to him even after it’s been sold off as condominiums.Here’s the rest. Enjoy.
And related, in Salon today: “The biggest political lesson of the Trump ‘campaign.’” As Alex Pareene writes, “Trump realized that even though his ego was pushing him further and further into politics, he is much better at cashing checks from NBC for playing a billionaire than actually being a billionaire real estate mogul.” (continued)
Steve Martin and Deborah Solomon Bring Down the House, Sort Of
Filed under: On the Spot Tagged: 92Y, Deborah Solomon, Joseph Beuys, Steve Martin
Martin Schneider writes:
It was a curious scene Monday night at 92Y. Steve Martin and Deborah Solomon, who is responsible for the "Questions For" feature in The New York Times Magazine, were slated to entertain a mostly filled Kaufmann Concert Hall (and, via simulcast, many other viewers at synagogues around the country) with an hour or so of lively chat.
It took only a few minutes for Solomon to alienate the audience thoroughly.
Solomon's strategy was to treat the event like a book report, covering, almost chapter by chapter, Martin's new novel about the art world, An Object of Beauty. As Martin pointed out, it was wise to assume that the
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Calvin Trillin and Adam Gopnik at 92Y
Filed under: On the Spot Tagged: 92Y, Adam Gopnik, Calvin Trillin
Martin Schneider writes:
I'm back in New York after a few months in Cleveland, Ohio (which I vastly enjoyed); one of the consolations of my return to the East Coast is the ability to visit New York's indomitable cultural center, 92nd Street Y.
On Sunday, November 7, I went to see Calvin Trillin and Adam Gopnik discuss "The Writing Life" in Buttenwieser Hall on the second floor. The two writers, both closely associated with The New Yorker, opted (for the most part) to jettison the given theme and trade anecdotes about Manhattan and their shared Jewish heritage, which was fine by me.
Though they were billed as equals, Gopnik subtly played moderator to Trillin's guest, giving Trillin a chance to spin some entertaining yarns—and intermittently to return the
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What You Missed (or Didn't) at the New Yorker Festival
Filed under: New Yorker Festival Tagged: Calvin Trillin, Cynthia Nixon, Dave Eggers, E. Annie Proulx, Ian Frazier, James Surowiecki, Jonah Lehrer, Joyce Carol Oates, Ken Auletta, Lorrie Moore, Malcolm Gladwell, Michael Chabon, New Yorker Festival, Paul Krugman, Stephen King, Zadie Smith
Martin Schneider writes:
Another New Yorker Festival has come and gone, and it must be said it was a good one. We posted last week about the existence of Fora.tv's pay-per-view videos of a good number of the events. After the jump we post some tasty snippets to whet your appetite.
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New Yorker Festival Starts Today!
Filed under: New Yorker Festival Tagged: Bill Simmons, E. Annie Proulx, E.L. Doctorow, James Taylor, Mark Ruffalo, movies, Neil Gaiman, New Yorker Festival, Paul Reubens, Pee-Wee Herman, Peter Carey, Sympathy for Delicious
Martin Schneider writes:
There's only one day of the year we can run that headline, and today is that day.
Emily and I will be attending events all weekend. I'll be at tonight's "Living History" event with E. Annie Proulx, E.L. Doctorow, and Peter Carey, and I'll be seeing Bill Simmons and Neil Gaiman, among others. Emily will be at the James Taylor, Pee-Wee Herman (they're listing it as "Paul Reubens," and we get that, but hey, it's The Pee-Wee Herman Show on Broadway!), and Sympathy for Delicious events, and other ones too. And we may have guest writers weighing in.
Remember: as it did last year, the New Yorker Festival is offering a small number of tickets to all events during the weekend, so a lucky few of you will still get in!
Here's to another great festival! See you there!
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