NOVEMBER 1991

In the past month it’s a fact that the United States has become the last superpower. While the Soviet Union tries to sort itself out of the past and realize it’s new economic future, the U.S. stands alone. With a national debt of $3.5 trillion (that’s a lot of zeros) the U.S. is the leader of the new world order. We’ve got the most power and the biggest hole in our pocket. This is the first time in history we didn’t finance our own war. During the Persian Gulf War we raised $54 billion from the allies. We received $33 billion more than the war cost. Not a bad profit. Maybe we should change the motto on the dollar to “In God We Trust” to “Have Gun Will Travel.” I hope our leadership doesn’t consider this mercenary position too seriously. We are on the verge of bankruptcy, economically and morally if the government doesn’t look at the reality of the situation and solve the bigger problem – the structure of our internal affairs is a mess. All great empires fell when they were spread too thin fighting wars all over the globe and not paying attention to the needs at home. Well, that’s enough verbal demonstration with the consequences of history.

In a more playful tone, last month was by far the most fun I’ve had all summer. I went to all my neighborhood coffeehouses. They are everywhere. It used to be the corner bar but with sobriety on the rise there’s a cappuccino on every block. In close proximity there’s Homemade, Kings Road, Who’s on Third, Brasserie, Mani’s, Ourand Outang, Cafe Java, Cafe Mocha, The Whole Experience, The Mission, the Living Room, Big and Tall Books, to name a few. They’re not hangouts for the stars, but they soften the image of LA: art, cigarettes, coffee, poetry readings, acoustic guitars, people sitting in old beat up furniture reading People Magazine. LA is the new center of bohemian life in the U.S. It is a strange world, David L.

I also went to two anniversary parties. The first was for Edie Baskin and Peter Fey. They shared the event with Margaret Shendel, who celebrated her birthday. Richard Baskin, Barbara Streisand, Steven Bishop, Howard Koch, Steve Tisch, Michael Meyers, Terry Garr, Ian Le Fren, Denise Crosby, Jeffrey Lynne and Steven McDonald were there. I also ran into friends I hadn’t seen since the early ’80s when they dropped out of sight to recover from over excess. It was nice to see we had survived. Everybody looked fit and better than ever.

The other anniversary party wasn’t a conventional affair. It was Janice and Eric Garnder’s tenth and they redid their vows. Little Richard was the minister of honor and Todd Rundgren played the wedding march. Phil Spector played the Anniversary Waltz on the accordion. Also there, were Katey Sagal (very pregnant), Peter Falk, John Mayall, Dana Carvey, John Lovitz, David Felton, Anne Beatts, Judd Nelson, Drew Barrymore, Roseanne and Tom Arnold, Michael Des Barres, But Cort, Allie Willis, Alan Hunter, Mark Goodman, Martha Quinn, Pamela Des Barres, Mark Harris, Trudy Greene, Cassandra (Elvira) Peterson, Steve Verona, Joe Davola, Michael Meyers and Steven Bishop (again). I left early to get ready for a flight to New York so who knows who else showed up.

If it’s September it must be the MTV Awards. This was the sixth show and the first time I went as press. Never again. I had the worst pass. It was some horrid lime green affair which only allowed me access to some insane tent where I could experience a three ring circus of interviews and paparazzi. They served massive amounts of cookies and prepackaged sandwiches. I’m glad I ran into poet/Ringling Sister, Pleasant Gehman. We got to see the plus in being as far behind the scenes as you can get at this rock ‘n roll highlight of the year. She introduced me to Miss Armed Forces, who was Kim Basinger’s body double and Julia Roberts’ legs in Pretty Woman. By now you know who won and lost and heard about Prince’s buttocks and Pee Wee Herman’s courage. But just along side the Amphitheater there is a scene of posing and schmoozing with passes of many colors and attitudes. I crashed for a short while in an area that I guess was sort of important. The served melted brie and salsa dip. I noticed Whoopi Goldberg, James Brown, and John Bon Jovi. Cindy Crawford was running around grabbing interviews in a long silver lame dress with an entourage of camera, sound and hair person. Dennis Hopper Pauly Shore and his girlfriend (who won my vote for most outrageous outfit/best body), Lenny Kravitz, Spinal Tap, Steve Tyler, and everyone else and their friends who gave an award, got an award, or had the right color to remain in this restricted area. I was spotted by some ex-FBI type guard who sent me back to the press tent. It was all very military-strict. Very scary in an absolute clean cut friendly manner. Next year I’m sitting in the audience again. I prefer being distanced from the experience. It’s what a rock ‘n roll video event should be – a show.

Till next month, with hopes of a new and better world order, see ya all about town.