Last week, our friend T. – who usually holds down the extensive NYC bureau, with its sweeping views of Central Park, its extensive armentarium of computers put together by God’s little elves, and its News Corp-like budget – supplied the posts while we were gone. We liked the posts; for a long time, we’ve been trying to get T. to put together a web site, or log, or something. Alas, unlike the perpetually underemployed crewe, here, T. actually has a real job, and real prospects.

T. left us with one last post on the Tiger Lillies.

Diana Vreeland in Harper’s Bazaar had a column “Why Don’t You?”

In that spirit: Why don’t you go out and buy some Tiger Lillies CDs. You really ought to.

When R. gave me the keys to LI’s front door, he encouraged me to what I would – profess Paraguayan nationalism, exhort LI’s readers to arms, overturn the laws of every prophet – so I will take this one shot of unmediated endorsement: go, go now and go later to tigerlillies.com and buy something. The Tiger Lillies are perfectly astounding. Songs about pimps, songs about pushers, songs about thieves, an entire album (Farmyard Filth) about sex with animals! If they are known, it might well be due their participation in Shockheaded Peter – the play based on Hoffman’s Struwwelpeter: songs about misbehaving children! Not much chance to see them play live in these States unless you live in or about NYC or San Fran, but if you live in the UK or Russia, there are many opportunities to see them every year (my wife and I will see them in London when we visit that town in May). If you live in such places, go to a goddamned show dammit! While Limited, Inc. may not endorse the band officially and fully, I know that I got its ear when I played many many songs during the drinks and the times we shared together last summer.

"Why don't you . . . Turn your child into an Infanta for a fancy-dress party?" - DV

“Never fear being vulger, just boring.” – Diana Vreeland. If you are not familiar with her, then you are not familiar with one of the great aphorists of the English language. “She is a beauty, no matter her features.” is a favorite; one of the finer statements on ‘beauty’ that these eyes have ever passed over.”