Products

Weekend Butler: Joan Didion. New Scrabble words. How often should you brush your cat’s teeth? 6 minutes of joy. Stories of kindness. An exploding whale. A recipe for cold nights. And more.

By Jesse Kornbluth
Published: Nov 17, 2022
Category: Weekend

A TALE OF TWO AUCTIONS: PAUL ALLEN AND JOAN DIDION
Two auctions in the last week. One was the biggest sale in the history of art auctions. One, of objects belonging to America’s most admired literary icon, generated prices that exceeded their price estimates.

The Paul Allen auction moved rarely seen masterpieces into private collections, where they may never been seen again. Five paintings sold for more than $100 million. Grand total: $1.5 billion. The biggest sales: Georges Seurat’s “Les Poseuses, Ensemble (Petite version)” sold for $149 million. (See it here. To buy a poster of the painting for $12.99, click here.) Paul Cézanne’s 1888-90 Cubism precursor, “La Montagne Sainte-Victoire” ($138 million.) van Gogh’s verdant scene of Arles, “Verger avec cyprès” ($117 million). And my favorite: Gustav Klimt’s beyond gorgeous 1903 autumnal “Birch Forest” ($105 million). (To see it, click here. To buy a poster of the painting from Amazon for $44. click here.)

The Didion auction was more surprising to me — it wasn’t mandatory that you be a billionaire to bid and buy. From Fortune:

Two black-and-white photographs of Didion with her Stingray Corvette sold for $24,000 and $26,000, respectively. The photos had initially been listed with a price estimate of $1,500 to $3,000 each.

A massive walnut, oak and maple writing desk that Didion’s parents had owned sold for $60,000, roughly six times its initial price estimate of $8,000 to $12,000. A stack of the majority of Didion’s published books, including Run River and a first edition of The White Album, sold for $15,000, 15 times more than initial price estimates. Her small Cartier desk clock sold for $35,000 after a $100 low estimate.

A Victorian rattan armchair with blue-and-white seat cushions that Didion had in her homes in California and New York had been estimated at $700; it sold for $28,000. Even a stack of nondescript seashells that had adorned Didion’s home won an ungodly sum. Listed with a low estimate of $100, they sold for $7,000.

And then there were 13 blank notebooks. All with bookplates from the Library of Joan Didion. Sold for $9,000.

And her sunglasses! From Vogue:

A pair of Didion’s brown faux-tortoiseshell Celine sunglasses sold for an impressive $27,000 — rising up steadily from an initial $9,500 in a bidding war between three anonymous bidders. “They’re nonprescription, so you could wear them proudly anywhere,” said the auctioneer shortly before the bidding began.

These auctions raise — and perhaps answer — questions. How much surplus capital is there in this country, and is there no ceiling on what it can pay? And what is this fervor to own things about? Haven’t we all read that, after these last four years and the pandemic, what we crave most are experiences? Or do we want to possess objects that only we can possess, objects that validate our sense of self-worth?

HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU BRUSH YOUR CAT’S TEETH?
from the Nieman Storyboard:
An academic researcher digs her claws into the mysterious purpose of purring, the physics that allows cats to twist in midair and theoretically survive hundred-foot-falls, and how her own cat allergy suddenly disappeared in adulthood.

NEW SCRABBLE WORDS: STAN, SITCH, CONVO, ZEDONK, DOX AND FAUXHAWK
from NPR: The board is about to get more interesting with about 500 new words and variations added to the game’s official dictionary… Out this month, the add-ons in the seventh edition of “The Official Scrabble Players Dictionary” join more than 100,000 words of two to eight letters. [To buy the hardcover from Amazon for a bargain price of $8.50, click here.]

YOUR WEEKLY REMINDER: WHATEVER ELSE YOU DO TO ENRICH THE LIVES OF OTHERS, SMALL ACTS OF KINDNESS MAY MATTER MOST
from Axios:
– I was next up in a long, slow line at a service desk with a single clerk. The person being waited on was harrumphing his displeasure at the speed of resolving his complicated transaction. After a few minutes it was my turn, and I said, ‘I have all the time in the world, would you like to take a moment to breathe?'” –Key H., Jackson, Mississippi
– Last night, a lady I don’t know was lugging laundry and supplies to the laundry room at Oceanside RV Resort. I offered to put in the code to unlock and open the door for her. She was pleasantly surprised and said, ‘A thousand blessings to you!'” –Jackie R., Mesa, Arizona
-“I was out on a morning run around Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver, when I was stopped by an elderly woman asking for directions. She struggled to speak English, but was acting as the lead and translator for her group of friends. … I paused my run and volunteered to walk them. The experience highlighted how easy it is to make positive connections with others, despite age, language, and cultural barriers.” –Georgia M., Vancouver, British Columbia
– “It was late in the evening; I stopped at a local Wawa to grab a sweet treat. There were about 5 people in the store. I got my milkshake, and asked the cashier to ring up everyone behind me in line on my tab. For a mere $21 dollars, the gesture appeared to invoke great joy — and some bewilderment.” –Lisa C., Ortley Beach, New Jersey
– “I stopped at Sierra College in Rocklin, one of the evacuation centers for the Mosquito Fire. Some said they really needed food for their pets, so I went to Costco and bought a couple hundred pounds of dog food and brought it back for distribution. My dogs eat well and theirs should too.” –Beth Ann G., Rocklin, California
– “My wife and I took our single mom friend out on Saturday night for dinner, drinks and dancing. She’s struggling to make ends meet and deal with her boys’ upbringing. So she was happy to get out and dance and relax a bit.” –Dave M., Scottsdale, Arizona
– “A lady with two small children in front of me in the checkout line was unable to pay for her groceries. I told the cashier to add her items to my bill. The kids were happy, and their mom thanked me several times. We all left the store with a smile on our face.” –Tom S., Mahtomedi, Minnesota
– “Waiting in line at the pharmacy, I was feeling irritated. The woman in front of me asked if I could hold her place for a minute, and I overheard her asking an employee if they had any masks as she forgot hers. It occurred to me that I had stashed one in my bag, and I remember reading about ‘pay-it-forward’ in Axios Finish Line, so I offered it to her and she was so grateful.” –Heather N., Portland, Oregon
– “We were in the drive-thru of a fast-food restaurant, [and] I noticed [the passenger behind me] was wearing a “Navy Veteran” hat. I paid for his order and asked the cashier to just tell him it was from one veteran to another. The Navy vet gave me a thumbs-up when he got to the pay window.” –Robert T., Rock Hill, South Carolina

ARE YOU BOOSTED? IF YOU’RE 55 OR OLDER AND NEED A REASON, HERE YOU GO.
from the Times:
A new study by Moderna suggests that its updated coronavirus booster strengthens a key component of the immune system’s defense against the Omicron subvariant that accounted for most infections in the United States in recent months.The federal government replaced the original boosters from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech with updated shots in September. Among 76 participants over age 55, the company said that the level of antibodies in those who had received its updated booster was four times as high as in those who had received the original one.

AND HAVE YOU HAD A FLU SHOT?
from the Times:
Experts agree that it is important to receive the vaccine before cases start to surge. Your body needs at least two weeks after the shot to ramp up its defenses against the flu. People who are more susceptible to severe flu —- especially older adults, pregnant women and very young children — should not delay their shots…
People who are 65 or older are at high risk of developing serious complications from the flu, including pneumonia and inflammation of the lungs, that can cause difficulty breathing and lead to hospitalization and the need to be put on a ventilator. An influenza infection can also increase the risk of heart attack and stroke in older adults, said Dr. Tara Vijayan, an infectious disease doctor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. “As we get older, we have a natural decline in our immune responses,” she said.

AND THIS IS YOUR REWARD: SIX MINUTES OF ABSOLUTE JOY
“(Your Love Has Lifted Me) Higher and Higher.” Bruce Springsteen, Darlene Love, Billy Joel, John Fogerty, Jackson Browne, and a brassy band. (Click here to listen, ideally at volume.)

IF A CHUNK OF BLUBBER DID NOT CRUSH YOUR CAR TODAY, YOU PROBABLY HAD A PRETTY GOOD DAY
1970, the Oregon Highway Division consulted with the U.S. Navy and decided the best way to dispose of a whale carcass was to blow it up with a 1/2 ton of dynamite. The explosion caused blubber to rain down on spectators for over a 1/4 of a mile… A five-foot chunk of the whale hit a new Oldsmobile that spectator Walter Umenhofer had bought at a dealer’s “whale of a deal” promotion. Due to the physical damage and the smell that permeated the car, insurance covered the full retail value of the Olds. Watch a news clip.

MARGARET SULLIVAN LAUNCHED A SUBSTACK
She’s the former Public editor of theTimes, former columnist for the Washington Post, and, most recently, author of the essential book about media,
Newsroom Confidential: Lessons (and Worries) from an Ink-Stained Life. Her substack is essential reading about media. To read — and subscribe — click here.

WEEKEND RECIPE: BECAUSE IT’S WINTER…
From Plenty: Vibrant Recipes from London’s Ottolenghi

Roast Chicken with Chili and Basil
Serves 2-4

1 tbsp sunflower oil
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp dried chili flakes
3 scallions
2 chicken legs
2 chicken breasts
2-4 mild red chilies
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a bowl, whisk the oils, mustard, soy sauce, vinegar, and chili flakes. Season with a little bit of salt and some pepper.
Roughly chop the scallions and add them to the sauce with the chicken and the whole chilies. With your hands, rub the chicken well with the marinade and keep refrigerated for 4 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Place the chicken in a roasted tray and place in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until cooked through.
Arrange the chicken on a serving plate, place the chilies on top and pour the juices on. Garnish with basil.