Pressler’s Boring Boyfriend In Boring Flap Over Boring Book Being Made Into Boring Movie
Gosh, it feels like forever since we’ve checked in on PhillyMag expats/spouses-to-be Jessica Pressler and Benjamin Wallace, you know, after they moved to New York during that city’s least interesting epoch since its birth. So let’s see, Pressler is writing New York Magazine‘s Intelligencer blog (hmm, I wonder if anyone at PhillyMag reads that…), and oh yeah, here’s something about the guy, what’s his name again? Ben! Ben. Sorry:
[...] it won’t be too long before the guys who produced the Will Smith vehicle The Pursuit of Happyness—a company called Escape Artists—will be able to get started on their latest project: a film adaptation of Benjamin Wallace’s forthcoming book The Billionaire’s Vinegar, the tale of top-shelf shyster Hardy Rodenstock, who tricked a really rich man into paying him half a million dollars in 1985 for a case of 1787 Chateau Lafite Bordeaux wine that was purportedly, but not actually, once stored in the wine cellar of Thomas Jefferson.
Roughly the same is true for producer Ben Karlin, except the movie he’s going to work on will be based on an article about Mr. Rodenstock that was published in the Sept. 3, 2007, issue of The New Yorker. [...]
Ben Karlin knows all about Benjamin Wallace’s project. In fact, he and Mr. Wallace know each other pretty well: They live in the same building in Brooklyn.
Oh my gosh, I’m sorry, I just fell totally asleep! I had the funniest dream, though: It was a sequel to that Merlot movie, Sideways, and in it, Will Smith and Pressler’s boyfriend were having a staring match, which was scored to a Bonnie Raitt song. That was it. That was the whole movie. It didn’t do well at the box office, but it killed in residuals from the Oxygen network.
NYObserver: Ooh, This Is Too Bitter, Do You Guys Have Any Bartles & James?
February 13th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Now, now. I don’t know if it’s Philebs editorial policy, but it seems someone has a particular axe to grind ‘gainst Pressler and b/f, but does so in a fashion that screams insecurity. Insecurity over a Philly writer whose “leaving” can also be read as her “getting moved by her career trajectory.” Now the Philly writer who “stayed” can’t help but wonder “maybe my career is stuck” so shoots barbs by concocting some whole “dull vibrancy” thing about the new town, despite the fact that while there aren’t arbitron ratings for arts and culture professionals, NYC is still indisputably a “bigger market” for writers than our local parochial zone.
And the “edge” or more “interesting epoch” our podunks are going through:
1.)Old School social club that while one of the first to accept black members, excluded women membership until the 80s throws a party.
2.)Music news led by a Philly area group hooking up with, doh, NYC area artists.
3.)Earthlink shat in our wireless field.
4.)Back in the day, area DJs were unabashed trekkies.
5.)Jersey shore.
6.)We got rappers tied to coke and scientologists tied to the fringes of rationality.
7.)Vampire weekend played here.
8.)Peeps are gettin’ the flu.
I don’t know what Press did to you aside from maybe get some people who didn’t wish they knew to think about Philly, and thereby caused your unique visitor count to rise; but really, let her go. Stick to the writers still in the shop. Pressler’s name is not SEO it’s just sour grapes.
February 13th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Way to sneak some tired snark about the lameness of Philly into your righteous indignation about people being meeeaaan to Ms. Pressler.
February 13th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
The Management gives CTI’s above remarks The Gas Face.
February 13th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
internet rage is so cool. i want some.
February 13th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Well gee, I’d kinda like to see that movie–sounds interesting to me.
I have an antique dealer friend who buys out estate sale cellars on occasion, and he’s been kind enough to share bottles with yours truly. The first growth wines I’ve had the rare pleasure of tasting do live up to their hype, but I also have sommelier/winehead friends in NYC and Phiddy who have turned me on to some inexpensive $10-15 wines that are also wonderful table wines. (If anyone has recommendations, please forward them along–always looking for new wines to try, especially Spanish and Chilean reds.)
I’m not an expert and I’ll never be able to afford such rarities as my well-heeled friend, but the aesthetics, craft, terroir and history of old, rare wines becomes more compelling as you learn more about them. In that sense, is it really all that different from that other great pleasure, music? I hope we’re not suggesting that it’s the type of people, because that’s just a lazy, callow argument–as if we all can’t like both good wine AND roller boogie.
More aesthetes, less snobs!
February 13th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
See Whimsy implicitly points out yet again, just like he did in a comment to that sepia tone photo, that NYC and Philly can co-exist after all. New York isn’t doing anything to Philly despite Philebrity’s xenophobia. If there are any urban transplants they should worry about, they’re from DC (city gov is now stacked with them). Really, thriving cities need an insularity that Philebrity breaks down every time it busts on people who’ve moved to NY (or the anonymous stats who come in from there). Real smug towns don’t just forget Pressler’s bf’s name, they forget Pressler too.
All I’m saying is the Pressler beat is played out. Especially on the “NYC ain’t interesting front.” I have fear that there’s a choreography in Sweeney’s head that includes an already written a cockle-warming, open-arms “welcome back j-girl!” post. It’s just a bit … creepy.
February 13th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
CTI – that’s not ALL you said – you also said that vampire weekend played here. lord whimsy, would it be snobbery to know that vampire weekend sucks and to therefore miss the show? alas, it’s clearly a matter of taste! which, in response to your request for good wines within a decent price range i offer you something you more likely than not already know about: riojas. all of them. but if you must chose one, try and get a 2003 marques de caceres rioja. it goes with every course – and surprises you at dessert, when you’re on your second bottle, and haven’t felt the need to switch wines. truly amazing. it’ll cost just over 15 bucks.
if a snobby tree falls in a forest of good taste, did it ever really fall? sayin!
February 13th, 2008 at 4:55 pm
Actually, fuckermost, I was saying Philebs had been saying Vampire Weekend played here. But that’s a battle that’s been fought.
February 13th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Oh, I’m a Rioja lover, too, Fmost. I’ve been drinking that Maques de Caceres Rioja 2003 Reserva all winter. You’re right–it’s really great stuff, peppery and full (I’ve been told Rioja reservas are usually best between 5-7 years of age, so apparently this 2003 is just hitting its stride). The 2005 is okay, but not as satisfying–might wanna hold on them for a bit, perhaps. 2005 seems like it was a good year, but a real oenophile would be a better judge than I.
You might want to try (and I hope I’m recalling the right wine here) the Portuguese 2005 Vale do Bonfim Douro Reserva. They serve it at Southwark. Has the same grapes used in port and you get a whiff of that, but boy it’s dense, beautiful stuff–nice and dry, but big. I like it, anyway. Makes Pinots look thin. You can spread it on toast, this wine. I think it weighs in well under $20.
Here are some other inexpensive wines to check out:
Le Jaja de Jau Syrah-Grenache 2005 (under $10): Simple, good, nothing to ponder. Cool bottle, too.
Bodega Septima 2006 Malbec Mendoza (under $10): Rustic sort of wine, unpretentious. Good with pasta.
Give these guys in Pennsauken a visit if you haven’t–they get all sorts of affordable wines from small, obscure vineyards in Europe: http://moorebrothersblogs.com/
Noted pantywaist Philipe Jullian once wrote that good taste is made up of many small distastes–which I suppose is largely true, but I’d much rather dwell on the things I like. The opposite of love isn’t hate: it’s indifference. An old cliche, but that sounds about right.
February 13th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Oh–one more thing, babies: Watch yourselves when coming back from Moore Bros. back into PA. I have it on good information the Pennsylvania cops look for PA plates coming over from the Moore Bros parking lot, so go when you have other business in NJ, or go with someone with NJ plates.
February 13th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Gary Vaynerchuk’s a hyper loudmouth, but he knows his stuff. Here he is on Riojas.
February 14th, 2008 at 10:53 am
whimsy, sir – i’m from delaware. good ol’ moore brothers! it was a lovely day in wilmington with a fancy cup of coffee from the brew haha adjacent (artisans, these brew haha people) and a walk around the 56 degrees of wine afterward. but i could never keep up with them. i always find myself asking “do you have something that tastes like…” as opposed to “hey dude, where’s the…” or whatever. in any case, i’d recommend a trip there sometime because, though it resides in a strip-mall-lite atmosphere, a mere three blocks up you will find the gibraltor mansion, where marian coffin broke ground for both landscapers and women by carving out this masterpiece of a formal garden. always vacated. always amazing. i’ve even broken into the mansion itself, which still remains dilapidated and abandoned. i found a copy of “yachting” magazine from 1972! anyway, if you need to get away with a book, or whatever, it doesn’t get much better than this:
http://www.preservationde.org/gibraltar/estate/index.htm
http://tclf.org/landslide/2006/gibraltor/site_profile.pdf
it’s open to the public. you won’t even see a gardener, but somehow it’s always immaculate.
thanks for the wine recommendations. i will look them up.
oh, and ps: if you do go, get out of delaware before sunset or you will witness a yuppie mardigras night life rivaled only by old city on a friday night.