In a review of the new movie "Fever Pitch," Manohla Dargis writes:

Other than the fact that she looks like Drew Barrymore and is impossibly
beautiful, Lindsey is just like any other overworked single woman who has ever
turned a blind eye to a beer gut, a receding hair line and years of indulgent
mothering for a date.

Now, Ms. Dargis may be revealing a bit too much of herself here. But my reaction came from an ancient Greek epigram, courtesy of an old National Geographic volume: The Cnidians bought a statue of Aphrodite sculpted by Praxiteles, who used the courtesan Phryne as a model. (The statue had been made for the people of Cos, but they rejected it because it was, shockingly, nude.) The statue was said to be so true to "life" that the saying arose:

"The Cyprian (Aphrodite) said when she saw the Cyprian of Cnidus, 'Alas, where
did Praxiteles see me naked?'"

As long as I'm revealing some of myself, today I attended an event that marked the opening of the YU Museum's new exhibit on the Talmud. (I highly- highly- recommend it, by the way). In any event, this event was a tribute to the late Jerome Schottenstein, with speeches by Richard Joel, Norman Lamm, Nosson Sherman, Adin Steinsaltz, and many others, and it once again led me to a topic I've been considering the last few days. (Obsessive? Moi?) Basically, how is it that people accomplish so much in their lives? I see hugely accomplished and knowledgeable CEOs, for example, taking over in their mid forties or early fifties. And to imagine- to take this a step further- that all of that will be gone from the world, through retirement and, eventually, death, in no time at all!

Eh. I'm soon to turn thirty. (And have accomplished...) The morbid thoughts will pass. In the meantime, here are some more cheerful photos. Have a great week, all!