Great Garbo

A shopkeeper in Kansas will pay his taxes and not complain when his hard-earned moolah ends up propping up some Latino’s drug habit in New York. They’re both Americans, he figures. Uncle Sam spreads the wealth around as he sees fit. But a German does not think his hard-earned moolah should help a Greek civil servant retire at fifty. The tragedy is that so many good and honest hard-working Greeks have lost everything while the Brussels gangsters summit and summit and summit and summit some more. God, what I would give to meet one of these bureaucrooks in a locked and soundproof room—almost as much as I would give to run over a few Greek politicians.

Speaking of baddies, why are people surprised that the most unattractive of twerps, Mark Zuckerberg, pulled a fast one with his IPO? Zuck rhymes with “yuck.” Facebook stock will go down to nuthin’ eventually, but his billions are safe. Just like those two spiritual brothers of his, the Tchenguiz Ali Babas. They seem to have gotten away with plundering the Icelandic bank Kaupthing unless the Serious Fraud Office wakes up and sends them away for the long time they deserve.

Yes, dear readers, crime does pay. All you have to do is look around you. Here in Cannes and Antibes, Russian bling is choking the place to death. Last week I went to Eden Roc for one of those ghastly parties given by outrageously expensive jewelry salesmen. Never have I seen such foul-mouthed, avaricious, posturing peacocks. Most of them were young and middle-aged Russians. They were coarse, arrogant, and obviously conceived by chimps with a dose of the clap. These unrepentant vulgarians are everywhere, cultural vandals who are as amoral as they are venal. They are covered in bling, as are their wives and hookers. I’d rather dine with the Michaels of Kent for two nights running than pay a return visit to Eden Roc. I left almost immediately, and I’m very surprised I kept my lunch and dinner down after having been in their proximity for less than a minute.

Otherwise, things are hunky-dory. I’m filming for one more day—I think I’m bigger than Garbo—which made me miss the wedding of Wafic and Rosemary Said’s daughter in Versailles. The things I will sacrifice for art. I would have loved to go to Versailles in May for a wonderful friend’s party, but my fans would have rioted. Seduced & Abandoned is a great movie, but without Taki it’s as worthless as Facebook stock.