She's a…
Twentieth Century Fox
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Columbus Day Dinner Dance Date: Sat Oct 12, 2002 Time: 6:30pm-??? Italian American Club of Southern Nevada 2333 East Sahara Ave., Las Vegas, NV 89104 Live music by Boyd Culter's 5-Piece band, prime rib dinner, and dancing at the Italian-American Club of Southern Nevada. All are welcome to attend. Tickets are only $25 and must be purchased in advance. Cost: $25.00 For More information Call 457-3866 or visit Web Site |
In honor of this dance, of Columbus, and of Joan Didion, this site's music for the weekend is "Spinning Wheel." For the relevance of this music, see Chapter 65 (set in Las Vegas) of Didion's 1970 novel Play It As It Lays, which, taken by itself, is one of the greatest short stories of the twentieth century.
The photograph of Didion on the back cover of Play It (taken when she was about 36) is one of the most striking combinations of beauty and intelligence that I have ever seen.
She's the queen of cool
And she's the lady who waits.
— The Doors, "Twentieth Century Fox," Jan. 1967
Play It As It Lays is of philosophical as well as socio-literary interest; it tells of a young actress's struggles with Hollywood nihilism. For related material, see The Studio by Didion's husband, John Gregory Dunne. A review of Dunne's book:
"Not since F. Scott Fitzgerald and Nathanael West has anyone done Hollywood better."
High praise indeed.