First Osama, then Britney, and today it was leader of our fearless effort to bring democracy and all it promises to the Middle East General David Petraeus. Hyped performances! Hoped-for comebacks! And in some cases wild shifts in hair care policy. And all it amounted to: one big steaming pile of anticlimax, natch. (Unless you count Britney bursting into tears and firing someone.) (And I don't.) Your photo today is provided courtesy last night's Nikolai by Nicky Hilton show, just so you know I haven't forgotten that Fashion Week is still on. And today I read that thanks to important industries like fashion that give them places to sink their funds, rich people will continue "saving" the "economy," because in a market economy the "economy" denotes economic indicators that serve to obscure the larger problem that a handful of corporate lawyers, wealth managers, elite reality show contestants, plastic surgeons, Flash designers and sundry plutocrat types are the only ones really getting by without serious liver damage anymore, and on a surely somehow related note, Wall Street is bullish on Viacom despite last night's drudgery of a VMA cast because Tila Tequila's bisexual dating show is going to be great for the stock. Anyway, I'm off to do like that Nashville politician who, in the middle of his DUI arrest, managed to get permission to go back to his car and refill his cup of Maker's Mark. As long as I don't pass out first. See you tomorrow, 9/11. Don't forget!