Fat opera singer wears tight chastity belt to Le Grand Vefour and L’Atelier Joel Robechon! (This is a shamelessly self-interested post.)

The first part of the headline is a fake but wait, wait!! Don't go away. I did it to prove a point. Well, also, if the truth be known, to hype my score of visits to this blog.

See, for seven years now, I’ve been writing here mostly on political subjects, occasionally veering off on a short tangential ride into the arts, food and travel. All this while, I’ve been tracking your visits here. And what are the most-frequently visited posts I’ve put up?

Something about George Bush being a nincompoop? Nope, those rate in the dozens of visits. Something about gun control? Something about taxes? Something about the falling national living standard? Something about Republican skullduggery?

Naah!

The three all-time killer posts, with visits that by now must be in the multiple thousands, were….

• One about fat opera singers

• One poking fun at Rick Santorum by saying he had been endorsed by the “Chastity Belt Manufacturers Association.” This one has attracted vaguely pervy visits from every corner of the globe. People from China, to Cleveland, to Chad. And no, they don’t have the slightest interest in Rick Santorum. They were looking for salacious pictures of chastity belts. (You guys know who you are, Meinherr, Monsieur, Senor, Pal, M’Lord, Chief, O Great Sheik.)

• One comparing two high-priced Parisian restaurants, L’Atelier Joel Robechon and Le Grand Vefour. (I thought Le Grand Vefour was better in comparison.) Wars, storms, financial crises and tragedies come and go, but the rich will always need someplace wonderful to eat.

So, you want to know why the world is going down the sewer? It’s because people care more about stuffing their faces with high priced food, and looking at fat opera singers and chastity belts, than they do about paying attention to the politics that determine their own fate.

While I’m here, you cognoscenti of the fine arts might want to know that the chastity belt-related image in this post hangs in my New York apartment and is a signed original etching, number 16 of 100, circa 1962, by Guillermo Silva (1929-2007). It’s essentially a precursor to the manifestation of male pro-feminism in the arts, depicting the ladies of the cave sexually “locked up” while the hotshot knight sallies forth in search of adventure and – well the late Guillermo and I leave the rest to your imagination.

Is it for sale? No it is not. But if you enjoy articles the food, art and other tastes reflected in this blog, and if $3.99 is burning a hole in your pocket, you might want to whip out your credit card, go here, and buy (and then read) a really terrific and slightly quirky e-book.