The worst indignity was that Harry Frazee the First sold The Babe to finance No, No Nanette.

It's one thing to do it to finance Showboat or Long Day's Journey Into Night. But No, No Nanette?

Anderson Cooper on C-Span addressing Yale Class Day. cute.

Ok, he is really cute, but there is something off about a super rich person telling people to follow their dreams and take chances. Yeah, not for nothing, but not everyone could finance traveling to the forefront of wars all over the world to break into reporting.

The worst indignity was that Harry Frazee the First sold The Babe to finance No, No Nanette.

The degree of urban-legendness of that is debatable. (Pretty much, yes he did finance No No Nanette, but there are various opinions as to how accurate is is to say that he sold Ruth specifically to finance it, since it opened five years later and he was involved in a zillion other financial deals before and after Ruth's sale.)

no...

Ok, he is really cute, but there is something off about a super rich person telling people to follow their dreams and take chances.

Especially someone who started out super-rich. It's not even like a movie star who started out normal -- that may be a one-in-a-million shot, but at least it's not too late for people to "make it," whereas it is way too late to get Gloria Vanderbilt as your mother.

I did a useful task! OK, half of a useful task, but still. Half a task is better than none, I always say.

Especially someone who started out super-rich.

My little epiphany after staying at the Bellagio was to sort of appreciate the rich people who do anything at all. Because they can readily spend their lives floating about from facial to spa to fancy dinner to club.

There are certain musicians who started out as rich kids - Townes Van Zandt, Gram Parsons - and they could've gone sliding through life on their trust funds. It's so easy. So props to Gwyneth and all the other pampered kids who bothered to do something with their lives.

I don't know that I can count being an artist as doing something useful with your privileged background. (I know you didn't say "useful.")

Edited to note that a guy I used to work with was Abby Rockefeller O'Neill's son, and he worked full time (running a mental health program) for a partial salary.

I don't know that I can count being an artist as doing something useful with your privileged background.

Heh. This is where we diverge in opinion by a wide margin. Since I can think of very few life-choices as valuable as being a creative artist. In my ethos - making things that affect people for generations - most useful/valuable thing. Maybe...pediatric oncologist, or cardiologist would come in ahead of that.

I think art is valuable and important, but not useful. And useful is my most important thing, so.