Attention, NY-area Thurber fans: Sunday evening Keith Olbermann & Friends are celebrating our guy at the 92nd Street Y

From "The War Between Men and Women" (yes, you
can click on it to enlarge it!) [from DWT, June 1]

by Ken

I was working furiously on some hopefully final thoughts on Weinergate, having already put off the results of The New Yorker's search for a universal cartoon caption to tomorrow, when I realized that I really should have mentioned this Sunday-evening event, which I should have done in last night's "Perelman Tonight" post, but I just didn't think of it. I don't normally think of myself as being in the event-promotion business. Still . . .

Since it was a "Your perfect weekend" item by Time Out New York's "This Week in New York" Editor Amy Pitt which jogged my awareness yesterday to the point of springing the credit card out of my wallet, here's a TONY link, although it's not to the Amy Pitt item, which I'll be darned if I can find online!

Here, for the record, is the "Your perfect weekend" item (disclosure: I had to make my own graphic, not being able to reproduce TONY's creepy itty-bitty cutout of Keith O's head):

Even though Keith Olbermann (92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave between 91st and 92nd Sts; 212-415-5500, 92y.org; 7:30pm; $29) is starting his new gig as the host of a relaunched Countdown with Keith Olbermann on June 20, it's unlikely that he'll delve into the show too much tonight. Instead, the former MSNBC talking head will discuss humorist James Thurber, who regularly penned pieces for The New Yorker before his death in 1961. Olbermann isn't the only one celebrating Thurber tonight: New Yorker contributors Calvin Trillin and Robert Mankoff will also be there, as will Thurber's daughter, Rosemary. -- Amy Pitt

For what it's worth, the TONY item I've linked to above lists "comic Scott Blakeman" as a participant as well. No, I don't know who that is. I'm sure he's very comical, though, in addition to having much to say about Thurber.

Normally I would just provide a link to the 92nd Street Y website, but as it happens, 92Y.org is in hibernation till Monday, as the org transitions to a new and presumably much-improved site. All that's accessible at the moment is the 92Y Online blog, which advises that you can still purchase event tickets by phone, but even with additional customer service representatives on duty, "call times might be longer than usual." The box office is open Saturday 5pm-9pm and Sunday from 10am. (Oh wait, I guess it's not obvious from the name "92nd Street Y" that it's a YMHA.)

I finally broke down yesterday after being confronted by the TONY item, and via the still-operational Y website shelled out my $31 ($29 for the ticket plus the "online discounted" $2 fee for buying the damned ticket, something that once upon a time was assumed to be, you know, part of the price of the ticket -- ah, days of innocence!). I'm a really, really huge fan of Calvin Trillin (I may have mentioned at some point that he's probably my favorite living writer), and as readers may have noticed I'm a growing fan these days of New Yorker cartoonist and cartoon editor Bob Mankoff (he of the quest for the universal cartoon caption, my report on which is now shoved back to Sunday).

But I think maybe what sealed the deal for me is the scheduled participation of Rosemary T, James Thurber's only child. If I'm reading my source right (and have done the arithmetic right), she turns 80 in October, and it may sound corny, but I think it was the thought of being in the same auditorium with her that turned me into a customer. As of yesterday, at least, there were still tickets available. Remember, the box office reopens tomorrow (Saturday) at 5pm.

Again, from "The War Between Men and Women" (again,
you can click on it to enlarge it) [from DWT, June 2]
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