Oooohh! HBO has optioned a scripted series based on a 1989 tell-all-ish book, Fortune's Children, which chronicled the demise of the robber baron clan the Vanderbilts! This would seem to fall under the rubric of that ever-popular moneyed-asshole programming I was mentioning earlier, except that it is slightly (slightly) more high-brow because 1) it is on HBO! 2) it is based on one of those fancy old-fashioned things called "books" and not merely the invention of some money-hungry reality show producer type and 3) it is not a reality show, but a re-enactment of real historical events! That actually happened! And definitely weren't embellished in any way for the book, nor will be for the purposes of dramatic TV effect! Be that as it may, it will still deal with the kind of subject matter that I can really get into, that being rich people who act like dumdums. Throw in Kennedys-meets-Faulkner calibur family dysfunction and (crossing fingers!) a cameo from my very favorite Vanderbilt Andy Cooper and we've got the makings of a goddamned hit, people! It's like The Tudors minus all the tapestry and beheadings and crap!

Meanwhile, in non-hurricane related news...