News on the march. Or news in March.

Show business deaths in threes: Anthony Minghella, Arthur C. Clarke, Ivan Dixon.

Seen at New Directors/New Films: "A Lost Man", "Epitaph", "Megame", "Momma's Man", "Sleep Dealer", "Frozen River", "The Toe Tactic", "Ballast" and "Moving Midway". A solid grouping of work.

The International Art Critics Association (or Association International des Critiques d'Arte) had its annual award ceremony on Monday, March 17 (St. Patrick's Day). Getting to the Guggenheim Museum was a nightmare: i thought i left in plenty of time, but it took 90 minutes! The crowds were impossible on the subway: almost scary. There's such a need for another subway route on the east side of Manhattan.

But also in the news: David Paterson's second day in office as governor of New York included a press conference where he and his wife admitted they had marital problems, and both of them had affairs. In the art world: Leonard Lauder gives the single biggest donation ever to the Whitney Museum: $131 million (according to the NY Times).

Heather Mills and Paul McCartney are divorced and she gets a settlement worth almost $50 million.

Bear Stearns collapsed. All these economic commentators saying that the economy may be headed towards a recession. In polls, 75% of the people think this country is headed for a recession. Recession? Banks start failing, unemployment is going up, prices are out of control. Hello: this used to be called a Depression! That's the great legacy of George W. Bush.

What fresh hell is this? The Republicans have created a scorched earth policy, only the earth they're destroying is our own. Why is there no justice?