Back from Shangri La

The Great Ducknik took this photo of Shangri La, Doris Duke's incomparable beach home on Diamond Head, into which three groups of twenty people each have been allowed four days a week since Mrs. Duke died in 2002. You're not allowed to take photos of the astonishing inside of the house, filled with Islamic art, but you can shoot to your heart's content outside.

What must it have been like to be a six-foot-tall blonde in 1933, as well as being the richest woman in the world? Doris Duke is the woman who said "Only the very rich and very poor can have great sex. Everybody else is too busy working."

It's never easy to go back to work, but at least The Great Plotnik gets a small reprieve today because his editor is still in Spain. Still, it's off to Stiletto City on Wednesday so whatever work there is needs to be completed in these next two days.

Incidentally, for those interested in betting, The Great Plotnik Gaming Division is giving 8-5 odds on the Jews getting out of Egypt again this year, and 150-1 that the asparagus will be overcooked.