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    JohnMcClanesSmirkHamilton Nolan
    11/08/13 9:58am

    The Wall Street Journal's primary purpose now is trolling the hoi polloi. The most obnoxious but subtle example of this is that since 2005 they don't have a weekend "Leisure", or "Entertainment", or "Weekender" section but instead, they call it "Pursuits".

    I can't think of any label more WASPy and obnoxious and elitist then referring to things one does for fun as "Pursuits". Ugh, they're the fucking worst.

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      Hamilton NolanJohnMcClanesSmirk
      11/08/13 10:04am

      You have to just appreciate the unadorned insight it offers into the lifestyles of terrible people. In that sense it's a public service. These people would be much more guarded in a more populist news outlet.

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      GandolphinJohnMcClanesSmirk
      11/08/13 10:09am

      Agreed, though I was taught never to use "the" with hoi polloi...which brings me to one of my favorite Caddyshack lines, "ahoy, polloi!"

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    sukiputthekettleonHamilton Nolan
    11/08/13 9:50am

    It is funny and also true. I work as a Personal Assistant to a very wealthy family in NYC. The apartment (16 room duplex) is alway full of employes: 3 housekeepers (the modern day name for maids), a cook, driver and two PAs and once a week a stylist. There are more employees in the house 9am-6pm than family. Often it's just us there all day. The wife loves having staff around her all day but the husband doesn't and often bemoans his lack of privacy. Fortunately for me it means my day finished promptly at 6pm right before he comes home. (Other PAs often work very late). Although, for all his complaining, the husband loves that there is a cook to cook his meals, and wash up after, every evening. It's a different world.

    Oh, and I agree with the comment about open plan apartments offering no privacy. It's absolutely true, if you want staff you need separate rooms or you are sharing space all day long. And that's not just about snobbery, but house cleaning isn't a quiet occupation. You try working, watching tv or having friends over while someone is vacuuming or mopping the floor. Doesn't work. The rich have different problem than us and it's damn funny to watch.

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      Nilla Wafflersukiputthekettleon
      11/08/13 9:56am

      Are you supposed to be on Gawker right now?

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      sukiputthekettleonNilla Waffler
      11/08/13 10:03am

      No. Boss is out and I'm messing about on line. You caught me. :-)

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    raincoasterHamilton Nolan
    11/08/13 10:06am

    Open floor plans are the work of the devil. I for one never wish to hear a refrigerator unless I am standing in a kitchen, in front of a refrigerator.

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      calmlyraincoaster
      11/08/13 10:20am

      Agreed. I lived in a rental with an open floor plan. Every time someone got ice in the fridge, the noise echoed all over the house. Fuck that, I want walls!

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      CPR14raincoaster
      11/08/13 10:31am

      Agreed. The last apartment I lived in had an open floor plan, and it was 1) impossible to decorate — I had to force myself to stop buying more and more furniture in order to fill the space; and 2) terrible at blocking noise. My roommate listened to bad music, so it was doubly horrifying.

      Now I live in a tiny one-bedroom with smaller rooms, and I love it. So cozy.

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    All Hail The Big CatHamilton Nolan
    11/08/13 9:55am

    Ok, the woman with the monkey is crazy. She has two trainers working with her monkey 6 hours a day so it can sit in a high chair and draw. I'm at a loss for words.

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      ManchuCandidateAll Hail The Big Cat
      11/08/13 10:00am

      It really makes that extra ivory backscratcher seem reasonable.

      GIF
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      cheerful_exgirlfriendAll Hail The Big Cat
      11/08/13 10:21am

      But the drawings the monkey makes are amazing!

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    Cherith CutestoryHamilton Nolan
    11/08/13 9:44am

    I have lived through this and it is actually a huge problem. Not just one for the rich. Then again I use mice as my servants kind of like Cinderella.

    Servants they just keep multiplying! And sometimes you think can feel your servants crawling on you in bed and you can't sleep.

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      Scarlett O'HereticCherith Cutestory
      11/08/13 9:59am

      I have this issue with cats.

      I think we can help each other.

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      CriticalBCherith Cutestory
      11/08/13 10:02am

      Cute story, Cherith.

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    GasPoweredStickHamilton Nolan
    11/08/13 11:40am

    I was domestic staff for a multimillionaire and her family for a number of years. None of them knew how to do even basic things due to living with servants for their entire lives. They didn't care about privacy because they'd never had it, and in fact seemed to be fearful of ever being on their own. I once got a frantic call from my boss who was traveling on the other side of the country because she didn't know how to work an ATM, didn't know her PIN, and had absolutely no cash. I kept track of all her personal, vital information and she expressed no interest in any of it. I think I knew her kid's birthdays better than she did.

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      ZaleyaKaneGasPoweredStick
      11/08/13 4:54pm

      That is kind of pathetic. So much for, "The cream rises to the top." theory of American culture.

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      graphemeistGasPoweredStick
      11/08/13 5:07pm

      Clearly, if we've allowed this to happen, taxes aren't high enough. That is too much money.

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    BrtStlndHamilton Nolan
    11/08/13 9:48am

    Prepare my food, serve it to me, clean my artwork, let my dogs out, help my kids with their homework, get my dry cleaning, make that hardwood shine, mow my lawn and get my hair out of the drain but please, PLEASE try not to be so intrusive.

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      Sean BrodyHamilton Nolan
      11/08/13 9:44am

      While I like WSJ's Mansion section, I find that the FT's How To Spend It is equally good for inducing vein-popping class rage.

      http://howtospendit.ft.com/

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        Ms.WorryWartSean Brody
        11/08/13 10:22am

        Checked out the link and....omg that's just so gross.

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        Sean BrodyMs.WorryWart
        11/08/13 10:32am

        Yeah, it's done without the hint of fuck-these-guys that you might feel is going on in the NY Times Style section.
        It's pure matter-of-fact mammon.

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      MissNormaDesmondHamilton Nolan
      11/08/13 9:57pm

      Why do you think the British had the whole "Upstairs/Downstairs" thing going on? It was a vain attempt to maintain a modicum of privacy from the staff. The master or mistress of such a home would never enter the kitchen herself, they had nothing to do with it, that was the domain of the cook and other staff.

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        sportzzzgirlMissNormaDesmond
        11/08/13 10:07pm

        That was true of 'Upstairs Downstairs', I concur. But in fact, at the time when this period piece was set, it was more common for there to be a cook-general or maid-of-all-work than a team of stoff doing one's business. The rise of the middle class saw to that. For most women 'running a house' in this era, they absolutely would have had to visit the kitchen, oversee the accounts, and generally ensure that their staff 'knew their work' on a daily, if not hourly basis!

        If you have time to spare, this is an incredibly well-researched tome into how the Victorian era 'improved' and developed upon the servant issue, leading right up to [almost] the present day.

        http://www.amazon.com/Servants-Lucy-…

        Servants Servants Servants

        Amazon.com

        Buy now

        ETA: What a pity. I bought this for 99p [Kindle] on Amazon UK, but it would appear the US site doesn't make it available. Sorry. :)

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        MissNormaDesmondMissNormaDesmond
        11/08/13 10:24pm

        That's very interesting. I was thinking more about wealthier people, like the ones Hamilton's talking about in the post, but of course you're quite right when it came to people with smaller staffs.

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      tyzHamilton Nolan
      11/08/13 9:57am

      We just started having cleaning ladies come in twice a month about a year ago. I still do a dance of joy every time they're here cleaning my house. Of course, they're only here two hours two times a month. But god I love having them here. I'd rather have this any day over expensive jewelry.

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        Vee115tyz
        11/08/13 11:11am

        do you clean before they arrive? i knew someone that found having a cleaning lady great and horrifying at the same time because of the compulsion to not have it look like she didn't anything around the house or for her child (btw she didn't.)

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        Zelda Pinwheeltyz
        11/08/13 11:13am

        I can't cosign, because I reeeaaaalllly love jewelry, but I truly love my cleaning people. I hosted my sister's wedding at my house, and when the cleaning crew walked through the door the day before the event, I literally teared up because I was just flooded with relief to see them. It was all going to be beautiful and okay. We are down to once a month since my husband lost his job, but it is still my favorite day.

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