Foster’s post about my Gawker-era conjectures that...

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Foster’s post about my Gawker-era conjectures that Si Newhouse’s aversion to garlic might indicate that he’s a vampire reminded me of this, which seems sort of hilarious in light of John Koblin’s story today about the McKinsey aftermath at Conde Nast. From the Gawker archives, a reader submission of a Si Newhouse sighting:

I’m at Film Forum during their Samuel Fuller retrospective checking out a double feature of ‘The Steel Helmet’ and ‘Fixed Bayonets.’ There’s this little dude in a Lacoste shirt in the row behind me talking to a taller, rather brassy woman of a certain age. He’s bemoaning to her the fact that the costs at his business are too high. It’s kind of funny, so I look closer and realize that the guy is in fact Si Newhouse. I’m thinking, what the fuck is Si Newhouse doing here? Is he an auteurist? Did he serve in the Korean war? (Both of the films that afternoon were set therein.) Anyway, the woman starts giving him money-saving advice. ‘Why don’t you just get rid of messenger service? I mean why do you need it anyway? What with fax and e-mail there’s just no point.’ Si mulls this over for a little bit, thinking that maybe the broad’s on to something. But no.. A few seconds of chewing on the idea and he shakes his head, saying, ‘No, you still need messenger, for when you’ve got to send out tchochkes and all that…’ At which point the lights went down.

(Emphasis mine.)