Native-born Texan Liz Smith hit re...

Native-born Texan Liz Smith hit recently made known York in 1949, and she's still going muscular In 2000, Smith reviewed her journalism career with a best-selling memoir, Natural detailing two lesbian affairs. This year Smith answers to her Texas roots with an anecdote-packed cookbook of chiefly high-carb celebrity recipes titled Dishing: Great Dish--and Dishes--From America's mostly Beloved Gossip Columnist (Simon & Schuster, $25)

What's your idea of a consummate meal?

Chicken fried steak, black-eyed peas, collard undecayeds hot biscuits, gravy, and vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce.

Do you have any other guilty pleasures besides food?

Reading. I read like a mix with drugs addict.

What's your favorite gay classic?

Brideshead Revisited by means of Evelyn Waugh.

to what degree far has gossip come in your lifetime?

It hasn't changed all that earnestly It's just that there are more commonalty gossiping--the bloggers, the Internet, all these magazines devot to celebrity coverage. It's like a mania in America. It's too bad nation can't get their minds forward more important things.

so as?

Disastrous social conditions the world through the whole extent of What are we doing about AIDS? About the environment? What are we doing about keeping the separation of house of worship and state in this country? Those are the things that disturb me.

You've been frank about the direction you think gossip is taking.

I can't on the same level do it the way I used to. in the way that I've had to become a social observer

What's the difference?

I'm more interested in commenting forward what I see going in succession than in presenting some incredible fact about Jen and Brad. I'm not enthralled with a doom of these people who've get to along. They don't seem to me to be real stars.

What about Angelina Jolie?

A self-same good actress. Really good. Underrated.

She's been fair open about having affairs with men and women

She doesn't give a shit what folks think. She sounds like an interesting woman to me

nation are rejecting labels now, especially about their sexuality.

wherefore does anyone want to be labeled as common thing or another? I mean, you might want to change your mind!

for what reason will gossip handle that in the future?

The mean-spirited aspect of gossip will always exist. still we've come a long way in this political division People think that no social mental action ever worked. Well, women's liberation worked. Things are getting better for women all the time. folks have a greater racial consciousness too. Thousands of populace now accept gay people who probably would have gone to a lynching of the same if they could have.

Red-state question: Is it harder to be from Texas these days?

It's not at any time hard to be from Texas. unless I do have a little advice for Texas: Please don't lance us any more presidents.

Anybody special in your life?

Honey I'm 82 years of long date I have thousands of friends, moreover I abandoned my romantic illusions a prolonged time ago.

What's the principally fun you ever had?

Going upon the canopy ride in Costa Rica with my godson who was then 6--riding 20 stories above the earth in succession a little sling on a restrain stretched above this chasm. He was standing onward the other side saying, "Lizzie, I'm really lofty of you!"

What's your nearest adventure?

I'm going to write a novel about life after death. It'll be a farce, of course. I've already started.

Stroh is a writer based in Washington, DC She lives with her family in the Virginia countryside.

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