I never liked his work, I agree with your assessment of it. I wasn’t ever a fan, just thought that his interview gave a sweet image. It sort made his work less insipid to me.
Yuck. I totally fell for it, I wish I were not so gullible. It often doesn’t occur to me that people might lie. I tend to take people at face value.
I heard Dave Ramsey say that more money just makes you more of what you already are. If you are generous, you get more generous. If you are miserly, you get more miserly. Tom K must have been nasty and arrogant before wealth.
And there is nothing wrong with taking people at face value. Sometimes the people we admire for their artistic work fall short of our expectations of who they are or were as people. Some of the great artists and musicians, political and military leaders were and are very flawed individuals. OTOH, I think we need to not idealize the person just because we may like their work.
I heard Dave Ramsey say that more money just makes you more of what you already are. If you are generous, you get more generous. If you are miserly, you get more miserly.
I once worked with a guy who had a side job working for a very high end catering company. This catering company catered a lot of high end parties and events in and around the Baltimore and DC area, sometimes in private homes.
I found it interesting what he told me about getting a glimpse into the wealthy set and about the old vs. new money set.
He told me that in the homes of the “old” money, the oriental carpets were often faded and well worn, the upholstery likewise and the china, well a lot if it was very old and often showed signs of cracks and sometimes not all of the chairs in the dining room were perfect matches and the artwork on the walls, appearing a bit dingy from years and years of candle light and oil lamps and cigar and cigarette smoke, were originals. But when he was working an event in one of these homes, he always knew he and his co-workers would be tipped well and treated with appreciation.
OTOH when he went into a home where everything was brand spanking new, very matchy-matchy he could nearly always tell he’d make little in tips and be treated like crap.