Andy Rooney

On Thursday evening, near a window in a banquet hall overlooking the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. in Times Square, Andy Rooney sidled up to a makeshift bar and asked for a bourbon.

No bourbon, explained the bartender. Wine?

Mr. Rooney shook his head no, furled his massive white eyebrows, and shuffled off into the crowd. The barkeep, having just witnessed the potential genesis of a future Andy Rooney rant on 60 Minutes (“The problem with cocktails parties today, is that there are no cocktails…) kept a straight face.

A few minutes later, Mr. Rooney stood nearby a plate of cured meats and talked with The New Yorker's Ken Auletta about football. "We're both Giants fans," explained Mr. Auletta. NYTV, who sports a terrycloth Redskins bathrobe at home, looked for conversation elsewhere.

We had gathered on the second floor of Disney's Times Square Studios at 44th and Broadway to celebrate the newly published book "Peter Jennings: A Reporter's Life," which bills itslef as "an intimate portrait of the late, legendary journalist and news anchor, in the words of his family, friends, and collagues."  read more »

LAURIE: Having recently tried on my (red) wedding dress for the first time since July, I am happy to report that it still fits, perhaps even better than it fit on the day that I bought it. This is a huge relief, although now it means that I have to buckle down and deal with the next circle of hell: accessories.

The other day after work I walked down that corridor of lower Fifth Avenue that's lousy with "better" retail names everyone recognizes from the malls of their suburban youth (plus a brand-new H&M store), thinking that I might just luck into my wedding accessories the way I lucked into my dress.

Red shoes are going to be a challenge. All the red shoes I saw fell into two categories: stripper shoes in shiny patent leather, with at least three inches of rickety heel, or smarmy, bow-bedecked flats with a negative arch. I should know better than to express opinions about fashion, since my fantasy wardrobe would come from a janitor's uniform catalog, supplemented by bathrobes, but WTF with the Reagan-era shoe styles? Ditto the cheap-looking plastic necklaces and earrings in primary colors, the kind of shit you wouldn't even sell at a garage sale in 1991.

I'm Andy Rooney, and I clearly cannot rely on mass-produced retail for my wedding needs.

Andy Rooney has a new book out, so he was happy to receive a visitor at his West 57th Street offices  read more »

On the evening of Nov.  read more »