ravages of time

Eve Babitz, the L.A. author and reveler who died last week at 78, captured the erotic joy of the city, but always kept an eye on the ravages of time.

Like Cash with Rick Rubin, Kristofferson teamed with producer Don Was to make a series of late-in-life LPs that didn’t just acknowledge the ravages of time but glorified them with growly, close-miked vocal performances set against intimate acoustic arrangements.

The General Sherman, said Ambrose, is valiantly holding forth, defying the ravages of time.

“The problem with interpreting a theme based on a story about class struggle, the fragility of beauty and the inevitable ravages of time is it requires that someone actually read it,” said Hal Rubenstein, a designer, founding editor of InStyle and author of “Dressing the Part: Television’s Most Stylish Shows.”

Another actress as Phyllis might have done more to communicate the small ravages of time, but Lange concentrates instead on her ageless ferocity and charm.