This is apropos of nothing, of course, but there has been at least one drop-dead gorgeous debtor at every Chapter 7 meeting of creditors I've attended in the San Fernando Valley division of the bankruptcy court since the beginning of October. Cultural interpretation: as it did with so many others, the spectre of the new law caused many a potential starlet and model to seek a fresh start after their initial attempts to earn a SAG card fell short; the Valley is where many an aspiring movie star lives until they can hit it big, as well as being the Capital of the Adult Film Industry; waitressing and bartending, while nice character-building life experiences until the Big Break happens, don't do much to help pay off student loans and credit card bills in the interim.

I guess the most interesting aspect of this is that so many of these new debtors are quite young. Since they're not from around here, they haven't begun to make serious incomes, they're living in one of the priciest neighborhoods on the planet, and, without the option of living with their parents when times are tough, they are giving up the struggle to pay their debts with less of a fight.