And just how does Quinn get the point across? Try this multiple-choicer:

1) By picking up the phone and doing some kickass reporting.

2) By relating an old story that glorifies Sally Quinn;

3) By finding people who no longer go to dinner parties because shop talk has bored them one time too many;

4) By hitting the party circuit over the holidays and finding out what's going down.

Anyhow, we're not going to reveal the answer right off; we're just going to take you through Quinn's narrative, and let you decide which is the right choice:

*A long time ago, Quinn was at a dinner party hosted by the famous Oatsie Charles.

*She sat next to a couple of goons who went on and on about the stock market and other Wall Street stuff, to the exclusion of all else. One of the guys was from out of town.

*When Quinn tried to interrupt/change the subject, "they simply dismissed me."

THEN! Later, one of the Wall Street obsessives, well, let's take it straight from Quinn's copy:

After dinner I was standing with a group when the out-of-towner came rushing over to me. "I just learned that you are Sally Quinn," he gushed. "I would love to talk to you."

"It's too late, Buster," I replied.

Think about what this incident accomplishes:

1) Quinn is able to shame that rude DJIA-obsessed man one more time!

2) Quinn is able to tell her 2010 readers that she's been famous for a good long time. Even an out-of-towner knows who she is!

3) Quinn slides all this stuff in the column under the guise of helping aspiring hosts regulate their parties.

Brilliant.

I'm actually at Fort Fringe as I type–formerly known as A.V. Ristorante Italiano–which the festival folks have artfully transformed into their guerilla headquarters, complete with offices in a crumbling bar, a two-tiered tent deemed the Baldacchino in the parking lot, and a permanent black box theater in what used to be a meat-curing pantry.  I will be blogging live from here until the shows begin this evening–so if you want to know if the toilets will be working in time for the opening night party later, you know where to look for updates.

Oh yeah, there's a party: 9 PM at Fort Fringe, 607 New York Avenue NW.  But really this festival is all about the performances, so turn off your computers, get off your rolling chairs, and go check out a show or two or twenty.  Then visit Fringe & Purge and let everyone know what you thought.