Like virtually everything in life worth doing, writing a weekly column comes with some challenges. Having the right story to write about can be something of a balancing act. Timing can be everything. If a big story breaks too soon, it can be played out by Thursday when I sit to write. Everything worth saying would have already been said. […]
Well, Oscar has put another year of awards season to bed, and the event itself was mostly uneventful, at least by Oscar standards. No one got booed, no one got all political, no one got slapped. Karl is not much for the red carpet part of the evening, and changing to a champagne carpet didn’t interest him much either. I, […]
Many years ago, a group of us were at some type of gathering when the conversation turned to Rush Limbaugh, then the radio talk show host with the largest audience. Forbes had recently reported that he was making $33,000,000 annually, just under $50,000,000 in today’s money. Viewing him as a provocateur, I asserted that there might be no limit to […]
Democrats can justifiably boast of the important women who rose from their ranks. Nellie Taylor Ross was the first female governor in American history, elected in 1924 in Wyoming. The list goes on to include Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris, each of whom notched up important firsts in politics for women. But the Republicans can lay claim to […]
Back in November of last year, Donald Trump announced he would run for president again in 2024. This week, Nikki Haley told us what we already knew — that she would also run. Mike Pence is widely believed to be planning his own “look at me, I’m running” party, but that may be put on hold while he focuses on […]
What’s not to love about a balloon? Bunched together for birthday parties, they send a message of fun and frivolity before the actual festivities begin. Even for adults, balloons at such occasions are holdovers from childhood long after cake and punch have been replaced with canapes and cocktails. Then there were the big balloons, like the one that brought the […]
Well, we’re having weather in Texas again this week. Not snow, but ice. But it’s winter, and that’s supposed to happen a time or two, so we just deal with it. Here in the 21st century, we do have more faith in weather forecasting than when I was growing up in the previous century. On Monday morning, I got a […]
Don’t we all love to receive invitations? Whether we want to attend doesn’t even matter. Formal invitations, e-vites (should that be capitalized?), the last minute “Want to get some Mexican tonight?” phone call. The only ones I don’t like are those birthday invitations with the unexpected glitter or confetti that explodes all over when the envelope is opened. Cable news […]
Imagine skipping class as a junior in high school and going to a malt shop for a Coke. The publisher of The Hollywood Reporter sees you there and asks if you want to be in the movies. Such a chance meeting launched the career of Lana Turner. Or try this. Your parents are working in a ski lodge, and you […]
Life-changing events rarely announce themselves in the moment, particularly at young ages. There was no way of knowing when, as a child, I went to the local drug store with my allowance to buy the latest comic books and movie magazines that my eye would catch on something I’d never seen before. It was the new issue of Mad, with […]
