Latest NPR commentary

I celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots with this commentary on NPR's All Things Considered,

Blogging Elsewhere

Hello friends,

Since returning from LA I've been in the cave working on multiple projects at once, which is yet another excuse for not updating my blog regularly.

But here are a couple of posts found elsewhere: one about the death of Ed McMahon, the other about the financial upside of marriage equality.

Okay, back into the cave.

New Walletpop

More on my Hollywood dreams - and nightmares -- at Walletpop.com.

More inspiration

One of the many things I love about the Mesmer Project is learning how others motivate themselves. It gives me strength to persevere.

Today's puppet day!

Hooray for Hollywood

Yeah, I know, part of the point of a blog is to give updates practically as they happen. But my month-long adventure has been so jam-packed with activity I had to choose between experiencing it or chronicling it. Sorry for the delay.

Certainly one of the highlights was attending the red carpet premiere of The Hangover. It's a completely different experience than the one portrayed in magazines or on TV. For starters, it's almost hostile--the photographers and the fans screaming at the celebrities in a way that seems more angry than happy. And the celebrities make up such a small part of the audience. If you open a magazine and see a couple of dozen actors, the event seems star-studded. But what you don't see are the thousand other people also there for the movie.

And, despite the designer outfits, people still buy popcorn at concessions.

Security doesn't allow bystanders to hang out on the red carpet, but I managed to get a spot just beyond the velvet rope, affording me excellent opportunities to photograph the backs of several celebrities.

Here's Jim Carrey:


And Hangover star Heather Graham in red:


And one of the Olsen twins, I'm not sure which:


I so enjoyed getting their backs I actually forfeited the opportunity when Zac Efron looked right at me.

For more on the experience, check out what I had to say at WalletPop.com.

Coming soon--LA Trip update

In the meantime, here's another fascinating person.

Upside #2

What do budgeting and dieting have to do with one another? Here's what I had to say about Obama's appointment of Thomas Frieden to head the CDC at WalletPop.

Another Fascinating Person

Here's the latest from the Mesmer Project. Inspiring, as always.

New Column

I've got a new gig: writing for aol's finance site, WalletPop.com. Y'know, because I'm such a noted economist.

Actually, they wanted an irreverent but upbeat spin on life in the New Economy. So introducing The Upside.

It'll appear every other week. I'll be certain to post the link here each time.

New Things #382-390

Greetings from Los Angeles, where I'm completing research on book three and working on developing the whole series for television. What's more, this trip has provided me the opportunity to catch up on doing more New Things.

Beginning with the Long Suffering Floyd and I installing a bike rack on the back of my car (#382), surely the greatest technological achievement in the history of the world.


From there, I embarked on the 1,000 mile trip alone, another first (#383). I stopped in San Francisco, where I visited a fortune cookie factory (#384) which I learned are actually folded by hand.


Then I drank my first bubble tea (#385), courtesy of my friends Kathy and Dave. Imagine a smoothie filled with wads of gum.



Then a stop in Carmel to meet Jeanne Adams, the daughter-in-law of photographer Ansel Adams and a fascinating futurist and philosopher.

She believes all of life can be categorized according to edges, intersections and parabolas. Think about it--in any situation there's always something on the outskirts, something intersecting and something returning.

I love ideas people, but I try to meet so many of them I won't count it as new. As a matter of fact, I feel so fortunate that fascinating people are a regular part of my life.

Then I made a pilgrimage to Hearst Castle, (#386) which I loved unreservedly, and where I also saw hundreds of elephant seals on the beach (#387)


And now a little studio in Hollywood at the base of Griffith Park, where I get to hear coyotes howl at night (#388) Actually, yelp is more like it. They sound like a band of chihuahuas being strangled. The other night one crossed the road (#389) while I was on my bike. Y'know, the one I transported down. So I could research LA close-up.

The trip has been like one long "Artist's Date," as Julia Cameron calls them in The Artist's Way. A chance to recharge my batteries.

Oh, and did I mention I experienced my first California earthquake?

Yeah, that was #390.

Mo' Mesmer

Please check our latest entry in the Mesmer Project. She committed to and performed 1,000 acts of kindness.

I'm Back

Hello Blog Friends,

First an apology - once it became clear I wasn't going to be able to post, I should've told you so. There's nothing more irritating than checking a blog and not finding updates. I hope you'll understand when I tell you that my reason: I've finally finished the first draft of part three in the Theater People series, THE JAZZ HANDS OF GOD.

I did take a night off, however, to enjoy the Red Dress Party in this original creation by Shakir Najeb.



I'm not actually that much taller than Floyd. I'm in five-inch heels. Which only lasted a couple of hours.

All Things Considered

In honor of the fiftieth anniversary of Strunk & White's Elements of Style, I did a commentary today on NPR's All Things Considered.

It's ridiculously silly and I'm really proud of it. If you like it, I'd be grateful if clicked "recommend" or left a comment at npr.og.

New Thing #381

I've been experimenting with rubber...

But first, my apologies for being so haphazard in my posting. I'm working on several projects at once and feel most days like I'm in an altered state with no sense of how much time is passing. As such, my Adventures in Newbosity have been of the small, domestic variety.

Hence my experimenting with rubber. No, it's not as sexy as you think. Get your minds out of the gutter.

You see, as my hair grows in, I've been experiencing a steep learning curve with dye. For instance, the box tells you to apply it wearing gloves. But it doesn't say to wear them when you're washing it out. Which is why I had to scrub my palms with bleach.

They also don't tell you that the dye is one-time use only. So if you want to touch up anything you missed the next day, you have to buy a whole new box. This time, at least, I kept the gloves while rinsing it out. I was about to take them off to finish my shower, but in the spirit of trying Something New, I washed myself while wearing the gloves.

It was a dissatisfying experience, like I didn't like myself very much.

Contrarily, I've finally started wearing rubber gloves while doing the dishes. Typically I like splashing in the hot water because I have poor circulation and my hands are always cold. (Gee, fun facts about the author. Aren't you glad I blog?) But Floyd has long complained how I stretch out all our sleeves when I roll them up. And (more fun facts coming) all that washing dries out my cuticles.

So, while the the rubber glove thing makes me feel a bit like a fuddy-duddy, like someone wearing shoes at the beach, it's saving my sleeves and my cuticles.

And, really, what is more important than that?

Oh my. I hope you believe me when I tell you that the writing that's keeping me from blogging will be much more interesting than posts like this.

In the meantime, here's the latest hair update: