The heart of the matter All those sayings… about a woman’s place, about a woman’s power, about the capacities – and limitations – that are inherently female. Must I really enumerate them? Can’t you rattle them off in your head? They’ve been planted there since you were a child, you know – whether you’re 30 […]
Who do you trust?
When I wrote about the film, Closer, I was intrigued by the fine line between honesty and dishonesty, genuine connection and its simulation, and the ways in which we deceive ourselves when we love. There is nothing more fascinating – to me – than adults dealing with each other. Men and women, interacting. The issue […]
Men and Women. Coming Closer.
Let’s hear it for cable! And for delicious films that we may never have seen when they were released to the theaters. Like Closer – an unexpected treat I enjoyed last night, so effectively constructed that I watched it twice in succession. Closer The characters are stunning. The dialog is smart and raw. Each of […]
Is “reputation” old hat?
Are you about getting it done, or how well you get it done? Do you dash off memos, emails, or work product of other sorts, with only a quick look – if that? Do you insist on being proud of whatever you produce and put your name to? Quality, quality, quality The other day I […]
News
Yesterday I was doing some editing and talking on the phone, when I was told to look at the news. A man had taken hostages at the Discovery Channel just outside of Washington, DC. There was a gun, and possibly explosives. I got off the phone. I put on CNN. I watched, and then had […]
How to Tell a Friend the Truth (When it Hurts)
Did you attend the Fletcher School of Diplomacy? No? How about the Parental School of Hard Knocks? The Dating School of Hard Knocks? Any of these might serve as some assistance. You know – in those sticky situations when a friend needs to hear the truth. A hard truth. One that will hurt, and there’s […]
Flipping the switch
On parenting, on pending Empty Nest, on making a difference.
Why We Love Our Television Heroes: Mad Men Episode 6
Bigger than life. Flashy. Flawed. Cagey, corrupt, capricious. We love our television heroes, and our anti-heroes. Big screen or small screen, we escape into fictional lives, finding points in common, or nothing in common at all. Mad Men is the perfect example of this phenomenon, as the Emmy award winning drama – again, just last […]
The Problem with “Positive Denial” is Denial
Positive attitude is one thing. Denial is something else again…
Travel Day
It’s here. Again. A day of last minute laundry and packing, goodbyes, airports. The house, suddenly so quiet, as my teenager prepares to fly back to college. To begin his sophomore year. It was an evening of more loads of wash than I can count, the heap of luggage in the living room finally emptied, […]