A few Mondays ago my husband, Pascal, informed me that a friend of ours had called to invite us over for dinner at her house that Thursday. The next day, I received an email from her confirming the soirée, and lo and behold, whose name did I notice in the group of invitees? None other than Bill Maher, at his personal email, no less. My first thought was, Isn’t he going to be upset that she’s revealing his personal email Read More…

I keep thinking about how the Obama administration had to publicly promise Russia that the United States would not torture Edward Snowden even though it really, really wants to. It would be hilarious, if only torture weren’t so grim. I’m positively misty-eyed for the good ole days when the U.S. inspired horror in liberals for shipping prisoners off to “black sites” for that nasty wet work. Now, we openly admit to being a black site!* Plus, the sleazy supplication gave Read More…

Now hear this! There is no such thing as a black henna plant. If someone offers you a “black henna” tattoo, you should report them to the cops. Repeat after me: Henna, good. Black henna, stupid. I stopped watching television when I was 15 years old, and whenever I see a local news segment I remember why. Imagine, if you can, this scene on the idiot box: Man on a stretcher being rushed into a hospital emergency room. Close-up shot Read More…

Every year in April, the City of Lights (Paris) and the City of Angels (Los Angeles) get together at the Directors Guild of America building on Sunset Boulevard and delight film-loving audiences with a week of French film premieres in Hollywood. The dizzying array of films presented includes new features, shorts, documentaries and classics of French cinema. It’s a blast. And since I’m lucky enough to live close by, my husband and I can walk (yes, here in L.A.!) to Read More…

Can a lack of basic reading skills make you sick? I would not have readily made that connection but the answer is yes. According to the NNLM, a U.S. government agency: “…poor health literacy is a stronger predictor of a person’s health than age, income, employment status, education level, and race.” I had never heard the term “health literacy” before and came across it while researching the impact of illiteracy in the U.S. It makes sense. If your reading and Read More…