Why I Love New Orleans
I miss New Orleans. I was there last March and arrived back home in San Francisco just as the Shelter in Place (SIP) was about to be issued. It was surreal to go from a place full of people to a city emptied out overnight. Of course New Orleans soon had its own shutdown, but […]
Does the Tattoo Change the Woman?
I waited a long time to get a tattoo. I put it off for twenty years while I fretted that it would give people the wrong impression about me as I started my public relations firm. Then I was worried it would somehow damage my credibility when I became a mother. But I never lost […]
When Life is Stranger than Fiction
I love this photo of the Skystar in Golden Gate Park. For me, it’s simultaneously romantic and creepy – the lights sparkling in the twilight of an emptied almost dystopian landscape thanks to the pandemic and San Francisco’s shelter in place order. It’s the kind of thing you would read about in THE STAND or […]
Witches
Witch: 1. A person, esp. A woman, who professes or is supposed to practice magic, esp. Black magic; sorceress. 2. Slang. An ugly or malignant woman; hag. 3. A person who uses a divining rod. 4. To affect by or as by witchcraft; bewitch; charm. Witch is a complicated word. At its worst, throughout history […]
Finding Our Voice
When Americans turn on their televisions to watch the nightly news—assuming that they still do—why do they prefer to listen to the delivery of the day’s headlines in a male voice? In 2011, when CBS replaced Katie Couric, America’s sweetheart, with a male colleague as the nightly news anchor, the program gained one million viewers. […]
When Things Go Wrong, Send in the Women
I’m obsessed with female leaders and their portrayal in entertainment. Are great women leaders seen as ruthless? Sexy? Brittle and sarcastic? Or are they kind, but firm, leading through inspiration instead of intimidation. For me, creating a compelling female character is tricky. Too many portrayals of women in popular culture repeat outdated stereotypes or reinforce […]