I listen to podcasts and news almost constantly, one of the “fringe benefits” of living in a city already obsessed with self-indulgence that has reached new heights of isolation in the era of the ENdemic. My algorithm has me alternating between both extreme progressive and extreme alt-right viewpoints, as well as plenty in between. My … Read more
So last week I got the renewal notice from God that I am starting another trip around the sun, which these days one doesn’t take for granted. Yesterday I sadly spent another warm afternoon at a cemetery helping to mourn and bury a beloved business colleague and friend who was taken from us way too … Read more
Thirty years ago Penny Marshall produced what she would later describe as her most satisfying film, a poignant look at the World War II era All American Girls’ Professional Baseball League called A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN. With the likes of the imposing and stunning Geena Davis and a vulnerable Tom Hanks as leads, not … Read more
I got some disturbing news this week about a good friend’s sister, who was fighting for her life and undergoing emergency surgery to replace her spleen as well as to treat many other injuries. Sadly, as it turned out the cause of those injuries was this woman’s, for lack of a better word, boyfriend. As … Read more
As my former research lab buddy Norman Lear wrote earlier this summer when he celebrated his 100th birthday, “Well, I made it”. I’m nowhere near Mr. Lear’s age today, but I’m closer than I was 24 hours ago. Just to reassure you, I share the sentiment of the second line of his op-ed: “I wake … Read more
I was under the weather when I woke up yesterday; I hand’t been able to hold down any food or water the night before. As a result of the gastric bypass I had two decades ago, plus subsequent surgeries since, I occasionally can develop these issues if a small piece of food gets trapped in … Read more
I am NOT a racist. In fact, I’ve experienced prejudice, persecution and bigotry many times over, personally and, especially now, professionally. I’m short, still technically obese, Jewish and financially challenged. And once people with larger egos and muscles discovered I was far more intelligent than they could ever dream of being, I became their literal … Read more
Vin Scully was such a master of the spoken word, the one time I heard him say “f-ck”, even that word sounded eloquent. Once upon a time, I had a big enough job at a company that actually owned the Los Angeles Dodgers to warrant VIP treatment. One of the only true perks I tried … Read more
My BFF and I have had a nasty habit of falling back on what can only be described as gallows humor as a coping mechanism whenever we’d hear news of the passing of someone famous, or famous to us. We’d usually wait until at least two such instances had occurred, as we know, death often … Read more
The NFT Expo actually is in the process of being held, in person, indoors, with a sizable number of normal people actually sane enough to not hide behind pig snouts and face diapers, in the Los Angeles Convention Center. For me, it was a joyous reminder that the only way it is actually possible to … Read more