Things looked so bleak in Florida the morning after the midterms, I wondered whether I would ever again feel joyful about visiting the state. As of the writing of this blog, recounts, even manual recounts, look likely. But the frontrunners as of yesterday morning continued to be Rick Scott for Senate, and Ron DeSantis, the Trump mini-me, for Florida governor. Continue reading “9 Reasons To Still Love Florida After the Midterms”
Author: joanna
Inside Story of Confidential, the First Celebrity Scandal Magazine
You probably need to be an octogenarian like my husband, Joe to remember Confidential, the granddaddy of celebrity scandal magazines.
I certainly don’t remember the magazine which had its heyday in the 1950s although I do remember its progeny like Silver Screen, Modern Screen, and Screenland.
These were American fan magazines which I could buy in London way past their publication dates. They were sold in a small, newsagent’s shop in Ealing located on my route home from school (Tube ride from the Convent of the Sacred Heart High School in Hammersmith to South Ealing station, then a half-mile walk to my house.) I was 11, and journeyed to school and back on my own. I had plenty of time to linger at magazine racks. Continue reading “Inside Story of Confidential, the First Celebrity Scandal Magazine”
The Improbable Journey of Berta Benz: The Movie
Okay, here’s a simple question: Who invented the automobile? Bet most of you, if you’re in the U.S., said Henry Ford who invented the Model T. If you did, you’re wrong. Look, my headline (and the photo here) is a bit of a clue, okay?
In fact, Wikipedia will tell you that a German named Karl Benz invented the first gasoline-powered automobile in 1885. (Ford developed the first mass-produced (assembly line) automobile, the Model T in 1896.)
Wikipedia is a little bit off the mark. It ignores the role played by Benz’s wife, Berta. Karl used Berta’s dowry for his various ventures including the invention of the horseless carriage, but he applied for the patent for his horseless carriage in his own name since back then married women could not apply for patents. Continue reading “The Improbable Journey of Berta Benz: The Movie”
Book Launch Party For “An Untidy Life” Serves Up Golden Memories & Nostalgia
Years and years ago, when Les Hinton, author of An Untidy Life was on the second (maybe, third) rung of the ladder he eventually climbed to the very top of Rupert Murdoch’s global media empire, we joked about writing our memoirs. Back then, Les, as president of Murdoch Magazines, had just returned from Paris where he’d met with multi-millionaire Daniel Filipacchi, of Hachette Filipacchi, Murdoch’s French publishing partner.
Les returned with some interesting stories, one of which involved a trip to Filipacchi’s powder room where a small Picasso hung “low on the wall.” It had amused –and worried– Les that the valuable piece of art hung “easily within splashing distance.”
“If I ever write a memoir,” he’d added, “the title will have to be Pissing With Picasso.” Continue reading “Book Launch Party For “An Untidy Life” Serves Up Golden Memories & Nostalgia”
Missing Girls & Small Town Secrets In Three Must-See (European) TV Thrillers
I took a mini European vacation recently — without leaving the comfort of my own home. In between finishing the readable draft of Book3 and starting revisions, I bought a first class seat on a murder mystery tour of Europe.
It’s all easily done if you subscribe to a few of those streaming video services like Netflix or Acorn TV. Good value, I think — even if you are already paying about $200 a month for your bundled cable TV, internet and (useless) landline. Continue reading “Missing Girls & Small Town Secrets In Three Must-See (European) TV Thrillers”