Author: joanna

News Squib#4 – Bring Back the Leeches

Extra News TodayIt’s Squib Saturday. Time to share the best, most interesting (or most entertaining, or most outrageous) tidbit of information I’ve gleaned from all the stuff I’ve read this week. Today: Waging War on A Superbug

 

So, at least there is one issue all the countries in the world agree on.  Well, 193 countries, anyway. (And, it’s not that Donald Trump is an overweight, mendacious, narcissistic, tweeting buffoon.) What they all agreed on at the recent annual meeting of the U.N. General Assembly in New York is that we face one common enemy: the Superbug. Continue reading “News Squib#4 – Bring Back the Leeches”

What Makes A Good Story? (Behind the Scenes#2)

Crumple Paper, Notebook And Pen With Cup Of CoffeeBehind the Scenes is a series of occasional posts about my efforts to write a new thriller (working title, Book 3) and about the challenges, setbacks — and perks — of returning to a writing life. Today, the first of two parts: What I Learned In 3 Days with Story Guru, Robert McKee 

Plotting is my very favorite part of the creative process.  I scribble. I doodle. I get to play God for a little while: I push the characters around, and have things happen to them, and have them do things to others. I jot down key bits of dialog. Usually, I know how it’s going to end for the main characters. I do all this with pen and paper.

Blank Screen

But there comes a time when I have to go to my desktop and keyboard to start writing chapter by chapter, pecking away letter by letter. Faced with a blank screen, I usually do what all, most, many writers do. I procrastinate. This time was no different. I rearranged the spices in my spice cabinet; I checked the expiration dates on all the condiments in the refrigerator; I made a very, very detailed schedule for writing. And, then I picked up all my notes and jottings, and wondered if I even had a good story?

“Only one way to find out,” I told my husband one day last April. “Gotta book myself into one of those three-day writers’ seminars.”  I cleared my throat nervously. “It costs $865. But, you know, the guy’s brilliant.” Continue reading “What Makes A Good Story? (Behind the Scenes#2)”

News Squib#3 – Suing A Smart Vibrator

Digital tablet on newspaper concept for internet and electronicIt’s Squib Saturday. Time to share the best, most interesting (or most entertaining, or most outrageous) tidbit of information I’ve gleaned from all the stuff I’ve read this week. Today: When Good Vibrations Turn Bad 

 

There was a time (decades ago) when no self-respecting female would admit to knowing what a vibrator was, much less admit to owning — or good heavens, using —  one. But times change, and earlier this year a vibrator, described as the “Lexus” of sex toys got the Good Housekeeping seal of approval. Continue reading “News Squib#3 – Suing A Smart Vibrator”

News Squib#2

Digital tablet on newspaper concept for internet and electronicIt’s Squib Saturday. Time to share the best, most interesting (or most entertaining, or most outrageous) tidbit of information I’ve gleaned from all the stuff I’ve read this week. Today: Keeping Up With The Joneses

 

 

Most everyone has heard the phrase, “keeping up with the Joneses.”  It’s a snarky idiom for those who attempt to match the lifestyle (usually upscale) of friends and neighbors in order to be as socially acceptable. Ever wondered how or where the phrase originated?

On 80-acre Estate

3-_largeI can’t say I ever wondered about it very much, but then the Wall Street Journal illuminated me. That set me off on a mini-Google search for more info about Wyndclyffe Mansion which was put on the auction block this week as a “three-story ruin of a historical mansion.” (Photo left) Continue reading “News Squib#2”

News Squib#1

Vintage black typewriter with old books and flowers on wooden tIt’s Squib Saturday. Time to share the best, most interesting (or most entertaining, or most outrageous) tidbit of information I’ve gleaned from all the stuff I’ve read this week. Today: Watch Out Big Pharma, You’re Going the Way of Big Tobacco

 

 

It’s about time, and better late than never:  Suffolk County (the one that covers the easternmost end of Long Island where I live) has put eleven big pharmaceutical companies in its crosshairs. It is suing the opioid manufacturers for, among other things, fraudulent and misleading marketing to promote the use of painkillers like OxyContin and Percocet. The biggest of the pharmas is Purdue Pharma L.P., which manufacturers OxyContin,  an “opium-like painkiller” which is “highly addictive and dangerous.” Continue reading “News Squib#1”