You know those exercises where you write a letter to your future self? I should be doing that right now, seeing as I’m typing these words in 2021. Let’s see: Dear 2025 Wendy, I have no expectation that you’ll remember to share this Associated Press report about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on the actual…
In the News
A Birthday Wish
Today is my birthday. I turned 56. Today was also the birthday of a little girl named Reem Ali Badwan — a birthday she shared with her adoring grandfather, Khaled Nabhan. Reem would have turned four today, but last month, she was killed by an Israeli bomb in southern Gaza. We know her name because…
“SANS FARDS” Strikes Again
I’m devastated that Michael K shut down his long-running celebrity-gossip blog Dlisted this June. First, because Dlisted WAS the Internet for me from 2005 to 2010. Second, because he would have covered the hell out of today’s wall-to-wall media coverage of Pamela Anderson’s makeup-free face at Paris Fashion Week. Michael K was on the SANS…
Thoughts on 9/11
Post-Covid, I can’t write or even think about 9/11 as I once did. I see that many people feel the same — these comments were among those that caught my eye: On 9/11 in 2020, I wrote of my horror at this lack of perspective when the Covid death toll passed 200,000. A piece Jon…
RIP, Richard Belzer
I was sad to see that Richard Belzer died today, aged 78. Belzer first rose to prominence as a stand-up comic, but he became famous with a capital F when he was cast as television’s sardonic Detective Munch, a character he played on two different shows — Homicide and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit…
RIP, Vivienne Westwood
British fashion designer and outspoken climate- and human-rights activist Vivienne Westwood died at age 81 yesterday. During her 50-year career, Westwood pioneered punk, then pivoted to history-driven high fashion that provoked critics almost as much as her bondage pants did. She never caved to convention. Even in 1992, when Westwood was so established that Queen…
Take Action for Abortion Rights on May 14
Saturday, May 14, is a national day of action for the protection of abortion rights. If you’re in New York City, I’ve got three options for you: 12 PM – 6 PM: THIS IS THE LARGEST EVENT: The Bans Off Our Bodies action with Planned Parenthood and other national organization starts at noon at Cadman…
Rebellious Hope: Deborah James, Bowelbabe
I’ve followed London-based Deborah James, aka Bowelbabe, on Instagram for years now. I don’t know her personally, but if I recall correctly, I found her through the account of my late friend Chiara D’Agostino. You know how it is on social media: Cat people find each other, cosplay people find each other, and people with…
A Met Gala In Memoriam: André Leon Talley
The Gilded-Age-themed 2022 Met Gala is tonight, not quite eight months after the 2021 Met Gala, which COVID-19 delayed to September from May. The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute and Vogue’s editor-in-chief Anna Wintour — the gala’s chair since 1999 — worked with the pandemic-skewed calendar by creating a two-part exhibition. Tonight’s gala celebrates…
Jewel of the Month: Empress Wu for Earth Day
Today is Earth Day, marking the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. I do love a theme, so let’s contemplate my Empress Wu dragon ring with its spinning lapis lazuli globe. I created the Empress Wu ring as a symbol of a powerful woman, as I explained in this old…