Taylor Swift announced on Wednesday that her sixth studio album, coming out November 10, will be called Reputation. That got me thinking that if I were a pop star dropping a new album, the most appropriate name for it would be Procrastination. I could schedule my album for the 10th of Never. A post shared…
In the News
Post-Charlottesville Actions for New Yorkers
If you feel the need to do something in the wake of the white-supremacist violence in Charlottesville, Va., check out the action list I put together for my local Indivisible chapter. CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST ACTION LIST. I write the action list weekly — this is week #23 — and while my content is…
A Health Insurance Horror Story
I have to interrupt my happy posts about the Women’s Jewelry Association Awards for Excellence to share a friend’s personal story about the fatal consequences of not having health insurance. The news today has been insane as Republican Senators strive to pass a “skinny” healthcare bill — the details of which weren’t announced until close…
Monika Reports on the Young Royals
This is random, but too exciting not to share: When Prince William and Princess Kate visited Poland this week, my Warsaw-based friend Monika was part of the crowd that turned out to greet them. Okay, anyone can join a big crowd, right? But not just anyone can get to the front of the crowd, shake…
RIP, Jenny Meirens
Earlier this month, Jenny Meirens — the co-founder of the avant-garde fashion house Maison Martin Margiela — died aged 73 after an unspecified long illness. Like Martin Margiela, the designer of the line, Meirens was a figure of mystery who rarely consented to be photographed or interviewed. That’s why I was fascinated by a long interview…
RIP, Ms. Sheila Michaels
Sheila Michaels — the woman responsible for popularizing the honoric “Ms.” as a substitute for “Mrs.” or Miss” — died last month of leukemia at age 78. As her New York Times obituary by Margalit Fox notes, Michaels didn’t invent “Ms.,” nor did she claim to. The abbreviation appeared in a Massachusetts newspaper in 1901,…
The Handmaid’s Tale and American Slavery
I’m normally quite negligent when it comes to watching newsworthy, high-quality television shows. I’m sure I’ll end up consuming Orange Is the New Black the same way I did Breaking Bad and Mad Men, belatedly cramming in every episode right before the series ends. However, the current political climate inspired me to keep up with…
RIP, French Feminist Icon Simone Veil
Simone Veil, an Auschwitz survivor who became a lawyer and then a much-admired feminist politician in France, died yesterday at the age of 89. Embed from Getty Images As France’s health minister in the 1970s, she pushed through laws that lifted restrictions on contraception and legalized abortion. During the National Assembly’s debate over abortion, “phrases…
RIP, Anita Pallenberg
I was in Europe two weeks ago when news broke of Anita Pallenberg’s death at age 75, and I want to pay tribute to her, belatedly, because she was a style icon. Embed from Getty Images In the 1960s and ’70s, Anita was a model and actress (Barbarella, Performance), but she really made her mark…
Gay Pride Weekend in New York
New York’s LGBT Pride march is taking place on Sunday. If you’re going, keep your eyes peeled for Frances Goldin on the corner of East 18th Street and 5th Avenue. Goldin has been attending Pride for over 30 years, carrying a sign that says, “I Adore My Lesbian Daughters/Keep Them Safe.” Embed from Getty Images…