Jane Genova: Speechwriter - Ghostwriter

Owen Wilson - No, It Wasn't Kate Hudson & It Never Is

"Was Kate the reason?" That's the question in the September 10th issue of LIFE & STYLE Magazine about Owen Wilson's suicide attempt.  Of course, it wasn't the fall-out from that end of that romance with Kate Hudson.  It never is.  The article on Wilson answers its own question. 

Angelina Jolie - Is she really hooked on diet pills?

What many of us took for a profound mourning process, Sept. 10th LIFE & STYLE calls a simple case of diet-pill addiction.  Yes, Angelina Jolie, who travels the world and has access to those uppers which are illegal in the U.S., has lost all that weight because of diet pills.  What did it take so long for this to come out?

Relaxed Hillary & Dave

A slimmer Hillary with a long-jacket pantsuit that is flattering to her showed the nation she can handle herself in primetime.  Her presentation of self on "Letterman" was total cool.  Unlike Obama's appearance on "Letterman," she seemed relaxed, unself-conscious and connecting with Dave, the studio audience and us in our living rooms.  During this campaign, she has obviously picked up new skills, e.g. being a regular person vs the smartest girl in the room, being light vs basking in gravitas, and being in the now enough to have her timing down perfect. 

Owen Wilson, Suicide & Panic

"I want to die."  According to THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER, Sept 10th issue, [Don't turn your nose up. Dominick Dunne buys his copy of the NE every week] that's what Owen Wilson moaned in the aftermath of his suicide attempt.  That feeling is becoming more common, especially among young people who should have everything to look forward to.  Yet, despite all the theories about why people commit/try suicide and why those numbers are going up, we really don't know much about this dark night of the soul.  If we did, society would have a handle on it.  It doesn't.

Stallgate - Restrooms as dangerous stops

Don't we all assume that public restrooms, especially in upscale locations such as airports, have surveillance cameras?  In addition, even in these upscale locations we have become vigilant, do what we have to quickly, and wait inside when our children do what they have to.  The world, including the men's and women's facilities, has become a dangerous place.  That's what puzzles us about Senator Larry Craig's alleged behavior in the men's restroom at the Minneapolis airport.  Why was he in that facility long enough to have been suspected of inappropriate or even illegal conduct?

What If Britney Becomes A Man - That Could Solve Everything

Face it, the trouble Britney manages to get into wouldn't be so troublesome if she were a man.  As a man called Brit, her carelessness and self-absorption would be looked upon as something he could change, with "help," rather than permanent character flaws.  Brit would do what most bad boys do which is go to rehab for 28 days, get the bod in shape and keep obsessively telling how much he has learned.  Problem fixed, at least for now, everyone would think, would leave him alone and he would return to earning a good living.

Where Is Your Reputation - In People's Heads or on Google

Ever since THE NEW YORK TIMES public editor Clark Hoyt issued his manifesto on the danger of google digital trails Sunday in the opinion section, everyone is worked up.  The issue is: Where is your reputation - in people's minds, which change everyday based on your performance and how you comport yourself? Or is it locked in thousands of google entries online, some going back to the early 1990s or even before? 

I say it's both.  What you do today, in getting results and in how you present yourself, probably has more influence than what's on google.  But the google trail still counts.

Cleaning Up the Digital Trail - In Age of Google, It's Tough Being Somebody

Personal brands are being destroyed with a few keyboard strokes.  Yesterday in THE NEW YORK TIMES, Clark Hoyt described in his opinion piece "When Bad News Follows You" has this is happening to so many bigfoots and even the slightly famous. 

Welcome Back Party Bosses - Matt Drudge As Retro Power Broker

In the NEW YORK Magazine article by Philip Weiss today on ultimate Power Broker Matt Drudge, some claim they can't figure him out.  I can.  That's because I am from a Political Boss City like Mayor Frank Hague's ["I am the boss"] Jersey City, New Jersey.  Drudge, a player who shoots from the gut, probably never consciously put together this model of power.  But he seems to have it down cold: A mashup of non-self-importance, a big heart and willingness to help out, along with a sweet attitude but a Tony Soprano swift, never-forgiving retaliation when crossed - or even perceive oneself as having been crossed.

Backlash Against Mary Winkler's Light Sentence

"Angry Americans are voicing their outrage at the incredibly light sentence the admitted killer [Mary Winkler] received - five months in country jail and two months more in a cushy mental facility where the 33-year-old mom was treated for depression and stress," reports the September 3 issue of GLOBE.  Why the backlash?  At the time of the trial, those I spoke with indicated that in Mary Winkler's community the majority thought she should be punished, but not severely.  Her lawyer Steve Farese had successfully presented her as a abused wife who had just "snapped."  Now, there's a pull-back and a demand for more.  As if being separated from your children isn't enough?