One thing volunteering for the Obama campaign in southern Virginia reiterated to me is that racism is alive and well in this country and there’s something that needs to be done about it. We were in the rural town of Lawrenceville, VA–about thirty minutes north of North Carolina, on a rainy election day. Lawrenceville and …
If you’re like me, you like to eat Nutella at your desk, out of the jar and offer your spoon to any busybody co-worker who walks by, looking disgusted. On one such blissful occasion, I smeared a dollop of Nutella on my desk, to see if the desk wanted some. OK, actually, I was running …
Paper Towel Smack Down: Which leading brand gives the best bang for the buck? Read More »
Friday night, in the razzling-dazzling Waldorf-Astoria, Bette Midler entertained a packed ballroom of ghostly and goofy guests, raising over a million dollars and counting, for the New York Restoration Project. Dressed as a Moulin Rouge madame, Midler and comedienne/gay rights activist, Judy Gold–a theater-joke crackin’ Abe Lincoln–worked the crowd, shaking people for $2,500 a tree. …
At Bette’s Hulaween: Mayor Bloomberg “Dressed” as Matt Damon Read More »
What do you get if the 1960s and a banker on Wall Street had a baby? Social entrepreneurism. Though it has a long history, it’s been a buzzword since Muhammad Yunnus and his Grameen Bank won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for lifting people out of poverty through microloans. Social entrepreneurism isn’t charity; it’s business …
The New Recruits: Can Capitalism Save the World? Read More »
Everyone’s favorite satirical news source, The Onion, is coming out with a brand new book, Our Front Pages: 21 Years of Greatness, Virtue, And Moral Rectitude From America’s Finest News Source, just in time for the holidays. The book shows you vintage Onion, going back to 1988, to the satirical paper’s University of Wisconsin-Madison days, …
The Onion: just as divisive as regular news, now with new book Read More »
Bette Midler’s New York Restoration Project is at it again. The non-profit, which works to revitalize parks and public spaces throughout New York City, built a community garden in one of New York’s toughest neighborhoods, in the Bronx. (To see the video of Bette Midler opening NYRP’s Target Bronx Community Garden on October 6, Walletpop.com …
Everybody loves a good party. And in the publishing world, Conde Nast is as skilled at throwing memorable fetes as it is in churning out glossy magazines. When the now defunct Conde Nast Portfolio, where I used to work, first opened over two years ago, bottles of Perrier-Jouet champagne were given to all Portfolio staff …
The New York Times Styles section had this great article on the growing hunger for spirituality as the new obsession for New York’s Carrie Bradshaws. Sure, the pop culture reference is fun, but spirituality is a lot more than visualizing your perfect husband or landing an article in the Style’s section. It’s seeing love–God–in all …
Love him or hate him, our president can give a speech! During President Obama’s health care address to Congress last night (full text here) one couldn’t help but wonder if even the most hardened of birthers and deathers–those who fight against health care reform by spreading false rumors, such as the “death panel” nuttiness–couldn’t help …
Obama’s Health Care Speech: Best and Worst Moments Read More »
I recently saw an incredible documentary about a Manhattan couple who lived “no impact” for a year. This means they did all they could to drastically reduce their carbon footprint, for a whole year. The documentary No Impact Man, which opens nationwide this Friday, and the book written by No Impact man himself, Colin Beavan, …
No Impact Man (and Wife) Discuss the Joys of Their Small Carbon Footprint Read More »