Brawling, boozing, bragging and child-begetting author Norman Mailer died on Saturday at the age of 84. Strangely, on Friday I’d been musing about the time my now-husband won dinner with Mailer at a charity auction. Mailer was already having health problems then; as I recall, he was using two canes. He looked cute and harmless…
books
Thursday Book Club: Caroline Mathilde
Ah, the double standard. When kings fool around, all is right in the world. When queens fool around, it’s treason. Why treason? Because if a queen gets pregnant by a man who is not her husband, a child who is not of pure royal blood could wind up on the throne. In effect, that partly…
Guess What Happens on November 1?
Pumpkins are taken in back of the barn and shot. Great. Now PETA (Pumpkin Euthanasia is Tragic Always!) is going to be all over my ass. In other news — and I know this is going to hurt you much more than it hurts me, as my high school English teacher used to say —…
Where Be Your Gibes Now?
My friend Stef alerted me to this post by Watchismo with pictures of an elaborate skull watch that was made for Mary Queen of Scots in the 16th century. You must take a look! The site also has great pictures of an 1810 skull pocket watch and a 1610 skull clock. Stef lives in Los…
Thursday Book Club: Anne of Cleves
I am going to prove to you that Anne of Cleves was a damn genius. Anne was the fourth wife of Henry VIII, or Henry teh 8, as we’ve come to know him. Did you know that in the ’60s, the English group Herman’s Hermits had a hit song called, “I’m Henry the 8th, I…
Eat It, Huckers!
If you’re looking for thinspiration, skip this post. My gorgeous client Tina is the co-author of The Ski House Cookbook, which, as the cover cutely explains, is a collection of “Warm Winter Dishes for Cold Weather Fun.” Even cuter: each recipe has a difficulty rating just like ski runs do. Beware of the black diamond-rated…
Thursday Book Club: Jane Seymour
Thursday book club is back. Yes, I know it’s Friday! Give me a break, I had a bad day yesterday. Also making a return appearance: the six wives of Henry VIII, or Henry teh 8 as the Googlers like to say. The mnemonic device for Henry’s wives is “Divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived.” So…
All the News That’s Fit to Print
The New York Times has a nice story on my husband’s new project. Here are two paragraphs from the story. Paul E. Steiger, who was the top editor of The Wall Street Journal for 16 years, and a pair of wealthy Californians are assembling a group of investigative journalists who will give away their work…
Thursday Book Club: Isabella the She-Wolf
I’m going to interrupt my series of posts on the six wives of Henry VIII, or “King Henry teh 8” as he is known to Googlers. I must write about Queen Isabella, because the necklaces I named for her have just been finished. Isabella, a daughter of Philip the Fair of France, was born in…
Consolation Prize
My obsession: the beauteous Christian Louboutin Pesce shoes. During my never-ending quest for fish feet, I found a young-adult book about a boy who wants to be a ballet dancer. I also found a female science blogger (you go, girl!). But alas, no fish shoes in my size. My gorgeous sister, Terri Berry, came up…