When I was a kid, I had the good fortune to visit St. Thomas and St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands more than once. They and other Caribbean islands have been badly affected by Hurricane Irma. In some places, nearly all of the housing is gone. Author Tobias Buckell put together this helpful list…
Good Causes
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…
What Wendy Wore: Prada Lip Dress From 2012
On Wednesday, I went to the 50th-anniversary fundraising dinner for the State University of New York’s Educational Opportunity Program. The EOP provides college access and support to low-income students in New York State — young adults who are often the first ones in their families to go to college. These students haven’t had the advantages…
Wendy Brandes Jewelry in the New York Times
Thanks to super-cool journalist Rachel Garrahan for including me in her New York Times article called “In a Time of Stress, Jewelry Becomes Armor”! It’s about how women are gravitating towards jewelry that makes them feel strong … and it just so happens that the concept of female strength is at the very heart of…
Jewels of the Month: More Signets for Rebel Women
May’s Jewels of the Month are two additional styles of my signet pinkie rings for rebel women. I introduced the first three rings of this mini-collection in March: a gold Venus symbol, a gold fist of resistance, and a silver high-heel shoe. The new styles feature a silver Venus symbol combined with a fist of…
ProPublica For the Win, With All the Receipts
During yesterday’s White House press briefing, Sean Spicer was asked about a story published by MrB’s organization, ProPublica, that morning. ProPublica’s Derek Kravitz and Al Shaw wrote that previously unreported changes to a trust document allow Trump to draw money from the supposedly “blind” trust for his more than 400 businesses, at any time, without…
What Wendy Wore: Three Journalism Events
I went to three journalism-related events in eight days last month! The first was a lunch for the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Courage in Journalism Awards on October 21. The IWMF describes the awards as honoring “women journalists who set themselves apart by their extraordinary bravery,” and this year’s awardees are true heroes. Mwape Kumwenda…
Throwback Thursday: Global Citizen Festival
I owe a big, belated thank you to my California-based Twitter friend John Laurente. Early last month, he asked me if I wanted his tickets to a September 27 Jay Z concert in New York that he wouldn’t be able to attend. I’d already seen Jay Z twice, but I was up for a third…
Hal Finney, Privacy, and the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
As I’ve mentioned before, I like to read the obituaries in the print edition of the New York Times — the physical act of turning the pages draws my attention to stories that I wouldn’t necessarily click online. Monday, I read an obituary for cryptographer Hal Finney, who died last week at age 58 from…
What Wendy Wore: Katie Couric at Columbia Spectator Dinner
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m the chairman of the board of alumni trustees of the Columbia Daily Spectator, Columbia University’s student newspaper. Every February, the Spectator has a big awards dinner. We always have high-profile keynote speakers. Recent ones have included Arianna Huffington (Joan Didion presented an award at that dinner as well); Julius Genachowski,…