Monthly Archives: August 2010

When Real Life Is Stranger Than Fiction

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So did you guys see this story on MSN this week about Huguette Clark, the mysterious heiress?

This story fascinates me. It has all the elements of a great novel: romantic settings (Paris, NYC, Santa Barbara), strange history, King Lear-like father, multiple family deaths, the mom who started out as the teen ward, the bizarro mansion on 77th street in NYC, the “friends” and “family” all having snippets of the story but not the whole truth. In fact, I love the fact that most of the story is gleaned from workers, gateskeepers, antique repair people, etc. — the people who “know” Huguette best are people she hired (sadly).

I stayed up late last night reading all this. (The slideshow is really good, too!) …

Classic case of real life being stranger than fiction. …

At 104, Mysterious Heiress Is Alone Now

Dennis the Menace

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We sit at the dining table, passing potatoes and vegetables, and my 10-year-old son suddenly announces that Bryan and Maya* are having a baby. …

We all stare at him across the table.

“Who’re Brian and Maya?” my husband finally asks into the silence.

“Our neighbors,” my son says, exasperated. “The ones at the end, facing that way.” He makes a fluttering motion with his hand. He looks from one of us to another, waiting for a light of recognition, but when we all continue to stare blankly, he shakes his head and goes back to his potatoes. …

My son has become like the cruise director of our neighborhood. He knows who lives in each house, how many kids they have, what their dogs’ names are, and even when and where they go on vacation. He knows what all the adults do for a living, when they’re home, what kind of car they drive, and, in some cases, what they have for dinner on any given night. Continue reading →

Don Draper and Other Men That Don’t Do It for Me

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SO HAPPY that Mad Men is back on.

I know a lot of other women who are happy about it, too, but for another reason. …

The other night, Superman was telling me about a female friend of his at work who announced, after seeing the third episode of Mad Men: “That’s it! I’m leaving my husband for Don Draper!”

I laughed and told him I’d heard this sentiment once or twice myself. I’ve heard it on many of the blogs, often on Twitter, and several times with my own divas over at popculturedivas.

Don Draper — clearly — is a heartthrob. Continue reading →

Parenting in the Harry Potter Era

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Once upon a time, in a land far away, I was the mother of a 9-year-old when the first Harry Potter movie came out.

I was at a soccer banquet the night before it premiered, helping pass out some end-of-the-year soccer cake, making chit-chat with one of the fathers next to me, and I asked if he was going to take his little soccer star to the new Harry Potter movie.

“Oh, no!” he said, looking at me like I’d suddenly grown horns. “We’re Christian.”

I think I stood there, my mouth agape, for at least a minute. I’m pretty sure the cake slid to the floor. Aside from feeling like I’d been accused of raising devil children, I couldn’t quite think of how to respond. …

It was the first time I was ever met, head-on, with the issue of banning books. And it was the first time I was ever faced with a person who thought I was making a horribly wrong choice for my child.

To read the rest of the story, fling yourself over to the Popculturedivas blog. And I’d love to hear your comments about how you parent (and choose books) in the Harry Potter and Twilight era. …

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