Articles on PR for People

Barbie Gives Good Head

As a tween or teen, Barbie never resonated with me. When I was fourteen, I went to a friend’s house for a sleepover. She had a collection of Barbie dolls, complete with a fantastic wardrobe, a pink plastic car, and Ken. Too old to play with dolls and bored, we whiled away the night trying to make Ken and Barbie have sex, an impossible feat. Both dolls lacked genitalia.


Book Review: Democracy Awakening

Democracy Awakening is a must-read that imparts the unvarnished truth of American history, leading to the current state of our democracy. There has always been a conservative faction in America who are deeply afraid of losing their position as top dog. They truly believe in their own superiority and lay claim to an inheritance that is rooted in authoritarianism. 


Picasso

The iconic Gertrude Stein hosted a salon in Paris that was a prestigious hotbed of creativity. The greatest writers and artists of the early Twentieth Century were brought together in this exclusive, mutual admiration club. 


Book Review: The Slip

For a little piece of forgotten New York City history, read The Slip. Also embrace the book’s stronger message: the artists who live, work, and break bread together, are the ones who become successful. With a little help from friends, all things are possible in the art world.


Lipstick on a Pig

What happens in the Book World impacts my life. I am the author of ten books.  I am also a consumer of books, and read two books a week, often more. I immerse myself in articles and newsletters that focus on the Book World. The recent NYT article Barnes and Noble Sets Itself Free, dated October 17, 2023, is about how Barnes and Noble is re-decorating many of its stores to resemble small independent bookstores. It’s ironic that this behemoth chain wants to look more like the small Indie bookstores that it had once been intent on driving out of business.


NOTES FROM THE ROAD: Where Trees Fall

Short Sand Beach, a trail in Oregon’s Oswald West State Park, wends through a forest of old growth trees. Wild and alive for years, some say centuries, the trees do not know when the time will come—to give up life as they have known it.

 


Truth in Journalism: The Truth Will Set Us Free

On the Cape Falcon Trail in Oregon’s Oswald West State Park, there is a memorial to the journalist Matt Kramer. His integrity in journalism made a difference in the world. I am forever grateful for the work that he did. One person can, indeed, make a difference!

 


September 2023

This month we explore education. We are swamped with information, but the problem is we have so little time to filter what is true from what is not true. We spend at least five hours a day on our phones—and that is a conservative estimate. Ten hours a day of screen time is not unusual. In any interaction we have with a white screen, especially with a phone, we are passive recipients of a digital experience. Are we becoming mindless blobs?

 


The Truth is Not on Our Phones

We don’t fully embrace that our phones are robbing us of our ability to think. And if we can’t think, we will never be able to know the truth about anything. This might be a bit of a shock, but the truth is not on our phones. 


Book Review: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

A review of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien might seem like an unlikely addition to our education issue, but I think it’s a perfect fit. The Hobbit is a bold tale about those who pursue growth and awareness, call it continuing education, albeit self-education, and are often shunned by those who are stuck in their ways.