About Editing and Writing

At the Kennedy Center Honors, Off-Script Moments Energize the Stately Evening

December 4, 2023

From a Washington Post story by Travis M. Andrews headlined “Kennedy Center Honors: Off-script moments energize the stately affair”:

The Kennedy Center Honors is always a stately affair, and Sunday evening was no different — with President Biden and first lady Jill Biden, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, former House speaker Nancy Pelosi and second gentleman Doug Emhoff in attendance.

But this year a chaotic energy pumped though its veins. Being honored in the arts center’s 2,364-seat Opera House: comedian Billy Crystal, opera soprano Renée Fleming, Bee Gees singer-songwriter Barry Gibb, hip-hop pioneer and actress Queen Latifah, and singer Dionne Warwick.

About the Book by John le Carré Titled “The Spy Who Came In From the Cold”

December 3, 2023

From a story on crimereads.com headlined “60 Years of ‘The Spy Novel That Came In From the Cold”:

Adapted from a Center For Fiction conversation between Joseph Kanon and Paul Vidich.

The Spy Who Came in From the Cold was published in September 1963 in London under the name of a little-known writer, John le Carré, and several months later the novel came to America. This month marks the 60th anniversary of the release of this gritty masterpiece that profoundly influenced the genre of spy fiction.

Over 60 Journalists Have Been Killed in the Israel-Gaza War. My Friend Was One.

December 3, 2023

From a New York Times guest essay by Lama Al-Arian headlined “Over 60 Journalists Have Been Killed in the Israel-Gaza War. My Friend Was One.”:

I was sitting in my apartment in Beirut on the evening of Oct. 13 when I read that journalists had been struck by a missile attack in southern Lebanon. My close friend, Issam Abdallah, was working in the area as a cameraman for Reuters to cover the border clashes between Israel and Hezbollah after the war in Gaza began just days earlier. I called him immediately. It was a ritual we had developed over the years: Whether we were on the front lines in Ukraine or Syria, each of us knew to expect a call from the other anytime a disaster struck.

No Femme Fatales in This Spy Novel—Just Smart CIA Agents

December 3, 2023

From a Washington Post review by Carol Memmott headlined “No femme fatales in this spy novel—just smart CIA agents”:

Anna Pitoniak’s “The Helsinki Affair” takes place mostly in the present, but it has its roots in the Cold War years. Pitoniak was inspired by the classic spy novels of John le Carré and Graham Greene, which she loved but for one missing element: indomitable and complex female spies. So, she wrote “The Helsinki Affair.”

The novel, Pitoniak’s fourth, is atmospheric, well-researched, and packed with tradecraft, conspiracies, murder and, best of all, two fascinating women — Amanda Cole and Kath Frost, hard-nosed CIA agents who thrive on chaos and who are often smarter than their male counterparts.

It’s Kennedy Center Honors Time for Queen Latifah, Billy Crystal, and Dionne Warwick

December 3, 2023

From an AP story by Ashraf Khalil headlined “It’s Kennedy Center Honors Time for Queen Latifah, Billy Crystal and Dionne Warwick”:

The newest group of Kennedy Center honorees, including comedian Billy Crystal and actor Queen Latifah, are being feted Sunday night at a star-studded event commemorating their lifetime achievement in arts and entertainment.

Opera singer Renée Fleming, music star Barry Gibb and prolific hitmaker Dionne Warwick also are being honored at the black-tie gala. Each will receive personalized tributes that typically include appearances and performances that are kept secret from the honorees themselves.

Tim Dorsey: Novelist Turned Florida’s Quirks Into Comic Gold

December 3, 2023

From a New York Times obit by Clay Risen headlined “Tim Dorsey, Who Turned Florida’s Quirks Into Comic Gold, Dies at 62”:

Tim Dorsey, who drew on his years as a crime reporter to fuel a second career writing a long series of darkly comic thrillers set along the back roads and back alleys of Florida’s weird, wild underbelly, died on Sunday at his home in Islamorada, a town in the Florida Keys.

Long before Florida Man became the Sunshine State’s unofficial mascot, there was Serge A. Storms, the antihero at the heart of Mr. Dorsey’s 26 novels, beginning with “Florida Roadkill” in 1999.

The Mega Rich Are the New Political Bosses

December 3, 2023

From a Washington Post analysis by Dan Balz headlined “The mega rich are the new political bosses. Is that bad for democracy?:

The demise of political party bosses and the smoke-filled rooms in which they operated was heralded a long time ago as an important step toward handing more power over the selection of presidential nominees to ordinary citizens. Who would have thought then that billionaires would seek to become the new bosses of American politics?

Bloomberg Businessweek to Go Monthly

December 3, 2023

From a New York Times story by Katie Robertson hedlined “Bloomberg Businessweek to Go Monthly”:

Bloomberg Businessweek, a weekly magazine for the past 94 years, is going monthly, the company told staff members on Thursday.

The magazine will be redesigned with “heavier paper stock for a more high-end look and feel” and relaunched as a monthly print publication “later in 2024,” according to a memo from David Merritt and Katie Boyce, two leaders of Bloomberg’s media division, that was viewed by The New York Times.

There was no indication in the memo that the Businessweek name would change.

What Dogs Can Teach Us About Love and Grief

December 3, 2023

From a Wall Street Journal story by Gretchen Tarrrant Gulla headlined “What Dogs Can Teach Us About Love and Grief”:

Owning a dog can teach a person as much about herself as about her companion, The Wall Street Journal’s Katherine Bindley reflected in a recent essay. From the beginning, owning a dog requires both love and resolve. But the most enduring lesson a dog can teach might be its last, according to hundreds of Journal readers who read and commented on Bindley’s essay. The inevitable passing of a pet and the processing of the subsequent grief is a powerful lesson in resilience.

Pablo Guzmán: Puerto Rican Activist Turned TV Newsman

December 2, 2023

From a New York Times obit by Clay Risen headlined “Pablo Guzmán, Puerto Rican Activist Turned TV Newsman, Dies at 73”:

Pablo Guzmán, who gained widespread media attention in the early 1970s as a leader of the Young Lords, a Puerto Rican activist group based in East Harlem, then flipped the script to become an Emmy-winning television news reporter, died on Sunday in Westchester County, N.Y.

The Young Lords, which Mr. Guzmán helped found in 1969, grabbed New York’s attention with high-profile street actions intended to highlight the deplorable condition of neighborhoods like the South Bronx and East Harlem.

About Editing and Writing

At the Kennedy Center Honors, Off-Script Moments Energize the Stately Evening

About the Book by John le Carré Titled “The Spy Who Came In From the Cold”

Over 60 Journalists Have Been Killed in the Israel-Gaza War. My Friend Was One.

No Femme Fatales in This Spy Novel—Just Smart CIA Agents

It’s Kennedy Center Honors Time for Queen Latifah, Billy Crystal, and Dionne Warwick

Tim Dorsey: Novelist Turned Florida’s Quirks Into Comic Gold

The Mega Rich Are the New Political Bosses

Bloomberg Businessweek to Go Monthly

What Dogs Can Teach Us About Love and Grief

Pablo Guzmán: Puerto Rican Activist Turned TV Newsman

About Editing

What Editors Should Look for in Writers

About Writing

Writing That Is of Marginal Interest