It was odd enough that a writers’ group called Eat, Drink & Be Published would be eating, drinking and dishing at Ensemble, a Linden Hills boutique, instead of at our usual wine bar. Odder still was the distinct segmentation of a crowd that usually blends.

Sitting in folding chairs were 25 or 30 women, mostly veteran writers. More writers’ group members, including half a dozen men, stood in back, by the beverages. At the front of the room, surrounded by a beginner entourage—his producer and a few college buddies—perched diminutive screenwriter Rob Perez, clutching a St. Paddy’s Day Guiness and looking not a day over drinking age.

“Uh…what are we talking about?” asked Rob after he’d been introduced by PR maven Rebecca, forgetting his manners—he really should have thanked her for gushing.

“How did you get into the movie business?” prompted Rebecca.  read more »

On this day in February 2005, New York City was aruffle over Mayor Bloomberg’s pet project: a piece of public art called The Gates by the artist known as Christo and his lady love, Jeanne-Claude.

I’d heard about it and had seen it in the news, but I had no idea how much controversy it had caused. Tonight I got the inside scoop at a sneak preview of the HBO documentary The Gates at St. Paul’s Minnesota Museum of American Art.

Christo is known for wrapping public buildings in fabric or in plastic—not always to the most glamorous effect, and for reasons that not even he can explain. “Do you ask a mother why she loves her baby?” says Jeanne-Claude.  read more »