Happy Saturday!

Apologies for being MIA the last several weeks. Been working on the rewrite of my newest play, GRANDMA & ME (as well as a few other projects I can't talk about publicly just yet) and performing NOT A GENUINE BLACK MAN (in the Bay Area and LA), THE WAITING PERIOD (free Sunday performances at the Marsh San Francisco) and THE GREAT AMERICAN SHIT SHOW with my pal Charlie Varon. All that and I'm housebreaking my new Bishon pup, Krypto. It's been a busy summer.

As for my never ending battle with “the demon”... I'm “hanging in there,” as they say.

I DO have a few things to tell you about this week.

BOOKS

I got through two books the last few weeks.

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena is a marvelous thriller about the kidnapping of a baby, the lengths her parents will go to in order to get her back and how much we truly know about our neighbors, our spouses...and our own families. It's a fun ride with plenty of twists and turns. Pick it up!
READ.

Though I was just a child when Ronald Reagan took his first shot at getting the republican nomination for president in 1976, I have vivid memories of his repeated harping on the “welfare queen” in Chicago who was “driving a Cadillac to the grocery store to buy T-bone steaks with food stamps.” The perpetuation of that stereotype was the centerpiece of his failed campaign and the idea that there exists an “undeserving poor” would help propel him to the White House four years later. It's a stereotype of poor black women that persists to this day and the reason that so many think of those of government aid as being scammers. It's a stereotype that has its seeds in the story of one woman: Linda Taylor.

In The Queen, Josh Levin (Slate National Editor) investigates the true story of Taylor and details how welfare fraud was the least of her crimes. She was, as the book's cover says, “a con artist, a kidnapper and maybe even a murderer.” Levin delves into how Reagan and the national media at the time ignored Taylor's most grievous offenses against society in order to make her the representation of the racist trope of lazy black people living on the dole. It is a fascinating (and infuriating) read. One of those books I couldn't put down. I highly recommend it.
READ.

MOVIES

I liked Once Upon a Time in Hollywood so much that I've already seen it twice! Quentin Tarrantino's ninth film takes us to Hollywood in 1969 through the eyes of the fictional actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), his stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), and the very real Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie). The period detail in this  movie is amazing and... the depiction of the Manson cult is dead on from what I've read about the Tate/LaBianca murders. There's nothing I can write that will do this picture justice so, just go see it. It's my favorite movie of the year so far.
GO.

As a bonus, among the trailers is one for A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, with Tom Hanks as Mister Rogers. The damned trailer made me cry... BOTH TIMES I'VE SEEN IT. You were warned.

EATS

My friend Steve Moskowitz introduced my daughter Carolyn and I to a marvelous, authentic Italian restaurant in North Beach. Franchino is a family owned and operated spot that serves the best linguini and clams I've ever eaten. If you like Italian, check it out. Be sure to make a reservation because it's small and popular.

Franchino is located at 347 Columbus Avenue in San Francisco. Call 415-982-2157 for reservations.

PODCASTS

I've been listening to a lot of podcasts lately and I have some great ones to tell you about.

The Last Days of August
Last year, porn actress August Ames hung herself in a public park in southern California. Her husband blamed her suicide on cyber bullying she had been the target of. There's a lot more to the story than that. The Last Days of August is a behind the scenes look at the porn industry and it's players that's an addictive listen.

The Dropout
The story of the rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes is a fascinating, “only in America” tale. As founder and CEO of medical tech company Theranos, she became the worlds youngest female self-made billionaire. Today, she's about to stand trial on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy that could put her away for years.

Theranos created a machine, the Edison, that could do a complete health diagnostic on a patient using just one drop of blood instead of the vials currently required to perform comprehensive medical tests. Investors included such luminaries a Henry Kissinger, Betsy DeVos, the Walton Family and Former Secretary of State George Schultz. Theranos partnered with Walgreens to eventually bring the Edison to pharmacies within a a few miles of every home in America. The only problem is that the whole thing was a hoax. How Elizabeth Holmes was able to fool so many people for so many years is a MUST LISTEN.

Cover-Up
Think you know everything about Ted Kennedy, Mary Jo Kopechne and the Chappaquiddick incident? Trust me... you don't. What this podcast uncovers is riveting.

Broken Harts
For a brief moment in March of 2018, there was national coverage about an SUV with with two white parents named Jen and Sarah Hart and their six adopted African American children that deliberately plunged over a cliff in Mendocino, annihilating the whole family. For some reason, after the initial coverage, the story all but disappeared. This podcast picks it up and investigates this deliberate murder/suicide (Jen deliberately drove off that cliff at 90 miles an hour), the abuse suffered by the children and the lack of any kind of governmental oversight once the kids were adopted and in the women's care.

PERFORMANCES

Charlie Varon and I will be doing three big performances of The Great American Shit Show in the coming weeks. GASS is a collection of new monologues on life in the era of Trump. It'll make you laugh but, more importantly, it'll make you think.

AUGUST 15: Tabard Theater, San Jose, 8 PM
AUGUST 17: Castro Valley Performing Arts Center, Castro Valley, 7 PM
AUGUST 18: Marin Center, San Rafael, California 7 PM

READING OF MY NEW PLAY

I'm doing a special reading of my new play, Grandma & Me: An Ode to Single Parents tomorrow (Sunday, July 28) at noon at Orinda Books in Orinda, CA. Admission is free. Come on out and hear what I've been working on the last several months.

I'll also be reading it at San Francisco Playhouse on Monday, August 5 at 8. Admission is free here as well.

Have an awesome weekend.

Copie

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