Happy Monday! Here are some things you might want to know:
The latest edition of Seventeen Magazine (the September issue, on shelves now) has the winning entry in the 2009 Fiction Contest, which I helped judge! Congratulations are in order to Kerry Reardon.
ALL the entries I read were fantastic. You all made it very hard to choose a winner. Great job, everyone!
Grab a copy of the September issue to read Kerry’s entry!
If you’re thinking of being a freelance writer (like Kerry probably is now!)—and even if you’re not—you should be paying attention to all the stuff going on with the new government subsidized health insurance plan!
Especially since you’ll probably end up being self-employed and having to pay for your own insurance someday (and trust me…it’s not cheap).
There are some people who are protesting the government’s offering subsidized health insurance to US citizens–because, they say, it would put private insurance companies out of business…which is baloney, because libraries haven’t put bookstores out of business, have they?
And public schools haven’t put private schools out of business (as we know from Gossip Girl)! And the US post office certainly hasn’t put Fed Ex out of business.
I wish someone would ask those protesters what they think we should do about the 47 million Americans in this country who have no insurance at all, or about the underinsured, who can’t afford dental care or their co-pays…
…and who have started to depend on charities like Remote Area Medical, who are supposed to be doing work in places like the Amazon, but instead are having to work in the US! Video clip from 60 Minutes here and totally worth watching.
Finally, I just opened my September Teen Vogue and saw Paris Hilton’s ad for her new fragrance, Siren.
I still haven’t stopped marveling at it’s sheer brilliance and glory, and knew I had to share it with you!
You really have to see one of her ads up close (check out the individual gold fins) to get its full impact:
Honestly, I don’t know what to say. Except:
Congratulations, Paris. You win. YOU WIN AT EVERYTHING!
Sometimes I just wonder if Paris ever thinks to herself that she should just…pull back a little?
But I’m so glad she doesn’t. Because if people pulled back, we wouldn’t have some of my favorite things in the world, like Drew Barrymore’s Annie Leibovitz Beauty and the Beast photo shoot (circa 2005)!
I love it!
Thank you, Vogue (and Annie and Drew) for those shots.
And thank you, Paris. For brightening this and every single day!
More later.
Much love,
Meg
