Past Person of the Year covers (clockwise from upper-left): Charles Lindbergh, 1927; The American Fighting-Man, 1950; Ayatollah Khomeini, 1979; The Computer, 1982; Rudy Giuliani, 2001. Image credit: Wikipedia

Next week, TIME plans to assemble a panel of celebrities, newsmakers, and news reporters, who’ll help select the magazine’s 2006 “Person of the Year.” TIME Editor Rick Stengel, Brian Williams, Emilio Estevez, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Arianna Huffington, and Tom DeLay will make the decision. After surveying the list of panelists, I’m not sure how they were chosen, but I do think the project sounds like fun. 

According to TIME, the Person of the Year is one who “most affected the news and our lives this year, for good or for ill.” The recipient list leans toward individuals, but in the past, the title has also gone to groups of people and, in two unusual cases, an invention and Planet Earth. 

The award isn’t necessarily an accolade; indeed, controversial figures such as the Ayatollah Khomeini and Adolph Hitler found their way onto the cover of this special magazine issue. And the “honor” doesn’t always go to politicians and policy wonks: scientists, philanthropists, authors, and other cultural icons have found themselves among its ranks. Very few women have been awarded this title, however, so maybe there’s an issue with gender bias that bears exploring. And even though panelists most frequently choose Americans, there’s much to say for expanding the list to reflect an inclusive, global perspective. 

For starters, consider this guy, whose box-office earnings are entering the stratosphere, and who’s now entertaining multi-million-dollar offers for a book. Or how about this woman, whose power suits and power ploys are hot topics in D.C.? Maybe the timing’s right to bear witness to an inconvenient truth, or if you prefer,  we could crown the king of truthiness. Undoubtedly, Miss Snark would swoon over this guy, but these men would make a more serious statement. So tell me, whom or what would you nominate for TIME Magazine’s 2006 Person of the Year? 

As writers, we like to believe that if we click our heels together just so, some all-powerful agent or editor will find our manuscripts a home. That’s why, for better and worse, it’s good when someone who operates the levers in the Wizard-of-Oz publishing world offers us a peek behind the curtain. 

Here, a provocative example from Gawker.com: Unsolicited: Spell My Damn Name Right, And Other Hot Tips For Agents

“Scary fact: there are more literary agents operating today than ever before. You’d think that this would be a boon to editors: better submissions, and more of them. Well, hahahaha. NO. While I’m all for finding a diamond in the rough, the crap-to-good ratio feels like it’s reached a crisis point.” […]

One writer’s experiences led him to host a conversation about quitting writing altogether.

Even though these are cautionary tales, they don’t discourage me at all. Instead, they serve as positive reminders that I’m surrounded by wonderful traveling companions (read: LJ friends, trusted mentors, a top-notch agent, etc.) who warn me away from the poppy fields and help shoo away the flying monkies! 

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to put on a pot of coffee, slide into my ruby slippers, and start writing. Maybe, just maybe, my proposal will be submission-ready sometime this week!

 I had such a fabulous birthday! Everyone should feel so lucky, so loved as I did yesterday. May I tell you about some of the fun stuff that happened?

While drinking coffee and reading the Sunday Times, I listened to my older son’s radio show (“Desert Shores,” West African music, on KUGS.org).  Is there a more relaxing Sunday morning ritual than this? I don’t think so.

I also played around in my garden — admiring the camilias blooming against the back fence, trimming the roses, and planting the pansies I’d bought a couple of days ago. This is yet another reminder of why I live in California: I love seeing flowers in my yard all year long.

I had a really fun afternoon with my 90-year-old friend, Posy. First, we had lunch at King’s Restaurant. I had crab cakes, and she put on a bib and tackled a spiny lobster. As you could probably predict from seeing this photo, she won!

We also cruised the local mall. Can you believe it: Santa’s already set up shop! When Posy sat on his lap, Santa asked her if she’s been naughty or nice…Posy just winked. Ho! Ho! Ho!

When I got home, these beautiful flowers were sitting on my dining room table. Another gift from my thoughtful husband!

We headed down to Laguna Beach, where we stopped to eat dinner at one of our favorite restaurants (read: Italian, casual). I had an appetizer-sized order of mussels (continuing the seafood motif from lunch, I guess) and my husband ate cioppino. Great food, laughter, and exciting conversation about what the upcoming year might have in store for each of us.

I got lots of phone calls — from my younger son, my friends, and other family members. Also, I was surprised to see that so many friends had stopped by my blog to leave messages for me, and my Inbox was full of e-cards, too. Thank you so much, everyone! I’m overwhelmed (in a very good way).

Now, looking ahead…I was a slacker this weekend took a three-day breather from writing, and now I’m excited to complete my manuscript makeover. I’m reminded that we Scorpios will have lucky days on November 13, 20, and (especially) November 22, so I’ll be doing my part to make that happen, and I’ll also be sending out positive thoughts for all of you!

There’s a meme going around (last stop: Fashionista_35), suggesting that we post random facts about ourselves that no one knows. I posted something like that awhile back, but some things on my original list have been updated, and my LJ friends list has definitely expanded since then. (Yay!) So here are seven fun, fabulous, and/or frightening facts about me — depending, of course, on your perspective: 

1. My father was a tent revivalist– his cathedral, a two-thousand person tent. Ever seen “The Apostle,” with Robert Duvall? That’s a close-up view of my dad. One day, probably after finishing my current project, I plan to write a memoir about that experience, as seen through the eyes of a child.

2. I once taught at an exclusive school for children of the wealthy and well-known (think Matthew Perry, the Portiers, the Hiltons). For Christmas that year, I unwrapped lots of luxe gifts, purchased at stores on Rodeo Drive by personal assistants, in mass quantities for me and the rest of the staff. Sentimental tokens of the students’ and parents’ affection for us teachers? On so many levels, not.

3. My name, words, and picture have appeared in Time Magazine, Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, USA TODAY, Christian Science Monitor, San Diego News Tribune, and other smaller presses — not to mention CNN and local broadcast media. No, they didn’t make me famous, nor was that the point: these articles were about important causes that I’ve sponsored or promoted.

4. A while back, in celebration of a milestone birthday, I rode my Bianchi from Seattle to Portland. Just me and ten thousand other riders, biking 198.6 miles over the course of two days. I cherish the medal I got at the finish line, proof positive that I am far from the finish line of my life.

5. I am the shiksa exemplar for the Yiddish word farblondjet: that is, I’m frequently lost, really lost. I’ve got a great moral compass, I think, but no geographic sense of direction at all. (And no, it’s not lost on me, the inclusion of ‘blond’ in that word.) My knight-in-shining-armor husband is rescuing me from this misery: he’s given me a gift certificate for a GPS for my birthday.

6. Samuel Ullman said it well: “Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting out ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.” I’m an optimistic, energetic person who believes it’s important to keep her soul, if not her face, relatively unlined.

7. On a related note, today, I turned 50! Here, an impromput picture of myself that I just took to mark the occasion. No PhotoShop retouching or digital tricks…take me as I am. As Coco Chanel once said, “Nature gives you the face you have at twenty; it is up to you to merit the face you have at fifty.” I’m headed out the door right now to prove her point. 

I make no secret of the fact that I’m a pacifist wholly against the war in Iraq. Like Dwight D. Eisenhower, I believe that “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired dignifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.” I mourn the significant loss of life and national treasury spilled on that (or any) battlefield.

Still, I celebrate Veterans Day. For me, it’s an opportunity to set aside my personal feelings about war and to honor our nation’s warriors, past and present. Today, I salute America’s approximately 24 million military veterans for their service to our country and give homage to those who made the ultimate sacrifice. And in their honor, I pray for a quick resolution to this current conflict, so that we can bring our troops home, out of harm’s way. Peace: Is there any better tribute to our brave soldiers than this?

By the way, if you’re concerned about the fact that our troops are fighting a war without benefit of basic supplies (you know, like adequate toilet paper, sunscreen, chapstick, or sometimes even cheery letters from home), you can send a care package or card to one or several soldiers through the AnySoldier program or Operation Homefront.

A friend sent me this timely, hilarious reminder of how lucky I am to be my own boss, to have my own office space and supplies. But I’m a mingler by nature, so I also enjoy standing around the LiveJournal water cooler. It’s fun, isn’t it…sharing ideas, swapping smiles, and lending each other support? Just don’t ask to borrow my stapler.  J

Okay,

 I’ll bite.

Here are ten wonderful things that start with the letter N:

Newport Beach, California

Newport, Rhode Island

Nancy Drew Mysteries

Naptime (Ha, as if!)

Naughty and nice — and a Santa who doesn’t expect me to make a choice

Narwhales, the unicorns of the sea

Never having to spend another day in high school

No – as in knowing when to submit and when to stand my ground

Nancy Pelosi, the first female Speaker to rock the House

NASA’s Hubble telescope images

 

And here are 5 bad things beginning with N: 

Newborn toupees

Name-calling

Nebulous statements – I want clarity, y’all!

Nose-pickers

Nuclear weapons

I invite these friends to join the fun:

 

the letter M

 

the letter J

 

the letter S

 

the letter D

 

the letter W