I was chatting with my sister Nina about an article I read in The Atlantic magazine titled “How to Hire Fake Friends and Family.” Ishii Youchi has created his 8-year-old company, Family Romance, to provide actors for clients to fill roles in their personal lives. Examples include a father for a child who has never […]
Mrs. B’s Blather: What is my latest find in fabulous forward fashion trends?
I think it is because I grew up in New York after World War II. I think it is because my father worked in the fashion industry as a cutter for men’s clothing and always had fabulous woolen suits that he wore with aplomb. I think it is because New York became the clothing capital […]
Mrs. B’s Blather: What is the alchemy of a happy coupling? (Guest column by Christina Arrustudo)
It is as though every person is a puzzle piece, with a set of dips and rounds unique as a snowflake. Most people go through life trying to find that proper match, but they meet neither. They find someone whose one indent exact snaps into their one protrusion (yes, sex often pays a major role […]
Mrs. B’s Blather: Why am I obsessing about seeing ‘Hamilton’?
Yes, the tickets to see “Hamilton”– the on tour group, not even with Lin-Manuel Miranda starring– are upwards of $300 each. And the play won’t be back in San Francisco until 2019. The choices are to fly somewhere the play is showing, wait until 2019 or be contented with reading Ron Chernow’s “Hamilton,” and listening […]
Mrs. B’s Blather: What can doing art teach us?
I started doing art at the Benicia Community Center. I had an interest in water color painting since I was 10 years old and the fifth grade class across the hall had a teacher that taught them that medium.I was excluded. It took me another 60 years to get my hand and my bankroll together […]
Mrs. B’s Blather: What are the far-reaching effects of artificial intelligence?
By Ellen Blaufarb and Bob Silver In the July 1960 magazine Horizon, Eric Larrabee wrote an article entitled, “After Abundance, What?”. He quoted a Mr. Corso. “It won’t be long,” he said, “before everyone will sit in bed and eat big fat pies. They got machines now to do the work. People got to start […]
Mrs. B’s Blather: Are you intrigued by AI?
In these trying times, I have been trying to pay attention to the gains being made by the robot producing crowd and the artificial intelligence scientists. I find their work intriguing and hopeful. I keep on imagining a world where no one has to work. A time when the short time we have on this […]
Mrs. B’s Blather: What can happen with pronouncements?
For some time now, I and many of my friends in their waning years have realized they have increased sensibilities. We are making choices not to allow the horrific, upsetting and guilt inducing entertainments into our lives. In some cases that includes loud music, rap and progressive jazz. Scary movies, war themes and violence are […]
Mrs. B’s Blather: What are the signs that you are getting old?
Of the many signs of aging, the one that clearly shows that the world has noticed you are over 65, is when you start receiving catalogues from Better Senior Living, Healthy Living, Feel Good Store, Carol Wright Gifts, Harriet Carter and Dr. Leonard’s, to name a few. At first you throw these catalogues away, feeling […]
Mrs. B’s Blather: What can you learn about your family when you live 3,000 miles away?
As part of my recent East Coast sojourn, visiting with my family was part of the deal. Bob had never met my husband’s brothers and sisters and their mates. This was a golden opportunity especially since there is a Blaufarb wedding on the horizon in October. Every time I visit, I realize that over all […]