LZ Sunday Paper Newsletter: The "One Less Degree Of Separation" Edition
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Mid-summer Greetings,
Last week, I shared a story about the last time I saw Donald Trump in person, tied forever to the aftermath of Hurricane "Superstorm" Sandy. (Folks, you can read about it in last week's editor's note here).
This week I discovered a new connection to Trump. You probably read about Tony Schwartz, the ghost writer, of the 1987 book 'The Art Of The Deal.' He gave an interview for the first time ever about it, which was the basis of a fascinating, in depth article in The New Yorker. And he has taken to mainstream and social media to really let the world know how dangerous and deranged he believes Trump is. He presents a compelling argument.
Part of why I believe Tony is that about 10 years after he wrote the book I came to spend a good deal of time with him. He was working as a journalist and was fascinated by the relatively recent phenomenon known as…email! So in researching the piece, he found quite a few willing subjects to share some choice thoughts about their own personal and business relationship to this new electronic form. I was one of them. Over many, many hours, and scores--even hundreds?--of emails, we discussed the topic in a far-ranging and sometimes existential-ish way in this series of interviews.
I am grateful to New York Magazine for having digitized its archive this far back. It doesn't show the exact date, but I peg it at sometime around 1999. Reading it now, I can't get over the fact that a) email as we know it today didn't exist until my '30's b) and then instead of disappearing like a bad fad it stuck around like a bad tapeworm! If only we had all deemed it as useless as rollerblades we'd likely be better off today c) i further assert that email seems ultra-useful about 10% of the time, fooling us into thinking it's efficient, useful, and a good way to keep track of things but depressing the other 90% of the time when we realize that it is in fact as useless as rollerblades!
(Side note: Facebook is fun 1/365th of the time: I think we all know which day of the year we think it is fun and a connector and makes humanity and high school friends seem estimable)
The last fact I can't get over regarding this article about email in New York Magazine from 1999, aside from the fact that it was written by someone who made incredible news just last week, is that I didn't know the majority of the other interview subjects in the piece at the time it was published, but almost every single one came to figure quite prominently in my life and/or is super-duper famous:
Barry Diller -- just a year or two after the article came out, I left VH1, he interviewed me and gave me a job to go run TRIO, the greatest little network no one ever heard of, presaging digital lists, personal blogs, Apple-like graphics, and the resurgence of documentaries, among other things.
Esther Dyson -- a genius! who I got to know early on in my digital media world; was one of the first people ever to call email a complete waste of time; the first person to invest in non-governmental space travel (side note: also stated that she expects to retire on Mars); sort of invented the idea of a "digital conference"; and was an inaugural member of the group we founded called WomenAtNBCU.
Andrew Hayward -- at that time the head of CBS News. Later, I got to know simply because we found out we both grew up in Great Neck, New York, and wrote for the same High School newspaper, 'The Guidepost'!
Bob Pittman -- I knew him already at that time because my sister had a job during college, working for him at WNBC am radio in New York City. We still have the hand-written, mimeographed (on goldenrod-colored copy paper) invitation to that year's office Holiday Party in the disco heyday of the late '70's. Goldenrod xerox paper notwithstanding, Bob was and is truly amongst the chic-est and socially savvy individuals in the entire media world. That year, disappointing no one, the party was held at Studio 54.
And Judith Regan -- who I didn't know at the time, but was already frightened of. Later, at TRIO and perhaps again at Bravo, we attempted to do a TV show with her. Like many a busted pilot, it was a great idea that didn't come out so good. And yes I am still scared of her!
Bob Iger -- okay he's the one I never really got to know. You'd think I would have, but I haven't. That guy looks like not just a million bucks, but a bajillion trillion bucks and appears to be doing a pretty good job at the ole House of Mouse.
Well anyway, Tony really, really researched this piece about email. He did everything very thoughtfully and thoroughly. In my recollection it was clear even at that point in time that he was assessing many of the things that he had previously accomplished and was heading in another direction.
I hope this archive of the LZ Sunday Paper is also somehow preserved for the long term so that in the future, human beings or space creatures from Esther Dyson's retirement home can peruse this week's selection of pieces by and about (but not exclusively for) women in politics, business, politics, technology, media, film, tv, fashion, sports, literature and general pop culture. Handpicked, by me, for you.
Faithful readers-- thank you so much for the stories you send to me! Keep sending any items of interest or send questions/comments: here.
Sometimes there's so much interesting stuff out there I can't wait 'til Sunday so I tweet it during the week. Follow me @LZSundayPaper.
And don't forget, follow me at my @LZSundayPaper Instagram. If you enjoy floors, or just looking down, then you might enjoy @LZFloors.
See you next week.
Lauren Z.
THE PIC(K) OF THE WEEK:
The Donald Trump Sexism Tracker: Every Offensive Comment In One Place via The London Telegraph
ALL THE NEWS THAT'S FIT TO TRUMP:
How 'Bitch' Became The Word Of The Republican National Convention via New York, Magazine
Mike Pence Thinks Working Mothers Damage Their Kids' Emotional Growth via The Cut
Mike Pence Argued In An Op-Ed That Disney's 'Mulan' Was Liberal Propaganda via BuzzFeed News
Donald Trump's Campaign Pays Women Less Than Men via The Boston Globe
Why Men Want To Marry Melanias and Raise Ivankas via The New York Times
Ivanka Trump Makes America Great Again In An Imported Dress via Jezebel
Ivana Hits St. Tropez via The Daily Mail
Tiffany Trump's Forgotten Pop Single via Slate
OTHER NEWS, BUSINESS, & INSIGHTS:
Megyn Kelly Bared Her Shoulders Last Night, and Some Fox Viewers Couldn't Handle It via The XX Factor via Slate
The Not So Hidden Meaning Of Theresa May's Leopard Print Kitten Heels via The Daily Beast
How Do You Make A Man Wear A Condom? via The BBC
Black Lives Matter: The Law Professor Who Answered Back via Inside Highter Ed
To Seem Confident, Women Need To Be Seen As Warm via Harvard Business Review
ARTS & POP CULTURE:
The Twitter Hate Ghostbusters' Leslie Jones Faces Shows Why Representation Matters via The Pool
Free Jillian Holtzmann: It's Time To Let The Most Compelling Ghostbuster Be Out And Proud via Salon
Here's The Trailer For Louis C.K. and Pamela Adlon's 'Better Things,' The First FX Comedy With A Woman In The Lead Role via Browbeat via Slate
The War Over 'That Bitch' via The Atlantic
Sia Joins Cast Of 'My Little Pony,' The Movie via Entertainment Weekly
Dance: Japan's Loose-Gendered Phenomenon via The New Yorker
Pippa Middleton Is Engaged--To A Very Rich Banker via The Daily Beast
Flying The Flannel via Vela Magazine
AND, ICYMI, WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE ABOUT:
Michelle Obama Gets Her Freak On With Missy Elliott and James Corden in 'Carpool Karaoke' via Vanity Fair
The LZ Sunday Paperâ„¢ launched at the dawn of 2014. We expose and recirculate interesting content that is about, and frequently by, women in business, with a dose of ultra-relevant culture. We think that culture comes high and low, not much in between. Our audience is vast and not gender-driven. Every week we expect to deliver at least one good laugh. Send suggestions, clips, or names of people you think might enjoy this to LZSundayPaper@gmail.com.
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