L.A. Times - Meghan Daum

What is it about Sarah Palin?

Thu, 9 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The departing Alaska governor doesn't just line people up on different sides of an issue; she turns them against each other.

When Sarah Palin announced her resignation as Alaska governor, I did what any self-respecting "liberal media" smirker would do. I gleefully noted all the mean, clever things I could write about her.

Do men see Mark Sanford in the mirror?

Thu, 2 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Why does there seem to be an undercurrent of pity for the adulterous South Carolina governor.

Last week: What a thrill ride of news!

J.D. Salinger strikes back

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The author's legal action to stop a book about Holden Caulfield seems a little too extreme.

J.D. Salinger, as you may have read over the last few weeks, is inveighing against "phonies" yet again. Fifty-eight years since the publication of "The Catcher in the Rye" -- indeed, 44 years since he published anything -- the famously reclusive and litigious author, now 90, recovering from hip surgery and totally deaf, has taken legal action to stop the U.S. publication of a Swedish novel called "Sixty Years Later: Coming Through Rye." Subtitled "An Unauthorized Fictional Examination of the Relationship Between J. D. Salinger and His Most Famous Character," the novel depicts a 76-year-old Holden Caulfield, who meets his author and revisits various locations and characters featured in the original book.

The smokin' president

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

C'mon, Barack, show us you're human -- light up a cigarette for the cameras!

Dear Mr. President:

Why aren't women happy? Who knows?

Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Angelina Jolie's Oscar-winning, hot-looking existence is as good a reason as any.

Women, it seems, are bummed out these days.

Real estate's happy horror stories

Thu, 4 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

For those staying afloat in a crashing real estate market, who can resist a little self-righteous finger-wagging?

As a homeowner, I know it's counterproductive to take delight in the real estate misfortunes of my neighbors. But massive price reductions on a house down the street from me have left a lot of us in the neighborhood gloating. A hulking McMonstrosity that's jaw-droppingly out of place among the modest bungalows that surround it, the house was clearly intended by its owner/builder to be a cash cow. But it's been sitting empty for nearly two years since it was finished, and the price just continues to drop.

Howling on the Internet

Thu, 28 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Something extremely weird, and a little bit wonderful, has happened in the world of Internet retail. A black T-shirt bearing the image of three wolves howling at the moon has become a sensation.

On commencement addresses

Thu, 21 May 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Occasionally, amid all the cliches and speechifying, a pearl issues forth, but for the most part the ceremonies are absolutely forgettable.

Commencement addresses are a bit like wedding toasts. A handful are memorable; the rest tend to trigger such musings as, "Why did I wear such uncomfortable shoes?" "Will anyone notice if I send a text?" and "How drunk am I likely to be by the end of the evening?" But unlike nuptial tributes, which (unless you're in Japan, where they often hire pros) are delivered by unpaid amateurs, graduation speeches are less about the message than the messenger. Every year, a few colleges and universities attract attention because they've managed to book high-profile speakers, and, every year, the media dole out snippets of these speakers' sage remarks.

Carrie Prejean vs. Perez Hilton

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

The week's biggest nonstory was the beauty queen and the blogger.

It's been a notable week in not-really news. Songstress Susan Boyle, who supposedly delivered us from our shallowness by belting out a showstopper without the help of hair dye or eyebrow tweezing, continued to make headlines. The former vice presidential candidate's grandbaby daddy, Levi Johnston, went on "Larry King Live" and managed to say and be asked almost nothing. And Earth Day, with its myriad opportunities for celebrities to talk about CFL bulbs, filled talk shows like so many Styrofoam peanuts in a cardboard box.

The recession heats up romance novels

Sat, 4 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0700

In a down economy, sales of bodice-rippers are growing. Escapism is part of the allure, but there's more to the story.

Amid the ceaseless reminders that the economy is in a persistent vegetative state, it's easy to forget that some industries and products are thriving. U.S. News & World Report, which recently released its list of "10 Winners in the Recession," says that Hershey's chocolate increased earnings by more than 50% last quarter and the Burpee seed company has said it expects sales to increase by 25% in 2009 (and this was before the first lady's organic-gardening initiative).