The Writer's Office

The writer is a peculiar animal. And when the mechanics of crafting that perfect piece of literature, a script or speech for a local politician, it's rarely a routine method. Each writer has his own panache, knack and tolerances. But if there's one thing virtually any writer just can't do without, it's the writers' room.

I found a stimulating choice for a writer’s room. One that’s ideal even if your budget is tight and you have two left hands when it comes to home improvement. The Burd Haward Architects’ self-assembled, pre-fabricated kit is available for around $7500. Just add foliage to grow to conceal the recessed ply façade and roof.

This cozy space recalls some spaces for writers that produced some awe-inspiring work:

Leo Tolstoy's writing desk

Innovative rotunda for National Geographic's Wade Davis

Alfred Hitchcock with writer Pete Martin. 1957.

William Faulkner's trusty typewriter in his Oxford, MS home office.

An aspiring writer at Shakespeare & Co.

Ray Bradbury in his office.

Books aplenty in food writer's Nigella Lawson's writer's office.

The Continuing Adventures of Lola and Jeffy

By now many of you know the story of Jeffy and Lola, the would-be wedding crashers that found inner happiness by writing about the beauty around them and sending the media kisses with positive energy. For me, the Media Guy aka Jeffy, I found the popularity (of what will now be known as) Part One of this blog series, to be incredible.

When Part One was posted on June 30, 2011, little did I know that it would produce 62,000 page views – think about that – 62,000 hits for two friends talking about New York and Los Angeles. It still sits in the Top 10 of all time pages views for my humble blog. Nearly two years later, it was time to catch up with Loni Albert aka Lola, the reigning queen of the national beauty scene.

Cosmo Beauty Editor Loni Albert

MEDIA GUY: “Coffee-drinking, lipstick-wearing, punk-rockin', retro-obsessed, Marilyn-loving, NYC girl.”

That’s a heck of a tagline. One fitting of a young rock star editor of Cosmopolitan magazine. I just went online and looked at your lush online mag, so tell me, do you hang out with the editors who get to research: Sex Moves He Doesn't Want or Sex Positions?

LONI ALBERT: Haha yes!! And while I hate to shatter your dreams, the content is exactly what you said, "research" just like with a diet or beauty article. Tips come from experts, studies, surveys, etc. The office is definitely filled with fun, fearless Cosmo girls, but that doesn't mean that we're all testing out the Kama Sutra during lunch breaks and meetings!

MG: You said “doesn't mean that we're all testing out the Kama Sutra during lunch breaks and meetings!” … does that mean that SOME of you are testing out the Kama Sutra at lunch?

LA: Hey, I can't speak for everyone! But since the office is 90% women and 10% guys who aren't into girls, I'm going to guess no.

MG: Regardless of who the 90% are and what they are doing at lunch, Cosmo online just added the "Cosmo Kama Sutra: Bad Girl Edition: with THIS caption: "Cosmo is to sex positions what Apple is to the iPhone—when we release a new version, it comes with some pretty awesome features. In this case, very naughty ones." Oh my. It just got warm in here. Anything to add here on the beauty and aesthetics side?

LA: [Laughs] I tend to find some of these really ambitious! But from a beauty POV, if you're going to be swinging from the chandelier or trying the backwards mermaid, I recommend girls prep with waterproof eyeliner and mascara and humidity-blocking hair products to keep you looking like a hottie (not a hot mess). There are also motion activating deodorants that release the good-smelling stuff as you get busy. Stock up on those too!

MG: You must be excited about your new weekly radio show with Cosmo's Beauty Director (aka LW) on Cosmo SiriusXM Radio? (Channel 109 every Thursday at 11.) What’s that going to be like?

LA: So stoked, Jeffy! It's so much fun. We had our first one last week and its pretty much just girl talk 2.0. We have guests on (all beauty-related of course since that's my beat) and BS for an hour about enthralling areas of life such as: whether or not having a straight male hairstylist do your hair before a date is like foreplay, and also the importance of an Ego BJ.

MG: Uhhhhhhhh, what’s an Ego BJ, Lola? We’ve never heard of those in Hollywood; would Marilyn have to participate in Ego BJs?

Still getting Ego BJs.

LA: Marilyn would GET ego BJs all day long. In super boring terms, it's a compliment. The kind that makes you feel amazing like you can take on anything! For example: I hate to give an ego BJ, but your blog is pretty genius, Jeffy.

MG: Ok, of these stars, who definitely has to GIVE Ego BJs and who definitely RECEIVES Ego BJs:

a) Jennifer Lawrence
b) Seal
c) Tyra Banks
d) Christina Hendricks
e) Brad Pitt

LA: I think they've all had to give to get to the point where they'd get. Does that make sense? Except Tyra, who seems capable of ego-blowing herself. I love T Banks, and she is certainly one if the most beautiful women out there, but she just talks about herself for hours! Have you seen ANTM?!

MG: You know, the term “BJ” has never made its way into The Media Guy’s blog. Am I being too tame?

LA: Nooo, you're being a gentleman! A lost art that I am a huge fan of! And to be clear, wearing a suit and sipping old fashions Draper-style does not a gentleman make. Swoon-worthy as Jon Hamm may be, the Mad Men are the worst kind of players.

MG: What does it take to be a Cosmo Girl? Are there Cosmo Guys? I feel like Cosmo could unleash all that ills human relationships…

LA: Cosmo Girls are Fun and Fearless! That's the tag line. But to me, a Cosmo Girl is a woman who is trying to figure it all out--love, life, family, work--and have as much fun as possible along the way. There are def Cosmo guys! We recently had a two man band called TimeFlies come in the office. They're in their early 20s and were discovered on YouTube. The whole time they performed for us I was thinking that they were sooo Cosmo.

MG: What’s the latest beauty trends?

LA: The Karlie Kloss haircut, crazy nail art, dewy skin, and lived-in looking walk of shame hair and makeup (think Kate Moss rolling out of Johnny Depp's bed in the 90s and rocking last night's eyeliner for an extra day or two.)

MG: Trust me, I have imagined Kate doing just that; except Johnny was not there. Of course I was. Anyway, how embarrassing…who is Karlie Kloss and why does she have her own haircut?

LA: Google her dude. Big time model for VS and everything else. She is so out of control hot (to the point that a nude photo of her sent me into a fat day-meltdown). Recently she snipped off her locks and girls everywhere are lining up to copy the look (including Demi Lovato, Jennifer Lawrence, and Cosmo editors).

MG: Recently you told us to “ditch the tanning salon and learn to define beauty on [your] own terms.” Do you find that many people are still slaves to beauty on other people’s terms? Isn't everyone beautiful in their own way [shhhh! I’m channeling my inner Christina Aguilera]? Is New York obsessed with beauty like LA is?

We all miss her Dirty Days.

LA: Oh X-Tina. I miss her Dirty Days. Did you know she was born in Staten Island?! NYC is totes obsessed with beauty, are you kidding?! This is where Fashion Week takes place, where the best salons in the world are located, and where most of the shoots you admire in mags are shot. I'd say NYC is equally as beauty-crazy as LA. People feel pressure to be slaves to trends everywhere, and sometimes they do it because they just like it! Like ombré hair (hair that starts dark at the root and gradually lightens to blonde at the tips). Girls see it in mags and on their fave celebs, love how it looks and try it out. I'm not against that, I just personally prefer having something that feels like it has my stamp to it. A little less one size fits all.

MG: Can guys take your advice too?

LA: Guys should definitely find a way to create their own look! Maybe you're the guy who always rocks a bit of sexy scruff? Or has a kick-ass sneaker collection that you mix and match with dressier looks? Make it you!

MG: Do you do your own photo shoots are just do a “Don Draper” and tell them to bring you back a winner?

LA: Swoon! I heart Don. But not his adulterous tendencies.  Some shoots I'm on set, others my boss goes to. It's usually just a logistical thing.

MG: What is so 2012?

LA: Feathered hair attachments, donut buns, matte nails, calling pregnant celebs fat (that was/is never cool).

MG: What’s next for Lola?

LA: Getting hitched! We're doing it up next summer. Can't wait!

MG: Besides defining our own beauty, what’s the single most important thing we should know/do/think about our public beauty?

LA: Stop competing with others, just love and accept yourself. It's a lesson I struggle with everyday, but if you're trying to win a fictional beauty contest, you're gonna lose. Even that bombshell strutting down the block has something about herself she'd love to tweak, and probably sees something in you she wishes she had. Make the best with what you've got (lipstick and heels can solve anything, in convinced) and then flaunt your hotness for the world to admire. You too Jeffy (minus the lips and heels...unless you're into that now? No judgments.)

MG: [Smiles] Well, you promised you would not tell anyone about my lipstick diaries [sigh]…poor me.

LA: I adore you and miss you and hope to see your sexiness soon. Oh, and follow me on Twitter and Instagram @lonialbert.

Showing Fergie how to be glam

With the Zombie Boy

Poetry Benefits

In Celebration of National Poetry Month, NBA Co-Owner Counts the Ways It Fuels Success

April is National Poetry Month, inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets to celebrate poetry and its vital role in American culture. The academy sponsors events such as the star-studded Poetry & the Creative Mind gala (April 17 at the Lincoln Center) and mass-appeal activities like Poem in Your Pocket Day (April 18), when everyone is encouraged to carry a poem.

“I love April, and not just because of my birthday and all those Final Four games!” says Phoenix Suns co-owner Richard Jaffe, a successful entrepreneur and avid poet who recently published his first book of poetry, “Inner Peace & Happiness; Reflections to Grow Your Soul”.

“We would be wise to celebrate America’s poetry because it’s an art form that does as much -- sometimes even more -- for the writer as the reader. Poems inspire, educate and cleanse. And now that writing has become more abbreviated with blogs, text messages, tweets and the like, the time is perfect for poetry to make a big comeback.”

Jaffe, creator of Minute Maid Fruit Juices and the world’s first and best-selling powder-free hypoallergenic latex exam gloves, says writing poetry stirs his soul and fuels his entrepreneurial creativity.

“The process of exploring my thoughts and feelings and expressing them in symbolic word images exercises my creativity in a fun way,” he says. “I think it makes me sharper and, the more I explore the well of my imagination, the faster it fills again.”

Everyone would benefit from writing poetry, whether they want to share it or not!  He offers five more ways we can benefit:

1. Improves cognitive function. Learning new words (he’s never without a Thesaurus), working out meter (math!), and finding new ways to articulate our thoughts and feelings (communication) are all good for the brain. Want to get smarter? Write poetry!
2. Helps heal emotional pain. Grief is one of the most painful emotions we experience, and it’s also the source of some of the world’s most inspirational poetry, Jaffe says. “When I have experienced a profound loss, the act of putting my feelings into words or memorializing and paying tribute to those who I lost is extremely cathartic,” he says.
3. Leads us to greater self-awareness. Most of us don’t have the time or desire to just sit and aimlessly ponder the meaning of our lives or what makes us deeply happy. Writing poetry gives us a constructive way to do that. Not only does it help us explore and gain insight, we have something to show for all that “inner reflection” when we’re done.
4. Provides a gift of inspiration or education to others. One thing we know -- we are not alone! “Universal questions, fears and emotions are called ‘universal’ because everyone, no matter what country or culture they’re raised in, experiences them,” Jaffe notes. Once we’ve done the work of exploring and finding our own answers, we can help others by sharing them. “I like to share my poem ‘Eternal Happiness’ because it describes what I’ve found to be the source of my own eternal happiness,” he says.
5. Celebrate! For some things, balloons and cake just don’t suffice. “Proposing to my wife, the births of my children, falling in love -- these were among the most emotionally powerful, joyful times of my life,” Jaffe says. “Thanks to the poems I wrote at the time to capture those feelings, I can experience them again and again.”

If you’ve never tried your hand at poetry, Jaffe encourages you to give it a go in April. You can share your poem with him by tweeting a link to @rbjaffe or posting to his Google+ group, “Inspirational Poetry”. 

Experience the Le Gray, Beirut

CampbellGray Hotels is a mad scientist when it comes to hypothesizing potential hotel destinations and while their latest seems the craziest of them all, it isn’t.

The Le Gray Beirut was referred by a colleague on my trek through Lebanon in 2011 replete with all of the hyperbole you might expect from a seasoned travel writer that was amply “wowed.” My colleague (we’ll call him “Marcel” for lack of a better pseudonym) threw out an insane series of reasons why you tack on a week to your Istanbul trip and include the Le Gray on your itinerary. Regular readers of my work will know that Beirut doesn’t live up to the Hezbollah wrapped terrorist destination that the racist media keeps throwing in our faces. In fact, for one of the purest blends of archaeology and nightlife, I highly recommend a serious trip to the Paris of the Middle East.*

As Marcel ranted on about how the architecture of Australian Kevin Dash guarantees all of the rooms are drenched in the lush Mediterranean sun and Mary Fox Linton’s interior design wraps you in a soothing feel of Camelot – the Kennedy’s, not King Arthur’s (whew much nicer!) – I couldn’t help but imagine collapsing there after a day trip to the South to see how the UN Peace Keepers are bungling it all up at the Israeli border.

Yet I digress.

Much to my pleasure, his rant about the floor-to-ceiling, glass-topped atrium led me to the arms of this hotel and I must say that his hyperbole failed to fully capture the contemporary elegance of the hotel.

Arriving

This past trip was a VIP experience to say the least. Not only was part of the brain trust bringing writers from all over the United States to write about the country, but I was also part of a charitable delegation set to install hearing aids to over a thousand people. So, when I arrived to Beirut’s Hariri International Airport with six colleagues, and was whisked out a side door past customs and security to a special reception, I said “Nothing can top this!”

Funky and sexy - a treat for the senses

Well, I have to say that the arrival experience at the Le Gray came pretty close. Located in the heart of the Solidere, the trendiest section of upscale shopping and architecture in Beirut, the Le Gray greets you like few others. As you walk past the sidewalk Gordon’s Café and through tight security, the well-appointed front office staff welcomes you with a sit-down reception that includes a cool compress, fruit nectar beverage and a visual tour of the hotel as you select your room. Check-in is efficient and drama free, while the funky artistry delights the eyes on your quick ride up the silky glass elevators.

Rooms

My room was more like a suite that wrapped around a corner of the hotel with multiple balconies and an excellent view of the magnificent new Rafic Hariri Mosque near the Hariri Memorial (yes, more than a few things are named for the late Lebanese Prime Minister). Luxury abounds with rainfall showers and separate toilets (with granite tiles), daily fruit baskets, REN bathroom products, full Espresso machines and beds that invite dreams of loveliness. I could live here (and plan to ask the management to grant this humble wish).

Dining

Their brochures wax poetic about and the aforementioned Indigo on the Roof, Cherry on the Rooftop, Gordon’s Café:

The Cigar Lounge is open from 11a to 1a

“Food is fresh, in season and full of the passion that makes our cuisine more than just high quality gastronomy…”

I dined at the Indigo, partied at the Cherry and took pictures at Gordon’s and the pretty words from the collaterals don’t do them justice because they are actually better.

What caught my attention is the Cigar Lounge. There’s nothing better than being able to smoke a Cohiba or a Torpedo with a fine connoisseur Cognac at eleven a.m. I spent the better part of an afternoon overlooking the city while pumping out campaign copy for entertainment client (coming to your televisions shortly). The time was a gift to be treasured and it is difficult to imagine that I could find a more serene setting anywhere outside of a yacht in Bodrum.

Dessert at the Indigo

Summing It Up

Unquestionably one of the best hotels in the entire Middle East in the class of Giza’s Mena House, Syria’s Art House and the Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at Bosphorus. Trust me, you want to stay in one of these four properties worthy of its impeccable pedigree that any celebrity, dignitary, super model or aristocrat would be proud to reside at for a few nights.

More Delights for the Eyes

The amazing infinity pool overlooks the city.

The atrium as you exit the glass elevators.

The lobby is sleek and contemporary.

The rooms: picture perfect with luxury appointments.