The Bad News Bores (Celebratory Nature of The News)

By Richard Laermer, Guest Author I noticed it first at a Kwanzaa party late last year. Having trouble keeping myself amused, I started quizzing those holding drinks and discovered that everyone there was kind of “into” news and recent events.

Will The Real John Edwards Sit Down?

By Richard Laermer, Guest Author Everyone act surprised: John Edwards, the handsome, millionaire, politician attorney wunderkind, stepped outside of his marriage. Wow. Let’s crucify him! He had an extramarital affair with some videographer, he might well be a baby daddy, the media is going ape-shit, his wife is terminally ill.

The State of Taboo, 2008

By Richard Laermer, Guest Author I just spent two years studying trends in the near future for “2011: Trendspotting,” my new book from McGraw-Hill (www.Laermer.com). Taboos are changing. There are not as many of them—and the ones existing will surprise you, make you think twice before going down certain roads.

What’s WRONG With Publishing (Really)?

Why am I down on the publishing world? It’s starting to make little sense why I would write something that while widely read could be given out in a “cleverer” format. Doing a book with a major corporation just starts to seem…odd, given the proclivities in which I do everything else now. With that far-reaching statement, and by means of explaining my thought process, here is why publishing, as the kids say, needs to man up and change itself.

Is Jennifer Lopez The Bellwether?

By Richard Laermer, Guest Author As we move from mediocrity (the 2000s) into a decade of fabulous, forward-thinking, show-us positivism, we’ll always remember the star from these years who turned our cynicism into a beloved trait, none other than J. Lo “Don’t Call Me That” Lopez. People who work in media-could be you-constantly shake their

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