These stories made my mother’s eyes water

good reads, Media, pop culture, true crime

So, I wrote the following stories. I emailed them to my mother. I received a reply from said mother that said stories “made [her] eyes water.”

From fatigue.

Please be advised: These are not short reads.

“Charles Manson, Sharon Tate, the Beach Boys and the Unbelievably True Story Behind the Manson Family Murders”
“Some People Still Don’t Believe the Moon Landing Was Real — and Here’s Why”

Both concern the summer of 1969. Both were written for iDaily. And both will make your eyes water.

From something or other.

News and Notes: Miracle in the O.C.

Digital Content, documentary, Journalism, Manhattan Plaza, Me, Media, Miracle on 42nd Street, Shameless Self-Promotion, Star Wars

Miracle on 42nd Street, the doc on subsidized housing, artist communities and the origin story of Seinfeld that I co-wrote with Steve Ryfle, will screen April 29 as part of the Newport Beach Film Festival. Tickets, as they say, are now on sale.

In other business:

Ask me anything about South Korean military might. (For CBS News.)
Oscar-winner Greer Garson saying “Staaaaar Wars!” is everything. (For Yahoo!)
The good news: Hey, there’s a picture of me now available for your editorial needs at Getty Images! The bad news: I look like I’m being taken into custody.

Latest Podcast: Prince. Just Prince.

Media, Michael Jackson, Music, Podcast, pop, pop culture, Prince, R.I.P.

In which I discuss Prince thoughts you could be pondering (like why Prince, but not Michael Jackson, got an Elvis send-off) rather than listening to my Prince-only podcast. You’re welcome.

Listen on Podbean: goo.gl/R34suc

Listen and subscribe on iTunes: tinyurl.com/qj36p2d

Catch it on Stitcher: tinyurl.com/qjptvq5

“Like” me on Facebook: facebook.com/joalryanthing

Follow me on Twitter: @joalryan

Whatever Happened to Miss America?

Awards Shows, Media, Miss America, pop culture

The answer was and wasn’t as succinct as I expected. No, Miss America is not the celebrity that it was. But, yes, it’s survived reports of its demise for nearly as long as it’s been around—and it’s been around for nearly a century.

The 95th anniversary edition of the pageant is tonight. The story I wrote for Yahoo! posted today. (Yay, synergy!)

By the by, when I was young and (more) full of snark, I once covered the pageant for E! I remember being struck by the crowd outside the convention, its faces full of young hopefuls and their mothers. Men might have run the operation, but women and girls powered it. It was and is the way of the world, not just Miss America.