Introducing The Spectrum’s New Guest Blogger, Al Martinez

September 30, 2005, my birthday night. I was in London, teaching securitization, missing Sylvain, browsing the news on the internet…

Geena Davis assumed office as president of the United States Tuesday, and that’s all right with me. I’ve had it with testosterone-fueled leaders who know how to pull a trigger or drop a bomb but are otherwise clueless when it comes to leadership. A woman has always led me, and I like it just fine.

Geena’s name leaped off the screen. I’ve seen every movie of hers since Beetle Juice. But, what followed was even more diverting: a guy with the insouciance and wit to match hers, who obviously liked women. I loved him! Who was he?

It was Al Martinez, L.A.-based journalist and award-winning author. Specifically, he is attached to three Pulitzer Prizes and has won National Headliner Awards, a National Ernie Pyle Award and an honorary degree of humane letters from Whittier University. His collected works are archived at the Huntington Library in San Marino, CA. Until recently a columnist for the Los Angeles Times, Al has also written eight books and many screenplays for television. He currently conducts The Topanga Writers Workshop in addition to writing his blog, “Everything Else.”

R&R is very excited to announce that Al’s essays will be appearing regularly in The Spectrum. He promises to write on subjects many and varied, and his first article has already been posted — it’s called “Hooray for Gollywood: Entertainment at the Edge of the Abyss.” Be sure not to miss it.

I haven’t told Al yet, but we’re hoping he’ll occasionally indulge in some humor or irony at the expense of the economy. It’s about the only expense the economy can still afford.

– Ann Rutledge