Dear New Shrink, Why are so many smart women so dumb when it comes to men? I have a friend who is smart and successful and I think most people would agree, is also beautiful. But unfortunately, she seems out of touch when it comes to men. She doesn’t seem to be able to discern sincerity from bologna. And she seems to get hopeful when... Read more →

Let’s face it … in Santa Monica you have to be thin to attract a good-looking guy. And we’re not just talking “thin,” but “in-shape thin.” That means no flabby arms, no sagging butt and no cellulite — anywhere. All this of course, should be coupled with great muscle tone, evenly tanned skin and... Read more →

DOWNTOWN — Scott Anderson still remembers the first surfboard he shaped. It was his first year in high school, and he and a friend had purchased a surfboard “blank” from ET Surf in Hermosa Beach. Problem was they had little idea what they were doing. The finished product wasn’t just bad. “Horrible,”... Read more →

MONTANA AVE — The Santa Monica High School baseball team’s season may be over, but senior first baseman Ethan Corn still has some performing left to do. This time, however, he won’t be fielding groundballs or tagging out opposing runners. Instead, Corn will look on as “Barnabus & Bella” — a... Read more →

Things aren’t going as you planned. You are down. “Often in life the what, when, and where are not going to turn out the way you want them to turn out. You don’t always get to choose those things, but you do get to choose the way” When this happens we blame God, if we believe. Or if we don’t believe, we take... Read more →

Dear New Shrink, I am a recent college graduate and have come to realize that most positions require experience. Seeing this in the job description has stopped me from applying to several positions that I feel I am qualified for. How do you get experience if they require experience just to get the job? Perhaps I am missing something but this... Read more →

I am sitting in a bustling Coffee Bean in Montecito, Calif. My husband, son, mother-in-law and step father-in-law have all gone exploring Santa Barbara. But I am here alone, writing. And I love it. I have never been able to write where it is quiet. I need sound and other people’s energy. Perhaps it is a by-product of the school I went... Read more →

Five women sit in a row onstage and talk about being women. Their subjects range from buying a bra to their obsession with boots to the enduring chic of the color black. They talk about marriage and divorce and the death of a child. And most of all, they talk about their mothers. It’s a hilarious, poignant, and passionate exposition of... Read more →

Dear New Shrink, I am not sure where to start. I have (or had) this friend for the last five years or so. When we met, she had few to no friends, seemed very shy and was definitely without social skills. But something about her made me care about her. She has a good heart and a lot of class, in that she is well mannered and treats people... Read more →

“I like to think of it like a windshield wiper, wiping away the grime.” That’s the analogy my trainer Keith Sims uses to describe how I’m able to see muscle peeking through layers of fat. “We’re changing your body composition,” says Sims. “As you strengthen and condition and lose fat, the... Read more →

MID-CITY — Usually plaques mounted on hospital walls are reserved for those who donate lots of cash. Jette Simmons was honored with a bronze plaque at the Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center for giving something arguably more valuable — her time. Simmons, who friends and colleagues remember as a “feisty Brit” who was... Read more →

Take a boy whose mother died when he was 12 and whose father abandoned them even before that, have him fixated on his own machismo, his seething anger, and Elvis Presley, and you have a roaring bully and an egocentric Presley-impersonator who claims he has a “spiritual connection” with the iconic singer. Add to that his enabling... Read more →

OCEAN AVE — Saying that Chef Keith Roberts has a difficult job to do is quite the understatement. Not only is he responsible for running a $10 million culinary operation for Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, catering to the sophisticated business traveler as well as the demanding bride to be, but he also has to please picky, pre-teen... Read more →

Dear New Shrink, I will be graduating from college in a few weeks. I am confident about my career choice but want to be sure that I start off strong. Do you have any suggestions for what I can do to ensure that I have a successful career ahead of me? Thank you, Need to Succeed Dear Succeed, Congratulations! Completing college is a very... Read more →

There is hardly any ethnic or religious group that is not maligned in “Holy Ghost,” Jon Tuttle’s World War II-era drama now having its West Coast premiere at Theatre of Note in Hollywood. Even the Amish, for God’s sake! But what can you expect at a prisoner of war camp in South Carolina where the German prisoners are... Read more →