This hard-earned essay (and not just because the editor held it for 13 torturous months before publishing) is excerpted from my memoir and tells the story of a very unexpected — and entirely life-changing — discovery. It is one tendril in a book that turned out to have several surprising (and harrowing) twists and turns. Good for the read, the heart…?Overall, you might say my memoir is about my relentless effort to give my maternal line a chiropractic adjustment of sorts and set straight the facts of my mother’s and great grandmother’s lives and deaths no matter how shameful society deems/ed them.

What's the psychology behind those who pull their pursestrings ever-so tight even when the nation's not in a recession... and especially when they can afford to splurge a little? I found out.

The Last of the Red-Hot Lesbians: Interview with Ilene Chaiken: I got to interview this lesbian trailblazer for The Daily Beast just as The L Word was going off the air. A fun and mildly terrifying experience.

De-gaying Grey's Anatomy: This is the result of a last-minute call from an editor to write an Op-ed about what was (allegedly) happening on Grey's Anatomy with the firing of one of its actresses. Now look at Shondaland rocking LGBTQ. Thanks, Shonda!

The United States of Toni Collette: A profile of this fantastic actress to promote the second season of the Showtime hit series The United States of Tara.

Who Do I Have to Schtup to Get a Refill on an Iced Coffee? That was the question (and also the original title, which editors never keep). I had spent decades wondering why it was only my hot cup of coffee that runneth over with requests of "mo' coffee, mo' coffee?" The Daily News let me go undercover to find out.

Bloody Marys Most Like a Meal: As a Bloody Mary lover, I noticed a trend early on -- restaurants/bars were adding some very curious things along with or instead of the traditional celery stalk. Again, the Daily News let me go taste-testing. Thank you, Daily News. 

Technology @ Your Service: Technology meets dining.

Here's a trio of Op-eds for Newsday, including my first-ever published clip railing against tourists, originally titled New York Hates You, Now More Than Ever. Time Change Will Do You Good takes a look at the wishy-washy "time" construct and urges the elimination of the God-awful month of August. (It should read: Daylight Saving. The copy editor botched that one.) Finally, The New Yorker's Guide to Incidental Exercise is just that.  

First of all, erase this terrible picture of me from your mind. I don't look like that. 

This piece covers everything you need to know about outsourcing hired help from overseas. When I eventually came clean and told my Lithuanian VA "Jade" that the two weeks we'd spent working together were going to be used for a newspaper story, she said she felt like she was a celebrity in a movie. Cute.  

I’d pitched the former Straus executive editor a weekly animal column I wanted to write — basically a guess what your neighbors are doing with, for, and among animals — but it never quite materialized as I saw it, sadly. Still, I did write many pieces about all kinds of critters for Straus News, NYC’s local community paper. Here are some of my favorite pet — and human — pieces from the last few years. After the Non-March for Disabled Women; Tale of the Lucky Classroom Gecko; Tracking Coyotes in New York; Bridget Everett is in Love (with her pup, Poppy); Ranger Rob: Urban Park Ranger; Parks and Barks: Central Park Paws; Avanti Greeting Cards: Reigning Cats and Dogs; Up with and for the Birds: Central Park Christmas Bird Count; Why Did the Purebred Cross the Road: “Hair BnB” aka Hotel Pennsylvania during Westminster; Many Happyish Returns: Too-Perfect Xmas Gifts.

Working directly with NBCUniversal's Content Innovation Agency, the first two articles are part of a "feel-good" native advertising* campaign for Panera Bread which ran on Today.com's GOOD NEWS section.

Must-do Morning Rituals highlights the early-morning routine of a NYC artist, while Bakers Give Back discusses the ways in which people were baking for those who'd been met with stormy times, sometimes literally.

The third piece sponsored by Johnson's Baby culls 7 great and creative ways to capture your kids' cutest moments. Like the title says.

*A fancy way to say sponsored content.

ARE YOU A HEXLAMATIONIST? DO YOU SUFFER FROM HOLDONOIA? JUST HOW SKEPTICELL ARE YOU?

CLICK ON THE LINK, LAUNCH FULLSCREEN, AND FIND OUT.

HTTP://WWW.THEFRISKY.COM/PHOTOS/HEXCLAMATIONISTS-VAMPEERS-IPADOPHILES-A-CYBERSLANG-LEXICON-FOR-THE-21ST-CENTURY/ATTACHMENT/100881612/  

These native advertising pieces for Toyota address the (sometimes ingenious) ways parents can prep and prepare themselves and their kids to ensure the best family outing outcome on the road. 

The cat came back.

And, nine lives and all, it looks like the cat's back again. 

In June, 2015, Bobcat Goldthwait was named “Filmmaker on the Edge” at the 17th Annual Provincetown International Film Festival. John Waters presented the prize.

Suck it, Arnold. 

As a writer for the now-defunct NBC-owned Petside.com since its inception, I wrote dozens of stories about our canine friends (and one kitty), including breed owners' guides for new dogs showing at Westminster; London, an unlikely Standard Poodle Westminster champ; Leonbergers; and pet blood banks. Stories were both pitched and assigned. 

Here are articles covering The Rise in Pet Funerals; Pet Medical Malpractice; Advances in Pet Personalize Medicine; Pet Plastic Surgery; How Your Pet Can Get You a Date; and Matilda, the Algonquin Cat.