COME ON IN!

Alison Spiegel, 06/28/12

Associate Blog Editor, The Huffington Post

With its rich, cultural diversity, Brooklyn has always been a great dining destination, but it seems to be coming of age alongside the recent wave of food-mania, perfectly timing its ascent with a growing national obsession with all things food.

Kimberly Brooks, 06/27/12

Artist

Nora casually reminded me about that little cooking movie she had just made with Meryl Streep. Of course! Then she started telling me about this chicken recipe that she had made the night before. In honor of her memory, I thought I'd share "Nora's Famous Chicken" with all of you.

Allison Adato, 06/28/12

Senior Editor, People magazine

Has any screenwriter ever put more women writing on the screen than Nora Ephron? Most in Hollywood would shy from something so mundane. But Ephron, the daughter and sister of writers, never did.

Phil Campbell, 06/28/12

Writer, author

The question before us is plain: Why should I pick up the phone and give Barack Obama money this year?

Laurel Schwartz, 06/28/12

Master's student, Harvard University

When I first became a teacher, a veteran teacher advised me that good teachers borrow from others and great teachers steal. Then he gave me his entire social studies curriculum.

Alex Pasternack, 06/27/12

Editor, Motherboard.tv

Public parks don't tend to be cash cows, but the park that sits on top of the old Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island is different. It will be three times the size of Central Park and will sit atop 50 years of trash produced by five boroughs.

Russell Simmons, 06/27/12

Founder, GlobalGrind.com

You can always say you will never talk to someone who has attacked you or someone who disagrees with you. That is a legitimate, historic position. It is not one, however, that has ever made peace, which is our commitment.

Claudia Zelevansky, 06/27/12

Theater director, educator and arts administrator

To be honest, I suspect my hands would still shake if I did it again today. I still might think: Who am I to be writing to her? I'm still not brave in the way I imagine her to be, but these days I usually put the letter in the mailbox in the end. And Nora Ephron gets some credit for that.

Jane Alexander, 06/27/12

Actress, writer, conservationist

Well, every story has conflict and conflict is raging in the Arctic now over oil and gas drilling. Enormous oil giants are lobbying furiously for the rights to drill in more and more places with fewer and fewer safeguards.

Chris Kompanek, 06/27/12

Freelance cultural writer

I've generally believed that when large groups of people get together to hear music, some level of chaos is inevitable -- the light rail line at All Points West comes to mind -- but the organizers behind Governors Ball proved me wrong this weekend.

Marlo Thomas, 06/27/12

Award-winning actress, author, and activist

For Nora Ephron, life was something to celebrate. And explore. And bitch about. And then celebrate again. You didn't have to read all of her brilliant essays to immediately see that the woman had a titanium-strength point of view -- and she was achingly funny about it.

Dan Glickman, 06/27/12

Vice President and Exec. Director of the Congressional Program, Aspen Institute; Senior Fellow, Bipartisan Policy Center.

Whatever the reasons, it's refreshing to see that on something, our elected representatives can get along (at least in the Senate) and the system can still work.

Len Berman, 06/28/12

Emmy Award winning sportscaster and New York Times Bestselling Author

At the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials, Michael Phelps edged Ryan Lochte in the 100 meter freestyle. Both are heading to London.

Howard Fineman, 06/26/12

Editorial Director, AOL Huffington Post Media Group

The Newsroom is a paint-by-numbers Sorkin effort, given a frisson of media interest and buzz only because the workplace this time is the media itself. Nothing gets us going like someone we don't like preaching to us about our shortcomings.

Dusty Wright, 06/27/12

Host, The Dusty Wright Show; co-founder, CultureCatch.com

Wendy Kopp, 06/27/12

CEO & Founder, Teach For America, and CEO & Co-founder, Teach For All

In the past two years, Teach For America has nearly doubled the number of African American corps members from 390 to 720, and has increased the number of Latino corps members from 300 to 550.

Blue Carreon, 06/27/12

Fashion writer

After a one-year hiatus, bag designer Rafe Totengco is reclaiming his rightful position in the fashion world. He has his own bag label, Rafe, whose fans include stylish women like Amanda Hearst, Eva Longoria and Zani Gugelmann.