Humanity, Raw & Unfiltered
Tonya Riner is a professional makeup artist and a Principal Partner at Beauty For Real. Her long list of celebrity clients includes Heidi Klum, Erin Wasson, Julie Anderson, Rachel Hunter, Chandra North, and Lauren Bush. Her work has been featured in Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue, and she was included in Allure Magazine’s Directory, as one of the […]
Read More Makeup Lesson: Tips to Achieve Your Best LookEveryone wants to know, “How do you get hired to work for the CIA?” I remember looking at a large pile of resumes—there were hundreds of them—and throwing mine on the top. I had never met a CIA agent, and I had no idea what they were looking for, but I was pretty sure it […]
Read More Recruited—How I Got Into the CIAIf you were a professional athlete you’d have to train every day. If you were a concert cellist you’d have to practice for hours on end. So it stands to reason that if you want to dine with the best, you must fine tune your skills. I recommend doing this three times a day, every […]
Read More Elegant Dining EtiquetteIt was the worst kind of attack in an area of Baghdad teeming with terrorists. After leaving the meeting and driving half-way down the block, the first car in the convoy became disabled when an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) detonated right next to it. The explosion created fire, smoke, and spread debris on the asphalt […]
Read More Be Your Own Security Advisor—Small Decisions are Big DecisionsXaviera Hollander is a truly fascinating woman. She was born in Indonesia, of German and Dutch parents and speaks 6 languages. She has lived an incredibly full life, with a lot of ups and a few downs. Her stories are filled with an irreverent sense of wit and humor. She relocated to the U.S. to […]
Read More Interview: Xaviera Hollander, the Happy HookerAnd now for a bit of seriousness. But it won’t last long, don’t worry. Illness. It can strike anyone anytime. It is one of life’s tests, and how one reacts to the news can often determine the prognosis. Fighting a battle against disease can be quite hard work in itself, but it’s made worse by […]
Read More Etiquette Moments On IllnessRaise your hand if you’re an AMW. I found out about this term when I first came to Los Angeles. A new acquaintance casually called me an “AMW” and even though I’d been one half my life, I was deflated to find out there was this derogatory acronym used to describe my life’s purpose. AMW […]
Read More From AMW to CFOThe thing about CIA intelligence officers is that you must be tuned into your environment, aware of your surroundings, and able to spot when something looks wrong or out of place. Ultimately, we are searching for counterintelligence threats because we don’t want to end up detained, charged with espionage and dumped in a foreign jail. […]
Read More Be Your Own Security Advisor – Security Tips from a Counterterrorism Expert