Lynne Russell I'd rather get my news from CNN newscaster Lynne Russell than any other body. Here are some of my favorite Lynne Russell links: Lynne Russell Lynne and don't forget the newsgroup - alt.fan.lynne-russell. Larry King writes in the 1/24/00 USA Today: "Lynne Russell, the CNN Headline News anchor, has written a spunky book called How to Win Friends, Kick Ass & Influence People (St. Martin' s Press, $23.95). The wildly revealing picture on the back flap probably just got by the censors, and the book is as open as they come. This lady has a lot on the ball. What a good book this is." Amazon.com: CNN's Lynne Russell is probably the only prime-time anchor with a second-degree black belt, and we're darn certain that she's the only one with multiple tattoos. Not to mention the only one who moonlights as a private investigator and bodyguard. In How to Win Friends, Kick Ass & Influence People, Russell--whose language gets awfully sassy and salty when the cameras aren't rolling--tells readers how she managed to overcome a disastrous first marriage and started a career in broadcast journalism that's now approaching its fourth decade. (The records show that Russell is in her early 50s, against all visible evidence suggesting otherwise.) She also has lots of advice for women, mostly encouraging her readers to "dare to be yourself" at work and play. But there are all sorts of interesting digressions, including tips on how to flirt in Paris (this section also reveals the usefulness of self-defense training; when a masher tried to get fresh at a movie theater, she silently took his hand in hers, then bent a finger back until she heard it snap). Edward R. Murrow might be spinning in his grave for all we care, but How to Win Friends, Kick Ass & Influence People is a fun, sexy read. Andrew writes on Amazon.com: Russell's slim volume is a jaded, cynical whirlwind of hackneyed metaphors ("Isn't that what Xena would do?") and knee-jerk advice for those who want to reduce people to quick, sound-byte sized definitions. I don't believe that "all women are questioning the very definition of love" (p. 149), just those that have finished reading this book and want to pattern themselves on the author. And can anyone, male or female, take seriously Russell's pigeonholing of personality types? It seems she wants to encourage women to find a deep, lasting relationship by using shallow, witty-for-the-moment quips that will most likely be forgotten faster than last month's headline news. Atlanta Journal 9/7/98: Q: I think Lynne Russell of CNN Headline News is the most beautiful woman on television. What is her background? --- Pat Thomas, Atlanta A: For more than a decade, Russell has been the prime-time weekday evening anchor on Headline News, CNN's sister service. Before that, she spent six years as co-host with Bob Cain on CNN's "The Week in Review." Russell attended the University of Colorado, where she majored in nursing. From 1971 to 1978, she was program director, as well as anchor and host, of a news and interview program at WKAT, a Miami talk radio station. In 1978 and '79, she anchored and reported at WTLV-TV in Jacksonville. After a year as a news anchor and military correspondent for KHON-TV in Honolulu, she joined KENS-TV in San Antonio as an evening news anchor and investigative and courthouse reporter. In 1983, she moved to CNN. She's a licensed private investigator who works part-time as a detective. She's a first-degree black belt in Choi Kwang-Do; a bodyguard to visiting celebrities; and a Fulton County deputy sheriff in the reserve division. She also is certified as an open-water scuba diver. From www.TheOnion.com: ATLANTA--In an interview in the March issue of Brill's Content, CNN Headline News anchor Lynne Russell described herself as "committed to reporting the cold, hard factoids, no matter what the cost." In the candid interview, Russell is quoted as saying, "Americans eat 850 million pounds of cranberry sauce each Thanksgiving. You may not want to hear that, but it's an undeniable factoid, and I am going to report it." Russell came under fire last year for a controversial report alleging that the average pair of shoes is worn for 14 months. From the alt.fan.lynne-russell FAQ Unlike most anchorwomen, Lynne is known to change her hairstyle frequently. To quote Atlanta magazine, "Russell's may be the most carefully scrutinized television 'do' since Howard Cosell put on a rug. Even casual viewers note that one night Russell looks carefully coifed and the next as if she forgot to wear a shower cap -- which is what, in fact, sometimes happens. «Regarding my hair,» volunteers Russell, accustomed to comments, «I have no control over it. I'm just wearing it.» " Her color is primarily dark red, although even that is variable -- at one time during the 80's she even had a very brief stint as a blonde. Some have theorized that she may sometimes wear wigs on the air, but this has not been confirmed. Also, she sometimes wears (and always looks good in) glasses on-air, something that is seen on few other female anchors. Luke: I have obtained a pair of Lynne Russell's panties. (These were "obtained" from her gym locker by a close personal friend of mine who trains in the same place Lynne does). I tried to open bidding on these on eBay, but their policy prohibits. What better Passover/Easter gift could one ask for? Bids anyone? Lynne Russell writes in Playboy magazine: Because I'm on camera so much I'm very used to controlling my hand movements so much so, that in my free time I don't use them the way I would if I were, say, a bubble dancer. I don't rest on my elbow when I talk, with my hand flopping around and one finger sticking lazily out. Someone might think it's a comment on the story I'm reading. It's interesting to see how other women use their hands. Some let them lie wherever they land, whether that space is their lap of somebody else's. I've seen women whose fingers seem to have gotten stuck on the top of their breast as they idly contemplate something that amuses them or maybe they're just appreciating the fabric. This also has been known to drive a man nuts, especially if it happens during a staff meeting. Which brings to mind a woman I know who is in the habit of sucking on the end of her index finger when she does math. She's an accountant. She has a large clientele. There are other things a woman does with her hands when she's concentrating and some of them are legal, such as playing with her hair. If it's long, she can wind it around her fingers and there's a lot of action a little caress here, a little curl there, pulling this, tugging and stretching that, and before you know it she has created, perhaps quite innocently, that unstudied, postcoital look guaranteed to send male imaginations spinning out of control. The female of the species has the option of unleashing the Ultimate Secret Weapon that is so subtle yet so powerful that it is the most lethal of all mating calls when executed properly. This one is performed in one smooth motion, and it is never an accident: she raises her arm, running her slightly separated fingers up the side of her neck, elbow high and out, raising and showing off the line of her breast, head back. Her hand continues its ever so slow journey up her neck all the way to the ends. You watch this smoldering, universal message and wonder if there is some mistake. There isn't. And if she should happen to arch her back during this maneuver, you will swear your shoes are on fire. Chaim Amalek writes: Yes, when watching her on CNN Luke often finds himself staring at the contours of her blouse, wondering what's doing underneath those clothes. If only she were young enough to have my children - and Jewish. I often think that I would have more respect for Mr. Bill Clinton if he had banged her to the exclusion of that silly fat secular jewish princess Monica Lewinsky. (By the way, is Monica at all active in the LA jewish community? Have I ever run into her say, in Beverley Hills or any of the other posh places we power jews hang out?) -Luke Ford, writing to myself while sitting on a veritable Y2K stockpile of shmura matzos. |