Unfiltered...

Almost everyone and their mother uses filters. Just look around your home. Maybe there’s an air filter, a water filter, a pool filter, a coffee filter? Heck, there are even UV filters in your sunscreen. But filters aren’t limited to household and other everyday items. Of course, photographers have always been fans of lens filters. Nowadays, thanks to your iPhone, Instagram, Photoshop, and the like, amateur photographers are filtering their photos up the wazoo. There’s my personal favorite, the good old “BaBa Wawa” filter, which makes anyone look glam on those unforgiving, pore-enhancing HDTV screens.… Of course, Facebook has filters so users can filter out those annoying friends who post about everything and the kitchen sink. Even Facebook itself has been accused of filtering out conservative stories from all news feeds. Which leads me to my next type of filter. The personal filter. Growing up, I was the kind of kid who spoke her mind and I was voted most likely to succeed in high school. Thoughts poured out of my mouth before my brain and conscience had a chance to filter them. For those who know me, that hasn’t changed! Always one to challenge authority, I rebelled when my mother told me not to discuss politics or religion at the dinner table. Actually, I’ve always questioned that filter. Why shouldn’t we talk about things that we disagree with at the dinner table or in polite company? Isn’t the first step of conflict resolution to discuss the topics upon which we disagree?

We’re bracing ourselves for one of the most divisive elections in this country’s history. In my opinion, the “not discussing politics at the dinner table” filter is to blame (or, depending on your view, “thank”) for the state of this election year. People have been filtering themselves to the point where we’re shocked by some people’s political views…. The best thing to come out of the circus of this election is the “elimination” of this filter and the cutting of the BS. Love him or hate him, we can thank Le Donald for this. People are speaking their mind, whether we like their views or not. And by doing that, we are hopefully starting a dialogue to resolve the great divide in this country. And if not, boy is it scary…. Now that I got that out of the way, I am so excited to tell you about this issue of Hampton Sheet. My dear friend Loreen Arbus is featured as our June cover story. If you don’t know this eclectic powerhouse of a woman, you should. She is a dynamo. She’s an award-winning executive producer and director who fought her way up the ranks to the top of the entertainment industry. She’s also used her media savvy to help further causes in the charitable world. You want to talk about “disruptive innovators”? Learn how this woman has singlehandedly brought much-needed change to both the entertainment and philanthropy worlds.

Also in The Sheet we have Jeffrey Lyons’s reviews of summer flicks, Aubrey Reuben’s broadway banter, Jan’s Take on dining and entertainment, and Literary Lowdown’s selection of the perfect poolside reads. Of course, as always, you will see the fab party pics of all of you looking oh so glam at events like the Breast Cancer Research Foundation’s Hot Pink Party at the Waldorf, the Hat Luncheon for the Central Park Conservancy, the UCP Women Who Care Luncheon. Don’t miss Dr. Howard Sobel’s “Turning Back the Hands of Time” column and for you car buffs, our new “I’ll Take the Wheel,” by Lou Carvel. It’s all here, and more, within these exciting glossy pages of The Sheet. And be sure to check out our Event Calendar for the list of upcoming Hamptons and NYC events—and always remember to be camera-ready in case you spot me at the best of the best benefits and events in NYC and the Hamptons.