california | Jennifer J. Cannon

Tag: california
- Who Doesn’t Love a Good Heist?
  
  Posted at 6:56 pm by Jennifer J. Cannon, on November 7, 2025
  It was the thrill of a lifetime to write for Town & Country Magazine about a family secret that, while fascinating, left a trail of heartache and betrayal in its wake. This time 64-years-ago my colorful (and like the perpetrators of the Louvre heist– handsome), Armenian grandfather was the ringleader in robberies of two prominent homes in Beverly Hills and Bel Air, California. It was one of the biggest jewel heists in Los Angeles history. The approximately $320,000 worth of stolen gems would be worth millions today.
  
  Town & Country October 2025
  
  Los Angeles Times April 1962
  
  “The recovery of the gems was a culmination of one of the largest investigations ever conducted by the West Los Angeles and Beverly Hills police,” wrote Dan Tomkins for the LA Independent in May of 1962.
  
  A significant portion of the jewels have never been found.
  
  I’ve been working on a novel inspired by real events in the life of my grandfather and my experiences growing up with him.
  
  You can still find this article in the October issue of Town & Country online and in print at Barnes & Noble.
  
  Thanks for reading!
  
  xo Jen
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  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged bel air, beverly hillbillies, beverly hills, california, catalina island, chartwell estate, diamonds, family secrets, george dordigan, iconic, jewel heist, jewel thief, kirkeby mansion, louvre, lynn atkinson, murdoch, real estate, sumner spaulding, town & country magazine
- Young Parent, Old Parent – I am both. My latest for Business Insider
  
  Posted at 12:06 pm by Jennifer J. Cannon, on February 5, 2024
  Baby Bry, baby me – Lake Arrowhead, CA 1985
  
  When one of my favorite editors put out a call for pitches looking for stories about being an ‘old’ parent, I had one of those hold my beer moments as I grabbed for my laptop. Having had my first child at 18 and my last at 38, I am grateful for the opportunity to share my experiences as both a too-young and also ‘old’ mom.
  
  The Cannons – Longwood Gardens – Kennett Square, PA 2008
  
  As a teen mom (decades before the MTV reality show) I lacked patience and life experience among other things.
  
  At one point, I was doing crack-of-dawn surveillance for a PI firm investigating fraudulent Workers Comp cases “down the hill” from the San Bernardino mountains where I lived, and would be back in time for the 3-11 shift waitressing at the local coffee shop. The ends rarely met. It wasn’t unusual to float a check to our local taco joint on ‘my’ weekends.
  
  My three – Lake Worth, FL
  
  “As an old parent, I have stability and a healthy marriage. I stopped working after the birth of my oldest daughter, and was fortunate (thanks to my husband’s job) to be able to transition to full-time stay-at-home mom. I overcompensated for every past mistake, changed almost every diaper, and never missed a thing.
  Every milestone moment of my daughters’ early lives was a painful reminder of what I’d missed with their brother. We’ve done a lot of healing.”
  
  Link to full article: I had kids 20 years apart. I am both a young and old parent. at Business Insider.
  
  Thanks for stopping by,
  
  xo Jen
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  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged author, Business Insider, california, essay, family, lake arrowhead, life, new jersey, old mom, parenting, personal growth, running springs, teen mom, writing
- Snappening, No Surprise
  
  Posted at 1:11 pm by Jennifer J. Cannon, on October 14, 2014
  They’re calling it… the ‘Snappening’. No surprise here.
  
  Rule No. 14 of “Sophie’s” #SweetSixteen – Proceed with Caution reads in part:
  
  “In the name of respect for yourself and others, please refrain from sharing inappropriate materials or photos of yourself or anyone else! Before you start snapping pics of you and your besties anywhere at any time, STOP! Then ask yourself these three things first:
  
  1. Do I have permission from my friends (or acquaintances) to take the picture?
  
  2. Will anyone be potentially embarrassed, hurt or offended?
  
  3. Will anyone (including me) be mortified if someone were to capture a screenshot and share it with the world (or my mother)?
  
  And guess what? Those SnapChat pics? Turns out they may not ever really disappear.”
  
  You gotta love the “not our fault” blame deflection by SnapChat. It’s barely interesting to me that over 200,000 photos have been hacked – why? Because it’s NOT A SURPRISE.
  
  ***PARENTS (of girls especially): If you allow your kids to download and use this app – here’s a little insight into the mind of Evan Speigal, one of the creators. ***Explicit information – not for children.
  
  Anonymity, it’s the new virginity. Let’s try to teach our kids to value and hold onto it!
  
  Thanks for stopping by,
  
  xo J. J.
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  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged california, etiquette, Evan Speigal, hackers, internet, kids, photo leaks, privacy, proceed with caution, snap chat, snappening, social media, sophie takes a selfie, teens, tweens
- @SCVPurge ~ Where Shall We Begin…
  
  Posted at 3:50 pm by Jennifer J. Cannon, on July 18, 2014
  Cringe! ‘SCV Purge’ Twitter Account Posts Nude Photos of Teens, Threatens to Release Names
  
  (big sigh) Let’s start here… for now.
  
  View this post on Instagram
  
  A post shared by Jennifer J. Cannon, Author (@jjcannonauthor)
  
  Oh, and by the way,
  
  I realize that by the time our kids are teenagers keeping track of their digital activity can become daunting. Insidiously, and by default, technology and social media has made parenting exponentially more complicated and difficult. Technology takes parents out of the equation.
  
  Too many kids don’t THINK about the big picture when it comes to the potentially negative and sometimes life changing affects one tweet, photo, post, could have on them.
  
  There are many types of Parental Control Software out there to choose from.
  
  It is our RESPONSIBILITY as parents to know what our kids under the age of 18 are doing online.
  
  Thanks for stopping by, and remember to #KeepItClassy!
  
  xo Jen “J. J.”
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  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged california, digital kids, etiquette, Keep It Classy, nude pics, online threats, parenting, scv purge, social media, sophie takes a selfie, teens, twitter
- gramMarch 2014 May Be Over… Don’t Let that Stop You From Taking Time to Pause. Ponder. Prose!
  
  Posted at 2:32 pm by Jennifer J. Cannon, on April 8, 2014
  Heather Schotke, Founder Creator of gramMarch reading @Sophie Takes a #Selfie – March 2014
  
  California girls unite! Okay, wait, that’s not exactly how I wanted to start this, but I cannot contain the excitement I feel about the grammatical crusade Heather Shotke, middle school teacher, Founder of “gramMarch” and fellow California native has embarked upon!
  
  The gramMARCH challenge is the brainchild of middle school teacher Heather Shotke, who has seen these abbreviated forms of language migrate from the screens of smartphones to the pages of her students’ work product. She is shocked at the type of writing that comes across her desk – even in formal essay assignments.
  
  “I am disappointed and appalled,” Shotke said. “Kids are using ‘text language’ in their academic work and they think it is acceptable because that is how they are communicating with their friends on social media. It worries me that they cannot differentiate between a formal, school assignment and a text to a friend.”
  
  Shotke, a graduate of the Annenberg School of Communication at USC, is concerned that society has become too acceptant of this new-era shorthand. Students are not the only ones at fault. Adults too have adopted this lax method of prose. Through gramMARCH, Shotke is challenging the nation to slow down and think about what they are writing, so that thoughts and words are concise and given respect.
  
  Needless to say I am very happy to have connected with Heather via Twitter – once again reinforcing my love of this powerful social media tool. Looking forward to finding a way to join forces with Heather in the future for the greater good of grammar everywhere.
  
  Let’s all take a moment to PAUSE. PONDER. PROSE.
  
  Thanks for stopping by!
  
  xo Jen
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  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged california, communication, educator, grammar, gramMarch, Heather Shotke, kids, middle school, pause ponder prose, social media, teacher, text speech, writer
- Teens Charged in $1 Million CA Mansion Break-In | If You Give a Mouse a Cookie Edition
  
  Posted at 11:45 am by Jennifer J. Cannon, on March 20, 2014
  Image via CBS News
  
  “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” or maybe “If you Give a Kid a Guide”
  
  There is so much I could say about this story – the second I’ve heard like this in the past year. I’m sure there are more. I cheered at my television one morning a while back listening to Kelly Ripa’s reaction to parents who were/are suing after pics of their kids partying at the vacation home of former New England Patriots offensive lineman, Brian Holloway, were posted online. The suit apparently alleged that this would potentially ruin the chances of their kids getting into a good college.
  
  Seeing this headline yesterday somehow inspired me to make an attempt to verbally spoof the currently running hilarious Direct TV commercials. Attempt is the key word.
  
  When you get on social media, you feel free.
  When you feel free, you feel brave.
  When you feel brave, you post pics of a party at a mansion that you and your friends break into where you do millions of dollars worth of damage and steal a lot of interesting stuff.
  When you break into a mansion, have a party, do millions of dollars worth of damage, steal a lot of interesting stuff and post pics of your epic stupidity online, word gets around.
  When word gets around, the cops arrest you and the story goes viral.
  And when the story goes viral and your party pics are made public, your parents get super angry because
  you’ve potentially ruined your chances of getting into that dream school you applied to.
  Don’t let your parents get super angry and ruin your chances of having fruitful life.
  Read “@Sophie Takes a #Selfie” – it’s not too late.
  
  Encouraging everyone to talk with their kids EARLY before turning them loose with that stick of dynamite also known as a smart device!
  
  Thanks for stopping by,
  
  xo Jen
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  Posted in Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged awareness, california, direct tv, education, if you give a mouse a cookie, kids, parenting, parties, privacy, satire, selfies, social issues, social media, sophie takes a selfie, spoof, vandalism

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