Columnist scores in TV land

San Francisco author Barbara Rose Brooker’s novel “The Viagra Diaries” is soon to become an HBO series starring Goldie Hawn. Darren Star, “Sex and the City” creator–executive producer, is writing and producing the new show about life and love after age 60 and the surprise break-up of a 35-year marriage. J. readers may be familiar with Brooker’s work.  Her witty, acerbic columns about her experiences in the dating world appear often in j.’s seniors supplements.

Team Talia

When Talia Zankman of Burlingame celebrated her bat mitzvah earlier this year, she suggested to friends and relatives that in lieu of personal gifts, they could support her in the fifth annual Bay Area VisionWalk, sponsored by the Foundation for Fighting Blindness. Talia was walking for her brother, Elan Zankman, 9, who was just 3 years old when he was diagnosed with a retinal degenerative condition that limits his vision. Proceeds from the walk are directed to research for prevention and cure of retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration and numerous other sight-stealing diseases. Talia, who notes on her webpage that “it’s a race against time,” reached her fundraising goal of $5,000 for the walk, which took place June 4 in Golden Gate Park. But you can still donate to fight these diseases through Team Talia at www.fightblindness.org/goto/TeamTalia.

Retirement tips

Miriam Goodman’s latest book is about extreme couplehood. A San Francisco resident and longtime Jewish community activist, Goodman says her book, “Too Much Togetherness: Surviving Retirement As a Couple,” is based on the premise that “too many couples are not prepared for life after career and children, and are having problems dealing with all this togetherness.” You can hear Goodman talk about the issue with KRON TV’s Henry Tenenbaum at www.toomuchtogetherness.com.

New leaders

Jonathan Friedman has joined the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation as the senior philanthropic adviser, working out of the federation’s Peninsula office.  He was formerly the director of Development for the Parkinson’s Institute in Sunnyvale … Irv Duchowny is the new executive director at San Jose’s Temple Emanu-El. His former executive director stints include six years at Congregation Ner Tamid in Las Vegas and, recently, two-plus years at Palo Alto’s Congregation Etz Chayim … Jonathan Emanuel will begin work as Tiburon Congregation Kol Shofar’s new director of congregational education Aug. 1. He has worked in Portland, Ore., since 2005, developing community and synagogue programming. 

Short shorts …

Kyle Weiss, 18, of Danville is one of 10 young people in North America to be honored as a 2011 Build-A-Bear Workshop Huggable Hero. He was recognized for raising more than $138,000 for FUNDaFIELD, an organization he co-founded when he was 13 to raise money to help build soccer fields for children in Africa … A bunch of Bay Area folks recently went back to their hometown of Akron, Ohio, to celebrate simchas: the 90th birthdays of two moms. David Schwartz of San Rafael, Stephanie Miller of San Anselmo, Susan Miller of San Francisco and George Shapiro and his daughter Rose Shapiro of Berkeley honored Jean Schwartz, David’s mom and aunt to the others. And my cousin David Mark of Palo Alto and I gathered with our family to celebrate my mom, Gloria Reich.

This columnist can be reached at [email protected].