A few years ago, the price of recycled paper was so low that municipalities were no longer getting any money from the tons of waste they brought down to the Springfield Materials Handling facility off I-91 in Springfield.  The market had tanked, we were drowning in an oversupply, and things […]

I’m heading back to UMass today for another opportunity to speak with students about writing. This is an old tradition, dating back 7-8 years, and it’s unpredictable whether the students will be interested in what I say or completely distracted. I remember one time when I came to this same […]

“Tell me the name of your company,” coaxed architect Edward Roche, UMass Class of ’72, as we sat on a panel tonight in the campus center. We were here for the Distinguished Speaker Series, and on my right and left sat three accomplished men with stories to share and ideas […]

I joined what felt like everyone else in the Valley who has ever had children today at WRSI’s annual family fest, called The Meltdown.  As I listened to a mom talking into her cell, I agreed…the word to describe the whole extravaganza is…overwhelming. But in a good way.  The throngs […]

If you pulled back the curtain on rock and roll over the past four decades, there, hiding, would be Hal Blaine. I read a portrait of this man behind the famous “Wrecking Crew,” in the WSJ yesterday, and discovered that much of the music people think was performed by famous […]

At age 76, Donald Sutherland has earned all the cred he needs. He’s been in so many movies, he’s one of the icons; we would use his image if we were making a backdrop of what Hollywood looks like in 2011. He answered questions posed by Cal Fussman in this […]

I have a mixed and sometimes turbulent relationship with travel.  Some times, there is nothing more delicious than having an upcoming trip loom closer and closer, and getting ready by making plans, phone calls and reservations for exotic new places to stay and things to see.  Or poring over an […]

This week an effort is commencing to help the economy of a country devasted by an earthquake. No, not Japan–New Zealand–which was hit by a huge quake in Christchurch a few weeks before and now their tourism-driven economy is taking a big hit. #Blog4NZ is the name of this effort, […]

Last night I extracted a promise from my sweetie after agreeing to go to an event of her choosing. “You owe me two Patriots games for this,” I told her. It was a talk at the Serius Community by noted sexologist Sheri Winston, whose book is entitled “The Anatomy of […]

Last night I joined a bunch of local business people and sipped wine at Magic Wings in Deerfield. There were members of both the Amherst and Franklin County Chambers of Commerce there, plus a bunch of people whom I have known for years. It was fun to see people like […]

Imagine, if you can, a warm late June night. It’s the Taste of Deerfield, and all the way down Sugarloaf St., you can smell the grills cooking and hear the music. It sounds like a good time. In the cold damp March night I met with the Deerfield selectboard to […]

Credit cards got a lot of people I know into great trouble.  So is it a relief, then that according to industry experts, a new generation of phones coming out in 2011 will allow people to pay for things with their phone, not just their cards.  Once people get used […]