I must say that I am impressed with my old friend Kent.  He showed me his ticket to Beijing, it’s in seat number 2a, a flatbed in Business Class on American for the 19-hour flight over the North Pole from New York to China around Christmastime.  He’s been invited by […]

I can’t remember ever being in New York City and not feeling a spring in my step and excitement in my blood. That’s because the city pumps it into us, and maybe because when we come here we are often doing really fun things like meeting tourism officials and having […]

I made a visit to a restaurant I’ve been thinking about for many years. Ever since I first read a book by Anthony Bourdain, I’ve known that his place was Les Halles. Tonight I got to visit and enjoyed its authenticity with a Frenchman I met. I was dipping into […]

Today is election day and one of the first things I saw on my phone was a text message from my sister that said ‘vote.’  I know that I’d be disappointing her if she knew that I am the only member of my family who doesn’t swallow the entire Obama […]

Today’s I read Anthony Bourdain’s newest book, “The Nasty Bits,” while I was on the exercise machine, and enjoyed his chapter about spending a week on board the ResidenceSea, a floating luxury condo that takes the very rich around the world and affords the utmost in luxury. Bourdain has this […]

The World Series is on and that always reminds me of my decades-long tradition of the Williamstown trip with my father. He would come up on Friday, and usually we’d go out to dinner somewhere. Then he and I would replicate the same trip, year after year. Right down to […]

Last night I finally got a chance to eat at a restaurant I’ve heard praised right and left located way up near where 35 years ago I went to school. The Gill Tavern is so popular there’s always a line, last night a couple who lived nearby told about how […]

Random notes from late October 2010: I had a long night’s sleep anticipating many things coming up. Today’s highlight will be the laying of carpet in my new bedroom addition, putting a nearly-final touch on this lovely new room that I will be moving into late next week. I have […]

I’ve been excited about seeing the new Facebook movie. As we sat through a solid 25 minute marathon of coming attractions, I alternated between fascination at the new movies I hadn’t ever heard about, and happy that most of the time when I watch a film I can flit right […]

According to the WSJ, 15 million American adults reported having near-death experiences. But how can we tell if they really happened? A story in today’s WSJ explores ways in which scientists are trying to determine the truth of the commonly told story…entering a black tunnel toward a bright light, feeling […]

When people ask me about the best places I’ve ever been, two countries pop up the fastest. These would be New Zealand and France. Why? Because they both offer a combination of gorgeous scenery, the best food, and the friendliest locals. Even France, that often gets a bad rap, for […]

How to Buy a Helicopter. What a topic! I quickly turned to this WSJ magazine feature that provided me with copious amounts of useless information about the best options for choosing the right ‘ship.’ It comes down to piston driven or jet. The three main companies that make helicopters are […]