The Really Big Show Lives Up to its Name
Yesterday we indulged in a Northampton tradition that stretches back 19 years. On the final Sunday of every February, the Really Big Show channels the ghost of Ed Sullivan and brings jugglers, singers, comedy troupe actors and musicians together for an entertaining afternoon of fun. For the second time in […]
Podcamp is the Place Where the Geeky Answers Can Be Found!
A few years ago I first heard about and attended Podcamp Western Mass. It’s a truly creative day where people who love geeky things get together and share with each other. It’s that chance to finally figure out how to post videos on a blog, or how to sync your […]
Airbnb.com: How to Rent an Apartment for Less than a Hotel
We took a different route this week for our accommodations in Pittsburgh to visit Mary’s family. Instead of the Holiday Inn, where room prices were about $189 a night, we choose to rent an apartment for far less. The service is called Airbnb.com, and it matches up people with spare […]
A Day in Shadyside, Where a Real Toy Store Still Thrives
We spent the day in this city of three rivers, in the Shadyside neighborhood where Mary spent her childhood. In our rented one-bedroom apartment, it was nice to decamp and be able to visit Mary’s family and have a place to come home to afterward. Shadyside’s Walnut Street is one […]
In Busy Park Slope, Brooklyn Fish Camp is the Choice for Dinner
We’re en route to faraway Pittsburgh this morning, and I’m up early in Kyle and Maggie’s apartment in Park Slope Brooklyn. The busy street, Fifth Avenue, has hundreds of restaurants, shops and cafes, and last night we had to pop into three different places to find one that would seat […]
A Chance to Meet an Important Man in Mary’s Life
It’s a Saturday morning, I’ve already been to the gym, and I’m in that good mood that comes with a view of nothing but vacation ahead. We’re going on a road trip: first to Park Slope, Brooklyn to visit Mary’s son and daughter in law, and then Sunday, a long […]
“Truth” Brings the 1800s to the Academy Stage
It was a world premier, and the tears of joy on Linda McInerney’s face as she stood introducing the show in the corner of the Academy stage showed how much this show must mean to her. It was, as she wrote in the program, the culmination of a big effort […]
In Greece, a Third of the Workers are Public Sector. Good Luck with That
This week in an an op-ed about Sunday’s riots in Greece by Brian M Carney a particular sentence stood out and made me uneasy. “Almost every traffic light in the vicinity was out, smashed during the overnight vandalism.” This reminds of me of the eery feeling I got when I […]