I learned a little bit about gas today at lunch. On the History channel was “Gasoline,” the story of the world’s favorite fuel. Among the grainy shots of old oil derricks was newer footage of the process of refining crude oil into gas. They showed jolly looking antique trucks that […]
San Jose Mercury News executive editor Susan Goldberg made a graduation speech at Medill School at Northwestern University, that says a lot about the newspaper business…now and in the future. “News is now – or anytime I want it. And not because I’m an editor – a news gatekeeper, with […]
On Friday we had a call from a man who said he made television programs for National Geographic TV, Pax Network and other cable outlets. He was Robert, then ‘Bob.’ He said that his food-themed TV show would be interested in coming to interview us, and do a television show […]
Today’s NY Times style section included a story by Alex Williams about the joys of cancelled appointments. “Who among the harried professional class does not breathe a secret sigh of relief when drinks with an old friend, lunch with a potential client or a Saturday dinner party with college classmates […]
A busy Saturday, with good things popping up all over. First, I got my scooter back, after months in the shop. The horn isn’t working and I have to kick it to start it, but it’s running and I’m happy for that. I stopped by the Learning Circle, where my […]
This morning in the car, I listened to Scott Simon interview a man who sounded tough. Turned out it was Teddy Atlas, a former boxer and trainer who had stories to tell. When Atlas was a kid, his father was a well-known doctor. He got a bad cut, and was […]
Angola was on page one of today’s NY Times. Sadly, this was a portrait of a Malthusian crisis, with mountains of garbage, rivulets of raw sewage, kids sliding into the muck and more than 40,000 often fatal cases of cholera. It would have taken 22,000 dump trucks just to haul […]
Today’s a lovely day and my heart is full and upbeat. Perhaps that’s because it feels like the cafe is finally reaching a point of success. People come in who’ve never been here before, they always say how nice it is in here, and at the same time our regulars […]
Reading the Republican in the cafe. A story out of Southwick told of a plumber who made an interesting discovery in the bathroom vanity he purchased at “a major retail chain.” Inside, packaged in what appeared to be parts for the vanity, was a stash of $150,000 worth of cocaine […]
The American Journalism Review ran a story about the effect popularity rankings of stories on the web has on the people who decide what goes on the front pages of newspapers. “At the Washington Post’s daily 2 p.m. story meeting, editors report on the popularity of stories published on the […]
Boingboing.net today has a story about the owner of a new Seattle art gallery’s encounter with an absolute ass. “As we were closing up, some drunk mouth-breathing knuckle-dragger starts banging on the door demanding to be let in. After Damion tells him that the gallery was closed, the Moron says […]