Modern Family’s Characters Become Jerks and Lose Me
I have a terrible feeling that one of my favorite TV shows has jumped the shark. That can happen when characters that people really like turn out to be jackasses who annoy you, instead of make you laugh. Tonight’s episode of “Modern Family” tipped right over into sharkville, when both […]
The UK Leads the Way in an Undesirable Statistic
In last weeks’ WSJ, a story was illustrated with people who had fallen down drunk on the road, and was about a statistic that bodes badly for the future of the United Kingdom. Despite years of the rate of drunkenness falling in other European countries and in the US, in […]
A Tale of Two Musicians, One Wrong and One Right
Erik Felton wrote a column a few days ago that stuck with me. It was about two men, and how vastly different they are– differences that have as much to do with the cultures of today and of yesterday as the men themselves. Leonard Slatkin was recently driven out of […]
With a Sigh of Regret, I’ll Pass the Reins on Soon
I’m sitting in my favorite window of my favorite cafe, thinking about what it will be like after May 3 when I will no longer own this place. I tell friends and acquaintances who ask me that it will be great; that just being a customer will be much more […]
‘Viva Chavez! Viva Chavez!’ Just Say It!
On most Thursday nights, I keep the channel on NBC so I won’t miss ‘The Office’ at nine pm. While that’s the main attraction, I must mention with admiration a very cleverly written mockumentary that preceded my regular fav, called Parks and Recreation. The show stars Amy Poehler as the […]
They Share More with Strangers in the Restroom
The very astute Jeffrey Zaslow writes in today’s WSJ about men’s friendships. The ‘nut graf’ as we journalists like to say, was a perfect summation of the column. The quote in italics comes from a wife, reacting to her husband’s answer to what five long-time men friends talked about during a […]
The Red Shirts Keep Me From Thailand…for Now Anyway
As we settle into a very summer-like day here in Deerfield, I am somewhat relieved. That’s because my planned trip to Thailand has been postponed, due to the army of Red Shirts who are protesting against the government and making things difficult for travel around Bangkok. Today’s news is that […]
Mailer’s Last Wife Suffered, Yet Prospered
I picked up a copy of yesterday’s NY Sunday Times and found a portrait of a gaunt yet attractive woman. She was Norman Mailer’s last wife…and she’s endured a whole lot of tough times besides being cheated on by the famous philanderer. Her name is Norris Church Mailer, and she […]
In Egypt, There is No Escape from the Touts
Last night we joined our friends Lorna and Mark at a trendy restaurant and sat for a long time talking about places we’ve been. The couple has traveled extensively around the world and they’ve been to some places I haven’t. I listened intently to their stories about what it is […]
Hopping Freight Trains and Living the Life of a Hobo
I met a man outside of our cafe in South Deerfield named Rapid T. He was unshaven and carrying a box of crushed Miller Lite cans. He had a bicycle with a pair of boots dangling over the handlebars. He told me that he was called a Rail Fan, and […]
Union Rules: You Go Over There
I enjoy having lunch with an old friend every week. We meet at the cafe, and always have some great stories to share. When he was a young man, fresh out of high school, his dad wanted to help him out. He wanted a job, and dad was able to […]
There’s No Way This Swimmer Can Stay Champ for Long
In last night’s WSJ, Warren Kozak wrote about a story that tells much about how things work in China. Beginning with a topic of Google’s defiance of the government over censorship of results, he tells a story from his days in the mid ’80s when he lived there with a […]
Quth is the Dude who Taught the Terrorists to Hate America
Sayyid Qutb spent time in Colorado in the 1950s and wrote a seminal 30-volume series called “In the Shade of the Quran.” Members of most major terrorist groups including Al Queda revere Qutb’s words and his anti-semetic rants and have formed many of their hatreds of American morals as a […]
It Rains, We Pout
Outside the deluge continues. I think we have it so easy here in Mass, with no hurricanes, tornadoes, hailstones or monsoons. Other places have all of these and more. So a little of this rain outside doesn’t bother me. I read in the WSJ a story about how profitable it’s […]
Rupert’s Never Googled Anyone
Michael Wolf writes about the media and I tracked this back reading about Sir Rupert’s new idea about charging people for his UK newspaper’s web content. “Rupert continues his war with the Internet. Over the weekend, he told an interviewer (the interviewer, on Sky News Australia, works for him) that […]
I Can Listen to my iTunes on my iPhone in my iTruck!
Triumphs of the technical nature are rare for me. Here’s another fumbling admission that I’m not as clever as some young men. I tried to replace my truck’s radio, and was sent the wrong wiring harness. I like being able to talk about wiring harnesses even though I couldn’t figure […]
Looking Back Ten Years, The Dotcom Bust Was Cruel
Two copies of Wired magazine arrived in my post office box on the same day. The March and the April issues, as usual, did not disappoint, but why they both came at once is a mystery. Inside the March issue was a colorful three-page spread about the ten years between […]
“This is what Publishing Looks Like in 2010”
It’s a chilly morning, and today I am meeting another prospective intern who wants to come work with us. Graduating from college, I guess in today’s economy it makes sense to get an unpaid internship instead of a regular job. With or without the UMass credits, I think spending time […]