Peter What The Hell is Wrong With You?
Reading the local paper, I find an account that startled me. That’s because I can’t believe how cruel and mean men can be to women. Take Peter, featured in a big local story in the Recorder. He shows up in the doorway at his ex-girlfriend’s house late at night, uninvited, […]
Swimming in the Shark Tank, Looking for Loot
I often say that television is better now than it ever was. That’s because reality TV is just more fun than anything scripted. Last night was a perfect case in point, I watched a new ABC show called “The Shark Tank” and I loved it. Six savvy multimillionaires sit in […]
"A Bright Young President, Full of Hope and Laughter"
Peggy Noonan wrote a piece in the WSJ after the death of Senator Kennedy that resonated with me, as her writing often does. It might have been a bit egotistical of her to print the text of a speech she wrote for Ronald Reagan that he gave at a fundraiser […]
JT in the Rain, with Yoyo and Sheryl
You all know what the weather was last night. Rain, rain and more rain. A perfect night to go to an open air concert featuring James Taylor and Friends. We had the picnic inside our friend’s house in Lenox and headed over to Tanglewood. It was worth getting wet for. […]
Cruising the Coast of Massachusetts…GoNOMAD
My favorite stories are the ones that seem to jump up and write themselves. Some times a travel story is so easy to write because the topic compelled you, it made you want again and again to talk about it. With this kind of subject, writing’s a breeze. I published […]
"Gran Torino" Shows the Power of a Good Man
Clint Eastwood is not only a powerful actor, but a powerful director too. I’ve enjoyed two Clint films in the past week, first it was Mystic River, and last night, his latest film “Gran Torino.”Torino begins with a premise…this character Walt Kowalski is a grump, and he’s carrying the world’s […]
World’s Scariest Bridges: Swinging in the Breeze
I love the things I find on my RSS feed. Here is a collection of the world’s most dangerous bridges. The winner, says Web Urbanist, is the Hussaini Bridge in Pakistan. It crosses the Borak Lake, which rages beneath its flimsy wooden slats. “Moms, dads, grandparents kids all use this […]
He Invented a Better Iron, Now He Makes Them in the USA
Farouk Shami decided he’d do even better business if he made his products in the US. So two years ago he decided to bring the manufacturing for his ceramic curling irons back from China to Houston, the city where he lives. Now he’s hiring 1200 workers to make the high-end […]
Craig Doesn’t Care About Money, Or Your Ideas
Everyone I know uses Craig’s List. And almost everyone I know who used to rely on newspaper classified ads has made the switch, much to the chagrin of my friends at the paper. Today as the sultry heat waited to pour down buckets, just before I snoozed, I read a […]
In 1949, A Network Withered and a New One Emerged
Terry Teachout always has something interesting to write about. His column “Sightings,” in Saturday’s WSJ this week was about a media giant’s demise…but this one happened in 1949.Back then, everyone listened to network radio, but suddenly, everyone was talking about this new thing called television. Teachout points out that in […]
Video in Print? They Can Do That Now
The rains accompanying hurricane Bill have swept away the sultry humid air, today’s a Saturday morning with glorious temps…and a good time to read last night’s WSJ, where I found out about a video that’s being printed into a magazine. CBS is promoting its fall TV shows by inserting a […]
They Sell Locomotives on the Web
We had a backyard barbeque in the steamy August evening. Old friends of mine came and some new friends of my daughters, but one of them was a man whose name I recognized. David Goff. He and his wife live in Deerfield and in their home office run a fascinating […]
Harder than Ever to Get
Oh joy, oh wonderful joy. This sticker was hard-earned. Like so many residents of Massachusetts, inspection time has become a difficult one, with many of my friends failing due to mysterious dashboard engine lights that they are unable to extinguish in time for the unfair inspection station probe. I […]
Townwide Tag Sale Shouts the Recorder Headline!
I love getting good publicity, getting news printed in the paper. The Recorder’s Chase Scheinbaum called my yesterday, asking about our plan to hold a second Town Wide Tag Sale in Deerfield. Of course we are, it’s going to be on October 3, just the same as last year. The […]
A Tale of How To Cut Airline Costs at American
Last night on CNBC, viewers got a chance to get up close to what it’s like for a week in the life of American Airlines. Host Peter Greenberg interviewed Ed Crandall, former CEO of the airline, who told a story about cost cutting. He said they were reviewing the budget […]
Police Use Ugly Truck to Solve Nuisance Problems
In Peoria Illinois, police officials have discovered the power of public shame. They park an especially ugly truck with 360 degree cameras in front of the houses of suspected drug dealers and other neighborhood trouble makers. People call the cops, and once they park the truck, people leave. Today’s WSJ […]
Visiting the Stone Castle that Gillette Built
William Gillette left a famous home on top of a mountain in Hadlyme, Connecticut. He was an actor, producer, playwright and yachtsman, and the big house he built was full of 15 cats. We joined many motorcyclists on a warm Sunday to tour the big house that he called Seven […]