Finally, Pirates Get What They Deserve in Somalia
Score one for the good guys: I read today on Times Online about the Royal Navy’s first shootout on the high seas in living memory. Pirates off the coast of Somalia were trying to hijack a cargo ship, and made a bonehead move. They opened fire on one of her […]
Radio Networks Face Debt Limits and Pain
Whenever I read the WSJ, it’s so full of terrible news, it’s almost hard to continue on with my life. How bad can it get? Bad, really bad. A few days ago I read dire reports about radio networks. One analyst said it was the perfect storm…highly leveraged companies in […]
The Trials and Tribulations of the Cafe
The cafe requires such a range of different talents. Like last night when I had to empty out the grease trap, and saw six month’s worth of gunk there waiting for me to remove it. Egads that’s awful! That’s one job I don’t want to do from now on. I […]
A Weekend Bursting with Socializing and Fun
It’s going to be a tough week, with my bathroom being renovated, but happily, it was a great weekend. We were out all three nights, first to the Voo in Turners Falls, then to pal Shelley Rotner’s get together at her spacious studio in Florence’s Arts and Industry Building. The […]
The Signs I’ve Been Begging For Are Up
These signs have been an objective of mine since November 2007. That’s when we had our first meeting and I pitched the pair of politicians Rosenberg and Kulik that we needed something to direct people to our little town center. I am happy to see them up and installed today, […]
I’d Rather Die Than Ride These Coasters
Last night while we were waiting for Cindy to arrive to go up to the Voo in resurgent Turners Falls, a television program on the Travel Channel caught our attention. Francisco and I looked aghast as the show, called “Extreme Terror Rides,” described North America’s most fearsome ‘fun’ rides and […]
A Treasure Trove of Little Drives
At the VEMEX meeting of European tourism boards, it was a pleasure to meet the tourism officials and also to get their gifts of USB drives.
Paul’s Beloved Bennie Has Passed Away
A sad note this morning, in an eloquent email sent out by my pal Joe O’Rourke. My cousin Paul’s beloved black lab Bennie was struck and killed by a car last night, and later buried in Paul’s yard, with the help of Paul’s friends Bill and Joe. Bennie has been […]
I’ve Been Invited to Iran
Ahm-ma-dina-jad. Ahm-ma-dine-ijad. I used to say this over and over again, walking through Cindy’s house. Ahm-ma-dina-jad, I wanted to learn how to say it. I better get it right, because I just got invited to visit Iran later this month. I have always wanted to see Persia, see the famous […]
Obama’s Speech Brings a Tear, He’s That Good
It’s an exhuberant day, one that will be remembered for many decades. Watching Obama’s speech last night, I have to admit to welling up with tears, his eloquence again and again amazes and inspires me. The best part was when he reached out to those ‘who didn’t vote for me […]
Time with Sam Was a Week-long Treat
It feels excellent to be back in the cafe after a week away. With Donna’s strong leadership, no one is looking to me to find out what to do next, she has all of our cafe staff understanding what their jobs are, and in my absence, everything flowed smoothly. That’s […]
Manchester Mulls a Congestion Tax
We’re up at 6:45 am this morning, after a night of hearing about how enthusiastic these Brits are to see Obama win the prize. In the Independent, a headline dramatically intoned “Is this troubled nation ready for change?” Troubled? huh? I thought I’d reserve this moniker for Congo or Mozambique. […]
Visiting the Pubs of Manchester, England
We tried hard to see a musician I’ve enjoyed who is from Manchester, but we did not succeed. We saw a poster for Mr. Scruff, who plays underground house style music. We followed the advice on his website and made our way to his cafe, called “The Cup,” a few […]
England Feels Like a Long Lost Cousin
I’m sitting in the dim light of the Lister Arms pub, in Malham, Yorkshire Dales, after a 6-mile hike over hills, dales, stone walls and muddy fields that left Sam and I exhausted but happy. Our guide, MarkReid, literally wrote the books about walking here, he specializes in pub–to pub […]
The Baker and the Student at Lucy Cooks
Chef Nick Martin shows Sam how it’s done during our class at Lucy Cooks, a school where every day students can learn how to cook, bake and generally find their way around a kitchen. Martin’s cooked with the best, I asked him about some of the famous chefs like Gordon […]
An Evening of British Telly
Last night we watched an evening of British telly. One program was called ‘Eggheads’ and pitted a panel of gameshow winners against a weekly collection of challengers. Each week another 1000 pounds are added to the prize money….there was already 14,000 in the kitty, showing that challengers have had a […]
North of England: Stunning Scenery, Cute Villages
Johan Hoving in front of Coniston’s former copper mill, atop a hill we climbed on mountain bikes. This part of England is stunning, with rolling hills, distant snowy mountains, and cute villages. The roads are narrow and more than once we stopped and watched in awe as a giant coach […]