Dennis Brennan’s Soft Jazz and Poignant Rock
I’m just back from a virtoustic show at the Iron Horse by Dennis Brennan. He’s a clear singer, poignant writer, and tender ennuciator of lovely songs that he played tonight at the Northampton theater stage. It was a celebration of the guitar, a championing of the instrument, so many fantastically […]
This Hilltown Squire Was a Man to Remember
Yesterday at the cafe, I picked up the Recorder and found a lovely tribute written by Gary Sanderson to a ‘hilltown squire’ whom he had the pleasure of spending some time with on a ride over country roads in his pick-up earlier in January. Sanderson thought it was an abandoned […]
Deerfield Attractions Website Makes its Debut
I woke up this morning and got a nice surprise. Old Joe my webmaster can still delight and amaze, while at the same time managing to make me almost pull out the few hairs left on the top of my head. Last night I spoke before the Deerfield Selectboard, talking […]
Fighting for the Right Signs, From My Sickbed
I remember so well that Saturday afternoon when our town offered flu shots for the public. I even put up the notice on the cafe bulletin board, vowing to get the shot myself to avoid getting sick this winter. Then I looked up at the clock that day and saw […]
Nobody Asks for Press Cards Anymore, Do They?
I remember a spirited debate with Shoul once when I suggested that press IDs, which were once issued to reporters and photographers, were no longer neccessary. I told him that I thought people used business cards now, and that the press card thing was a throw-back, an old and gone […]
Talking About Stockholm with Kevin and Sue
Today while all of New England is gathered to watch our beloved Patriots try and make it 17-0, I will be taken away from the game for a phone call. It will be Kevin and Sue McCarthy on the line, calling from their Travel Planners Show in St. Louis. The […]
Bashing Cars and Slipping on Ice
Yesterday’s post was about Sayulita, Mexico, where it’s balmy, dusty, hot and there is no snow. This week made me realize that despite my fantasies about spending some time in that beach town, for now I’m definitely in New England and it’s January. First, I walloped a stop sign while […]
Living La Vida Pura in Sayulita Mexico
Kent passed along a book to me last month that I’ve been thoroughly enjoying. He reads so many books and it’s a pleasure to get a crack at them when he’s finished. Today was a sick day, so I had time to enjoy Gringos in Paradise, a new book by […]
In China, Keeping Mentally Ill in Cages is Common
I remember when I was a kid growing up in New Jersey, there was a family that had a little cage that their sons played in. It was a cage, not for them to live in, but to play in, but nonetheless, many neighbors talked about this with horror. I […]
Not So Bafflingly, Mossberg Pans a New Phone
Walter S. Mossberg can kill or redeem any electronics product just by a bad or good mention in his personal technology column in the WSJ. I cracked up when I read his review of the new Voyager phone from Verizon, which he wasn’t impressed with. “In fact the Voyager, bafflingly, […]
He Made $3 or $4 Billion in 2007–Is He Happy?
If you know anyone who is rich, they can’t hold a candle to John Paulson. This hedge fund operator made an estimated $3 to $4 billion for himself in 2007. He did it by betting against the sub-prime loan market, and he hit the jackpot. In today’s WSJ, Gregory Zuckerman […]
Coskata Makes Fuel from Corn Husks and Gets GM Boost
Sometimes people comment to me on how much I like reading. I read the entire Wall St. Journal, much to my daughter’s surprise.”You’re always reading, Dad,” she told me, as I finished up the last section. Sometimes my family gets mad at me and says I’m ignoring them (the NJ […]
Getting to Know Pirates in the Straits of Malacca
Yesterday as I was helping Cindy move her office I had time to peruse a copy of National Geographic. There I found a story about a favorite topic: Pirates. In the long story, Peter Gwin meets up with an Indonesian pirate who is held in a Malaysian jail, after a […]
It’s Our Super Deluxe Booth for the Javits
Here is our newest acquisition…a cool tradeshow booth that fits into the little stand shown in front, that we’ll use at the Javits Center for the NY Times Travel Show. No more borrowing booths, no more fussing over hard to assemble old outdated equipment. It took my friend Dave and […]
The Trouble Began With a Rodent Limb
I read today as I sat in the cafe looking at the rain about a very sad restauranteur. Sad because business at her Chinese restaurant is down more than 70%. The photo in today’s Daily Hampshire Gazette showed Rachel Wang setting a table for lunch in a forelorn and empty […]
Getting Ready for the Big Show
Now the big PR blitz begins…I mailed out press releases to local newspapers here trumpeting our first appearance as exhibitors at the New York Times Travel Show. Hopefully this will be newsworthy to our local papers and we’ll see some coverage. In the release I detail my plans to present […]
The Office is Hoppin’ Late Tonight
I got a task done today that has been on my mind for weeks. Boy it was good to hit send, and give Jeremy all of the info he needs about my Search Engine Optimizing workshop at the Boston Globe Travel Show on February 22. I’ll have to get an […]
Tony Wheeler Zooms the Dunes of Libya
I’ve had Tony Wheeler’s new book “Bad Lands,” by my bedside table, I read the section on his trip to Libya. In the book the author visits as many vilified places as he can, including North Korea, Albania, Iraq and Iran among others. A few stories Wheeler relates that he […]