Past Articles

This story needs no embellishment, in sheer level of the ultimate “cringeworthy,” read. “Former Judge Donald D. Thompson, a veteran of 23 years on the bench, is on trial on charges he used a penis pump on himself in the courtroom while sitting in judgment of others. Over the past […]

I stopped by this new cafe in Hadley today. It’s called Esselon Cafe and Kitchen. What a beautiful garden they have! It’s blocked by tall conical pine trees, and they have adirondack chairs, stone tables, and a porch that seems like it belongs in a rich person’s house. Very comfy. […]

The NY Observer writes about beautiful Anderson Cooper, who has everything–looks, charm, talent, a great reputation…But there is one pesky measure of victory that Mr. Cooper doesn’t quite satisfy: He doesn’t actually win. On average, only some 630,000 viewers a night tune in to Anderson Cooper 360, to watch Anderson […]

Bought the Gazette today, and read this heartwarming story about Southampton’s rail trail efforts. The previous attempt to build a rail trail back ten years ago, “never gained the necessary votes to approve what would have been the town’s share of the project, about $75,000. That amount reflected a portion […]

In 1983, President Reagan invaded Grenada. It was called Operation Urgent fury, and we sent more than 7000 troops to take over. Today on the History Channel, this mission was recalled. One medical professor recalls the troops. “It was almost a carnival with the invastion,” he said. “kids and women […]

Last night I returned to the office after making a run to the market, and stayed up too late answering email and browsing new travel sites. One I liked was ‘tangodiva.com,’ where jetsetting liberated women swim nude in private pools in Phuket. She had her own pool, and she reveled […]

Money magazine printed the interview in which Warren Buffett announced his intention to give away all of his billions starting…now. “Okay, now what does that mean for Berkshire? I’d say virtually nothing. Anybody who knows me also knows how I feel about making Berkshire as good as it can be, […]

Today’s Republican included a story about sea power. Using the strong tidal currents off the Maine coast can produce power for less than the cost of coal and oil. In Maine’s Western Passage in Passamaquoddy Bay, the tide rises and falls 20 feet, the greatest tidal change in the US. […]

Yesterday I got to hang out on the web. You know that sort of lazy strolling through various blogs, people I read…learned a lot. I heard about Donnie Moorhouse’s film that was screened at the Calvin Theater in Northampton last week. I watched a video of a movie reviewer from […]

My mother Val was kind to mail Cindy a stack of recent New Yorker Magazines. Included in one May issue was a long story by Andrew Soloman called “Letter from Libya.” In this barely functional desert country people work five mornings a week. Few work more than this, and many, […]

Yesterday we joined 300 other locals at the Millers Falls Rod and Gun club’s annual clambake. I had procured the expensive tickets in advance; available only at the club and in other places I rarely go, like downtown Millers Falls. It was an overcast day but the pick up trucks […]

Jessica Hayden has written wonderful stories for GoNOMAD about central Asia. Below is a snip from a recently published article in the AFSA magazine about Turkenistan. “My thoughts drift back to a friend’s return flight to Ashgabat. As the plane prepared to land, it tipped to the left and then, […]

Our first ever art opening was a success at the cafe last night. Rick and Suzanna came and so did Cindy, Jack and some of the photographers who had gone on the trip to Sicily. A few of our regulars also came by, the photographs on the computer screens looked […]

This morning’s Boston Herald’s Inside Track had the sad story about an unpaid writing gig. “The treatment I received from the Boston Globe and its Web site boston.com was outrageous,” Godes said. “(They) expected me to write a daily relationships blog/online advice column for one full year without any expectation […]

Last June I was in Budapest, in the same spot near the regal Parliament building as our president was yesterday. Bush made a speech to celebrate Hungary’s resistance in 1956 to Soviet Russia…an effort that failed, partly because the US did nothing to help. In the Washington Post, Charles Gati […]

Tom Dahlberg, an AP sports columnist, got it right when he ripped Mark Cuban. Mostly because this billionaire owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks has become the focus of television coverage over his bad behavior and millions in league fines. And ABC TV can’t stop showing the whiny foot stomping […]

The SF Gate published a profile of Will Shortz–puzzle-master from the NY Times. “Shortz, an avuncular, mustachioed man of 53, has become famous for his clues. Under the sharp point of his witty pencil, the clue for DERRIERES goes from the predictable “tushes” to the devilish “many moons?” For GRANDMA, […]

Robert D. Kaplan wrote in the Washington Post in April about what we really should be afraid of. “Despite the dangers they represent, such crushing, Dear Leader tyrannies are not our major concern. The future problems of the United States lie more with regimes that thrive on information exchanges with […]