‘Everyone Is Afraid to Criticize Islam’
Ayaan Hirsi Ali was born in Somalia where she experienced the oppression of Muslim women first hand. When her father attempted to force her into an arranged marriage, she fled to Holland in 1992. Later, she renounced the Muslim religion. The Dutch politician who was forced to go into hiding […]
Bumping Into a MILF in Stop and Shop
I drove my son to the store last night to fill up his larder with food. At the market I almost ran right into a woman pushing a full cart, with a baby in a carseat on top of the groceries. She wore a sweatshirt with a sassy design, it […]
The Cartoons They Can’t Stand
Why did the Danish newspaper publish the Muhammed cartoons? BBC News explained. “The Danish newspaper that originally published the cartoons commissioned them after the author of a book about Islam said he was unable to find a single person willing to provide images of the Prophet. The newspaper’s culture editor, […]
The Pulse of Business in Deerfield
Today I picked up our Gazette to find a nice story that included this photo. They also ran this box with a set of ‘local business owner’ type questions: Business: GoNomad.com; Computer Cleaners; GoNOMAD CAFE Why open now: Addressing a gap in town: ‘People love coffee and they love the […]
Like Having a Beer-Buzzed Guy Yell in Your Ear
Mikael Wood savages the Piano Man’s latest CD box set in the Village Voice. “Yet Joel’s performance here—onstage before an adoring crowd that includes one guy with a sign reading, “YOU ARE THE BEST”—has to be one of the most dispassionate things I’ve ever seen: Joel stares into space, as […]
The Four Horsemen Bring Back the Boom
Reading the February issue of Wired on this rainy night in Holyoke.Josh McHugh wrote a story about venture capitalist Allen Morgan who is taking a second look at the flame-outs of five years ago that may be viable today. He cites four factors to back up his claim, he calls […]
Flying to the Coast and Visiting with Vannah
Random musings on a Friday in February: I got email for a new service that will mail a paper valentine’s day card out for you–complete with hand stuck stamp–and your own personalization. You can choose from a range of fonts/handwriting such as “Amandine” and “Philling” both looking like a sixth […]
A Sign Makes a Million Dollar Difference!
Duncan Ferguson has put up our giant outside signs and even painted the door. So we’re on our way…when we get our sinks installed and finish our painting, we’re ready to rock!
Travel Writing is the Art of Good Conversation
Christine O’Toole is a fine writer who traveled to Belfast with me in December. She sent me an essay by one of my favorite authors, Robert D. Kaplan, on travel writing vs. reporting, that ran in the Columbia Journalism review. Just listening to people, to their stories — rather than […]
Why Charities LOVE the Web
Reading the February issue of Wired and came across this item in their “infoporn” section, by Joanna Perlstein. “It’s hard to find a silver lining in natural disasters. But the cataclysms of the past year or so–starting with the Asian Tsunami–have been a boon to online fundraising. Half of the […]
The $100 PC is the Next Big Thing
Om Malik wrote in Business 2.0 about the other “Next Big Thing,” next to Nicholas Negroponte’s famous $100 laptop. “Three floors up in one of the city’s numerous office towers, 38-year-old Rajesh Jain points to a table that holds, he’ll tell you repeatedly, personal computing’s next big thing. The silver-and-black […]
All Grown Up and Living with Siblings
Carol E. Lee writes in last Sunday’s NY Times Style section about siblings who live together. “Matt and Frank Goldberg, 28-year-old twins, share many of the same friends, have dated in similar circles and moved in together three months ago. So far, life in their Upper East Side apartment is […]
A Porn Star From Easthampton
I’ve just begun subscribing to the Daily Hampshire Gazette, and a few days ago read a story about a local woman who has moved way beyond her Easthampton birthplace. “In Easthampton, the name Kendra “Jade” Andrews elicits far-off looks and, sometimes, an “Oh yeah,” accompanied by a downward shake of […]
Good Bye Town Cars and Fat Fashion Mags
Simon Dumenco writes in Ad Age that the era of fashion magazine staffers using car services is coming to an end. Because glossy print ads will eventually succomb to the lure of the more interactive web. “But inevitably, fashion advertisers that prop up the glossies will, like everyone else, increasingly […]
Don’t Worry, Larry and Sergey Can Afford the Vino
Glimpses of Davos…from the NY Times blog about the World Economic Forum came this post by Mark Landler. “People flock to Google’s party here to gawk at Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google’s co-founders, who now vie with Bill Gates for Davos celebrity status. But this isn’t just a Silicon […]
Semel: It’s the Ads, Stupid!
Reading today’s NY Times business section and found a piece by Richard Siklos about Terry Semel, the chairman of Yahoo. “Mr Semel’s first big decision–and probably his shrewdest–was to make advertising its mainstay business. At some of his earliest meetings at Yahoo, Mr Semel recalled, some executives were advocating that […]
Why Cyprus is Split into Two Halves
I am traveling to the island of Cyprus at the end of February. The first thing I think of about Cyprus is that it is divided. Today I found out more details on why. In July 1974 a group of Cypriots who wanted the island to become part of Greece […]
The Big Man Reads Tolstoy
Nikolay Valuev was crowned in December as Russia’s first World Boxing Assn. heavyweight champion. The LA Time’s Kim Murphy wrote about him today. “Valuev strode into the gym recently during his triumphant return to Russia after the title bout, in which he defeated American John Ruiz on a controversial decision […]