Pretty? Give her a Visa. Ugly? Send her Back
The Sun featured a big story about a brewing scandal at Lunar House, where immigrant status is greatly affected by looks. “A Lebanese girl came into the office in a foul temper asking for one of the guys who worked there. He had recently moved to another department. “She told […]
Adios, Siesta! Back to Work Early in Spain
The long lunch break, the two- or three-hour siesta that typified Spanish life for centuries, has been permanently shortened for government workers, dropping to an hour to keep pace with child-care needs and schedules in the rest of Europe. Instead of working from 9am until 7 or 8pm with a […]
Give Readers More News About Horse Sex
The Seattle Times Danny Westneat just published a column on the most popular stories of the year. While journalists would prefer to highlight their investigative work or their hard hitting corruption probes, the readers have a more prurient view. In the top five most popular stories, four concern a man […]
In Praise of Eight-Tracks
Sitting by the fire I read about Cory Doctorow’s decision to become a full time writer and give up his day job. Congrats! He is one of the editors of Boingboing.net, where I found this information about the lowly 8-track of yore. “They’re the butt of jokes these days, but […]
Supertrains in Europe, but Not In the U.S.
I didn’t know how ridiculously dependent we are on the ‘Net. Just can’t do anything I normally do all the time, such as blog (until now!), use Quickbooks, read GoNOMAD email and put up new stories on the website. We read the NY Times today as well as the Republican. […]
Rhapsody in Montpelier Vermont
Today we are in Montpelier Vermont, one of the most lefty towns in America. Everywhere we see organic this and natural that, but the place is friendly and our lunch in Rhapsody Natural Foods Cafe included miso soup, tempeh and some great Kashmiri Chai tea. The tea was the best […]
Photographer Watches Cyclists Crash
This photo caused a stir…I found in on boingboing.net yesterday. The shooter was given a hard time because instead of warning the passing cyclist, he watched as they plunged into this monster pothole and shot pictures. Doh!
Gillette’s in North Brookfield, for the Sink
Today we drove a country back road to North Brookfield to Gillette’s restaurant supply. Anne the owner met us and showed us what we needed, a three-bay sink, 15 chairs silicon valley looking maple, a huge undercounter fridge and other things for the cafe. Nick Seamon of the Black Sheep […]
Algerian Music, Dancing and Sex
Last night I enjoyed a movie from Algeria. The film, called Viva Laldjerie, centered on an attractive woman who lives in a neighborhood that is becoming more and more fundamentalist. She has a doctor client/boyfriend whom she spends time with but who won’t leave his wife, but the central theme […]
Moved Up the Street to our New Location
Moving today was exhausting…even though the heavy lifting was mostly done by Lexington Group’s men. We are now officially working at our new office at 4A Sugarloaf St. right next to Georgio’s restaurant. The cafe will open in a few weeks and today we wrestled with the people from Verizon […]
Five Long Minutes on the Bus
The woman across the row crawled up to the driver a second time. She crawled back. “Five minutes,” she said. “He said five minutes.” Kelly and Quang are blogging for GoNOMAD. “Five minutes could not have passed more slowly. When we finally pulled up next to a gas station in […]
Buying a House with a 90-year Mortgage in Japan
Yesterday’s NY Times included a story by Martin Fackler about Japan’s devasting real estate bubble. The thought comes to mind–could it happen to US? He profiled a man named Yoshihisa Nakashima who bought a condo 14 years ago for a price of about $400,000. He was convinced it would go […]
Make Mine the Clear Lane
Stephen Brill had a good idea when he published Brill’s Content five years ago. Too bad that printed magazines are so hard to keep in the black. Browsing Poynter.org this Christmas morning, I found what Brill is up to now. It all makes terrific sense: It’s called Verified ID Pass, […]
Laying Down Arms for the Night
YPRES SALIENT , BELGIUM // WORLD WAR ONE // 1914: There is an infamous story of soldiers fighting in WWI on Christmas Eve. From one side of the battlefield, someone spontaneously started singing “Silent Night” — in English. From the other side of the conflict, someone responded by singing the […]
Men Tying Ties Around their Necks
ABC News’ Marilyn Gardner writes on the ‘Net today about ties, something I am happy never to wear. “After a decade of sartorial rebellion and confusion, neckties and — gasp! — even suits are staging a modest comeback. Some wearers are simply obeying more stringent corporate dress codes. Others are […]
Google Trucks Help World Takeover Plans
David Utter writes in his Web Pro News column today about Robert Cringely, who thinks he has some news about Google. He’s found a deep dark secret in the Googleplex, our Cringely has. Lurking in places where even Googlers may not tread, the probable answer lies in one of Google’s […]
Transit Blog Turns Against the Motormen
Mediapost’s Shankar Gupta, wrote about the TWU’s blog today. “While blogs can be a boon for business, they also have the potential to backfire on their creators. Just ask the Transit Workers Union in New York City. The group apparently set up a blog, TWULocal100.blogspot.com, to provide news and information […]
Cheney’s iPod Hogs the Plug
Cory Doctorow’s Boing Boing.net had this great find today. Cheney’s iPod: first in line of succession for power outlets. From an Associated Press item about travels aboard Air Force Two: [Cheney] is an iPod fan, and keeping it charged is a priority for his staff. Normally that isn’t an issue, […]