Kim Zombik Spices Up the Jones Trio at the Arts Block
Kim Zombik was glad to be back in the Valley, if only for a visit, not again as a resident. She moved to Montreal a few years ago after getting some attention with her singing down here. I last saw her sing at the Green River Festival with Unit […]
The First Day of School is a Yearly Milestone
There is a distinctly snappy chill to the air. I woke up and went around closing windows….no matter what we want it to be, it’s a school day. Mary was serene about getting back into her school day work, looking forward to seeing the children in Conway and Deerfield. There […]
Stand up Desks are in Vogue, Since Sitting is Killing the Modern Human
I’ve been terrified in recent years by all of the bad press that sitting at a desk all day elicits among the medical community. I read that I could shorten my life by all of this sitting, and that according to anthropologists, man was not meant to sit and sit […]
Poker, Unlike Slots, Takes Skill
It takes skill to win at poker. That’s not a big part of winning in games like roulette and slot machines, since these are pure luck. A federal judge in New York state ruled this week that this key difference may someday make it legal to play poker for money […]
Sitting is a Killer, So Here’s a Cure
I’ve been terrified in recent years by all of the bad press that sitting at a desk all day elicits among the medical community. I read that I could shorten my life by all of this sitting, and that according to anthropologists, man was not meant to sit and sit […]
Thai Food Takes Time-No 30 Minute Meal Tonight
One of the highlights of our Cape Cod trip was dinner at Bangkok Thai. Our hosts had never eaten Thai food before so we were happy to encourage them to try it out. I was inspired by the simpleness and the savory tastes so I decided to cook a Thai […]
Cape Cod Just the Way We Wanted it To Be
Cape Cod. The words flow during a month like this, just like the days, counting down til the chill of fall. We spent a few glorious days on Massachusett’s fabled Cape, and it did not disappoint. We did the kind of puttering that defines true vacations, just being able to […]
Groupon, Once A Great Idea–Now, Not So Much
Do you remember getting those daily emails from Groupon back a few years ago? I did too. Boy what a star the company was–the fastest growing company in the history of the US, I was told at a conference where their CFO spoke glowingly, bragging about the thousands of new […]
JC Penney: How to Destroy a Beloved Department Store
Ron Johnson is becoming the laughing stock of retail, as he continues his merry ways, destroying what was once one of the best performing stores in the US, JC Penney. Johnson became the Penney’s CEO last year, after years working for Apple Computer where he ran their retail stores. He […]
‘Food Inc’ Horrifies Us, then Provides Inspiration
We watched the documentary “Food Inc” tonight and it resonated with both of us, thinking back on the dinner that preceded the showing of the film about America’s industrial food production system. I had stopped by M&M Green Valley Produce, a little farmstand and store on Rte 5 in South […]
Tanglewood and Floating the Deerfield: Summer Essentials
This summer I took my companion to two places that to me are what summer is all about in the western Massachusetts. Like the great song by Jonathan Richman, “That Summer Feeling,” what is more summer than a Friday night picnic on the lawn at Tanglewood? Or a leisurely float […]
Mike Re-invented Himself By Buying Low at Tag Sales, Selling High on eBay
I read today’s Recorder and saw the Tag Sale Section. Then I thought about my friend Mike, who lost his job last month. It’s not bad at all–he cursed out his boss, they canned his ass, and now, well he seems lighter on his feet and happier! I asked him […]
Brad Shepard Sings The Songs We Used to Hear
You gotta hand it to Brad Shepard–he’s got a lot of nerve getting up there on stage and singing the songs we all try to croon in the shower live in front an audience. But he pulls it off–he loves the songs, knows the music, and has a fine voice. […]
Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives of North Koreans are Sad Indeed
I’m reading a book that gives me nightmares, yet it’s so compelling a story I have to keep reading. It’s an account of life in North Korea based on interviews with refugees who have defected to South Korea. It’s called Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Koreaby Barbara Demick. […]
The Wall Street Journal: Defending My Newspaper Choice
The other day I was reading my newspaper at my girlfriend’s brother’s new house in Amherst when he turned to me and said, boldly, “you subscribe to that paper?” I answered yes, I get the Wall Street Journal mailed to me six days a week, and it’s one of my […]
Why Do Orcas Kill in Captivity, Not in the Wild?
A new book called “Death at Sea World” explains some of the mysteries behind the wrongly-named mammals known as killer whales, and I found some sympathy for these leviathans of the deep when I read a review in the WSJ by Jonathan V. Last. For instance, male orcas spend 75% […]
Lucinda Just Isn’t the Williams She Once Was
What the hell was that? Lucinda Williams brought her three piece band to the Calvin tonight. And some where along the way, they left a lot of what is great about her music on the tour bus. I can’t remember being more disappointed at a concert in recent years, it […]
It’s Sure Not 2006 Anymore
The benefits of working for someone else sometimes become glaring and obvious…in fact as obvious as it was when I first decided back in 2005 that I was going to be self-employed from that day on. It’s just these challenges, coming at you like waves, and the sea of bills, […]