Unnatural Selection: How So Many Girls Were Never Born
In normal human reproduction, there is a natural tendency to have more boys than girls…the ratio is about 104 to 100. But a new book by Mara Hvistendahl has come out about how much this has changed over the past fifty years and the dramatic repercussions that changing this ratio […]
Mutton and Mead Brings Thousands Back 800 Years to an English Village Festival
I took off my watch and left my cellphone at home yesterday. After all, I was traveling back in time, to the Middle ages, where a festival was taking place in a clearing in the woods of Turner’s Falls. It was the Mutton and Mead Medieval Festival, and more than […]
“Fair Game” Tells the Story of Betrayal of an Agent and the Results
Sitting around a dinner table with a group of close friends, wine flowing freely, someone throws out that Iraq’s dictator, Saddam Hussein, must be intending to use WMDs. It’s 2003, and the US is just about to launch the Shock and Awe campaign of missiles based on intelligence that proved […]
Riding the ‘Hound Is Getting Better by the Day
I”m riding a Greyhound bus heading north out of New York City. I must give the bus line and Peter Pan a little credit, since I think bus travel has markedly improved over the past few years. I wrote in this space about Megabus, so I’m giving the other more […]
China’s Government Attacks the U.S., Using Computers Not Missiles
A column by Richard Clarke in the WSJ posed a challenging question: What would the US do if the Chinese government planted explosives along our electricity grid? Most of us would be alarmed, and we would expect that a military response would be the next step. Wouldn’t we? Today, the […]
Going Down To New York City for a Good Schmooze
Tomorrow I’ll join photographer and fellow GoNOMAD staffer Paul Shoul and take an early train into New York City. We will get there early enough to scout out our Brooklyn digs for the night and then proceed to a luncheon hosted by Maine and New Brunswick Tourism in Manhattan. The […]
Cuba Ships Dissidents off to Spain to be ‘Liberated’
I posted a note on Facebook about new opportunities to travel to Cuba, at least if you can claim to be a part of an educational tour or study group. A bunch of friends commented on how much they too want to go there. Tonight I read a column about […]
Bella’s Bartok: A Frenzied, 10-piece Collection of Musical Joy
As the ten members of Bella’s Bartok milled around the back of the Rendezvous, getting ready for their Saturday night gig, I thought about how hard it must be to keep all of them on the same musical page. What a diverse ensemble, so many instruments–trumpet, trombone, violin, accordion, guitars, […]
He Broke into Mothballed Ships off the California Coast
The battleship USS Iowa, mothballed off the coast of California. Now LA and Long Beach are battling to be the city where it will be turned into a museum. photo by Scott Haeffner.[/caption] Scott Haeffner is a daring man who could not resist exploring a forbidden part of the California […]
In June 2011, I Felt Serene and Happy…
Our lives plunge forward through hills of fear and loneliness and through great valleys of joy. There is hardship, and suffering and sadness and then there is Sofie, outside playing on the neighbor’s new swingset, cries of joy emanating from her as she watches Magnus climb up little toy ropes. […]
Ann’s a Phenom, Said Governor Patrick at the RMV/Visitor’s Center
Today Governor Patrick saluted Ann Hamilton, the longtime director of the Franklin County Chamber, by calling her “The Phenom.” He was in town to officially open the newly renovated Greenfield Visitor’s center that’s been combined in one state-owned building with the Registry of Motor Vehicles. The governor called it a […]
George Fred Tilton Tried to Save the Whalers Frozen in Ice
I can’t remember a book that I more look forward to picking up than this history of the Cape and Islands by Paul Schneider. Maybe because he delves into so many topics in the same book…the Pilgrim’s early foray into settling in the area, and then the details about the […]
Umbria, In the Very Center of Italy, Celebrates the Art of Life
This year is the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy’s many different states into one country. One of these states is Umbria, located in the middle of the country. Tonight we met Stefano Cimicchi, Umbria’s director of tourism, who told us what has made this province a favorite destination […]
Andrew McCarthy: Looks, Talent, and a Damn Good Travel Writer Too!
In all of our individual avocations, there are people who shine brighter, and sometimes pull out a twingeof envy as they seem to be able to say it better, get it published in bigger outlets, and just have a sort of star power that dazzles. I never stop giving props […]
Meeting a Friend Who Remembers Spy Magazine–Priceless!
My days are much simpler now, and it’s amazing how the fog and fear has lifted. I felt positively joyous upon my return from a stellar press trip up in Montreal. While it might have been all of that endorphin-inducing bike riding through the city streets, I think it was […]
He Cackled With Delight as the Waves Engulfed Us
The Jetboating trip was scheduled while our lunch was still being prepared, so some of our group rushed off to catch it, while we took a more leisurely approach and delayed until the next departure, at 4 pm. If I had known what was in store, I would have ordered […]
The Writers on the Trip-One of the Best Parts of Traveling
One of the best parts of a group press trip are the people you end up getting to know, who sit with you at the table, take the tours, and join you in the many activities that are packed into the full schedule. This is the first time I’ve been […]
You’re Bashar al-Assad, and It’s All Going Downhill in Syria
You’re Bashar al-Assad and it wasn’t supposed to turn out like this. Your dad spent decades confounding the Americans and he sent you away to London to become an eye doctor…and now here you are, the ruler of your country since 2000 and no matter where you turn, things are […]