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Reading the Sunday NY Times on Cindy’s patio. The languid July heat makes for a mellow surroundings, as I read Daniel Gross’s engaging column about microlending in the third world. Instead of lobbying for more government foreign aid, we should invest in and support businesses that are self-sustaining and replicable. […]
Christine Barber-Just writes a restaurant column in Hampshire Life, published in the Daily Hampshire Gazette, and wrote a few weeks ago about a new tapas restaurant opening up in Amherst soon. “Nation’s Restaurant News characterizes the small-plates trend as a ”revolution” that has been ”quietly gathering force since the mid-1980s.” […]
Back on terra firma, the jetlag from the 19 hours in the skies finally draining from my body. Last night we met in Northampton on a cool deck at the Depot for margaritas under the waning summer light. That little city always picks us up, we proceeded after to the […]
The scary news out of Lebanon drove me to read more about it on littlegreenfootballs and other blogs. Below is some info from Sand Monkey, a pro-US blogger based in the middle east. “And all of this talk about Israel targeting civillians really pisses me off. Let me clear it […]
Back in the cafe after more than 10 days away. Among the things that were on my mind when I left was the door for our Beveridge Aire counter refrigerator. Water pools up every day inside the right side, and I was told the seal around the door needed replacing. […]
Between flights at the Singapore Changi Airport, I stopped by this convenient free internet terminal, after two young boys were finally summoned away by their father. Unlike in other places where I’ve seen these, this free internet has no strings. No ads, no pop-ups, no clunky keyboard fixed in place, […]
A few days ago we joined up with another group of writers on the same fam, these were all from Canada and the west coast. One young writer named William Karz told a story about his experience for two months in an Israeli army boot camp. Apparently Americans and others […]
On this our last full day in Malaysia, we took the ferry back to Terrengamu and then a long bus ride up the coast to Kota Bhuru, “The Islamic City.” On the way we glimpsed scenes that tell the story about this country, I jotted them down as we drove. […]
We’ve been given a day for relaxing at the Berjaya Redang Beach Resort off the coast near Terengganu, Malaysia. This slice of white sand beach is an oasis on a very rugged and undeveloped island in the South China Sea. The first thing you see when you debark the small […]
GOALLLLLLL! went to bed early then asked for a 2 am wake-up call. The World Cup was in high gear, I entered a room full of screaming fans, inexplicably all of these Malaysians are die-hard Italy fans. They set up rows of chairs and brought us coffee, fresh juices, noodles, […]
We’ve arrived in Terenggamu, on Malaysia’s eastern coast, and we are staying in the Primula Beach resort here. The town is decidedly more conservative and poorer than KL, we see that in that nearly all the women are wearing headscarves and there are fewer high rises and more shacks. The […]
The main event was last night..Citrawarna,the Colours of Malaysia, the big shindig that the Tourism board brought us all here to see. It did not disappoint, beginning with the resplendent arrival of the King and Queen themselves. Alighting from the Royal float, festively decorated in yellow, the king, a short […]