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Last June I was in Budapest, in the same spot near the regal Parliament building as our president was yesterday. Bush made a speech to celebrate Hungary’s resistance in 1956 to Soviet Russia…an effort that failed, partly because the US did nothing to help. In the Washington Post, Charles Gati […]
Tom Dahlberg, an AP sports columnist, got it right when he ripped Mark Cuban. Mostly because this billionaire owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks has become the focus of television coverage over his bad behavior and millions in league fines. And ABC TV can’t stop showing the whiny foot stomping […]
The SF Gate published a profile of Will Shortz–puzzle-master from the NY Times. “Shortz, an avuncular, mustachioed man of 53, has become famous for his clues. Under the sharp point of his witty pencil, the clue for DERRIERES goes from the predictable “tushes” to the devilish “many moons?” For GRANDMA, […]
Robert D. Kaplan wrote in the Washington Post in April about what we really should be afraid of. “Despite the dangers they represent, such crushing, Dear Leader tyrannies are not our major concern. The future problems of the United States lie more with regimes that thrive on information exchanges with […]
I learned a little bit about gas today at lunch. On the History channel was “Gasoline,” the story of the world’s favorite fuel. Among the grainy shots of old oil derricks was newer footage of the process of refining crude oil into gas. They showed jolly looking antique trucks that […]
San Jose Mercury News executive editor Susan Goldberg made a graduation speech at Medill School at Northwestern University, that says a lot about the newspaper business…now and in the future. “News is now – or anytime I want it. And not because I’m an editor – a news gatekeeper, with […]
On Friday we had a call from a man who said he made television programs for National Geographic TV, Pax Network and other cable outlets. He was Robert, then ‘Bob.’ He said that his food-themed TV show would be interested in coming to interview us, and do a television show […]
Today’s NY Times style section included a story by Alex Williams about the joys of cancelled appointments. “Who among the harried professional class does not breathe a secret sigh of relief when drinks with an old friend, lunch with a potential client or a Saturday dinner party with college classmates […]
A busy Saturday, with good things popping up all over. First, I got my scooter back, after months in the shop. The horn isn’t working and I have to kick it to start it, but it’s running and I’m happy for that. I stopped by the Learning Circle, where my […]
This morning in the car, I listened to Scott Simon interview a man who sounded tough. Turned out it was Teddy Atlas, a former boxer and trainer who had stories to tell. When Atlas was a kid, his father was a well-known doctor. He got a bad cut, and was […]
Angola was on page one of today’s NY Times. Sadly, this was a portrait of a Malthusian crisis, with mountains of garbage, rivulets of raw sewage, kids sliding into the muck and more than 40,000 often fatal cases of cholera. It would have taken 22,000 dump trucks just to haul […]
Today’s a lovely day and my heart is full and upbeat. Perhaps that’s because it feels like the cafe is finally reaching a point of success. People come in who’ve never been here before, they always say how nice it is in here, and at the same time our regulars […]