It sounded like such a good idea: develop a print magazine using reader-contributed stories and photos. And let the readers vote on which articles would make it into print. Sort of like Digg, but wow, in print. But you need more than a good idea to stay in business in […]
While often I feel resistant to go out on New Year’s Eve, since everyone expects you to, we rallied for a great cause by joining about 100 other Holyokers at the Wisteriahurst Museum to celebrate the city of Holyoke. A grand shindig was planned, with music, great food, two bars […]
Karl Rove is hated by many Democrats, and I share in some of their hatred, since he helped elect George W. Bush twice. But as I’ve regularly read a column that Rove writes in the WSJ, my feelings for him have softened. Rpve in turn tries to soften the impression […]
Winter in New York City: it’s only about 36 degrees outside and a winter storm is set to strike on Friday. That should be fun; cozy and snowed in on Green Lane. Today we will pay a visit to Brigitta Koon at the Netherlands Tourism Board here in the city […]
I never realized that the Toronto Maple Leafs were Canada’s most storied and richest sports team. I learned this while I read the WSJ at Cindy’s last night, after a night at Spoleto with the lovely pair of Cindy and Stephanie Jones. It’s funny because despite having the most fans, […]
One of the fun things about owning a cafe is the people who come in, popping back into your life after long absences. One such fellow is photographer Robert Tobey, with whom I worked in my callow youth as a paste up artist at the Valley Advocate in Amherst. Tobey […]
On this icy, slippery day, I think about a story I read last night in the WSJ. It was about another bailout, but this time, it’s for Italy’s makers of fine aged Parmesan cheese. Yes, that’s right. Another story of a product that costs more than it sells for, and […]
Yesterday we had a visit from the f0under of GoNOMAD, Lauryn Axelrod. She just got back from a trip to Argentina’s Patagonia, where she rode horses and wrote an excellent story for GoNOMAD. I had been chiding her that she needed to see the cafe, the website’s namesake community gathering […]
According to the NY Post, smoking is back in a big way in the city’s hippest restaurants and nightclubs. The story described Smoking Speakeasies, where if you’re rich or famous enough, you can puff away with impunity. Shannen Dougherty, for example, was seen puffing away, (“ashing” is the new verb […]
When I was in the Amsterdam airport yesterday, I bought a copy of the WSJ and read a review of a new book about learning to play one of the most difficult instruments in the orchestra. The book is called “A Devil to Play,” by British journalist Jasper Rees. Writer […]
My final day here in Tehran, another day without real responsibilities, just waiting for my 5 am flight. It’s funny being someone who is so busy and who usually on trips is following a very set itinerary, bags in the lobby at 7, city tour at 9, dinner at 8 […]
I woke up uncharacteristically late, it is a Sunday after all, and I finally have absolutely nothing I need to do. On trips like these, that’s a rare thing indeed, so I leisurely read the Tehran Times (lots of photos of Mr President grinning and accepting awards), and ate my […]