-
Nothing Is Sacred
As you may know, I love chocolate ( Read more... ) -
Mid-November Weather
Yesterday was my 59th birthday. I was noting on Facebook what a nice day it was, and how my birthday has had milder weather in recent years. If you asked me off the top of my head, I'd have guessed it used to usually be in the 40s. But then I started to wonder. Is that really true ( Read more... ) -
It's been too long since I've been in London
as I was entertainingly reminded by this brilliant Googlemaps mashup that Lise just brought to my attention: http://traintimes.org.uk:81/map/tube/Read more... ) -
Presuming none of you are the fabled "old lady in Dubuque". . .
Since you don't all follow me regularly on Facebook or Twitter, I thought I should make sure you all heard about this anyway ( Read more... ) -
Don't Tax My Soda
My favorite local public affairs radio talk show, WNYC's "Brian Lehrer Show." just completed a segment on the prospects for the proposed New York State penny-per-ounce soda tax. As you might guess, I oppose this highly-regressive scheme, in which the claim of an alleged health benefit is actually just another excuse to pick our pockets. (What's ( Read more... ) -
Retired Brooklyn Show Cat Needs New Home
Her name is Coco and she's a Havana Brown, a rare kind of dark brown cat with green eyes that are particularly known for their sweet personalities. She's currently in Park Slope.
She looks something like this:
( Read more... ) -
Are we still a republic or are corporations our new nobility?
Once again I called the Brian Lehrer show on WNYC, waited on hold, and didn't get on air, making me 3-for-3 lately in that regard. The topic of the discussion was the recent horrible People United decision by the Supreme Court, allowing unlimited spending by corporations in furtherance of their political goals ( Read more... ) -
So Much to Read, So Little Time
There's some debate at how well conventional speed-reading techniques really work. You've probably heard the classic Woody Allen line, "I took a speed reading course and read 'War and Peace' in twenty minutes. It involves Russia ( Read more... ) -
Spelling & Pronunciation (Holiday Edition)
I was saying recently (on FB) that I spell the current Jewish holiday, "Chanukah," and I pronounce it with the initial guttural "ch" sound. The other spelling doesn't bother me terribly, but the pronunciation it leads to does. "Hanukkah," what's that, a holiday for Han Solo or the Han Chinese ( Read more... )