For as long as my memory stretches I have seen movies and television shows set at the Grand Canyon. I have seen countless photographs full of color, shadows and light shot by world-class photographers. I have read about the mule trains and the meandering Colorado River. I have flown over this enormous (more…)
Home is where you feel at home and are treated well. – Dalai Lama
Bruce Springsteen came home to New Jersey last night. Again. And 55,000 people who he has never met welcomed him. Again.
These days whenever Springsteen and his mighty E Street Band bring their ageless touring carnival to the great Garden State we embrace them with a fervor that is part love, part pride, part ritual, and all possessiveness. Across all the decades, albums, tours and concerts, and after all the triumphs, tragedies and changes, we still flock to the altar because (more…)
Late morning I arrived on the northbound train at Penn Station. The goal was to wander wherever and take photos. I walked the Highline from 30th St. to 14th St., then meandered (cause that what I was doing, serious meandering) through the gentrified old meat packing district and West Village. Here and there I took some lackluster shots. But the day was gorgeous, temps in the low 80’s with (more…)
Yesterday I thought about how much I still enjoy Taco Bell, then remembered I wrote something about this almost exactly seven years ago. It remains accurate.
Dear Taco Bell,
Thirty years. Can you believe thirty years have passed since I first noticed your bright, bold colors and your exotic, intoxicating fragrance? Can you believe three decades slipped by since I first experienced that taste sensation which is so uniquely you? Can you believe all that has come and gone since our first casual late night encounter, fueled by a desire (more…)
friends and strangers everywhere
We all know Donald Trump will slap his name on anything to make a buck. And if you give him enough bucks he will let you slap his name on your stuff. We endlessly hear about his steaks, airline, vodka, bottled water, magazine, and university. His resorts peddle (more…)
William Holden was an “A List” movie star in the mid-20th century. He appeared in 75 films, many of them good, a few even great. At his best his acting was engaging and affecting. His work in the classic Sunset Boulevard is sometimes shuttled aside because Gloria Swanson’s mesmerizing Norma Desmond character is impossible to ignore. Swanson may steal the scenes, but Holden holds the story together. During his career he was nominated for three Best Actor Oscars and won for Stalag 17. His movie legacy is secure. Yet whenever I think of Bill Holden the absolute first thought is how he died. He was drunk and alone when he slipped on a rug and smashed his forehead into a side table. It was a stupid way to go, but it had a certain memorable flair. If he survived (more…)
Of all the hours in a day, the Magic Hour is the one to savor. It is the hour preceding dawn, before your part of the world fully stirs and gets on with business. Streets are empty, traffic light, neighboring houses dark and snug. The sky is a curious mixture of (more…)
Sucked in like a rube by a carnival barker, that’s what you are. You are relaxing on the couch, minding your own damn business, not paying attention to the dribble spitting from the television, when a tiny niblet suddenly squirms through your defenses and Velcros itself to your consciousness. It may be a (more…)
