When we talk about going “green” and decreasing our carbon footprints, I keep thinking about an issue that is pervasive here in suburbia. Gasoline powered mowers and blowers are a huge visible and audible problem. I have a strong aversion to the noise and I really dislike the dust spewed from these machines, especially when it’s blown towards my car by gardeners clearing debris off a client... More >>

I started writing this blog as a "slice of life" account but after reading it through, it sounded much more like an advertisement. So, rather than hide from it, I am wrapping my arms around the endorsement.

If you have a child that likes baseball, you must send that child to Mets Baseball Academy. As for my 8 year old son, he happily announced a few weeks ago, "You know, mom, baseball is my ... More >>

I’m really not a big Billy Joel fan, so why do I keep quoting him? Well, Pink Floyd doesn’t make a lot of good wine references. Last month I suggested some semi sweet and acidic German wines for spicy Asian food. Why? Because the mouth coating, sweet and acidic wines of Germany and the Alsace region of France cut through the heavy and spicy sauces found in this type of fare.

Many of these ... More >>

Just as I start thinking that my three kids' bar and bat mitzvahs have been paid for, that I put two kids through college and am well on my way to paying for the third, and that my two oldest are living on their own and supporting themselves, my daughter Hilary goes and gets engaged.

After the intial excitement and congratulations and kissing and toasting comes the fun and work of planning a... More >>

As I arrived home to an empty house yesterday I started replaying what happened over the last two days.

We, Pam, Jake and myself, left around 7:30P Wednesday night and took the scenic route to Binghamton (route 17) through the hills of New York. Jake wanted to get up there the night before so we could move him in the next morning. All of us were excited as we ate breakfast. A new chapter is st... More >>

As I mentioned recently in my "Comedic Commenting" blog of 8/1/08, a sub culture of creative commenters has arisen in Gotham's blogasphere. This subculture surfaced in this Monday's Gotham Book Club discussion of Nancy Horan's book "Loving Frank". (The entire discussion can be read on Julie Klein's blog of this past Moday). The book is about Frank Lloyd Wright and ends with the shocking ax mur... More >>

Last weekend I went to the Gift Show at the Javits Center with Flo, the proprietress of Refined Finds, who was buying for next season. While Flo shopped, I observed and talked to vendors.
My first observation was that there is optimism about the economy. There was a great deal of activity and retailers were placing orders, building their inventories -- obviously in anticipation of selling. In... More >>

Sometimes we move from day to day, content with the way things are, and sometimes we need to change it up. This month, both my children moved out of state. One to Nebraska; one to Singapore. They’ll be back, I hope, and I miss them, but for now, the dreaded “Empty Nest” has magically left me feeling free as a bird. Instead of feeling sad, I feel a freedom to make changes and move on with... More >>

Call me a contrarian, but I never liked the Olympics. Not the biggest sports fan (I grew up in a house of girls leaving my father watching his games alone), my interest has never really grown over the years. True, I have enjoyed the occasional nail biting championship game and have learned more about sports since my children started playing than I ever thought I would know. But don’t ever exp... More >>

Mamah Borthwick Cheney loved Frank Lloyd Wright more than she loved herself or her children. She loved him and seemed to believe that through him and their travels together, she could find herself and be with the man she truly loved.

Mamah’s journey began with a fierce, unrelenting attraction to the famous architect as he designed a new home for Mamah and her husband. As time went on and th... More >>

Not long ago when I met my daughter Hilary for dinner and was walking down Fifth Avenue in Park Slope with my ipod plugged into my head, I had my faded blue and partly ripped Levon Helm Band cap on backwards and was wearing baggy shorts, blue converse sneakers, an open collar shirt and with an orange Chicago Bears t-shirt underneath. When we met on the corner she looked at me, laughed, and said ... More >>

Watching the 100m fly final last night was unbelievable. If you don't know, Michael Phelps won by one, one hundredth of a second and winning an incredible seven gold medals with a great chance of getting eight. He was clearly behind till the last moments where instead of gliding in he took an extra half stroke and smacked the wall with his hands. I thought he might have hurt himself. By all camera... More >>

Gotham has 43 groups and nearly 600 members and within that critical mass we have many many teams. For instance, each individual network group is a team, the Tribal Council (Debbie Lindner, Mitch Tobol, Nancy, Ben Geizhals, me and a shadow member) is an amazing team (like Lincoln's "Team of Rivals" Cabinet), our Swim Team and our softball teams.

This entry is about our two softball teams: the ... More >>

I was driving behind a dump truck and the sign came into view -- "Not responsible for broken windshields". Perhaps the message was "Keep a distance because of flying debris" but it didn’t say that. I thought about the argument for a moment..."Yes I failed to tie down the debris or cover the load and I filled the truck over the sides...but the sign said that I'm not responsible."

Are... More >>

I am a science fiction fan. I love movies and written fiction about imagined realms. “Close Encounters” and “Star Gate,” “ET” and “HG Wells’ Time Machine” caught my attention and stayed with me. “Dune” was one of my all-time favorite books, and “Beam me up Scotty!” was a staple of my vocabulary.

Science fiction has the added bonus of morphing from fiction to realit... More >>

For a few weeks, early this summer, Penn Station had a different feel. Police presence was, well more present, than what has become the norm. Police in full gear, with rifles in hand, flanked the long Penn Station hallway. I can't say that their presence made me feel safer. In fact, the opposite. My commuter's antennae were most definitely raised.

After a few weeks of rifle checking, a sta... More >>

I admire athletes (and not just the Olympic-caliber ones). I am unable to watch the Olympic Games without obsessing over what it takes to become such an athlete. There are endless numbers of young people from all over the world who are trained, dedicated and make it a lifelong goal to be the best.

During an interview with one of the American “syncro-divers,” the Olympic Athlete said she g... More >>

Before I leave home in the morning I pick up my ipod and disentangle the headphones. It requires a few minutes of patience -- pull this out this way, this goes there, push that under this, this goes over this and that goes under here.

But how did it get so badly tangled in the first place? I just put it in my pocket right before I got home and then put it on the table until the next morning.... More >>

Last night's opening ceremony from Bejing was a fascinating display. You could view it as a wonderful and inspiring exhibition of China's people, history and talent. You might see it as one of the most expensive public relations events in the modern era. Or have a simpler reaction, China is just keeping up with the Jone's.

China's theme of the olympics is harmony. I guess they are one with natu... More >>

This is a story about a nightmare. Not a nightmare I dreamed, but a nightmare I lived and I continue to live. As many know, I am addicted to my Blackberry (see my previous blog on that subject dated 9/1/06) to the extent my wife calls it my "Crackberry".

The nightmare started innocently enough when I noticed that I appeared to have been billed an exorbitant amount for calls on my Earthlink... More >>

I think that I may have commented before on tourists on the streets of New York. It seems to me that this summer there are even more tourists visiting our city --- but my reaction to them this year is different from the past.

The issue became clear when I met a family from Cincinnati (we met at a cooking class – but that’s for another blog) who were visiting the City and t... More >>

As Ennid explores a wide world of food topics, I thought I’ d stay in keeping with her theme and write a shout out for my new favorite health drink.

I was at a Korean place, and asked the waiter for “kombucha” – he smiled a knowing smile and noted that it wasn’t something they carried. I’ve been carrying it around since I drink about a bottle a day of the magivcal elixir whose pr... More >>

As you know from Julie's blog this week, we are celebrating our second blogging anniversary. We have learned so much about each other over the course of two years. Not just about our bloggers but about our commenters as well. Today, I am reminiscing about my blogging kick off and so I thought I would share my inaugural blog.

AT GOTHAM'S INCEPTION -- OUR FIRST GOTHAM MEETING
by Nancy Schess ... More >>

Fred reminded me that today is our blogging anniversary! It has been two years since Gotham started its own daily blog page. That means I have written approximately 104 blog entries (give or take a few with guest bloggers and such). Aside from the number of blogs, I think it’s important to take note of the friendships or “blogships” that have developed through our words and your comments. ... More >>

I love going to hear musicians play music live. I use the plural, because it’s not the same when there is just one musician playing. There is interplay and energy that is created by the group of musicians playing together….then there is the energy created by the audience or crowd, depending on what kind of concert you happen to be attending.

In the last year, I’ve seen more rock concer... More >>

A blog by Jake.

This summer has not been a normal summer for me. For one it is the summer before I go to college. It is also a summer in which I have had a girlfriend who I truly care about, and call me crazy, but the aspect of maintaining a relationship through college is a possibility in my mind. Its a jobless summer for me, on account of vacations located in the very center of the summer, pl... More >>

Although we have far too few commentors on our blogs, I have noticed the development of an interesting commenting sub culture. For lack of a better label I will call it "comedic commenting" (hereinafter "CC").

CC takes many forms, but many such comments are very creative. It may have started with one person appropriating the name of another Gothamite on a comment, but now the small cadre of c... More >>