Last week I inserted a simple "Animal House" reference ("Road Trip") into a benign fredslist email and was bowled over by the unexpected responses quoting the movie's unique jargon and characters.

Well, it just happens that I graduated high school with Chris Miller whose Dartmouth experiences form the basis of the story. In fact he currently has a book out about the writing of "Animal House". ... More >>

Last Wednesday, when we arrived at the Outermost Inn on the Aquinnah Cliffs on Martha's Vineyard, Hughie and Jeannie (the Innkeepers) said we had a surprise in store as they walked us to the telescope focused on the Osprey nest in the field between the Inn and the cliffs. A baby Osprey had hatched in June and, as I gazed into the telescope, the mother was standing guard while the younger was resti... More >>

RECONNECTING


I spent the last two days visiting with two of my girlfriends from college. One, I still see frequently. The other, formerly one of my closest friends, I’ve seen infrequently, if at all, since we were bridesmaids at each other’s weddings more than 25 years ago. We lost touch, before the days of email and cell phones and we have existed on the periphery of each other's lives... More >>

I was recently at Shea Stadium. I have not been to a game at Shea in years. Although admittedly not a fan or even really a follower, I remember going to games over the years and always enjoying being in that moment.

We decided to get tickets because our kids had never been to Shea Stadium and my son has all of sudden become a fan of both Jose Reyes and David Wright. Before the possibility fo... More >>

Could you do it? Could you spend 6 hours on the ice for 5 days straight, skating forwards, backwards, stopping on a dime, most of the time doing suicide sprints all while the coaches are yelling and trying to inspire your little 8 and 9 year-old legs to move faster and faster?

I don’t think I could. But what I did on the first day of my son’s summer hockey clinic is I went to the gym and ... More >>

Go Green

Some years ago, Rick Jarow opened his signature anti-career weekend workshop with the sentence, “The world is an abundant place.” He continued, talking about the necessity of seeing the abundance all around us, and respecting it so that we would take only what was enough and use it well.

It was a seminal moment for me. I realized that I had spent much of my life with a sense of... More >>

Almost every week I have lunch with a friend and we discuss what happened during the week - the good and the bad. After doing this for over 20 years (with the same guy) I've learned a thing or two and have come to some realizations.

• Without good there is no bad so we need to accept both
• We (humans) are mostly negative creatures
• Some of the most simple things in life are the most ... More >>

As I get older I feel as if I can say just about anything that comes to mind (and my filter may be a little worn in any case). I figure, "What can they do to me at my age". Well, they can make you eat crow!

As Jim Periconi accurately described in the fredslist email Monday "I Beat Fred?!", he beat me in a mile swim last Saturday. It is also on Gotham Speaks on the web site if you missed it (... More >>

The first memorable impact of the weather on my life was missing school because of snow. In those days, inclement weather was a friend and, sometimes, a rescuer. But as I grew older, I learned that weather is not to be relied upon and can be very good at disappointing me. I couldn’t always rely on the forecast to produce the promised snowstorm and when I wanted the weather to be nice, sometimes ... More >>

I just got back from the supermarkeet and I iam suffering sticker shock. Shopping for groceries has become the equivalent of a high ticket item – maybe a small car would be cheaper, pound for pound. Our dollar is buying less and less and the price of meat and fish has soared. When I look at “wild” salmon and it costs over twenty dollars a pound, I can’t help but wonder what we’ve don... More >>

Recently I was counseling a client who had just received a troubling letter. A laid off worker was complaining loudly and bitterly about the action, demanding a substantial increase in the standard severance package by many thousands of dollars. Should we pay, the client pondered?

As we always do, next we analyzed. Had the employee asserted any cognizable legal claim? Not that we could see. ... More >>

I think I have just added a new term to the blogger’s dictionary. Does one exist?

This reminds me of a language blog topic that my nursery school mom friends have been suggesting for a while: how each generation uses different words for the same things.

The girls (moms I know) were spewing out some funny ones at a recent breakfast at our local IHOP:

We say jeans – our parents say d... More >>

There is something horrifying in my apartment. It is my sons' room. On Thursdays, after Angela comes, it is clean and sparkling. By early into the weekend it looks like something high on the Richter scale hit it.

When I was a teen, my mother called me "El Sloppo." I am sure I earned that. But as I grew older I learned to like neatness, made beds, folded clothes and towels hung on the rack.... More >>

We are built to be imperfect. It's in our nature that we make mistakes. The hardest part for me is not admitting I've made a mistake but forgiving myself for making one. I hold myself to a very high standard and tend to spend more time on projects and clients than I care to admit. This doesn't come from a desire to be perfect but from a deep caring and desire to help the people who have hired me. ... More >>

On the 30th Anniversary (yesterday) of the death of my American Idol I reprint my paeon to Elvis. He is timeless and, if possible, more popular today. He is The King:

I saw the Great Elvis today
encapsulated on film
written off and explained away
and I tried to cry,
cry for him or cry for me
or was there something else?
Or what is gone,
or never happened,
or will never be again
and ... More >>

A while ago, I blogged about change being good; however I recently witnessed two situations in which change did not prove to be good for the people involved. The lesson was how those involved reacted when they recognized that change is not good.
My son Jason was at the Gift Show showing his “OddFellows” collection (Jailbreaktoys.com). This year he was at a different booth. While he h... More >>

I always thought that the New York Times was the best newspaper in the world. Wherever, I lived, Boston, Connecticut, Long Island, it was the Times I turned to as an unshakeable standard of written excellence. When David and I decided that two newspapers made too much garbage, we dropped Newsday. It was expendable; the Times was not. Then last Monday, they shrunk the Times. They claim they j... More >>

I was watching a news magazine yesterday on which two authors were promoting a book about Email Etiquette. The book, they said, was prompted by countless stories of missteps in technological communication.

We have all seen this, the “way to casual for the business environment email”, the misdirected email or instant message, the “I am really angry about this but too afraid to confront... More >>

I wouldn’t exactly call it procrastination. It is more like WAY TOO MUCH ON MY PLATE! Through no fault of anyone but my own, I took on an inordinate number of assignments, projects and volunteer work than any one person should. I like being busy, working, and taking pride in what I produce.

But the problem is something very important has been placed on the back burner. THE GOTHAM BOOK!!... More >>

Wednesday's early morning rainstorm left many of us stranded and unable to get anywhere. I left my apartment on the upper west side around 8 a.m. to go to work, but found the subways paralyzed, busses jammed and taxis all taken. After 45 minutes of walking in circles, I went back upstairs, finished reading the paper and had some breakfast.

I ventured out again at about 10 with my son Josh, th... More >>

So I'm at a prestigious college yesterday outside of Pittsburgh watching their presentation. They pull out the big guns and show videos of the luminaries that have attended, Holly Hunter, Ted Danson, the create of Lycos, an astronaut among many others. It's very impressive. You can take a large variety of courses not only from this school but any college in Pittsburgh. They are in the midst of a b... More >>

I'm proud to be "Old School" despite all the teasing I receive about being "Old", but I do not like to act or sound "Old". Having said that mouthful I have to admit, whether it is due to being "Old", being stupid or otherwise, I have trouble with this 21st century labor saving concept of "Self Serve". A perfect example occurred last weekend when my wife dragooned me into going to Home Depot to b... More >>

Last Saturday, I had the unique pleasure of attending the first annual Gotham Hudson Valley Art and Eat Outing. Thank you again to Mike Landrum for organizing a truly memorable day.
Jim and Judy Kramer (Gotham Westchester) were joined by their son, Henry, a teenager, for the daylight activities at Dia Beacon modern art museum, Storm King out-door sculpture park, and an unscheduled, Flo-in... More >>

I find myself googling my name frequently to see if I exist online. I have learned to put my first and last name within quotation marks, because, believe it or not, there are numerous Ennid’s out there. There is a strange feeling of confirmation when my name pops up – wow – I really did that, I wrote that, I was there. It is almost like an otherworldly journal – someone up there ha... More >>

Now here is a real problem. Have you ever had occasion to write to someone but you don't know whether the recipient is male or female? Sometimes a first name just doesn't give it away.

What is the correct etiquette for handling a problem of this sort? How do you address your correspondence? I have some ideas but would appreciate hearing yours.

(Gotham’s own Laurel Scarr Konel, Co-Chai... More >>

Hey bloggers, does this happen to you? Do you get unsolicited blog ideas from loyal readers and/or friends?

I do – all of the time. And I love it, especially on a lazy, hazy August, Monday morning when my brain seems to be on summer vacation. Here’s a great one from a friend who left me a voicemail the other day saying exactly this: “Have I got a blog idea for you!”

She posed this... More >>

We just got back from almost a week on Martha's Vineyard. Still, in my view, one of the most beautiful places on the east coast.

I first heard of the place when I read a James Taylor interview in Rolling Stone thirty five years ago, and I knew I had to get myself there. The first time I went was in 1975. I noticed film crews all over the island. They said they were filming a movie about a bi... More >>

I started our Gotham Blog on August 4, 2006 with a heartfelt dedication to a friend and colleague who had passed away. Although it's been over a year since he's gone, I still miss him. He was more than an inspiration to me. Even though he worked for me technically, we really worked together and in some ways I worked for him. I learned so much; true collaboration, organization of the creative proce... More >>

Gotham will celebrate its first anniversary of blogging tomorrow, August 4th. Webmaster Mitch was the initial blogger and since his maiden effort we eight bloggers (Sunday-"Hard Hitting" Don Bernstein, Monday-Julie Klein, Tuesday-Nancy, Wednesday-Ennid Berger, Thursday-Ben Geizhals, Fridays with Fred, Saturday-Mitch and Vacation Substitute-Jennifer Naylor) have not looked back and although we ... More >>

On Tuesday night, three milestones in Major League Baseball stood to be made, but none were. The one that disappointed me was Tom Glavine not getting his 300th career win. Glavine did all he could do -- pitched well and left the game in the seventh inning with a one-run lead. He needed his teammates to help secure the win but his teammates didn't get it done for him. (Bonds and Rodriguez, who are ... More >>

On Sunday, David and I drove our daughter, Jennifer, to Newark to catch a non-stop flight to Singapore. At 21, a college graduate, she has decided to attend the National University of Singapore for a master’s degree in Southeast Asian studies. We were very sad to let her go, but she is financing her own education and choosing her own destination. Now she will be more than twenty hours away for... More >>