Ladies and gentlemen, today the role of Ennid Berger will be performed by Spartacus -

2008 - What a year. Or... WHAT a YEAR! Depends on your perspective.

If you were an oil speculator, the summer of '08 had you squealing like Jed Clampett, "Whee doggie!" While the majority of us needed a slug of Granny's "rheumatiz medicine" each time we filled up with gas.

We endured the longest presiden... More >>

I’ll save my New Year’s resolution blog for next week. This week, my question is, how will you be spending New Year’s eve this year? Personally, I have never been a fan of a big New Year’s celebration. Instead, I have always preferred a quiet evening with friends and family – and food, there must always be food.

Yet, there are many who look forward to venturing out for a special e... More >>

The sound of the cork popping. The bright fizz coming from the champagne flute as we pour. The tinkling of the glasses as we wish each other health and happiness. The tickle on your nose as you take that first sip. Few things evoke so many emotions, and delight our senses, as Champagne.

So many of us only enjoy the occasional bottle of Champagne on New Years Eve or as a celebratory toast at a s... More >>

The return address on the envelope said it was from The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. It was one of many letters that I found in my mailbox last week. I assumed the AFSP letter was a holiday solicitation, so I went to throw it and other junk mail into the garbage in my lobby, but then the elevator came so I held onto it and brought it upstairs.

When I opened it I saw they were ... More >>

As the New Year approaches the expectations for change are palpable. Some friends are throwing parties to celebrate the shift in politics. Industries and municipalities are lining up to grab a share of the new funding for projects. Some people I speak with are praying (really hard) for a prosperous 2009. I have never witnessed so much expectation. So much anticipation. I wonder what this new year ... More >>

"Irrational Acts of Kindness". What an ambiguous, unexpected and unusual collection of words which, when acted on as intended, can mean and amount to so very much.

2006 Gotham Networker of the Year Kelly Welles coined (okay, not coined, but improved upon "random acts of kindness") the phrase and, if I may paraphrase, Kelly defines it as "a magnificent synthesis of words that captures the esse... More >>

I asked our very special Debbie Lindner to share her thoughts on this Christmas Day with us all.....

“Merry Christmas”
These 2 words are always a reminder to me of the magic and wonder in the world: whether it’s the magic of Santa arriving while you sleep and leaving lots of toys or the wonder of an innocent baby arriving in the world in humble surroundings as a gift to u... More >>

Chanukah is upon us and Christmas is coming, and I’ve realized that one of my favorite things about the holidays is the music. The songs I grew up singing and listening to at this time of the year make me smile. As far as Chanukah goes (and it was a very limited holiday in my childhood), we had the Dreidel song (“I made it out of clay etc), “O Chanukah, O Chanukah, come light the menorah…�... More >>

If you have been at a Gotham meeting recently, you may have participated in a discussion about whether networking is different in a down economy. The conversation has been quite enlightening.

We have heard of some businesses slashing marketing budgets. Frankly, this does not make a whole lot of sense to me. We have heard about (and seen) a surge of business professionals with an interest in... More >>

T’was three days before Christmas and all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
Only a few days left to shop, wrap and cook,
When all you want to do is sit down with a good book.
Holiday shoppers all frenzied and shrieking,
Sweating and stressing over gifts they are seeking.
Wee-hour wrapping of ties, shirts and toys,
For all on your list, those good girls an... More >>

This is the time of year to get fat. And David Henry is partly to blame.

Every day more cards come in the mail which we hang up out in our reception area. Fred, you should not have written that on the card you sent. Very naughty!

A lot of people send calendars that look like greeting cards. Does anyone really use those? Maybe in a lumber yard. I have gotten a few leather bound diaries... More >>

At a Long Island Gotham meeting last Thursday Fred had asked about Madoff stories. There were many connections to people who have lost significant amounts of money and others angry about his audacity and should be jailed.

To get some perspective the Ponzi scheme was named after Charles Ponzi, an italian immigrant who perpetrated this scheme in the 1920's. He paid a 50% return and people flocked... More >>

Flo and I just back from a long weekend in Paris. We celebrated her birthday. This was a year for “experience” gifts.
What struck me most is how the world is, indeed, getting smaller. I had my Blackberry -- phone, email and internet access. But that’s not what struck me as different and unusual. A local shop owner described his goods as “certified made in France” and as he spoke, I... More >>

We live in a visual society, inundated with images. It's close to impossible to take it all in, so a lot of what we see on a daily basis may pass “under the radar.” For example, it was not until my husband, David, pointed this out to me that I became aware of the fact that in the vast majority of wristwatch ads (analog, not digital), the hands on the watch face are set to 10:10. Page after ... More >>

I love this time of year. The bustle of the streets in the city, and everyone talking about the fabulous gifts they have found in little boutiques or novelty stands. Not to mention (ok, I’ll mention anyway) the countless ideas we share about the perfect gifts for our children with their varied ages, genders and interests.

This year is different. The bustle isn’t quite as loud and the con... More >>

At one time or another, I believe most of us have considered jumping over a wall. I bet some of us have actually ventured a leap.

Author, Jay Nussbaum, explains the surprising title through one of his main characters early on in the book. According to Con Law Professor, Josie Steele, “A Monk Jumped Over a Wall” is a famous soup.

Steele explains, “The story is that a rich man had a... More >>

A guest blog by Victoria Drogin

Have you ever gotten a perfect gift? One that was exactly right? So wonderful that it made you draw your breath in delight, or caused your eyes to tear up with emotion?

Or even better, have you ever given one? That perfect present that landed with someone dead, spot on – a total home run?

A friend of mine once said that the most selfishly indulgent expe... More >>

Sitting in the car at the Sea Cliff train station last night my thoughts wander a bit. The work I accomplished this week, the work still left to do, whether I should go in on Saturday to catch up...I move my head back into the headrest and close my eyes to quiet myself. I'm startled a bit when the crossing lights and bells go off. Good, the train is here. Although I haven't quite gotten to the st... More >>

I commented to Don's recent blog about the horrible Mumbai atrocities with the following question: If asked "Are you American?" what would you say? Surprisingly, for whatever the reason, there were no answers or related comments.

However, at the Commerce meeting last week I asked Janet Adler to pose the day's question and she revised my question slightly asking "Would you admit you are a Jew?... More >>

By now, everyone should have listened to Fred's interview on Good News Broadcast Network (www.goodnewsbroadcast.com).

On Monday, Robert Esposito, whose every effort on behalf of Gotham in the Sunshine State is appreciated, posted a "thank you" on Fredslist to Bob Bagar a founding member of the Good News Broadcast Board for making the interview possible. As I read on, I wondered... More >>

This week was the anniversary of John Lennon’s death. When the radio stations started announcing that it was 28 years ago that John Lennon was shot by Mark Chapman outside the Dakota, I had my annual “Aha,” moment. It was 28 years ago that David and I got married in late December of 1980. The plan was for the band to play Beatles' music during the meal. Once Lennon was shot, we were horr... More >>

I think Rona is on a roll, and I am happy to roll right along with her!! I have my answer to this blog ready to go. She makes a great observation.

I realized the other day that I look at my life in distinct stages. There was the high and college phase, law school phase, young lawyer and single in the city phase, first marriage phase, single mother phase and now second marriage phase. And, wha... More >>

Monday morning, email exchange:

Mary: “I had a great time at your holiday party Saturday night. Thanks for inviting us! See you this week at the PTA meeting.”

Susan: “Thanks. Glad you could make it! The cookies you brought were amazing! See you Thursday.”

Mary: “So glad you liked them!”

Thursday, PTA Meeting:

Mary: “Hi Susan! Oh, your party was so great! Thanks ... More >>

The pain of going back to work after the Thanksgiving holiday was broken momentarily by the news last Monday night that, in a rare instance of celestial alignment, a slivery crescent moon would be visible with Venus and Jupiter right next to it. This unusual lineup, the paper said, would not appear again until 2052.

This was very exciting news, the amateur astronomer I am, and was not to be m... More >>

So last Monday was moving day for my business. I spent Sunday making sure everything was packed, labeled and organized. Around 8:30A the movers arrived. I instructed them on what goes where and which location, etc. Then at about 9:15 I get a text message that rattled me. It was from Jake and he typed that he's going to the hospital. I immediately call him and he tells me through a very gargled voi... More >>

Last Saturday we helped celebrate the Bat Mitzvah of Nancy's beautiful (in many ways) daughter Jaclyn ("Jackee")and their special day was extra special for me.

Why extra special? Well, it started towards the end of the service when my eye was caught by this round mound of "life force". Looming near me was this tall substantial man with a "Mr. Clean" bald head which was absolutely radiant wit... More >>

It was raining. In truth, a fairly miserable day. But Mom and Sidney are leaving for Florida and I wanted to say good-bye. So Flo and I were on the New England Thruway is slowly rolling traffic when our car was hit from behind. We were in the left lane and there was no shoulder. I knew that there was a left turn exit a bit ahead which would provide me a place to pull over safely. So I signale... More >>

When I looked outside today and white clouds were being blown across the blue sky, I felt good, like the day was beginning on the right note. Sunday, it rained and rained and the sky was slate grey all day. Ugh. Color makes a big impact on me.

Green has long been my favorite color, especially emerald green, and I like most green variations except maybe pea green. I get an immediate visceral... More >>

This past Saturday my daughter made her Bat Mitzvah. It was a parental experience that I highly recommend. I do not own the words that can amply describe the feeling of watching this person who just a few days ago was crawling around the living room floor, blossom as if before your eyes into an amazing young woman.

I admit there have been definite clues of this maturity along the way. Howe... More >>

If you’re tired of hockey blogs, stop reading now.

My son’s team played in a tournament in Aston, Pennsylvania, this past holiday weekend. Our first game was scheduled for Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) at 8:00 a.m. That meant we had to leave our family dinner (really lunch) earlier than usual.

We drove down to Philly in record time – understanding that most people were stil... More >>