With Thanksgiving and for many of us a long weekend approaching, I find it nice to anticipate gatherings of families and friends. Every Thanksgiving involves memories and traditions. Some revolve around the food and how we prepare it. Others peculiar to some celebrants. Music remains important to me and one tradition started when I listene …
Four blogs ago I focused on those who by action(s) or inaction(s) enable creeps to perpetrate terrible harm or worse on others. Friday I received an email disturbing in content: it defended Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore. I replied, “So are you saying that notwithstanding Moore’s conduct he merits election to any public office? "A creep is …
Tuesday, I expect to devote much of my day inducing others directly or indirectly to exercise their right to vote. Advising a candidate who all expects to win overwhelmingly you might not think that -- as we used direct mail, community newspaper ads, robo calls and canvas teams to encourage eligible folks to exercise this right I view as somethi …
This (as in today’s) blog found its voice or muse while reading my friend’s “Fridays with Fred” blog. I did a number of blogs around likes and more recently dislikes. My post comment raised lists as natural provocateurs of conversation. Recall all those top ten lists on late night show. Indeed Fred and I share a secret list aptly named and only …
I face an interesting dilemma involving a City Council candidate I advise. We want to include material advocating his position on a very important ballot issue – Proposition No. 1 (“Prop 1”) – voters get to weigh in on this November 8 when voters will also find him on the general election ballot. Four years ago, voters chose him with 96.8% the ge …
The proverbial water cooler discussion over the past week involved sexual harassment and worse. The political scientist in me viewed what occurred as a perverse exercise of power. Acts totally unjustified. I tweeted a Newsday editorial with my own spin, “Protecting #predators & letting acts go unpunished, endangers more people. Shame too …
Yesterday involved a new milestone very important to me. I certainly welcomed it and gladly survived it. I write not about some annual date which always merits celebration reaching a level generally considered symbolic. Yesterday marked a return to court (and not the legal variety that a friend advised I strongly consider). A leg ailment and …
This morning after hosting some members of Shelly’s family the eve before for Break Fast, we woke early to observe “The Energetic Felling of the Old Kosciuszko Bridge.” We drove to 400 Kingsland Avenue in Brooklyn where we parked. A brief ceremony preceded featuring Governor Andrew Cuomo, Member of Congress Carolyn Maloney who secured the federal …
Gatherings serve many purposes. Discussed one last week. There were two this weekend. One tested me a bit since the bat in the rear of my car failed to see the light of day in slightly more than a year. The other represented a test of connection and how things endure despite distance in time and place. Technology prevailed in both cases; it fac …
This morning into afternoon members of the Bearak, Stone and Stark clans gather to celebrate a special milestone: Mom’s 80th. If not for my involvement a primary election involving my good friend and client, the party (and this blog) would have occurred the weekend before. Anyway, mom got a nice present when she got to visit and view the new apar …
Last week I wrote of possibly starting over, technology-wise. This week, an update of sorts. Wednesday after attending a funeral for the dad of a friend with whom I play basketball, I powered up my phone and found an alert from the Manhasset Apple Store. It advised the MacBook Pro I brought in only four days before for repair was ready for …
It was not quite going on the disabled list. But when the device I relied on for some 24 months went dark, it unnerved some. After all the following week would be busy. At the time, 11 days were left in a Primary re-election race I am guiding for a friend who serves with distinction and great energy in public office. I had my iPhone and iPad b …
A signature issue involves keeping our free East River and Harlem River bridges toll-free. Today, as senior advisor to Keep NYC (Congestion Tax) Free, I join elected officials and community leader at a news conference near the entrance to the Ed Koch Queensborough Bridge to remind policymakers it still makes sense to keep the status quo with re …
The week past I ran two different group outings on successive days to Citifield. Both teams on the field represented New York. The first eve, we also raised some money for a Foundation I served as President for a two-year stint. The second eve, for this networking group, I connected some folks who might benefit from the introduction. I en …
I enjoy friends with rather diverse work and professional “assignments.” Not unusual to find some associated with a cause derived from their work. One such cause involves baseball. Not how the games get played. Not who plays it, coaches it, umps it or runs it. It involves how several hundred former players get screwed. As someone who advises …
I blog about what muses me.
