This is a shout out for 2 Gotham Committees with which I recently worked: The Gotham Film Festival Committee (Chaired by Steven Skyles-Mulligan plus Cayce Crown, Judy Mauer and Gideon Schein) and the Gotham Green Awards Committee (Co Chaired by Corey Bearak and Josh Zinder plus Group Coordinator Sherry Rivera). Against tense deadline pressure eac …
Flo and I were cleaning her mother's house in anticipation of the closing. The house that Flo and her brothers grew up in. The house where her parents spent almost sixty years. There was a lifetime in that house. I was packing the breakfront and I came to the crystal. There was a set of tall water glasses, wine glasses, and both large and small st …
I am a great believer in Gotham. I am not a believer in one of Gotham's mottos. I know it is not better to give, than receive. It's exactly the same. Giving. Receiving. The exact same. I need to learn to do both. 30 more days in the year. This day I'm writing this, December 1st has special significance for me, so I'm going to share what The …
As I write this, Cyber Monday is coming to a close. You know, that day meant for fuzzy slippers on your feet, a cup of coffee in one hand and your computer mouse in the other. While I spent the day at work where my fuzzy slippers were not welcome today, I am generally a big fan of cyber shopping. What more could I ask for – variety, discounts and …
My younger children were home from college this week. And I have to admit that, for us, family time is all about food. My daughter came home first last Monday night from Buffalo. Instead of coming home from the airport, we went straight to the “all you can eat” sushi restaurant in my town. Apparently, you can’t get good sushi in Buffalo. …
The news the other day reported that pillow fights are now banned. They are causing too many injuries. No, this was not about pillow fights at the Alpha Delta Pi sorority, or the local junior high schoo pajama partyl. And it was not Victoria's Secret banning pillow fighting photo shoots - heaven forbid. It is coming from the superintendent of the …
I enjoy Thanksgiving. It's the one holiday where there's no pressure to give presents or act in a certain way. It's about giving thanks and being grateful for what you have. I sat around the table last Thursday looking at my family. Although everyone wasn't there, it was nice. I looked at my Mom and hoped this wasn't the last one she'll see. I'm …
My favorite type of reading (or listening to CDs, as the case may be) is a good biography about the life of an interesting person. Recently I finished those of Whitey Bulger and Oprah and I'm now reading about my former Syracuse classmate Lou Reed. Favorites have been about the lives of Truman, Lincoln (Team of Rivals), TR, FDR, Mickey Mantle, Ted …
Last week I heard a psychologist on the radio talk about how stressful Thanksgiving has become. She focused on the difficult choices people have to make about where to be for the holiday. As families grow, in-laws, and other complications lead to impossible choices and conflicts. I think that thanksgiving includes understanding and forgiveness …
I think I have been in denial about winter coming to New York. It has been so warm recently that it just didn’t seem like this weather change was coming. It arrived today. Not in a big storm, deep freeze kind of way. But in a wake you up, remember me, kind of way. Anyone else out there have trouble finding a scarf and gloves this mor …
A friend asked me to look at a text conversation on her phone last week. She thought it was funny and wanted to share it with me. In looking through the text conversation, I could not help but be amazed at the amount of emoji’s each of them were using to express themselves. Does anyone use words anymore ?
There sure is a lot of bad news these days. Lots of killings - Paris, Israel, Mali. It is a pretty scary world. And some of the ideas about how to deal with it can be pretty scary too. Especially from you know who. It's important to remember the good things, even if they don't make headlines. After all, this is the time of year to be grateful. …
A lot can happen in a moment...joy, sadness, excitment, pain, happiness, worry, stress, peacefulness... Since my "insult" 8 months ago the most common question I'm asked is "Has the experience changed you in any way?" Other than living with the trauma, I believe I am more in the moment. Of course other stuff gets in the way but I'm more likely …
< Have you ever seen the Dos Equis pitch man? They call him "The Most Interesting Man in the World". He is pictured above and you know what, I get it a lot that I look like him. There are a lot of worse possible comparisons. When it comes up I usually respond "I'm just his stunt double". At the recent Gotham Film Festival one of the winners …
