I love technology. I love computers. I love my iPhone. So on Sunday as I was gloriously flying to Austin, TX, I was thrilled to learn that my flight on Delta had something called Delta Studio. You could use your laptop or tablet or phone, even, to view reasonably current movies without purchasing the crazy overpriced plane wifi. It was a nearly 4 …
This past weekend, we visited Hyde Park. It was a beautiful day to tour the home that spanned the entirety of FDR’s entire life –from his birth through his death. Inside the main house, we saw the room in which he was born and just to the side of the house, both FDR and Eleanor are buried in his mother’s rose garden. The most interesting part …
I love having the Sunday Times delivered to my home. I look forward to reading the magazine on Saturday afternoons along with the Real Estate section. The Real Estate section is one of my favorite parts because I love reading about Manhattan real estate. I have my methods to reading. On Saturday, it’s always Real Estate first, followed by t …
The New York Times got it right yesterday with its first page one editorial in nearly 100 years. Its plea to Congress to pass some sensible gun laws will probably have little effect though. No mass murders over the past number of years have; not even enough for Congress to prohibit anyone on the "no fly" list from buying an assault weapon. This t …
If you're wondering what to give that someone special for the holidays, here's one that just says...I love you (in a wierd kind of way:) An entire South Dakota ghost town called Swett (puns included), complete with its own watering hole, is on sale for $250,000. The roughly 6-acre town includes a tavern, three-bedroom house and a former tire sh …
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 …
