This weekend saw a very large demonstration in New York in favor of addressing climate change. Support for helping the environment is widespread and spans a lot of political and cultural chasms. You don’t need to be a climatologist to know which way the wind blows. Even if the case for climate change is oversold,… Read more »
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a form of depression induced during whether change; primarily around winter months mood-swings are quite pervasive, and during summer the spirit uplifting becomes more prevalent. Let’s exclude therapy, antidepressants and other attributes, and specifically focus on the inherent correlation between weather conditions and our physiological mechanisms. Light stimulates a powerful effect… Read more »
Why at 60 do I remember my half birthday is tomorrow? I never forget. The reason is Uncle Norman. Mom had this thing with shoe stores. She always complained her feet hurt. We’d go in and out of Yorkville’s many shoe stores looking for the perfect comfortable shoe that she never found. Rory and I… Read more »
Autumn officially begins on Monday, Sept. 22, and even though New York had a relatively mild summer this year, there are still plenty of reasons to feel good about the new season. Fall is just better than summer, even a pleasant summer. Autumn is one of the best times of the year. It gives one… Read more »
“Wonder Bread, again.” Dad threw his hands up. “Will you shut up!” Mom never turned from the stove. “You never bring food home I enjoy.” “You’re a liar. We eat friggin’ spaghetti six nights a week. If you came home seven nights a week, we’d never eat anything else.” Rory and I nodded our heads… Read more »
The story should be familiar to you. On September 11, 2001, Firefighter Stephen Siller was officially off duty when airplanes struck the Twin Towers. Unable to drive there himself because the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel was closed, he ran through the tunnel in full firefighting gear. He reached the World Trade Center where he became one… Read more »
Labor Day is a day when most American workers have a day off and spend it being thankful that we have a job, if we have one. Any power the day once held to fire up a meaningful organized labor movement in the U.S. has long been stripped away. For the vast majority of us,… Read more »
There’s finally an Internet challenge you can be proud of and you should ignore the naysayers and do it already. That’s the ice bucket challenge. The number of Internet “challenges” that have proliferated over the last several years are legion. These challenges normally involve a potentially dangerous stunt such as the “fire challenge,” the “cinnamon… Read more »
Pride and Vanity are mutually exclusive in terms of what they represent, although both words are used interchangeably. The former is having an intrinsic satisfaction over ones accomplishments, while the latter is conducive to excessive infatuation for ones appearance, opinions and abilities. The media has played an influential role in shaping our moral values, through… Read more »
This has been the coolest New York City summer in my memory. One of the hottest summers I remember is 1961. Each scorcher my brother and I tortured our parents for relief from the heat. Deep into August that year, in the middle of Central Park they gave up. Here’s the story as it appeared… Read more »
