Night Walk in NYC

If you've never taken a walk through New York City at night during the winter holidays, add it to your list of things to do in life.

NYC holidays

Happy holidays from NYC... I'll be here for a couple of weeks.



photo taken from my old street corner in Greenwich Village, 2003.

Could I ask for anything more?

Happy holidays to us from the generous folks at flickr, now with unlimited uploading of photos.

I can catch up with uploading all my old snaps and have a great place to store the visual adventure of my life.

Water outweighs Gold.

A friend of mine who lives in Africa and India forwarded me a chain e-mail about the Pascua Lama project.

I researched it and found that the Campaign against the Pascua Lama project in the Andean peaks (between Argentina & Chile) is indeed true -- though the folks at Snopes (where, as a responsible netizen, you should always double-check your chain mail & urban legends) indicate that the chain letter doesn't show the complete picture. I also found the petition site to sign where your signature will be counted, rather than signing the chain e-mail.

Here's more information:
Wikipedia on Pascua Lama.
Snopes' review of the chain letter.
MiningWatch, Canada's Campaign against Barrick Gold's Pascua Lama project
Barrick Gold Corporation's response to the chain mail. They also have a Q&A.
Upon making your own judgment of the case, you can sign the petition against mining (or not).

The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

For the better part of a week now, I've been pondering over how to build a philanthropic web site, based on a silly idea. Pete, his wife Heather, and their friend Karys, lucky for us, are much faster thinkers than me: Your Name On Toast :: Your Name, Except on Toast is simply brilliant.

You donate, they toast a piece of bread with your 'message' on it, they post it on their page, ranked by donation, and your piece of toast is a link to your url (in its own way, advertising). "All toasty profits go to Save the Children or World Vision or Christian Aid or Oxfam or something else brilliant. (You can help decide which)."

Have a look at their toasty creations!

I like buildings. Especially green ones.

The National Building Museum oddly appears to be mostly vacant, having formerly been the U.S. Pension Building and has a very unfinished -- temporary -- feel to the empty offices and unused rooms.

I did visit a few cool current exhibits including The Green House: New directions in sustainable architecture and design running May 20, 2006 through June 3, 2007 -- complete with miniature models of homes (and a piece about the affordable housing complex on Colorado in Santa Monica). Also, a continually running long-term exhibit, Cityscapes, highlights many items from the museum's vast collection.

Pictures up soon.

George would've jumped.

I jumped at Mt. Vernon today.

Doheny Thanksgiving 2006

Eileen and I cooked for two days. Just in case a 20-pound turkey was not enough for twelve people, she also picked up a baked ham and a second turkey. "We can't send people home without leftovers!" she cried. We also made two pumpkin pies (even though there was also an apple pie and apple crisp on their way with our guests -- in addition to vanilla ice cream and whipped cream). Our menu below.

Um, there was enough food for everyone. Success.


Pictures of the event to be posted on flickr for viewing soon.

Say Yes.

Beautiful Denise and Wavy Gravy on the morning of Day 3.

Spontaneity has its benefits. I used to live by a "Yes" rule. In college, I had the word "yes" in all kinds of colors and hand drawn fonts on the living room wall. People walked in and asked all the time, "why do you have yesses all over your wall?"

For the years I lived in New York City, my rule (third, among one and two) was to always say "yes" to a social invitation or attractive opportunity if I wasn't already obligated elsewhere. This is how I got to go see Neil Finn live in a theater of only 600 or so hardcore fans when I didn't know who he was, how I danced with Columbians in Sydney when I couldn't dance, and ended up living in Italy when I didn't speak Italian.

The last few months I seem to have neglected the rule, choosing personal time (I covet my time alone, a rare occurrence) over social time.

But then I got an irresistable invitation for a three day be-in to celebrate the 60th birthday of a dear friend on her organic farm on the island of Kauai. I hesitated for a day or two. And then I said YES.

So a little more than a week later, I set my bare feet on this lush island, pitched a tent on the grass, and encountered astoundingly kind and beautiful people. It was a remarkable affair of music, community, food and connection. We ate, sang, jumped, hula-danced, tie-dyed, chanted, and swam in the ocean. I bonded with old friends, recent friends and new ones, and I have a collection of memories I'm still savoring. Gotta go back to saying yes again.

air addiction

So I'm a little addicted to flying... headed to Kauai... eight days later flew to San Francisco for four, on to Santa Monica for two, and am now in Orlando for seven. I move up the coast to Washington and eventually to New York for a visit.

Yet I find myself searching airfare for Cairo, where a friend has recently moved, Italy (my beloved country), and other top cities on my list of places to go. Shockingly, airfare from Rome to Cairo -- nonstop direct on Alitalia -- is a mere $246 (that's with all taxes and fees!!!). Kayak.com is possibly the most recommended place to go if you're looking with lots of flexible search options.

Ed. update: ITA Software is for advanced users searching for great airfare deals.

birthday month

I'm celebrating the sixth birthday party this month...Nigel's bash at the Figueroa, Denise's Venice party, Mica's unofficial party, my party, Don's party, and this weekend, Denise's Kauai three-day be-in.

Note: Most pictures are set private for friends & family on flickr, the internet's greatest tool for onine photo sharing. Photos set to "public" are viewable by all.

Anthony Bourdain at the 92Y

photo from the 92Y web page

Next week, Author/Chef Anthony Bourdain is going to be at the 92Y in NYC.

While I'm sorry to miss it... I can't complain. I'll be eating away at OPA's free BBQ for Ocean Park residents at the Victorian on Main Street, hosted by Duck Duck Mousse catering.

The next day, I'm flying out to Kauai for a three-day birthday celebration of one of the most amazing women I know. The best part is that we'll sleep in tents on her organic farm!

Life is grand.

What I do for W O R K

I've been working lately, mostly in graphic design (print, advertising, corporate identity, invitation design, and copywriting).

For intrepid travelers who'd like a bit of extra insider information on Italy, I've got a couple of off-the-beaten-path locations for you to stay. And, I still offer my custom-tailored luxury tours to Vietnam.

Browse around past graphic work, and then contact me when you need invitations for a special event! Currently, I'm working on incredibly cool custom Bar Mitzvah invites and I'll post the design shortly.

In the meantime, spread the word.

The more work you throw my way, the more chances you have of visiting me in bella Italia.

Ahoy Land Lubbers!

Today is International Talk Like A Pirate Day. Aaarrrrr!

Iwo Jima

Joe Rosenthal, the Photographer behind immortal Iwo Jima image dies.
I grew up just about two miles from the memorial in Arlington so this picture is somewhat deeply impressed. In fact, when I first saw it, I thought of it as an image of the monument, not of the actual U.S. marines in Japan.

Hellodeo

Odeo has now made Hellodeo.
Cool.

The Santa Monica Pier

Live music on Thursday nights at the Santa Monica Pier bring lots of locals and tourists together. On Tuesday "Madagascar" showed to a full crowd (including me and the kids); part of a free summer presentation of movies. "An Inconvenient Truth" will be playing on September 26.

FactCheck.org

FactCheck.org - Annenberg Political Fact Check Holding Politicians Accountable.

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

Time Magazine voted this as one of the top 25 sites we can't live without. It's a political fact checker, so stop by and read the facts. Don't be fooled by ads and mischaracterizations in the media.

How To Pay Rent, Get Famous, and Wake Up Before Noon

Matt Yeager is one of the funniest guys I know. He writes How To Pay Rent, Get Famous, and Wake Up Before Noon and is a writer for a new sitcom debuting online, The Burg, set in Brooklyn. Cast and Crew info.

Somebody, make this guy famous.

DOGFEST 2006

I spent all Sunday volunteering at Dogfest, a street party, dog party, and fundraiser for the Cian Griffin Cystic Fibrosis fund. Super fun. Great dogs. Good times.

More tea, please.

At any Chinese or Vietnamese restaurant, placing the teapot lid upside down is the universal asian non-verbal cue for "More tea, please."

Goodbye, Uncle Mark

Washington Post obituary and New York Times obituary for F. Mark Wyatt. Dad and Uncle Mark in 1993, who, to our great sadness, passed away on June 29.

My earliest memories in life are those we shared with the Wyatt family and my avuncular Uncle Mark in their home in Georgetown our first few Christmases in America. Goodbye, Uncle Mark.

To Fly Over the Tour de France

I never thought the Tour or Google could get any cooler -- not only am I a die hard Tour de France fan (watching since the good old days with Big Mig), I'm also a die hard Google Earth (among many Google products) fan. I've written about Google Earth before, but this is the full 3D route of the Tour de France on Google Earth!

If you don't have Google Earth, download it here and now because frankly, it's the one of the coolest free tools on the internet.

Here are the top ten sites visited on Google Earth. There's also externally published content by folks like Discovery National Parks Tours.

Perfect for killing time at a boring job. Luckily, I only work a few months a year.

Delicious.

I've been hanging in hot Orlando, Florida... but mom's delicious food makes up for it. This particular dish is known as "banh beo" -- small round rice cakes, about 1/8" thin, one and a half inches in diameter, and a plateful of them is topped with shredded shrimp, mashed mung beans, garlic, chilies, sauteed green onions, and sweet fish sauce. It's perfect for summer.

Jump D.C.

JK and I went on a mission to jump in D.C.

Thanks Patti!

Ok, I finally finally finally did it (again).

Patti, my stylist at Yves Durif Salon in NYC was my partner in charity. We managed close to 15" for Locks of Love:

That little picture of me in the profile in the right sidebar? That's the last time I donated when Yves himself cut it for me.

I ♥ NY

Spent a week in my beloved city... in Central Park, the UWS, East Village, Greenwich Village, Financial District and the lot. Missed out on going to Brooklyn to see Robert & Vera and Kyle & family (bummer!) because of a freelance gig that kept me up from Tuesday morning until Thursday night. Two straight all nighters which killed the end of my trip. No worries, I'll be back.