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.

Central Park Sheep Meadow

Last Sunday we had a picnic in Central Park.

from Cinque Terre to Washington... my last week in Italy

After the Cinque Terre, I headed back to Monteleone where Adrienne, Miranda and Tina were waiting for me. We took off for Orvieto, then a day in Siena, and I sent them off to Ischia. I took my free day to have lunch with friends (a whole lot of Sicilians!) at Marco & Vanessa's beautiful home, followed by a private dinner at the local cafe with Claudia, Gianni and Silvano. Tina and I covered lots of ground the next day visiting wineries all over Tuscany with my friend Stefano, including the Castello della Sala owned by the Antinori family. It's only open for one day a year for the special Cantine Aperte and we were lucky enough to go see it! We had a last hurrah in Monteleone on Monday before departing for Rome on Tuesday (and taking a day out at the beach with my friend Cristiano)... all leading up to my true departure from my lovely little adventure in Italy.

and then

My local friends took me out to Porto San Stefano to the sea, a two hour drive for a seafood dinner. I made a huge lasagna for Tina, Miranda and Adrienne (who were arriving while I would be out of town), and then took off for Cinque Terre to meet up with Mike and Eileen. Five days out by the Ligurian sea and a boat trip to Porto Venere were perfectly filled with delicious meals, gelato, and short hikes.

Riding Romero

The next day, I went horseback riding in the country.

Once again riding

Claudia and I went for a long ride in the country, nearly 30km. Beautiful views, a bit rocky in places, steep climbs and fun descending. A perfect Umbrian day.

Jump Borghese

Cristiano and I jumped in the Borghese Gardens.

Locksmith

The lock on my door had been giving me trouble for a couple of weeks, but up until two days ago, it was pretty impossible to open and close from the outside. I called my landlady who had me call the locksmith -- who happens to be married to my landlady's flower shop employee.

Carlo came by at nine this morning with a weathered leather bag filled with tools and started to work right away. I left him to his deed after offering a drink and headed upstairs to work. Ten minutes later, I'm called down.

All fixed. "Monteleone non ci sono ladri." He explained. Monteleone doesn't have many thieves. He continued in Italian. "Therefore, turn the lock just two or three times." (It goes up to five.)

Great, thanks, how much do I owe I ask. He shook his head.
"Nothing, maybe next time I see you at the bar, a caffe."

Are people kind or what?

A caffe to remember.

"Buona Sera!" is what I call out to every person I pass by in the evenings here. Yesterday, it landed me in Sersina's house for a caffe. If ever I wish I had my camera with me, this was the day.

Sersina is 83 years old, with a beautiful elegant smooth face, few wrinkles, the cutest smile, and white hair collected in a bun. She was walking in her front hallway in her blue flowered housedress when I greeted her. She lit up and clapped her hands in delight. "I thought you'd left town" she exclaimed in Italiano. We small talked and then she asked if I wanted some coffee. "Vieni, vieni," -- come in -- she urged me.

We walked up the first flight of stairs where she took me into an apartment and introduced me to her daughter and granddaughter. Then we continued up a second flight, pausing so she could show me her pictures on the walls, the plants, and decor. She invited me into her kitchen -- I stepped into the 1960s. The walls were covered in groovy tiles with a loopy two-toned "harvest yellow" pattern, two old stoves, complete with an old radio from the era.

Sersina talked to me the entire time she was moving. She pulled down her stovetop espresso maker (a standard in all Italian households), then the coffee, and stood by the open window -- shutters apart -- to put it all together. After about twenty minutes of talk and distraction, she lit the pilot to make our coffee.

We sat at the opposite ends of a chrome and melamine table, covered in a plastic table cloth and chatted about the local cats, her family, her home passed down through four generations -- they are the original owners and the home was built in the 1800s, and all sorts of interesting stories.

Sersina sat at the end of the table facing me, the enormous 1960s stove behind her, and the espresso pot on the right burner. Her hands were crossed on the table and she leaned forward to speak with me.

When the coffee was finished, she reached around to turn the fire off. Another ten minutes of chatting until she stood up to go into the salon to collect two espresso cups, saucers, spoons, and a sugar bowl that she carried on a silver platter. I couldn't have asked for anything more Italian, warmer, or inviting than being in her home at that moment.

I know I constantly mention how KIND and NICE everyone is to me. It's just phenomenal.

boy oh boy!

Ashley and Sarah have gone and so have the hopes of all the boys in town. For some reason, they all came out of the woodwork the minute they spotted the belle ragazze. The girls left this morning at 5 a.m. ...and when I opened the door for Stefano, my friend and taxi driver, he pointed to the doorbell: three roses and a note taped to it.

I peeled it off and opened the note, and read in clearly printed English: "Three roses for three beautiful girls. Have a nice journey!"

I turned to Stefano who shrugged with "Italian men."
"It's for them," I explained, and nodded towards my friends. I've been here since January and only meet the optimistic grandfathers. Thankfully, once Ashley and Sarah showed up, all the handsome young guys did too!

La dolce vita 2

Yesterday, Orfeo (far left), one of my favorite locals, turned 80 so he treated Ashley and I to our morning pastries, coffee, and tea. It's constant, the kindness and generosity of the folks here and I find that practically every day, someone offers me coffee, gelato, or whatever I may be having at the local bar & cafe.

I do my best to give back to town what I can. Franco (center right), known as Maestro, is the head of the pro loco here; the town's tourism office. He asked me to take photos during the Festa del Dolce, so I made a cd of about ninety images with video of the marching band. He was pretty pleased, and immediately went out and had every image printed. These guys are so cute.

The Saigon of Marguerite Duras - New York Times

You'll find that the NY Times and LA Times run semi-quarterly articles on Vietnam. I hadn't seen one in a little while, and here it is, from April 30: The Saigon of Marguerite Duras - New York Times

Happy Birthday ESB!

The Empire State Building turns 75 today. Since Friday night, the ESB went dark, so they could light it for one week in white, the original colors of the ESB when it first opened in 1931.

Just last month they lit it up Yellow/White/Yellow for Spring/Easter, Green/Blue/Blue Earth Day and Pink/Pink/Yellow for the Tribeca Film Festival. Here's the lighting schedule for more. I took this photo from my street corner for the Lunar New Year in 2004... also Christmas and Valentine's Day and Independence Day.

Perugia

I jumped in Perugia again.