Blog

I launched my blog in 2009 when I was wrestling with a midlife crisis. Since then, the digital world has changed so much. I was new to both Facebook and Twitter when I started blogging, and I was still rocking the BlackBerry for email. Instagram hadn’t launched yet. Podcasting and short videos are what the cool kids do these days, blogging is considered old fashioned. But I still find it the best way to share my thoughts and to profile people who inspire me.

I hope you’ll find something here that inspires you, or at least sparks a conversation. Some of my favorite posts are pinned to the top, scroll down a bit more to find the most recent, or check out the categories in the sidebar.


Public pianos in New York City

Public pianos in New York City

I should be practicing piano a lot this weekend, since I didn’t put in as much time last week as I would have liked. But it’s so nice outside! It’s hard to stay inside plunking away when it’s in the 80s and sunny. Fortunately, not everyone needs to make this choice between enjoying a lovely summer day and playing piano,…

Sometimes we're learning lessons even when we don't know it

Sometimes we're learning lessons even when we don't know it

There’s a remake out of the 1980s iconic movie Karate Kid. It’s hard to imagine anyone my age who doesn’t have a mental picture of Ralph Macchio doing karate moves he learned from Pat Morita in the original. As any Gen Xer can tell you, Mr. Miyagi’s teaching style is a little sneaky. Daniel wants to learn karate but instead…

Blow drier + bathtub does not = Jacuzzi

Blow drier + bathtub does not = Jacuzzi

Or: Lessons learned the hard way from ideas that sounded good at the time When I use hair driers in hotels, I’m frequently hypnotized by the giant warning tag they all have. You know the one — it warns you in bold red letters not to immerse your blow drier in a tub of water. For years, I’ve stared at…

Nothing motivates a journalist like a deadline

Nothing motivates a journalist like a deadline

A friend recently lost his wife. She was just 47 when she was hit by a car and died.
After getting a divorce a few years back, my friend had remarried and was as giddy as a high school girl talking about his new wife. His eyes twinkled when he talked about her influence on his health, his home and his outlook on life.
I never met his new wife, but my heart gets hot and my eyes tear up when I think about these two people just having found each other, then having it suddenly, unexpectedly, end.

Social Media Time Management 101  (via Sugarsmash Creative)

Social Media Time Management 101 (via Sugarsmash Creative)

When I talk to people about social media — one of my geeky interests — the two objections I frequently get are: How am I supposed to find time for that? I’m already too busy. What would I say? Who cares if I had a ham sandwich for lunch? This post nicely addresses both, and breaks down a regular commitment…

Does social media change the ways we're social?

Does social media change the ways we're social?

My coworker, Ted, recently posted a link on Facebook. It was a New York Times article about social interactions in real life and online. That Ted and I work in the same building but converse more electronically than face to face is probably relevant here somehow. Charles Blow wrote in his op-ed for the Times: A report issued Wednesday by…

Certain phrases are just always great to hear

Certain phrases are just always great to hear

Certain phrases are like music to my ears. “I love you” is probably at the top of the list, provided it’s from someone I want to have loving me. Others that closely follow include: The next round is on me. You look great. Take the rest of the day off. Recently I added a new phrase to that list: “Your…

Cilantro-phobes (via Indian Culinary Center)

Cilantro-phobes (via Indian Culinary Center)

Since my recent post on calling a truce with cilantro is becoming one of the most popular on my blog, I thought you might also be interested in this funny story from an Indian cook — she’s preparing a meal for about 50 guests at the request of an important client and shortly before dinner time, she hears the client…

Woody Allen on the merits of practicing and New Orleans jazz

Woody Allen on the merits of practicing and New Orleans jazz

The Village Voice this week has a wonderful, sprawling piece on Woody Allen and his love of traditional jazz. Yes, the same Woody Allen, he of the artsy movies that define the neurotic New York archetype, also happens to have a standing weekly gig at the Carlyle. If you’re wondering if they’re any good, it might be worth noting that…

Do you know the way to Carnegie Hall?

Do you know the way to Carnegie Hall?

My piano lesson this week was pretty frustrating. I felt overwhelmed as I tried to manage doing one thing with my left hand and another with my right, all while staying on the beat. My patient piano teacher reminded me that being overwhelmed is all in your head, and that it’s natural to have some confusion when you’re learning something…

Out with the old: doing some spring cleaning

Out with the old: doing some spring cleaning

John went to visit an old friend for part of the Memorial Day weekend, so I’ve spent some of my solo time combating my clutter. I tend to be something of a pack rat, but ironically, I also really enjoy having a clean, uncluttered home, so I’m always a little at war with myself. I have some of my dad’s…

Do we get happier as we get older?

Do we get happier as we get older?

Some people idealize high school and college as the happiest times of their lives. I am not one of those people. You couldn’t pay me to be a teenager again, and my 20s weren’t much better. Naturally I found this recent HealthDay story interesting, reporting on a new Stony Brook University study that shows people over 50 are generally happier:…

Betty White's second career act as cult star

Betty White's second career act as cult star

It’s not like being a TV star is new for Betty White — by the time she won a role on the Mary Tyler Moore Show in the 1970s, she’d already been on television for decades. But I don’t recall hearing much from Betty after the Golden Girls ended. Until a few months ago. Then it seemed pop culture couldn’t…

Mother's Day can be a challenge when you've lost your mom

Mother's Day can be a challenge when you've lost your mom

Editor’s note: This post gets a lot of traffic from people searching phrases like “mothers day wishes for someone who lost their mom.” I love that so many of you are looking to offer your love and support, and would personally suggest following your heart with something simple like “Thinking of you and your mom today,” or “Are you doing…

Will the iPad transform the media?

Will the iPad transform the media?

If you wander past an Apple store these days, you’re likely to see huge crowds eager to play with the latest tech novelty, the iPad. But in the media business, it seems there’s a different question than just “how does it work?” It’s wondering — or maybe hoping — if the new Apple device can transform the media business. An…

Food Inc. inspires rethinking of what we eat and how we eat

Food Inc. inspires rethinking of what we eat and how we eat

John and I finally watched Food Inc. this weekend. If you haven’t seen this challenging documentary on how the American food supply works, now is a good time to put it in your Netflix queue — Earth Day is Thursday and if you have any doubts now that what you put on your plate affects the environment, you won’t after…