One of my favorite mountains that I’ve never climbed, K2, is in the news this week. Known as the “Savage Mountain” because of its treacherous ascent to the summit, K2 notched another first this week. Austrian mountaineer Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner reached K2’s summit along with three others from the National Geographic team. She is the third [...]

Right – wrong title – but come on, it works. Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene shut down most of the US mid- to north-Atlantic coast throughout the weekend of 27-28 august 2011. Wandering about post-tempest, these images caught my eye and summed up what Manhattan felt like on the morning of sunday, 28 august – the good [...]

My curiosity about global and personal happiness continues. For the curious g readers, you’ve already been introduced to my inquiries in The world has gone happy, Smile when you say that, and the happiness quest ~ overrated? Adding to this conversation is the documentary, The Economics of Happiness. With life becoming increasingly stressful for many [...]

Injury. Slip of the tongue. Two rogue alarms. Unextinguished fire. Extreme heat. Sounds Shakespearean, right? But the show must – you know – go on. And it did. I was given the gift of Shakespeare. But not just by any troupe – it was the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) hosted by Lincoln Center, and in [...]

I stand corrected. It seems that Riverpark Farm is not the first example of farming in Manhattan (since roughly the 17th century.) While strolling in lower Manhattan yesterday, I spotted this happening in urban agriculture: The Parks Department teamed up with the Battery Park Conservancy and several area high schools to plant crops in an [...]

Now, I’m sure all the curious g readers know that back in the 1600s to mid-1700s, most of upper Manhattan was rolling farmland. Do I hear a yes? The original city of New York began at the southern tip of Manhattan and slowly expanded north. While lower Manhattan was dominated by Five Points and other [...]

If it’s summer, there must be stars Hit the road with TCM’s Summer Under the Stars. The series returns today with a medium-fresh group of 31 starry actors who get one full day of devotion. There are the usual heavy duty favorites: Brando kicks it off, Grant, MacLaine, Welles, Dietrich and Stewart etc. TCM has [...]