Since we’ve been talking so much recently about Vietnam, this article, entitled “Why Go Now,” in the travel section of Sunday’s NY Times, caught my eye. (By the way, the title of my piece, for those of you too young … Continue reading →
Sandals. Summer. Freedom. Foot-binding. Foot-binding? you ask. What does that have to do with sandals, summer, freedom? Well, I would have thought the answer to be: nothing. Nada. Zip. Zero. Or, perhaps: opposite. But apparently, I would be wrong. I … Continue reading →
Amtrak report: Well, by the end of the trip, 80% of the toilets were dysfunctional. And the train was virtually full (methinks there is some sort of correlation between the two). On the other hand, the seats were comfortable, my … Continue reading →
An update for those awaiting Part 4C of the “A mind is a difficult thing to change” series: it’s in the process of being written. But I always seem to underestimate the amount of work these things take (hmmm, I … Continue reading →
I’m going home today. According to the Amtrak website, my train is sold out. That should be…interesting. And, as luck would have it, this appears in today’s NY Times, entitled “Acela, built to be rail’s savior, bedevils Amtrak at every … Continue reading →
Even though I was a good student, economics was my nemesis. I passed it, but it was a slow slogging grind, and it didn’t quite stick. And, although I’ve made an effort to learn more about economics since then, every … Continue reading →
I’ve been visiting New York City, the place where I grew up. I decide to take a walk to the Promenade in Brooklyn Heights, never having been there before. When you approach the promenade you can’t really see what’s in … Continue reading →
[Previous posts in the series: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Interlude Part 4A] There were two widely-circulated and iconographic photographs taken during the Vietnam War. If you were around then, I can almost guarantee that you saw them, and … Continue reading →
(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Interlude) PREFACE Part 4 has been a long time coming. The article itself is long, too–so long that I finally decided it would be best to divide it into segments, so readers might have … Continue reading →
The MSN headline did what it’s supposed to do–it certainly caught my eye: “Escapee elephants visit Seoul restaurant.” The article has a few wonderful details. There were six elephants in all; one elephant bolted during their daily parade outside a … Continue reading →
Just in–a new pope has been elected. He’s Benedict XVI (formerly Cardinal Ratzinger from Germany), considered a hard-line conservative. I think it’s interesting, in light of my previous post about cardinals over 80 not being allowed to vote for pope, … Continue reading →
I’m here in New York, with the unbelievably lovely weather and the daffodils all in bloom. It feels like the tropics to me. Big celebration tonight for a major birthday of my brother–which one? I’ll never tell. But last night … Continue reading →