DMV: A Visit To My Own Personal Darkness

October 16, 2009
I am embedded in the Brooklyn DMV right now and moments ago was as close to corporal combustion as I have ever been. My mission is to register a car for Alaina and I and I was also here two days ago with the same goal and was rejected for lacking her signature on one document. It was unclear that her signature was required since there was only space for one signature, but it was a mistake I can live with, costing me only a wasted hour. Intrepidly, I pushed through my frustration and got her signature this morning before…

Health Insurance for Earth

October 2, 2009
Right now in Bangkok, a monumental conference is underway, involving delegates from all over the world who have come to discuss nothing less than the future survival of our planet. Climate change is the focus and negotiations have begun on the follow-up to the Kyoto Protocol which will be drafted in Copenhagen next month. It is a crucial moment in our planet's history because we have already pushed the limits of our ecosystem's capacity to maintain itself and are bringing it to the brink of being inhospitable. There is no question that without checking our consumption and abuse, the atmosphere…

Andrew and Rachel are married!

September 9, 2009
My younger brother is now a married man and he did it in spectacular fashion, producing all the food for the event himself. He had incredible help from many people, but it was his vision and he executed it perfectly. He was insistent (old Andrew stubbornness...) on not only doing it but not cutting any corners (growing vegetables, fishing for seafood, butchering whole cows and pigs). It was an amazing process to be a part of and I learned so much over the 10 days spent with him prior to the wedding. His wife spent most of that time at…

Vacationland

August 27, 2009
Maine. I sit on the deck of Eventide, the Taylor cabin on the cliffs of Frenchman's Bay and I have found what I was seeking. It is calm and quiet, the gentle lapping of the water, rustling of leaves and chirping of birds creating the soundtrack... Peace and Tranquility are profoundly important aspects of life that can be truly hard to find. In this spot they come in abundance. I don't need to go far to chill, the deck will do fine, but I have been exploring Mt. Desert Island in depth the past few weeks, with hikes and bikes…

San Francisco Treat

August 4, 2009
Having completed our work obligations for the summer, Alaina and I decided to fly west to San Fran for some playtime. The four-day weekend could not have been more action packed and gave me an entirely new appreciation for this amazing city. While the focus of the trip was spending time with our friends, it turned into a major music festival with delicious food complements. Arriving Thursday evening, we were greeted at the airport by our gracious hostess, Alaina's college roommate Rocky, who drove us to her apartment in The Mission and set us up with a bed for our…

Oh Papi!

August 3, 2009
Who was I kidding, thinking that the Red Sox would stay clear of the steroids mess? Today the news broke that David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez both failed drug tests in 2003. Manny, of course, just served 50 games for taking a female fertility drug but I still hoped that it was just a Dodger problem... Looks like that's not the case. The Sox' run to the World Series in 2004 was one of the most thrilling sports adventures of my life and it will forever remain so, even under clouds of allegations. Falling asleep during Game 4 of the…

Baseball on my phone

July 30, 2009
This is amazing. I could have been watching it on my computer, yes, but instead I watched tonight's Red Sox game on my new telephonic device. Honestly, I don't mean to brag about how cool my phone is but it is just too rad to not mention something. I am just getting started with the apps so please let me know if there is anything I need to try...

Maine

July 14, 2009
When we talk about the northeast U.S., we usually think about population density. The corridor from D.C. to Philly to NY to Boston is packed with people tighter than anywhere else and driving in that area can be absolutely maddening, but once you escape it and get really north, like Vermont, or really northeast, like Maine, it is a very different story. It's not Wyoming or Montana in terms of population, but it will do as an accessible outpost of frontier for us ***** This was the post I was writing when Lilly died. I got up mid-sentence and walked…

Wilco

July 14, 2009
I enjoyed myself tremendously at Coney Island last night, seeing a great show at the baseball park then riding The Cyclone and eating fried food and drinking extra large beers at Nathan's. Wilco was excellent, playing their bittersweet noise beautifully, a soothing balm on my fresh mourning. Impossible Germany, Jesus, etc. and The Late Greats felt especially amazing and spiritual after a day of heavy emotional lifting for my pet. Music is so crucially important to me, and in times of hurt it lifts me up, giving me comfort and perspective.

Lilly

July 13, 2009
Our 16 year old cat has been sick for months, medicated for a thyroid issue and deteriorating slowly. For years, she woke us up excessively early to be fed promptly and although her meows and paws were annoying as we lay in bed every morning, I have seriously missed it recently as she seemed to stop caring about consuming food. We knew that her time was drawing near and had confronted the possibility of imminent death, but to actually walk into the bedroom and find her lying lifeless on the floor was a fresh shock. I have suffered through many…