Long Trail

September 5, 2012
The Long Trail was the first long-distance hiking trail in the US, running 280 miles through Vermont along the spine of the Green Mountains from Massachusetts to Canada. I have spent time on the trail before doing day hikes, but have always wanted to make an extended adventure of it. So last Thursday, Alaina and I packed our bags and drove up to our established start point near Killington and set out on a five day journey. We have done lots of camping in our day, but most of it has been out of a car without the need to…

Mars!

August 16, 2012
Humans built a machine and sent it to Mars. I am impressed by relatively simple technologies like cars, phones, cameras and computers, all of which have embedded themselves in our lives over the past century. The "Curiosity" rover takes all of these amazing inventions from our planet and brings them to another. The effort and cost is astronomical, but exploring our universe is priceless. We may not discover life on Mars, but we have reached beyond our own mortal, earth-bound lives to expand our celestial consciousness and seek understanding of our greater place in the eternal mystery of our existence.…

Good Times

July 31, 2012
I love leisure! I think that I am pretty good at enjoying myself but this past month has tested me and pushed my fun limits. We spent some time with Taylor family on the beach and golf course in Cape Cod, spent a weekend in New Hope, Pennsylvania for a tubing adventure, hosted one of the smoothest Land Parties ever, enjoyed Coney Island for a ballgame and rollercoasters, spent a week with 10 friends at a villa in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico and attended a beautiful wedding in West Glacier, Montana! I feel incredibly fortunate to maintain a lifestyle conducive…

Summmmmer

June 27, 2012
Summer always arrives hot and heavy. My work schedule declines (to 3 1/2 days a week) but my social schedule explodes to the point where I have even less free time! This summer's weekends are booked solid with great adventures and the next two months are bursting with potential goodness... June 11 brought a great start to Summer '12 with the arrival of my nephew, Lincoln Eustace Taylor! Andrew and Rachel instantly became amazing parents dedicated to offering their child the best life he could dream of... Lincoln was born into battle; within 24 hours was having an MRI and…

World Music NYC

June 6, 2012
I love to travel around the world, but sometimes I don't even need to leave New York City to get my fill of exotic culture. In the past two days, I have seen three amazing bands hailing from three distinctly different pockets of our planet. Dengue Fever is based in L.A. but features a Cambodian singer and rocks a sonic tribute to the Cambodian pop sound of the 1960's. It is deliciously funky and her voice is transcendent; the Cambodian lyrics are indecipherable but her ethereal voice adds a perfect alien element to the grooves. Sharing the same bill at…

The Great Googa Mooga

May 22, 2012
The Nethermead in Prospect Park is one of the most beautiful and amazing areas of this city and a perfect spot for a music festival. The 9th St. Bandshell is a wonderful music venue, of course, but The Nethermead is completely natural and out of sight to cars or buildings.  I had seen a Carribean festival there about 10 years ago, but nothing since, so when The Great Googa Mooga, a craft food, beer and wine music festival, was announced there, I was amped! I dutifully claimed my free tickets the moment they went on sale (80,000 sold out in…

THANK YOU!

May 10, 2012
It's hard to applaud anyone for saying something so obviously right but some people's voices just matter more, so when I read that Barack Obama came out supporting gay marriage, I smiled and felt a certain peace knowing that what I have always known was now confirmed by the most powerful human in the universe. This is a victory for Love, Freedom, and Justice. That is Truth, and progressively, Hate, Bigotry and Intolerance fade as people realize that Beauty, Fulfillment and Joy are infinitely better choices. Long Live Love!

Beantown Sports

April 28, 2012
The Bruins lost on a game 7 overtime winner from The Capitals' Joel Ward; a sudden, soul-sucking death that denied their Cup defense. The Celtics start the playoffs tomorrow as resurgent favorites to make a run at another Championship. The Red Sox started as abysmally as last year, Bobby V got booed, and since then they've won five straight and averaged 10 runs a game. The Patriots shocked everyone at the draft by trading up twice in the first round then selecting virtually unknown Tavon Wilson in the second round. It doesn't always involve victory, but as entertainment it is…

Kraftwerk

April 17, 2012
I'm pretty sure I laughed when I first heard "The Robots" for the first time in 9th grade. It was... ridiculous. I had never heard anything like it before and it truly seemed like a parody, yet there was something ingenious about it that I couldn't quite comprehend. When I finally came around and really started listening to electronic music ten years later, it dawned on me that Kraftwerk were true pioneers and far ahead of their time. I saw them perform seven years ago and they absolutely blew my mind with a triptych of video projections at Hammerstein Ballroom,…

Farewell Winter

March 30, 2012
I welcome the end of Winter because Summer is sweet, but I always feel a tinge of remorse to see the snow melt away and know that I won't be back on skis for another eight months. The season typically ends with some Spring slush runs and over the last 10 days I have experienced this transition at Stowe, where we were skiing over huge dirt patches in 70 degree sunshine in the brightest ski attire we could find, and in Whitefish, Montana, where I went to visit my college roommate, Marty and his family. The first day actually had…