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City planners are very good at installing serious monuments. Go to any European capital, for example, and you will undoubtedly encounter a sober equestrian statue dedicated to some valiant general seated triumphantly upon his noble steed. Somber statues and sculptures abound in cities big and small, sending the message that serious, important people lived here, […]

There is an art to hanging out. I’m not saying I’m an expert, but I certainly know my way around an outdoor café on a lazy summer day, a steaming cup of strong coffee in one hand, a long, juicy novel in the other. In a world where everyone is rushing around, stressed, multi-tasking, trying […]

For time immemorial, kids have asked the question, “Why?” Most of the time, it’s about rules and limitations. “Why—do I have to eat these peas? Why—do I have to go to bed now? Why—can’t I throw mud at my sister?” The rest of the time, the why question seems to be about how things work, […]

As mentioned in my last post, I was definitely a TV kid. Especially on Saturday mornings, between cartoons there was this one commercial that got stuck in my mind from repeated viewing: “In the valley of the giant, ho, ho, ho…” If you’re “of a certain age,” you’ll recognize this as the jingle of the […]

Wow Place #182: Paley Center for Media, New York City If you’re a certain age and grew up in the States, you probably (like me) watched a lot of television as a kid. While young people these days have a lot more ways to distract themselves, ie. video games, social media, YouTube and Tiktok, for […]

Arthur C. Clark once wrote, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” This is pretty true, I think. If say, William Shakespeare, was transported in a time machine to the present day, what would he think of smart phones and TVs and elevators and, heck, electric toothbrushes? He’d no doubt think a magician was […]

I won’t lie that I was a bit nervous before going to Rio. My friends who’d been there had warned me, “Don’t carry anything of value on your person. You WILL be robbed.” How’s that for a warm welcome to a country! On my first day of sightseeing, I heeded their advice and emptied my […]

As my winter New Zealand vacation looms nearer, the thought occurs to me that maybe I should pay all my bills early so I don’t get dinged with late fees. Particularly when it comes to my biggest bill, my estimated quarterly taxes, a part of me is thinking, “Why not just pay them now so […]

For the most part, I try to write posts about places that still exist, locations you can actually visit. But occasionally, like today, I feel compelled to write about a Wow place that has, shall we say, bitten the dust. Call this, then, a “memorial” post for the Las Vegas Star Trek Experience. For a […]

Obviously, “skirt chasing” is not cool, but what about “kimono chasing”? I’m embarrassed to admit that this is exactly what I find myself doing when we arrive at Tenryuji. For some reason never fully explained to me, this stunning temple in Kyoto’s Arashiyama district is a supremely popular place for dressing up in traditional garb […]