The Long Road Out

You could probably pick any year and see a pattern in the new music that appeared...but against the backdrop of eternal significance, I'd still recommend the year I graduated from high school--1973--as the most meaningful. Feel free to disagree but here are the songs you're up against that released during the later part of my senior year in high school, up there in the innocence of upstate New York: Freebird  Lynard Sknyrd Money  Pink Floyd Angie   Rolling Stones Desperado  Eagles and Glen Fry RIP Piano Man   Billy Joel Kodachrome   Paul Simon Goodbye Yellow Brick Road --Elton John Knocking on Heaven's Door  Bob Dylan And wait...the new world beginning... Rosalita   Bruce Springsteen Rambling Man   Allman Brothers Killing Me Softly   Roberta Flack Smoke on the Water (late '72)  Deep Purple Walk on the Wild Side (late 72)   Lou Reed This was also the year that hosted Roe v Wade , the first fuel crisis...

For most of us, every time we're reminded of AT&T, thoughts of failure, inadequacy and even suicide ensue.   ATT is a company designed to destroy you psychologically and physically. Here's one way to reduce the degree to which having an ATT wifi account makes you feel inconsequential and depersonalized--eliminate the reminder of this lousy enterprise by getting its name out of your wifi network. How to change your ATT network name to something human Open your web browser--supposedly this works with all the major ones Enter  http://192.168.1.254  in the address bar. Select  Wireless ( l ike most ATT software, this didn't work for me the first time--there WAS no Wireless tab.   But just before I started to sob uncontrollably in those body-jerking screams I usually get when dealing with ATT, the tab appeared on the second refresh! ) . Find the  Device Access Code  located on the side of your gateway. In  Password , enter the  Devi...

United Airlines.   ATT.  Citi.  These companies all spend 9% of their annual budgets on advertising to convince us that they offer customer service (Friendly?  No wonder you need to do ads, United--could there be a more hostile customer experience?). Why?   Because they're mean, selfish, miserable brands. If you hesitate to agree, you obviously haven't ordered anything from Zappos.   I'm not saying they're perfect.   I'm just saying I've never ended up in tears from a shoe order. So here are some standards.   If your company doesn't pass all of these, you're not offering customer service.   Stop lying! No automated voice systems (note:  this means none.   No option 7.   Nada.   Humans only.) Refunds and corrections are posted as quickly as sales are (note:  we all monitor the fact that new sales hit the credit card account in less than a second.   That's your standard for refunds.) Phone and email are n...

We're currently being fed a propaganda campaign at the most preposterous level as a smokescreen for the fact that the cold warriors in power in DC can't figure out what to do with an out-of-control Saudi Arabia other than bulk up the military power of Iran.  So....who cares if Iran joins us in having nuclear weapons.   We now need them to have more! I'm scared.  It's hard not to compare this period to the anxious days around the Cuban missile crisis in 1962.   Yes, because North Korea is up to something.   But primarily, after the chest-thumping between Iran and Saudi Arabia that started a month ago, because the U.S. has decided that Iran is really cute. Do not believe for a moment the US announcements that Iran is (surprisingly) compliant or complacent--both claims we made when we ended the trade restrictions this week.   Nor should you believe how good the food was for the 10 sailors who apologized for stumbling into Iranian waters so they could be fe...

I've lived in NYC since 1982 and I eat out a minimum of three nights a week.   Cost is not a factor, but finding places where I feel comfortable, healthy, and joyful about taste is. My "top New York City restaurant" leanings are toward organic, local, and the presence of strong vegetarian options.  And I don't follow "what's hot this week" listings.   If I hear about a new place, I'll make a reservation six months or more in the future, rather than trying to deal with hip crowds who often don't seem to notice the food. So, here's my current go-to list of the best restaurants in New York City, updated to be current for today. County--E 20th Il Buco--47 Bond St (Stay with the original. I don't like the Alimentari as much) Eos--39th and 9th (that's not a mistake) Avant Garden--E 7th St Cook Shop--20th and 10th Sfoglia--92nd and Lex Taboon--52nd and 10th Del Posto (vegan or veggie tasting menu is unparalleled) Dirt Candy V...

Here's our list of restaurants we loved during our three months here, living near Les Halles on Rue Montorgueil.  Our tastes run to local/seasonal/creative/neighborhood—and as you can see, not necessarily French—so most of these options also show up well on places like LeFooding and even Yelp.  You can only consume so many salad nicoises a month before your palate starts searching for a new experience.   Each restaurant has strong veggie options Frenchies Vin et Bar …Rue du Nil, 2eme.   We like the wine bar over the full restaurant across the street, but ate at both places and would go back in a minute.  We didn't go here at first because the name seemed silly--which was a mistake because it's fantastic. La Terrasse …Hotel Terrasse, 18eme Montmartre.  Best view of the City I know of and fantastic food 36 Corneil …36, Rue de Rochechouart, 9eme—hopping bar with great tapas (the cheese plate is enough for four) and often dancing later at night. ...