It’s been a month since our trip to Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, a trip that still has me exuding enthusiasm for that region of the country. Our second week was especially unique, as we spent it in Mangue Seco, a tiny remote peninsula a two hours’ drive and a boat ride away from Salvador. Because [...]

You’ve got to love New York.  It’s easy to see why Manhattan residents are so smug.  The city is a permanent fixture in our popular culture, whether you love it or not.  TV shows from I Love Lucy to Seinfeld to Sex in the City are pretty spot on when showcasing the town’s marvels and [...]

8/21/09:  My better half comes home, with two huge black bags.  Body bags?  No, dry cleaning bags.  Oh right.  We saw canvas bags at some street festival earlier this year.  Great idea, would it work?  Some entrepreneur at morning meeting was giving these out—by the way, the fellow couldn’t answer what these bags were made [...]

Mayors around the world, including San Francisco’s Gavin Newsom, have traveled to a certain city to learn about sustainable development and urban planning.  This city has rooftop gardens, is creating more greenbelts and bike paths, and has a “today don’t drive plan” in an effort to reduce traffic and air pollution.  I can understand if [...]

Here’s another one of my favorite quips from the British sitcom Absolutely Fabulous:

Saffron:  “Mum, it’s the thought that counts.”

Edina Monsoon:  “It’s just the thought I’m worried about, darling.”

Edina’s character was afraid of getting some Yardley of London toiletries.  I’m scared of a gift we recently received:  a $3 garment bag. (more…)

Let’s face it:  95% of us have at least one pair of Crocs or at one point we were dying to have a pair.  The other 5% of us are liars.

Crocs were all the rage just a few years ago.  Once relegated to boaters, professionals like nurses who were on their feet all day, and [...]

I’m not sure what the official flower of Los Angeles is.  But sometimes, when driving down Alvarado or Beverly, I’m convinced that the plastic bag is LA’s official symbol.  You see them floating everywhere, fluttering across the street, hanging in trees, flying under cars.  And a recent incident my better half experienced underscored how pernicious these little [...]

So yesterday we went to LA Pride in West Hollywood . . . walked around, and naturally my eyes gravitated to a bunch of tents that were pitching “green products.”

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