I know you’re out there, Willard, I can hear you blowing out candles. Willard Scott is the guy on The Today Show who’s become a minor celebrity by showcasing people who are celebrating their 100-year birthdays. And believe it or not, there are 100,000 folks in the US alone who have reached that ripe old age. But personally, I don’t think that this...

It’s December 7 as I post this, but I can safely say that whenever you read it, I’m still not ready. Wasn’t it just summer when I was worrying about buying a bathing suit? Wasn’t it just Halloween and I was passing out packets of hyperactivity-producing goodies to cute little gremlins who seemed shocked when asked whether they wanted a trick...

Let’s talk turkey. It’s the Monday after Thanksgiving, and we have survived. We do feel fat, let down, and guilty that we ate so much and have done so little to get ready for  Christmas, which is Coming Soon to a life near ours.  So what should we do to cheer ourselves up? Maybe a fun Broadway play? H’mm, there’s Finian’s...

No, not a gun. A suitcase. It’s a big suitcase, but there’s a bigger pile of things. How can I know what to bring? How can I make all the right decisions? I can’t, and I wont.   Instead, I will experience the The Eleven Stages of Packing. Yes, I know, grieving has only seven stages, but this is more complicated. Stage 1: Regret: Why Am I...

Why do these tiny Turkish bowls remind me of the Italian superstar Sophia Loren?   It’s this: I love these bowls, even though I really and truly believe the great Sophia’s wise words, “Never love anything that can’t love you back.” She gave this advice when interviewed about a high-class heist that relieved her of many valuable...

Not for nothing, but I really enjoyed God of Carnage even though I had to pay full price and ended up sitting in the back of the mezzanine. Hey, a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. And these tickets are hot! As you probably know, one of the characters is played by Tony Soprano. I mean, James Gandolfini. Oh, get real. It is impossible to look at...

I hate to tell you this, but Fall sucks. Yeah, yeah, the leaves are pretty. That’s because they’re dead. You want foliage, you like the falling leaves of red and orange? Fine. Makes a nice song. But dead leaves are not a good sign. Trust me. And yes, the days are not as hot as the stifling days of summer. That’s because winter is coming, when days...

The Sopranos set off a war among the Fortunato Family, as I suspect it did with Italian-Americans across the nation. On the one side were those who saw it as a good show, well written, well acted, well photographed (we’ll get to that later). They watched it every week. You got a problem with that? Well, yes, yes, I do. And so did my father, and so did one of...