My wife’s friend, Jen, the new queen of cagey, lives in California, but she sent my wife – with me tagging along – to an address in a northern suburb of Philadelphia to collect her birthday gift. We had no idea what that gift would be. But the address was for the Whole Foods supermarketContinue reading “Lunch at a Historic Tavern and the Best Doughnuts Ever”
Category Archives: History
Memorial Day
I’m of the opinion that President Lincoln’s 1863 remarks at the sight of the Battle of Gettysburg are still highly appropriate as a more general Memorial Day message. Thank you to all of the veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice.
On NATO Expansion and Revised American Strategy for Ukraine War
The two smiling faces in the above photo belong to NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, and Finnish Prime Minister, Sanna Marin, the latter having announced Finland’s intention to join NATO as quickly as possible. Swedish leadership has since made a similar announcement.. Of course, this latest round of NATO expansion and Finland’s – as wellContinue reading “On NATO Expansion and Revised American Strategy for Ukraine War”
Mahler and Bruckner Starter Recordings
Beethoven, Mozart and Bach have had the strongest support for GOAT among composers for a fairly long time – I’m a Beethoven man. But there are others whose music is hugely popular among classical music lovers. Among them, Gustav Mahler and Anton Bruckner have come to hold a special place for legions of fans, especiallyContinue reading “Mahler and Bruckner Starter Recordings”
… Dude, Let’s Go Bowling
I bowled a lot for a few years during my teens. That included a Saturday morning league for a while. In fact, four other guys from my league and I won the Bucks County, PA team championship for our age group in 1980 or ‘81. Bowlers’ burnout cut my competitive bowling days short. Since thenContinue reading “… Dude, Let’s Go Bowling”
Back to My Pizza Roots
When dining out, I try to always have a Plan B ready in case my original plan doesn’t come to fruition. I’ve had more than a few occasions over the years when a restaurant at which I intended to eat was closed for one reason or another. Yesterday was one such occasion. I had intendedContinue reading “Back to My Pizza Roots”
Robert Kaplan Returns to a Familiar Theme
I just came across the latest piece by Robert D. Kaplan and thought it worth sharing. Its central theme is one of those that I focused on in my essay about his work; that being the error that many westerners make in placing too much emphasis on democracy and too little on good governance andContinue reading “Robert Kaplan Returns to a Familiar Theme”
On the Road: The Leftovers
It’s been a while since I’ve posted any trip reports; be they old or new. After going through my online photo archives, I unfortunately determined that I don’t have any other vacations documented well enough to do a comprehensive report. But I do have some odds and ends from various trips and decided to combineContinue reading “On the Road: The Leftovers”
Tchaikovsky Didn’t Invade Ukraine
Whatever one feels were the geopolitical causes of Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine, I’m not going out on a limb when I say that the Russian military’s actions in recent days and weeks have been nothing short of evil. The suffering we’re seeing on TV and online on a daily basis is absolutely heartbreaking.Continue reading “Tchaikovsky Didn’t Invade Ukraine”
Robert Kaplan on the Ukraine Situation
I thought those of you who read my recent post on Robert D. Kaplan might be interested in what he has to say about the current situation. He has a new piece out in which he returns to some of the themes he wrote about in his book, The Revenge of Geography: The Ukrainian Pivot:Continue reading “Robert Kaplan on the Ukraine Situation”
BZ Maestro Eats 