The Girl from Brooklyn Gets Back to Long Island
There are a few times that I’ve had difficulty being a reviewer of a performance, putting aside my fan-gushiness, and this night was one of them. Reviewing Barbra at the new Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Thursday was a dream come true after decades admiring her talent, her honesty in interviews, and her example for […]
An “Irish Modern-Day Mystic” Gives Us Messages from the Angel Realm
Considering her impact on the world, Lorna Byrne is petite and soft spoken. The Irish brogue that has stayed intact despite her trips around the world, is delicate and one strains to capture every word. Sometimes she doesn’t know what English word to use, and often says, “I don’t know what you call it here […]
The Gentler Side of George Washington
Among all the places that George Washington visited, lived in, or slept at, there are two that stand out as historically significant, and for incidents that illustrated the softer side of our founding father. If you haven’t visited either Washington’s Headquarters in Newburgh (Orange County) or Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan, consider doing so as […]
There’s a Safari for Everyone – A Visit to The New York Times Travel Show
Sorry, ISIS, we’re travelling more than ever. At least that was the scene at the recent New York Times Travel Show held at the Jacob Javits Center over the last weekend of January. It was wall to wall people with vendors talking up cruises, volunteer vacations, wellness holidays, family travel, mountain climbing, rafting, and everything […]
Hudson Valley Writer Fest – Day Long Event for Authors
When a door closes, a window opens, is a phrase I live by. So, when the cozy and quaint and welcoming site where I conducted writing workshops was sold, I was a little letdown, but then elated. Here was my opportunity to arrange a larger writing workshop, in a new space, and put into use […]
An Evening with the Great Linda Ronstadt
Considered the “most versatile vocalist of the modern era,” you know that when Linda Ronstadt takes the stage, the crowd will rise, and shake the rafters. That was the case at the Tilles Center, in Brookville, Long Island last Thursday night. She’s not on a concert tour, nor a book tour (her bestselling memoir, Simple […]
Every Day is Halloween at the Tim Burton-Themed Beetlehouse NYC Bar
Even in the bright of day, once you’ve entered the East 6th Street restaurant, you’re in the dark world of Tim Burton. The narrow restaurant – perhaps only subway-size in width and two cars in length — features tables for two on the right and tables for larger groups in the rear. The bar which […]
The Woodstock Film Festival – Celebrating 17 Years in the Hudson Valley
Woodstock, New York is always buzzing, but at this time of year, the buzz is escalated. Sidewalks are filled with film fanatics and film makers for three and half days of movies, movies, movies. And, if the attendees aren’t seeing a film, they are listening to movie makers talk about making movies. This year, the […]