The Weekly Meat

I've always been a good speller. I took third place in the fifth grade spelling bee, and my abilities, in part, have not only translated into a career in editing, but recently, have served me in good stead at home as well...

I graduated college in 1990 with a degree in studio art and not the faintest clue how to put it to use. So after skipping town, I decided to backpack through Europe, largely solo, for a month and a half...

I'll let those who get paid more than me concoct utter horse-hockey about the global gravitas of the new Pepsi logo. I know what I know, and it's quite simple, really. Pepsi = Obama + The Partridge Family:

In my teens and twenties, I managed to put in a lot of time on the open roads between jobs...

Back in elementary school, my friends and I all thought it tremendous fun to pick the winter sidewalks clear of ice for about a half a block, leaving the rest icy so we could dig out our old-school fixed-gear bikes and strap on our hockey helmets, then ride full bore down the clean sidewalks...

Anything can happen at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday of May, so anyone who tells you they know what will happen this Saturday is off their nut...

Looking over the Facebook a while back, I checked out the page for my high school class, where there was a discussion titled: "Famous Alumni?"The pickings were somewhat slim — this one's an orchestra conductor, that one's been on a reality TV show...

The hockey playoffs are upon us...

I'll leave it to the scholars and shrinks to tell me why, but I love junk. Always have, probably always will. I like worn in — and worn out — things. In college, I shopped at thrift stores so often that many of my friends still call me Sal...

My children are still toddlers, yet already they have no trouble letting me know the small but myriad ways in which I constantly fail them as a parent.They ignore their toys that invariably trip me up in the kitchen, but gleefully point out to me the day-old food scraps on the living room floor,...

There's a lot of list-making happening over on the Facebook these days, some of which has carried over to the blogosphere — occasionally, to good effect. Along those lines, and in any case, the following are ten foods that changed my life — in order.1...

"I first met you at Modell's sister's high school graduation party. 1955. 'Ain't That a Shame' was playing as I walked in the door."   —Shrevie (from the movie Diner)Crazy what certain sense memories bring back...

As a kid, I was a bit of a collector. I bought Topps baseball, football, and hockey cards in wax-packs with stale sticks of gum because I loved the sports, and because that's what kids collected in the '70s...

Epigram: Gwendolyn Brooks's great poem "The Pool Players"With the Oscars fast approaching, this seems the right time for another hero appreciation post. The Academy is sure to genuflect at the altar of Paul Newman this Sunday; nothing wrong with that. He deserved it more than most...

I pride myself on bringing the weekly meat like Sam the butcher, but lately, work is kicking my ass like I'm Chuck Wepner (at least I've got my health...), and I need a flier this week...