In an exchange from a 1990s TV series, “Mad About You” a wife portrayed by Helen Hunt says “My mother sure knows how to push my guilt button,” to which her husband, played by Paul Reiser, replies, “She should – she installed it.” Guilt is something that mothers – Italian and Jewish mothers in particular,

On the front page of this past Sunday’s edition of the Los Angeles Times was a story about the end of the gaucho in Argentina, which noted that on the Pampas, growing soybeans has become much more profitable than raising cattle. Reading the article, I was reminded that the term “commercially sustainable” describes an enterprise

Could the obesity epidemic — and a general weight gain in the U.S. population — be adding substantially to our energy-use requirements and thus to our “carbon footprint” and stress on the planet? Think about glass versus plastic containers for any type of product, such as peanut butter, brewed tea or mayonnaise. Glass on average

What a week! U.S. credit downgraded from AAA to AA+, followed by a precipitous (if temporary) drop in the stock market. Thirty-five Americans killed in a seemingly endless—and some would say pointless — conflict in Afghanistan. Riots out of control in, of all places, London. But what all this bad news signals to me is

Recently while staying in NewYork City, I found myself on the 31st floor of a building off Fifth Avenue. Peering out of a small window down at rooftops and decks of the few buildings that were not as tall, I was struck by something that really stood out: fans. I’m not talking about ordinary fans,

Recently, while I was staying at the Four Seasons Hotel in Houston, an elevator got stuck with a bellman trapped inside, and the fire department had to be called in to free him using equipment like I have never seen before. In fact, I had never observed anything quite like this before in a modern

What a glorious day in L.A.! We — or at least I – tend to forget what a wonderful place this is in summertime. I know I have written some Pollyannaish-sounding blogs lately, but for some reason, I find myself appreciating the planet, the place I’m in and the summer like never before. Concerts in

Last Sunday, while soaking in the wonderfully therapeutic salt water off Seal Beach, California, catching the frothy breaking waves and riding them in without a board, I got to wondering what such an exhilarating experience would actually be worth if it had been designed by some commercial enterprise. What would I be willing to pay

This past Friday, I had the luxury of watching the news –or make that the pain of watching the news — and then finding a safe haven from all the negative events in the world at, of all places, the Food Network, which I appreciated even more than usual. (And yes, I know this may