If you don’t have HBO, find a friend who does and offer to bring the popcorn.
DIY Has Its Limits
There are very few restroom attendants left, as it turns out, even in Manhattan. Bad news for folks who find it exhausting to grab their own paper towels.
Selling Cities: Roanoke and Virginia Beach
Imagine that! A region that doesn’t need a branding expert to tell them what they are. The Blue Ridge is mountains, the way Virginia Beach is shorelines.
No Second Chances In The Military
The fact that Carter owned his words, apologized for them and didn’t lawyer up is proof that he was a damned good sailor and a honorable man.
Conference Rooms Kill Creativity
Scientists that have studied the air quality of air-tight conference rooms, with new carpets, leeching chemicals and ergonomic chairs doing the same and found that higher brain functions begin to fail as the air quality drops.
We Fought A War So We Wouldn’t Have To Care About The Royal Baby
DNA is not destiny. Or it shouldn’t be.
Professional Gambler Deconstructs “Jeopardy!”
By Final Jeopardy Holzhauer’s usually so far ahead that his opponents are dialing for an Uber.
Rosemary's Ruse
If Wilson really wants that Beach seat, she should resign her post and let the voters decide the future of both slots.
There Really Is Something In The Water
Pharrell Williams may live in California. But his roots and a big part of his heart clearly reside in Virginia Beach.
Stash Your Phone. Save Your Heart.
Like other digital mouth-breathers, I instinctively pull out my phone if I’m in line at the supermarket or in a doctor’s waiting room. I even grab my phone and start scrolling when I’m stopped at a red light.
John Uhrin. Gone For Good.
The political machine is not going to give up this seat without a fight.
UVA Basketball Champs Snub The President
Spare me any lectures about the vulgarities of the current president. I’m old enough to remember when President Clinton was getting blow jobs from an intern in the Oval Office. Yet people still lined up to be photographed with him and to sleep in the Lincoln bedroom.
The Hard Parts of Hanoi
There were two places I wasn’t sure I wanted to visit while in Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum and Hỏa Lò Prison - the Hanoi Hilton. In the end I went to both.
Verdant. Vibrant. Vietnam.
I know the International Dateline exists to avoid confusion, but flying back in time has muddled my jet-lagged brain.
Hitting The Hanoi Street-Food Stalls
Vietnam is famous for its sidewalk cuisine, thanks in part to the late Anthony Bourdain who pronounced it some of his favorite food in the world and did an episode of “Parts Unknown” from Hanoi.
Heat, Humidity And Hard Work
As we pedaled toward the boat launch after five hours on bikes, I remarked to one of our guides that the Vietnamese people seem very industrious.
“Yes,” he agreed, “They work very hard.”
Stop Selling Easter
Hold the Easter cards and presents. A flock of Peeps and a solid chocolate bunny are all anyone needs this weekend.
There are roughly 7.8 million people living in Vietnam’s capital and it seems every single one of them is roaring around town on a motor scooter. (Actually, the best estimate is that there are 4 million scooters in the city. That seems low to me.)
Halfway Around The World
We all complain about the state of commercial air travel. But it beats a slow boat to China. Or Vietnam.