This is the suit of protection. Coupled with dishwashing gloves and heavy work boots I stood protected against the dirt and disease and un...

So my wife, the luminous Hallie V., and I went to the Bronx Zoo this past week. The day was beautiful with gentle breezes and a bright az...

UPDATE: Since posting this some long time ago, I've created a separate blog dedicated to the genre: Swords & Sorcery .  Check it o...

The holy grail of gizmos in my book - the comfortable and easy to use e-text reader. They make it look so alluring - flexible, easy on the...

As a new homeowner and the man of the house it is my duty to fight the bug invasions. There have been occasional spiders and lately the ti...

More than the large book collection of my dad and his encouragement, it was Norma Herz, children's librarian of the NYPL Stapleton Branc...

I've added some captions that aren't that funny and don't provide any new insight into their composition.

I stand by the hardy defense I've made for genre fiction in the past but even I've got to admit that the close up of the books in th...

Chabon, Michael Maps and Legends - Fun essays on literature, comics and writing. It has the best book cover I've ever seen. Williams, T...

When I was in the fourth grade at Trinity Lutheran School back in 1975 I wrote a series of Halloween themed poems. With my mother's pro...

So I didn't get the slightest chance to work on my vaunted church project. Between moving into the new homestead, unpacking, and deali...

So I have finished exiting my apartment of the past six years, thrown away dozens of bags of junk, given away several large pieces of distin...

For as long as I can remember (and some days that further back than others), I can recall seeing numerous rusting boats and small ships i...

So I don't know exactly why this massive retaining wall was so named but I'll guess it's the obvious one - it cost a million dol...

Lehane, Denis Gone Baby Gone - solid crime writing Pelecanos, George Shame the Devil - overdone crime writing Smith, Scott ...

This lovely tie was bought for me by my Aunt K. She was quite aware of my infatuation with all things New York City and I had recently becom...

I won't talk about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan because my own feelings are long, complicated and too depressing to wade through rig...

So I've been distracted from posting my bits 'o' nostalgia because I got married. I haven't forgotten my loyal readers (bo...

I don't know how that book made it there. I lived in that cold, dank town for three years. I can't tell you enough how cold and ...

Here's a picture of my slowly growing library of New York and Staten Island books. It's a collection of big easily obtained things...