The test of true gluttony is occurring at the beach in front of my home: a hot dog eating contest. Shoveling down tubesteaks for sport seems a crass American display of overconsumption, branding the….

For years now a debate has raged within the U.S. government concernin the use of military drones: unmanned, remote-controlled aerial vehicles with long-range missile capabilities. Opposing arguments..

The concept of home is a complicated one. Unlike the word “house,” which connotes a structure, “home” carries with it a great deal of emotional baggage, both light and heavy. The lig….

Perhaps you’ve been there, too. Fly out the night before, or bite the bullet and take the 5 a.m.? For a recent trip, this girl bit. As I brewed my coffee at 3 a.m., the […]

Some men perceive that the world is running out of chocolate and travel to remote places to engender more cultivation. Some men have found that singing is the surest way to their woman’s heart…..

Fifty cents. It may seem a pittance in an age when the news is filled with stories of AIG and Madoff and taxpayer-supported bank bailouts, all involving figures in the billions. It may seem insignif….

When we’re all dead and buried, what do we leave behind? Whether in the name of science that seeks an academic understanding or the gloating public that wants to rake through the garbage of peo…

This one goes out to all the college seniors out there. Congratulations–you made it! May senior year be all you ever dreamed of: it is truly a blessed, magical time. Leaping out of bed at […]

The party was a solid hit even before we pulled up the corpse. It was the summer between my junior and senior year, and my best friend Ali and I had holed up in an […]

Making sound economic decisions is en vogue. The food and travel glossies are full of frugality. Of travel tips that steer you toward Bogota instead of the Bahamas. Of kitchen confidentials that re….

This spring, when you might be feeling a little insecure about your credit-card balance, your job, your company, your municipal government, your state, your country, and the entire global financial sy…

Mostly, it’s true: this IS an amazing city full of amazing people. It’s a city with an infectoiusly positive energy. As we head into Spring, though, I’m thinking about something s….

At last: glorious Spring Break is upon us, with blue open skies, warm days and breezy nights, and the first miniskirts of the season coming into bloom. And look at me, shackled to a barbecue […]

In your town, in your office, in your rehab center, in your apartment building: there’s always one girl who exerts a gravitational attraction on the mortals around her. Our heads swivel invo….

That’s right: my website will be 5 years old this year! No, no presents…your continued support, plus what your sister did to me last night (LOL), is all the thanks I need. It’s been a….

It was a typical road trip romance. We met over big-gulp tequila shots at a house party; later we were making out in a graveyard (don’t ask), then came back and kicked over a bookcase […]