Visiting Milan

I am currently in Switzerland for the fourth time since last September. But I have yet to leave Confoederatio Helvetica, the Latin name for what is now the state of Switzerland, during any of my trips here. That changed this past weekend when I traveled to Milan, Italy. Although I had visited Italy more than [...]

Music’s Medium Through the Years

I look back at my relatively short life and am amazed at the changes in how I listen to music. I don’t go back to the days of vinyl records or 8-tracks, but I do clearly remember the days of cassette tapes. I remember having several briefcase-like containers that I could insert my tapes in. [...]

O-bon Odori

Ten years ago this week I was in the neighborhoods of Osaka doing the O-bon odori, the dance performed at the annual Japanese festival of the dead. All across Japan, from the end of July to early August, neighbors and families gather to dance the night away and welcome the souls of their ancestors back [...]

Three Decades

This is it. Three decades of life are behind me and I have entered number four. I am now 30 years old and there is no turning back. My life so far has been good and I know there are many good days ahead of me. But youth, I feel, has passed me by. I [...]

A Tribute to Michael Jackson

There was a heated discussion today at lunch regarding Michael Jackson. The question on the table was whether you grew up listening to Michael. Almost everyone in the room was around my age, and so, naturally, in my mind, they all should have grown up listening to Michael (and they all did except for one [...]

It’s Automatic

The other night I heard a song that took me back ten years. The song is “Automatic” by Utada Hikaru and it is legendary in Japan. You see, ten years ago, in 1999, I was living in Sakai, Japan, near Osaka. We had just exited a long, cold winter and spring had finally come. The [...]

Guernsey For The Week

No one would ever guess where in the world I have spent this past week – the Island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands, between France and the United Kingdom. In fact, when I arrived to check in at JFK International Airport, I had to explain that I needed a flight through Gatwick and not [...]

An Ode to ER

The NBC drama ER is ending this week. It will be missed. While many people stopped worrying what shows were aired on what network at what time, I have yet to join the TiVo/DVR time-shifting crowd and don’t have much time to catch missed episodes on Hulu. For me, Thursday at 10:00 pm, if I [...]

President Obama

I am again moved at how one man can unite so many people across this diverse country and across the globe. The scenes from Washington the past few days have been incredible and the celebrations have been historic. Today from coast-to-coast, in living rooms, conference rooms and cafeterias, citizens of this great country gathered together [...]

Highlights of a Year in Review

2008 was a good year for me. I helped my daughter learn and grow and learned that there is one more girl on the way next year. I made several close friends, took all the necessary steps to purchase our first house, read 34 books on various topics (although the total is ten short from [...]

Election Night Thoughts

Some say I will always remember where I was when I found out that Barack Obama was elected President of the United States. Hopefully I always will, for yesterday could mark a turning point in the world. I was quite moved with the events of last night, not just because the Senator I voted for [...]

My Vote in 2008

I clearly remember November 1, 2004, the eve of the 2004 Presidential Election. I was in law school and had a class that went until about 7:30 in the evening. I remember walking with a guy from that class to the subway near the Brooklyn Bridge while discussing the presidential election the following morning. The [...]

Summer Olympics Stories

Twenty years ago the Olympic Summer Games were held in Seoul. I was in fourth grade at the time, but I remember watching Greg Louganis hit his head on the diving board during one of the diving events. When my dad came home from work, I remember telling him all about it. It’s odd that [...]

European Travels

Five years ago this month I was traveling through Western Europe with a good friend of mine. Fresh out of college and in love, I was full of optimism and eager to do something memorable before starting law school that coming fall. This being 2003, the U.S. was not the most popular country at the [...]

Cuernavaca Summer

Six years ago today I was in Cuernavaca, Mexico wondering what I was doing there. I arranged to stay with a host family while I was there and spent six weeks in Spanish classes and activities before returning to Hawaii for my last year of college. At the time, I was hoping to improve my [...]

Increasingly Dangerous

Correct me if I’m wrong, as I don’t have the statistics in front of me, but it seems as if natural disasters are on the rise in the past many years. Hundreds of thousands of people have died by natural disasters alone in the past decade (if not more). I have been fortunate thus far [...]

Energy – The Defining Issue of Our Time

Recently I have become extremely interested in the oil/gas and energy industry. I see it as one of the defining issues of the twenty-first century. From my perspective, the energy issue of today can be stated as follows: Will sovereign governments and corporations continue to find and exploit enough fossil fuels to provide affordable energy [...]

Manhattan Unleashed

Manhattan’s greatest achievement may also be its greatest downfall. Bordered by two rivers (the East River is actually an estuary or tidal straight, but whatever) and set back in a protected harbor, the island’s geographic location helped it become one the world’s foremost centers of business, finance, art, design, publishing and almost everything else. In [...]

A Shift Eastward

I read this morning that the New York metropolitan area, according to 2007 statistics, contains approximately 19 million people. This is far short of the 35.7 million people Tokyo now is estimated to encompass, but is significant nonetheless because it represents a growing population in the New York area. Yet, numbers can be deceiving. Sure, [...]

Everyday Thoughts

It may sound odd, but I write in my journal everyday. In fact, I have kept two separate journals since roughly the spring of 1995. Over the years it has became a strong habit that I am wary of breaking. Each day, prior to going to bed, I sit down for a few minutes and [...]

One Shining Moment

March Madness is upon us again. I believe that this is the best tournament in all of sports. Your guess as to who will win the championship in a few weeks is as good as mine. And that’s why it’s so great. My first memories of watching this tournament go back to sixth grade and [...]

Internet Phenomena

There are times I feel that if I have been exposed to something, most people have seen or heard of it as well, especially those people around my same age. As it turns out, most people I seem to talk don’t know what I am talking about. Internet phenomena, for example, come to mind as [...]

Ticker-Tape Madness

February 5, 2008. What a day. In almost half of the country, today is Super Tuesday, the closest thing we have to a national election without the Electoral College interfering. In New Orleans, today is the peak of Mardi Gras. And here in New York, it’s the Giants Super Bowl Ticker-Tape Parade. This is my [...]

Observations From The Sideline

I have watched with interest, if not almost fascination, the presidential race on both the Republican and Democratic side in the last month. From the debates to the primaries to the overwhelming media coverage online, I have followed the candidates, their comments and the ups and downs on the road to Super Tuesday next week. [...]

From W to the K

Since moving to New York I had always wondered why all of the radio and television stations out east began with the letter “W” whereas all of the radio and television stations out west began with the letter “K”. I thought it could be tradition or perhaps there was a technical reason, such as radio [...]