This hot, hot summer, being back in New Jersey, the soil of my birth and early breeding, evokes memories of how I loved to read in this season, away from the pressures of other school subjects. I wish I could peel off a long list of books, like in the old days. But I’m only […]
My Cousin Alé Coniglio
July 24, 2011 by
My young cousin Alé Coniglio wrote this as a report for her English professor in San Giovanni, Sicily. I’m so honored: My special American cousin 1. Camille’s first visit to Sicily. 2. Camille’s novels. 3. Camille’s passion. 4. A very big meeting. 1.Camille is my special American cousin. She lives in San Francisco with her […]
Yoga for Tangovers
July 22, 2011 by
Yoga can be done anywhere, even at the Jersey Shore. The sand there is the perfect graininess for throbbing, over-danced feet. In this short video, you will recognize three basic yoga poses. The first pose is ado mukha svasana or downward facing dog. The second one is utkatasana or awkward chair pose. The third is a full lotus or padmasana. You can and should modify each of these three poses to your own level and ability. The point is to focus yoga’s nourishing and revitalizing energy on your poor tired feet. You can see how I do that. Don’t baby your feet, yoga them. I do these same poses on a mat at home, too, ah, but the sand is added inducement. A few notes for each pose:
Patty Hennessy, Green Goddess
July 17, 2011 by
I’ll call the Green Goddess. Could you believe that a cocktail of fresh kale, celery, carrot, green apple, and lemon juice could taste so magnificent? One man said the color was hard for him. I said the color pleased my eye but I was afraid I wouldn’t like it. I recalled my taste of wheat grass with some trepidation. This beverage was like a margarita minus the alcohol . . .
Do you eat with your feet?
July 14, 2011 by
“Do you eat with your feet?” I asked my dance partner, a gentleman with whom I was foxtrotting, some years ago. I was in Las Vegas on assignment for VIA magazine, researching a short piece about the karaoke bars there. This one evening, I had found my way to a beautiful dance floor at one of big old hotels on the Strip that featured a live big band. I calculated my partner to be about 90 because he had just pulled out a card that identified him as an Arthur Murray instructor in 1954. Still, he had an admirable frame and was pretty decent and steady. But as we danced to some great Glen Miller number, he barked instructions into my ear. It was annoying, distracting, and unnecessary.
Tango is yoga
July 6, 2011 by
My yoga and meditation practices prepared me in a way that no other disciplines could have for a passion for Argentine tango, which I discovered much later in life under similarly fortuitous circumstances. My well-oiled joints, limber spine, and oft-massaged internal organs were solid physical grounding for a dance that I have come to consider part of my yoga practice. And yoga’s spiritual centering prepared me for tango’s demand for total presence and surrender of ego.
July 1, 2011 by
Protected: Tango Images by Jody Frost
June 29, 2011 by
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
My dinner with Sylvester Stallone
June 29, 2011 by
We had dinner with Sylvester Stallone at Mosca’s Italian joint on the edge of New Orleans. He’s here to shoot Bullet to the Head. More blood and violence. Hollywood moguls surrounded him.
What do two famous authors have in common?
June 26, 2011 by
F. Scott Fitzgerald and Anthony Trollope – prose on women