Enshrinement Weekend at the Basketball Hall of Fame begins tomorrow in my city, the birthplace of Basketball.

On my way to work, I saw the massive banners being splayed out across Symphony Hall, and the neon sign outside of the Basketball Hall of Fame was blinking more fervently than usual.  The local paper has a stunning shot of City Hall steps festooned with mums and Spalding basketballs.

What's more, the city is particularly a-buzz because Michael Jordan is an inductee this year. But I had the opportunity to chat with another '09 honoree for an article recently - Vivian Stringer, coach of the Rutgers Women's Basketball Team.

By many, she's best known as the coach who took on Don Imus following his unfortunate on-air remarks about her team in 2007. But after speaking with her, I realized that there are so many more notable things to share about Coach Stringer than that one moment in time. 

For instance, she sued her school system in the 1960s to win a spot on the then-segregated cheerleading team (and won). She brought her first team at Cheyney State to the finals in 1982, but the win was overshadowed by her daughter's sudden illness and subsequent life-long health problems. She led the University of Iowa's women's team to the Final Four in 1992, and shortly after lost her husband to a heart attack - and all of this was before she ever dreamed of signing on to coach at Rutgers, and beginning the most visible period of her career.

In short, to say Coach Stringer has had a life polarized by triumph and tragedy would be an understatement. This could be why her autobiography is called Standing Tall, and why she seems to so easily articulate some of the more complicated emotions we, as humans, face. 

"I believe that the moment when we're standing in the crossfire is when we really see what we can do," she told me during our interview - just one of the many honest, straight-shooting notions she left me with. In fact, she said things like this so effortlessly, I found myself digging deeper, not just for the story, but maybe to glean a little wisdom for my own. 

At the close of the conversation, it was almost as if she knew this. 

"Only pay attention to the dreams in your heart," she said, as we wrapped. "It's what we all seek - to know who we are."

Congratulations, Coach.

Leave Comment

Related Entries:

• These are the Days
• New Orleans, 2008
• I was 12 when these started? D'oh!
• This is the World We Live In
• A journalist and a lot of hot air? Not surprising, but still cool.
• War of the Words
• R.I.P. Robert Jordan (James Oliver Rigney, jr.)
• Press Release of the Week: Harsh Reality
• Expressway to Your Face
• Past Life Experiences

When I walked around the corner into a semi-private seating area and saw a long table with rows of wine glasses and stacks of plates, I thought, aw, yeah. This is gonna be good.

Indeed, one of the highlights of the Glacier Country Press Trip to Montana was the six-course wine and food tasting dinner at the chef's table of the Blue Canyon restaurant. For me, anyway, the consummate food-geek.

Blue Canyon has locations in Montana, Ohio, and Texas, and their menu is crafted by Executive Chef Brandt Evans, who hosted our dinner. Chef Brandt is a pretty cool dude - he travels the world mixing his own table wines for Blue Canyon, is a great speaker, and is currently in the process of auditioning for Top Chef, which of course is my favorite show of all time, and makes the signed menu I received from Chef Brandt all the more squeal-worthy. This, btw, is Chef Brandt and Chef Lawrence Coffner of the Montana Blue Canyon:

Here's the run-down:

Yellow Fin Tuna Crudo with olive, fennel, lemon zest, and EVO; WhiteHaven Sauvignon Blanc, NZ 06

Toasted Coriander Sea Scallops with thai chili sweet soy pickled ginger emulsion; Blue Canyon Reisling, Mosel, GR 07 (this wine was my favorite, and as a Cape Cod girl in Montana, I was amazed by how good these scallops were. They were cooked perfectly, but the sauce was also responsible for a lot.)

Roasted Duck Breast and Smoked Tomato Corn Spoon Bread; La Posta, Malbec, ARG 05 (This was another favorite. The duck was tender and the spoon bread was a new taste for me; I was intrigued after one bite, sold after two, and in love after three. What an adventure - ya, I know. Food geek.)

Bison Strip Loin with Brussels Sprouts leaves, coconut curry, red onion marmalade; CG Di Arie, Zinfandel, CA 07 (The bison was surprisingly tender and the curry was a really cool touch. The wine was a red, and my favorite red of the night. Cool factor - it was developed by winemaker Chaim Gur-Arieh, who also invented Cap'n Crunch, Jello Puddin Pops, and a slew of other products as a food engineer.)

Three Acts of Chocolate: White Chocolate Bavarois, Mik Chocolate Pot de Creme, Dark Chocolate rench Macaroons; Blue Canyon Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa, CA 04 (This was one of the best desserts I've ever had. the bavarois had an orange zest, and the macaroons were just as good as those I had in Lyon, made by Seve.)

In addition to developing some of the wines that were served along with the dishes (which were prepared by the restaurant's lead chef and pastry chef), Chef Brandt also developed a set of spices for rubs, marinades, and dips. We got to walk away with a set each plus recipe cards, very cool:

I'm looking forward to making the neighbors jealous.

Leave Comment

Related Entries:

• The Search for Structure
• A Ski Odyssey
• Writer in the Storm
• Montana: The Land of Many Nicknames
• Ze Story on France? She is Up on ze Internets, oui!
• What, you want new content or something?
• Truck on Down to Truckee
• Retail Therapy Thursday: Don't Forget to Breathe, in and out
• Le Marche
• Biston-clac,biston-clac

The last few days have been big writing days for me, and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight, so it's just as well that it's nasty out because I don't have time for the light of day. I saw the finished product of my latest feature, in The Women's Times and dealing with children's heart health. I also finished up a copywriting gig and submitted my latest piece to The Wedding Sourcebook, and finally wrote my next rough-draft chapter for Writer's Group.

Next projects will be a press release and PR plan for a client and interviews for the next issue of The Women's Times. Serving as a nice transition into these projects was a great chat I had yesterday with Marla Beck (Web site), a life coach for writers and creatives. We talked about process, goals, challenges, and opportunities that freelancers face, and quite a bit about the power of bouncing ideas around in groups of writers and other creative professionals. It was a great conversation, and fun to be on the other side of the interview. Check out Marla's blog and Web site for more info.

Leave Comment

Related Entries:

• The Search for Structure
• Blue Canyon Chefs Present
• Ze Story on France? She is Up on ze Internets, oui!
• Truck on Down to Truckee
• Retail Therapy Thursday: Don't Forget to Breathe, in and out
• Le Marche
• Biston-clac,biston-clac
• Chocolate Sauce and Capitalism all in a day's work
• Snow Day
• Press Release of the Week: Golden Globes Lose Their Luster in 2008

(click on my bro to view the tiniest video ever!) 

shot some photos of creepy staircases:

...and trekked up to Provincetown for a day of sight-seeing, shopping, and noshing. The highlight of the trip was lunch at the Landmark Cafe, where we met the inventor of the Landmark Chicken Sandwich, Dante (who also had his own pens with his name on them. Why don't I think of these things?).

Dante had already won me over before we learned that he had patents pending on a chicken sandwich - when I asked about the restroom, he replied "We don't have one, but I'd be glad to bring you a cup." Everyone loves a wise-ass. 

The sandwich was a grilled chicken breast with roasted red peppers and sauteed onions. I opted for the whole belly clams, but it looked like a well-put-together sandwich from across the table, and the Landmark's cole slaw made with vinaigrette instead of mayo, which accompanies every dish, was really tasty. I failed to ask Dante if he invented the slaw as well; he was in the back somewhere looking for a cup. 

Leave Comment

Related Entries:

• The Art of the October Wedding
• A Year Ago Today
• Holy Clam Roll. There's wifi at the Cape House.
• The Horror! The Sandwiches! The Surf Rock! (Very Late Weekend Update)
• Joe? Joe Who? JoMAMA!
• Scenes from the Box Office Cafe, Chatham, Mass.
• Shop and Zoom at the Cape Cod Factory Outlet Mall
• Retail Therapy Thursday - The t-shirt edition
• A Kayaking Story
• New Travel Column in the Rainbow Times

Russell explains that Lebowski Fest started inauspiciously enough -- he and Scott, both in their early thirties, met through mutual friends about seven years ago and, upon discovering their shared love for The Big Lebowski and other Coen Brothers films, began mulling the idea of hosting a party at a bowling alley with a Lebowski theme.

 “We figured 20 of our closest friends would show up,” said Russell, with a thick Kentucky drawl that he and Kinney also share.
But they underestimated the draw their impromptu homage to the film would have. That first year, hundreds flocked to the party, many dressed as their favorite characters and quoting lines from the film as often as they made drink orders for beers, sarsaparillas, and syrupy White Russians in chintzy plastic cups. The next year, when Shuffitt and Russell decided to give Lebowski Fest another go, people came to Louisville in the thousands.

Now, Shuffitt estimates that visitors from about 35 states travel to the fest, though he said as the event grows it’s getting harder to track who is coming from where. Lebowski followers are increasingly creative with their wardrobe choices, too -- while many still come dressed as Walter, in his trademark field vest, or The Dude, in his bathrobe and sunglasses, or Jeffrey Lebowski, in his three-piece suit and wheelchair.

But some, Russell said, spend months crafting their original costumes, not unlike Star Wars fans, Rocky Horror disciples, or Trekkies.
 “Last year, some one came dressed as a Creedence tape,” he said, to which Shuffitt added that several people have attended dressed like a severed toe.

 “For whatever reason, it’s always really attractive women who come as a toe,” he said. “I can’t figure it out.”

Leave Comment

I have a tip for all of my mommy-blogger pals: The Berries.

I recently interviewed the producers of this all-girl kids group, which stars in a set of straight-to-DVD episodes and on a full-length music CD.

The Berries are Raz, Straw, Blue, and sometimes Cran – she shows up from time to time toting a wheelbarrow full of veggies for the girls to enjoy (cannibalism or nepotism?).

Of course, the producers hope the Berries will kick Barney’s sorry, purple arse and eventually score their own national syndicated TV show, but regardless of what happens, the Berries already have a stellar team workingfor them. It includes Ben Stellpflug, a songwriter who has worked with Disney, among other credits, and Jon Sellew, a script- and copywriter who’s scribbled for the Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, and the Children’s Television Workshop.

The Berries’ creators are not writers, or singers, nor have they ever worked in television before. But they are dads who thought the children’s programming market could be a little more robust, and who also cleared their best quarter ever recently.

Just goes to show you what happens when you hire good talent. 

Leave Comment

Related Entries:

• Weekend Update -Bleu in Boston - er, Cambridge.
• The Women's Times 10-year Anniversary Party, featuring Sonya Kitchell
• Blue Canyon Chefs Present
• How Could I Forget The Drums, the drums, the drums...
• As Chosen By Me: The Best Albums of 2008
• I was 12 when these started? D'oh!
• Good Vibrations
• What, you want new content or something?
• Sun is out, the temperature is up.
• This is What YouTube Should be All About.

A few months ago, I received an advance copy of John Robison's new book, Look Me In the Eye: My Life With Asperger's. 

I was excited to read it for a few reasons. First, Robison is a well-known business owner in Massachusetts and beyond; his company services and sells high-end and exotic cars like Porches, Rolls Royces, and Mercedes. I've interviewed him in the past, as part of an article  on vintage auto restoration, so I already knew what an interesting guy he is.

Second, he's the older brother of one of my favorite writers, Augusten Burroughs. When I put the vintage car story together, he was refurbishing a Rolls for Burroughs, and when I contacted the latter to ask (timidly) for an interview -- vintage autos from the owner's perspective -- Burroughs instead e-mailed me a lengthy personal essay, which the magazine I work for published. It was just one of many articles and books I've read and loved by the author, so I was looking forward to seeing how Robison's writing voice compared to that of his kid sibling.

Finally, Asperger's Syndrome is a topic that I've actually covered as a writer before. In a different job a few years ago, I interviewed Tony Attwood , who is considered one of the leading experts on the condition. I read his book, too, and was amazed by this still largely misunderstood 'autism-spectrum disorder.' It's characterized by difficulty with social interaction, and by intense interests in very specific things, such as trains, planes, highway systems, electronics, sushi, you name it. 

In Robison's case, his 'Aspergian traits' are seen in his proficiency and knowledge of all things automotive, as well as sound equipment and cameras. He calls himself a 'machine aficionado' to tie it all together.

I think the most notable thing about Robison is that he debunks the theory that all Aspergians are terribly clinical people who only understand non-human mechanisms and read stereo instructions for fun. On the contrary, he's one of the more colorful people I've ever interviewed. He's funny and sharp, and detailed as all hell, and that is an awesome thing for a journalist. He's got a resume that rivals most, too. His interest in sound equipment led to a gig with KISS, creating special effects guitars. Then, he worked for a major toy company as an engineer. He still attends Porsche shows all over the world, shoots amazing photos, rides around on his Harley in a keen leather vest, and now, he's a best-selling author with a book in its ninth printing in the U.S., and two more memoirs on the drawing board. 

I can't imagine what John Robison is going to do next. But somehow, I feel like I haven't interviewed him  for the last time.

Leave Comment

Related Entries:

• Great Reads Book List, GoFit! network 2008
• Media is My Life
• Journalism's Cool Factor #2: Free Food
• Journalism Cool Factor #1 - meeting niche celebrities

This is Steve Richter, the owner of Microtest, a lab that researches, tests, and manufactures cutting-edge drugs and medical devices.

The company is on the verge of becoming a major player in the life sciences, after a billion dollar initiative for life science and biotechnology research was handed down by Mass. Governor Deval Patrick earlier this year.

I interviewed Richter about his company last week, and shot this photo .

Leave Comment

Related Entries:

• Happy Birthday, Madonna.
• 8.8.8
• Uh-oh, first signs of flickritis in the vids service
• Weekend Interlude with Charley
• The Five-year List
• Life is Just a Bowl of Noodles
• Press Release of the Week: PEOPLE picks Places to Go
• Lists - woo!
• My new favorite flickr group.
• Latest Travel Column in the TRT

I recently published a story about Diana Mara Henry 's new bed and breakfast in historic Forest Park, a section of Springfield, Mass.

Henry is an acclaimed photojournalist who has captured images during some of America's most turbulent times of change -- she was once Former NOW President Bella Abzug's personal photographer, covered the 1972 Democratic Convention, hobnobbed with Ronald Reagan, Gloria Steinem, and Andy Warhol, and has a slew of photos housed in the Smithsonian.

Her photography business continues, including a project to place her work featuring women of distinction on a set of U.S. postage stamps, but Henry has taken on a new challenge at the Lathrop House on Sumner Ave. in Springfield -- a Victorian home now serving business, leisure, and family travelers in vintage opulence, but with an easy, home-spun feel. Henry's photos adorn the walls alongside an eclectic mix of original artwork and flea market finds -- the effect is surprisingly seamless -- and her guestbook is quickly filling with a diverse set of visitors ranging from canines to Congressmen (Holly, a celebrity bloodhound, visited with her own film crew, and Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia spent a night while visiting colleges with his son). 

Henry is a pleasant, engaging host. She has countless stories to tell of her own travels, while at the same time maintains a peace that is as welcoming to weary guests as her two feline concierges, Bobbie and Toesey.

Before I left our interview, Henry gave me a signed print of Bill Clinton she'd taken in the 1970s - Clinton was still a young, non-inhaling sprite at the time, speaking out at a political rally.

Who knows what other images Henry has stashed away in the grand rooms of the Lathrop House ... it might behoove Bill and Hill to pay a visit. 

Leave Comment

Related Entries:

• The Art of the October Wedding
• Weekend Update: MOOOOOOOOOSE! Edition
• The Search for Structure
• Blue Canyon Chefs Present
• Writer in the Storm
• These are the Days
• New Orleans, 2008
• Thematic Photographic # 3 - Poignant
• Thematic Photographic #2 - The Vanishing
• Ze Story on France? She is Up on ze Internets, oui!

Leave Comment

Leave Comment

Related Entries:

• The Search for Structure
• Blue Canyon Chefs Present
• Writer in the Storm
• Ze Story on France? She is Up on ze Internets, oui!
• Truck on Down to Truckee
• Retail Therapy Thursday: Don't Forget to Breathe, in and out
• Le Marche
• Biston-clac,biston-clac
• Chocolate Sauce and Capitalism all in a day's work
• Snow Day

(c) jcs 2007

Farrow took some amazing pictures -- which is all the more notable given the fact that photojournalists are banned from Sudan, and those who try to sneak in are veritable targets. Check out her Web site for more information on her work, and to view some of her own photojournalism. The majority of the shots were taken with a small camera she taped to her belly to hide from the authorities.  

Leave Comment

Leave Comment

Related Entries:

• Press Release of the Week: PEOPLE picks Places to Go
• Continuing to Unravel Life Sciences ...
• Writers get away when they need a way.
• Past Life Experiences
• The Life Sciences Manifesto
• DVP President Meets and Greets with the Shock Jock
• Zoom in at the Inn
• More News From the Home of the Simpsons
• Mmmm, Contest.
• Aqua Teen Hunger Force Pisses off Deval Patrick

His latest speaking tour, planned around his new book Travel and Photography: Off the Charts , walks audiences through a slew of Jones’ photographs from locales across the globe – the Iowa State Fair followed by the City of the Dead in Cairo; Paris, France to Paris, Maine; the opulent shores of Waikiki to the dregs of Jamaica.

Leave Comment

Related Entries:

• Thematic Photographic #2 - The Vanishing
• Ze Story on France? She is Up on ze Internets, oui!
• Memorial Day Staycation (Weekend update)
• Joe? Joe Who? JoMAMA!
• Truck on Down to Truckee
• Press Release of the Week: Feeling Fit on the Road
• Press Release of the Week: Globetrotter Logbooks Going Virtual
• Retail Therapy Thursday: Don't Forget to Breathe, in and out
• Le Marche
• Biston-clac,biston-clac

From left to right: the photo of Pete Hamill and me that's in my office; Howard Fineman and Warren Zevon images (c) JCS 2006, 1998; Jimmy Vivino and Steaks and Chops

The best thing about being a journalist is you get to learn little bits and pieces about a million different things within a given time period -- I call it becoming a dinner-table expert on a topic. 

You glean just enough information to be engaging and/or interesting for as long as it takes to finish a glass of red wine, but not so much that you take away from the tasteful melange that is the tomato basil mozzarella salad, on a good night. The apple crisp in the Lean Cuisine on a less tantilizing evening. 

For instance, I have become a recent dinner-time expert on Pill Cams, the use of theater as an organizational intervention in corporate settings (www.dramaworks.com), the gas crisis and its effects on short-range travel, the disappearance of privately-owned photo labs (a travesty), and vintage auto restoration.

You also meet and greet with a lot of folks, most are ok. These are what Chuck Palahniuk referred to as 'single- serving friends' in his book Fight Club, and I couldn't describe them any better. One such SSF was the owner of an auto restoration business and dealership who showed me a Rolls Royce he was restoring for his brother, only to reveal later that his brother is one of my favorite authors, Augusten Burroughs (www.augusten.com).

As I was running my hand down the wood paneling of Augusten Burroughs' Rolls (I mean, seriously, people. That is pretty cool.) -- I asked his big bro if maybe the author would contribute to my story, and the next day I had an email waiting for me from Burroughs, writing directly from Sydney, Australia.

Not only did he help, he wrote up an essay detailing his auto restoration escapades. Totally above and beyond the call of duty and pretty stand-up, I thought, for a guy whose best-seller Running With Scissors will soon hit the big screen.

That email is safely enshrined in my 'SAVE' file on Outlook as proof that in some small way, my career bumped uglies with that of Augusten Burroughs, and created the ultimate JCF. 

 Other Niche Celebs that have crossed my path recently:

Anthony Bourdain

Pete Hamill 

Madeline Albright 

Howard Fineman

Ethan Hawke

Amy Henry (The Apprentice)

Ann Crittenden

John 'JohnnyJet' DiScala 

Tony Horwitz ( Pulitzer-winning author of Blue Latitudes and Confederates in the Attic)

Will Russell, founder of Lebowski Fest  

Gov. Deval Patrick 

Mia Farrow

Maya Angelou

Leave Comment

Related Entries:

• The Search for Structure
• Blue Canyon Chefs Present
• Writer in the Storm
• October Books
• Ze Story on France? She is Up on ze Internets, oui!
• Quiz You, Quiz Me. Quiz it for always. That's the Way it should be
• Truck on Down to Truckee
• Retail Therapy Thursday: Don't Forget to Breathe, in and out
• Le Marche
• Biston-clac,biston-clac