I mentioned last week that I wasn't through thinking about some of the topics that arose, and the one that stuck in my head after I sent the post off was that I hadn't really addressed the issue of chefs and their sudden emergence as symbols of American culture's newfound appreciation of food. That idea Continue Reading

It was perfectly inevitable that several friends of mine would send me links to this article in the Washington Post, about the Sweetlife Food and Music Festival, one of several events of its kind that are springing up these days. After all, the two subjects I've probably written the most about are food and music Continue Reading

We all need 'em: role models, I mean. They come in real handy for young folks who are trying to figure out what to make of their lives -- and, more importantly, perhaps, how. The idea is not to copy, but to learn and transform. You may never actually meet one of these people Continue Reading

Here's how I first learned about Armenian food and decided I liked it. One day, my father came home from work early and I was forced into the clothes I usually only wore to church. We then got on the train and headed to New York City, about 30 minutes away. From Grand Central Station Continue Reading

A guy (me) walks into a bookstore in Brooklyn because he's been told it's a really, really good bookstore. It is, unfortunately, which means the guy leaves with a package of books he's bought there. And one of them turns out to be by a local writer, as is only just and fair. Also, it seems Continue Reading

This post is by way of a personal experiment. On March 5, I wrote a little less than half of what you see below. Actually, I wrote an entire post, most of which disappeared when I tried to save it. WordPress people at SXSWi told me this was impossible, but hey, it happened. The post Continue Reading

It's just that time, I guess. You reach a certain age, and suddenly not only public figures start to die, but your peers do, too, and you realize it's just not going to stop until you do. I suppose it's always good to be aware of your own mortality, but it never gets any easier Continue Reading

Last year at SXSWi, I was walking down 6th St., Austin's big entertainment drag, and noticed a young man ahead of me, accompanied by a gaggle of other young men who were entranced by what he was saying. In his hands, the alpha male was carrying a styrofoam clamshell box which no doubt contained some Continue Reading

And so it came to pass that after SXSW I hopped into a car with my friend, the composer Carl Stone, and headed to Louisiana. Even before I'd heard his music -- which is wonderful, by the way: whizzing samples manipulated into musicality by his sure hand -- we bonded over a love of barbeque Continue Reading

SXSW Exhibitor Awakes on His First Morning in Town
 
First, apologies. This post would have appeared sometime last week, as promised, had there not been a minor catastrophe. Part of it was my fault, but part of it wasn't. The part that was my fault was spilling coffee into my computer. Okay, that was dumb. The Continue Reading