I’ve been fascinated with Kafka since High School and Zadie Smith offers an excellent review of The Tremendous World I Have Inside My Head: Franz Kafka: A Biographical Essay. I think vegetarianism will most likely be the preferred way of eating in the far future (say once we over fish the oceans and grow up ethically as a civilization) and […]

NPR ran a piece on US born psych-folk singer, Rodriguez.  Rodriguez is a completely obscure artist (outside of South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand), but is know enjoying a renaissance after the re-release of Cold Fact. You can read Rodriguez’s bio at Joe’s Pub here and listen to his single Sugarman here.

OK, so I just updated my Facebook status to read, “Vincent is feeling Old World” and I need to explain the thinking behind the status: I just finished watching Emanuele’s Crialese’s The Golden Door and it was truly magnificent.  Crialese tells the story of a Sicilian’s family voyage to the US in the early 20th century.  The film is simplistic […]

The web is cluttered with personal finance content, including blogs like thesimpledollar.com and mymoneyblog.com.  My favorite personal finance content, however, can be found at Kiplinger’s and Money.  Kiplinger’s content is divided into “Ahead”, “Investing”, “Money”, “Living”, and “In Every Issue” sections, while Money Magazine includes content on “Start”, ‘Money”, “Launch”, “Plan”, “Home”, “Spend”, and “Invest”. I also like the Wall […]

The science writer John Horgan published his bestselling book, The End of Science in 1996.  Horgan’s basic claim was that science had achieved all of its fundamental discoveries and that all original scientific work was pretty much finished.   Recently, Horgan revisited his claim with an article in Science and Spirit magazine.

Wine is one of the great pleasures of being human and I Iove experimenting and finding new varietals to taste.  Recently I’ve been trying quite a few Malbecs from Argentina and the Ruca Malen Malbec is a fine example at just under $20.00.   Further, I’ve been looking to find nice values from Italy (Barolo will break the bank) and have recently […]

Sci-Fi writer Neal Stephenson has a new novel out (September 9th) entitled Anathem.  As Jason Kottke mentions there’s a nice summary in the latest Wired Magazine: Set on a planet called Arbe (pronounced “arb”), Anathem documents a civilization split between two cultures: an indulgent Saecular general population (hooked on casinos, shopping in megastores, trashing the environment — sound familiar?) and the […]

I recently read Mayle’s A Year In Provence while laying on the beach.  The book is a fantastic read and it especially motivates the reader to eat and live well. The eating and living well philosophy has been mostly foreign to the American lifestyle, but with the green and organic movements in full swing attitudes towards the “good life” have […]

Classic Italian Salad Dressing or Vinaigrette Recipe We’re usually a bit more refined here at Scordo and don’t make crude remarks but we stand behind the following claim: folks who purchase bottled salad dressing are as misguided as people who have plastic plants in their home; so, next time you reach for your bottle of Kraft Ranch Dressing just whip […]

Aruba is located in the southern Caribbean, just 15 miles off the coast of Venezuela (and 12 degrees north of the equator). Aruba has excellent, year round, weather (with little rainfall).  If you’re into the full service hotel experience then consider the Hyatt Regency on Palm Beach (there are also smaller hotels on Eagle Beach)  The Hyatt is a full service hotel with […]