My short story collection, now available at Amazon

I'm proud to announce that "Transubstantiation," a collection of semi-autobiographical short fiction about growing up in New Haven, Connecticut in the 1960's, is now available on Amazon.com.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1453728600/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img

Two of my favorite things: Bulldogs and Martinis, together at last.

I'm a fairly dedicated Bombay Sapphire Martini drinker. Bombay Sapphire is my personal flavor preference. Also, the alcohol kick (47%) makes it a little more lethal than the standard gins. I actually cut my teeth on Vodka martinis, because the gin version usually tasted like lighter fluid. Not so with Bombay Sapphire. It's very smooth and flavorful. Also, I've heard a lot about Hendrick's Gin, which I recently finally tried. The deal with Hendrick's is it's from Scotland, and distilled in small batches. The floral flavor is a bit much for me personally, although I can understand why some might like it. It is surely a well-crafted, smooth gin. Plymouth has probably been around the longest - rumored to have been a favorite of the likes of Churchill and Roosevelt. I've yet to taste that one.
I've also seen a London Gin called Bulldog, bottled in a crock-like container (ala Hendricks). Usually it's sold at a super premium price. But tonight I saw it for less than my usual Bombay Sapphire, so I decided to give it a go. After all, I DO own an English Bulldog. Not to mention a Mini Cooper with Union Jacks on the mirrors.

I'm pleased to report, I did not have to give it to the dog - it was quite good - not as unusual in its botanicals as the Hendricks was, but still different and interesting, with flavors like poppy. Also, it was a little lighter in alcohol, weighing in at the typical distilled spirit proof of 80 (40%).
Bottom line, this dog will hunt. But more likely, like my own bulldog,  it will curl up on the couch and snore contentedly.

A great site for the best rock & roll songs with accordion

http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/yradish/8346/rockroll-accordion/

Jack Johnson with accordion back up

Will marriage hurt Don Draper's sex life?

Now that Don is engaged to that French pastry, rest assured he will continue to philander. He just can't help himself. And besides, if he stopped, that would be the end of the series. Who would watch it just to find out whether they got the Smucker's account?

Tony and Lucille's, Wooster St., New Haven

I have not been to this Wooster Street classic in probably 20 years - but I have to say, I just went back tonight, and it was great! People seem to love it or hate it. It's kind of like when I was growing up and eating my own family's incredible Italian food. At first, our waitress, who identified herself as one of the family, seemed a little put off by our questions and requests. But when we started treating her like part of our family, she started treating us like part of hers. I love this famiglia approach. I ordered a martini, which was kind of tiny, out of the 1950's, not like the usual fishbowl kind served up these days. So I ordered a second one. It showed up complete with shaker - enough for maybe three martini's - Since I was driving, I left half of it there. But it's a good an example of the quirkiness of the place. I read a review which said the customer complained there wasn't enough shrimp in their shrimp dish, and they showed up with an extra plateful. I have a feeling the complaint could just as easily ended them up with nothing. The place has got CHARACTER with a capital C. If you don't like character, go elsewhere. but I think it's part of the fun. But if character isn't your thing, my other favorite Italians in New Haven include Consiglio's (across the street on Wooster, smaller, more elegant in decor) Scoozzi - a more stylish Italian place that caters to the Yale crowd- on Chapel Street in downtown New Haven, and Basta - a tiny place also on Chapel that does things to perfection. All of these places rival many good New York Italians, including the ones on Arthur Ave. Mangia!

Madness: Don't let ideas simmer.

I worked on an ad assignment for a pasta sauce brand that gave us what I considered to be an unfair deadline. I said "I have relatives who let their sauce simmer longer than you're giving us to come up with ideas!" The deadline stood.

Madness: Cut out all the black people.

In the late 70's, I worked on an ad campaign for a soft drink company. After we screened it, the client said "Great commercial - just cut out all the black people." I had done a research paper in graduate school - a content analysis on print ads at that time, and the roles that black people played in them. Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben, pullman porters and maids abounded. For the soft drink campaign, we cast African Americans in more aspirational roles. But this client wanted no part of it - he wanted no black people at all! I was so disgusted I wanted to walk out of the screening room, but of course I would have been immediately fired. We cut out all the black actors from the spots.

Madness: The Clio Awards, advertising vs badvertising

Back in the day, I was a Clio judge. At 24, was I the hottest young writer at my agency? I'd like to think so. But the real reason I was chosen was because my boss was supposed to be the judge, and he was too busy to go. A little scary, since I only had a year of experience. But I now realize that even back then, I knew the difference between advertising and badvertising. I think we all kind of do. Advertising makes you laugh, cry, feel nervous, get goose bumps, feel angry, nauseous, insecure or envious. Pretty much, if it makes you feel ANYTHING, it's advertising. If it makes you feel nothing, it's badvertising. "What about selling the product?" you may ask. I believe the best way to get someone to buy something is to make them feel something about the product. Otherwise, you're just serving up information.

New Haven. Where you'll find the abeetz (AKA pizza) that can't be beat.

First of all, let's talk pronunciation. For anybody who grew up in an Italian speaking family of Neopolitan descent like I did, there was no such thing as pizza. It was called "a-beetz". Watch the Sopranos, and you'll catch them referring to it in that way. And what the heck is "motsarella"? Where I grew up, it was pronounced "mootzarelle." Pronunciation isn't the only thing that sets New Haven tomato pies apart from the rest. Every pizza is a unique work of art - not confined by the shape of a square or round pizza pan. It comes out slightly charred and steaming from a brick oven in an infinite variety of irregular shapes. While each shape is unique, the ingredients are uniformly consistent. Fabulous fresh dough. Primo olive oil. Killer Mootz. Locally made sausage. And a sauce that tastes like somebody cooked it all day - which they did.

Some argue that pizza was, in fact, invented in New Haven. It probably was not - but who really cares, as long as what's being served up NOW is the best. And it is. Sally's and Pepe's, two of the three most famous New Haven pizza places, are located on Wooster Street. It's a charmingly well-preserved slice of the Elm City's old Italian neighborhood. The other classic New Haven pizza place is Modern - located about half a mile away on State street. A Johnny Come Lately New Haven pizza joint that gives the originals a run for the money is Bar, located right off of Yale's campus in the heart of Downtown New Haven.

I won't bore you with the debate over which is best. They each have their own strengths, (Pepe's white clam pie is legendary), and each is worth a visit. Just be prepared for a ridiculously long wait. Are they worth the trouble? It depends on your mood. For your first time, I'd try for an off hours visit, so as not to let the wait color your opinion.

Draper bans cigarette ads

Sheer genius on the part of Don Draper. Knowing all their cigarette account hopes have gone up in smoke, why not take the high road and proclaim you won't do that sort of work because of your principles.

In honor of Columbus

Yeah, yeah, he may have been a murderous barbarian who enslaved Native Americans, he was dumb enough to think America was India, and died in poverty. But, hey, he was Italian, and that counts for a lot. I took the day off to honor him, because it's pretty hard to ignore his historical significance, no matter what side of the political fence you're on. I mean, these Italian explorers were pretty gutsy guys. Kind of entrepreneurial astronauts.

Eastern Standard martini is anything but standard

Just went to Eastern Standard in Boston. It is well deserved to be one of GQ magazine's 25 best cocktail bars in America. I ordered my usual - Bombay Sapphire - which was done to perfection. They had a much larger selection of gins - but I wanted to test my usual - and I was not disappointed. Also, we sat in the bar, in a lovely banquette - and continued our cocktail hour into dinner - a great feast, with interesting choices that ranged from super exotic apps, including offal of the day (rabbit hearts?, no thanks) to burgers to the delicious grilled salmon over couscous which I enjoyed - all reasonably priced.

My tribute to stubborn English Bulldogs everywhere.

Proud of PepsiCo

Ok – I’ll fess up. I’m a vender to this bubbly, crunchy giant (they own snackmaker Frito/Lay). But two articles in today’s Wall Street Journal underscore once again why I’m proud to say PepsiCo is one of my clients.

The first story is about the fact that PepsiCo posted a 12% profit. That’s surely something to be proud of, but that’s not what caught my eye. The company is forming a Global Nutrition Group. Now you might say that’s just good business, right? Not necessarily – as the second WSJ journal points out. It highlights consumers’ failure to buy Sun Chips (a PepsiCo brand) in a new eco-friendly bag. Apparently it emits a 90 decibel crackle when you dig into it. The article goes on to cite the fact that consumer conscience doesn’t always guarantee consumer product satisfaction. But clearly, PepsiCo is still committed to doing the right thing, willing to take some risks in getting there, and has made a buck in the process.

I’m also proud that PepsiCo has broken new ground with its Pepsi Refresh Grants, and many other innovative programs. PepsiCo’s Chief, Indra Nooyi, is to be commended for fighting the good fight, and still managing to deliver profits.

I went into the ad business umpteen years ago, because I wanted to change the world.  I soon discovered there wasn’t that much opportunity to do it, because my clients weren’t interested in doing it. My altruism usually had to find an outlet through pro bono work. Now the pressure is on for me. I’ve got a client who appears to have, of all things, a social conscience.

Black Ops 3D will be my next video game

For obvious reasons.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/05/AR2010100500880.html?wpisrc=nl_tech

Mad Men opening credits

In my opinon, one of the best themes/opening credits in the history of TV
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcRr-Fb5xQo

Is there a human being left on the planet who has not had sex with Don Draper?

Sure ad guys have always had prodigious libidos, but come on...

Is QWERTY doomed?

Is qwerty doomed?

Mad Men loss of Lucky Strike strikes fear into admen.

For an ad guy like me, watching Don Draper's agency lose Lucky Strike is pretty gut wrenching. I've been at agencies when they have lost their bread and butter account. It either means mass lay offs, or mass hysteria as you scramble to replace billings.

About my short story "Tank," and my 15 minutes of fame.

Link to article about my video game short story

Life is a little like playing the left hand side of an accordion.

Ever tried to play an accordion? The right side is easy to see. But on the left hand side, you're pretty much flying blind. You gotta feel your way through all those buttons (120 in most cases), using tactile landmarks and patterns. For me, playing the left hand is a bit like life. You can't see what's coming, but patterns do emerge, and with a little practice, you can feel your way through most of it.