Mordecai Siegal

THIS 'N THAT

Manhattan's answer to the Starbucks Empire is the proliferation of independently owned neighborhood coffee bars. You should not confuse these small spaces with the old coffee shops of another era where a guy in a white paper hat slammed down a splashing cuppa Joe on the Formica counter as he offered you a cheese Danish for dunking. . . .   

BLESSING THE McPets

  

New Book/ Old Book

I'm sitting here in my work space at the little desk given to me 10 years ago by a friend whose father used to write on it at the Wall Street Journal. It is a sweet old thing and it gives me a sense of humility whenever I sit down to work. It is the perfect size for a small studio apartment. So far, I have written six books and dozens of columns and articles on it, including the very next one. . . .   

The Stacks

Because of low metabolism, it takes me more than an hour each morning for the blurry sleep to burn off like fog and open my eyelids. To put it mildly, I’m not sharp first thing in the morning. It takes strong coffee (2 jiggers Columbian to 1 jigger espresso) to give me a jolt from one large, flavorful mug; that and clicking the remote from the Today Show to the CBS Morning Show to Good Morning America to CNN and out of desperation to Imus. . . .   

The Norman Conquest:
Author Norman Mailer Receives The Legion of Honor, Highest Honor from France

When I was much younger and uncertain of my future as a writer I often heard about sightings of Norman Mailer walking his Standard Poodle along the beautiful Promenade that forms a belt around Brooklyn Heights. My friends and I, young aspiring writers living in Greenwich Village, were intrigued to have this important author writing just across the East River. He was close enough for us to sense his aura, but too far to be part of it. We drifted back and forth between admiration and envy never once questioning whether or not we could measure up to what he could do. . . .   

Steve Dale

Abandonment: Pets Paying the Price for Sagging Economy

  

Cats May Be Better Than Prozac

  

Steve Dale's Pet Central Petcast from WGN Radio