Getting Married

If you ever want to get out of your head and be totally happy for other people, hang out in the city clerk's office for a morning. I got the call to come at 10 p.m. the night before ...

New York City Clerk's Office, 04.16.09. Her sister looked just like her, and his brother, like him.

New York City Clerk's Office, 04.16.09. Her sister kept fussing with the dress.

New York City Clerk's Office, 04.16.09. Decked out for the big day.

New York City Clerk's Office, 04.16.09.


New York City Clerk's Office, 04.16.09. My brother Ilya and newly legal wife, Gali.

Ilya's son Jonathan, Ilya, Gali, their son Adam, and me. (Forthcoming daughter can be detected under bump in Gali's dress). There is no such thing as a normal family, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

The Best 6 Minutes of Your Evening

Thanks to my new friend Kevin Bronson (yes, THE Kevin Bronson of Buzzbands.la) for turning me on to this. If you are a fan of live music, or even if the closest you've been to a club is at your cousin's penny-ante poker game, bookmark his site.

Tweenbot: People, at their core, are good

In the tradition of GREAT things coming out of my alma mater, an NYU student conducted a social experiment to see if strangers would help a derailed robot get to its destination, the southwest corner of Washington Square Park.

To paraphrase Anne Frank, I do believe that people don't suck as much as we generally think they do.

Free Fridge! Free Money! Vanessa tells KABC how it's done

Citizen Journalists

By the time you are 40licious, you have amassed an amazing collection of people. One of the people I am proudest to have in my circle is the talented Amanda Koster. She's a photographer and a writer and she has no concept of "impossible." She's a world traveler, but with a mission -- help those she encounters along the way. Here she is speaking at Web2.0.

She's blogging about helping orphans in India and I'm blogging about eating a pint of frozen yogurt. I don't even know where to begin on that.

Following Bliss

So this low-carb thing? There really isn't that much FUN low-carb food.

Almonds? Eh. I'm sure I've poisoned myself by now. I've eaten so much cheese the cows are on strike. And nobody would argue that cauliflower -- even braised in butter and hot sauce, liberally peppered and salted -- could be considered delightful in any way.

And that is why, on this sunny spring afternoon after several hours of IT challenges, I just broke my two-week winning streak with a pint of Ben & Jerry's frozen yogurt, and realized just how much FUN that is to eat.

After all, I'm not sure what happens when our heart stops beating. We might go to the big Sample Sale in the Sky. Or we might lie there and rot. So why not enjoy, at least a little?

April Fooled

Haha my April Fool's joke backfired on me. It wasn't that hilarious to begin with, and I'll spare you the details, but it involved some pushed-forward clocks, a man who likes to sleep in, anxiety nightmares about said clocks, and a day full of crankiness from no sleep.

Next year will be better. I should start planning now though.