For the observant, dining at local restaurants in Phuket, Thailand can be a spectator sport. You will notice a phenomenon among other diners. There is the Western man, the sunburned farang, either European, Australian or American. And then there is the silent Asian woman, perhaps young enough to be thought of as a girl. I […]
In a very Thai way that was quite generous and blind to dangers and the possibility of disaster, the proprietor of our bungalow (The Sundays, highly recommended) gave my wife and I use of a little jeep for a day of sightseeing. The exquisite tropical island of Koh Samui sits in the Gulf of Thailand. […]
Here’s some mean-spirited irony: it all begins with a recycling bin. Save the planet, small carbon footprint, and feel like I’m not among the decimating and despoiling human herd. A big blue plastic bin, overflowing with magazines. It’s impossible to drag from the sides without busting it, the damn thing is so heavy. So I […]
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TMiK Movie Review: Up In The Air
Buckle in folks, return your tray tables to their locked upright positions and prepare for some hard landing truth from Up In The Air about the crushing meaninglessness of our so-called lives. You may be moved to put aside your Blackberry a few moments to look another human in the eye and have a non […]
After I graduated from college I flew to Rome. Before I got on the plane my friend George made me drink an entire bottle of champagne. He didn’t exactly make me: he busted into my room waving it like it was an old, honored tradition of European sendoffs to guzzle a champagne bottle. George was […]
Back in the 90’s my wife and I lived in an apartment complex and our neighbor David N. would knock on our door and talk exhaustively at us with a wild, dumbfounded look. Money was the root problem, sole conversational topic and holy grail of his life. His regular job selling long distance over the […]
It is a bit jarring to watch Craig Ferguson the first time. He stands close to the camera, crowding it and fidgeting, a dark minimalist studio behind him. He touches the camera, prodding it, reaches around it as if tapping your shoulder, but then quickly spins and smacks the camera as if smacking you on […]
Charleston, South Carolina, where I grew up, is a wonderful antebellum town, containing descendants of the remarkably stubborn and contentious people who gleefully fired cannon balls at Fort Sumter to start the civil war. A town where everyone knows how to shuck an oyster, sail a sailboat, and owns a seersucker suit. A kind of […]
The universe is one strange mofo. Exactly one week after standing in the rain and hearing Paul McCartney remark that it was the anniversary of Woodstock, this postcard of Southeast Asians on a bicycle arrived in my mailbox. It said: Robert, 40 years ago you bought my Skidmore t-shirt in Woodstock. Hopefully this card will […]
Paul McCartney played Piedmont Park on August 15. I was there. Keep in mind, I am no lover of celebrity. I don’t want anyones autograph. Saw Andie McDowell walking through the airport. Didn’t care. Reality celebrities? They deserve to be trampled. I’m a Beatles fan since the 5th grade. When Paul took the stage at […]
robb skidmore 