We’ve definitely hit hard times when even the super villains need bailout money. By the way, if you don’t immediately recognize the actor under the bald pate, that’s John Hamm,... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]...

Someone I know really hates kale. Passionately. Problem is, I can't remember who it is. So after I write this, there's a good chance the kale hater in my life won't see this. And will continue hating kale. Which will......

About 8 months ago I finally posted a small entry on one of my favorite Chicago bakeries - Pasticceria Natalina. At the time I didn't have any great pictures of their pastry and felt that the report didn't really do......

Cupcakes are so ubiquitous these days, it is hard to get excited about them. They're everywhere, in red velvet and chocolate and vanilla and praline and pecan fudge and butter brickle and hot tamale and Coca-Cola and root beer and......

If you're like me, you know you don't eat enough fruits and certainly don't get enough veggies, but are not sure what to do about it. A while back we visited Costco for the first time and, among the seemingly endless array of items to be sampled was a nasty, funktified looking concoction called "Gre...

I envision a series of posts entitled "Stuff I Like" that includes random glimpses into fairly mundane things that I happen to like and enjoy. After all, a blog is in some ways a diary - a catalog of events one can look back on, a glimpse inside my life and, scarier still, my brain. One thing I like...

The first mention of the "slain Messiah" called Mashiah ben Yosef (Messiah Son of Joseph) is in the Talmud (Sukkah 52a). In my book "The Messiah Before Jesus" (University of California Press, 2000), I argue that the story of this slain messiah is based on historical fact. I belie...

I'm not quite sure how this tiny blog got on anyone's radar (it isn't vegan,vegetarian, primal, raw, or anything niche; I barely write about recipes, I don't document my exploits, in fact, I hardly talk about myself at all) but......

Have you gotten the Moms in your life something special? Me neither. My Mom is hard to shop for and I’m usually stuck late because I can’t decide what to get her. If you’re in the same boat as me, let me toss out a couple recommendations. Amazon has a few pretty good gift ideas. Th...

As I sit at home with my damaged knee up on a pillow, sipping a little rum, eating some chili, waiting for the time to leave for a couple hours evening after-work work, listening to a child’s playful yells outside that unfortunately sound eerily like a cat in heat (or is it the other way aroun...