Earlier this week, I joined Twitter. Within twelve hours, the seven people I was following had started following me. I wasn't an Internet sensation on the level of Ashton Kutcher or a cat blowing out birthday candles, but my potential was obvious. Like unexplained fatigue or a strange rash, my...

I've always wanted to compete in the Winter Olympics. It's been my dream to win a gold medal and usher in an era of world peace with a well-publicized high-five with a North Korean athlete. My bags for Vancouver were already packed when I got some bad news: sledding in...

Facing a tough re-election fight in Nevada, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has announced that he'll instead run for Senate from New York.

Wearing a full New York Yankees uniform, Reid announced his candidacy outside his new campaign headquarters in Times Square.

"It's been a privilege and an honor...

Last week, I got a letter from George. George is a regional vice president of individual sales for my health insurance provider. Every time I look at George's mechanically reproduced signature, I'm reminded that insurance companies are people, too.

George is one of the most honest people who has ever...

Even though his name didn't appear anywhere on the ballot, last week's elections were an important referendum on Barack Obama.

In New Jersey, the voters sent a clear message: If Barack Obama were a bearded former investment banker who wore sweater vests and became unpopular for his handling of local...

In a stunning turn of events, President Barack Obama has swept baseball's postseason honors in both leagues, a feat never before accomplished and long considered impossible.

At a hastily scheduled press conference, Commissioner of Major League Baseball Bud Selig announced that Obama has been named Rookie of the Year, Cy...

While in Germany and the Czech Republic, I met only one other American: a college student who told me he'd once gone swimming with Michael Phelps. It seemed that the rest of America had stayed home, or at the very least, were avoiding the shadowy bars and clubs where I'd...

The cabdriver who picked me up at the Prague train station looked like a cross between Ivan Drago and the punching machine that Drago uses to show how much stronger he is than Rocky. So when he charged me eighty euros--about $115--for a ten-minute ride to my hotel, I thought...

My schedule in Berlin was strange. Even though I was sleeping on an upholstered piece of plumbing, I rarely got out of bed before the late afternoon. I'd been putting in long hours exploring the city's nightlife.

The first bar I visited was empty except for a middle-aged woman...

When I was planning a trip to Berlin earlier this summer, I decided I wanted to stay somewhere slightly offbeat, a hotel that would capture a bit of Berlin's hip edginess. I picked a place that had been noted for its original design, stylish clientele, and attractive staff.

The hotel...

On a recent Friday evening, I was walking down Bourbon Street in New Orleans when a man tried to sell me drugs by shouting the word "cocaine" into my ear. Then he didn't even stop to see if I wanted any.

I wondered if this uninspired narcotics trafficker were a...

My mom is from the Sixties. After seeing Hair on Broadway last week, she couldn't stop talking about the great protest music of her generation. Where is all the political music today, she asked? Things haven't changed all that much, I said. In fact, I would argue that some of...

"I don't know my future after this weekend and I don't want to/It takes courage to enjoy it/The hardcore and the gentle/Big time sensuality."--Bjork

As long as I've known about Iceland, I've known that it was a place I'd probably be at least sort of willing to go...