A Curious Mind

Silverjet Folds, Mass Luxury Finished? --The Huffington Post, 5/30/08

The all-business class airline Silverjet folded today, provoking these thoughts from me on the demise of "mass luxury" for the Huffington Post.

A bit more info for those geekily and freakily interested in income statistics. When I was Editor-at -Large at the late, lamented American Demographics magazine, one of the side benefits was the uncanny nerdy ability to spout statistics about the US population. It's a skill I no longer have, alas, which I believe makes me less fun to have at cocktail parties.

If I thought people were engaging in too much self pity over not having a housekeeper or a new car, I liked to break out my favorite downer stat: how little money most Americans live on. I think most people of a certain socioeconomic group assume that most two-income households easily crack $50,000 a year, but, that's not true: median income today is well shy of $49,000. And because I have always either lived or spent a lot of time in New York City, I was often assured that these rules simply didn’t apply to New York where everyone simply had to earn more just to survive.

Hogwash. I had to look back to 2003 to get the kind of data I wanted, but back then, in the US, median household income was $43,564, and about 14% earned $100,000. In New York City, median income was actully lower $39,937, and only about 15% earned over $100,000.

Oh, that includes the outer boroughs though. So just in Manhattan (or New York County) it’s higher: median $47,415, and about 24% earned $100,000 or more, but that still means that the vast majority of people in Manhattan ain’t rolling in it –it’s just that the ones that are are making out really well.

You can read much, more more on this page at the Census Bureau's website.

How to Tell a Great Vacation Story --The Street, 5/27/08

Take any interesting vacations lately?

Please don't answer that question until you read my latest column for The Street. I got the idea for this story when I attended the Inc. 500 conference this past September. I overheard attendees making vacation-related but eye-glazing, snore-inducing small talk, and thought to myself: this must stop.
 

Where to Find the Best Specialty Cheese --The Street, 2/25/2008

These are fine days indeed for those who love cheese. While aficionados once had to look overseas for the new and exciting in fromage, the homegrown cheese scene is now also providing excitement of its own. There are hundreds of small-batch cheese makers in the U.S. alone.   

All the cheese options can get confusing, though. So how can you best find your way through the ever-expanding cheese arena? My story suggests a few smart strategies.

Massaging Away Creationism--The Huffington Post, 2/20/08

There are lots of neutral ways that we encounter people's hands--handshakes, attaboy back pats, even brushing a stranger's hand on the subway isn't the most horrific thing. But leaving aside foot fetishes and footsie fantasies, we don't tend to have such positive associations with being touched by stranger's feet. Think about getting kicked, trampled, stepped on. And feet look sort of weird, and they smell, and they're prone to horribleness, fungi, and warts, and corns and other protrudences that are best hidden behind a pair of thick socks and a good layer of shoe leather, certainly not rubbed on our own bare skin.

In this dispatch, I ponder the connection between ashiatsu massage --which I experienced for the first time at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, pictured above -- primates and Mike Huckabee.

UPDATED: Thanks to National Geographic Traveler's blog for this link love!

If You Like Whiskey, You'll Love Shochu --TheStreet.com, 2/13/2008

If you've seen shochu or soju on a cocktail menu recently, and wondered what it was, wonder no more.  This Asian spirit --Shochu in Japan,  soju in Korea – has long been popular throughout Asia, and the past decade has seen shochu creep from souvenir in the luggage of tourists returning home from Asia, to liquor stores and cocktail bars on the coasts and in fashionable spots throughout the country. Here's a story I wrote about it on TheStreet.com.

Mardi Gras in New Orleans, and a Meditation on Moderation-- Huffington Post, 2/3/2008

It's Mardi Gras in New Orleans, a time for feast before the fast.  In this dispatch for the Huffington Post, I wonder about the role that moderation plays in all the revelry.

Learning to Ski in Aspen --The Huffington Post, 1/14/2008

My second dispatch on Aspen --this time, focusing on learning to ski --has run in the Huffington Post. To get a handle on why I found the first day of ski lessons so difficult, I gave Dr. John Eliot, performance psychologist, a call. I first spoke to Dr. Eliot for a story I wrote for Inc. a while back, he's currently on sabbatical from Rice University. He gave me great insight into why skiing is difficult for adults, why it's easier for kids but may be harder for teenagers, and how to best prepare your mind for learning a new physical activity like skiing. Have a listen to our chat here. Download alison_stein_wellner_interviews_dr. John Eliot 1.mp3

From Hitchikers to Private Jets: The Season Begins in Aspen -Huffington Post, 12/20/2007

I'm in Aspen now, and the high season, which will start on the Friday before Christmas, is just about to begin. For right now, it's a bit quiet, and the big excitement is that Heidi Klum is here (because husband Seal will be performing), and the scuttle is that paparazzi got kicked out of the lodge at the Buttermilk mountain where they were lying in wait for pics of Klum and brood on skis.

Aspen is about ideas, and one idea here is that celebrities can be free to just chill out and not be bothered by their celebrity -while getting, of course, the full-fledged celebrity treatment. This doesn't make any sense if you stop to think about it for a moment, but what can you say about a place that has officially sanctioned, apparently town government-installed "thumbing stations" for hitchhikers, and at the same time enough private jet traffic that you must clarify whether you have arrived at the public or the private airport when arranging transport into town?

Read the rest of this report on Aspen, the first of two, on the Huffington Post.

How to Pick an Awesome Scotch --TheStreet.com, 12/20/2007

I met Johnny Walker, the director of wine and spirits for Malmasion, an excellent boutique hotel chain in the UK, while I was in Scotland over the summer, and immediately knew I wanted to write about him. Here's a fun little story for TheStreet.com about Walker's picks for the best in scotch.

Professional Help: Cross that Off Your To-Do List --Inc., November 2007

In Inc.'s November issue, a fun story about all the ways you can use money to make annoying chores go away.

Get Your Green On --Yoga Journal, April 2007

Here's a story that I wrote for Yoga Journal about green living and how it comports with yoga philosophy. Yoga Journal - Yoga Habitat - Get Your Green On.

Can't Stand the Heat? --Inc., July 2007

It's really hot and humid now, which means that my story in Inc. is just in time! To get in the proper mood for this story, might I suggest you take a look at this informative guide to the worst that summer has to offer.  And then, skip the three S's--sand, surf, and sweltering temperatures--and head to one of these delightfully cool destinations instead. From New Zealand, to Iceland, to Portland, Oregon, there's no reason to sweat it out this season. (You can read this in the form of a slideshow here, if you desire.) Plus, snowsports without the snow.

Tried & Tested-- Business Traveler, June 2007

Here's my review of Qantas business class --a flight across the Pacific just might be a remarkably effective cure for the common cold!

South Africa, Found --Men's Journal, May 2007

The Western Cape of South Africa, anyone? I look at this gorgeous area as a dream vacation-home destination in the May 2007 issue of Men's Journal.

Download MJSouthAfricaClip.pdf

 

Kind Ambition, Yoga Journal, May 2006

The idea that yoga can offer practical lessons for coping with ambition seems most dubious. Yet yoga and ambition aren't such an odd couple after all, I learned while researching this story. Nothing's wrong with ambition (thank heavens!) so long as you go after your goals the right way. Here are some questions to ask yourself if you think you are in danger of either becoming a lazy slug or driven to distraction. And here's the scoop on working with your "edge" --the line between pushing yourself too hard and taking things too easy.

Do You Need A Coach? Inc., April 2006

Ever since Machiavelli first advised a young prince, leaders have sought the counsel of outsiders. After all, it's lonely at the top. At many small companies, chief executives are the only people who truly understand their organizations, and every major decision falls on their shoulders. And since the CEO is the one who signs the paychecks, it's tough to find employees brave enough to provide honest feedback. Seventeenth-century merchants turned to "cunning men," or wizards, for guidance; entrepreneurs today turn to their more modern counterparts: executive coaches. Click image at left to read.