As long as there was Tab Cola, the decade wasn’t over. You were beautiful to me. I can still hear the jingle in my head. “Tab, Tab Cola, what a beautiful drink. Tab, Tab Cola, for beautiful people. Tab, you’re beautiful to me. Real cola taste, just one calorie.” In the commercial, a beautiful bikini-clad woman walks towards camera from the water, wet from the sea but somehow holding a can of… Tab. Apparently, if you drink Tab, one calorie Tab, you will look like her or I suppose the male equivalent. “Promise, large promise,” said Samuel Johnson, “is the... Continue reading

Thrilled to have this piece run in the FT. All my favorite ones have my dad in them. Beautifully drawn and colored cartoon by Six Chix's Isabella Bannerman. Squirrel King: Birdseed, Mayhem and Madness Lions and tigers and squirrels, oh my. While watching an episode of Netflix’s popular “Tiger King,” my wife casually mentioned that I am the Squirrel King. It’s an identity I embrace, but unlike Joe Exotic, I do not intend to become polygamous, at least not right away. Also, I’m guessing the neighbors might disapprove if I start blowing up gas canisters, even with advance warning. There... Continue reading

Ikea shoppers: we all have the same collection. Isabella Bannerman for Six Chix. Continue reading

A great sound engineer changes everything. Cartoon by Isabella Bannerman for King Features' Six Chix. Continue reading

As long as he's in the neighborhood... a great one from Six Chix cartoonist (and my wife) Isabella Bannerman. Merry Christmas, everyone! Continue reading

A pizza crust with the best of both worlds. Isabella Bannerman from today's Six Chix comic strip. Continue reading

Two great new Six Chix cartoons by my wife, Isabella. Continue reading

When snowflakes fall in Buffalo, so do prices at Anderson’s Custard. The crème de la custard. Credit: Anderson’s. When I was visiting my family in Buffalo this March, I stopped by Anderson’s Custard to grab a cone—a chocolate-vanilla twist, to be specific. For someone who no longer lives in the area, it is a difficult place to offhandedly drive by. Not only do they serve an excellent roast beef-on-weck sandwich, but their frozen custard is exceptional. Creamy and flavorful, it comes in a variety of flavors, some of which are rotated in and out, so it’s always worth stopping by... Continue reading

Photo: Wim Goedhart I've been following this NYC band for a long time, and I've always wondered why they aren't famous. Don Rauf is an original songwriter, and this tight, talented band has been playing together for over 30 years. If you pre-order the CD, you get a limited edition book, "along with a cocktail recipe for each song developed by our drunkest friends." There's also a less expensive digital download. It releases November 20. Continue reading

In 2020, the grizzly lifestyle is more appealing than ever. Holly, role model and resident of Katmai National Park, Alaska. Photo: National Park Service. There’s nothing wrong with being a human, but other species have a better lifestyle. Like Ursus horribilis, the grizzly bear, whose concentration on eating and sleeping give us much to envy and even aspire to. Especially the bears of Katmai National Park in Alaska. The biggest and baddest of the bunch live near the Brooks River, which come summer is so chock full of organic wild salmon that it puts Whole Foods to shame. You can’t... Continue reading

I've written about this amazing and unique house before, when it was for sale and less finished. Now, owners Jim and Jodi Costigan have turned it into a ridiculously nice looking airbnb rental. It's a fantasy come true, and the perfect NYC-escape for Tolkien-fans. Here's how they describe it: "One of a kind, unique cozy hobbit house. Beautiful, private setting offering you the ultimate getaway. Located 5 minutes from the quaint village of Pawling with direct Metro North railway access. 2 bedrooms each with king size bed. 2 bathrooms each with walk in showers. A queen size pull out couch... Continue reading

Luke Bales is almost too nice for New York. An expatriate Australian bar owner, Luke's propensity to go above and beyond for friends nearly gets him killed in Lazarus, the second Luke Bales mystery from Simon Foster. Foster has a keen eye for New York and the people who live there, and takes Luke all over the city trying to discover the truth about what he suspects is the murder of Australian musician looking for a second chance in the U.S. For fans of Aussie vernacular, there's plenty of it here, used to witty, Raymond Chandler-like effect. It's an exciting... Continue reading

Who can resist a church pie sale? There are moments in life that leave you flabbergasted at your ridiculous good fortune. Finding a twenty in an old pair of pants. Reading Where the Wild Things Are to your kid for the first, or hundredth, time. The sound of hard rain on an awning, as you sit underneath it. Goodies, for sure. But they pale to this one: driving down a small town Main Street and seeing a pie sale sign in front of a church. I think I almost got rear-ended as I stomped on the brakes and careened across... Continue reading

This week's beautifully drawn Isabella Bannerman "Six Chix" cartoon. Continue reading

Always exciting to be in the Funny Times! And Isabella had two cartoons in the same issue. Click to enlarge. Continue reading

The Better Business Bureau’s “Do’s and Don’ts in Advertising Copy” Binder Every rule and regulation you needed to break, updated yearly. No one considers the 1950’s a golden age in advertising, except perhaps for the salaries (if you were the right gender, religion, and color to work in the industry). TV was new and money flooded into agencies trying to reach Americans glued to the three networks. The real creative revolution began in the 1960s. All the rules were broken. I know because I have the rulebook. When one of the big agencies I used to work for was moving... Continue reading

A British TV show has a fix for everything. Steve Fletcher (clocks), Will Kirk (cabinets), Kirsten Ramsay (ceramics), Jay Blades (host, furniture), Lucia Scalisi (paintings). Photo credit: Weald & Downland Living Museum It’s the office we’d all like to go to. In an historic, thatched-roof barn in bucolic West Sussex, England, a team of expert restorers fixes beloved family heirlooms. Is their work appreciated? Typically, the customers burst into tears when they see the restorations. The sounds of a music box, unheard for decades, recalls time spent with a grandmother as a child. A precious antique vase, passed through five... Continue reading

Today's Six Chix cartoon by Isabella Bannerman. The hermit crab version of a McMansion. Continue reading

There's nothing like a new robe. Mom, circa 1973, Buffalo, NY. Some things are sacred to a man. His brand of potato chips. His James Brown Live at the Apollo LP. The inviolability of his shaving razor. And, to be protected at any cost, his robe. My flannel robe had been under attack by my wife for over a decade, possibly two. I could never really understand why. It was a “black watch” tartan pattern, soft as a misty day in the Scottish highlands, and I laundered it frequently, at least twice a year. Actually, my wife had one main... Continue reading

In my family, the paranormal is normal. My grandfather, Bengt Paul, was a graphologist, read the future in cards, and practiced automatic handwriting. He also liked an expensive cigar. Do you believe in ghosts? I don’t. But I admire the people who make a living in paranormal professions. My grandfather dabbled in them. This might explain my love for any show about ghosts or aliens, or alien ghosts. I will also watch any program about Alaska or ancient Egypt. Recently there was documentary series called “Alaska Haunting” about ghostly visitations. Had they discovered a pharaoh’s tomb on the Chilkoot Trail... Continue reading

Our Roomba is currently hiding somewhere and we can't find it. It has disappeared into the ether. Continue reading