Counting the Minutes
"I just have a few things." Portuguese Proverb: “Visits always give pleasure—if not the arrival, the departure.” "Hospitality is making your guests feel at home, even if you wish they…
Between Points A and B.
Behold the beauty of maps. Utilitarian, certainly. But beyond that: works of art. The best objects in life can whop you with a double-whammy of usefulness and beauty. A sleek…
July 3, 1776
A storm, the previous day, had broken a spell of humid days. It was mercifully cooler. Although not so much indoors, where the Second Continental Congress was meeting in the…
The Price of Courage
The Lockheed Model 10E Electra had been reconfigured with extra fuel tanks replacing the passenger seats, allowing the plane to travel further between re-fueling. Her co-pilot was Fred Noonan. Landing…
203 Years to the Day
In Lyon, France, this week, a hat reported to be worn by Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo sold for more than $400,000 at auction to a European collector…
White Dog, Whiskey Thief, Red Line
On National Bourbon Day. Do you know your single barrel from your small batch? Know what to do with a whiskey thief? (It's not as dangerous as it sounds.) Use this guide…
Cognac, Cigars and Suez
Don't let the title throw you, we're not going to discuss the Suez Canal. (Although it's a fascinating subject.) Lady Clarissa Eden, wife of Sir Anthony Eden, said in the…
Paris in the Twenties
Oh, to be young and in Paris in the 1920s, creating myths, telling lies, rubbing shoulders with genius. Spending cheap francs on comfortable lodging, ample drink, and long dinners. British…
An Interview with Jeffrey Foucault
Jeffrey Foucault's latest album, Blood Brothers, comes out on June 22 (available now for pre-order), and we saw the perfect opening to ask him a few questions for our Rule…
Broken Hearts and Dirty Windows
I came to him kind of late. I was in a strange place, flipping around the dial in my car radio, trying to find the local jazz station, and I…