Bruce
I'm a host and producer for WNPR, and creator of The Real Life Survival Guide.
ONGOING CONVERSATIONS ABOUT MODERN LIVING…
How can you be politically active if you can’t stand politics?
This questions was suggested by Amy Nawrocki (one of this weeks guest editors), and it immediately resonated with me.
You see, I very much would like to be politically active – but I tend avoid unpleasantries in general. When you hear the way guys like Glenn Beck incite animus I tend to run screaming. This is not an excuse, mind you. (Okay it’s an excuse.)
So, How can you be politically active if you can’t stand politics?
How do you motivate yourself for a project you’re not excited about?
This question comes from Cindy Papish Gerber the producer of our public radio show.
When she isn’t producing our show (for free, I might add – as is the case for all of us!) Cindy is a writer, and she was telling me the other day that she finds herself procrastinating over the stories she’s not excited about.
You’ll hear our guest editors tackle this question on Sunday’s show, but for now, it’s your turn;
How do you motivate yourself for a project you’re not excited about?
Episode 31: Food!
Podcast: Download
This week’s conversations took place at one of our favorite restaurants in New Haven: Union League Cafe (thanks Jean-Pierre!), and our guest editors were Cynthia Lyon, Susan Jacobs, and Cynthia’s sister, food critic Todd Lyon.
Cynthia, Duo, Bruce, Susan and Todd (Photo by Cindy)
Cynthia is the founder and leader of Eight To The Bar, where she is also the primary songwriter and arranger. She has also played with Amyl and the Icons and The Dirty Blondes of New York City.
Susan has practiced law for more than thirty years, devoting her practice to Divorce Mediation and Collaborative Law. She is active in community theater and has served on numerous boards and commissions in the Town of Woodbridge.
Todd has been covering the local restaurant scene for 20-plus years, for The New Haven Register, The New Haven Advocate, Connecticut Magazine and now the newly-launched Daily Nutmeg. She has authored, co-authored and/or ghost-written 17 books on subjects as diverse as Champagne, business and kissing. For the last seven years, she and co-owner Nancy Shea have run Fashionista Vintage and Variety, a clothing store for eccentrics.
What’s your favorite resource for recipes?
One of my major goals in life is to start cooking more.
With this in mind, I asked our guest conversationalists in Episode 31 to share their favorite resources for recipes.
What are yours?
How can you eat affordably / healthfully at a restaurant?
This is a tough one – isn’t the whole point of going to a restaurant indulging one’s self?
(On the other hand, if you master these skills, you’ll have more money and you might live longer…)
It’s worth a conversation: How can you eat affordably / healthfully at a restaurant?
What should you do if you don’t like your food in a restaurant?
This question was suggested by noted Connecticut food critic Todd Lyon after a conversation with a fellow foodie.
(You’ll hear what Todd and our other guests had to say on Sunday when we air this week’s episode.)
What do you think: What should you do if you don’t like your food in a restaurant?
Episode 30: Warmth, Email, Books and Relationships
Podcast: Download
We gathered to record Episode 30 at Cafe Romeo, the hip, delicious East Rock coffee shop. We were joined by Anne Witkavitch, Kristin Huffman, and Mark Branch, and hosted by Chris Mordececai.
Bruce, Anne, Mark, Kristen, Chris, and Duo (Photo by Cindy)
After getting her MFA, Anne Witkavich left Corporate America and started her own communications & change management consulting business. She also compiled and edited the award winning book, Press Pause Moments, and began teaching writing at WCSU. Anne is a health and wellness enthusiast and stays active with her husband, two children, dog and cat. Her philosophy is that if you have a vision and a plan, you’ll get where you’re going no matter what life throws at you.
Kristin Huffman is a multi tasker who really doesn’t like to multi task. She is a producer, Broadway performer (in the Tony Award winning show “Company”), Artistic Director and founder of The New Paradigm Theatre which is hosting the “So ya wanna be a Broadway Star” competition Jan 28/29th in Stamford. Kristin is a professor at The University of Hartford (Hartt school) and Western CT University. (She was also Miss Ohio and a runner-up to Miss America which paid off all her student loans at Northwestern University!)
Mark Alden Branch is the executive editor of the Yale Alumni Magazine and a writer with a special interest in architecture and design. He is the father of two boys and lives in the East Rock section of New Haven.
What are the characteristics of a “good relationship”?
As Duo points out in Episode 30, the word relationship involves “at least two things in position with each other…”
This obviously creates a wide range of possibilities, both good and bad.
The show airs tomorrow at 4:30 on WNPR, and you’ll hear what our guest conversationalists Kristin, Anne and Mark had to say.
In the mean time, I’m interested in your thoughts: What are the characteristics of a “good relationship”?
Read any good books lately?
It’s easier than ever to read a book these days. In addition to the traditional pulp-based product, there are Kindles, Nooks, Droids – iPhones, iPods and iPads.
One difficult task remains, however: choosing the next book you’re going to love.
Which begs the question: Read any good books lately?
What is a reasonable turnaround time for emails?
This one’s been on my mind lately, and you’ll hear what our guest conversationalists had to say on the subject in Episode 30 this Sunday.
I’m pretty quick, but, as we talked about during our recording session, this has the effect of training people to expect a fast response.
What do you think – an hour? A day? Two days? More???