Photo Gallery of the Day: Stefano's - A Nyack Institution

Photo Gallery of the Day: Nighthawks At The Diner 5 - Open All Night

Today's MOMENT OF ZEN 2/19/13

The result of the loss of mojo. Words by F LoBuono

The French have a marvelous way of expressing complex concepts in simple words or short phrases. The one that comes to my mind today is joie de vivre or lust for life. Although fairly self-explanatory, it also has a deeper meaning. It describes a lifestyle or attitude that embraces life to the fullest. In a sense, it can be seen as a life force; a type of spirit that is more felt than articulated with words. It means to fully experience not only the highs, but the lows we all encounter on our journey through life, as well. And the key word is not experience but, rather, embrace. To experience life is to allow things to happen without truly understanding why things happen. There is a simple elegance in this; accepting things simply for what they are can be profound. However, when we embrace life, we come to terms with its meaning. I believe that this way of thinking takes us deeper and, therefore, makes our lives more complete.

We have a word in our vernacular that embodies the same concept: mojo. Although used for years among "hipsters", it faded from popular use until it was revitalized in one of the Austin Powers movies with Mike Meyers. In one installment, Super Secret Agent Powers has his mojo stolen by his nemesis, Dr. Evil. The plot revolves around Powers searching to recover it, for he is virtually powerless without it. It's a funny movie.

Well, today, I feel a little like Austin Powers looking for his mojo. You see, I get mojo. I believe in mojo. It give me swagger without arrogance. It makes me confident without being cocky. It allows me to not just succeed, but to excel. And it's one of those days that I just can't seem to find it. It's the weather. It's the job. It's the marriage. It's everything. And it's nothing. Mojo allows me to process all these things and place them where they belong. With mojo it's all part of the same movie - the good and the bad are both sides of the same coin known as life. With mojo life is not only manageable, it is enjoyable - all of it.

And it seems to have deserted me today. It happens, from time to time. The key is to find it ASAP because only mojo can defeat the blues that result from the loss of mojo. It's a vicious cycle! However, having HAD mojo, I believe that I know how to search for, and recover it. I have my talismans. I have my spirit guides. And, most, importantly, I have the knowledge that it WILL return. This IS mojo - the ability to understand that life is a process and if we keep the faith (a.k.a mojo), all will be revealed.

Now, if you should find my mojo (or joie de vivre, if you prefer) please contact me immediately! :)

Gallery of The Day: Nighthawks At The Diner 2 a.m.

Today's MOMENT OF ZEN 2/16/13

Photo and words by F LoBuono

Artists create something out of nothing, and INSPIRE us to do the same.

Today's MOMENT OF ZEN 2/15/13

Photo: AP / Copy:  F LoBuono

Unless you just awoke from a coma, or you're the type who shuns any type of daily, news broadcast (and I KNOW people like this!) you've seen, read, or heard about the the Carnival cruise ship Triumph's disastrous six day "adventure". For those of you just awakening from one of those comas, here's a brief synopsis: The Triumph, with over 4,200 passengers and crew aboard, was cruising the Gulf of Mexico towards Mexico when a fire in the engine room knocked out all power to the ship. Since modern cruise ships are, apparently, like modern cars, in that everything is computerized and, therefore, reliant on power, she ground to a halt. No power - no function. This meant not only no air conditioning in the cabins, but no refrigeration to keep food fresh, or pumps to keep the water (fresh and septic) flowing. So, you can imagine that, with that many souls aboard, the conditions would deteriorate rapidly - and they did - turning the ship into a stinking, floating cesspool! I'm sure that after two or three days, the conditions must have been downright deplorable. You can get an enormous amount of detail on what exactly happened in the five days needed to tow her to port in Mobile, Alabama by going on the Internet.

My focus is more on the response by the media to the crisis. Of course, a story like this doesn't happen every day and, therefore, it is certainly newsworthy. However, the media was all over this story like (you'll forgive the vulgar but rather apropos) flies on shit. My god, the coverage was wall-to-wall! There were daily updates -LIVE! News crews rushed to Mobile. There were helicopter flyovers. Speed boats were rented to seek out the Triumph at sea. Family members were found to provide worried commentary. When the ship finally got near port, the coverage got really FRENZIED! Stations interrupted their normal broadcasts to provide coverage of this breaking news story. CNN and others covered it LIVE for, seemingly, hours!! As it got closer, helicopters got near enough to see the sorry state of the ship and passengers waving and cheering from the rails. Commentary by the studio reporters was so sickeningly sweet that I actually got a cavity listening to it. Reporters and photographers mobbed survivors as they disembarked, treating them like conquering heroes. HOLY SHIT!! Can you say HYPERBOLE?! It was so over the top that E or Access Hollywood should have taken the lead on the story (which they did cover, in detail, on their programs!). ENOUGH!!

Look. I get it. It doesn't happen everyday. The state of the ship provided striking video. And, if I were one of the passengers, I'd be plenty PISSED and take all the coverage I could get. After all, this kind of scrutiny can help to foster needed change in an industry. But, still, it becomes a matter of perspective - for ALL parties involved; passengers and media alike. Yes. It sucked. But no one died. No one had to resort to cannibalism to survive. No one contracted scurvy or some other flesh-eating disease. And it was five freakin' days - FIVE DAYS! Most of us, especially those of us who just SURVIVED Sandy, have gone through that type of hardship and lived to talk about it. And, besides, SHIT HAPPENS, (pun most definitely intended). What occurred on the Triumph was certainly not the end of the world.

PERSPECTIVE. In this case it means using this as an opportunity to see things in a BROADER sense. These passengers lived in shit for five days and it became one the biggest stories in week filled with big stories. Well, ponder this for your perspective: there are millions of people though out the world who live under those condition EVERY SINGLE DAY. There are too many who have no access to fresh water, food, or decent sewage, much less air conditioning!! EVERY DAY of their lives.

PASSENGERS received compensation, including free cruises and cash, for their travails. In our world, for some of them, that won't be enough. There will be litigation and recrimination. I am not interested in that. What I'm hoping for is if we can USE all this media attention where it might do the most good - to educate, inform, and provoke people to action. The ordeal for the passengers of the Carnival Triumph is over. After the anger wears off, they will tell of it around the fireplace and laugh. But let's not forget those who live in squalor EVERYDAY. Perhaps, if we shine a little light THEIR way, we will actually do something about it.

Today's MOMENT OF ZEN 2/14/2013

Words by F LoBuono

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. Well, if that's the case, normally, when it comes to Valentine's Day, the one I posted above of The Incredible Hulk, would speak volumes for how I feel about this so-called holiday. Bah, humbug, also come to mind. And, considering the year that I've had romantically . . . well . . . But I'm not going there this year. No, sir, not this time. While scanning through the Facebook News Feed, there were MANY Valentine greetings and messages and, I'm VERY pleased to say that virtually all of them where poignant, dear, and truly heartfelt. They conveyed messages of peace, love, joy, and happiness. And, THIS, my friends, can NEVER be a bad thing.

So, it is with an open heart and a sincere desire for a better future for all, I wish everyone (god help me!) A HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Photo Gallery of the Day: FOGGY NIGHTS OVER THE TZ

Photo Gallery of the Day. 2/10/13

Who can possible say they didn't experience the pure JOY of sledding after a big snow storm? Imagine if you did it in a setting like the incredible Palisades and Hook Mountain. Special.

Photo Gallery of the Day 2/9/13

There are few places, if any, that can match the striking beauty of New York's Central Park after a snowstorm.