The “Fairest” Land: The Lake District

September 28th, 2009 · 10 Comments · Beyond Gotham

Beautiful landscape calls us to dream and to wander, to take paths unknown. In it, we fix our eyes both on the distant horizons and on the tiniest details at our side. It reaches into our souls, rewards and soothes us. It is the Earth’s embrace.
Standing in an open field in England’s Lake District recently, […]

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Kingston Point’s Varied Lives

June 10th, 2009 · 4 Comments · Beyond Gotham

Sometimes, surprising beauty lies behind a nondescript gate. At the end of a long street in Kingston, N.Y., and behind a wrought iron gate, lies a sparkling little park. It’s situated on the Hudson River near where the Rondout Creek flows into the wide river, so that water seems to surround the park. It has […]

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When GPS Becomes Gee…BS

March 13th, 2009 · 2 Comments · Beyond Gotham

The headline at least – “Blazing a Trail With a Smartphone, Visual Signposts Included” – promised a wondrous experience. The New York Times column on Wednesday, March 11 focused on some software that can turn your GPS-enabled cellphone into a dynamo that allows you to navigate a route and post photos, audio clips, and descriptive […]

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Pittsburgh’s Streets and Burbs

October 29th, 2008 · 13 Comments · Beyond Gotham

Talk about a starkly different experience of walking. I love to take walks wherever I go – to explore, relax, exercise, and take in the surroundings. While visiting my family in Western Pennsylvania this year — or “Western PA” as we natives call it — I could hardly have had a more different experience of […]

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