Not My First Rodeo?

The Author With His Newborn Son | Courtesy B. Maschal Private Collection

As I cross over the one week mark of being a new dad (again), there have been lot of firsts. My daughter’s birth was anything but traditional. I also never had the experience of bringing her home from the hospital. So, when her little brother was born, it was technically not my first rodeo, but in many ways it certainly might as well be.Continue reading

Good Reads: Dave Grohl, The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music

B is a longstanding member of the NY Public Library system. She rips through like 2-3 books per week sometimes. Occasionally while perusing the library inventory she will pick up a book or two for me as well. Sometimes I get around to reading them, sometimes not. One of such books in the “did read” category recently was Dave Grohl’s “The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music.”Continue reading

Dad Bod

The Author Stands Pensively on a Massive Log in the Snow | Courtesy of the B. Maschal Private Collection

If bebe Breinholt’s expected date of arrival is any sort of accurate indication, I have one month to 6ish weeks to dial in my dad bod. When I mention “dad bod,” I’m not referring to the colloquial pooch and muffin-top versionContinue reading

February 2024 Playlist

We are squarely into the back third of winter. Sunset is now after 5PM. February is here, and it is leap year. Some jams for us to collectively enjoy during the next 29 days of February-

Learning From the Newbs

The Author, After Completing Some January BK Miles

With January, comes new year’s resolutions. I applaud all humans who have chosen a fitness goal to tackle in 2024. True to the cliche, the gyms were full to the brim for the first week of January (as determined by the very unscientific method of my personal observations). I typically only use the gym to change and shower, since my preferred workout is a lunchtime run of the Central Park Drive loop (which incidentally had been my M.O. long before this article was published, and I can tell you that it is not as nearly as much of a power move as they try to make it seem).Continue reading

2023 Recap in Photos from Jake’s iPhone

Dec. 2023 Party Cam Archives | Photo Cred: Michelle Santucci

2023 was a helluva year. It brought two pretty huge life events for me. One of those was actually a loss-of-life event, when we said goodbye to our little pooch, Lola. I only knew her for the second half of her nearly 16 years of life. But in that relatively short time, she definitely became one of my best friends. I started several times to write about her passing on Jake.News, but was never able to complete a draft suitable for publishing. However, Continue reading

January 2024 Playlist

Happy New Year!! Here we find ourselves staring down the barrel of 2024. Geopolitical outcomes of certain matters slated for this year could have far reaching consequences. Anxiety inducing uncertainty abounds. But hey, here are some jams to take your mind off of it! Enjoy–

A Brush With Royalty

A well documented peril of modern architecture is the fatal effects of plate glass on songbirds. It is super sad to me. There is a new building on the north side of Central Park that was recently profiled by the NY Times as being an exceptionally prolific killer. It is one of those things that I just have to try not to think about, because otherwise I get very upset, especially knowing that there is nothing that I can do about it.Continue reading