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Occasionally it's nice to get an unsolicited gift in the mail - even if only snailspam. In this case, a rather cool cardboard "Eiffel Tower party hat" from  St Germain , maker of the classy elderflower liqueur of the same name. I stumbled across this addictive concoction at a Dr Ruth Westheimer book launch at BottleRocket  and must have tipsily given them the GPS coordinate of my bunker. The enclosed classy instruction sheet, resembling a menu from one of these places , asks recipients to take a shot of themselves with it - presumeably expecting overexposed snaps of the tower teetering atop boozy, high-fiving party animals @ some velvet roped club or midwestern garage BBQ or other predictable composition. No such luck from the Galfromdownunder, who, with no such luck of a St Germain-fueled party invite, came up with this: a  David Weekes Hanno climbing the St Germain Eiffel Tower with Manhattan's London Terrace in the background! Now setting up such a sho

6 years after my Cuba book was published, I still get nice emails from people who've found it in a library, on a shelf in a backpacker's hostel in Nepal (thanks Sarad),  or got it for 99 cent plus $10 shipping on Amazon. It's technically only published in the USA, Canada, Australia, NZ and now Germany, but has found its way around the globe. It's even in Iraq ... Here's are some from this week: Hi Lynette, We've never met; I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed your Cuba book!I finished it last eve, in preparation for a 3-month trip there next month, & I could barely put it down!  I loved your great honesty, modesty, insights, philosophy, humor, descriptions, etc (& this was the first book I've finished in 10-20+yrs)! If you're ever in the Phoenix area you're welcome to stay in my guest bedroom. Best wishes! Dave Foster, AZ Lynette, I have to agree with Peter Sutherland about the reviews of your book. I did have to put it down whe

The Pink Panther demonstrates camel side plank and bow poses. You don't have to be this bendy to benefit from a little yoga!   I have proof: Yoga works. It really works. Remember how I put my back out in Tokyo last month? I was crawling around like a ninety-something, unable to even put my socks on, and having to get out of bed on all fours. As you will read, it is likely I suffered sacro-iliac joint pain, that is, the spot that joins the sacrum to the pelvis got locked up from walking by favoring my right side, and the muscles on the left lower back started spasming, trying to yank my pelvis back into alignment. Here's a very good article about the sacro iliac joint pain . After some chiropractic treatment then three weeks of making excuses so I didn't have to do anything, I gingerly took myself off to a yoga class. To cut a long story short: 90 percent of the stiffness and pain miraculously vanished after that class. In my Yelp Review of the studio where I

I just loitered across the most ludicrous piece of advertising copywriting since leaving the land of Truth Entertainingly Told. In fact, I even made a video of me badly acting this $100-an-hour piece of unintentional Saturday Nite Live satire. Have a perve (3 Mb Quicktime movie) , as we say downunder. For those ill-equipped with the technology to see my C-grade performance, I reproduce the copy below. Put on your best Platoon garb, grab a whistle, strap on your Smith & Wesson and read with the trepidation of someone about to pull a big fat trigger on some Donalds and Daisy's out minding their own business ... As long as you're looking up, a little prayer couldn't hurt. You called. Begged. Pleaded. You did whatever it took to get them back, and now there's a whistling of wings coming your way fast. Though it might be your last chance, it's the only one you'll need now you're loaded three-deep with new UltraShok TM. It's from Federal Premium,

Pictured above: With author and Japanophile Harris Salat and his book "Japanese Hotpots: Comforting One-Pot Meals" - music to a busy bachelorette's ears A month after returning from Japan , my obsession with it continues. Not only did I spend a good 60 New York minutes (= 10 outer-borough minutes?) browsing a book about Geishas in  Takashimaya , pleaded a Japanese friend to bring over some  cute cat-shaped dust-collectors , trekked across town in driving rain to eat  okonomiyaki  at Otafuku, and indulged in a few other things I'd rather not mention ...  I invested $22 to attend the Japan Society Hotpot lecture . I say "invested" because any casual Googling of the words 'japanese hotpot' or 'nabe' will reveal a ton of easy recipes and how-to you really don't have to pay for. Basically, cut up whatever you want, heat stock in a large casserole pot - preferably iron or clay - put the two together, and close the lid. $22

I'm just back from rolling out the recycled green carpet for David Kroodsma, the winning Huffington Post Hopenhagen Ambassador. What's that all about? ' avaread ...

Am I nuts? A friend is coming over to the USA and I am getting him to bring me this: a Maneki Neko cat . If you follow that link, you will learn that this beckoning/waving/money/good luck cat is a popular fixture in businesses in Asia. A raised left paw is meant to bring customers; a raised right paw brings money and wealth. This little guy has both paws raised, albeit with eyes firmly closed as if to say "Bring it on!" I didn't have this background when I spotted it in a store near Gotokuji station where I stayed in Tokyo. I thought it was cute, but not worth spending $10 on to clutter up my no-room-for-clutter life. But then, I land in the USA, and I'm pining for this little cat. Ever done that? Wish you'd bought something and then gone to the trouble and expense of getting it later? It has a double significance for me, as Wikipedia speaks of its legendary origins where I stayed in Setagaya-Ku, one of Tokyo's west wards: The Temple Cat: This stor