Give me your music, your art, your huddled masses of words and rhythms yearning to breathe free.
Some of my most interesting work experiences took place in Ukraine in the early 1990s, when Westinghouse Electric Corporation sent me to Kiev to work with representatives from that country’s nuclear industry. Ukraine’s Soviet-designed Chernobyl plant was the site of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986. But Chernobyl was only one of more than … Read more
During a business trip to Seoul, South Korea, in 1995 I traveled to the village of Panmunjon and took a USO-sponsored tour of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) which forms the border between North and South Korea – two countries that are technically still at war and in cease-fire mode. My father, Fred Spiardi, was a … Read more
Iʼm one of the worldʼs original Beatlemaniacs. Iʼm so proud of my big Beatle love that I unashamedly admit Iʼm old enough to have seen the Fab Four on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964 (well, I was only four – but I’ve never forgotten the thrill). While my childhood friends dreamed of one day … Read more
Okay, I admit I used to have a thing for actor Benicio Del Toro. He inspired me to start writing pop culture pieces. This article was published in the summer 1997 issue of “Bitch” magazine. The guys who run the local video store must hate me. The other day I brought back The Usual Suspects, … Read more