Clinton Stark

Clinton shoots videos for Stark Insider. San Francisco Bay Area arts, Ingmar Bergman and French New Wave, and chasing the perfect home espresso shot 25 seconds at a time (and failing). Peloton: ClintTheMint. Camera: Video Gear

Is your companion worth an extra $49?

That is the question. It seemed too good to be true, the Alaska Airlines promotion where your companion could fly with you for only $50 more. Starting October 1, 2009, the companion certificate will increase to $99. Still, by any measure, a bargain in my books. Could it even be better...

Sail it off the lot and you lose $50M

Do you remember the uber sailboat, the Maltese Falcon, Tom Perkins was building a few years back? A refresher: cost $150M,  length 289 ft. (the longest until a Russian billionaire crushed the record with a 557 ft. "boat"), staff 20. Not to mention all the amenities: gyms, home theaters, VIP...

Brand management and damage control 2.0: Social media to the rescue?

Audi's "unintentional acceleration" fiasco of the 1980s might have looked very different if Twitter and Facebook were around. Could the PR nightmare been avoided 140-characters at a time? AudiGermany @Audi5000driversuingus @60minutes fyi the gas pedal is on the right, brake on left. u shld read manual 2. thx! ;-) #damagecontrol #cuckoo Engaging...

Theater review: ‘Tommy’ at Coastal Repertory Theatre in Half Moon Bay

'Tommy', the infamous rock opera by Pete Townshend of The Who, is legendary stuff. Many a childhood was forever changed thanks to that record. It became the soundtrack of a generation; a teenage wasteland. The musical is based on the 1969 double album which tells a loose story about a...

Review: Lenovo IdeaPad U350 13.3″ laptop

For a first generation CULV-based laptop, the Lenovo U350 delivers on most counts.

TechCrunch on NYT, new media business models, and lean journalism

Michael Arrington, founder of a network of technology blogs including TechCrunch, published an interesting piece yesterday on new media business models and a hypothetical example based on the New York Times (What If: The New New York Times). If anyone has any clue on where new media is headed, Arrington...

Theater review: SF Playhouse ‘Cuckoo’s Nest’ captures emotion, oppression, spirit

My how times have changed. A lot of so-called  therapy today (not that I would know!) is based on spa-like treatment administered under the guise of "wellness." Patients are pampered and can tweet and Facebook to their narcissistic-heart's content. But there was a day, at least according to writer Ken...
Lenovo U350 review

First look: Lenovo IdeaPad U350 laptop

We just received a Lenovo IdeaPad U350 from Lenovo. This is a 13.3" laptop with almost netbook-like proportions (but not quite). Thin and light, it tips the scales at about 3.5lbs.

2003 St. Francis Zinfandel Old Vines, Sonoma (88 pts, $125 magnum)

St. Francis in Sonoma produces some of my favorite wines (Cabs and Chards). At 330,000 cases per year, they are a large operation, yet they've still been able to maintain the craftsman quality often found only in the boutiques. For me, Zins are hit and miss. Most of the time...

Apple’s non-netbook answer: 10″ tablet set for Fall launch according to the Financial Times

If I've learned one thing in my years it's not to bet against Apple. Ever (well, except when Gil Amelio is running the company). But still, sometimes I wonder what has taken Apple so long to introduce a netbook. The gap is screamingly large in their current product line-up. The smallest...