Though I'm still a freelancer (by which I mean I buy my own health insurance, pay my own cell phone bill and steal pens from whatever office I happen to be in), I spend most of my time these days as The New York Times's
I also write a weekly travel column in Portuguese for the web portal iG. It's called "Viagens", which means "Travel" (or, I suppose, "Voyages"), and comes out every quarta-feira. (If you don't know what that means, don't bother reading it.)
Please like the Frugal Traveler Facebook page and follow the blog on Twitter. Wait, let me make that easy on you...
Here's the latest:
I also have a Portuguese-language Twitter feed called @tuitesdo7. ("Seth", when pronounced in Portuguese, sounds exactly like the number 7, so that's my nickname in Brazil.) I also still have my personal English-language Twitter feed, but have to admit that it is priority number 3.
Old Stuff...
Friday, October 23, 2009 -- New York Times Travel section:
Latin America issue
Long
overdue update: I have a few pieces in the Times's Latin America special
this Sunday, including this cover
story on Minas Gerais, a 36
Hours guide to Montevideo, and travel
advice for those headed to Rio de Janeiro and Paraty. Also, violence
is up in Rio, and I talk about its effects on the Olympics in this
podcast
on the site of News Hour with Jim Lehrer. And the November issue of
Wallpaper*
is out, and I contributed several items in their "Fab 40"
section about Brazil. Last month's Wallpaper* includes my piece on
an amazing beach home architect Marcio
Kogan built in Paraty. And the Brazil
page of GlobalPost has all my latest from there.
Wednesday,
August 5 -- Mid-Winter Updates
August
is cold
season in these parts, as you'll know if you've been keeping up
with my Reporter's
Notebook on GlobalPost. And in my last two GlobalPost features,
I take on the formidable challenge of writing about President
Lula and Senate
President Jose Sarney. I've also had a number of Why We Travel
interviews published in the NYT Travel section, including this
one from Jordan which was one of my favorites. And here's my June
column from TAM Nas Nuvens. I had a piece on cachaca in the July
issue of Imbibe,
but it's not online so you'll have to check out a copy at whatever
public library near you stocks magazines about alcoholic beverages.
Saturday,
May 16 -- Nouveau Brazilian
From
tomorrow's NYT Travel section: anyone visiting Brazil can still find
all the all-you-can-eat churrascarias you want, but they'd be better
off trying out these
spots. Also, check out Belo Horizonte's awesome
bar food festival, in GlobalPost.
Friday,
April 22 -- Seriously, and they dance tango naked
and wear fruit on their heads
I
got so sick of Brazilians telling me Americans thought the capital
of Brazil was Buenos Aires, I decided to
take matters into my own hands.
Tuesday,
April 14 -- The April column in TAM Nas Nuvens
Here
it is. If you've never tried sleeve juice before, you've got to read
it.
Sunday,
April 12 -- Baixo Augusta in The New York Times,
Governador Valadares in GlobalPost, and new column in TAM Nas Nuvens
Here
are the latest pieces from the last two weeks: a
small piece in the Times Travel section on the bustling nightlife
corridor a kilometer or so from where I live; the first
of two reports from my trip to Governador Valadares, this one on the
Paragliding World Cup; and -- my column in April's TAM in-flight magazine.
I don't have a pdf of that one yet, but here's a photographic preview.
Wednesday,
March 25 -- The Sean Goldman (kidnapping? custody?)
case
It's
been hard for me to believe that two countries with at least generally
similar values systems can
see the same case so differently. Is it the media's fault? If
so, whose media?
Friday,
March 13 -- Juruaia, Minas Gerais: 8000 people,
141 lingerie businesses
My
GlobalPost
dispatch today notes that though the Brazilian economy is shedding
hundreds of thousands of jobs, the lingerie industry in this small
town in Minas Gerais is doing just fine. Some of the latest financial
news is in this
Reporter's Notebook entry. And last week's piece
was on possible regulation of the DJ industry.
Saturday,
Feb. 28 -- Salvador - 36 Hours
This
weekend's New York Times Travel section has my 36
hours piece on Salvador, but the real highlight is the slideshow
by Lalo de Almeida.
Friday,
Feb. 27-- TAM Nas Nuvens column
I
finally got around to scanning my first column for the Brazilian inflight
magazine TAM Nas Nuvens, the very day the February edition disappears
from the seat pocket in front of you. Click here
(or on the image) to see.
Friday,
Feb. 20-- Carnival and Those Who Despise It
Out
today on GlobalPost, interviews with the small but vocal minority
of Brazilians who hate
Carnival. Also, catching up on past work, I wrote the Brazil section
of GlobalPost's World
of Trouble feature on the global crisis, and have the last three
Why We Travel interviews in the NY Times Travel section. (Click
through the slideshow.). Plus, Notebook
entries on topics like the Brazilian teacher fired for using "I
Kissed a Girl" lyrics as a lesson on verb tense.
Friday,
Jan. 30-- This week's GlobalPost dispatches
It's
a tough choice -- would you rather read my latest work on interest
rates or sex?
Huffington Post chose
sex. There's no accounting for taste.
Monday,
Jan. 26 -- The Independent on GlobalPost
There
has been a ton of press about GlobalPost, some of it even
quoting me, but I especially liked the enthusiasm of the
story in today's Independent, from the U.K..
Sunday,
Jan. 25 -- Affordable Dominican Republic
The
New York Times Travel section's annual Affordable
Caribbean issue is out, and like last year, I
wrote about the Dominican Republic. This time, it was the north
coast towns of Cabarete and Sosua, with a detour down the Sabaneta-Moca
highway to certainly one of the most
unusual Indian restaurants around.
Wednesday,
Jan. 21 --- Covering Brasilia and Washington
My
latest
GlobalPost story went up this afternoon, about a major housing
headache in Brasilia. And yesterday, I was running around the Sao
Paulo yesterday gauging reaction to the inauguration in Washington
for my Reporter's
Notebook.
Wednesday,
Jan. 14 --- Reporter's Notebook...and Folha Clip
So
far, I've posted daily entries on my Reporter's
Notebook, which is GlobalPost's version of a blog. They've been,
generally speaking, quick analysis on what's news in Brazil. Expect
more diversified entries in the future, and please comment. Thanks
to Nelson de Sa at Folha de Sao Paulo, who mentioned
my article
on Brazilian blacks in the age of Obama on his "Toda
Midia" blog and in the print edition of Folha
today.
Monday,
Jan. 12 --- Global Post Debuts
GlobalPost
is live today, and I encourage everyone to check it out and let me
know what you think. I have three articles currently on the site:
Brazilian
drivers spoiled for choice at the pump
For
many Brazilian drivers, every trip to the gas station allows them
to choose between gas and ethanol.
For
Which It Stands: Brazil
Colorblind melting pot or racially divided society? Either way, Afro-Brazilian
leaders welcome Obama.
Read
All About It
In contrast with the U.S., newspapers are booming in Latin
America’s largest economy.
Saturday,
Jan. 10 --- Global Hype
GlobalPost
launches Monday, and the publicity has started rolling in. Here are
articles by the Associated
Press, the Boston
Globe, and AFP.
I was interviewed via email for this
story on PBS MediaShift. Three of my stories will be on the site
when it launches, along with my "Reporter's Notebook" more
commonly known as a blog.
Friday,
Dec. 12 --- Last Weekend
The
final
Weekend in New York column is now up, and will appear in the print
edition on Sunday. It's odd and a bit sad to have this happen while
I'm far away, but then again, it makes the awesome
slide show by Robert
Caplin a whole lot less embarrassing.
Thursday,
Dec. 11 --- A Close Shave...
...is
not what I got when
I took a straight razor shaving class at FSB Barber in New York.
Man, being old-fashioned 's hard, and probably
not worth it. Online, it's got a
slide show. If you've got the print edition, the article is in
today's Thursday Styles section. And save me a copy, the NYT costs
$5 here..
Wednesday, Dec. 10 --- First GlobalPost
Report...in Huffington Post
During
its Beta phase, GlobalPost
is publishing its work on Huffington
Post's new World page. This is my
first report from Brazil, on how Brazilian newspapers are thriving
even as American papers are in trouble. All but four of the top 30
newspapers here have gained in circulation since 2007, and nine have
gained by more than 10%. The newspaper Super
Noticia, from the state of Minas Gerais, is up 36% from last year
and is now the second-most read newspaper in Brazil, behind only Folha
de S. Paulo.
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Tuesday,
Dec. 9 --- From Sao Paulo
I
have arrived in Sao
Paulo, but my work continues to appear in New York. It's magic!
The November 30
coumn was about three very cool New York cemeteries, including
Green-Wood,
which was a big tourist attraction in the 1860's. (What can i say,
Disneyland was still a century away.) The last
one was part of the 2009 ski issue.
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Wednesday,
Nov. 26 --- Column Countdown
On
November 16, I suggested
a solution for rainy days in New York City: Grand Central Terminal.
Should anyone be wondering, you can save 50 cents on your Donut Plant
jelly doughnut by buying it at Joe, The Art of Coffee rather than
Oren's. Plus, the coffee at Joe is better anyway. Then, on November
23, the column
mapped out (literally) a day long tour of Manhattan by public bus,
for the grand total of $7.50.Three columns left to go...
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Wednesday,
Nov. 12 --- Introducing SethKugel.com 2.0
Hope
everyone likes the new look. If you spot any flaws, broken links,
etc., let me know.
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Tuesday,
November 11
I
had three pieces in the Travel
section's Winter in the Sun issue: the column, which was about
finding
old Cuba in New York (since you can no longer find it in Cuba).
Speaking of Cuba, Spanish tourist John Gomez was a
great interviewee for this
Travel photo. And Koni Stores have advanced
their plan to take over Brazil, since I last tried their hand
rolls in March. For November
2nd's Weekend column, I decided I had run out of advice for one
week, and asked tourists what the highlight of their trip to New York
had been. And I got a great mojito out of it.
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Saturday,
October 25
For
the week of Halloween, I wrote
about international sweets in the latest column. Also, a few Brazilians
have written to me after reading about my upcoming move to Brazil
in today's Folha de S. Paulo (not online). Actually, the article makes
it seem like I am already there -- not true, as evidenced by the heavy
sweater i am wearing today and the leaves changing color outside my
window. See the article on my Portuguese
page.
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Friday,
October 17
As
originally reported on the Portuguese page
of sethkugel.com (scooped by my own website!), I have accepted a position
of foreign correspondent for GlobalPost,
a new online international news organization. I'll be moving to Sao
Paulo, Brazil in December. Here's information
on Global Post, and here's the bio
they've posted on me. (Hmmm, that photo looks mighty familiar.) I
will also freelance regularly for the Times and other publications.
In
the meantime, Weekend in New York will continue to run into December,
after taking this Sunday off.
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Thursday,
October 16
For
Weekend in New York, I test every restaurant, attraction or activity
that I recommend. Not so for my piece in today's Styles section on
men
and Botox.
This
past Sunday was the Travel section's New York issue, so my regular
column compared
New York City guidebooks. I also did a 36
Hours feature in which every activity listed was new in 2008.
It comes with a video
and a slideshow.
And
though it only appeared online, on October 5th I wrote about how,
with tix to Broadway shows well over $100, you can still see theater
in New York on
the cheap.
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Thursday,
September 25
This
week's column, available on the web today, is about hidden
parks in Midtown Manhattan -- including a lot of places I had
no idea existed before I started researching. There's a great slideshow
that accompanies it, by Hiroko Masuike. I've also posted exclusive
chocolate-covered-bacon-eating video footage from NY1 from last
week.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Thursday,
September 18
This
coming Sunday is the Travel section's Asia issue, so my
column is about Asian New York, of course -- but about some of
the smaller Asian immigrant groups you don't hear much about.
Last week's was about eponymous shops -- or shops named after
their owners. Oh and to see me eating chocolate covered bacon on TV,
click here.
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Tuesday,
September 9
Immigrant
groups were the stars of the last two Weekends of August, first, the
really
awesome take out restaurants (and bakeries) in the West Indian
blocks of Brooklyn south and east of Prospect Park. Then the discovery
of the year, the live
samba and pagode at Miss Favela's Saturday brunch as seen in this
video. (Feijoada was awesome one time and mediocre the next time,
but the ambience is unbeatable. Didn't mention this in the piece,
but the owner noted that not only do Brazilians all think it reminds
them of Brazil, but people from around the world say it reminds them
of their own countries. Now that's an accomplishment.) Oh, the actual
article mentions other Brazilian music spots as well. Finally,
my piece
on Bryant Park, in which I manage to write about Fashion Week
without having to write anything about fashion.
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Wednesday,
August 20
I make a guest
appearance today in the Dining sections $25 and Under column,
reviewing Israeli schnitzel stops along Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Sunday,
August 17
If
you just read the print edition of last Sunday's Times, you may never
know where to get that Brooklyn-Queens Expressway t-shirt you've always
wanted. My column on unusual souvenirs ran only online.
This weekend's column
was about New York museums that highlight the city's history.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Saturday,
August 2
This
week's column
is about the three Brooklyn waterfront neighborhoods: Dumbo, Fulton
Ferry and the extraordinarily odd Vinegar Hill. I have also have this
little piece about Stockbridge, Mass. Last
week's column was about sake bars, and here's the
NY1 appearance where I talked about it.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Friday,
July 18
In
today's Arts section, I have a
piece on Juan Luis Guerra's lyrics, and the online version has
translations
of four of his songs, which were done with help on a few details
from the
artist himself and Ramona Hernandez at the Dominican
Studies Institute at City College, who miraculously explained
"arroz graneado" to me with help from her crack staff. Guerra
plays
Madison Square Garden tonight. My
latest column, on juice bars, is also out today on the Travel
website.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Monday,
July 7
Yesterday's
column was about hotel
bars, perfect if you're willing pay $22 a drink to have an outside
shot at a view of the MoMA sculpture garden, and the
previous week was about using your laptop + NYC wifi to find your
way around the city.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Tuesday,
June24
Long
overdue update--the last few columns:
June
22: NONMAINSTREAM
SPORTS: Are You Ready for Some Gaelic Football?
June
15: COLOMBIAN
CULTURE: A Fruit Shake, then Shaking to the Beat of Cumbia
June
8: The
Bronx is More Than Just Yankee Stadium
The
Colombian one got some press in Colombia, unsurprisingly, including
this
article in El Tiempo and Colombian radio networks, including W
Radio and
this clip from RCN.
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Monday,
June 2
My
column in yesterday's Times was on behind-the-scenes
tours. Meanwhile, in the Southern Hemisphere, It was obviously
a slow news week for the Brazilian press...you can see my appearance
on the Programa do Jô last Thursday here
(actually, the first nine minutes of it, but that's enough), and a
cute article in Saturday's Veja, the Brazilian newsweekly, here.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Thursday,
May 22
This
week's column is on Manhattan's
hidden gardens, and I forgot to post last weeks, on Jewish
arts in the city. Also, for anyone clicking in from Brazil, I'll
be a guest on the Programa
do Jô on May 27.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Monday,
May 12
The
International Herald-Tribune just ran versions of both the column
on music venues and the shopping
article on Vila Madalena in Sao Paulo. Also, here's this
weekend's appearance on NY1.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Thursday,
May 8
This
week's column,
about tiny spots to catch live music shows in the city, is part of
the Travel section's music issue. Also, if you are among the 100%
of my friends and 99% of humanity in general who missed me this
morning at 6:20 on Univision, I'll be on NY1 this Sunday at 10
a.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Saturday,
May 3
This
weekend's travel section is now online, with my
too-short piece on the ever-growing, ever-quirky shopping scene
in Sao Paulo's Vila Madalena neighborhood with a cool photo of Ronaldo
Fraga's store by Lalo de Almeida. I had to leave some pretty good
stuff out, like Japonique
(selling all things Japanese) and Toc
Na Cuca (a cool art and design bookstore, 100% in English), both
opened in the last few months.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Thursday,
May 1
Hey,
what are you doing this Saturday at 7 a.m.? If you're answer is "Nothing,
let's totally get together!" then read on. If not, come back
next week. This
week's column is about what early risers can do in the lonely
pre-brunch hours of a New York City weekend. If you're still reading,
you will be among the few interested in my appearance on Channel 41/Univision's
"Al Despertar" news show a week from today. I should be
on sometime between 6 and 7 a.m.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Thursday,
April 24
A
water tower at MoMA, Indian art at the Met, and dirt at the American
Museum of Natural History in this
week's Weekend in New York.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Thursday,
April 17
Europe
in New York is the theme of this
week's column, to correspond with the Travel section's Europe
issue that comes out this weekend. There's an all new
Weekend in New York video as well.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Thursday,
April 10
It
may appear that I have a new, obsessive interest in hard liquor, considering
yesterday's cachaca
piece and this
week's column about martinis, online today. A mere coincidence
of scheduling, I assure you.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Wednesday,
April 9
The
Dining section today has my
piece on aged cachaca, and a video
tour of a cachaca-producing "alambique" in Brazil. Here's
the
version that ran in the International Herald Tribune, the Portuguese
translation from UOL, and an
article from BBC Brasil.
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Sunday,
April 6
Today's
column: stuff
to do on Madison Avenue. Next week: martinis.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Sunday,
March 30
Catching
up, here are the last three columns: there was this
one on the best Irish bars in Manhattan, as picked by the Irish
themselves; then, a surprising most-emailed list favorite, on tea,
here.
This weekend's is on flea
markets.
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Thursday,
March 6
This
week's column
on street art is out, along with a great
slideshow by Robert Caplin. Lots of new stuff on the Multimedia
page: this past weekend's NY1 appearance;
and old television appearances on CUNY-TV's Nueva
York, the WB11 news, and Brazil's
Manhattan Connection (in
two parts). Even a couple radio clips.
I'm
gone for a while and won't be updating. I'm sure you'll survive.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Sunday,
March 2
Two
other items of interest in the Travel section this Sunday: the Why
We Travel photo and the Q&A,
starring several of my knowledgeable Brazilian friends giving sage
(or possibly erroneous) travel advice.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Thursday,
February 28
This
weekend's column about Greek New York is out here.
I'll be talking about it on NY1's New York Times Close Up this weekend.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Monday,
February 25
On
NY1, I put English marmite on Dominican cassava bread for perhaps
the first time in culinary history. Watch
here.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Friday,
February 22
The
latest column
is on international grocery stores, and the accompanying
video is online, with some embarrassing photos of my brother and
me in the late 1970s. I'm on NY1 talking about it again this weekend,
Sat. at 10 pm. Sun. at 10 am.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Thursday,
February 14
Couple
new things. First, the column,
on the islands of New York City (it's part of the Travel section's
cruise issue). Also, a piece
from this week's Viva New York section of the Daily News, on "In
The Heights" move to Broadway. (Great show, see it.) Finally,
I'll be on NY1 this weekend and next, regular times, 10pm Sat, 10am
Sun.
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Monday,
February 11
I
talked about the museums piece on NY1 yesterday
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Thursday,
February 7: Museums
Museums
after Dark: It's Party Time in the Galleries is out today; I'll
be talking about it on NY1 Saturday at 10 p.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m.
Also, the folks at one of Brazil's major papers got a little lazy
during Carnival and ran
another piece in the "article about the New York Times's
article"
genre. You can read the always-amusing automatic Google English translation
here.
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Saturday,
February 2: Rock and Roll
The
column
is about rock music in New York City; here's this week's Why
We Travel photo.
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Monday,
January 28: Yesterday on NY1
Yesterday's appearance on NY1 with Sam
Roberts, talking about the Korean column.
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SATURDAY,
January 26: Carnival Options
Also in this Sunday's Travel section: a piece
on lesser-known Brazilian carnivals. Here's a Portuguese
translation from Ultimo Segundo. And I forgot to mention last
week's Why
We Travel photo.
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Thursday,
January 24: Korean New York
Here's
the latest
column, with the accompanying
video. I'll be talking about it on NY1 this Saturday at 10pm and
Sunday at 10am. Also a couple new blog
entries.
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Thursday,
January 17: Winter Gardens
It's
surprising pleasant to visit the
city's botanical gardens during the winter, and that's even before
the orchid show comes to the Bronx. Somehow I got them to use my photo,
too.
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Monday,
January 14: Family Blogging
The
septuagenarian blogosphere is abuzz: family matriarch Judy Kugel has
begun chronicling her eighth decade a few weeks early at www.70-something.com.
Check it out.
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Thursday,
January 10: Erotic Literature
Actually,
Sunday's
Weekend in New York is about libraries. But the last two lines
really are about erotic literature.
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Tuesday,
January 8: Small Step for Website Technology
A
few recent NY1 appearances are now on the new multimedia
page. Plus, a blog
entry on the new Brazilian bakery that opened yesterday in Astoria.
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Thursday,
January 3: Weekend in New York-- The Trilingual Video Edition
This
coming Sunday's column
about NYC's many contrasts is online, and so
is the latest video. Also, check out the Dominican video dubbed
in Portuguese and the Atlantic Avenue video dubbed
in Spanish and Portuguese
by MSN's crack linguists. Wacky.
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THE
LATEST: 2007
