It’s the new year, time to try something new or at least find a reason to get off the couch on a regular basis. There are opportunities to try acting, singing, dance, directing or playwriting throughout the region. They range from a $15 workshop on stage combat to a $150 eight-week session on directing contemporary theater.

Mention McKinnon’s Market and Super Butcher Shop to any transplant from Massachusetts’ North Shore and a testament to the store’s wonderful meat selection and marinades will follow.

As a kid I loved baseball cards. I liked to put them in the spokes of my bike for the cool sound they made. I liked to flip them, trade them, and I loved the gum that came in the package. But most of all I liked those cards for the stats I found on the back.

I’m one of those people who drives a hybrid car.

I don’t mention this to be gratuitously smug; in fact, though I generally love the car, it has of late been a pain in my proverbial posterior. While its geeky LCD display showing me fuel mileage and other stats delights me, the car has a dark side. A side that perfectly demonstrates how technology can be, rather than a savior, our downfall.

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