News

I often write about how to get the best possible deal on airfares and other aspects of travel. But sometimes people ask me if we think it's ever worth it to pay for upgraded, luxury or even ultra-luxury, travel. My answer is yes and no - depending upon the amount of money at your disposal for travel, the length and breadth of your travel bucket list and the aspects of travel that really "wow" you.

Club and concierge rooms: Many national and international hotel brands provide opportunities to upgrade to a club or concierge room. These are often larger rooms, sometimes suites, with better views and amenities like free WiFi, pool access and such. The price differential can be 10 to 25 percent, so a $200 room might be bumped up to $220 or $250 and is indeed frequently worth it.

New York / Paris / London

Donna Karan mingled with Miss Piggy, Michael Kors judged karaoke with Debra Messing and Kim Kardashian signed perfume sets as shoppers broke out their stilettos - and their wallets - for the fourth annual Fashion's Night Out.

The celebrity-studded night on Thursday was designed to lure shoppers into stores for celebrity spotting, music, giveaways, food and drinks, and, of course, shopping. By early evening in New York, the basement beauty floor of Bergdorf Goodman was packed.

Madeleine Russell of Manhattan, wearing her FNO shirt from last year, got her nails done ahead of a long line. She attends FNO events every year.

"I'm inspired by all the fashion around me and I get my own ideas," she said.

The event - launched in 2009 in New York by Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour - has proven so popular that it's now a fixture in some 19 countries, over three weeks involving tens of thousands of shoppers.

Adding late bloomers now can bring new life to your waning flower beds Embed multimedia (photos, galleries, audio, map):  Auturmn blooms Auturmn blooms Auturmn blooms

It has been a wacky gardening season. An early spring got things up and blooming much sooner than usual, and many perennials blossomed far ahead of schedule, leaving very little now to keep the garden colorful until frost. The plants we usually depend on to carry us into fall have come and gone. Luckily, September is a great planting month. Cooler temperatures, warm soil, frequent rainfall and more time make for less stress on the plants and on us. If your perennial garden has pooped out, look for some of these late bloomers to add a last blast of color to your fall garden.

Oregon Northwestern wine country produces the best on earth

Driving southwest from Portland an hour or so through the suburbs, you hit the heart of Oregon's wine country rather suddenly. Here the mountainous Coast Range slopes to the Willamette Valley floor, which is smothered with vineyards that produce some of the best pinot noir on earth.

Almost too quickly, you're far from Portland and into lush, green farmland where white-on-blue signs - often several to a post, flipping past like roadside ads for Burma Shave - point up quiet, twisty roads toward small, family-run wineries.

Oregon is home to some 500 wineries. After California, which produces 90 percent of U.S. wine, it is one of the top three wine-producing states, along with Washington and New York.

Baggage Check

Q: Do you think a relationship can work as long-distance when it hasn't become serious yet? A guy I've been dating for three months is taking a job transfer to Boston. Part of me is wondering if I should expend my emotional energy trying to keep something going with him. He talks about how cheap the flights are, but I don't know that I'm there yet.

A: It seems your real question is, "How can I get more serious with someone I'm not interested in getting more serious with?"

Throwing a long-distance angle into a new relationship is tough, and careful deliberations are imperative. But I'm sensing a major "meh" on your part.

You've been dating for three months, not three days - motivation should be higher. When you're into someone, your instinct is to think of ways to make it work, rather than trying to get a random psychologist to convince you.

What you post on the internet stays there, if not forever then at least for a very long time. So what may seem like a moment of merriment can turn out to be an embarrassment that hangs around far longer than you ever imagined.

For the record, I am not lecturing careless, renegade tweens and teens who have heard this diatribe countless times over sexting, inappropriate posts and other online bad behavior. No, this time the screed is directed at parents who post videos of their children online in the hopes that their child's adorable, brilliant, engaging antics will go viral.

While we sat outside waiting for a table at the School House Cafe in Warner, a white-haired, bearded gentleman in a khaki cap with "Jesus" across its front, stopped to pass the time of day with us. He told us how good his breakfast had been; he admonished my granddaughter's boyfriend on healthy eating and what he should and shouldn't eat or drink. The man didn't mention his name but did let drop that he had a drivers' education school and that he lived in Salisbury before trotting on his way.

"Why didn't I get his name?" I muttered. "He'd be a fun column."

My much more computer-oriented granddaughter said, "You know he has a driving school, probably in Salisbury. Go home and Google driving schools and hopefully you'll find one in Salisbury."

Canada Time travel, gritty crime fuel 'Looper'

Emily Blunt wants to head back to the 1960s or maybe the 1920s. Joseph Gordon-Levitt would prefer to visit the future.

So does Rian Johnson, their director on the time-travel adventure Looper, which opened the Toronto International Film Festival yesterday ahead of its Sept. 28 theatrical premiere.

The sci-fi thriller features Gordon-Levitt as a hitman in the year 2044, his victims being sent by mobsters back from 30 years in the future, when it's become virtually impossible to dispose of a body and get away with murder. Bruce Willis co-stars as Gordon-Levitt's latest victim - his own self three decades older.

Gordon-Levitt said he might like to visit the very distant past to see how language developed among humans, but he's generally forward-thinking on his time-travel destinations.

Listen to local bands, munch on local food and reconnect local farmland

It's a feel-good event if ever there was one: A picturesque farm, wholesome local food, music by local bands, all blanketed in that warm fuzzy feeling of knowing you're supporting a good cause. If you've got something better to do than the Harvest Festival on Saturday evening, you should be prepared to defend your definition of "better."

"It's just a nice chance for a great evening out in the fresh air," said Jay Haines, director of the Five Rivers Conservation Trust, which helped plan the event, together with the Green Concord business alliance.

The event is a fundraiser for the organization's Triacca Fields

conservation easement project, which is seeking to reconnect 24 acres of farmland to Dimond Hill Farm. The transaction, which will be completed in cooperation with the Concord Conservation Commission, will help ease operating costs for the farm while preserving a beautiful parcel of land, Haines explained.

Singer releases 12th studio album

At 51, Melissa Etheridge isn't coasting on her accomplishments. Take her guitar work.

The Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, whose 12th studio album has been released this week, challenged herself to play all the guitar parts this time around for the first time.

"I kind of thought when I was 30, that you're as good as your going to get. And that's not true," she says. "I have gotten so much better and I'm celebrating it on this album."

The album, 4th Street Feeling, has a dozen songs that mostly look backward - to her parents, childhood and breakups. It's named after a street in Etheridge's hometown of Leavenworth, Kan.

"I'm exploring being 51. I'm exploring the maturity, the wisdom that just comes from having gone around the sun 50 times," she says. "My experience is, 'Oh, I'm never really going to get it right. I'm never going to get it done. But that's not the point here.' The point is the journey."

North Carolina Tracy Reese creation showed off first lady's arms

First lady Michelle Obama got rave reviews for the custom-made Tracy Reese pink and copper dress she wore while giving a tribute to her husband at the Democratic National Convention.

The sleeveless dress showed off the first lady's famously toned arms and the length modestly skirted her knees. She paired the dress with pink pumps from J. Crew and her fingernails were painted a trendy blue-gray.

Reese described the dress as a "silk jacquard in an abstract baroque wallpaper pattern" with a bodice in hot pink woven with rust and copper. It's not the first time Obama chose a design by Reese, an African-American designer who is showing a new collection Sunday during New York Fashion Week.

In an email, Reese said the first lady "looked incredible and spoke beautifully; I am so honored that she chose to wear one of my designs for such a memorable occasion."

New York Music icon to play 87 shows this year

Fifty years into his career as a recording artist and a week away from release of an extraordinary new CD, Bob Dylan spent his Tuesday evening where he seems to feel most comfortable - on a stage.

In this case, he marked the grand reopening of a refurbished theater in Port Chester, a gritty village 35 miles northeast of New York City.

At 71, the renowned songwriter is a road warrior. Tuesday was his 50th gig out of 87 scheduled this year, a schedule that has seen him play a brewery in Missoula, Mont.; a baseball field in Fort Wayne, Ind.; and an amphitheater built on the site of the first Woodstock concert in Bethel, N.Y.

In the past 20 years, Dylan has played more than 2,000 concerts, said Bill Pagel of the Boblinks website, who meticulously logs every song he performs.

Early September is the height of tomato season in New Hampshire Embed multimedia (photos, galleries, audio, map):  Home Plate

The end of August and early September are tomato season in our part of New Hampshire. The nights aren't yet cold enough to turn tomato flesh mealy, and the days are still long and warm enough to coax long-season heirlooms into multi-pound plumpness and brilliant hues.

I planted my tomatoes a little late this year, so I haven't had so many tomatoes to contend with (yet) that I've begun putting them by for winter. When that day comes, I'll probably slow roast most of them, which concentrates their flavor and collapses them into a more manageable size for freezing. In winter, their intense sweetness will find its way into soups, stew and sauces.

For now, though, I'm eating my tomatoes vine-ripe and sun-warmed, mostly with just a sprinkle of salt, and maybe a drizzle of olive oil and vinegar.

Philadelphia 'Made In America' to be documentary

Jay-Z's entrance said it all: He bounced up and down on top of the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, mimicking Rocky before he took the stage in front of nearly 50,000. His song Made In America played in the background.

Jay-Z, like Rocky Balboa, has a rags-to-riches American dream story, and the 42-year-old entertainer - who grew up in the Brooklyn projects and released his debut album in 1996 - shared some of that through songs in his 90-minute set Saturday night at the Budweiser Made In America festival.

He entered from the back of the stage after running down the steps to perform Public Service Announcement. That was followed with the night's first cameo: a prerecorded video with President Obama.

Obama urged the crowd to vote this fall. He also said Jay-Z's story is "what Made In America means" and added that he enjoys listening to the rapper's music on his iPod.

Studio executives expected their biggest summer ever this year as they loaded their lineup with huge action movies and superhero franchises.

What they got were two colossal blockbusters - The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises - a handful of backup hits and plenty of duds that just didn't deliver, resulting in what may prove the lowest summer movie attendance in 20 years.

While domestic revenue is projected to come in as the second-best ever, the number of tickets sold shrank to about 532 million from the first weekend in May through Labor Day, down 4 percent from summer 2011, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com. If that holds by the time final ticket sales are counted through today, that would be the smallest audiences Hollywood has packed in for its busiest season dating back to 1993, the earliest summer revenue data maintained by Hollywood.com.

Cook from scratch. Eat foods in season. Buy locally. That is the conventional wisdom on what Americans must do to become healthier.

Ben Gardner does not agree.

The founder of Linkwell Health knows that Americans, especially those with chronic diseases, should eat better. Consumers with diabetes buy twice as many candy bars and more than twice as much Mountain Dew as their healthy peers, according to the research firm Nielsen, while patients with heart disease buy 10 times as many frozen dinners. But instead of trying to persuade these customers to purchase fresh produce and prepare a home-cooked meal, Linkwell offers them coupons for more healthful frozen dinners or diet soda.

In short, Linkwell doesn't let the ideal be the enemy of better eating, and the strategy is working.

Baggage Check

Q: My ex of one year recently called me to chat. At first things were friendly, but then he dropped a bombshell that he had broken up with his girlfriend - the one he ended up dumping me for - because he suddenly developed intense feelings for me again. But I'm over him. So how do I tell him that I've moved on and no longer want him in my life?

A: After all you've been through with him, I find it rather interesting that you didn't want to shout this out with a bullhorn. But in short, the answer to your question is very simple.

You open your mouth and form those exact words to him. And if you're having trouble saying it, you explore within yourself what the emotional block is: Do you feel guilty? Doubtful that you really mean it? Angry enough that you want to string him along? Sad that you're basically telling him it's over? There's some psychological hurdle there, and figuring out what it is will make it easier for you to break things off, once and for all.

Czech Republic Five free things to do in capital city

Prague is a vibrant city, with a lively nightlife that attracts lots of young tourists. But while cafes, busy streets and good beer draw plenty of visitors, among the most beautiful and appealing attractions in this trendy capital are its historic and cultural sites, in the Old Town, in churches and castles dating back centuries. And many of them can be enjoyed for free. Here are five suggestions:

Old Town Square

When you hear the crickets chirping, cool weather is near

Green leaves are fading and some are starting to turn red. Children and teachers are heading back to school. Many signs tell us that the seasons are changing. Some of those clues are the prominent sounds of crickets and grasshoppers as they perform their late summer swansong.

Spring is usually thought of as the time for courtship and reproduction, but for crickets and grasshoppers, now is when mating and egg-laying occurs. That is why we hear their calls, mostly created by the males, as they attempt to attract females and intimidate competitors.

The sounds, like bird songs, are specific to each species. When a male calls, the female of his kind will respond and approach him. After mating occurs, she deposits her fertilized eggs in the ground, or sometimes in plant material, where they will remain for the winter. In the spring (or summer, depending on the species) the eggs will hatch and begin to grow.

Avant-garde composer inspired and outraged

To many artists, he was one of the most inspiring figures of the 20th century. To some musicians, he is underrated: branded, unfairly, more important as a thinker than a composer. And to a large segment of the public, he's a charlatan: a man who convinced some people that sitting onstage in silence for four minutes and 33 seconds could be construed as performing a work of music.

John Cage - composer, philosopher, visual artist, mushroom enthusiast - would have been 100 years old Wednesday. This week, Washington, usually somewhat conservative in its musical tastes, is challenging its own image with an eight-day celebration, opening Tuesday and spread throughout some of the city's flagship arts institutions, that may be the largest Cage centennial in the country.