(BPT) - TV’s best-fed hedonist, Anthony Bourdain, is keeping busy these days with his hit travel series “Parts Unknown,” his publishing career and an upcoming appearance at this year’s National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show in Chicago. Love him or hate him, Bourdain is the biggest, baddest food dude on the planet. The self-proclaimed “chef slacker” shares his advice for restaurateurs and new chefs, and talks about his desired last meal on Earth and love of old-school cocktails.

(BPT) - Across the country, cypress siding is becoming increasingly popular among homeowners who are looking to add value, durability, and a lifetime of good looks to their homes.

In 2003, I traveled from Lodi to New York to spend a few days at Christmas time in the Big Apple. I had lived in New York for many years during the 1960s and 1970s, and had fond memories that I wanted to relive. By 2003, New York was on its way to recovery from the 9/11 attacks. The city had begun to rebound.

Just in case our readers were worried about the Lodians in New York whom I wrote about yesterday:

As Hurricane Sandy hurls devastating winds toward the East Coast, three young Lodi natives wait expectantly in a second-story Manhattan apartment, six blocks from an evacuation zone.

We were in the weeds for most of the summer, and browsing the wide release schedule for the next couple months makes it clear that things are only going to get worse before they get any better. But this too shall pass, and before we know it we’ll all be basking in the sweet, comforting glow of the fall movie season, in the company of Steven Spielberg, P.T. Anderson, Ang Lee and James Bond. But rewards must be earned, and for the time being we’ve just gotta grind it out.

NEW YORK (AP) — A judge says she'll rule within a week whether lawsuits by broadcasters against a service that offers commercial-free TV will be heard in Los Angeles or New York.

Will Smith was a top scholar from Lodi High School's Class of 2005.

When Luis Montalván returned from Iraq, he found himself secluded and constantly on alert in an apartment in Manhattan.

On May 6, Willie Mays celebrated his 81st birthday. During those 1950s years, the baseball world couldn't resolve the debate about who was New York's best center fielder, Mickey, Willie or the Duke. As sports writer Red Smith said: "Duke Snider, Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays. You could get a fat lip in any saloon by starting an argument as to which was best. One point was beyond argument, though. Willie was by all odds the most exciting."

A small group of us from the Sentinel traveled to the Googleplex in Mountain View a few years back to hammer out an agreement for the Googleites to digitize our newspaper archives.

As Kathy Grant leads tours of wide-eyed students down the meandering paths in the Lodi Lake Nature Area, she is always surprised when one of the kids say they did not even know there was a river in Lodi.

Jason Schierling is the new manager at Lodi’s General Mills plant. In a recent interview with News-Sentinel Editor Rich Hanner, Schierling discussed his background and transition to the local plant from a broad management career with General Mills.

Growing up in Montana, Jerry Wolfe remembers hearing 1970s country music, eating peanuts and seeing the glow of red lights as he went from bar to bar while his dad ran Keno games. His newest bar on Sacramento Street is modeled after those small-town country bars.

So far, the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators have only managed to sound sorry for themselves.

Forty years ago, during the height of the Vietnam War, I worked on Wall Street. Every day at lunch time, the hawks faced off against the doves. The demonstrations often turned ugly; fistfights were common.

JUNE PORTER

A graveside service for June Porter, 87, of Modesto, who died Sept. 15, will be held at 10 a.m. today at Lodi Memorial Cemetery, 5750 E. Pine St., Lodi.

LYDIA MAGGIO

A church service for Lydia Dean Maggio, 91, of Lodi, who died Sept. 18, will be held at 10 a.m. today at St. Anne’s Catholic Church, 215 W. Walnut St., Lodi. Committal will be private.

HAROLD LINDE

A service for Harold A. Linde, 82, of Lodi, who died Sept. 9, will be held at 10 a.m. today at St. Joachim’s Catholic Church, 13392 W. Lockeford Ranch Drive, Lockeford. A reception will follow in the church hall.

HAROLD LINDE

A service for Harold A. Linde, 82, of Lodi, who died Sept. 9, will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at St. Joachim's Catholic Church, 13392 W. Lockeford Ranch Drive, Lockeford. A reception will follow in the church hall.

HAROLD LINDE

A service for Harold A. Linde, 82, of Lodi, who died Sept. 9, will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at St. Joachim's Catholic Church, 13392 W. Lockeford Ranch Drive, Lockeford. A reception will follow in the church hall.

WESLEY BARQUIST

A graveside service for Wesley Barquist, 81, of Galt, who died Sept. 7, will be held at 10 a.m. today at Galt Cemetery, 14180 Joy Drive, Galt.

BRODERICK KOGA

A memorial service for Broderick Kazuto Koga, 52, of Seattle, who died July 30, will be held at 2 p.m. today at the Lodi Buddhist Church, 23 N. Stockton St., with Katsuya Kusunoki officiating.

WALTER BIPPUS

A graveside service for Walter Bippus, 85, who died Sept. 1, will be held at 1 p.m. today at the Galt Cemetery, with members of the Galt Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses officiating.