The Urbane Urbanite

(Photo S. James) The moment I arrive at Riu Sante Fe, the sprawling, 902-room pueblo-style resort in Cabo San Lucas ( www.riu.com ), I'm greeted with an icy welcome: A cold glass of rum punch. Ahh, let the all-inclusivity begin.

Recently, I enlisted the help of packing expert extraordinaire Doug Dyment to help whip my packing game into shape. The man TIME magazine calls "the go-light guru," shared his knowledge of packing, offered tips on how to travel lightly and challenged me to take a carry-on with me on a 4-day trip to Cabo. I'm back from Cabo. Did I do it?

Last week, I got pulled over in Essex County, New Jersey for talking on my cell phone while driving. Although the phone wasn't to my ear, I understand that hands-free means hands-free. Period. So, technically, I'm guilty. Fine. But to add insult to injury, I was given a summons for carless driving and moments later, caught a cop driving while talking on her cell phone. Should I have really gotten a ticket for careless driving? Why is it unacceptable and considered careless if we drive and talk on our phones without a hands-free device but okay for cops to do it? Shouldn't they practice the laws they enforce? I spoke with a twenty-year veteran of a police department in the same county my offense took place. (He asked to remain anonymous). We'll call him Detective Williams. Williams hasn't worked the streets in over ten years (he currently works in the Internal Affairs Department). He tells me what I should do the next time I get pulled over, gives me the sc...

Last night, I decided to take a break from packing my bag for Cabo to visit some of my favorite blogs and sites and I stumbled upon some whimsical photographs of airports around the world on one of my favorite lifestyle magazine sites SwipeLife . The photographs of the airports, provided by TechXav , are created using a technique called HDR (High Dynamic Range), which allows the photographer to play around with light and darkness to give photos a sense of reality and illusion. Who knew an airport could serve as a muse? I'll let you know if the airport in Cabo is as nice as some of these. Check out more airport photos here.

I've been driving for 13 years and aside from the occassional parking ticket, I've managed to maintain a clean driving record. No points on my license. No increased car insurance premiums. No car accidents. Nothing. But today, that all changed.

This Friday, I hit the friendly skies to Cabo San Lucas. I can’t wait to go. I haven't been anywhere noteworthy in a while. I can picture it now: the beach, the sun, the all-inclusive food and booze. It's definitely going down. While I'm eager to get going, I'm dreading the packing process. I never know what to take and often have a hard time figuring out what I want to wear while I’m out of town. My usual packing method: The night before trip, open suitcase, dump in loads of clothes, shoes, and toiletries, sit on suitcase until it's closed tight enough to zip up. The End. But I'm a man of a certain age now. And it's time I left those childish packing antics behind. Besides, it's too expensive to check a bag these days. Last summer, it cost me $50 to check my luggage on a round trip flight to Chicago. To avoid future check-in fees and get my suitcase packing game on point, I enlisted the help of quintessential packing expert Doug Dyment. Dy...

Just as I got comfy in my semi-reclining movie theatre seat to watch the two-time Oscar winning tearjerker Precious last year, the trailer for Why Did I Get Married Two? came on.

Last week, to kick-off the 2010 New York International Auto Show, Nissan held a wine reception to promote the North American debut of the 2011 Juke. I had the pleasure of attending the cocktail party, which took place at the world famous Morrell Wine Bar and Café in Rockefeller Center.

It's that time of year again: you're packing away the sweaters and pulling out the shorts, but is your smell good game on point for those hot summer days? Award winning global fragrance expert Marian Bendeth is the president and owner of the Toronto based fragrance consulting firm Sixth Scents. We chat about her successful company, how to choose a fresh summer scent and I find out if any of my favorite colognes meet her standards for the perfect summer fragrance.