Welcome to “All is Yar,” a blog devoted to enjoying life in all ways big and small, cheap or expensive, highbrow and low. I finally decided to start writing my own musings and rants after years of reading and commenting on what others — professionals and opinionated amateurs alike — have written about music, food, drink, architecture, clothes, gadgets, cars (. . . is it me, or is this list is starting to sound like Maxim magazine’s original raison d’etre that they used to put on the top of every issue?).

My parents were not born in this country, and when I was growing up in Southern California, if I were late or took too long to get something done, they would ask in annoyed/angry fashion, “Why only now?!” I never thought that it was proper English, but I grew to love the phrase anyway. Since they were the ones who taught me how to live “THE Good Life” by living “A Good Life,” I dedicate this to them.