Oh boy. I'm feeling anxious already...

From the NY Times...

NEW YORK REGION

Even an Expert’s Resolve Is Tested by the City’s High School Admissions Process

By JENNIFER MEDINA

Published: December 9, 2008

The high school admissions process is frustrating and exhausting even for a parent thoroughly familiar with the system.

Victory Lap

Ohhh snap. The Onion  continues to balance the precarious line between bad taste and really bad taste all in the effort for some really funny humor.


Bush Tours America To Survey Damage Caused By His Disastrous Presidency

Check out Bush's op-ed piece  worth a read.

Night Shift Photos

This photo series  (with audio commentary) about those on the night shift in New York City is pretty interesting and worth checking out.

Mapple

Just because I've not posted in a few weeks AND because yesterday I was in the SoHo Apple store...

Stop the H8

Emi and I stumbled on a giant gay marriage rally at city hall.

I love this town.

Mak'n sausage

As I've said elsewhere, I came out of this presidential election with a desire to better understand what really happened the last couple decades. One aspect of that questioning is wanting to understand what it was that brought the Republican party to the state that would lead to the past eight years and to such a damaging defeat?

Tonight's Frontline begin to put those pieces into place in my search for this explanation as it focused on Lee Atwater and his arc through the Republican party starting in the 70's and ending with his death shortly before Clinton took office.

Sure this is a look into a politics of disgust that I and others have grown to hate intensely, but more striking then that for me was how this child of the South had to say about my own upbringing. Quite frankly, the South that Atwarter used so deftly in his career was the south that I grew up in.

One more piece in a puzzle that I shake my head in bafflement looking back to even before Regan's win in 1980. Looking into the eyes of the beast is not so easy when even in some small way you feel you see yourself looking back.

For those hungry to understand our current politics and the politics of the last eight years, this is a good place to start.

FRONTLINE: boogie man: the lee atwater story | PBS

via www.pbs.org on 11/11/08

The rise and fall of the charming, Machiavellian godfather of modern take-no-prisoners Republican political campaigns.

NPR Coverage of Frugality

Posted without comment...

(click title for original page and audio)

Google Gets Frugal

Listen Now [3 min 3 sec] add to playlist

Weekend Edition Sunday, November 9, 2008 · Internet giant Google is known for its workplace perks. Google employees, called Googlers, have been able to take advantage of on-site massages, a concierge service and three gourmet meals a day.

But in these belt-tightening times, the company is slicing through the food budget. Now there are shorter hours for the company's cafeterias, and no more afternoon tea on Tuesdays. Host Liane Hansen speaks with technology columnist Farhad Manjoo of Slate Magazine about what else Google's cutting.

6:30 am Nov. 5th - Out Of Coffee

This morning's walk into work felt very different from yesterday.

At risk of gloating, I wore the same Obama buttons I've been wearing in anticipation of election day.

Picking up both the Wall Street Journal (my neighborhood paper) and the New York Times (my local paper) I scanned for news on Senate seats and other important votes from yesterday, but given their printing times I'd have to wait for the office and the computer for the most recent details. Those'll go into the memory box though.

There is a lot to contemplate from last night.

McCain's concession speech is what I had seen and respected in him from years past. How far he let his party and efforts stray. At the end of the day it was his leadership that lead to this failure and I still wait for a comprehensive history/analysis of the implosion the GOP has gone through. There is more going on here worth understanding.

Some commentators (PBS's Jim Lehrer's News Hour was our show of choice) pointed to the close elections in 2000 and 2004 as proof of the ground swell against the politics of hate, division and fear mongering. David Brooks (a conservative columnist I respect greatly) wasn't ready to label that sea change just yet. The important take away is that Obama and Democrats in general cannot assume too much. Diligence and hard work are still ahead and that is on top of the craps sandwich that Bushes is passing off.

Briefly on Palin, many Democrats will try and preemptive take her down. Such strength in the Democratic party should be encouraged especially since it has long been non-existent or subdued. That said, to me Palin represents the far Right of the Republican party and it is that portion that is splitting that party and contributed to this loss. The McCain / Palin ticket loosing so resoundingly risks making anyone who touched that campaign (even a Governor from Alaska) somewhat of a tainted product.

It is still too close to call 60 Senatorial seats yet and this battle may come down to runoffs in Georgia. This photo finish does point to the challenges ahead and should encourage those who won not to rest on their laurels. This will be unfolding.

No on Prop 8 in California looked to be struggling last night before I went to bed and a scan of LA Times confirms that a miracle is still needed to change this. It saddens me greatly that Prop 8 could pass in this day in age. But that battle will go on (fingers still crossed until it is official though).

Obama's victory speech last night was amazing. It was not rhetoric of a gloating victor. No arrogance could be found in his tone. There were some grumblings about the length though it was nothing like what Clinton was known for. Mentions of race and the achievements of Black America will definitely be picked on, but criticism on that point is open to labels of veiled racism. Put it another way, our country has waited a long time for this day and a few extra words on the topic seem wholly appropriate. Illusions and quotes from some America's finest moments could be found in this speech. FDR, JFK, and the not the least of which was another great President from Illinois.

It was obviously a late night in the office yesterday as evident by all the coffee beans having been used up by the revilers. I walked across the street to Chelsea Market where Ninth Street Espresso had just opened up. Putting a lid on my drink a security guard next to me seeing my Obama button said "We made history last night."

I agreed and mentioned that next year was the 200th birthday of Abraham Lincoln. This just feels right.

One last comment before going to bed...

Emi woke up on his own a few minutes before the speech. Chris and I cheered him up quickly with the news. With stoic joy, just as our new president, this little kid sat and watched the speech in its entirety.

My son woke from a nightmare and I believe with all my heart that America has too woken.

I've never been a prouder American then I am today.

All that's left now...

...is figuring out when to wake up Emi for the victory speech!

Help me Obama-kenobi. Your our only hope!

CNN has stooped to new dorky lows...

Bedtime...for the kids...

I had to promise the boy I'd wake him up if Obama wins the election.

The subtlety of electoral college and many other reporting are lost on a young mind.

He has been inspired over the last couple weeks with us reading about the candidates, watching coverage and speeches.

On the walk home from dinner we peeked in at a couple polling stations. 

If he stays in bed through 9pm I'll be surprised, but if I wake him up with news before 11pm I'll be thrilled.

Google (almost) to the rescue!

Walking down Hudson to meet the family for dinner a random woodbe voter approached me (Obama button being on display) and asked if I knew where the nearest voting station was. I pulled out my iPhone and eventually my tester Google Phone only in the end to call Aaron in CA and have him to a quick web search for the polling station.

Oh well. At least it made me feel a little less lazy for not driving to Pennsylvania or Ohio to help get the vote.

Google at (is) the ballot box

Notice how the "G" causes the ballot box to bulge.

Did I mention you should go vote now if you haven't?

Georgia On My Mind

My colleague who votes in NYC but works out of our Atlanta office came up just to vote.

She's excited but couldn't stand the thought of being in Georgia as if Obama looses. She seemed concerned by the attitude of some racist folks down there.

I'm guessing she is way over concerned on this point, but wouldn't it be an amazing accomplishment if Georgia went blue?

Lets focus on Pennsylvania and Virgina first I guess.

6am November 4th 2008

Passing PS89 this morning there was already a gathering of a few voters getting in their early morning ballots.

Having been pretty quite the last few weeks on LoMa for a variety of reasons, some of which included a crescendoing additions to campaign coverage, I'm excited. I'm very excited. Today will likely be one of the most (if not THE most) historic election of my lifetime.

Taking a moment to hearken back to a previous famous election I read this 1860 post from The Atlantic. It references a hole bunch of details that have faded through history, but the key points you get. As a little motivation for folks laking the energy to vote...

"The theory of democracy presupposes something of these results of official position in the individual voter, since in exercising his right he becomes for the moment an integral part of the governing power."


A vote like today only comes around once. Vote.

The endorsment of one man.

The photo essay Powell referenced was from the New Yorker and can be seen online here .

Both of these documents are powerful in very different ways and for very different reasons.

OMG Ponies! Wall Street edition

A little background before you read this article excerpt.

It was taken from The Battery Park City Broadsheet - specifically their September 29th - October 14th, 2008 issue - linked here to the original PDF.

Battery Park City is a (our) Lower Manhattan neighborhood, right next door to the World Trade Center site and a very short walk to Wall Street. Needless to say there have been a lot of busy neighbors around of late, and certainly folks who have lost jobs.

Despite all the honest suffering going on, the guy in this article floors me. I'm quite convinced he lives in an alternate reality. Read on...

             The Party's Over

 

The face of the future—complete

with stunned expression and glassy,

thousand-yard-stare—was on view

in the lobby of Two World Financial

Center on the evening of a

September 15. That morning, Lehman

Brothers had imploded and

Merrill Lynch, which is headquartered

in World Financial Center and

has an employee gym in the lobby,

had announced that it was being

bought by Bank of America. Many of

the Merrill staffers exiting the gym

that night appeared defeated and

deflated by the announcement that

the firm, six years shy of its 100th

birthday, would soon cease to exist as

an independent company.

“Dave,” a trader who asked that

his real name not be used, emerged

with a dazed and weary look on his

face. “I guess it could have been

worse,” he said. “I once interviewed

for a job for Lehman Brothers. If I

was there, I’d be cleaning out my

desk right now.” Still, Dave sees

much to worry about.

“I’ve got two small children,”

he said. “This time last year, I was

thinking it would be nice to buy

them both horses when they got a

little older. My wife and I have also

been looking at private schools for

both kids.”

“Now,” he reflected, “I’m

thinking about the payments on my

condo and the mortgage on the

country house we bought back in

2006. Both have gone down in value,

but my payments haven’t. I don’t

know how much longer I’m going to

have a job at Merrill. And most of

my savings was in stock that has

dropped in value over the last two

years. So if I’m unemployed for even

a few months, we could lose one

home, or both.” About the horses

and the private schools he was considering

for his children, Dave simply

said, “forget it.”

Etc..........

* * *

The use of bold is my doing, but everything else is taken direct from the article. Follow the link and check it out for yourself.

Now that said, I'm a little bit suspicious that there was no author listed for the article AND "Dave" isn't his real name. I've seen enough The Wire episodes to question such fishy journalism.

If it is true then I risk karma retribution by invoking the term schadenfreude. 

Now please excuse me while I go polish our second set of silverware (the one we never liked anyway) as I think we might need to pawn it in order to pay our next loan installment on the Mercedes.

10^100

UPDATE: Turns out my buddy Neil from Santa Monica actually helped put this kick-ass campaign together. Very cool indeed.

*******************************
More Googley goodness.

Project 10 to the 100th is a great way to celebrate Google's 10th birthday.

Check out the FAQ or this super cool video for more info...

Sing along campaign style

My inner distaste of musicals is in conflict :-)

Just another morning

It occurs to me that this would not be the Lower Manhattan (LoMa) Journal if I didn't occasionally write about life below Chambers St. and today's about as auspicious of a day I can think of.

Other then the memories running through one's head, the most obvious difference in my morning walk to the Subway station is the police presences. Two to four officers stand at each corner with additional folks sprinkled about for good measure.

Police tow trucks are working or stand at the ready. A delivery truck that would normally go unnoticed on Church St. gets hauled away in a matter of minutes.

Looking south down the canyons of West St. and Greenwich there is an almost poetic pulse of emergency lights - the security that much tighter two blocks away encircling a giant construction site which isn't just another construction site.

One of the few variations on the above theme is a lone janitor adjusting the flag in front of my son's school to half mast.

Riding the A train north I was relieved to see a sight more common in the form of my slumbering early morning travel companions catching a few minutes sleep more before their stop approaches.

I know enough that my experiences and thoughts don't amount to very much. I've met enough friends of survivors and folks who were near by that day to know that much.

Those same men and women standing guard this morning will be replaced by men and women standing arm in arm toasting lost friends and colleagues in the local bars on my walk home.

The folks in the bars, riders on the subway, janitors leaving work, all of us remember a morning that wasn't just another.

Polls, polling, and other predictions

I did a Google Reader article post last night (pasted below), and then realized that a more formal post was in order on the sites I'm checking out these days - specifically related to polls and other presidential predictions.

All the major news outlets have their own heat map and to my eye they area all seem OK with a few outliers (far from a comprehensive list). Fox numbers seem pretty divergent from what I've seen elsewhere and no surprise it gives McCain the electoral lead (their map).

ABC seems to have sidesteped the issue by not posting any heat map data (for 2008 at least). Instead you can go in and tweak the results to see what conclusion you can calculate.

The two that seem pretty solid and simple to get data from are...

• New York Times
  
• CNN

The stayed sorces out of the way, I have been frequeting a couple unique sites for predictions of the more geeky type.

First the previously mentioned Pollster.com which not only has some fascinating slices of the data but they have lots of commentators blogging about (now get this) not politics but the act of polling itself (dare I say science of polling?).

Finally I go to one of the original futures markets - IEM (Iowa Electronic Markets). Here you buy shares (like on the stock market) for who you think will win instead of being polled on who you want to win. Their sites is not nearly as fancy as some of the above but they have been doing this a long time and so they've historical results to look at. Here is the direct link which can be tough to find your first time there (then you'll wanna click through to "Current Quotes").

I have yet to find a site that redraws the US map such as to proportionally reflect the electorial votes (I think this was nytimes.com previous). I'd love to know find such a map or generally know what other sites folks are looking at so please comment or email me.

Here is the article that sparked this post...

Pollster.com – Award Winning Analysis of Polls and Surveys

via www.pollster.com on 9/9/08

Bryan:

“I don't wanna loose sight of the goal, but this article along with another posted on huffingtonpost.com seem to suggest some serious tinkering. I'm not big on conspiracies so I'm left wondering what really is going on here?”

Charts, maps and award winning analysis of all national and state polls for the elections for President, Senate, Governor and U.S. House, updated constantly.

My review of Zorba The Greek

(Note a shorter version of this review is at bakerland)

Though I love a good travel book to flip through, during and after a trip, there is something about the call of regional literature which makes my travel bug hum. On this particular trip I picked up a book I'd long desired to read but never given myself the chance - Zorba The Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis.

This novel is by a Cretan takes place almost completely in Crete, and is considered a great literary work to boot so the formula seemed right.

I've tussled with Kazantzakis once before (Last Temptation of Christ) and found his style to be a bit tough to crack. To grossly oversimplify, he spends a lot of time exploring the thoughts of his characters instead of letting actions unfold. More on this in a bit.

Starting a few weeks prior to the trip I dove in and quickly worked my way through half the book only to slow down (out of boredom for reasons mentioned and for a desire to finish the book while in Crete).

I'll avoid comparisons to the movie since I've not seen the well known film (though it is now atop our Netflix queue) which may very well have a different mood then the book.

The most striking aspect of this novel is how dark it is. So many people have referred to the buoyancy of Zorba and how he represents so much life and joy in living. I can't deny that he is a fascinating character but any attempt to place him on a pedestal seems unfounded to me. His personality is more akin to a firefly repeatedly ramming a light-bulb in the summer night. His efforts largely amount to naught and often become so perverse it is hard to grasp the humanity of Zorba. At best he is a manic depressive who is enlightening on the highs and quite during the lows.

The novel is presented from the perspective of the friend of Zorba and it is this narrator who's personality really drags the mood down. Zorba represents some lofty ideas (for the reader, author and narrator) which makes him hard to imagine being real and he seems more appropriate as a stand in for what the narrator longs for - some kind of Buddhist presences completely in the now.

I really struggled to find who was a redeemable character in the story.

As I struggled through the book I found myself trying to come up with what exactly is the author trying to critique:

• - Western Religion
  
• - Misogyny
  
• - Dated traditions
  
• - Male relationships
  
• - ???
  

The first two (Western Religion and Misogyny) consume much of the novel so I'm assuming these are his biggest concerns, but I'd really need to be a little more scholarly in my reading to go any deeper then that.

Much of the narrators angst is of his Buddhist writings he repeatedly references though he never describes in any detail. Here is why I feel Zorba seems the manifestation of those writings, kinda of a Buddha like id floating around the world and at the writings best he does take on such a child like revelry in life that it is admirable, but these moments seem fleeting and are quickly overcome by angst, fear, corporal pursuits or plain brutality.

It is tough to say how direct of a critique of Greek culture is in the book because there isn't much of that culture in there to delve into. This in fact was one of my bigger disappointments in the book as the story gave me more of a feel of these characters and less of a feel of Crete which is almost incidental to the narrators tale.

Some points easily missed (or maybe muddled by the movie's influence - I'm guessing on that of course):

• - The narrator is Cretan but Zorba is not. In fact, Zorba's nationality seems intentionally ambiguous. The spirit with which the narrator describes him it very much seems something other worldly. Don't get me wrong. Zorba is Greek as the book suggests, but he certainly does let that nationality keep him down. By books end I believe he has immigrated to Russia.
  
• - What is up with the narrator's relationship with his pen-pall friend. This is very odd and very close even though you never really meet this character?
  
• - Am I manifesting some 'latent' ability at Freudian Theory or rather I really feel there is some kind of homosexual subtext going on here. Not sure what to make of it.
  
• - Women are pretty much the toy of man (in particular Zorba). He claims great passion and he does do some things that are very admirable, but come on he is using them at the end of the day.
  

Did I enjoy the book? Yes.
Did it add to my trip to Crete? Yes, but not as much as I would have liked.
Would I recommend it? Probably not.

Google Chrome - the browser wars anew!

First off. Family, friends, and whoever I encourage you to go and download the Google Browser (Chrome). This comes with caveats as my Apple only friends will be disappointed that there is only a Windows version available.

Now a promise to help folks with getting to understand the browser as well as help you file any bugs or problems you might come across (hopefully few).

I have to admit being quite giddy for some time now with the pending release of this product from Google. Having been able to beta test it internally is one of those privileged kicks that has no monitory value to me directly but is quite the exciting thing.

Why in the world would Google want to get into the browser market? I only have my humble opinion on this one. There are many valid reasons for sure, but standing up to the IE juggernaut seems a big one.

What do I like about it? It's fast, clean and has an easier use in browsers that I've never experienced. I'll try and detail some of my more favorite features in the future (if folks are interested. 

Check out the official blog or read some or all of the comic for a pretty fascinating and full explanation of the browser at. 

Seconds on the iced latte please!

The long story to this post is that I spent almost all of our European trip deprived of good coffee. This may sound contradictory so let me explain....

Greeks (or at least the cities in Crete I haunted) think that Nescafe is a legitimate replacement for real coffee. It isn't.

Germans have gone crazy for automated espresso machines. These price items do everything but look at you pretentiously as they serve you. One thing they generally don't do is make a good espresso. They are better then Nescafe yes, but good coffee no.

I dreamed nightly (morningly) about the Ninth Street Espresso shop in Chelsea Market and today I indulged those desires!

Who's driving this campaign anyway

No crazy talking head liberals hear, just seems to me to be some straight answers with very little content in the answers.

Back To School

I know it is a bit of a downer and contrary to all the excitement my son is having on today his first day in school, but I thought this video seemed kind'a timely also.

Digging into geothermanl

Just watched this video and wondering why this idea has never come up before. More to the point, what are the possible negative aspects of such an endevor...



...not that I'm trying to be a pessimist, but just that I'm trying to better understand this option.

More info here also..
http://www.google.org/egs/

Pre-historic Hunters

Firehunt

Bryan:

“No matter how many times I read this I still laugh my ass off every time. I <3 ASI”

Firehunt’s mission

Analogous to pre-historic hunter and gatherers who depended on the search for game, wild plants, and the discovery of fire for their survival, today's online users are equally hungry in their quest for information. However, unlike our ancestors who had to work hard for their most basic needs, Firehunt aims to make information gathering easy for the user by delivering intelligent Internet search and content tools --- making hunting for information fast, simple, and fun. As the discovery of fire served as a great leap forward for our ancestors, Firehunt was created to meet the quantum information needs of our savvy online users.

Sam who?

This is his most recent work and a must see for Chris and I.
Supposedly this theater and group are where he got his start in New
York and in general.

For as much as I enjoy Shepard, this is only the second production
I've ever seen and the other was in an attic in Old Town Knoxville.

I'd blog a review but I'm planning to become a hermit and move into
the desert (if you don't get that joke you should read son Shephard).

Phone Room as...

...box to be trapped in.

Dinner with a few dozen of my friends from work.

For Pre Fab junkies

Design Review | ‘Home Delivery’:  Instant Houses, Then and Now
By NICOLAI OUROUSSOFF
The Modern makes a convincing case that prefabricated housing was both a central theme of Modernist history and a dream that remains very much alive today.

From nytimes.com
ARTS / ART & DESIGN   | July 18, 2008

"Radiohead Partners With Google For Music Video Launch"

Wicked cool is about all I've to say.



And it is cooler then just the video. Check out this article.

Cleo 'd never be pres

An ancient Egyptian (terrorist) fist bump.

Brit Mu Court

This great enclosed courtyard was under construction when I was last
here.

A spectacular space.

Butt end of Victoria Station

>

> Less a thing of beauty and more of an engineering achievement, I
> pass this view on my way to and back from the Londo office.
>
>
> A personal history note, it was Victoria bus station (adjacent to
> this complex) I arrived at early one morning roughly 12 years ago
> this summer.
>

"Oxford Circus may get Tokyo look"

Oxford Circus is pretty much unavoidable in getting from between the offices I've been working at here in London this week.

The whole area is known for its shops and so attracts both tourists and Londoners on the hunt to make purchases. I ran into the blow announcement (originally seen in the Daily Telegraphy) literally a day after having to bypass the exact intersection pictured because the queue to cross the street would have taken 20 minutes. To put it lightly the upgrade (envisioned in the below image) is much needed and welcomed.

** Oxford Circus may get Tokyo look **
Shoppers in the West End could be able to cross Oxford Circus diagonally for the first time, under new plans.
< http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7498662.stm >



Oh, and did I mention it rained yesterday as I walked from north of Oxford Circus, past Piccadilly Circus, down

Check out the whole rainy route...

View Larger Map

Tandem WC!

I know it is a blurry picture and it boarders on breaking one of the

cardinal rules of blogging (don't post while using the toilet). But a combination of rain and work I've nothing of interest to blog  about.

My days have been filled with eight hours (and in some case more) of work, then I usually rush off to do some activity or event that I can find.

Last night I saw a play that in its description sounded as if it would be a fun combination and witty play. It was off-West End (very off, it was south of the river) but that should never be a deterrent. Where I went wrong was in reading the reviews comment "Woody Allen like romp" as being an expectant of witty dialog. We'll it was witty dialog but only now do I realize that Woody Allen allusion was code for "middle aged crisis." It wasn't a total waist at least.

That was Tuesday (last night). On Monday night after work I wondered the city again and ended up having a great dinner at a Spanish restaurant (on recommendation from Aaron). The meas started out with a  gazpacho soup poured around (not over) a couple pieces of lobster and a berry sorbet of all things. The meal just got better from there and I rounded it off by indulging in a cheese plate for dessert.

Tonight I was a little less ambitious. Again with the help of Aaron, I went on search for a proper trench coat. Prices are high here, but I've been unable to find anything I like in New York. Shopping for such a coat in the rain is kinda like looking for a place to eat with food in your mouth - a bit ridiculous. Unfortunately I was about a half hour too late and everything was closed or closing. So it turned into a walk in the rain.

Oh well.

Tomorrow? I'm shooting for the British Museum which is open late on Thursdays.

Back to the Tate

The Tate Modern was just what I'd expected - which isn't exactly bad
nor good. It was a familiar comfy coat that was all the more endearing
given my familiarity to the works. And I gravitated to the newer
instillations.

The one standard I wanted to see was their Rothko room, which was
closed in anticipation of a sept exhibition.

The building itself and the views were totally worth it. Now I'm
curious what fills the space at the Tate Britan.

Stan The Man

My peeps back in Santa Monica have obviously been busy. Their most
recent author was today and the rest of the company listened in.

He's an "interesting" guy, but you gotta admit he has fathered more
heroes then Zeus.

I brought home some posters advertising the talk and the boy insisted
they immediately go up over his bed. The Hulk one is pictured below.

Turner vist #1: In Preview

It was a rushed trip through and the exhibition was in previews (meaning they have to put the final spit polish on it), but this has to be one of the most amazing exhibitions I have ever seen of Turner's work.

The Met's exhibition actually rivals what I've seen at the Turner mecca in The Tate aka The Tate Britain, the home of many of the paintings on display - check out their online gallery.

It is a relatively short run new New York (through Sept 21st) and so I'm plotting out how many visits I can make in roughly 60 days (yes I'll be counting).

My love of Turner's work is hard to capture in a blog post as it is a combination of my love for art (in particular landscapes) as well as personal sentimentality dating back to when I briefly lived in London.

The Tate isn't sitting idle with the master on tour. Looks like they are exploring some of the mechanics of his use of colors.


With my boy who was a trouper but certainly wearing thin with his patience humoring his dad, I tried to stick to the most notably dramatic paintings (ships blowing each other up, armies clashing, or Greek ruins), but it was obvious the breadth of what the exhibition has to offer.

His use of colors is striking even in modern context with Pop Art coloring. To see his large paintings in person is to be enveloped.

Time to dust off the ol' sketch book. I'm already plotting my next trip. I missed a lecture yesterday (for about one of the only reasons that would keep me away) and I'll be looking for other events to celebrate this exhibition.

Wall-e and a digi-ani count down.

Who can deny a top 10 list especially after a notable update. It may be splitting hairs but I disagreed with a few of the Daily Kos top Pixar movies. I rounded up to 10 and decided to generalize to all computer animated films (though Pixar still dominates my list)...


10. Bee Movie

Similar to the Kos list, the bottom of my list is pretty far from the "top" of the list. The difference is my number 10 is the bottom of my list. To be honest I had to stretch to figure out what should my number 10 be (or is that bee). Ask me on another day and I might have put another here.

9. Toy Story
8. Toy Story 2
Unlike the Kos post, I do think these films hold up over time - the second much more then the first. The interesting characters are the cornerstone of Pixar productions.

7. Finding Nemo
As much as I want to hate this film it really is funny and does hold up despite the amount of marketing that has and continues to go into pushing this to kids.

6. Surf's Up
5. Happy Feet
These two non-Pixar films fall in the middle of the list. I think they do a good job with their stories and both have a unique spin that gives them legs. Surf's Up, animated only after the dialog had been recorded which gives the film a free flow. Happy Feet boarders on cheesy but the melodies keep the story pumping and the scope with which it completes works well (global warming).

4. Monsters, Inc
John Goodman and Billy Cristal make this film. For me this was also one of the first animated films that used the digital aspect to its complete advantage.

3. Ratatouille
This and the coming two earn their place in part to sentimental value. The story here really pulls you along and it is a novel exploration that makes it worth while - who can beat rats in a kitchen.

2. The Incredibles
Over a month long vacation I watched this almost every day on my PSP with my son. You might think it'd get old but the plot drives well and the characters and nuance of the imagery has a depth that hold up to repeated viewing.

1. Wall-e
Maybe I'm over reacting with throwing this so soon on top of my list but I really did like this film. Again Pixar explored the world uniquely. There are long stretches with little or no dialog and yet volumes are spoken in this love tail. The action is not overwhelming and yet helps drives the story along. There is more of an economy of characters in this story compared to other Pixar and in retrospect I guess I kind'a appreciate that additional focus.

Not to end on a negative note I think it is worth mentioning the omissions. Though I thought Cars was a valiant try I felt it was far to long and the plot just didn't make me care. The NASCAR appeal in it never factored in for me as I did think it held up in that light (I've a soft spot for the Car Talk guys), I just thought it a bad movie. The other notable omission is the Shrek films. Simply put I don't even consider them in the same league with even the worst of the Pixar films (which there are only a couple). I've not seen the recent Panda film so I may have to update this list after that.

Also missing from the list are the Pixar shorts which frankly would have forced out some of these on this list. The average Pixar short is better then many of the comparable films that aspire to this list (OK they are not aspiring to my list but you know what I mean).

So in conclusion if you haven't seen Wall-e, do.

You stepped into what?

(with appropriate aknowledgment to one of my favorite sites http://indexed.blogspot.com)

Pointers on gravity

From South Sea Port I have to say that the falls were not as awe inspiring as I would have hoped. Maybe once on a boat or up close they'll strike a different cord. One thing for sure is that they are a fascinating technical (and apparently bureaucratic) achievement.

There are plenty of articles out there on the falls, but this is one out of the New York Magazine describes how they work.

When pigs fly...

...or waterfalls sprout from the Broklyn bridge.

You been Served!

Moving mulch in Fort Tryon on Google Serve day.

Do Over - in three acts

ACT I:

Lighthearted consumer purchases iPhone to appease the needs of his wife as well as his gadget longings.

ACT II:

Off stage, said phone has a "un-described" incident befall it leading to its damage. Though not mortal, our protagonist struggles with this imperfection which cannot last.

ACT III:

Benevolent Apple employee replaces the phone with no hassle. They all live happily ever after (though doubts and ambiguity of the future abound).

Moral(s)/Lessons of the story:

1. V 2.0 is always the safer (more solidly designed) bet with Apple
2. Employees in the Apple store are gonna be a lot more forgiving then those over the phone.

Random picture with random and unrelated observation.

Nearly a year here and only now do I listen to U2's "NewYork". Losing
my Edge? At least the boy liked the Elevation tour t-shirt which was
purchased BEFORE HE WAS BORN!!

Quote the Raven...

Ever have one of those days where reading Edgar Allen Poe sounds like a pick-me-up?

What would teen angst do these days without Google to the rescue?

Wanted. Elbow room in Manhattan.

Haven't read this about the new Google Chelsea office, but there was lots of buzz about this around the office today.

After I do a read I'll post some comments as well as some personal observations.

George...

...Carlin?

Oh <explicative of your choice that is both blunt, ironically insightful on the world we live in, and funny>!!!

Goodbye to one of the greats.

Mark Twain's home

This caught my ear over NPR on Sunday.

Turns out that Mark Twain's Hartford, CT home (now a museum) is struggling with keeping open do to mounting debt. The NPR piece as well as most all the articles found in my news.google.com search played off Twain's own misfortunes with money as well as adding in some of his wittisisms ironicly played against the situation.

The AP article I noted this challenge was being experianced by a number of home/museums with Edith Wharton's home also getting singled out.

Turns out the confluence of the housing buble and the meager means of many of these home/museums is leading to too these problems. It also brings up a number of observations within me...

* Did they take out a Home Equity Loan on the White House too?

* Where do I let me emotions land? Do my criticism on money not handled well overide my love of Twain and his importance to American culture? My answer is pretty obvious but I pose it anyway.

* Why the hell do I have my family flying to Europe with fuel and the dollar driving up the trips costs when I have a so many options in my first summer living on the East Coast?

Cutting to the chase, if you have been looking to donate to something you might consider this.

Art + iPhone = MoMAudio

A great find. Surfing on my iPhone while waiting for the kids to finish their lunch in the MoMA cafe (which is one of the best museum cafe's I've ever been to by the way), I realized that you can use your iPhone (or other wifi device) to access the audio guides.

Most museums today have a kiosk near the entrance where you can rent or borrow a hand held player. These players are like cell phones circa 90's hanging around your neck on a lanyard. See a number next to a work of art, punch it into the player and then listen to commentary on the art, hear the artist discus the work, or the like commentary.

Uniquely MoMA has always made these audio devices free and today I realized it was even better then that. To impatient to wait in line for a player? Whip out your iPhone, pull up the MoMAudio website, punch in the numbers and go from there.

Yet another reason to make this one of my favorite NYC museums.

What I want in a blog tool...

So in my attempts to git rid of the fluff in Facebook that I just don't need, I'm faced with one feature that I really like.

Specifically, the ability in wall posts to include a link and then have face book go and grab an image from that link and an abstract. This makes it handy to post links to interesting articles or other stuff and have them be something more then a text blurb cut and pasted.

For example this is a crud cut and past from facebook. The formatting is a little screwed up but the important aspect comes after the URL link where the image and blurb were embedded without me doing anything other then cut and pasting the URL...

PART 2:
My old home town of Santa Monica pretty much blows the socks off of everyone else. I was glad to see that their library digitization project has/is wrapping up. Read more AND listen on their site...
http://www.kcrw.com/music/music_library

The Music Library Reborn — KCRW

Source: www.kcrw.com

KCRW, a community service of Santa Monica College, is Southern California's leading National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate, featuring an eclectic mix of music, news, information and cultural programming. Listen live, via podcast, or on-demand with RealAudio, Windowa Media, and iTunes.

A second post to test the waters...

I'm not sure if Facebook will pick up on the continued feeds from this blog so I'm posting to see what happens.

Idea for this blog...

I've haven't used this as a private Journal and with my new use of Facebook I've increasingly wanted to have a more public blog (instead of the "Wall" posts). So maybe this is the future of LoMa Journal. What needs to happen first...

* Clean out the few private posts
* Seed content from facebook wall
* Figure out a distribution model that still posts or includes folks from facebook (Friend connect? or can one push posts to facebook automagically?)

blb