“Despite the much derided predictions of a “barbeque summer” not being fulfilled earlier this year, the Met said there was a 50 per cent chance of a mild winter this year.”

Where mild winter is of course defined as “milder than the average”. Seriously, you can’t make stuff this good up (if you do not get why this is hilarious – move along, nothing to see, global warming will kill you very soon anyways).

- Telegraph

最近テレビでよく見る、Home Office（イギリス内務省）が先日21日に新しく始めた「The Policing Pledge（警察活動の誓約）」の広告。190万ポンドをかけたこの全国的な広告キャンペーンは、11月、12月の間、イングランドとウェールズの警察が地域住民への義務を謳ったもので、テレビ、ラジオ、雑誌、インターネットで展開、また600万戸の家庭にパンフレットが配られる。

このPolicing Pledgeは、警官は80％の時間を地域のために使い、緊急ではない問題を届け出た住人には48時間以内に会うこと等を約束している。また、12月には、「Name and Shame（名前を公表して恥をさらす）plan」を地元警察と地方自治体に通達、有罪判決を受けた犯罪者をウェブサイトで公表する計画だ。

これは昨年度の統計で、盗みや窃盗などの軽犯罪から性犯罪、強盗、詐欺、暴力犯罪、薬物犯罪の重犯罪まで、全犯罪520万件のうち約3分の1に当たる170万件もの犯罪が、「screening out（ふるい分け）」されて取り調べてられていなかったとして、警察が批判を浴びたことが背景にある。最悪なのはロンドンの首都警察で、通報された犯罪のうち、たった48％しか捜査に至っていない。平均で75％の盗み、70％の器物損壊、55％の窃盗、44％の詐欺や偽造、20％の強盗、15％の暴力犯罪、2％の性犯罪、1％以下の薬物犯罪が「ふるいわけ」されたと言う。私たちもMの自転車を盗まれたり、バイクのナンバープレートを偽造されたりしたことがあるけれど、こんな些細なこと、警察は何もしてくれていないんだろうな。でもこの「ふるい分けシステム」が続けば、犯罪者のやり得、逆に犯罪率が高くなるか心配だ。この「約束」がちゃんと実行されて、地域住民が安心して生活できるよう頑張ってもらいたい。

ちなみにこの広告キャンペーンに使われているデザインは、第二次世界大戦初期の1939年に政府によって作られたポスター（実際には使われなかったが）、「Keep Calm and Carry On（平常心を保って、頑張れ）」を元にしている。このポスターが2000年に「再発見」されてから、多くの企業が使用、このデザインを使ったTシャツやマグカップ、バッグ、ポスター、tea towel（布巾）等さまざまなグッズが作られている。私もこのシンプルだけれど、インパクトのあるデザインが好きで、ポスターを2枚持っている。Mはしばしばパニクってしまうことがあるので、その際はポスターを指差し、冷静になるように自制を促すのにも役立っている。

Recently I have seen few times the TV advertisement of “The Policing Pledge“, a £1.9m national advertising campaign explaining what should be expected of police in England and Wales. Launched on November 21, the Home Office’s campaign involves adverts on television, radio, magazines and internet throughout November and December, as well as leaflets distributed to 6 million homes.

According to the Policing Pledge, neighbourhood officers should spend 80% of their time on duty in the community and members of the public reporting a non-emergency problems will be seen within 48 hours. In December, the Home Office also introduce “Name and Shame” plan, which encourage police forces and councils to use websites to name key local convicted criminals.

What urges the Home Office to put up the Policing Pledge is the criticism against the police that failed to investigate around 1.7 million out of 5.2 million reported crimes last year, including sex attacks, robberies, fraud, violent crimes and drug offences, as well as large numbers of burglaries and thefts – around one-third of all offences were dismissed as unsolvable within hours by “screening out”. The highest rate of screening out was by the Metropolitan Police, with only 48% of reported offences dealt with in 2008/9. In parts of the country, an average of around 75% of theft are screened out, as well as around 70% for criminal damage, 55% for burglary, 44% for fraud and forgery, 20% for robbery, 15% for violent offences, 2% for sexual attacks, and less than 1% for drug offences. We experienced petit crimes like M’s bicycle stolen or his Vespa’s number plate cloned, but I guess that nothing have been done for it. But criminals are the sole winner with this ”screening out” system, and this could endanger the security of the community and possibly encourage more crimes to happen. Hope this campaign will work to regain the public’s confidence and trust in police force, and contribute to reduce the crime rate.

The design used for the Policing Pledge is originally from “Keep Calm and Carry On“, the World War II motivational poster produced by the government in 1939 but never used. It was rediscovered in 2000 and has been re-issued by a number of companies, and used in a range of products such as T-shirts, mugs, bags, posters, tea towels and so on. I like this simple but strong design, and we have two posters ourselves. M gets panic easily and when that happens, it is useful for me to remind him what he should do, by just pointing out the poster!

The Policing Pledge Posters photographed in the summer 2009

Living History 14th Rhode Island Reenactor Program

Rob Goldman founded Living History, incorporated in October 2002. This past October his organization was selected as this year’s winner of the Tom Roberts Prize for Creative Achievement in the Humanities. Goldman lives in Elmwood, but has a particular interest in Dexter Field and the Cranston Armory on the WestSide.

How did Living History get its start?
I had been a the treasurer (and de facto development person) for Co. A 54th Massachusetts/Glory Brigade from 1994 to 2001. We (the 54th) had worked with Cathedral and English High Schools and the Timility Middle School bringing some of their students into re-enacating. At one point we had a program which was funded with left-over City of Boston summer youth  jobs money. This program was a collaboration with the National Park Service. When I moved to Providence I wanted to do something similar.

What’s the purpose of Living History?
We engage high school students in civic responsibility through  re-enacting. We launch them into careers in history and preservation. We educate the public about the role of African Americans in the Civil War.

Students are trained to become soldiers in the 14th Regiment Rhode Island Heavy Artillery (Colored). They learn about the material culture of the Black Civil War soldier. They receive additional training in historic interpretation which, includes research and media skills. Some students are placed in  internships with history and preservation organizations such as the National Park Service, Coggeshall Museum Farm, Tennis  Hall of Fame, Newport Collaborative Architects, and Providence Revolving Fund.

What are the three resources you need most to succeed?
Money, money, and money. Other than that we need a space in the Cranston Street Armory. This goal has been long sought after and frustratingly denied. The original 14th was trained on Dexter Field. [To offer donations or assistance, contact Goldman at RKGoldman@juno.com]

Who is involved in Living History? Why do students participate?
Living History has an Advisory Board of 5 people. There are 3 adult re-enactor volunteers who help with trips and encampments. There are 19 students enlisted as of 11/22/09. All but one student is from the Met High School.

Students join because: “It’s cool.”, “It’s bangin’ fun.” “My friend told me about it.” “I like history.” “I get to go on trips.”

Met students earn academic credit for participating. Service in the 14th provides them with required internships and real-world learning experiences. It also helps them fulfill community service requirements. There is an important career focus to the program which attracts kids and staff.

What’s your connection to the WestSide?
We used Dexter Field this summer for our Summer Youth Employment Program on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

We can’t get into the Armory! Arrrrrghghghghgh! The State Fire Marshall has it pretty well locked up. The State Properties Committee has refused to let us use the place three times. They won’t even let us make a presentation to them. They say we’re not a state agency and therefore can not submit an application to them.  We ARE a state agency. The 14th is an official Historic Command under the Adjutant General of Rhode Island.

As stated above, Dexter Field was the training camp for the 14th RI in 1863-64.

Can spectators attend? If so, what’s this year’s schedule?
Our public programs are high participatory. We’re all about interacting with the public, especially young people. Our schedule is posted on our website.

What future plans do you have that would affect the WestSide?
We expect to be back on Dexter Field in the summer of 2010. The Armory? I’m not giving up.

Pitching tents on Dexter Field.

@ the MET in NYC. Jun 09

Es gibt Mo, Mi und Do die Verbindung Düsseldorf HBf – Stuttgart HBf
Abfahrt des IC 1119 “Loreley” ist um 14:51 Uhr von Gleis 19.

Gestern war ich mal “außerplanmäßig” unterwegs  und hatte mir diese Verbindung von Düsseldorf nach Köln ausgesucht. Auf Gleis 19 stieg ich in den Zug am Bahnsteig, doch schon vor dem Einstieg merkte ich, dass es kein gewöhnlicher IC war, bzw. war es überhaupt der richtige Zug???
Die Wagen wirkten höher und waren ganz anders eingerichtet; überall Holz und viel viel Leder. Und das war erst die 2. Klasse! Eine weitere Besonderheit war die Anordnung der Sitzreihen. Statt der gewohnten 2 Sitze – Gang – 2 Sitze gab es 2 Sitze – Gang – 1 Sitz.
Der Schaffner den ich fragte, damit ich auch den richtigen Zug nehme, lüftete das “Geheimnis”: Es waren die Ex-Metropolitan-Garnituren des Metropolitan Zuges, der vor einigen Jahren zwischen Köln und Hamburg verkehrte.
Mehr über den Metropolitan gibt’s hier.

Schade, dass dieser Zug mit dem Fahrplanwechsel im Dezember 2009 dann die Strecke Berlin – Hamburg bedienen wird.

Naast de bekende Top 2000 is er uiteraard nog een grote lijst die langer bestaand dan de Top 2000 namelijk de Top 1000 allertijden van Veronica.

En ook deze lijst verschijnt rond de kerst en ook voor deze lijst zijn de stembussen geopend, klik op de foto en je komt uit bij de stempagina.

En mensen ook hier graa Queen op een, en bij deze ljst mag het ook wel weer eens een keer, bij mij staat Bohemain Rhapsodywel op nummer 1

Hierbij een oproep zet Queen weer op nummer 1, mijn stem hebben ze en uiteraard Bohemian Rhapsody.

Klik op de foto voor de link, laat me je lijstje zien ben wel benieuwd mijn lijstje is alsvolgt (ja ja veel Queen)..

Het rare aan de lijst is dat Queen bij mij op nummer 1 stond bij het invullen van de lijst, maar men kijkt niet naar de nummer 1 en zet alles op alfabetische volgorde.

De tiendschuur van de Herkenrode Abdijsite was op zondag 15 en maandag 16 november het mekka van de Limburgse bloemschikkunst. Immers  floristen en liefhebbers waren twee dagen volop in de weer om de mooiste tafel te versieren met het fraaiste bloemstuk.

Met ‘Limburg tafelt met bloemen’ wil de Koninklijke Unie van Floristen van België – afdeling Limburg samen met Herkenrode vzw en Syntra Limburg het creatief werken met bloemen of bloemschikken in de kijker stellen. Het talrijk opgedaagd publiek kon deze eerste editie van harte smaken en kon ook nog met volle teugen genieten van demonstraties bloemschikken. Winnaars van de competitie waren er voor de jury-, de pers- en de publieksprijs.

Juryprijs

1ste prijs: Andy Munsters – tafel 2
2de prijs: Will en Evi Steegmans – tafel 5
3de prijs: Tine Vanoppen, Evy Cuypers en Elien Massonet – tafel 16
4de prijs: Mieke Lenaerts – tafel 11
5de prijs: Liesbeth Geutjens – tafel 10 en Inneke Vanhout – tafel 13

Persprijs

Mieke Lenaerts – tafel 11

Publieksprijs

1ste prijs: Andy Munsters – tafel 2
2de prijs: Nadia Vandewalle – tafel 15
3de prijs: Lucia Aerts – tafel 13 en Francisca Vanhecke – tafel 14
4de prijs: Rita Schroyen – tafel 12
5de prijs: Mieke Lenaerts – tafel 11

www.herkenrode.be

Aaronovitch Watch reflects upon dinner with Denis MacShane. There’s an important point here, and one that was well made as a by-product of Nick Davies’ brilliant reporting on Operation PENTAMETER 2, a giant police sweep looking for prostitutes brought into the UK by force that failed to find even one. It turned out that the entire project was driven by policy-based evidence – a succession of politicos and thinktanks progressively taking what had once been the upper bound in an actual study, treating it as an actual forecast, and then adding a bit.

Not so long ago, I had the opportunity of discussing this with a source in the Met vice squad, and the take-home message is Davies was being conservative – it was actually worse than that.

Anyway, one of the most egregious examples of PBE in the story was the fault of none other than MacShane, who promptly responded by writing to the Guardian and accusing Davies of “taking the side of the managers of the sex industry”. As Davies pointed out in the original story, the whole thing followed the pattern of the campaign for war with Iraq with uncanny accuracy.

There was the exaggeration by stripping out caveats, the practice of using deliberately extreme limiting cases as central forecasts, the search for anyone who would provide the right kind of intelligence when the intelligence services’ intelligence didn’t fit around the policy…and the shameless red-baiting attacks on anyone who disagreed. Sniff, sniff. Are you a good anti-Fascist? Will you condemn, etc, etc?

The lesson, however, is that some people seem to gravitate to this set of tactics or political style (because that’s what it is); if Denis MacShane worked for the Party of Kittens, he’d be secretly briefing the press that Mickey Mouse was part of a decadent Hollywood-liberal elite in league with feline leukaemia, based on his summary of a leaked report from the newly established Council for a Flea-Free Future, and if you called him out on it, he’d get all the members of the Accuracy in Cat-Related Media mailing list to write and accuse you of being objectively pro-dog.

Come to think of it, it’s part of the package of modern thinking; you need a Boris Johnson-esque clown figure, a Tony Blair-esque tebbly tebbly concerned type, and a MacShane-esque underhand thug.

Nikolaus-Shopping am 5.12.2009 bis 23.00 Uhr

Folgende Geschäfte haben für Sie geöffnet:

Amasia – Wohnkultur und Accessoires

Roy Vinnai – Piercingstudio – Tattoo-Entfernung – Wäscheshop

“Das Honiglädchen” 35 Sorten Honig, 25 Honigspezialitäten,
12 Sorten Met u.v.m.

daFausto – italienische Spezialitäten

Für ein stressfreies Parken während Ihres Einkaufbummels empfehlen wir Ihnen das Parkhaus König.  Bummeln, schauen und Einkaufen, lernen Sie uns kennen. Wir freuen uns auf Sie.

Scotland yard; Learning photography – using toys

A Scotland yard chase . .

So, Scotland Yard?? >>

There is one more well known *Scotland Yard* >>

El medio que voy a analizar en esta entrada es la página web de la CBS y de su espacio dedicado a “Cómo conocí a vuestra madre” (How I Met Your Mother) y que lo podéis encontrar en esta dirección:

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/how_i_met_your_mother/

La decisión de hacerlo sobre la CBS y no de la página web de FOX España principalmente ha sido la actualidad,es decir,la FOX va por la cuarta temporada y la serie ya va por la quinta temporada.

Después de analizar esta página web me he dado cuenta de la importancia que tienen las series para una cadena de televisión.Arrastran con ellas un fenómeno fan que reporta bastantes beneficios a las cadenas.Un ejemplo de esto lo puedes encontrar cuando accedes a la tienda online en la que venden todo tipo de cosas,como camisetas,vasos,tazas…  Las páginas webs de las cadenas de televisión se han convertido en una herramienta imprescindible para los consumidores (de Internet) y espectadores (de la televisión) ya que ahora,si te has perdido un programa o una serie lo puedes encontrar en su página web de forma casi inmediata despúes de su emisión en televisión.

Análisis de productos informativos

Se podría hacer un análisis de la página de la CBS y otro del espacio dedicado a Cómo conocí a vuestra madre,pero una vez que entras en el espacio de la serie o programa deseado no pierdes los contenidos de la página general,ya que la información aparece debajo de las pestañas de la general.A pesar de tener prácticamente los mismos contenidos yo he decidido hacerlo de las dos.

Esta es la información que proporciona cada espacio:

• Desde “How I Met Your Mother” : home, video(vídeos), community (comunidad), photos (fotos), recaps (resúmenes de los capítulos con fotos de cada capítulo), cast (reparto), about (resumen de la serie en general) y desktop app (aplicaciones para el escritorio del ordenador)

• Desde CBS (general): shows (la programación de la cadena), videos, HD videos (vídeos en alta definición), wacht & chat (ver video y comentarlos con otras personas) y schedule (programación de la cadena).

Los contenidos que ofrecen la página web la CBS son bastante variados y amplios, ya que en la página general tienes todo lo relacionado con la cadena (su programación, noticias, vídeos,etc) y una vez que accedes a un programa o una serie determinada,como es este caso en “How i met your mother”, los contenidos que ofrecen son más amplios y especializados,donde puedes encontrar fotos,noticias,capítulos enteros, fragmentos de vídeos,aplicaciones para tu ordenador,etc). Además taqmbién ofrece contenidos de carácter general como comida (página web de recetas), noticias, información sobre famosos…

En cuanto a la organización de estos contenidos se puede decir que está bastante bien organizado, todo está muy claro y no da pie a la confusión o equivocación.

Al ser una página web oficial de una cadena de televisión la actualización es constante.

Análisis de servicios y documentación complementaria

La CBS en su página web ofrece otros servicios como prensa, FAQ’S, sitemap,buscador,todos los videos tienen bookmarks,descarga de contenidos, recomendación,envío de contenidos,posibilidad de compartir contenidos,emisiones en diferido,noticias, videoteca, widgets para aplicar a una gran cantidad de aplicaciones para compartir (como facebook,twitter,blogger,netvibes y otras muchas más),posibilidad de visitar otros sitios interactivos de CBS,marcadores para google,posibilidad de unirte al facebook de la serie o el programa que quieras (como un fan),índice del sitio,ayuda (rss en las respuestas de la ayuda),búsqueda de trabajo.

También ofrece otras cosas como tv( página web con todos los programas y series de la televisión estadounidense en la que se pude encontrar  vídeos, foro, fotos…), celebrity (noticias de famosos), food, games, news, sports, mobile, shop además de un buscador para encontrar de forma más rápida y fácil aquello que estés buscando.

Análisis de contenidos publicitarios

En este aspecto poco se puede quejar uno de la publicidad de la página,ya que es escasa por no decir nula. Sólo he encontrado un anuncio a la derecha de la información. En la página de cómo conocí a vuestra madre no hay publicidad,sólo publicidad de la propia serie como por ejemplo,para activar en el móvil un servicio de alerta relacionado con la serie.

En la página principal ocurre lo mismo que en el espacio de la serie, hay publicidad de las series y programas de la cadena.

Análisis de la participación

En cuanto a la participación del usuario la CBS ofrece varias herramientas como comentarios en cada vídeo, un foro, hacerte fan de la serie en facebook, meterse en su twitter, los guionistas han creado “El blog de Barney” (uno de los personajes principales),encuestas en el foro con posibilidad de suscribirse a sus RSS…

También da la posibilidad de agregar a la cadena como amigo en Facebook y así poder comentar.Esta es una opción muy acertada y han sabido adaptarse a las posibilidades que ofrece Internet,además de ser una forma de acercarse a los jóvenes,que son los principales usuarios de las redes sociales.

Os dejo dos vídeos de Barney,para mí el mejor personaje de la serie:

American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) is under pressure today after its new CEO Robert Benmosche, who has not even had a full three months yet on the job, has effectively threatened to walk out as CEO of AIG. The reasoning is over the intense restrictions of being under the government, particularly as it pertains to compensation limits.  What is interesting is that this may be a strong CEO throwing the gauntlet at the government.  But we also want to explore what Benmosche is actually worth in real dollar terms to AIG today.  Chances are it is far more than just this 4% we have seen the stock drop today.

Benmosche had to count on what would happen when he took over.  First and foremost, he stood up to the Obama administration and said he would not take the job with a compensation package that resembled the President’s salary.  He got the exception and his pay is $3 million in cash and roughly $4 million in common stock, plus what appears to be as much as $3.5 million per year in a long-term incentive award.  He also had to know that the entire legacy team at AIG was going to have to work at severely depressed salary and compensation levels under the government restrictions.  Benmosche might not have been part of the problem, yet that is not true for the legacy executives and ‘performers’ at AIG who have been there for years.

There is an area of government supervision that has to drive an executive trying to stop their ship from sinking: daily demands to produce documents and answer questions.  Benmosche might have underestimated how many “urgent” telephone calls he was going to get from the likes of Barney Frank, Elijah Cummings and other Congressmen and Senators.  He probably found out very fast that he (or his staff) would have to spend a much larger amount of time each day merely reporting progress and dealing with politicians and regulators.

What value Benmosche really added was that he stopped what Ed Liddy had started in just offering every single unit up for sale in the current climate.  He effectively followed what Hank Greenberg’s comments had been all along… Stop giving away units of the company at depressed fire-sale prices at a time when the only buyers are effectively stealing the units.  He specifically noted that he’d stop the sales processes of many units just to pay the government back a token repayment.

Benmosche retired in 2006 as the Chairman and CEO of MetLife Inc. (NYSE: MET), and he is the one largely credited for demutualizing MetLife to allow it to be more aggressive and more competitive.  While he is one of the few who could step back in and take the helm, we wondered from the start why he would even want this challenge with very limited upside. He was living extremely well with no pressure like the AIG conundrum would demand.

Moody’s was just out in recent days with the note that AIG would likely be able to pay its government obligations back if the government support stays in place and if the financial markets are stabilized.  What was not addressed is that this Moody’s call also probably factors in the Benmosche plans of building back up all of these units and THEN determining whether to use the units as sale items or whether to use them as cash flow instruments that can all be used to repay Uncle Sam.

AIG is 80% owned by you and me, assuming you are a US citizen.  The exact tally varies on what AIG really has taken, but the unofficial-official figure everyone uses is $180 billion in government aid.

Where this gets very interesting is that if Benmosche walks out, then AIG is going to be that much more unlikely to attract an industry veteran that can turn chopped liver into a steak.  We really wondered why Mr. Benmosche took this job in the first place.  But if he can’t take it anymore, then a new CEO with a new agenda is going to come in after the first of the year and no one inside is going to have the fire in their belly anymore.  No one has been able to effectively run this ship.  Hank Greenberg is too controversial to most, and frankly he is just too old for what needs to be done now.

Benmosche is worth more than 4% to AIG.  He is worth more than $10 million.  But he is also at a point in his life where this may have been too large of a task for someone who might be more content growing wine.  Moody’s won’t be issuing anymore favorable comments if a yes-man to the administration gets in and just starts parceling out pieces of the company for a song.  And anyone worth their salt will probably want to go work elsewhere rather than deal with an AIG headache.

JON C. OGG
NOVEMBER 11, 2009

मी office मधे बसून माशा मारतेय.
काम जास्त नाहिये. cyclone warning मुळे कही लोकं घरी गेली आहेत. जावं की न जावं हा मला पडलेला पेच आहे. कारण warning आल्यापासून बाहेर बघतेय, पावूस तर सोडाच, पण झाडाच पान सुद्धा हलत नाहिये. हे असं नेहमी का होतं हे कळत नाही. एखाद्या दहशतवादी संघटनेने हल्ला आयत्या वेळी cancel करणे; होम मिनिस्टर ची डरकाळी एइकुन, हे समजू शकते.

पण हवामान म्हणजे काही अल-कायदा नाही. हल्ली हल्ली या गोष्टी मला जीवनाच्या अति महान तत्वद्यानाकडे घेउन चालल्या आहेत. म्हणजे अणु-रेणू ला पण आत्मा असतो वगैरे. प्रत्येक वेळी मेट जे जाहिर करत ते याला कळत असणार. आणि ह्याचे बेत हा आयत्या वेळी बदलत असणार. (हा म्हणजे हवामान)

खर तर आपलं मेट डिपार्टमेन्ट हल्ला थोपवू शकतच नाही. फार तर फार , आणि अगदी कहर म्हणजे यंत्रणा थोडी कामाला लागते नेहमीपेक्षा जास्त. एव्हढच. म्हणजे कधीतरी प्रोजेक्ट fire वर असल्यावर सगळे मनातून उसना आव आणून वीकएंड ला काम करतात तस!(यालाच मग sincere, hard-working, pro-active वगैरे म्हणुन appraisal मधे गौरवण्यात येत) आणि हे त्यालाही माहितेय. तरी मग हल्ला cancel का करत असेल तो?
कारण मग ह्याच क्रेडिट कमी होतं न. अचानक ‘भोँक’ करून भाम्भेरी उडवण्याचा आनंद official लपाछुपी च्या खेळात नसतो! ‘मला माहित होतं तू असाच करणार ते…’ असं आपण बोललो की त्याचा ego भयंकर दुखावला जात असणार. शेवटी आपण सुद्धा त्याच्यावर इतके बेसावध वार केलेत आतापर्यंत, की त्याचा अधिकार सिद्ध करून दाखवण्याशिवाय त्याच्या कड़े तरी काय पर्याय आहे म्हणा.
anyways , पण एव्हढ मात्र खरं,
MET department always comes into picture when the situation is already met . एकदा कानफाट्या नाव पडल की हे असं असतं.

Since today is my birthday, I started to reflect on this past year. There were days I would rather forget in that time period, but other days that were magical. I decided to blog about the number one magical day in 2009 to celebrate my 44th year… can’t believe I am already 44!!

Back in May Joe had this great idea to go to New York again, but just the two of us this time. It had been a long time since just the 2 of us had been on a vacation together. So, he sold a guitar and off we went… to New York City!

We met up with some great friends, Melissa and Brad for the first few days and visited sites we had never seen before. Brad hates getting his picture taken, can you tell by how excited he looks in this one! Too funny!

Our first stop, the Empire State Building.

It was a foggy and wet day, so there was absolutely NO ONE in line. If you have ever been to NYC and waited in this line, you will appreciate that there was really no one in line this day! We were told the whole way up that there was zero visibility on the top, but we continued anyway and when we reached the top, the fog started to lift…

We walked around a couple times, then suddenly we stopped. Joe took his backpack off, opened the top compartment and pulled out 2 small blue boxes wrapped with white ribbon. I was confused for a second and then Joe explained that we were renewing our vows… well, from then on I was a mess! Brad is a pastor, so performed the ceremony and Joe read vows he had written for me. I unwrapped the little blue box, to find a white gold band with the words Tiffany inscribed on it. He placed it on my finger and I did the same for his and we… kissed… Melissa was quick to grab my camera and get a shot for me…

What a kiss!

That was day 1 of a wonderful second honeymoon! We escaped from the reality of the world and embraced what was really important to us, that we were together, having fun, enjoying each and every moment and kissing a lot!

We walked in the rain…

Road the subway everywhere, saw museums, a broadway play, shopped on Canal street for purses, watches and scarves, ate good food…

And visited the sites…

It was all magical…

This is one of my favorite contemporary artists. I first saw his work about 2 years ago when he came and did a lecture at The University of Vermont, later I saw his work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His last two series are both brilliant and yet so simple. Take a look at his work. Matt Siber

#Dos belongs to….drumroll..

Goo-Goo for GAGA….

Lady GaGa is a masterpiece.  Screw her music…its fine but whatevers…She belongs in the MET or MoMa not on stage!  Actually, the stage performance is pretty amusing too, so maybe she does..hmm..The point is her style and presence is so captivating and unique…We haven’t seen anyone so physically intoxicatingly for what seems like antiquity. GaGa is a work of art…a Jackson Pollack, a JonOne, a DelaRoche.

I want to hang GaGa on my wall

We Heart You’s…

i got a call from chicago a month ago.  someone at sultan’s market, a cafe we visited when we were there, called to tell me they had my friend jim’s wallet.  a bunch of my business cards were inside.  i didn’t know he had lost it two months prior, but i called him to let him know he could pick it up there.

it was sort of grey, threatening to rain, but really it seemed like it could go either way.  i went underground at spring and lafeyette.  when i came back up at 77th and lexington:  total downpour.  i took shelter with others without umbrellas under the awning at a bank on the corner.  men were selling umbrellas for $5.  i had only 3.  i decided to wait, maybe the rain would slow? it didn’t.

“do you have any 3-dollar umbrellas?” i asked sheepishly and hopeful.

“no, sorry, we’re selling these for someone else.”

i gave a look of disappointment thinking of how soaked i would be by the time i arrived at the MET.  as i walked away, he called me back.

“shh, don’t tell anyone.”

he pulled out an umbrella covertly, i gave him 3 bucks.  magic.

while i waited inside with thousands of others for my friend, all i could think was how nice it would be to visit a totally empty museum.

last monday i was granted my wish.  my cousin by marriage works for the museum, and invited me to be his guest.

fabulous day.  ancient chinese art, japanese mandalas, the contemporary galleries, art deco, modern design, assyrian, oceania, and the sculpture on the roof with a view of fall color in central park mixed with good conversation with my cousin i’m just getting to know.

if it were not monday, people would be everywhere in this space.

and this space.

and this one too.

a lovely day it was.

Le Metropolitan Opera of New York partage ses spectacles en live HD dans le monde entier -non, les Etats-Unis ne sont plus une île . Ce n’est apparemment pas nouveau puisque c’est au moins  la deuxième saison en France, la quatrième en général (ils ont commencé avec le CAnada apparemment) .  Cette année dans pas mal de Pathés. Ca a du bien marcher, l’année dernière c’était 18 € voir l”article ici et c’est passé à 27.

Hier donc, c’était Turandot, à Munich comme à Moscou <a href="http://">http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/broadcast/hd_events_alternates.aspx</a>. Dommage, pas à Pékin, Turandot aurait pu s’y prêter. En Asie seuls les Japonais et les Sud-Coréens y ont droit. Avec comme réalisateur, Franco Zeffirelli, qui avait déjà adapté cet opéra pour la télévision il y a plus de 20 ans.

Une merveilleuse Liu, l’esclave du roi de Perse en exil. Et des décors somptueux. Gros avantage de ce direct live c’est qu’une partie des entractes se déroule dans les coulisses et qu’on assiste aux changements de décor, qui sont impressionnants. J’ai bien failli ne pas aller me chercher ma coupe de champagne offerte par le ciné,  moi !

Aux entractes également, l’interview des chanteurs et du chef d’orchestre par la journaliste super siliconée super glossée et qui fait la quête pour le MET.

Donc, si ça vous intéresse pour une autre fois, allez voir, il y a surement encore des places !

As we were shopping at Pets at Home today, we met another pug called Bella, she was 6 months old.

Cookie was such a Good Boy.