Can you tell we had fun at this photo shoot? Once again I found it hard to choose a photo to blog about. There were are least five favourites for me! And three of those were of Uli having lots of fun! In the midst of the photo shoot I actually asked her about her feelings at that moment in time. She was so calm, collected, elegant. Her answer – she was having a great time having had her hair and make up done – and time to just relax and enjoy the process. Uli – you were indeed a pleasure to photograph. I look forward to meeting baby soon!

L1790074rsqjlp, originally uploaded by jeff and leyla.

peace love understanding thanksgiving
we live in a new world yet to understand our future
on the shores of this new frontier
the 21st century
we would do well to live in the past, as much as that may be our future…
now does not exist
see forward look past

what? yikes

L1770719r, originally uploaded by jeff and leyla.

ypsilanti fire

try new things, its good for you

Gender: Feminine
Origin: Latin
Meaning: “little she-bear; she-cub; little female bear.”
Eng (ERS-uh-LAH)

The name is of Latin origin but is suggested that is may be a latinization of the old Germanic female name Yrsa meaning “bear” and was popularized by a medieval Christian saint said to be martyred in Cologne. Not much is known about the saint, other that she was martyred under Huns along with 11,000 other virgins, which is now believed to be a misprint from the written source of the legend. What is known for sure is that there was a basilica built in honour of a virgin Christian martyr in Cologne and from this arose several different legends referring to a St. Ursula and St. Cordula. According to the legend, St. Ursula was a British princess who was sent by her father to Germany to marry a prince, along with her, were sent 11,000 maidens, however,  her ship was taken off course due to a storm and instead ended up in France where she then decided to do a pan-European Christian pilgramage before meeting her future husband. She made a pilgramage to Rome where she tried to pursuade the pope to do a pilgramage with her and her 11,ooo companions. When she reached cologne she and her companions were massacred by the Huns.

The legend is based off of a 4th century inscription written in the Basilica which was built in the saint’s honour. It is believed that the 11,ooo handmaidens was confused with a female martyr named Undecimilia, Undecimila or Xemilia and that the abbreviation XI.M.V was misread as a number. The same saint has also been referred to under the names Pinnosa or Vinnosa. The name was quite prevalent in Great Britain before the Reformation and went out of usage afterwards. The name is also borne by Swiss actress Ursula Andress (b. 1936). It has also appeared in popular culture as the name of the evil sea-witch in Disney’s the Little Mermaid and as the name of the wife of Nigellus Phineas Black in the Harry Potter Series.

In Poland, the name is associated with a great piece of Polish Literature written by Jan Kochanowski. Known as Laments (Treny) 1580, they are a series of 19 elegies which talk about the author’s grief after the death of his two and half year old daughter Orszola (Urzula) which he refers to as the Slavic Sappho.

Other forms of the name are (divided alphabetically by nationality):

• Orsula (Corsican)
• Uršula (Croatian/Czech/Slovakian/Slovenian)
• Yrsa (Danish/Faroese/Icelandic/Norwegian/Swedish)
• Orsel (Dutch)
• Ursule/Ursuline (French)
• Ursula/Ursel (German/Dutch/Estonian/Finnish/Spanish: German diminutive forms are Ulla, Uli and Uschi)
• Orsolya (Hungarian: or-SHOH-lah was the 56th most popular female name in Hungary in 2006)
• Úrsúla (Icelandic)
• Orsina/Orsola/Orsolina (Italian)
• Ursa (Latin)
• Urzula (Latvian)
• Uršulė (Lithuanian)
• Urszula/Orszola/Warszula (Polish: Latter two forms are older forms and are rarely used. Diminutive form is Ula and Urszulka. Older diminutive forms are Ulicha and Ulita)
• Úrsula (Portuguese)
• Ursetta/Ursina/Urschla (Romansch)
• Urška (Slovenian: originally a diminutive now used as an independent given name, it was the 51st most popular female name in Slovenia in 2005)
• Orscheli (Swiss-German: ORSH-lee)

There are a few male equivalents which include:

• Orso/Orsino/Ursio/Ursino (Italian)
• Urs (German)
• Ursinus/Ursus (Latin)
• Ursyn/Ursycjusz (Polish: very rare)
• Ursin/Urosin (Romansch)

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology working in cooperation with the Urban Land Institute and the Seoul Development Institute, and with the support and sponsorship of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, Sung Kyun Kwan University and Seoul Business Agency, present:

“New Century City” Development Conference and Workshop
Seoul, Korea
November 9, 10, 11, 2009

Venue: Seoul Digital Media City

For registration and hotel information contact ok.namkung@sdi.re.kr
There is no fee for conference or workshop attendance.

ABOUT THE CONFERENCE AND WORKSHOP

A new class of large-scale real estate development projects are emerging around the world that seek to achieve multiple public and private outcomes.  MIT has called these projects “New Century City” projects.  These projects require multiple actors from industry, government and institutions to converge their actions in the service of creating a new economic cluster in their host city or region. These projects seek to develop the human and social capital that will make these economic sectors competitive in the globalized economy. These projects use the real estate development process as a mechanism to achieve a broader economic development outcome.

New Century City projects are the test-beds of emerging ideas about city design, urban planning, public-private partnerships and infrastructure delivery.  The projects typically include:

• Facilities for living and working that anticipate emerging life styles and market preferences;
• social-capital partnerships with institutions — often with universities — which facilitate business attraction and incubation;
• digital media and information systems as a mechanism for “community building”;
• strategies for efficient management of urban services;
• aggressive environmental sustainability measures.

New Orleans 1979, originally uploaded by jeff lamb.

Bywater
Burgundy and Congress st.
Creole cottage

img027sq#2, originally uploaded by jeff lamb.

St. Roch Cemetery
New Orleans, Louisiana 1979
©jeffrey lamb 2009

New Orleans 1979, originally uploaded by jeff lamb.

New Orleans 1979

jlp/New Orleans.
jefflamb.wordpress.com/2007/07/27/new-orleans-1979-41/

1401 Laharpe St., on the 2 story creole quarters on the left
1542 N. Villere St., on the 2 story Firehouse on the right
An early Creole Quarters, Creole Tradition, dependency, and a vernacular Greek Revival gabled type firehouse/?.
7th ward

New Orleans 1979, originally uploaded by jeff lamb.

New Orleans, 1979
two corners, on the far corner is an excellent double Creole Cottage, w/ elegantly recessed entrances and good historic fabric,
on the near corner a 2 story well detailed gabled shotgun-type of house but built to fit the lot, now demolished.
Along Esplanade ave. a block or two downriver..

New Orleans 1979, originally uploaded by jeff lamb.

New Orleans 1979
a late 19th century 2 story shotgun, “shop-residence”

St. Anthony and St. Claude st.
corner store

New Orleans 1979, originally uploaded by jeff lamb.

New Orleans Creole townhouse row in the
historic Treme neighborhood
Treme
1301 Governor Nichols St.,
Boarding House
Treme St. and Gov. Nichols
Creole tradition
side hall townhouse row,

jlp/New Orleans
jefflamb.wordpress.com/2007/07/19/new-orleans-1979-26/

New Orleans 1979, originally uploaded by jeff lamb.

New Orleans, Louisiana
a corner Creole cottage,
a shop and two auxlliary buildings,
mid 19th century historic vernacular architecture

Yesterday was the Project Runway All-Star Challenge and Season 6 Premiere! I was particularly looking forward to the All-Star Challenge mostly because the casting directors sort of screwed up the casting after season four so I was squirmish about watching the Season 6 Premiere. Plus, isn’t anything more interesting to watch with Santino Rice in it?

But somehow this two-hour special seemed to be lacking something. I felt like the energy in the workroom was just really low and no one was bull sh**ing like usual; it was all about the money this time. The only one giving any viewer fanservice was Santino, showing his usual arrogant, pretentious, pompous side which we like. But Jeffrey, seriously? Come on, where is the annoying Jeffrey Sebalia I know and love?

Santino.I really loved Santino in this special even though he didn’t win. I think as a TV personality of Project Runway he did his job of entertaining me, I mean, without him I think this special would have ended up being a group of matured un-Project Runway former contestants diligently doing their fashion work without even realizing they needed to start bull sh**ing already.

Uli. Wow, I really saw a different Uli in this special. It’s like she matured way too fast and left the fun and hip Uli to die and rot in the land of amateur fashion designing. I think this mature and serious side of Uli also showed in her work and the judges commented about it. If I think back, I would definitely still want to buy the garment she made in the last challenge right before the final three episodes. Uli really just went for the money this time and I was so surprised by that because, you know, she’s Uli: she’s fun, hip, colorful, and optimistic! I would give anything to go back to the old days of Project Runway!

Jeffrey. Jeffrey surprised me too! Not only did his appearance seem questionable, but his attitude was so un-Jeffrey Sebalia like. There was seriously no fun and cocky bull sh**ing from him, instead there was this mature, serious side of him that just showed he wanted things to get done and win the cash so he could move on with his life. The old days of the Jeffrey we know are over, I guess, and the cockiness has dimmed down but is still existing by a thread. Oh, and the mustache is just no.

Chris. I know that Chris is not a big TV personality like Santino, but oh, he slept the whole time! Is it just me or does it feel like Project Runway is like the Olympics of fashion, and if you aren’t at the right time and age to entertain the viewer with your amateurness and bull crap while still managing to pull off the garment assigned to you in the time span of 24 hours, you will immediately become a Project Runway retiree and become boring like the rest of the All-Star Challenge contestants except for Santino who has still kept his Santino vibe? I am still bewildered how Chris pulled off his collection while getting like a million hours of sleep in the process.

Sweet P. As a person, I don’t think Sweet P really changed; she’s still the same sweet, bike-chick fashion designer who makes great clothe. I’m so glad for her that Diane von Furstenburg liked her collection, it was so her! So great job Sweet P!

Mychael. I remember in Season 3 when the judges lauded Mychael on making really good sportswear. I never understood why Mychael always had to go for the sexy and sensual type of garments, I mean, he knocked the socks off the judges when he made the sportsman outfit for himself in Season 3! In this special, he just seemed sort of lost and not really there. But then again, this is Mychael! He is the quiet, dilligent working type of person who gets the job done. I have to compliment him, I did like the fourth outfit; I thought it was cool and creative!

Daniel. Like Mychael, Daniel is the quiet, dilligent working type of person too, who is not there to socialize like Santinobut to get the job done and do his best at it. All I have to say is I compliment him on winning the special! He deserved it and I love the last garment! I would die to wear it, but unfortunately I’m not in model shape, so Daniel, could you pretty please make the garment in a bigger size?

Korto. OKAY. So Korto can design clothe for women, in fact, she does it so impeccably it should be a crime that it’s even made on  Project Runway because it’s too good. I think people like Korto actually crush the integrity of Project Runway because on this reality show, you are expected to make mistakes during the competition and you’re encouraged to mature from them. This is how you grow a fanbase which can ultimately lead to you winning the competition. Being a winner of Project Runway not only asks the contestant to be a genius at designing clothe but to also have some sort of personality. So basically, I think bull sh**ing actually helps you win the competition. Korto is the perfect child adult; she does what she is asked to do, she’s quiet, innovative and she doesn’t bull sh** during crunch time. This is exactly what is getting her into trouble. She’s too serious and this is what I think didn’t win her the special this time. The judges not only had to think about who had the best collection but also how the audience would respond to the winner. I’m sorry Korto, but maybe being the #2 Girl on Project Runway wasn’t about your clothe but you.

Nina Garcia.  Well, I was surprised at Nina last night! Why does it feel like I lost a part of the unpredictable, sharp tongued Nina somewhere down the road too? I was surprised she didn’t address her disapproval of Santino’s overly-vulgar metallica collection. Not only that, she seems to have lost her energetic energy to criticize garments coming down the runway, which end up being really mean but then Michael Kors comes to the rescue and softens the comment a little so the contestant doesn’t feel so crushed. Nostalgia is really killing me and Nina needs to realize she’s softened over the past years. I want the sharp-tongued Nina back!

Tim Gunn. No matter what season of Project Runway I’m watching, Tim Gunn always delivers. He’s never-changing and he’s always there to help the contestants. If there was one thing I would miss when Project Runway is over, it would be Tim Gunn. I wish I could have him in my life, telling me to “make it work” everytime I had a problem in life!

Even though the contestants in this special weren’t exactly their usual selfs minus Santino, it was nice to see all of them together again. This special felt more to me like a last reunion for the veterans who made Project Runway such a popular hit. As I’ve been writing this post, I’ve come to realize that it’s time for Project Runway to end. This show has had its share of fond and bitchy memories which will never be forgotten. We will always have our “golden” seasons, which were seasons one through four. If you think about it, it’s less important to go out in search of new recruits for future seasons, but rather it’s more important to cherish the great moments that have made Project Runway so popular.