Getting Ready For Again

I'm in Green Park whose green space reduced to a postage stamp in preparation for the Royal Wedding -- as the reception at Buckingham Palace, the festive area will cover The Mall, St Jame's Park and Green Park. 

Large white tents, lighting and security installed and there are hundreds of worker bees preparing for the Big Day. Behind all this is, well, Kate Middleton - a "commoner" without aristocratic lineage. I am all for the fairy tale wedding BTW - why not enjoy it? 

 The country has a reason to celebrate itself and the next Royal couple will provide endless entertainment forevermore. Kate already occupies a small space in our collective waking conscious. She signed on for it.

"

In their first public appearance together following their February 1981 engagement announcement, Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles attend a Royal Opera benefit at London's Goldsmith Hall. Lady Diana shocks the crowd by appearing in a low-cut, strapless black taffeta evening gown. "Lady Di Takes the Plunge," screams the front page of The Daily Mirror, with splendid photos of "Shy Di" spilling out of her revealing gown."

Trio

We prepare for Passover - Eitan's blazer two inches too short on the sleeve so Madeleine adds it to her costume, which includes Eitan's dress trousers, school shoes and grey-turtle neck. They look like hobos. Just once I would like to see Madeleine in a dress but this has happened just once in the last three years : Diane's wedding. We pick up Sonnet at Hammersmith Station then Chiswick for dinner.

Bushy

The kids and I to the Hampton pool and, before that, a picnic in Bushy Park.

Sonnet joins the sofa during the ManU - Newcastle game.

Sonnet: "Ooo, fancy."

Eitan: "That's what they do, Mom. They pass the ball to each other."

Monday Morning

Aneta back to Czech for the week and today I am solo with the Shakespeares. It is sunny and warm so everybody in a good mood, 9AM. Eitan wants to go to the outdoor pool but Madeleine, who was on board initially, changes her mind (Madeleine: "I was not on board! I was never on board!"). We weigh the Barnes Wetland Center (Madeleine: "Yea!"; Eitan: "No!"), Kew Gardens (both: "naw"); Snakes and Ladders (Me: veto).

In the end, Madeleine relents re the pool in return for "a fizzy drink" and we are off.

Madeleine: "Dad, I have one-hundred eighty one pounds exactly."

Me: "Is that so?"

Madeleine: "And nothing to spend it on."

Marathon Sunday

And here we are again - the London Marathon - and trust me I am delighted to be watching the front-runners on the tele with my feet up (Photo from The Telegraph, last year, at Tower Bridge). Recall, Dear Reader, 2009 a disaster when it comes to marathoning : two races, one cow suit and a combined ten miles of soul destroying misery. Of my five races, I have not once finished running. Never say never, but another marathon highly unlikely - these days, seven miles pain-free a luxury.

The inaugural London marathon in'81 had 7,741 entrants, 6,255 of whom completed the race. The first Men's Elite Race was tied between American Dick Beardsley and Norwegian Inge Simonsen, who crossed the finish line holding hands in 2 hours, 11 minutes, 48 seconds. The first Women's Elite Race was won by Briton Joyce Smith in 2:29:57. Last year's race had 35,859 entrants with 35,268 finishing (this does not make me feel especially good as I bonked out at mile 25). This year there are over 37,000 runners.

Course records have been set eight times in the men's race and eight times in the women's race. World records have been set four times. Khalid Khannouchi, representing the United States, set the men's world record in 2:05:38 in 2002. The following year, Paula Radcliffe set the women's world record in 2:15:25, which stands today and may not be broken for twenty years - no woman has come within three minutes of Paula's time. Wanjiru set the men's course record at 2:05:10 in 2009 in the Men's Elite Race. This is 4:45 miling for 26 miles.

V&A Chandelier

I take this pic awaiting Sonnet. The V&A's Rotunda, or main entrance, home of the wonderful, 30ft high, blown glass chandelier by Dale Chihuly. After the original dome of the rotunda was reinforced, the chandelier installed in 2000 as the first stage of the V&A's modernisation and redevelopment.

Dale with us last night for dinner. Hard to believe that he and his family left London for TX six years ago and while we email often, this is our first re-union since 2006.

Eitan and I sit around watching videos on Youtube while Sonnet and Madeleine doing some errands and the mutt sleeps after a long walk in Richmond Park. The weather, which started off so promising, now overcast but at least it is warm - and the sun sets in the late evening. London has emptied for the Spring Easter holidays and the traffic, by my imperfect guess, down 10% which makes driving into town a joy. I wouldn't say it's lazy but close.

Eitan, dismissing my entire generation: "Madonna. Uh."

Ben & Jerry

Eitan multi-tasks.

Peter Pan

Madeleine's drama class ends this week with a performance of Peter Pan at Putney Arts Theatre. Our hero is an Indian (or "Native American" - but these Brits are not quite up for such a modern expression). Madeleine comfortable with her lines and has a nice stage presence. The 40 or so in the audience give the little dears our cheer. Afterwards Marcus joins us for a sleep-over.

Me: "Anything to say about 'Peter Pan'?"

Madeleine: "Like what?"

Me: "Were you nervous in the play?"

Madeleine: "Yeah, a little bit."

Me: "Like when?

Madeleine: "Especially when I did the dance. Remember that?" [The kids sing Alphavilles' "Forever Young" inserting various Peter Pan appropriate lyrics]

Sonnet: "Yes, I wish I could watch it every day."

Me: "Anything else?"

Madeleine: "Oh, Dad."

Me And The Boy

Friday afternoon I pick up Sonnet from Blythe House where much of the V&A's fashion collection will soon be stored. We then get Eitan from football camp in Chiswick, arriving in time to see his team win the final tournament (Eitan jumps in the air, pumps a fist) and an awards ceremony recognising the enthusiastic or better players.

Shard Of Glass

Renzo Piano's "Shard of Glass" at London Bridge will be, when completed in 2012, the tallest building in Europe and the 45th tallest building in the world. It is the second tallest free-standing structure in the UK after the 1,084 ft (330.4m) Emley Moor transmitting station. The building in all its various stages and seen by millions daily, will soon be a fading memory once the project finished.

(From wiki) In February 2009, a mobile crane and a small piling rig appeared on site.

In early March 2009, the small crane began putting steel beams into the ground, as part of preparations for the core of the building. Full construction began on 16 March 2009, with the first piling rig on site. Demolition work on the New London Bridge House started in May 2009.

The latter is an adjacent project to accompany the Shard London Bridge. The first steel work went into the piles on 27 April.

Five cranes are to be used to build the project, with four of them 'jumping' with the tower as it rises. Crane 1 was erected on 20 September and crane 2 was erected at the beginning of October.

By 20 October 2009, steel beams began appearing on site, with concrete being poured at the northern part of the site, ready for Crane 3.

By March 2010, the concrete core was rising steadily at approximately 3 metres a day.

After a pause in March–April 2010, it continued rising, reaching approximately the 33rd floor in mid-June, almost level with the top of Guy's Hospital, which stands at 143 m. The first glass panel was installed on 25 May 2010. On 27 July 2010 the core stopped rising as it had reached level 38 and needed to be reconfigured.

By mid-November 2010, the third core had reached level 68 (approx 235 m) with steel reaching level 40 and cladding enveloping a third of the building. In late November, it passed the 235 metres (771 ft) mark, relieving One Canada Square in Canary Wharf of its 18-year reign as Britain's tallest building.

The concrete core has now topped out at level 72, standing at 245 metres (804 ft).

The early part of January 2011 saw the installation of hydraulic screens. These are used to form the concrete floors that are needed for the hotel and apartment section of the tower. These will rise with the floors up to level 69. On 25 January 2011 the concrete pumps began pouring the first concrete floor at level 41.By the end of February 2011 the concrete floors had risen to level 46 with a floor being poured on average every week. The cladding has also progressed mainly on the towers "backpack" where much of its 15 levels were cladded in a month, the cladding on the main tower though had slowed due to the concrete floors being poured above.

April 2011 saw steady progress in construction and cladding had enveloped half the buildings exterior . Pouring of the concrete floors had reached level 50 and progression on the towers cladding had picked up pace once again with cladding reaching level 38.

London Tower

I am in the City to pick up my camera after droping David off following Friday morning meetings - freedom! It is a sunny day and I am surrounded by tourists. Near the Tower a young man, maybe 30, maybe Danish, asks permission to sit on my bench; he has a brief conversation which, to my eavesdropping, sounds uncomfortable. A few minutes later, a woman arrives with a huge smile and they embrace; she settles on his lap and they make out. Her accent Eastern European from who-knows-where. Since I would seem to be the odd man out, I move along.

The London Tower founded in 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England. The White Tower, pictured at top, gives the castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078, and was a resented symbol of oppression, inflicted upon London by the new ruling elite. The castle was used as a prison since at least 1100, although that was not its primary purpose. A grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence. The Tower is a complex of several buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. There were several phases of expansion, mainly under Kings Richard the Lionheart, Henry III, and Edward I in the 12th and 13th centuries. The general layout established by the late 13th century remains despite later activity on the site.

Me: "Did you know that there is a prison in the London Tower that fills with water as the Thames rises, killing whoever is inside?"

Eitan: "That is a horrible way to die."

Madeleine: "Burning in fire...."

Me: "How about boiling oil?"

Eitan: "I would want to go fast. By a gunshot maybe. Or my head cut off."

Madeleine: "You would want to have your head cut off Eitan?"

Me: "Like the Guilitine. Do you know what a Guillitine is?"

Eitan, Madeleine:

Me: "It is a large blade which they drop on your neck and- wack! - 'off with your 'ed!'"

Eitan: "That would be quick."

Correlation Ventures

I am a bit behind on my journal following a week on the road with David, who continues to raise capital for his firm, Correlation Ventures. Here we are, on a train, from Geneva to the airport.

Our week takes us from London to Amsterdam/ Rotterdam/ The Hague to Copenhagen then Switzerland and back to London to visit some family friends and institutions, who, despite a strong expressed interest in a quant-driven venture strategy, are unable to rise above themselves to support the partnership. Venture capital is a tough sell and a first-time fund with a unique approach almost, well, impossible. Despite this, we now have $50 million of commitments including three US endowments which are considered "prestige" and usually come in to well-established funds.

David's presentation nimble with enough geek to impress the statisticians, like the guy we meet from James Dyson (Dyson having invented the world's most popular vacuum cleaner- you may have one - and the "Airblade" dryer now in most big airports including SFO and Heathrow) and patience for everybody else. Time and again we must grin and bear it when somebody states grandly, usually at the end of our time, that "you can't use the past to predict the future." And of course this is true. What David is trying to do is exploit patterns, consistent in the venture industry during boom and bust, to enhance the odds, in a large portfolio, that there is a higher proportion of "winners" - companies that exit in the top 1% of outcomes for any given year. Given that no vc has a clue, at the time of investment, if his company a winner or loser (recall 90% of all start-ups fail) and a third of syndicates need money and exits equally distributed between over- and under-subscribed rounds - this is greenfield. As another David says : "game changer."

The Sounds

This cool photo of the Sounds from Christian who notes : "straight from Sweden."

Madeleine: "Did you go to school with Harry Potter?"

Me: "Harry Potter?"

Sonnet: "I think you mean Emma Watson, who goes to Brown."

Madeleine: "Yeah. Did you know her?"

Me:

Madeleine: "I want people to know my face. I want to sign autographs. I want to be a famous actress."

Me: "What do famous people have in common?"

Madeleine: "They work hard?"

Me: "Bingo."

Madeleine: "In drama I never get the big parts."

Aneta: "My first part I was a river. Glug. Glug. Glug.. ."

Sonnet: "When you go into drama class next term, tell the teacher you want a bigger part."

Me: "Well, Kid, show us some acting."

Madeleine: "Like what?"

Me: "How about 'I love you?'"

Madeleine: "Dad!"

Me: "Ok, say 'I really love that red car.' You know, with emotion."

Madeleine: "I really looove that red car."

Me: "I luva that red car witha alla my heart!"

Sonnet: "I think your daughter is trying to have a serious conversation with you."

Me: "Madeleine, if you want something honey, you have to ask for it."

Madeleine: "Give me the £40 you owe me."

Me: Touché.

Adjusting To A Global Market (1974-2011)

(From the FT) The postwar consensus broke down amid the "stagflation" of the mid-1970s, as a full-blow recession, with double-digit rates of inflation, followed the quadrupling of the oil price in 1973. Government economic policy moved towards greater acceptance of market mechanisms.

While globalisation saw much of the world's manufacturing industry moving to the emerging Asian economies, the UK economy shifted away from traditional heavy industries towards services, particularly financial services. The first decade of the new century ended with the deepest peacetime recession in 70 years.
Photograph: Nils Jorgensen

Movie Night

Eitan: "Can I do football skills Monday afternoon?"

Madeleine: "You can't Eitan. You have cross country."

Me: "And how do you know that?"

Madeleine: "I'm not an outcast, Dad."

Eitan and Madeleine: "Family movie night!"

Sonnet: "Do you want to watch 'Ghost Busters'?"

Madeleine: "What about that other one?"

Sonnet: "'Whatever Works' by Woody Allen?"

Madeleine: "Yes! That one."

Eitan: "Is it rated?"

Me:

Sonnet: "It says it is rated 12."

Madeleine: "Eitan is worried that there is inappropriate material."

Me: "Eitan is worried that he is going to see a bottom."

Eitan: "Dad!"

Sonnet: "It says 'moderate sex references.'"

Me: "See, just like I said. A bottom . ."

Eitan:

Sonnet: "Eat your salad."

Madeleine: "I hate Salad."

Me: "Since when?"

Madeleine: "I've hated salad since last year."

Anthony Horowitz

The kids queue for hours to meet Anthony Horowitz, the author behind "Alex Rider." (Eitan, aware that Horowitz a Chelsea fan, was going to wear his ManU shirt so I am happy to see Sonnet ordered him to take it off). And who is Alex Rider, you might ask, as I once did ? Well, Alex Rider a teenage spy. In Britain. The series aimed primarily at young adults and, with nine novels, one of the most popular of its type. Both Madeleine and Eitan, especially Eitan, devour them.

Anthony Horowitz: "What's your name?

Eitan: "Eitan."

Alex: "What kind of a name is that?"

Eitan: "It's Hebrew."

Anthony: "Do you know what it means?"

Eitan: "No."

Anthony: "Have you ever been to Israel?"

Eitan: "No."

Anthony: "I've been there when I was writing the Alex Rider books and I think it is a very interesting country."

For the record, "Eitan" is a Hebrew name that means "steady" or "firmness", "long lived", "strength" and "forceful."

Photo by Sonnet

Prison If

We take a boat ride by the Château d'If, a fortress (later a prison) located on the island of If, in the Mediterranean Sea about a mile offshore in the Bay of Marseille. It is famous, Dear Reader, from Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo where Le Monsieur de la Count jailed - I read the book a couple of years ago to my great delight. Recall the main character Edmond Dantès(a commoner who later purchases the noble title of Count) and his mentor, Abbé Faria, are imprisoned in If. After fourteen years, Dantès makes a daring escape from the castle, becoming the first person ever to do so and survive. In reality, no one is known to have done this. There is also a 33 Champs-Élysées BTW where Le Count lived in the story.

The château a square, three-story building 28 m long on each side, flanked by three towers with large gun embrasures. The remainder of the island, which measures about 30,000 square meters, heavily fortified; high ramparts with gun platforms surmount the island's cliffs.The isolated location and dangerous offshore currents of the Château d'If made it an ideal escape-proof prison, like our Alcatraz. Its was a dumping ground for political and religious detainees and one of the most feared and notorious jails in France. It was built in the 15th century and one may easily marvel at the effort this must have required.

"My partner is my master."

--The Count of Monte Cristo

Night Out

I prepare for the night's affairs.

Dance

Astorg out-performs so really their annual general meeting a pretty tame affair. Astorg's Chairman, Xavier, jokes with the owner/manager of the one company whose performance has slipped since last year's review. Otherwise it is mostly good stories and valuation mark-ups. Xavier takes it upon himself to show us the best of his country and this year special as his hometown in nearby Nice. By Thursday all investors to hand and the Astorg team flies in for dinner, which is at Palais du Pharo, built under Louis Napoleon Bonaparte for the Empress Eugenie. Before supper we have a private viewing of La compangnie Julie Lestel's "corps & 'âmes", a modern dance production (pictured) that has received awards around the world and, I might suggest, a bit risqué for the crowd. Unexpected and sublime.

Astorg's younger ranks fun to watch - 28 to 32 or so, very fashionable, young and attractive - it is clear they enjoy being around each other.

Eitan now swims five nights a week for the regional squad+football+cross country. He is as gung-ho as ever when it comes to sport.

"Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever."
--Napoleon Bonaparte

Marseilles

I am in Marseilles from Wednesday for Astorg's annual investor meeting, which kicks off at Gerald Passedat's restaurant, Le Petite Nice, a three-star Michelin restaurant that even has the French going "oo la la." Passedat known for his fish work and so (of course) the fellow next to me does not .. eat fish. The rest of us marvel at his creations and accompanying wines which somehow improve the flavors. We have the restaurant to ourselves - about 30 of us - and drink champagne beforehand as the sun sets on the Mediterranean which spreads before us. Not bad for a Jewish kid from Berkeley.

I have not been to Marseilles since '83 when Geneve Natation participated in a competition at the then-new 50-meter Olympic pool built into the city cliffs. And there she is, looking a bit older maybe but connecting me to footsteps I walked 28 years ago.

Wednesday's menu:

Avant-goût (Foretaste)

Asperges de Pertuis au Naturel (Natural Pertuis Asparagus)

Truffe en Mini Brouillade (Mini scrambled of Truffle)

Cabris et petis pois (Goat meat, peas and vegetables)

Nouille fraîche aux Morilles (Fresh Noodles with morels)

Foie de Canard a l'inis étoilé (Foie gras with Star Anise)

Les fromage affinés (chees)

L'avant-douceur (pre-dessert)

Chrysalide de caramel au chocolat (Caramel chrysalis with chocolate)

Mignardises (Homemade delicacies)

Wines

Champagne De Souze Cuvée 3A

Cotes de Provence blanc Domain Mas de Cadenete Cuveé Mas Negrel de Cadenet 2097

Chablis premier cru Montmains 2007; Domain Jean-Paul et Benoit Droin

Cornas Les Ruchets 1999; Domaine Jean-Luc Colombo

Vin doux Naturel Rivesaltes Ambre 2006; Domaine Rossignol

(photo from the web, uncredited)

Broom

Eitan promoted to the regional swimming squad, which gets a bashful acknowledgement when Head Coach Mirella and club Chairman Nigel tell him he has earned his place "from hard-work and good progress." The boy now expected to train five or six times a week. We discuss his commitment to sport : swimming, football and cross-country, which he enjoys at school. At some point - not now, but soon - he will most likely have to make a choice between the three but for now, he is boundless energy and not enough hours in the day.

Rusty chases the broom - he can do this for hours.

Boob Tube

We have a fairly sharp policy when it comes to media: the less, the better. No Nintendo DS nor Xbox; no boob tubes in the kids' rooms (only one household television); one family computer which the kids use in the kitchen in the presence of an adult. Eitan and Madeleine have 'movie night' Thursdays and one-hour of cartoons Sunday mornings though relaxed around football, which Eitan cannot get enough of (+I enjoy watching with him). Madeleine gets her extra share, too, do not worry Dear Reader. The one exception radio : I have no problem with the wireless which, at least, exercises some imagination. They also go for CD boxsets of Hairy Potter or whatever (I sometimes find one or the other sound asleep with the player going). Sonnet and I figure the Shakespeares will spend half their waking life Facebooking and Twittering . . no need to rush them online when they should be reading and playing in dirt.

For the record, the British Market Research Bureau reports that Britain's children spend four-and-a-half hours a day in front of a TV or computer - one hour 50 minutes online and two hours 40 minutes in front of the television. It found that children spend more time in front of a screen in one day than they spend exercising in the entire week. 97 per cent of 11 to 16-year-olds own a mobile phone – eight per cent more than the percentage of adults who own one.

Post-War Stability (1950-1974)

(From the FT) This period was one of relative stability for Britain - with generally low inflation, and no significant recessions - and of relative decline, as other nations, in particular the resurgent Germany and Japan, overtook the UK in the international economic pecking order.

Political parties were in broad agreement that the state had a role to play in the economy, to fund the expanding welfare state and, by judicious use of fiscal and monetary policies, to maintain full employment.

Busy Day At Work

6PM and I am turning off my computer as I write thi . . . .

Summer '04 - Richmond Park

We host a martini fueled dinner party Saturday which goes until 3AM - 3AM! - which means Sonnet takes Eitan to swimming Sunday morning, 6:30AM. Made worse: Mother's Day. I slink around the house then take the boy to his football match against the Molesley Jrs which is on a lovely pitch next to the Spencer Estate - Spencer being Charles Edward Maurice Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, DL wh is a British peer and brother of Diana, Princess of Wales and an "author," "print journalist" and "broadcaster." Yeah, right. KPR lost to Molesley two weeks ago 4-nil without Eitan and yesterday the team gets one back: the blues dominate 6-1 and Eitan scores a hat-trick including a screaming header fed to him on a corner-kick. There are plenty of smiles afterwards.

The rest of the afternoon spent with Madeleine in the backyard hacking around the garden. Springtime in the air. We observe tadpoles spawned in the pond - Madeleine feeds them some ham.

Eitan, from the back seat of the car: "I always get excited when I see a theme park."

Eitan Mother's Day Card:

"Dear Mom,

Thank you for all the wonderful things you do for me.

You are a wonderful mother.

I love your hairstyle.

Love, from Eitan

"

A Sad Day, 1968

In 1964, Martin Luther King, Jr. became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other nonviolent means. By 1968, he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and stopping the Vietnam War.

Berkeley's Grove Street, running north-south a few blocks of Shatuck Ave connecting Berkeley and Oakland, was renamed Martin Luther King Jr Way in 1984.

On April 4, 1968, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., 39, was shot to death in Memphis, Tenn.

Photo from the web.

A Lie In - On Kissing

Me: "Can you believe we ran that race a year ago? The one in Richmond Park?"

Eitan: "What?! I thought it was, like, five months ago."

Me: "That's the way it goes. Marching to the grave."

Eitan: "Yeah, for you."

Madeleine at an over-night and Sonnet and I watch the film "Facebook" with Eitan.

Me: "Did you like the movie?"

Eitan: "I guess so. Mom told me to put the blanket over my head during some parts."

Me: "Did you understand everything?"

Eitan: "Like what?"

Me: "It was sort of for adults. Young adults."

Eitan:

Me: "Like those things they were doing in college. At the parties."

Eitan:

Me: "How do you feel about the way the characters treated each other?"

Eitan: "I don't know."

Me: "Did anything go over your head?"

Eitan: "You mean the blanket?"

Me:

Me, walking home with Madeleine: "Your mom and I watched Facebook with Eitan."

Madeleine: "Really? Isn't it for the older ones?"

Me: "Well, there is kissing and stuff in the movie. Do you know about that?"

Madeleine:

Me: "Well, you can kiss for love and you can kiss for pleasure."

Madeleine: "And what was in the film?"

Me: "I think mostly for pleasure."

Madeleine: "I have only kissed you and mom. For love."

Me: "Someday you will find somebody to kiss for love and for pleasure. Both are perfectly Ok."

Madeleine: "Do people really like to do that?"

Me: "Yes. Now what happens if one person kisses for love and the other one for pleasure?"

Madeleine:

Me: "Could somebody get hurt?"

Madeleine: "Yeah."

Me: "It is all part of growing up, kid."

Madeleine And Katie

Katie ("The Intellectual") profiled in Delta Sky Magazine - pictured - with Catherine Hardwicke ("The Visionary"), the director of the Twilight series and most recently Red Riding Hood which opened in the UK last week.

We attend King Lear at the Richmond Theatre with Shai and Ada.

I ponder three disparate facts from the news:

- In the year to March 1, US corn stocks fell 15% while the global price of corn doubled over the same period (USDA)

- Nevada house prices have fallen 58% since their peak in April 2006 (S&P)

- Barclays' assets are 100% of UK gross domestic product (Barclays)

"A man may see how this world goes with no eyes. Look with thine ears: see how yond justice rails upon yond simple thief. Hark, in thine ear: change places; and, handy-dandy, which is the justice, which is the thief?"

--King Lear

"Have more than thou showest,
Speak less than thou knowest,
Lend less than thou owest."

--The Fool

Oscar And The Aesthetes

I attend last night's opening party of the wonderful V&A exhibition "The Cult of Beauty, the Aesthetic Movement 1860-1900." The reception in the main entrance under the magnificent Chihuly chandelier, which is now a permanent fixture (previously on loan). The Great and the good ensemble drinking champagne flutes while nibbling hors d'oeuvres. We are escorted into the gallery and treated to romantic bohemians Dante Gabriel Rossetti, James Whistler and Frederic Leighton and G.F. Watts. Oscar Wilde surely has a part to play and so receives a commemorative (from the V&A gallery):

"Oscar Wilde, the Aesthetic Movement and Satire

"The figure of the Aesthete, with his super-subtle sensibility and passionate responses to poetry, pictures and interior decoration, had first appeared in the 1870s. Associated with "unhealthy" and possibly dangerous foreign ideas, he was greeted with suspicion by critics and public alike

"However, by the 1880s the long-haired, velvet-clad Aesthete had become the butt of more affectionate satire. Targeted with extraordinary precision, the Aesthetes were ridiculed for what Gilbert and Sullivan called their 'stained-glass attitudes', overly precious speech and enthusiasm for 'pale lilies', sunflowers, peacock feathers, blue-and-white chine and Japanese fans.

"Oscar Wilde, inventing himself asa the first celebrity style-guru, astutely adopted the role of the Aesthete and rose to prominence through lecturing on Aesthetic ideals. His name and appearance became synonymous with the movement to such an extent that his fall in 1895 discredited the Aestheticism for a generation."

Mercury And Barney

NASA's Messenger spacecraft began orbiting Mercury on March 17, and will remain here for another year or so taking photographs and measurements. The Messenger arrived at its final destination after a 6.5-year loop the loop through the inner solar system. A 15-minute engine burn slowed the spacecraft sufficiently for it to be captured by Mercury’s gravity. By design, the Messenger circles around the planet on a highly elliptical orbit, dipping down as close to 160 miles to Mercury’s surface and rising as far up as 9,300 miles.

Says mission chief scientist Sean Solomon: "Mercury has had an exposed surface for at least 3.5 to 4 billion years and some of those surfaces are extremely cratered to the point where there are so many craters they start to obscure one another."

My genius friend Barney, who sold his search company to Microsoft and now the chief architect for Bing local search, tells me he is"moonlighting" as co-founder and CTO of Moon Express which is building an autonomous robotic lunar lander to support exploration and resource development on the moon (Think: mining platinum from the asteroids that impacted the moon). The company is now 8 FTE and has contracts with NASA.

Since Barney's bio on the web, here is a relevant interesting paragraph paragraph on Barney:

"

From 1993-1998, Dr. Pell worked as a Principal Investigator and Senior Computer Scientist at NASA Ames, where he conducted advanced research and development of autonomous control software for NASA's deep space missions. Dr. Pell was the Architect for the Remote Agent and the Project Lead for the Executive component of the Remote Agent Experiment (RAX), the first intelligent executive to fly onboard and control a spacecraft (the Deep Space One mission). Remote Agent is widely considered one of the top achievements in the history of Artificial Intelligence and was awarded NASA's "software of the year" award in 1999. Dr. Pell was also Co-Lead for the Autonomy Integrated Product Development Team for NASA's New Millennium Program, responsible for planning and managing technology maturation and demonstration of autonomous systems technology for future use by NASA."

Marc; Eitan Does Whitney

This one of my favorite photos : Marc in Singapore. He is a wheeler dealer in advertising media and owns a small agency.

Eitan at the Rose Theatre in Kingston to sing with his and other borough quires. I fail to get a ticket in advance and so do what my mother would have done: sneak into the circle box for the final song. Good lessons BTW. A couple hundred kids on stage accompanied by a orchastra. It takes a couple moments to identify Eitan then I spot him in a middle row and get a timid wave then the peace sign, which he has seen me do on occasion. They sing Whitney Houston's "One Moment In Time" which Whitney performed at the Grammy's where it won an Emmy. The song for the '88 Seoul Olympic athletes and equally appropriate for the little tykes on stage.

Eitan Butterflies

My photo from the school borough swimming championships last week - Eitan (green cap) places sixth overall in the butterfly.

Meanwhile, Cal held off defending champion Texas 493-470 1/2 to win its first men's NCAA swimming championship in 31 years Saturday night. The Bears' Graeme Moore, Josh Daniels, Tom Shields and Nathan Adrian clinched the title by winning the 400-yard freestyle relay in 2 minutes, 47.39 seconds. Je-sus that is fast. Adrian also won a third straight 100 freestyle in 41.10 and was named the meet's top swimmer. Cal's women's team took their second NCAA swimming in three year the week before. Holy Catfish.

“It's kind of like a funnel. Meets are just stops along the way and everything funnels down to that goal.”

--Nort Thornton, Cal mens head swim coach, 1974-2007

"My goggles came off and I couldn't really see anything."

--Eitan

Wars And Depression (1914-1950

(From the FT) In common with the rest of the world Britain suffered severe dislocation during the two world wars and the intervening years. The unemployment rate rose to 15% during the Great Depression, but in many ways the early 1920s were even worse, with deflation exacerbating the postwar recession. An inflexible exchange rate caused problems of adjustment throughout the period and the 30% devaluation of sterling in 1949 finally underlined that Britain was no longer a dominant power. The return to a peacetime economy after demobilisation saw a populace determined not to repeat the experiences of the past 30 years.

Rana - Darya - Madeleine

Somewhere in the 7th arrondissement.

French fund Astorg Partners closes last week at €1 billion. Otherwise it is interesting times for the 1,600 or so buyout firms worldwide raising $600 billion when cash-strapped institutional investors have already spent much of their allocations for 2011. Industry insider Prequin notes that only 33% of institutions have money for pe funds. Yet partnerships that raised in '06-'07 face the opposite problem: they can't spend their money fast enough. Buyout businesses reluctant to invest in '08 and '09 due to the economy and reduced borrowing now sit on a record $958 billion cash - which they either have to sink or give back to LPs, along with the fees.

Sea Snake

Snails In Paris

Madeleine leaps into my arms following her week-end in Paris. Snails! Post cards! The Eiffel Tower! Room Service! Here is our darling woofing down a snail at Terminus du Nord.

Last night I go to Lisa's 40th surprise party which is anything but. Without Sonnet, I fend for myself. It brings back the best of the old days when the cocktail party schmooz-fest sooo much part of the Internet. I meet a bunch of husbands, backs against the wall, nursing spirits and I jump in .. about the dog. Somehow this more neutral than the kids. Paul runs the UK and European operations of some company he describes as "an enterprise cloud computing company that distributes business software on a subscription basis." And: "we are known for its Customer Relationship Management (CRM) products, like Salesforce.com." I have never understood CRM. Maybe Roger can explain it to me. Paul's company floated on NASDAQ in '07 and has a market cap of "two or three billion" - you know, give or take a couple hundred million. He joined after the IPO which may explain his detail. Ah, the go-go years still alive for some.

Eitan sings: "Sometimes you feel like a nut. Sometimes you don't. Almond Joy has nuts, Mounds don't."

Life Is Good

After the races we head to Bellini's, the neighborhood pizza joint. Madeleine reports from Paris that she has enjoyed "snails in butter and oysters."

Crystal Palace

Eitan and I are mano-a-mano as Sonnet and Madeleine in Paris to see Rana and her daughter Darya. Rana a London friend who lives in Brooklyn's Park Slope with her children; she worked for Newsweek (business editor) until poached by Time when Newsweek merged with The Beast in one of those weird new media meets old media deals.

So I have the boy and the dog. This morning we (me and the boy) head to the Crystal Palace National Sports Complex for the Surrey Swimming Championships. Eitan in two relays swimming freestyle and butterfly. The pool a proper 50-meters encased in concrete which must have been a marvel in '64, when it opened, but now dated. Soon the palace will be superseded by the new athletic complex for the 2012 games including a sw-e-et pool. Eitan tells me he's nervous before his race then looks at me suspicously when I suggest us middle-aged dads would kill to be on the pool deck, a part of the competition. This isn't really the encouragement he seeks.

Meanwhile the transmitting station above is (only) London's third tallest structure at 720 feet behind One Canada Sq (771) and Heron Tower (756); it was, indeed, the tallest when it went up in the '50s. Though hideously ugly without an ounce of the Eiffel Tower, the structure useful : it carries London regions of BBC One, BBC Two, ITV1 and Channel 4 in analogue, as well as all six digital terrestrial television multiplexes, with range of about 30 miles for DTT and 60 miles for analogue. The tower is also used for FM radio transmission of several local radio stations BBC London 94.9, XFM, Choice FM and Absolute Radio, as well as a low powered relay of the 4 BBC national FM services and Classic FM.

Notting Hill

I walk about Notting Hill before a late afternoon meeting at Electric. The sun is shining and this a lovely part of town where I have not been in maybe three years. We used to frequent this neighborhood following a stroll along Portobello Road from the flea markets on the Golborne Road side to the antiques in North Kensington. While the weekends draw crowds, it is otherwise a somewhat lazy, affluent, and fashionable part of London with attractive terraces of large Victorian townhouses (A Daily Telegraph article in 2004 used the phrase the 'Notting Hill Set' to refer the young Conservatives including David Cameron and George Osborne. It captured the idea perfectly). My friend tells me (with a twinkle) that he bought his house in '78 for 78 Grand and it is now worth around £8 million. This was not a certain bet given the IMF bailed out the UK in 78 and the Notting Hill race riots of '58. Notting Hill's fate sealed by Julia Roberts and her "Notting Hill" movie in '99. The consequences : Starbucks, Gourmet Burger Kitchen and American Apparel.

Nineteenth Century Pre-eminence (1850-1914)

(From the FT) Britain 160 years ago stood alone as the first industrial nation, with the highest output per head in the world. 1851 was perhaps the zenith - the Great Exhibition underlined the astonishing scientific and industrial innovation in the "workshop of the world", while the census of that year revealed that for the first time a major nation had most of its population living in cities and towns. Government involvement in the economy was essentially restricted to maintaining order at home and extending the empire abroad, with minimal social protection from the vagaries of the business cycle.

Painting by LS Lowry, "Canal and Factories"

The Brass And Liz Taylor

Madeleine performs and I dash home from Eitan's swimming gala (Late!) then across town (Traffic! Madeleine fidgets) arriving in a nick of time (Sonnet worried look; music teacher irritated !). Once seated, the brass plays Miles and we are treated to "Kind of Blue" including a wonderful trumpet solo by Madeleine, which she nails. The large dedicated audience cheers the kids - there are five or six ensembles covering various different instruments - and we stay until the very end including a synthesizer "display." All in the name of art and love.

Liz Taylor passes at 79 - the last of the Hollywood Greats from a bygone era. The kids have no idea. I recall a sunny morning at the Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Blvd and Burt Reynolds lounging in the pool talking to three young bikinied women who, when given Burt's name, are like: "who is Burt Reynolds?" For all of us who have seen "Deliverance," which in 2008 selected for preservation in the US National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "Culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant," this comes as a blow. Worse for the actor.

Borough Finals

Eitan competes four events in the borough swimming finals following the trials two weeks ago. The gala opened to all local schools, state and independent ( US private), drawing maybe 600 kids. I see happy healthy faces at the finish line - no obesity here, which is fast becoming a problem with UK youngsters. Yesterday's 65 events cover years 4, 5 and six with finals in each discipline+relays. Eitan is sixth in the 33 meter butterfly (year 5) and second in the backstroke though I have never seen him actually train backstroke. Eitan's year-5 squad place second overall earning the boys a plaque - I overhear a referee: "you have done your school proud" she says. The Mall's year-six boys break the 4X33 meter freestyle relay record which has stood since 1983.

Aneta - Madeleine - Rusty

1965

Grace and Moe land in San Francisco following the Peace Corps and traveling around the world.

"I want a big career, a big man and a big life. You have to think big - that`s the only way to get it."

--Mia Farrow, 1965

200 PSI

I haven't held this much force since my painting days when I power-washed a house before the job. Back then we had a gas fueled machine that blasted 300 pounds per square inch and man, that could strip about any one's paint (often unwantedly). Oh how I recall hanging my bare ass off a soffit trying to hit some impossible spot on the third floor, live power lines everywhere and more likely than not, clinging to an aluminum ladder. If it had come to an end, it would have been quick. As for today, my rental just fine for the backyard stones which take seven hours to clean - six hours more than anticipated. The neighbors look at me curiously but walk quickly by when they see my half-crazed glare. Just any DIY Sunday.

Eitan completes the 200-meter freestyle in 2:38 at the Surrey Championships, "a personal record by ten seconds" he exclaims.

Eitan, over dinner: "I have to write one thing I learned about from the Roman visit."

Me: "What's that?"

Eitan: "The guy who came into our classroom dressed as a Roman. We have to say what we learned."

Me: "And?"

Eitan: "Well, I learned that there was a woman named Bouddica, who was a Celt, and when the Romans invaded Britain she got really angry and so she did horrible things to the Roman and Celts.

Me: "Why the Celts?"

Eitan: "Because she did not know they were Celts."

Me: "What did she do?"

Eitan: "She popped their eyeballs out. She peeled their skin off. And she slit them open and put burning coals in their stomach so that they burned from the inside."

Me: "Woa."

Sonnet: "They're teaching you that?"

Eitan: "The Roman guy was quite obsessed with the executing and stuff."

Sonnet: