Grace And Sweetie Pie; Titus Arrives

I drive to Menlo Park with my mom (or should I say: My mom drives me to Menlo Park since I left my drivers license in London ).  This is a nice way to catch each other up and Grace is now retired from the non-profit she founded, The Link To Children, which is in the capable hands of the new executive director.  Grace tells me she enjoys the free time to focus her love on my father and Maggie, the beloved bisson frisee "mix" (Maggie comes from a rescue-home and has a lovely gentle temperament. Irresistible).  Grace also goes to mid-day movies and sleeps later than Moe, who is up per usual at 5AM to work-out with his crew at the Berkeley Y (where he is a Director).  Mom has also become one of the "Ladies That Lunch" which I see at many a fine restaurant in London. As Superior Court judge Mike Ballachey once commented to me: "Old fiends are gold dust." 

In other news, Diane has her first baby which she and Kenny name 'Titus.' Bravo!

The Papercuts

Post dinner band The Papercuts - pictured. Blake joins us on his way home from doing banking deals.

Says The New York Times : "Melding sustained organ chords with slow finger-picked guitar, the Papercuts’ music merged Velvet Underground ballads with touches of the Byrds, while Jason Quever sang in a high, diffident voice about elusive love."

And better, PopMatters writes : "a marching band on Quaaludes".

Either way : all good.

Living Large

Christian and I re-union, as we always do when I am in San Francisco or he in London. Not often enough, either. Tonight we meet Eric and Tyler at Delfina's - a favorite restaurant - then catch The Papercuts at the Independent. We have walked this path before.

Gentle Giant

I have known Ray for 35 years yet I have not seen him for 30. He grew up in the East Bay and a Berkeley High School alum; we developed our friendship during my Jr year when we were pen pals. I recently re-read his letters.

Back then, Ray was a fast breast-stroker and fearsome water polo player, which he pursued at university on the varsity teams.  He and I trained with the Berkeley Barracudas and, since Ray is five-years my senior,  was someone I looked up to : An athlete-scholar.  I am not surprised by the person he has become, either : an artist and teacher at the California Institute of the Arts. While we look at each other in fascination - 30 years gone by! - I see the same soul from 1982 or '83.  We may be older and wiser or richer but who we are has barely changed at all.

The Managing Director

David at his post.

David has been busy since his wedding : a daughter, the wonderfully named Zazzie, and Obscura, pictured, which has occupied his interest for five-years. The company founded in 2000 to project large-scale images on to things (think the Union Jack covering Buckingham Palace during the Golden Jubilee) ; today it counts many of the world's largest brands as customers including Google and Coca Cola.  There are numerous strategies to exploit the IP and David makes sure everything to a plan : a hard job for any company but perhaps more with the intersection of creative, technology and business development, each with its own demands.

Then there is venture capital to confuse everything but what high-growth company can avoid its temptation?  Silicon Valley is the modern day gold mine and my generation its 49ers.  VC offers a quick hit , validating one's ego, soothing cash-flow and pre-loading valuation. In return, it takes its pound of flesh in ownership. For the right type of business , ie, fast tracking towards some exit, it works fine. For others : beware. I learned this one the hard way.

Obscura Digital

Jasper in San Francisco.

I have breakfast with him and David in the East Bay before heading to their offices : Obscura Digital, which "develops technology-driven creative solutions for Fortune 500 companies and leading global companies" (the website tells me).  It is a cool place, too : intelligent people with thick glasses and shaggy haircuts; perfectly uncoordinated outfits that are just so. There is a vibe of productivity and better: it just feels like a good place to be.


The offices are swe-et, too, designed by IwamotoScott Archtecture.  Here is what they say:  "The new space, a renovated 1940s steel warehouse, has a surface of 36,000 sqf divided on three levels which blends raw materials  such as wood and exposed concrete, technology, and minimalist chic. The office features a geodesic dome, a projection theatre, see through walls, laser-cut modular bookshelves and of course ball chairs. A space that greatly balances creativity and wilderness within a proper work environment.”

Wingspan

The wing of a 747 Jumbo is 5,600 square feet, an area large enough to hold 45 cars. It still amazes me that I can board a giant tube, filled with rocket fuel and 400 people, and arrive on the other side of the planet inside a day. And not think twice about it.

And so here is my first view of the Bay Area following ten hours in a plane.  Yep, San Mateo. San Francisco is 20km away and Berkeley yet further, across the Bay Bridge (which is being rebuilt from Treasure Island to Oakland at a cost of $5 B and counting). I learn that the Intl Terminal is the largest building in the world built on base isolators to protect against earthquakes. Let's hope it works when the time comes.

As for the long-haul itself, I could really do without but , hey, this a price I pay, living in London, away from my beloved Northern California.  To make the flight durable, I stretch often and it amazes me that most of my compatriots glued to their seats, unmoving, for the duration. This cannot be healthy, and indeed I have a friend who developed deep-vein thrombosis from air-travel which nearly killed him.

In London, Sonnet attends London Fashion Week and kids back to school following half-term break.

Thomas Tait

Thomas Tait shows today at Liverpool St in an empty building (photograph by Valerio Mazennatti). Yep, London Fashion is 'on' and Sonnet hands our au pair tx to three shows : Tait, Mark Fast and Mario Schwab , all in the newly trendy East End. Sonnet will see cat-walks for Erdem, Mary Katrantsou and Paul Smith tomorrow.

Tait a recent graduate of Central Saint Martins and in business for a few seasons. Sonnet, sitting on the coach with Madeleine watching Harry Potter, tells me: "He is young and up-and-coming" and "one of the best of the new designers." From what I can tell, Tait's work sensible, without frilly design - and practical. His past collections mix sport and couture.  He presents pleated trousers, for instance, worn with smooth-fitting, super-light leather motorcycle jackets that have a minimum of seams, and loose cotton sports shorts and dresses, including an ultra-sexy black dress with a racer-back. Tait asked Nike to make special sneakers for the outfit. Inspired, Dude.

Eitan to a football "friendly" against Walton marred only by traffic (accident+road construction=35 minutes late).  The boys play 11-a-side for the first-time : Eitan says "it didn't effect my game much because we were on a bigger pitch".  Elm Grove wins, 4-3. I take Rusty for a run along a beautiful stretch of the Thames near Hampton Court Palace.

Sunday Words

Me: "It's hard being a kid."
Madeleine: "Yeah."
Me: "I remember being worried about taking exams and doing well.  My parents had pretty high expectations for me and Auntie Katie. Especially Moe."
Madeleine: "You have definitely inherited that."
Me: "What do you think of our family?"
Madeleine: "It's OK."
Me: "What could we do better?"
Madeleine: "Less shouting and more fun."
Me: "Is that my role - the shouting bit?"
Madeleine: "Shouting, driving and eating."
Me: "Good to know. Anything else?"
Madeleine: "Swearing, rib-crushing hugs, and rough smooches. Because of your beard."

Me: "Are you happy?"
Madeleine: "Yeah, most of the time."
Me: "Do you think I am happy?"
Madeleine: "Yes."
Me: "How do you know?"
Madeleine: "Because you are singing all the time. Like right now."
Me: "Yes, you are right, you know."

Eitan: "Dad, I just realised that I have never heard your say 'loo' before."
Me: "Oh?"
Eitan: "Just say it. 'Loo'."
Me: "I am not going to say it."
Eitan: "Just say it. Say 'loo' Dad. Please say it."
Me: "Cut it out."
Eitan: "Mom, say 'loo'."
Sonnet: "Loo."
Eitan: "See, Dad? Just say 'loo'. Say it. Come on."
Me: "Leave me alone."
Eitan: "Will you please say it? Please?"
Me: "You know that scene in the Simpsons where Homer strangles Bart by the neck?"
Eitan:  "Yeah."
Me: "Keep. It. Up."

Fruit (Plate)

Madeleine's cupcakes (fancy ornaments pinched from the drinks cupboard - my contribution) .

Lunch.
Sonnet: "Everybody has to have some fruit."
Eitan: "I am making myself a fruit plate."
Madeleine: "You don't even like fruit plates, Eitan."
Eitan: "Well, I like a fruit plate more than just fruit."
Me: "Yeah, Madeleine, Eitan likes a fruit plate more than just fruit."
Madeleine: "He only says that because you are here."
Eitan: "I like a fruit plate and I never said anything about just fruit."
Madeleine: "You've never liked a fruit plate."
Eitan: "I love a fruit plate. You just don't know anything."
Me: "What the hell are we talking about here?"
Eitan: "You don't have to swear, Dad."
Madeleine: "Yeah, really, Dad."

Schiphol

Here I mix it up with my fellow travelers. It's like Day of the Dead or something. The Amsterdam Airport services 45 million passengers/ year, 4th busiest in l'Europe.

I am here for lunch (Madeleine: "Just lunch? Wo-o-o") with AlpInvest who manage €50 billion of other people's money with a lot of it invested in private equity (a group of slick-haired men huddle in the reception tweedling on their Blackberrys).  Over scallops and skate wing we discuss various points of interest : France, Italy, management fees, returns and etc. Usual stuff.

ING House

A weird building if ever there was one - pictured - located in Amsterdam and the headquarters of the ING Group, the largest banking/financial services & insurance conglomerate in the world by revenue with gross receipts exceeding €54 billion in 2010 (Fortune). As my meeting across the street, I ask the receptionist what she thinks ? "It looks like a ship" she says. And so it does. Me, I think : AT-AT walkers used by the the Galactic Empire against the Rebel Alliance's Echo Base.

The postmodern design by Amsterdam architects Meyer and Van Schooten opened in 2003. The building's 16 angled steel legs are independent of each other, resting on pins in large concrete blocks in the ground, a technique also found in bridge construction. On this platform the floors are built. The belly of the building on the second floor is actually at the height of the highway, as the ground is lower than the highway. From the third floor one has a view of the highway.

Next door there is a forest and, following lunch, I go for a run unaware how close I am to the airport. A jumbo flies overhead , landing gear out, and I think : "Holy, shit." There is a one-mile waterway for crew and rowing races.  Center-town 10 miles away.

Shirley Palmer

<--------- Shirley Palmer

I don't know Shirley Palmer, pictured, but I love her name.  It sounds like a cocktail. She is the CFO of a private equity firm.

I am often asked about Eitan's name, which means 'strong,' 'firm,' and 'impetuous' in Hebrew (it is also one of the most popular names in Israel ). When Sonnet in the third-trimestre we pondered the naming-decision's powerful long-term consequences.  And, since 2000, the dawn of the dot-com era, I wanted to go with something weird like "Atom" or "Egon".  Fortunately Sonnet's judgment prevailed and, while not quite up there with the great African American names (A quick review of the NFL offers : Daunte Culpepper, Jarious Jackson, DeJuan Tribble, Melvin Bullitt .. . ) , Eitan holds its own.

My sixth-grade class, which was equally mixed blacks and whites, had Candy Jackson, Jabber Wilson, LaChantelle Williams and Phat and Trung, who only need a first-name like "Madonna." Total boat people story, too. All beautiful kids .. Sadly, at least four of my 25-class dead from unnatural causes.

As for Phat and Turng : They worked for the Golden Eye commercial fishing boat out of the Berkeley Marina for years. Then bought it. Then bought two other commercial fishing boats. Phat was always the serious one who introduced me to black fighting crickets. Trung is married with a couple of kids. Their parents opened up a Viet Namese restaurant on University Ave in Berkeley which was there for years. They recently retired. A good story.

Valentine's Day (Three Cards+Madeleine)

Me: "Do you have a special Valentine?"
Madeleine: "What do you mean?"
Me: "I don't know - is there anybody you have given a card to?"
Madeleine: "All the girls are, like, that is so last year."
Me: "Oh?"
Madeleine: "And it's the girls who always give the valentines to the girls."
Me: "Not to the boys?"
Madeleine: "No, way. That would be suspicious Dad."
Me:
Madeleine (with emphasis): "Like, so suspicious."
Me: "That's the last thing you would want to do. Let some boy know you like him."
Madeleine: "You just don't know what it's like to be a kid."
Me: "I was once a kid, you know."
Madeleine:
Me: "And we gave Valentines to each other."
Madeleine: "Like a hundred years ago.
Me: "Fair enough."

A Beautiful Voice

Whitney Houston, pop superstar and Newark native, dead at 48. The cause either bathtub drowning or prescription drugs. In my mind's eye, Houston, from the '80s, perfect. We have lost another beautiful voice.

America has a nasty little drugs habit. Unlike the past, today's abusers are, by majority, middle- to later-aged affluent whites who begin their addiction easily enough : perhaps a minor sports surgery or mild-prescription. The result : 28,000 people died from unintentional prescription drug overdose in 2007, the year with the most recent data (source: Office of National Drug Control Policy). This exceeds the number of people who died in the crack cocaine epidemic of the 1980s and the black tar heroin epidemic of the 1970s. 

Houston's end crosses all races and classes but must be particularly hard on the black community. She has been a role model and one of many upward steps to the White House.
(Photo from the WWW)

Bushy Park 5K

Eitan keen to qualify for a "mini" marathon which he learned about through school. He does not know much more, like, the distance of the mini marathon. But, today, it is a 5K. The race part of a weekly series run across the UK including Richmond Park. It is well organised, too : I register on the web, print my and Eitan's bar code , which is scanned at the finish-line with results emailed inside the hour.

Temperature -6 degrees when we leave the house : both of us in running shorts and shivering like jello. At line-up it is not much better, either, but when the gun goes we forget the cold. Eitan a capable athlete and  keeps to my shoulder most of the way with a surge at the last 100 meters. Puff. Puff. Puff. We are 77 and 78th place, respectively (the boy in front) out of 725 ; our time : 20 minutes, 42 seconds.  Me, I am over the moon to run without injury. And a race? I am like 30 all over again.

Afterwards we discuss pace, timing and strategy. Eitan pleased with himself in a bashful-confident sort of way. As for the mini marathon : who knows? but I assume his time qualifies but, since Eitan does not know this crucial detail , either, he will have to wait and see.

"You find out a lot about yourself through athletics. If you're cut out to be a winner or a failure or a quitter, athletics will bring it out of you. You're always stripping yourself down to the bones of your personality. And sometimes you just get a glimpse of the kind of talent you've been given. Sometimes I run and I don't even feel the effort of running. I don't even feel the ground. I'm just drifting."
--Steve Ovett, Middle distance runner for Great Britain

On Ratios

Sonnet: "So what are you doing in maths, anyway?"
Madeleine: "Um, stuff."
Sonnet: "Can you tell me a little more?"
Madeleine: "It begins with an 'r'"
Sonnet: "Rounding?"
Madeleine: "No, that's not it. It's rr . rrr - ratio! We're doing ratios."
Sonnet: "Can you explain that to me then?"
Madeleine: "Well imagine you have a chicken."
Me:
Madeleine: "And there is another chicken. And one chicken has five eggs. No, four. And the other has four eggs."
Sonnet: "Yes?"
Madeleine: "And there are like two chickens for, um, eight eggs. That is a ratio."
Sonnet: "Well done."
Madeleine: "And if you have, like, two hands and ten fingers that is , um, two to ten."
Me: "Makes sense to me."
Sonnet: "Well done, Madeleine."

All Stars

Is this the best sneaker ever made ?

I had my first pair of 'Chucks' in Junior High, when the fashion was an off-cream. The only other acceptable canvas was the Sperry Top Sider, but that is another blog. Converse went with about anything an 11 or 12 year old could wear but especially blue jeans where they were - and are - the perfect complement. What's more, they age well : like 501's which were, like, perfect after 50 washings, the All Star even more cool when the fabric frayed and white rubber scuffed.

All Stars introduced in 1917 to capture the new basketball shoe market. Chuck Taylor, a basketball player and shoe salesman, improved the design and became the shoe's spokesperson in the 1920s.  He was successful, too : Any photo from the NBA in the '50s or '60s will have a pair of Cons - back then, players wore them with short-shorts, as was the fashion and who knows why ?  In 2002, Nike bought the company for $305 million.

Some of us liked the 'high top' which, in the summer, went well with shorts or whatever. For me, it has always been about the classic : the tight lacing and lack of sole make it a perfect match for skinny trousers, which I prefer in my middle yuf.  K-Swiss and Adidas or Nike retros all fine for boxier leggings and Michael Jordans for, you know, real basketball players. All Stars have their own place in my wardrobe and my heart. The only concession I make for now : I only wear them new.

Madeleine's Bedroom

Sunday evening Sonnet and I take the kiddies, against their will, to see "Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan," at London's National Gallery on its closing night, no less. The exhibitions includes nine of da Vinci's 15-surviving paintings - the first time so many of the master's works exhibited together (A historian on Radio 4 advises : each painting should be viewed for a minimum of 20 minutes, which raises a groan from the back seat as Eitan quickly does the maths). Says the curator of Italian painting pre-1500 Luke Syson : "Once-in-a-lifetime experience".

The show's focus on  da Vinci's work at the Sforza Court in Milan (1480-90) as a painter and engineer for the Duke. During this period he produced the "La Belle Ferronniere," "The Lady with an Ermine" (my favourite), "Virgin On The Rocks" (the first time on loan from the Louvre) and that little fresco, "The Last Supper" (which my sister recreated on the wall of a frozen yogurt shop in Boston while Harvard).  All of these works, barring "The Last Supper" (which is painted onto the wall of a church in Milan) on view. It is a ring-side seat to the beginning of the Renaissance.  Wow. Wow.

 From da Vinci to the Super Bowl. One spectacle to another.

Eitan's Bedroom

Eitan and I to Fulham football practise but cancelled due to cold (frozen pitch).  At Eitan's urging, and to his great surprise, we stop at Krispy Kreme on the way home and I love it : real Americana right next to the fly-over, complete with booths of teen-agers drinking coffee.  We select a box of twelve donuts, eat four, and bring the rest home for breakfast or whenever.  Since Madeleine not with us, she gets first choice on the next four.  Eitan grumbles but thems the rules.

Driving home. Eitan: "Do you think I could eat a billion oranges?"
Me: "Interesting . .."
Eitan: "I mean, if they are peeled."
Me: "Well, let's break it down. How long will you live?"
Eitan: "80 years."
Me: "So how many days is that ?
Eitan: "Um, 29,200."
Me: "Good, and what is one billion divided by 29,200? You can round to 29,000 if you want."
Eitan: "34,482."
Me: "That's a lot of diarrhea."
Eitan: "I could still do it."
Me:
Eitan: "Do you think there are a trillion grains of sand on the beech?"
Me: "Break it down for me, kid .. ."

Double Digits

Madeleine turns ten and things will never be quite the same .  Tonight, it is Wagamama's (her choice) where we discuss nine's highlights (and I quote): "stuff." 


Madeleine always an original. From the mad dash down the birth canal (too quick for an epidural) to the first breath : "Here I am!".   Later, it was tree climbing :  Look, there's my daughter, twenty-five feet overhead. This taught the unteachables : risk-taking, goal setting .. determination. Stubborness.  No matter how I holler or coax, she is on her own time.

From reception , Madeleine has been a "tom boy,"  scraped elbows and bruised shins. Her friends are mostly all boys at a time when girls still the enemy. This not always easy when the birthday party-invitations and over-nights don't come.  Her heart otherwise filled with pets : bugs to fish to hamsters to Rusty (and soon, a lizard. .. ).

Madeleine today borders primary and secondary school; being a kid and adolescence.  She watches Eitan take the first steps off the cliff : sometimes a blessing, sometimes a curse.  We observe her progress in school, in drama and art, and sports, with wonderment and delight. What will the next year bring ? What joy to be around.

Nigel Doughty, RIP

Nigel Doughty died Saturday, age 54. With Dick Hanson, he founded one of Europe's most respected buy-out firms, Doughty Hanson, which has invested €23 billion in over 100 deals.  Doughty self-made and helped create the industry that made him rich.

Our paths crossed a few times : in 1997 I interviewed for Associate , my ears still wet from MBA school. By today's standards, Doughty Hanson then small , with maybe £1 billion under management.  Following eight interviews, Nigel enters , no pre-amble : "Using the capital asset pricing model please explain why Doughty Hanson has been able to achieve superior returns." Me, blank. Doughty: "Feel free to use the chalkboard."  Yes, an unfair question - CAPM used to value companies, not explain a firm's success - but it was all him : punchy, direct, challenging and a bit of fun. I didn't get the job.

In '99 I went back to Nigel and this time Doughty Hanson gave me $8 million to launch an Internet company.  The firm had taken an interest in the technology business, forming a maiden venture fund, and I was his first investment.

When not trading companies, Doughty's interests covered politics ( major donor, Labour party), "responsible capitalism" (Founded the Doughty Centre for Corporate Responsibility at Cranfield Mgmt School) and football (owner of Nottingham Forest Football Club).  Private equity and all of us lost a good one. (photo from the www)

The Grinch

Sonnet takes Eitan to a swimming gala while Madeleine and I to the park, pictured, she begging me for a snowball fight or a snowman (I decline). Yes, I am grumpy from last week's surgery and last night's party-cocktails+the early rise does not help ( though I did enjoy watching late night tele with Sonnet, eating eggs, and watching the snow fall).  Rusty in on the action, and I almost knock a guy's block off when he hits the dog, who is otherwise playing with the dude's pooch. Only I can hit Rusty. 

I ask Madeleine to write a three-page story and, after some mild protestations, she produces : "The Greek Who Stole Christmas."  Does she mean Grinch? "No, Dad, it's about a Greek."  And, I think, perhaps she has it right.

At the Surrey County Swimming Championships, Eitan swims the 400-meter freestyle in 5:23 , an 11-second improvement, and the same time as his pal Philippe. Coach says: "I see the next generation of club swimmers here." 

First Snow

Richmond Park , around 10:20AM, Sunday.

Sonnet and I to Lizzie and Ferdie's wedding party .. or is it Lizzie's 40th ? Who knows. They have been together a long time - long enough to have children, ages 7 and five, and married last year. Ferdie at an Italian bank where he was head of risk; now he is doing more operational and balance sheet work. His view : The world coming to an end, but let us not focus on that.  Lizzie and Sonnet former colleagues at the V & A and fast friends : Lizzie being one of the few people I know who can make Sonnet laugh with abandon.  Lizzie's parents Dons at Oxford while she went to Cambridge.

One of Lizzie's party friends, Julie, an attractive 28 or 29 - enough to catch an eye and worth a conversation : the more intriguing when I learn she has a Cabinet Job , and responsible for security during, and running up to, the summer Olympics. Her staff of 42 coordinates with The Met Office, military and other protective forces (she: "I will be in a silo off Downing St during the games."). After earning a PhD, Julie "worked on " the 2002 foot-and-mouth crisis when Britain slaughtered over 100,000 cattle. She joined govt, with a shrug, instead of profit-making schemes, like The City, to have an impact and I think : Kennedy or Clinton, when young people chose public service over their purse. She now briefs the Prime Minister, David Cameron, weekly.  Julie tells me "He likes to take decisions , unlike Gordon Brown."  She would know.

Bionic Dog

Rusty to the Vets - the pooch has had more check-ups than Sonnet in the LTM - should we be alarmed ? Since his feminising operation, Rusty has lost 1.5 Kg which, the attendant tells me, "is very unusual."  Usually testosterone's loss brings weight gain but Rusty walked four-times daily plus, often, a run. The downside to his conditioning : the dog begs for it , 7AM. 

Me: "Since you're sitting there, empty the dish washer."
Eitan: "Is that why I was born?"
Me: "To do chores?"
Eitan:
Me: "Must feel like that sometimes. But it could be worse."
Eitan:
Me: "You could be Rusty." (Rusty gnaws on his leg)

Roger Waters

I listen to Roger Water's "Comfortably Numb", as I have done many times since college , and it strikes me like a ton of bricks : I will never do something, anything, nearly as good.  I watched the film "The Wall" at a Midnight viewing at the Avon Cinema on Thayer St, Providence, Rhode Island, my freshman year of college : maximum impact.

In the movie, a large group consisting of Pink's manager , the hotel manager, paramedics, and roadies burst into Pink's hotel room to find an unconscious Pink sitting in a chair. As the paramedics try to revive Pink, his manager berates him, complaining about how he never liked him. The hotel manager does not take kindly to Pink's untidiness, but Pink's manager insists that "he's an artist". After injecting a drug into Pink's arm, the paramedics drag Pink out of the hotel and to his limousine.

He is then transported to a concert where he is scheduled to play. Flashbacks of Pink's childhood are inter-cut into the scene. In the flashback, a young Pink finds a wild rat and shows it to his overprotective mother. Her negative reaction towards the rodent causes Pink to hide the rat in a nearby shed. Pink later catches a fever that keeps him bed-ridden until the next morning. The next day, Pink returns to the shed only to find that the rat has died in his absence, forcing Pink to dump its lifeless body in a nearby river.

During this time, the drug causes Pink to hallucinate that his body is decaying. He sees himself as a child walking in a field in his room and touching his TV, then walking away. It then cuts to a scene where Pink explodes in a rage and tears up his hotel room. Upon being pushed into the limousine, Pink tears off his diseased shell to reveal a Nazi-esque attire (mostly from Wiki. Photo from the web)

Madeleine: "What kind of chameleon can I get?"

High

Now this is more like it. Pictured.

I run a loop of Richmond Park, 7 miles, something I have not done in maybe a year, prevented by injuries. Today, though, the cold numbs me and my heart works efficiently : bipity bipity bipity bip. The dog, joyous to be outside, with me and it is a resplendent late-morning : what better way to spend it ? And it strikes me : I am feeling high on life. Maybe it was yesterday's surgery or disappearing for three hours from the anaesthetics. Or now, a sunny day. Who knows : every day a miracle.

Eitan has a nightmare and screams for his life. Sonnet and I to him in a flash, hearts racing. I stay in his room until he falls back to sleep.

Small Ops

Easy in, easy out. I am at the Kingston Hospital NHS Trust for a microlaryngoscopy and excision of an anterior commissure lesion. In short, I have a polyp removed from my left vocal chord.

I first noted things not entirely right about four-months ago when my voice scratchy and often cracked , bringing back some awkward teen-age moments.  I thought it laryngitis. Within 48-hours of seeing my local GP , I meet the head of Kingston's Otolaryngology program, who gives me a local anaesthetic and jams a snake down my nose canal to look at my larynx. A most stressful experience. The polyp spotted - "There it is!" , the Dr exclaims with pleasure - and my surgery confirmed for two weeks.

This morning, before sunrise, Sonnet drives me to the hospital and fishes about for pocket change for the parking meter while I register with reception. I am visited separately by two nurses who check and double-check my identity and surgery and explain the procedure; The first applies a bar-code wristband and tapes my wedding ring , the only piece of jewelry I am allowed. Since I am going under , the anaesthetist James asks further questions about my health and etc. He has an intense , penetrating, stare, and tells me : "you are going to have a nice sleep".  My anxiety increases.

Soon I am told to strip to my pants and don a surgery dress and, with rolling bed , off we go to the operating theatre, which is a cold, modern room without shelves nor chairs. Yes, I am nervous. In the room's centre is some 21st century equipment hooked up to computers and lighting. I think: Gym equipment. There are five physicians, including James, who sticks a needle in my arm, covers my face with an Oxygen mask, and tells me to count to ten. I am gone at "four".

A tube put down my throat , to the side , to ensure Oxygen. Next, a laryngoscope inserted through my mouth on the right side and flipped to the left to trap and move then tongue , which otherwise blocks the the line of sight, then a blade inserted posterior to the epiglottis with an upwards and forward motion ("away from you and towards the roof " the Doc tells me beforehand). This move makes it possible to see my voice box. Once in, my polyp excised with a micro-blade.  Without the anaesthetic, my gag-reflex would not allow it, and I probably would have fled the room any how.

I awake at 12:50PM to Sonnet's sweet face looking over me, smiling.

Kodachrome and KCW

Poolside, 1967

Eitan's interview for Kings College Wimbledon "interesting", Sonnet notes. King's one of the UK's most prestigious and highest academically performing schools , historically and to date, coming in second in the country's league table of independent schools in 2010, with a high Oxbridge offer rate. Traditional rivals are Eton College, St. Paul's School and Westminster School. Our interest is the International Baccalaureate - King's offers the best in Britain . The Hampton School, where Eitan accepted, don't .  The last time a Sheen Mount kid went to  Kings College , like, three years ago.

So ... Eitan asked during his interview if he wants to go to Kings College and the .. boy .. says . his .. top .choice is Hampton . School.. I am not sure to pat him on the back and give him ice cream or strangle him like Bart Simpson.

Notes From Pakistan

Munir and Basharat Ali, Manager of a Spanish NGO working in Baltistan and Skardu areas in education sector on the KKH , pictured.

Munir reports: "Basharat was my student at Karakoram International University Gilgit. After completing his education he joined this NGO. I have travelled many times in Skardu, Hushe and Machlu araes where Basharat is working. He belongs to Machlu, a beautiful village on jeepable road to Hushe.

"Ray has travelled and trekked in this area in early nineties. In addition to its awe inspiring beauty, I have been greatly impressed by the crime free and peaceful society of Baltistan Region. It is the only region in Pakistan that never embraced any form of extremism or religious fanacticism. Whenever I travel in this region I feel a sense of security.

"Historically Baltistan has been more affiliated with Tibet than downcountry or India. Local people were followers of Budhism before converting to Islam. Their language is written in Tibetan script and still has a strong Tibetan influence in their culture. I saw a historical mosque in Machlu in 2008 that has a strong Tibetan architectural influence."

Snake In The Grass

And how far Fred Goodwin has fallen.

The British have been itching to blame the financial mess on somebody, anybody, and so Goodwin stripped of his Knighthood.  Goodwin , of course, the Chief Executive of Royal Bank of Scotland when the shit hit the fan.

From 2000 to 20008, Goodwin grew RBS into the world's largest company with assets of nearly £2 trillion, greater than British GDP.  He did so by aggressive lending and a large exposure to the US sub-prime market. A 2% reduction of the loan portfolio's value brought the house down, ka-BOOM.

In October 2008, Goodwin resigned as Chief Exec - a month before RBS announced a yearly loss of £24.1 billion, the largest annual loss in UK corporate history.  RBS nationalised with £45 billion of taxpayer and my money.  Adding insult to injury, Sir Fred's retirement package : £12 million.  In fairness, he will never work again. One hopes. (In another RBS pr stinker, RBS bankers received £950 million of bonuses in 2011 despite losing £1.1 billion for the year)

Personally , I think Goodwin should be allowed to keep his Knighthood. Goodwin made some bad calls, none worse than buying ABN AMRO at the peak of the market, but he did not break the law. He is not to blame for the UK recession nor the global financial collapse.

Giaco

Alberto Giacometti's 'Walking Man II", 1960, from a post card I pick up at the Kunsthaus in Zurich.

Scholar William Barrett in his book 'Irrational Man: A Study in Existential Philosophy' (1962), argues that the attenuated forms of Giacometti's figures reflect the view of 20th century modernism and existentialism that modern life is increasingly empty and devoid of meaning. "All the sculptures of today, like those of the past, will end one day in pieces... So it is important to fashion ones work carefully in its smallest recess and charge every particle of matter with life."

Eric has adopted the habit of our mutual friend Marc, collecting used copies and handing them out to people like Gideon's bibles.

Commiserable

Rusty in the park.

Stephan and Barbara+their three charming kids over for lunch and a (Rusty) walk in Richmond Park .  We catch up since the wedding.

Eitan: "Can I have some crisps?"
Me: "What's for dinner?"
Sonnet: "We're not having dinner. After such a big lunch."
Me: "I'm hungry."
Madeleine: "Me, too."
Sonnet: "How about sardines on toast?"
Eitan: "Blahk. I hate it."
Me: "Madeleine, how about if I give you twenty-pounds and you go to Waitrose and get us something from there."
Madeleine: "Yeah, right, Dad."
Me:
Madeleine: "You do owe me £20 you know."

Madeleine: "I cannot eat an entire tin of sardines.  It is disgusting." 


Madeleine: "Eitan!  You ate Uncle Anthony's sweets!"
Eitan: "I did not!"
Me: "It might not have been Eitan."
Madeleine: "Dad, how could you ?!"
Me: "Look - I will get you some more."
Madeleine: "They were my birthday present."
Me: "I'm sorry. They were just sitting there."
Madeleine: "Make it sweets, not chocolate."
Me:
Eitan: "Busted, Dad."

Sonnet: "So how was 'Revolution' last night?"
Kamila (our Czech au pair): "It was fine. There were a lot of people there."
Sonnet: "How old are they?"
Kamila: "They are a bit older, maybe 23-years old. .."
Sonnet: "Is that so ?"
Kamila: "There were two older women dancing. They were maybe 50."
Me:
Kamila: "It was disgusting."

Three Amigos

Marcus, Alex and Niki.

At the dinner table.
Me: "What did you watch in 'film club' this week?"
Madeleine: "Guess."
Me: "The Bride of Dracula? Godzilla? War Of The Planets?"
Madeleine: "Nope. 'An American In Paris.'"
Sonnet: "I love that movie. It is a classic."
Madeleine: "Accept that there is a lot of snogging."
Eitan: "Why do they have to always do that?"
Me: "Snogging? What's wrong with snogging?"
Eitan: "I am not having this conversation."
Me: "Is it Ok if I 'snog' your mom?"
Eitan, Madeleine: "No!"
Me: "What's wrong with that?"
Madeleine: "Do you even know what snogging is Dad?"
Me: "Um, kissing, isn't it?"
Madeleine: "Not just kissing."
Me: "Oh?"
Madeleine: "It's like long kissing."
 Me: "With tongue and stuff?"
Eitan: "La la la."


Walking to drama class.
Me: "So are there any 'snoggers' in Year Five?"
Madeleine: "No."
Me: "How about Year Six?"
Madeleine: "Huggers, not snoggers."
Me: "What, do they hug behind the bungalows?"
Madeleine: "No, in the middle of the play ground."
Me: "Who is it then?"
Madeleine: "I am only saying in general."
Me: "Were you, like, watching and taking notes?"
Madeleine: "I am not 'Harriet The Spy' Dad."
Me:
Madeleine: "Though I would be pretty good at spying if I wanted to."
Me: "I bet."

Pond Dipping

Madeleine's 10th birthday party sees us in Richmond Park for a bit of "pond dipping" and I have to hand it to the kid : she has planned everything from the themed invitation to creature-holding-buckets. Totally inspired.  Uncle Anthony joins us to keep me company.

Joan's Dress

Sonnet's exhibition, Ballgowns, up in May.  On display : 60 ballgowns , red carpet evening dresses and catwalk showstoppers , including Joan Collins' dress, designed for private parties, royal balls, state occasions and opening nights. Photo from the V& A.

We listen to the radio.
Madeleine: "That guy sounds like Woody Allen."
Me: "It is Woody Allen."
Madeleine: "I am amazing!"

Madeleine: "I miss Aneta."
Me: "She had a good year with us."
Madeleine: "I loved throwing water balloons on her when she wasn't looking."

Me: "I can't believe I turn 45 this year."
Madeleine: "Forty-five. Wow-w-w. I cannot  believe I am only turning 10."
Me:
Madeleine: "45 is my second luckiest number."
Me: "What's number-one?"
Madeleine: "Ten. I don't know why."
Me: "Those seem like good numbers."
Madeleine: "Yeah. When you add four plus five it is nine."
Me: "Yep."
Madeleine: "My age and your age."
Me: "In June. Let's not rush it kid."
Madeleine: "Will they ever add up? Your numbers and my age?"
Me: "Forty-seven."
Madeleine: "Four plus seven equals eleven."
Me: "That will work I think."
Madeleine: "Yep."

Kunsthaus Zurich

After morning meetings I have the day to my own so visit the Kunsthaus on Justin's recommendation. The museum owns one of the most important collections in Europe, gathered by the local Kunstverein, covering the Middle Ages to contemporary art, with an emphasis on Swiss art (that I mostly ignore). I hang out with Paul Klee, Miro, Georg Baselitz, Calder, Hans Richter, Bruce Naumen, Cy Twombly, Picasso.  Manet, Monet and Degas .. van Gogh. Pierre Bonard, Heinrich Fussli, Nicolae Bercham, Rubens, van Dyke and Edvard Munch and many more.

 

My favorite : Matisse's four female bronzes , which morph from undefined abstract to muscular high-definition. It takes a moment then, wham : there it is. I find joy in the Monet-Rodin gallery with the famous lily pads+seven-sculptures. Giacometti also in the house : a wing dedicated to his work including 'Walking Man."

While surrounded by it all, a young couple, pictured,  catches my eye : they are nervous and awkward with each other and I think: first-date. He explains to her how the paint is, like, really thick.  Body language offers further suggestions : they lean in to each other then give space. Yep, it's the way it goes.

Zug

Suisse

Zurich this morning, which reminds me of Versoix, 1983-84, catching the 6:14AM train to Geneva where I was picked up by Tony Ulrich, the coach of Geneve Natation, who drove me to Piscine Vernets for morning practice. Standing on the platform in the freezing cold and complete darkness, I watched the overhead Rolex clock . tick.. tick.. .tick the second hand with round red-circle went. 6:12AM,  train arrives. At 6:14AM, train departs.

Zurich a good station, too : cavernous, covering an entire city block, empty in the middle allowing passengers to run for their train or loiter. The best thing the young people : it is not often that I see them in their natural habitat- smoking , laughing, hanging out. Packs of them. Some with dyed or spiked hair; others like 1950s preppies. Piercings. Peg legs and converse or army boots. Always flirting. All good. It reminds me of that time in my life which was never fleeting then but now : is. And gone.

Not far from Zurich is Davos where 47-global leaders and the Good and the Great having a Pow Wow.  David leading several sessions ; unfortunately I cannot join him for dinner.

VER - KURD

I am with VER, also known as the State Pension Fund of Finland - picture taken from a conference window (The pension located at Mikonkatu 15 and I can envision Soviet tanks filling the plaza ; Russia a stone's throw east ). VER is external to the state budget (ie, Govt has no control over their investment decisions) and established in 1990 ; their long-term liabilities are aprox. €90 B while the investment portfolio mkt value is €20B. In short: they need returns, and so have invested with my friends in Paris and why I am with them today.

My driver , Schwarmi, picks me up from Terminal 3 : Radio 4 announces that Salman Rushdie's address to the Indian people, which has become a battle for freedom of speech, cancelled as a small bunch of religious zealots threaten violence. I ask Schwarmi what he thinks : "I am ashamed to be Muslim" he tells me.

Schwarma from Northern Iraq and a Kurd; his father had an import-export business in the 1960s which brought the family to London; Schwarmi immigrated 18-years ago (he is middle-age).  I ask if England racist ? "Never. I have always felt safe here." And : "I will never go back to Iraq. I returned once and it is the end. It is the uneducated who wish violence. It is always them." I ask if Iraqis hate Americans ?  "No. Iraqis love Americans. Northern Iraq is booming, there is lots of businesses. It is because the Americans and the British are there. Some Iraqis want the Americans to leave our country but I say - why? We should let them come here and stay. They have helped us. They have invested in Iraq."

Madeleine , nonchalantly, tells us over dinner that David Cameron at Saturday's paint-ball birthday party (confirmed by Alex's mum). Turns out Cameron's oldest about paint-balling age.

Kamp

Helsinki, for work.  Mikko and I have drinks at Hotel Kämp and, I learn, he and his girlfriend have bought a house.  Usually, as in usually in the UK or the US, one might get married first but "it is perfectly normal" in Finland for couples to extend their relationship into financial obligations before they tie the knot.  It is one of the many things I love about here : despite being a tiny inter-linked community there are freedoms quite different from elsewhere. It is also impossible to get decaffeinated coffee.

Mikko and the city a-buzzing about the Guggenheim's recent decision to build a museum on the Helsinki waterfront (estimated cost: €140M).  The city chosen for its tradition in art and design and its plans to develop the harbour properties. Otherwise, surprisingly, Helsinki lacks a significant modern art collection. The architect has yet to be chosen but I vote for Renzo Piano. 

One From The Sidelines

Phil, pictured, is the father of Alphie, the Elm Grove goal-keeper.  I often hear him growling from the sidelines. When Phil suggests I don't have permission to take his picture, I tell him I will put the photo above my bed.

Sutton United

The boy has had a busy week-end , sitting his final entrance exam - this time for Kings College Wimbledon., a fine looking school with a big church tower in the middle of an immaculate grounds. Given the rake 15 out of 300 testers, the odds against us.

That was Saturday and today it is Elm Grove vs. Sutten, a speedy team in the county Surrey.  They defeat us, 1-nil, but the score secondary to the quality of football : excellent. Elm Grove works together and the play tight and efficient.  Every other action seems to be a long-break off a half-field pass. The ref misses an obvious Sutten foul in our penalty-box and that was probably the difference in the match.  Eitan gets pushed around by the kid , pictured in yellow, who takes a number of cheap shots when the focus elsewhere. Eitan tells me : "I wasn't intimidated or anything. But it made me kinda angry."  That's football.

Madeleine, for her part, at Alex's all-day birthday party followed by a slumber party. Me: "How was the party?" Madeleine: "Fine." Me: "What did you guys do?" Madeleine: "Stuff."  24-hours in two words. And so it goes.

Swedish Connection

Bengt Baron (right) and Par Arvidsson , 1980

Baron a Swede who won the 100 m backstroke at the 1980 Moscow Olympics and a bronze in the 4×100 m freestyle relay in Los Angeles four years later. From 1979 to 1985 he won 33 Swedish titles. Like Arvidsson, he went to Cal to train with Nort Thorton and that is when I met him.

My senior year of high-school I swam with the Bears and, though Baron graduated a year or two before my time, he occasionally showed up for morning practise and we would huddle in the equipment shed dreading the shock of the outdoor pool at 6AM. Like most swimmers, he is tall - maybe 6'4'' and thin (Arvidsson, by contrast, a muscle-man so it takes all types).  Baron's arms hyper-extended at the elbow-joint which allowed him a better "grip" on the water. He was a formidable competitor.

After swimming Baron got an MBA from Berkeley in '88  then went to McKinsey & Co; from there, he joined a bunch of consumer companies including Coca-Cola and Kodak. In 2001, he was named CEO and President of Absolut Vodka.  Baron lived up to, and surpassed, his early promise. Neat guy.

Gastronomy

Sonnet in '93.

So today (or yesterday, anyway): we are to Paris to join David and Tabitha for a drink at the Bristol then dinner at Alain Passard's three-Michelin star gastronomic mecca : L'Aperge. Beforehand , David spends a few hours with Astorg talking about Europe. Of the many people I know who are invested in this part of the world, David understands it better than most. His access to top political leaders, economists and financiers allows him the complete picture: Wed night, for instance, he visits Francoise Hollande's economics team (Hollande, a socialist, may be the next President of France). Last week, it is Italy's Prime Minister Mario Monti. David makes me look like a million bucks with my French friends. And as for Europe's future : it is going to get darker before it gets brighter.

We begin dinner with an egg : de-capped and topped up with a lite foamy cream. Sublime. From there it is nine courses, including the cheeses , which cover langoustine from Loctudy, ormer from Brittany, sautéd soles, butter mousse, truffles, oignon doux gratin, parmigiano reggiano ... sarawak black pepper, beetroot with Guérande grey salt, aceto balsamico 25 years of age, mixed vegetables with herbs, a thousand flavours, Sautéd endive with nuts, bacon from Baden ... and on and on it goes, each plate accompanied by its own wine. Wow.

Madeleine comments on the egg: "Was it, like, rotten?"

Madeleine: "Why were you with David in Paris?"
Me: "He was talking to some friends about the European crisis . .."
Madeleine: "What?! There is a crisis?"
Me: "Yes, for some time now."
Eitan: "We have, like 100-billion pounds of debt. £200 billion, maybe."
Me: "A bit more than that."
Madeleine: "Why don't they just pay it back?"
Me: "It's a good idea but a  bit more complicated unfortunately."
Madeleine: "It's because it has been a failure."
Me:
Madeleine: "No offence to them."

Eitan: "Jay oon petty sur."
Me:
Eitan: Jay oon petty sur. Don't you know what that is?
Me: "No."
Eitan: "'I have a little sister.' "
Me: "Learning French in school I see."

Hell

John Martin's Arthur and Aegle in the Happy Valley based on an Arthurian legend of Aegle’s last night on earth. Pictured, from the Tate Britain collection.

Today is one of those collectives bummers shared by commuters. I am late from the house and it starts raining  (me, in suit, no umbrella). The train over-crowded and humid so I stand perspiring , jammed against a woman reading Farsi on her phone app, wishing the sweat down my back would go away. Wishing I was anywhere else. Each stop brings more people who implore us to "move in!" or "Move to the middle!" As, if.  I make eye contact with the blond and we are both equally uncomfortable when this happens for the fifth time. No pick-up scene, this. I have seen people yell at each other in similar circumstances.

By Clapham Jnct I consider ditching my first meeting. Vauxhall, where I finally exit , finds a 50-foot line to enter the Underground.  I see not one smiling face. Buying an umbrella at Victoria, I am told that I must spend ten-pounds to use my debit card. The purchase price : $9.75.  We actually discuss this. I add some shoelaces to my purchase. It is not 9AM.

Madeleine: "Did you know that it takes seven red ants to kill a butterfly?"
Me: "That's nice, Dear."

Little Red Box

The ubiquitous red booth. How soothing. How British. It is amazing to consider, then, that the first phone kiosks introduced by the Post Office in 1920 made of concrete.  The red telephone booth the result of a 1924 design-competition won by Giles Gilbert Scott , who originally suggested silver, with a "greeny-blue" interior.  By 1925, there were 1,000 red booths in the UK.  At the peak, in the mid-1990s, there were 95,000 red phone boxes.

Today, thanks to mobile phones, there are only 15,000 red kiosks left, of which 946 are in London. 2,400 of the phones are listed as heritage sites and therefore legally protected from removal. BT is the sole company that can provide the Scott phones from an agreement in 1996.

This friendly fellow snapped on Millbank Rd, bordering the north side of the Thames near Vauxhall Bridge.

"Middle age is when you're sitting at home on a Saturday night and the telephone rings and you hope it isn't for you."
--Ogden Nash

John Martin

We meet James and Emily for a late lunch then the Tate Britain to see the 'John Martin: Apocalypse" exhibition. Here is what the brochure says:

"Visionary, eccentric, populist and epic, John Martin was a controversial but key figure in nineteenth century art. Like his canvases, this wildly dramatic artist with his visions of heaven and hell, was larger than life.

"Organised in partnership with the Laing gallery, Newcastle, this is the first major exhibition dedicated to Martin's work in over 30 years. It brings together his most famous paintings of apocalyptic destruction and biblical disaster from collections around the world, as well as previously unseen and newly-restored works.

"Hugely popular in his time, Martin was derided by the Victorian Art establishment as a 'people's painter', for although he excited mass audiences with his astounding scenes of judgement and damnation, to critics it was distasteful. In a sense ahead of this time, his paintings - full of rugged landscapes and grandiose theatrical spectacle - have an enduring influence on today's cinematic and digital fantasy landscapes.

"This exhibition presents a spectacular vision, capturing the full drama and impact of John Martin's paintings as they were originally displayed. Just as in the nineteenth century, these epic and often astounding works must be seen to be believed."
--Tate Britain