Hallowe'en

Sonnet organises a Trick-O-Treat at our house and we pick up the kids and their guests for the afternoon. With Martha Stewart as her guide, Sonnet takes the kids through their steps: bobbing for apples, story-telling (me - frightening - ignored), dinner and finally dress up. Parents arrive at 5:30PM and off we go. I learn from Ashling that Hallowe'en was born in Ireland, where the early Celts believed that it is one of the liminal times of the year when spirits can make contact with the physical world, and when magic is most potent (according to, for example, Catalan mythology about witches and Scottish and Irish tales of the Sidhe). The kids could care less about the history of course: it is all about C-A-N-D-Y and who has the MO-OST. The neighborhood is clued into the festivities with lighted pumpkins, cob-web decorations, witches and the like. Some go as far as speaker systems which blast haunting noises (think cackles and so forth). Finally, it is a joy to see the hundreds of kids dragging their parents around including us. It's all over by 8:30PM and Eitan and Madeleine busily count their loot: Eitan scores 52 pieces while Madeleine, mouth full, reports 47.

Yoga This Morning

Madeleine, pictured, during a self-imposed interlude - it doesn't look particularly relaxing, does it? Our morning is filled with Halloween and Sonnet prepares herself for a Martha Stewart styled assault on the pre-Trick 'O Treating party at our place. The kids are allowed three friends each who will join them today post school pick-up to put on their witch-ghost-Spidey outfits (Joe-Y-H confirmed on the playground this morning that blood is allowed in our house). Otherwise we are loaded up on Smarties, Milky-Ways (Eitan's pronounced fave), Twix bars and the like. Our neighborhood is Big on the Night and many houses are decorated Haunted House style. There's a large turnout in past years and we expect the same this evening given the unseasonably mild temps and no rain (thank goodness). In an interesting move, Eitan pulls out his candy stash from last year and notes: "I can eat it now because I will get more tonight." Unfortunately, many of the chocolate bars, and etc, are hard as a brick. We discuss the idea of "having your cake and eating it too" -- Madeleine is focused on the eating.

Flytrap

I snap these happy snap traps at Kew. Did you know tat the Venus Flytrap is a small herb forming a rosette of four to seven leaves, which arise from a short subterranean stem that is actually a bulb-lik rhizome? Each leaf reaches a maximum size of about three to seven centimeters, depending on the time of year; longer leaves with robust traps are generally formed after flowering. Flytraps that appear to have more leaves are generally colonies, formed by rosettes that have divided beneath the ground. We also oggle a 10cm millipede, tree plant and Tanzania scorpion which crawls on the hand, sans stinger. It feels like fifth grade all over again.

A large potential client interested in my French fund decides not to commit. It's a roller-coaster for sure. Locally, there has been a run on Star Wars action figures (recall that the kids barter for the things) and I am left with one choice: Darth Vader! I score the Best Figure Of Them All and Eitan shouts "Hurray!" when I hand him the toy (to balance, I give Madeleine a special writing pen for her Top Secret Diary - she still feels cheated). Both kids now back at school and Eitan over his ear-ache, no problem.

Beautiful Green

Beautiful Sonnet yesterday morning at Kew Gardens. It's a wet day and after a visit to the Princess Diana glass house to see the Lilly pads, poisonous frags and cacti we head home for an afternoon inside as Eitan is feeling under the weather. With us Saturday night is long-time college friend Katy Janda who is now teaching at Oxford - but more on her interesting subject later. Poor Eitan misses Elliot's birthday party which only makes the boy even more miserable. It's a rough life sometimes. Sonnet cheers everybody up with jumbolia and books - currently, she reads the kids the "Narnia" series whose first book - "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" is most famous. Thanks to British daylight savings, the kids are to bed at 6PM and we not much later.

Henry Moore

Madeleine does her own interpretation of a Moore at Kew Gardens yesterday. She forgives me my photography and in fact, will ham it up on occasion including this image. Eitan, on the other hand, is very serious about my snap shots. He finds it bothersome and worse- embarrassing should other kids be around. Still, I persevere with the knowledge that any proud father does the same. At dinner, we play "faces" and I ask Madeleine to show me her perfectly bored look: she immediately rolls her eyes heavenward presenting an otherwise hung face. Perfect. Eitan practices his grumpy and mean looks - and we all agree, "it's good practice for being a teenager."

Daffy Duck

Daffy first appeared on in "Porky's' Duck Hunt" in 1937. While the cartoon, I read, is a standard hunter/prey kind of thing for which Leon Schlesinger's owner-studio was then famous, Daffy represented something new: an assertive, combative protagonist, completely unrestrainable. Irreverent. As the then short's Director Clampett recalled, "At that time, audiences weren't accustomed to seeing a cartoon character do these things. And so, when it hit the theaters it was an explosion. People would leave the theaters talking about this daffy duck."

The early Daffy is short and pudgy, with stubby legs and beak. The Mel Blanc voice characterization, and the white neck ring contrasting with the black feathers, are about the only aspects of the character that remained consistent through the years.

The origin of Daffy's voice is a matter of some debate. One oft-repeated "official" story is that it was patterned after producer Schlesinger's tendency to lisp. However, in Mel Blanc's autobiography, That's Not All Folks!, he contradicts that conventional belief, writing "It seemed to me that such an extended mandible would hinder his speech, particularly on words containing an s sound. Thus 'despicable' became 'desthpicable'."
Photo, thank you, from Warner Bros.

The Zone

Who would know that the T.V. is turned on? After morning 'tunes, we head for the common and play footie for a couple of hours before returning to London. Eitan has an ear infection from the pool which upsets his afternoon. Sonnet greets us with open arms following two nights apart. What a nice weekend.

Joseph

Here is Joseph pulling his best sword-in-statue (we have just visited the Elgin Marbles at the British Museum). When not portraying a Roman, Joseph helps private equity funds raise money. The Elgin Marbles, BTW, are a collection of marble sculptures that originally decorated the Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens. Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, the British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1799 to 1803, obtained permission from the Ottoman authorities to remove sculptures from the Acropolis. From 1801 to 1812 Elgin's agents removed about half of the surviving sculptures of the Parthenon. The Marbles were transported to Britain, and were purchased by the British Government in 1816 after public debate in Parliament. They were placed on display in the British Museum, where they are now on view in the purpose-built Duveen Gallery. Should they be here or there, one debates.

I give Madeleine our room-key for safe-keeping. She promptly loses it. On the way to the front desk for a duplicate I tell her we may have to sleep in the lobby. She, bug eyed to Eitan: "Is it true?"

Bronze

Here I am the other day at the Greek antiquities inside the British Museum. I report, dear reader, that the BM was established in 1753, opening with the collection donated mostly by Sir Hans Sloane (yes, of Sloane Square, South Kensington) in Montague House in Bloomsbury. The collection today numbers more than 13 million objects of which less than 2% are on display at any given time. In the archives are wall paintings from Central Asia's' Caves of Bezeklik, which Sonnet and I visited in 1997. The cave retreats were once inhabited by Buddhist monks near the Turpan Peninsula in the Taklamakan desert (translation: "those who enter do not come out)" and remain a testimony to the heyday of Chinese Buddhism. The caves were hidden for hundreds of years buried in sand or riverside cliffs. Upon their discovery in the 1920s by British explorer Sir John Younghusband, portions were carved out and delivered to London in straw and rope, leaving gaping holes where once there were horse-heads, weapons and painted men. In London I contacted the Curator of Central Asia to see what I missed, but never did she return my communication.

Earth Audit

1,400 scientist submit their report to the United Nations today, concluding our planet is in peril. According to them, thirty percent of amphibians, 23 percent of mammals and 12% of birds are under threat. The report was drafted and researched by almost 400 scientists, all experts in their field, whose findings were reviewed by another 1,000 of their peers. Findings show that the world's population has grown by 34% to 6.7B in 20 years; 73,000 hectares is lost annually (3.5X the size of Wales) and 60% of the world's major rivers have been dammed or diverted. Ten million children under age 10 die each year and more than half of all cities exceed WHO pollution guidelines. Photo from AirFlow.

Bucks

Chipping Marlow in Buckinghamshire - the town name is Anglo Saxon in origin, and means 'land remaining after the draining of a pool'. In the Doomsday Book in 1086 it was recorded as Merlaue, though previously it was known as Merelafan. Otherwise, Marlow has been an important town for many years. This is because of its location on the River Thames. It has had its own market charter since 1324 at the latest but ownership of the charter has been lost and no market has been held since at least 1940. As early as 1299 the town had its own Member of Parliament As for the pictured bridge, it has been there since the reign of King Edward III. The current bridge is a suspension bridge, designed by William Tierney Clark in 1832, and was a prototype for the nearly identical but larger Szecheni Chain Bridge across the Danube in Budapest. Cool.

Marlow

Rest assured, dear reader, that we are up at 0600 for a swim (last night, following two movies and dinner on the bed, we are asleep at 8PM. I can't remember the last time I've done that). After the pool and breakfast we head for the Marlow town center and find a fabulous, well-populated playground where the kids let lose. I chase them around their pretend space ships pretending to be an evil invader. Other kids join in and soon its a free-for-all and I am somehow happily in the center. This beats swimming laps any day. From there we go to lunch with a stop at the book shop where Madeleine pleads for a "secret journal." I give in telling the elderly cashier "It's a game of endurance and today they have won." She accepts this with a smile. At lunch, Eitan writes "Top Secret" and "Confidential" in his notebook while Madeleine scribbles her name and today's date.

Another Tooth

The Big News this week is Madeleine's front tooth, which fell out Tuesday while at Kew Gardens (pictured). "Dad! There was blood everywhere but I wasn't scared" she tells me breathlessly. The tooth had been wobbling for the past two weeks and it seemed she was playing with it ALL THE TIME or at least WHENEVER I AM LOOKING. So happily the Tooth Ferry delivers £2, which is the going rate on the playground.

In the pool, I tell Madeleine I will give her one M&M if she swims a lap: "No way, dad" she replies.
Two?
"No."
Three?
"No."
Four?
"OK- but it's not because I want to."

While driving, I ask the kids to keep their eyes open for the hotel. Madeleine from the back: "What will you give me?"

Half-term

This week has been school half-term, which basically means 10 days of holiday or hardship for working parents like us. Happily Natasha has a busy program and the kids have been to the movies, had play-dates and visited Hampton Palace where the hedge-row maze kept them entranced. Today, while Sonnet works away, I take Eitan and Madeleine to Marlow on the Thames next to Henley and nearby Oxford. Marlow is charming but it ain't Italy or Spain where most of these Brits seem to go this time of year. That said, we're staying at a five star hotel complete with pool and room service. And limitless movies! I tell the kids we're going to Hollywood and they have been abuzz since Monday. We arrive and head straight for the pool - no disappointment there following two hours and pruny hands. The Little Shakespeares now watch the movie "Mr Bean" and wait for their cheese burgers and chips. Yum!

I wonder aloud where the traffic is going on the crowded M40. Eitan replies "they must be going to our hotel" and Madeleine: "We will have no where to stay!"

Madeleine is motionless in the pool. I ask if she is peeing and she replies, guilt all over her face: "No dad."

And more: "Remember that time on holiday when I peed in the Jacuzi?"

I overhear a conversation in the bathroom about peeing. Madeleine insists girls have it better off because they sit down. "Well" counters Eitan "that doesn't work very well if you are away in nature."

Practice Makes Perfect

Eitan is a serious footballer, and so we practice at a nearby common Saturday afternoon. I have him running all sorts of drills including fast-breaks, ball control and one-on-one's with me. When I tell him his shoe's untied and steal the ball, he is pissed off: "No trash-talking dad!". 

Later walking home I ask him what kind of an office he imagines for himself one day and without missing a beat: "Old Trafford" which, of course, is Manchester United's stadium. 

Our weekend is otherwise routine: swimming practice Sunday morning for Eitan; performance and singing for Madeleine. Sunday is spent with friends Ramsey and Jennifer in Hamstead on a beautiful autumn afternoon. Ramsey used to work for the Prince Al Walid of The Kingdom and the fifth wealthiest person on the planet. The Prince is a night owl who arrives at his offices after noon then works until 2AM. Ramsey and he shuttled from meetings in a private jet - in this case, one of two 747's housed next to the office and private run-way. Jennifer is from up-state Michigan and their children are about the same age as ours. In other words, just your normal London family.

Tower Bridge - 1892

Ah, the Tower Bridge. The crossing opened in the twilight of the 19th century following 8 years of construction work. Prior, over 50 Tower designs were submitted, including one from Sir Josepth Bazalgette who built London's sewer system, before Horace Jones took the cake (Jones was one of the judges). Two massive piers, containing over 70,000 tons of concrete were sunk into the river bed to support the construction. Over 11,000 tons of steel provided the framework for the towers and walkways. This was then clad in Cornish granite and Portland Stone, both to protect the underlying steelwork and to give the bridge a pleasing appearance. The original raising mechanism was powered by pressurised water stored in six hydraulic accumulators which were replaced by new electro-hydraulic drive system in 1974. The longest span is 61 meters while the total length is 244 meters. It's not the Golden Gate but is equally iconic as a working architecture: over 40,000 cars pass daily.

"It represents the vice of tawdriness and pretentiousness, and of falsification of the actual facts of the structure"
H. H. Statham"Bridge Engineering", Wiley, 1916.

"A more absurd structure than the Tower Bridge was never thrown across a strategic river"
Brangwyn, F., and Sparrows, W.S., "A Book of Bridges", John Lane, 1920.

Photo thanks to Creative Commons Attribution.

Dave Ellis - A Self Portrait

Dave Ellis models his inner Storm Trooper, sent from London via me. This is a nice seguay to Eitan's schoolyard where the kids trade action figures. Eitan gets a free start when neighborhood pal Jackson gives him Luke Skywalker which is then traded up for Venom (from Lucas) and then Thumper (from Harry). The ultimate prize is Spider Man and the boys huddle around an outside table and share notes on value. Thumper BTW is one foot and has a wind-up arm that destroys any standing plastic. Of course: No Girls Allowed.

Cal vs UCLA at the L.A. Coliseum and England vs South Africa in the World Cup Rugby championships. Another Big Day of sports.

Madeleine plays "LeapPad" (a touch-and-sound game) telling me her favourite instruments are the Drums and the guitar - she will begin lessons shortly though not the drums.

Shamrock

I enjoy a day-trip to Dublin and sneak a visit to the National Museum next to Trinity College. The museum enjoys Western Europe's largest collection of gold casts dating from 1200 B.C. There is also a gallery dedicated to the 795 A.C. invasion of the Vikings, who had a lasting influence on the island's civilisation: the Nords introduced modern weapons (many gruesome devices like the two-sided axe with nail-like thruster), farming techniques and eventually currency which was used to trade with bits of Europe. Dublin herself is a Viking city and today is one of Europe's fastest growing capitals - evident by the traffic and property value, which makes even London blush. The city looks rich - not the case as recently as two years ago - with a new highway tunnel connecting the airport and an inner city tram system. The BBC surveyed 11,200 residents of 112 urban and rural areas in 2003 and Dublin was found to be the best capital city in Europe to live in, and Ireland the most content country in Europe. I pinched this photo from the WWW and unfortunately cannot spot a four-leaf clover.

Ireland's recent wealth BTW has accumulated from 1986 when Ira Magaziner, who famously created the New Curriculum at Brown University, advised the country to reduce corporate taxes (today, 12.5%) to attract Big Business from Dell to Pfizer

Georg Baselitz

I visit the Royal Academy to view a retrospective of the German artists work. It is dark, gorey, confused, bleak and angry and includes well known paintings "B for Larry" (pictured), "Oberon" and "Big Night Down the Drain" which is a gruesome self-portrait of a boy masturbating. The painting was seized by the police at its showing in 1961 and kick-started Baselitz's career, which began in earnest in the 1950s. He was otherwise trained in East Germany before moving to West Berlin. During his formative years, Baselitze was profoundly effected by Germany 's wretchedness during and following the War - and his work seeks to communicate its deprivation shockingly. And he succeeds.

Joey Turns One!

Joey Junior celebrates numero uno and Joey Senior serves up the cake. It is always even odds as to who is having the most fun at the party. This morning is Harvest Festival at Eitan and Madeleine's school and the children march into the Tim Bernard Lee Hall full of joy and vigor - Head Master Elaine England does a fine job settling them down and orchestrating a number of autumnal songs like: "red, orange and golden brown - see! the leaves are falling down." Madeleine in the front row is wonderfully off-key and Sonnet and I are delighted as her voice soars across the auditorium. Sonnet gives her a secret double thumbs-up, which makes her glow. From the festivities I assist Eitan's teacher in the class-room and today's lesson focuses on imperatives which, the teacher explains, "are bossy instructions." The kids get this one pretty quickly, especially the girls who have younger brothers.