After my class-time story, Madeleine shows-and-tells "Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked" which is, afterall, consistent with the theme of "fantasy." Our dear fills with pride as she describe's her Auntie Katie: "a writer who lives in New York city with lots of really tall buildings."
So I wonder - has Tucson changed anything? (On January 8, 2011, near Tucson, AX, 19 people were shot, six of them fatally, during an open meeting that U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords. Those killed include US District Court for the District of Arizona Chief Judge John Rolland one of Rep. Giffords's staffers. Gifford was shot through the head at point-blank range, and her medical condition was initially "critical"). Congress's then boldly pronounced corrective initiatives have so far netted one proposal: a ban on the sale of ammunition clips that allowed the gunman to fire 31 shots in 15 seconds. Seems reasonable. But no, the gun-clip ban has zero Republican supporters, which is a problem since the Republicans are the House majority. Meanwhile in the states, there is legislation for more guns in more places (public libraries, college campuses, Starbucks). Gail Collins in the NYT notes that Georgia allows guns in bars, Arizona eliminated concealed weapon permits and Utah has designated its own official state gun. Should we be surprised?
Here is how Sonnet/I accommodate two evening sessions at different times and pools: 5:30PM pick up Eitan, Madeleine (double-check for goggles, swimsuits, towels and gear), drive to ABC pool and watch Madeleine for 75 minutes; (double-check goggles, swimsuit, towel and gear) race across southwest London to drop off Eitan at XYZ pool. Drive home, Madeleine dinner. Back to the XYZ for Eitan (double-check goggles, swimsuit, towel and gear) then home, dinner, brush teeth and bed by 10PM. Eitan can stay up as late as he wants.
I visit Madeleine's class to tell a story - this time, about "fantasy" which is being taught as part of the curricula. Madeleine is my trusted assistant elf. My on-the-fly tale about Bobby Bogart (which gets a chuckle) who enters Middlearth, via a hidden basement door, finding himself at the "Strange and Wonderful Creatures" ball where he is the only human-child, surrounded by witches, ogres, trolls, elfs, dwarfs and wizards. To return home, Bobby must retrieve Princes Leia who slumbers under a spell at the end of a long, dark cave inside a mountain guarded by a dragon. Nobody will go with Bobby except a troll and I tell the adventure from the troll's perspective, dressed for the part including a wicked nose, walking shaft and orange red hair purchased at "Party Palace" (agree, this is an interpretation). On the way to Leia, Bobby and the troll discover three ogre-brothers debating whether to kill a girl and grind her bones or roast her on the fire spit; a botched rescue finds Bobby and the troll in the same predicament with the sun-up in two hours - trolls, we know, turn to stone in daylight. Bobby negotiates everyone's release in return for gold, to be found in the dragon's mountain. The ogres keep the girl for recourse and promise to eat her in 21 days if no treasure. Eventually Princess Liea freed, the dragon thwarted, the girl saved. All made possible by the help of kind elves (Madeleine) and therein lies my message to the kids: whenever faced by life's challenges, ask for help and it can usually be solved.
Many of you may recall that my (little) sister wrote a book "Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked: Sex, Morality, and the Evolution of A Fairy Tale" which was an Amazon best-seller and has gone through several printings (go on, buy a copy). Last night Katie attends the Hollywood film premier "Red Riding Hood," pictured, staring Amanda Seyfried and Gary Oldman and co-produced by Leonardo Dicaprio. Katie makes an appearance in the movie and provides the narrative for the DVD release, which includes the history of the fairy tale and interviews with various meaningful players. The Warner blurb:
Maybe it's the cold grey morning but I've seen a few shocking things which confirm that most people are mindless or stupid. At the gas station, an Audi Q5 pulls up too far from the pump so the driver (male, 40s, wearing mocasins) stretches the hose while petrol sploshes about everywhere. Retard. A few moments later, a BMW (women driver, probably a local mom) mis-judges traffic and so stuck on the level crossing as the warning lights go so she honks furiously then guns her motor around incoming traffic. Or the various countless idiots who text while driving. Again, this morning: I watch a near-miss collision at a busy circus as some mope talks on his cell phone.
To celebrate my fifth online anniversary I somehow feel the above vibe, captured at the American Ambassador's home in Regent's Park, London, in July 2005, appropriate seeing how the website began . . . .
Sonnet at last week's cat walks; below Mathew Williamson (first two shots) and John Rochas. Photos by Sonnet.
This time over Mildmay Park in north London.
We pay "Uncle" Anthony a family visit Sunday - Anto lives in Islington, the cool part of town, and has moved into a sweet apartment overlooking London's chimney tops. While Anthony from Australia where his family own a farm and wine vinyard, he also has an Italian passport so Sonnet and I quietly discuss beforehand: can he cook?
I am in the V&A the other day and aim to help raise some dough for this most wonderful museum. I spend the morning with Andrew and Leo who are part of the Corporate Development team reporting into the formidable Jane Lawson who I was with last month. While Jane is the Queen Bee with charm and gravitas, Leo down in the nitty gritty of things that need, well, money, including the Cast Court, pictured. (NB Unusually for a museum, the Cast Courts house a collection of copies mostly made in the 19th century. In a few cases, such as the late 15th century Lübeck relief of Christ washing the Apostles' feet, the original has been destroyed and the cast is unique record of a lost work.). We discuss my title and I am very happy to be the V&A's "Ambassador of Philanthropy" (a title they make up for me) or "Ambassador" for short.
This neat graph shows the date (in GMT) of the summer solstice (the moment the sun reaches it northernmost position in the sky, or the beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere) through the years. As the summer solstice occurs on the same astronomical date each year (although changes may occur on much larger time scales), the graph basically shows the difference between real, astronomical time and the Gregorian calendar. Each year, the Gregorian calendar is approximately 0.26 day faster than the astronomical calendar, which is corrected by a leap day once every four years. This 4-year cycle is clearly visible in the graph. To compensate for the largest part of the remainder of the difference, there is no leap year in 1800, 1900, 2100, 2200, as can be clearly seen in the graph, too. Note that the summer solstice in 1800 and in 2200 are not on equal dates; this shows that the leap year compensation as describes before is not perfect and more complicated schemes are necessary to keep the Gregorian calendar synchronized over even longer time scales.
