All American

Dale and family in town from TX for the Olympics where they will spend the rest of the day. Ben (middle) a budding running star and we do a loop of Richmond Park and I try to keep up.  He is of that wonderful age when sports and puberty collide : his aim to hit 4:10 in the mile before college.  When not running, and since summer, Ben works at a pretzel stand at the Austin mall.  I send him "Fast Times At Ridgement High".

Day eight of the Smörgåsbord : swimming's conclusion and Michael Phelp's last race ever (gold in the 4X100 medley relay), gymnastics, diving (what bodies), wrestling .. water polo, ping pong, judo and beach volleyball. .. the velodrome and , of course, athletics : Jessica Ennis, Greg Rutherford anad Mo Farah take gold in the Hep, long-jump and 10K respectively (the press calls it the "greatest day in British sports history"). The BBC records it all across 20 dedicated channels. TGP (Team GB or Team Great Britain) takes six golds on "Super Saturday" and, at this stage, 29 medals overall trailing only the US and China. Compare this to Atlanta in '96 : one.
Boy it is going to be some bummer when the games end and we are back to reality.  But let us focus instead on the men's 100m final and Usain Bolt, which is in several hours.

"This is U.S. History, I see the globe right there."
--Spicoli

Mexican Horse

Sonnet, Madeleine and I at the Lisboa cafe on the Golborne Rd which has the best pastries in London. We stuff our faces with intermittent bites of fried-pork sandwiches , custard tarts and coffee.

Golborne intersects Portalla Road which cuts across Notting Hill and home to a notable saturdaay market known for second-hand clothes and antiques.  I once came here for light blue and other shades of corduroy trouser - now that seems like a different life.  Sonnet once came home with a large painting that was with us for years : I stopped an often-used joke - "that's a lot of art for £20" - when I learned, post facto, a guest collected Freuds and Twomblys.  Today Madeleine finds a jackass for 50p, pictured.  Bargain.

Eitan at the Olympic Stadium to see the prelims of the 100m track : Bolt, Gay, Powell, Blake and Chambers.  Bolt show-boats and runs 10.08 , good enough for the semi-finals. His ticket a gift from the Richmond council, who the boy represented in the British under-16s running championships earlier this year.

Next Stop Mars

Kubrik's classic from '68 - hard to believe - and perhaps at the peak of our technology optimism with films like Logan's Run and Star Wars to come.

I am following NASA's $2.5B Mars landing "Curiosity" on twitter.  This is real sci-fi stuff : to drop the one-ton probe on Mars (distance 352 millions miles from Earth), Curiosity separates from its spacecraft and enters Mars' atmosphere at 13,200mph; it has 78 miles to decelerate for a soft landing . . .peak temperatures reach 3,800F.  Thrusters ignite to halt spin and engage heat shields while friction slows the vehicle by 90%; further thrusters keep the capsule on track.  A parachute deploys to slow the descent further.  Four minutes into landing procedures the heat shield separates and radar looks for a landing surface (5 miles out, 280mph).  The back-shell, with parachute attached, jettisons and eight rockets fire for the final manoeuvre (1 mile, 180mph).

Within 100 feet a skycrane spools out nylon cords to lower Curiosity onto Mars. Once touchdown, the cords sever and the skycrane flies away to crash nearby.

It kind of makes me wonder why I have such a hard time clearing the garage or, for that matter, doing anything.

Eitan Games

Madeleine: "If you are an Olympics swimmer and you are married, do you have to take your ring off during the race?"
Me: "That's a very good question . .."

Dog Wash

Rusty gets a wash. About his least favorite thing.

Eitan and I to Palewell Park to do a workout of his choice (he makes me change from swim suit into jogging shorts). After a couple miles warm up, we do ten-times 40 meters sprint+ten press ups only I don't do the press ups.  I am still able to nip the boy but it is close.  He is a slippery little devil. Rusty dashes through our legs wired with excitement.

Our new au pair Aneta 2, a friend recommended by Kamila, arrives at Victoria station after a 20 hour bus ride from Prague.  She will know English by the end of her year with us or we will know Czech.

Madeleine: "Since I made such a fabulous dinner can I use the computer?"
Eitan: "Hog."
Me: "Why don't you save up your money and buy yourself an ipad?"
Eitan: "You never pay me any money .. ."
Madeleine: "I don't want to spend my savings on a computer."
Me: "What else are you going to spend it on ?"
Madeleine: "Um, emergencies."
Me: "Like what?"
Madeleine: "Like being lost in New York."
Me: "And?"
Madeleine: "I would buy food. And an umbrella."
Eitan: "An umbrella?"
Madeleine: "Yes, Eitan, an umbrella. Ever heard of rain?"

Go Korea!

Luke (in orange) celebrates his 11th birthday at Wembley Arena where South Korea plays Gabon to a draw.  The boys dress up for the Korean side and are overwhelmed but the interest from the Korean fans who, Eitan tells me, circle them for photographs and national cheers (though speaking little English). GB (as Great Britain now goes by) advancing to the QFs (quarter finals).

East End

Madeleine at Canada Waters tube station.

Eitan at the Olympics with Luke who has planned his birthday party from 2011.  That's when his mom got tx for the football.  Sonnet plans a night with Madeleine so Madeleine feels special and we explore .. London's East End, taking a train to Dalston to visit a late night fashion boutique and cafe that Sonnet sources from the Jeffries Museum.  It is so cool it requires a booking.  So cool we cannot find it.

I am amused by the communal bath-houses and Turkish showers.  E8, which is Hackney, is becoming the place for the hipsters but it is still grungy : there is trash and grime but also coffee shops and bars called 'blink'.  Yoga, of course but then there are is 'Poundland' and the pawnshops . . A dude with a full beard gives us directions (his companion an attractive woman with pierced tongue).  Madeleine and I find a stoop to let Sonnet find her store.

From Dalston we catch a bus along Kingsland High Street to Song Che, a Vietnamese restaurant that serves awesome soft-shell crab and bo la lot (ground beef wrapped in betel leaves) and pho (noodle soup).

Me: "Bored?"
Madeleine: "Whatever, Dad."
Me: "Do you like red or blue?"
Madeleine: "Red. Why?"
Me: "Just go with it. Red or green?"
Madeleine: "Red."
Me: "Some thread or a beetle?"
Madeleine: "Like for sewing?"
Me: "Yeah. Or a beetle."
Madeleine: "That is so random."
Me: "Which one do you like?"
Madeleine: "Is the beetle dead?"
Me: "It depends."
Madeleine: "If it is dead, then thread. If not, the beetle"

Beach Volley Ball

The Olympics continue and I join Josh at the beach volley ball (yes, the Brazilians in micro bikinis).  Josh an American who moved to London in '99 to start an online gambling website where the rules less ambiguous than the USA.  His company, Flutter, merged with Betfair which is now the world's largest Internet betting exchange and went public in 2010. Josh remains on the Board and is also a vc at Matrix on Sand Hill Rd.

Good people attract good people and I meet two of Josh's friends Margot (another displaced Californian who took her company, Music Match, public in '96) and Alistair, who founded the first cloud storage play (Matrix an investor).  All of us discuss why, why ? we are in London when all we wish to do is be entrepreneurs. This is not new territory.

Mayor Borris Johnson makes an appearance - though he had nothing to do with the securing of the games he takes full credit. What a great job.  He happily notes that British athletes, who rank 21 in medal-count, are being courteous to our visitors.  Unlike Romney, he is pitch-perfect.

Summer In Full Swing

To be a kid is to straddle indifference and boredom, a pattern disturbed by some occasional learning, a few chores, a pet and the television. Yes, the Shakespears on summer break for less than ten days and already it feels like the dog days of summer. Even the Olympics fail to occupy their full attention.  I assign reading (more Huck Finn for Eitan, more Hobbit for Madeleine) and other requirements but really, what they crave, is routine.  Swimming, drama, school, football, etcetc. cannot come soon enough.  Without it, the slightest exertion fought with the spirit of a cornered animal.  It is not even August.

Red White And Blue

We have an exhilarating day at the Olympics Park watching a morning of swimming including Ryan Lochte, Missy Franklin, Rebecca Adlington and Liam Hancock.  The stadium, which we are familiar with from the British trials, a jewel and today it is rocking : British medals a distinct possibility and several swimmers already known from Beijing, including crowd favourite Adlington.

After the swimming we anticipate a picnic with Maddie's family. Maddie a swimmer for Wandsworth who will join Madeleine at hill form in September. She is a sweet kid. Unfortunately thunder storms drive us in to Westfield Mall built outside the Olympics grounds to draw the post-games traffic and boy does it heave.  Prada, Dolce And Gabbana, Apple, , Top Shop .. . River Island, Abercrombie & Fitch (which I check out and am humiliated by the half-nude male modles), Armani, Valentino.. .it's all here.

Eventually the rain relaxes and we return to Stratford Underground then four stops to Lizzy and Ferdi's in Islington for an afternoon coffee and cake. Ferdi once responsible for risk management at Unicredit Bank in Italy but I think that was too depressing so now he does something else at the bank. His basic notion is that Europe is toast . In his spare time he has developed elaborate programs to lock in sports trades . £20 here, £50 there..  every little counts.

Madeleine: "Can I get a pretzel?"
Sonnet: "No, you haven't had lunch."
Madeleine: "I don't want a bagel though. I just want a pretzel. Please. Please?"
Me: "For Pete's sake go get a pretzel."
Sonnet: "You like to do that don't you ?"
Me: "What?"
Sonnet: "Undermine my authority."
Me: "Yeah, I'm sorry."
Madeleine: "So I can't have a pretzel?"
Me: "Ask your mother."
Madeleine: "But I ate half the bagel."
Sonnet: "OK, Okay, you can have a pretzel."

Eitan: "Where are mom and Madeleine ?"
Me: "Over there. Getting a pretzel?"
Eitan: "What?! I get one too!"
Me: "Sorry Madeleine did all the work on that one."
Eitan: "That is so unfair."
Sonnet gives Eitan a pretzel.

Breastroke Start

Cycling

 This morning we stroll to Richmond Park to watch the men's cycling final - pictured. It is a community activity and many set up their stall at 7AM for the 10:15AM passing which takes all of twenty seconds. Maybe. My favourites, surprisingly, the police who wizz by on motorcycles , smiling, extorting us to cheer and giving high-fives. They and the volunteers enjoy themselves.

A helicopter announces the peloton, which begins at the Pall Mall and cruising 40kph through Central London on its way to Surrey and Box Hill, which they will lap 9X. We are at the 10Km point of the 130km race, which goes through the park again this afternoon. Most people wait around for their return and why not ? It's a perfect day for a picnic.

Remarkably Bradley Wiggens competes only two weeks after becoming the first Brit to win the Tour de France. It takes minimum three months to recover from a marathon let alone two weeks scaling the French Alps.

Sonnet: "So the swimmers shave their bodies ?"
Me: ".. to remove a skin layer. It creates a most amazing sensation."
Eitan: "I once saw a guy swim a proper race in beggy trunks."
Sonnet: "Do they shave their whole body? And their backs?"
Me: "Yes, there was always some discussion about the under arms.. ."
Sonnet: "It doesn't sound very comfortable."
Me: "It's not like we shaved our balls."
Eitan: "Ha, ha, ha!"

Opening Rings

The Olympics Ceremony last night and the NYT gets it about right:

"The noisy, busy, witty, dizzying production somehow managed to feature a flock of sheep (plus a busy sheepdog), the Sex Pistols, Lord Voldemort, the engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a suggestion that the Olympic rings were forged by British foundries during the Industrial Revolution, the seminal Partridge Family reference from “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” a group of people dressed like so many members of Sgt. Pepper’s band, some rustic hovels tended by rustic peasants, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” and, in a paean to the National Health Service, a zany bunch of dancing nurses and bouncing sick children on huge hospital beds."

Uniquely British and weird. I love the recognition of the otherwise under-valued NHS (which delivered my two kids) and the giant gold rings that slowly cross the stadium suspended, it appears, in thin air, joining to form familiar icon. Madeleine and I watch the athletes parade until Cuba then to bed. Eitan at a sleep-over at Luke's. Photo from the AP.

Sonnet bemoans Eitan, who has not bathed in four days.

Me: "Are you going to shower by school?"

Eitan: "It's not that bad."

Me: "Your mom says she can smell you a block away."

Eitan:

Me: "Does Luke takes baths ?"

Eitan: "Yeah I guess so. "

Me: "What does he say?"

Eitan: "It's not like we sit around and discuss how often we bathe or anything."

Me: "Fair point."

Twins

Daniella and Sophia and their family over for a BBQ.

Big Ben chimes 40 times this morning at the unusual 8:12AM or 12 hours before tonight's opening ceremony. This the the first time the clock rung outside its regular schedule since 1952, when it tolled 56 times for King George VI's funeral (once for every year of his life). The Torch, at mid-day, winds its way down the River Thames to Tower Bridge on its way to the Olympics Stadium. Not even Mitt Romney can bring down the good vibe (Says Romney : 'It's hard to know just how well it [the Games] will turn out"; retorts Cameron : "Of course it's easier if you hold an Olympic Games in the middle of nowhere", ie, UTAH).

This country may over-spend (£9.5B vs £2.5B initial bid), threaten strike (Border Control), extort the public (bus and tube unions), slag off work (GS4) and militarise (the army); rain may come - it is expected - but for two weeks the nation will pull itself together, welcome the world and celebrate itself, its youth, its global status and the joy, the pure joy, of the Olympic Games. I am glad to be here.

Tuileries

I am in France and it is the vacation before the holiday. Nobody skives like the Europeans and why not? with so many beautiful places to go . France no different and maybe at the front : August a complete shut-down.  Astorg's offices, for instances, closed for two weeks (but this is a firm that works hard ).  So, now, everybody chilaxing. A stroll along rue du faubourg st honoree sees less formal attire than usual with colourful dresses draping six inches above the knee (legs bronzed, toned).  The men have their pointy shoes while the cloth of choice (white) linen (and perhaps no tie).  It is hot and so the cafes brimming and smoke, smoke smoke. Why worry when the soiree happening now ?

After visiting Astorg I am back at the hotel wishing Sonnet here for a stroll in Tuilerise Gardens which remains open late for the advanced sunset.  The Eiffel Tower unlit until 9PM.  Last time in Paris I stayed in St Jermaine 6e but I prefer being close to the Astorg offices.

Backyard Fun

The kids waking up to the idea that they can do things on their own .. like walk to the High Street by themselves without an adult. Eitan boldly asks for a bus-pass so he and his pals can go to the movies .  Sonnet and I discuss their freedoms and I am more relaxed than she : the world no more dangerous then when we were kiddies and I recall using public transportation from 4th grade .. and walking across the Berkeley campus to Telegraph Avenue with a couple dollars burning my pocket.

Did you know that the Olympics Village dining hall is the largest in the world ? It can serve 5,000 meals at a go.

Madeleine: "I am going to drop off my thank-you cards by myself, Ok Dad?"
Me: "Take the dog."
Madeleine: "But then I can't go in the shops."
Me: "And no candy."
Madeleine: "You just want me to walk by them and just look in the windows?"
Me: "Be back in 30 minutes."
Madeleine: "45."
Me: "Ok, what time is it now ?"
Madeleine: "7PM.  Don't be worried unless I come home after 8."
Me:
Madeleine: "Then call the police."

The Torch

The Olympic Flame passes through Richmond not too far from us. Kamila takes the kids to check out the action on a glorious summer's day (Kamila's photo).  The Shakespeares on holiday and already the summer habits with us : up late+sleeping in, messy rooms, complaining over small chores. .. Eitan lounges in his red robe.  Usual stuff. To keep it sharp, I tell Madeleine she must read 'The Hobbit' and Eitan 'Huckleberry Finn' by Friday; failure to do so - book report by Sunday.

Madeleine: "Oh, no Dad! I cannot read the whole Hobbit! I am reading something else!"
Me: "Well, kid, you have until Friday."
Sonnet: "It's a pretty long book.  How about the first 50 pages?"
Me: "Seems reasonable."
Madeleine: "You are always spoiling any fun."
Me: "What happens when you start Emanuel ? You will have a ton of reading and homework then. Let's start getting used to it now."
Madeleine: "But that's, like, a month from now!"

Sonnet Cooks

Super woman.

We join Dana and Nathan for lunch with their friends Jennifer and Scardon who got pregnant and married in the same month they move to London for work. May was busy. The two met at HBS then again recently in L.A. Scardon a runner at Harvard when I was competing for Brown and he recalls a few guys like Greg Whiteley. As the world turns.

From there, we host Grace and Richard, who are in London celebrating Richard's father's 80th birthday with brothers Jim and Ted - both also in London.  Richard was, like, the second guy I met in NYC in July 1989 when he lived on the 4th floor of 373 6th Avenue and I was on the third floor.  8 financial analysts shared two "railroad" style flats in your basic tenement house.  To access my clothes I had to exit the apartment to the main stairwell then re-enter via the main door, mostly in near darkness.  Mark chose to live in a walk-in closet to save a couple-hundred bucks a month. My rent: $500.

So today Richard a Sr product guy at Google and their 125th hire. His children are in the first and third grade and amuse themselves with ours making arrows and fishing for goldfish in the backyard pond. Sounds about right.

Madeleine: "Are you going running without your shirt on?"
Me: "Yeah, so?"
Madeleine: "If you see any of my friends, hide behind a bush."


Madeleine: "So can I get a hamster or what?"
Me: "I thought we had moved beyond hamsters."
Madeleine: "You mean they all died?"
Me: "Well now you have a dog. Isn't that enough?"
Madeleine: "I love Rusty. But I want something for my room."
Me: "I don't miss the hamster shavings and the food everywhere."
Madeleine: "I used to clean it in the bathroom, Dad. Besides I remember you saying that if I got into Emanuel you would get me a pet."
Me: "Rusty  is the ultimate pet."
Madeleine: "So are you saying I cannot have another pet?"
Me: "Yes, for now, no pet."
Madeleine: "I can buy one with my own money you know."
Me:
Madeleine: "I just read a book about a girl who bought a pet hamster without telling her parents."
Me: "That's nice."
Madeleine: "And they moved to Australia."

Kabam!

Saturday morning and Sonnet and the kids in Oxford with Nita, Alain and the three zeds.  Last time together was a blast off.

I do the usual stuff a fella does on his own : stay up late watching TV, sleep in, and go to the office where I should be doing my US tax returns but instead catch up on two weeks of missed work.  Rusty keeps me company.  The building otherwise empty which suits me fine.

Me: "Who is more strict, me or Nita?"
Eitan: "Nita. You should have heard her yell at Zebulan when he left his retainer in his glass at the pizza restaurant . .."
Madeleine: "Definately Nita."
Me: "Good to know there's room for me to improve."
Madeleine: "Oh, Dad.

Burqa

On the Victoria Line.

The burqa is not common nor unusual in London : it depends on the area.  The Edgeware Rd (where the eZoka offices once located) for instance has a large Muslim community complete with the Islamic Bank and the Beirut Express restaurant. Older Women often covered while the next generation less so.

The burqa has caused debate in the UK with former Home Secretary Jack Straw asking Muslim women to remove veils covering their face in face-to-face meetings with him. He explained this was a request, not a demand, and that he made sure that a woman staffer remained in the room during the meeting. A media furor followed, of course. A 2011 poll indicated 66% of British support a burqa ban in public places. This has been ruled out by the Conservative-Libs and previous Labour govt (In France, then President Sarkozy said: "we cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity.")

I initially found burqa's shocking and now just strange : in London, everybody welcome so why not ? The bandar (a metal face mask often worn with the burqa) however disturbing : I think of something from Dune.