Thursday, December 31, 2015

Heading home

Getting on the flight home tonight

Two Old Churches in downtown Rio

When the Portuguese court arrived in exile (during Napoleon in Portugal), the Royals took the one on the left for themselves only. Then the built the one on the right for then non-royals.

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

At the beach today

So we went to the beach at 4:00 today to meet a friend and landed smack dab in the middle of a pre-party for tonight's party. Eddie and I will not be attending. 

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Rio is Fabio

We did get a little burnt, but it is warm and fun. Some pics
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Us at copacabanna fort. And then the view. 
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Inside the fort.
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The flagella above the tunnel. 

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

San Francisco - Back From Same

Well, I was giving a training class in San Francisco on Monday and Tuesday.  What is amazing is how much has changed.  The area around where I used to work is completely different.  New apartments, a new Stadium, new hotels, new offices.  Wow!
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I walked around and saw 2 things I must share.  And two other things I will share in words.
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1) I have become a little too New Yorkie over time.  I would stand on the corner and traffic was stopped (gridlocked) and I would cross and think "Move it, idiots."  And they would just stare at me like sheep.  And I remember that in California we walk for a walk sign (which is a giant waste of time!).  And they just looked at me like I was a Martian.
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2) They cannot do anything without a cell phone.  I mean, I thought it was bad here or bad with teen-agers.  But at dinner, on a date, at breakfast, at meetings.  The cell-phones are out, ubiquitous and just rude.
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Not news, but the weather still sucks.  When it was raining (and often when it was) it was overcast and foggy.  It was about 54 degrees and the parkas were out.  Which, again, is probabnly a little too New York judgy, but whatever.
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Okay - NOT everything changes.  I worked on the 4th floor of that very building for Veon.

Loved the Deco decoration of the Marine Fireman's Union.

Lamest "Sponsored" Content Image in a While

The Daily Beast has some sponsored content (i.e. "ads") in their feed for a while now around Christmas.
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I don't complain - they have to pay the bills and there are worst ways than showing us the beautiful Italian model Bianca Balti and the equally beautiful English model David Gandy in various phases of swimsuit wetness and hotness.
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However, today they had a different link in the hot stories section.
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Not better.  Not by a long shot. Not a better picture or a better story.
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A stupid item.
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Look.
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I'll tell you what this poor sap needs for the holiday season.
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Looser pants or a bigger sock.  If you're going to focus on the peen front and center in white pants, It had better be impressive or straining the pants.  This just looks like he hiked everything to the right while the left side is all loosey goosey. (see appendix 1)
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A Jacket that fits.  Kids, the whole super tight jacket thing is designed to show biceps, not highlight chicken wings or show that the sleeves are too short.  Look at any picture of Henry Cavill in a suite (best done in Man from U.N.C.L.E.) to see how this is done. (see appendix 2)
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A Shirt that is better tucked in (and not ugly). The shirt buttons don't line up with the pants - probably because he hiked the pants up and to the left to get the peen pic.  The super pale blue against the pale blue jacket doesn't really work, but might if the cuffs of said shirt weren't Village People Cyan. (see appendix 3)
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Needs a belt.  In this picture, the model (who is undoubtably attractive) looks a little tubby.  He has a belly role (see above) because of the bad tuck job (above) and a pants roll-under because of bad tuck job (below).  A simple DG belt would have solved or at least hidden those flaws. (see appendix 4)
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This ad is a disaster.  I hope, truly hope, that this is some gay art director getting back at Dolce and Gabbana for their asshole'ish comments on gay marriage, adoption and in vitro fertilization.  If so - Bravo!, you have made them look like idiots.
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Appendix(s)

Appendix 1) This is how you make large peen look effortless (Jon Hamm for the win)

Appendix 2) This is how you use a tight suit
Appendix 3) See buttons on shirt IN LINE with buttons on pants (even though neither are attractive, it looks like they are suppose to be together).  However: 12 points off Gryffendor for faux tuck.

Appendix 4) If you don't line up shirt and pants exactly, a belt will help hide the fact.
And if that doesn't work, Ryan Gosling's eyes make up for everything.

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Just landed in SFI

Just landed in San Francisco. Asked Ed how my pup was. He's copying. 

Thursday, December 17, 2015

I Find Myself Torn

I find myself torn here after getting this flyer.
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You see I LOVE Ben Whishaw.  I have seen him in a show or two live, and he is great.
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And, Ivo Van Hove is, like, the "IT" director right now.  And I did love his work in "A View From the Bridge".
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But then there is an original score by Philip Glass - American master.  uggg.  To me, he takes his name too seriously and his music sounds like him throwing glass on the ground over and over.
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And then there is the whole "Salem Witch Trials" thing as an allegory.
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So you see, torn.
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Oh, don't get me wrong.  I'll go.  I would watch Ben Whishaw in a Ivo Van Hove play even if it is was Rocky and Bullwinkle Take Manhattan (for you Brits, substitue "a panto version of Cats").  But I will complain later.
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Smiley face.

War Crimes are the Big Idea from the Republican Presidential Candidates

I was going to say "War Crimes are the New Big Idea from the Republican Presidential Candidates", but they aren't really new.
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The debate gave us more information on a mention that Trump made earlier, but he isn't alone.  These are the War Crimes proposed:
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Torture
In the Pro camp here are: Jeb Bush (kind of has to be - you know, his brother started waterboarding).  Chris Christie (because he was a former prosecutor).  Ben Carson (because he's a healer).  Carley Fiorina (just ask employees at Hewlett Packard (rim shot) - no, she likes waterboarding).  Marco Rubio (he's tough) and Donald Trump.  Only Donald Trump has come out and added, even if torture doesn't work, he is fine with it because they are bad guys.
-  Oddly, Ted Cruz has explicitly come out against it.  I think just to piss off Marco.
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Indiscriminate Killing of Civilians
Also a war crime:  Ted Cruz - carpet bombing is a war crime.  Ben Carson - trying to be tough.
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Purposeful Killing of Civilians
Donald Trump: "I would kill the families of terrorists."  Even Bibi doesn't go that far in Isreal, he only destroys family's homes.
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Implied use of nuclear weapons on Civilians (falls under Indiscriminate Killing, but deserves its own callout from me).
Ted Cruz "I don't know if sand can glow, but we will find out."

Saying Carly Fiorina's Statements are "Not Accurate" is like saying the Sun is Hot.

Look, FOX NEWS called her out.
Carly Fiorina is the epitome of someone following my dad's advice, "stick with the lie".
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She is a lying factory and will not back down - even when presented with proof she is lying - okay let's be generous and say she misspoke.
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The latest lie is from the 12/15 debate.  She listed 5 generals and said "Every single one I know.  Every single one retired because they told President Obama things he didn't want to hear."
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Umm.. Bullshit.  But when called on it (by CNN and Fox News), she said states is completely true.  100%.
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But, ... er.. facts?  One retired before Obama was President.  One didn't so much retire as get forced out of the CIA for revealing classified information to a biographer he was having an extramarital affair with.  One quit after he called the Vice President petty childish names to Rolling Stone (and President Obama DID follow his advice).
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And yet, even with the one that retired before he was President, she stands by her comments lie.
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Of course this is the same woman that claimed to see a baby having it's brain sucked out by Planned Parent in a video to sell the baby for parts.  Which didn't happen, but did inspire an attack in Colorado that killed 3 (with the attacker screaming about "no more baby parts".
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I don't want to be misogynistic here, so I will call her a lying dick-head, the same I would as a man.

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Flying into New York

After our trip to Minnesota a few weeks ago now, we flew into New York on a clear day.  We took some cool pictures.
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Midtown.  If you know where the New York Times building is - our condo is the blue on right behind it.

The Tennis Center - where Ed'[s changes are in progress.  The roof is going over Arthur Ashe.  To the left, that is the new Grandstand court.  The little courts int he foreground of Ashe are missing as the respace them out.

World Trade Center One.  Great viewing from the plane.

And This Put the Debaters to Sleep

One of last night's big "stories" was suppose to be Ted Cruz vs. Mark Rubio.  And they obliged by attacking each other.
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For a while they sparred back and forth over their immigration plans and their (opposing) votes over Budget Authorization and the Patriot Act.  It was long, boring, and ultimately more and more esoteric.  No one cared.
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We found that out when, trying to change the subject, Wolf Blitzer said, "Dr. Carson - which of these gentlemen do you agree with?"
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To which he answered "What?" somewhat sleepily, like all the viewers.
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Wolf asked again, in the classic the teacher caught you napping mode, "Do you agree with Senator Rubio or Senator Cruz on this?"
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And Dr. Carson gave the classic caught napper answer, "I think I will let them fight that out over that.  But, I want to go to a question from earlier..."

Impressions: Latest Debate

Last night's debate was the last Republican debate of the year.  Which is like their little Christmas Present to us.
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Here are my two cents on the whole thing:
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Jeb Bush is running during the wrong cycle.  I am not sure there would ever be a good time for him to run, but this might be the worst.  He is cerebral and steady (although not demonstratively smart). After a calm and thoughtful President Obama, cerebral and steady is the last thing the GOP wants.  They want a screaming Id.
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Chris Christie is this year's Rudy Guiliani.  Everything Rudy said could be boiled down to "Noun + verb + "9/11"; everything Christie says can be boiled down to "I + verb + 9/11"  He is going to try to ride that to a win in New Hampshire and he just might do it.
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The Republican base is scared and freaked out.  And I don't mean that metaphorically.  Between the right wing news and these candidates, you would think there is a Islamic Jihadi terrorist hiding under every bed.  And, somehow, if Obama only said the magic words We are at war with Islamic Terrorism, it would clear up like zit in the night.  I don't understand it.  They were terrified of Ebola in 2014, they were terrified of Gay marriage in 2004.  For a gun packing, tough talking bunch they seem to be motivated primarily by fear.
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Rand Paul - and sometimes Donald Trump (!) - seem like the only ones that have put two thoughts together at the same time to see the consequences.  Everyone else wants to do 2 things from day 1.  1st ) tear up the treaty with Iran and confront Iran everywhere  and 2nd) simultaneously destroy ISIS.  The fact that we are fighting ISIS with Iran is unmentioned.  Tearing up the treaty with Iran would antagonize ISIS' biggest enemy.
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Carly Fiornia has enough knowledge to be destructive.  She consistently mentions just enough truth to be scary.  For example she is huge on stopping payments to Iran or China or Russia and she says "We have the capability to do that now."  Which is true.  But only because it costs a ton to set the systems up.  The US has a monopoly on the transfer of money.  But once we use it politically someone else can build an alternative system and undermine our standing in the world.  We have only used this power when the UN and other countries agree, because it is an artificial monopoly that greatly benefits US interests and institutions.  If we abuse it, China (or Japan or the EU) could easily set up an alternative monetary transfer system and US business would lose that cash cow.  She sounds smart, but she is scary.
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Mark Rubio is a good debater.  A little stuck on his talking points, and not great at thinking on his feet, but if he knows what is coming up, he is a great little debater.  When he is challenged effectively, Ed noticed that he tends to respond by talking quicker and throwing out enough words so that that hopefully a few stick.  He gets nervous then and it isn't pretty.  And CNN tried to cut away when he grabbed the water bottle but we saw a few shots.
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Ted Cruz is scary to me.  He has Trump's ability to tell a lie and never back down.  He doesn't sound like he believes the lies, but he doesn't sound like he believes anything.  So he is equally smarmy no matter what he says.  I think it is creepy and disqualifying, but since he now leads Iowa and evangelicals are pledged to him, I may be in the minority here.  He seems a little like the pervy Uncle at Thanksgiving - you know the one that says inappropriate things like "Wow, Katie is all grown up now, isn't she?"
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John Kaisch.  Lose. The. Karate. Chop. Hands.
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Ben Carson =

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

A Beautiful Piece of Art

It is a spec Johnny Walker ad by two German students, but it is a wondrous 90 second piece of art.  For everyone you have and never want to lose.
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We Went to Sparkle: A Christmas Benefit Concert

Big Wrap Up
Last week we went to Sparkle NYC, a Christmas benefit for the Actor's Fund.
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It was amazing.  Some of the best singing and fun.  Afterwards there was a meet and greet, which was WAY too busy, but we did have to stay hi to Nick Adams.  We had met Max Von Essen right before he was in Evita (he was the guitar player).  But now he is in American in Paris and won the Tony for best supporting actor.  He has like the "what a voice!" voice.
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He sang this song in the show, but I only could find it on youtube from a few years ago.  Listen, it's great.
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Max - singing

Nick Adams Singing - then with us.

The Cast Sheet

Saudi Arabia's new "Anti-Terrorist" Alliance looks more Anti-Shia to me

Saudi Arabia has just concluded a treaty that brings together a number of Muslim nations in an "Anti-Terrorist" alliance, their definition.  While it purports to be anti ISIS, it doesn't really look that way at all.
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The alliance is of mainly Sunni Muslim nations.  And, it doesn't include the biggest enemies of ISIS, Syria, Iraq and Iran.  It look less like an Anti-Terrorist and more like an Anti-Iran military alliance.  And while that is completely the Saudi's right - to build an alliance of like minded nations, we who are fighting ISIS should understand that the majority of ISIS funding is coming from Saudi Arabia and other Sunni nations.
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ISIS is a Sunni lead terrorist backlash against the aggressive and deadly Shia regimes, particularly Syria and Iraq.  Without at least the tolerance of Sunni nations, the ISIS cause would have been lost long ago.
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There is no great answer here.

Monday, December 14, 2015

I don't normally read "Dear Prudence" on Slate, but this was a killer

Dear Prudence is like a 20th century Dear Abby.  That is, kind of so quaint it is very last century - even though it is on Slate.com.  And I occasionally read it.  But this was worth sharing (link)!
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Dear Prudence, 
My sister won’t speak to me because I taught her daughter a naughty word. I was playing Scrabble with my 8-year-old niece, who is very smart. She always kills me when we play and it’s kind of embarrassing for me. But this one game was close. I had the opportunity to play all my letters to spell “fellatio” ensuring I’d win the game. I thought a bit about whether I should play this word or just lose graciously. Pride got the better of me and I played the word. My niece didn’t believe it was a word and looked it up in the dictionary. This lead to numerous questions about sex that I wasn’t prepared for. So I told her to ask her mother. When my sister found out what I’d done she hit the ceiling. She was furious at me that I’d taught her this word. Now she won’t speak with me. I’ve considered apologizing but I don’t think I did anything wrong. She would have learned the word eventually anyway. When I was a kid, I learned far worse words younger than that.


Bud! Fellatio is only 11 points in Scrabble! Even with the 50-point bonus for using all of your tiles, this was the wrong hill to die on. It is a bad idea to teach your 8-year-old niece about blow jobs, no matter how much you thought you knew about oral sex when you were a kid. (For everyone who doesn’t believe Scrabble can lead to a situation like this: Play with my family sometime.) I admire your commitment to winning and share your salt-the-earth strategy when it comes to gamesmanship, but you should know better. Apologize to your sister, and don’t play Scrabble with your niece again.

Friday, December 11, 2015

The New York Library at Christmas Time

There is no snow yet, which is fine by me.
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However, the NYC Library (the big one) looks great.  They have decorated the Lions AND there are 2 fountains that were just refurbished this year.  It looks wonderful and festive.
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One of the redone fountains on the Southern side of the entrance 

Where it is in reference to the front.
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The statue on the Northern side of the entrance.


Thanksgiving in Minnesota

So, you saw the pictures from the game, but here are the other pictures from the Minnesota Thanksgiving.
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Sean (John's Son), John, Phil, Mom and Eddie

Ed's Dad, Ed, Ed's Mom and Me

Ansley and Eddie.  We brought her "wild dog" from WWF

John, Phil and Eddie (in the Scooter pose)

I'm Back!

Actually this picture is from our trip to Minnesota for the football game.  I couldn't see, so I purchased a visor and, of course, they only had Minnesota visors.
Well Minnesota scored first, and Ed told me to take off the damn visor and squint.
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I did and Wisconsin won, so there is proof that I bring good luck.
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Anyway, I have been teaching a 4 day class on bootcamp for the PMP (Product Manager Professional) test - and got paid fine for it.  So there, I do work.
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Occasionally.
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But I am back now.
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yay!

Friday, December 04, 2015

The Cathedral in Saint Paul

Detail from the Cathedral in St. Paul, MN
On our trip last week to Minnesota, we did go one day for sight seeing in St. Paul.  We stopped and took a look see inside the St. Paul Cathedral.  I liked it.
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It is somehow homier and more inspiring than St. Patrick's in New York.  Part of it might be the scale, which is smaller in footprint, but about the same height.  And part is probably it isn't wall to wall tourists.  But it was beautiful.  See the pictures.
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They had large statues of the Evangelicals around the Rotunda

The front!  Snazzy.

St. Matthew with someone for scale.

I thought this huge picture was very perfect mid-west.  I actually thought it might be Norman Rockwell, but I couldn't find out.

Back of House from the residence to the rear entrance.  Stunning

This is NOT my picture, but I didn't get a good one from a distance.