Food and friends

When we travel - OK even when we don't - exploring retaurants and sharing the experience with friends is one of our favorite things to do.

It's been great, now that the kids are older, to be able to share these experiences with them. They've become great food adventurers and are willing to try nearly anything.

Here are a few notable places we went this trip:

Pastis

The meat-packing district is hot these days and in the heart of it is Pastis. It's a french bistro run by chefs Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr. It's a frequent destination for celebrities. No sitings for us, though.


The ambiance is noisy, bustling and energetic and the decor is classic french bistro, authentically done. The steak frites, the test for any good bistro, was perfect.

We had dinner with Greg Easley, one of Bob's partners at SuperEgo and his wife Sarah. It was great to finally meet them after this year of tremendous ups and downs at the company. Drew and Dylan had plenty of game ideas and advice for Greg and Bob.

Sarah, Greg and their kids (3 and 1 1/2) live right downtown and we talked about the challenges and joys of raising kids and starting businesses.

Sarah is the co-owner of Kirna Zabete, a trend-setting SoHo spot that's been called the Shangri-La of shopping. Sarah hand selects her favorites from designers and mashes them all up. Sounds fab. I'll have to check it out next time. A girl can never get enough "divine fashion intervention."

Greg and Sarah are warm and genuine, fun, smart and down-to-earth. Great food and new friends - is there anything better?

Buddha Bar

Bob went to the original Buddha Bar in Paris. And now they have opened one in New York, also in the meat packing district. Very non-descript on the outside, but an incredible transformation when you open the door. The food was good - we ordered a variety of small dishes and especially liked the Toro tartar, the potstickers and a scallop dish with vanilla sauce.

The ambiance is what it's all about here. Behind the sushi bar there are tanks of water filled with delicate jellyfish. They swim and float to the beat of the swanky eastern/jazzy/fusion music. A pool filled with Japanese carp lazes it's way around the room, in some places forming the floor. The entrance is spectacular. And hey, who wouldn't love a giant black buddha?

By the time we left, we were feeling happy, lucky and blissed out.

Drew's New York

Drew got to pick what we did for an entire day in New York to celebrate his birthday.

First stop: Ellen's Stardust Diner for breakfast. The waiters and waitresses are all aspiring actor/singers. They walk around and belt out tunes while standing on the backs of the seats. It's really touristy, but great for kids.


Times Square in the morning isn't as crowded as it is at night.

Next stop Toys R Us in Times Square.

Drew is nearly done with toys. But I think he picked going there for old times sake. We have waited in line for that ferris wheel many times in the past...

He buzzed around and took this shot of the TRex.

Then it was on to his prime destination... Nintendo World in Rockefeller Center.

Two floors of everything Nintendo. He liked it so much, he made us go back twice.

Then on to the Top of the Rock.

Next we toured NBC Studios. We saw the Saturday Night Live studio and the band Arcade Fire rehearsing for their big break this week on SNL.

Drew hailed us a cab and we went to East Japanese for sushi.

You can order off the menu but they also send sushi around on a conveyor belt and you just grab it and eat. Really cool concept. Not such great sushi. But good gyoza...

Back for sunset in Times Square.

And the Hershey Store where Drew got to "make" chocolate come out of a machine.

Crashing at the hotel.

That night? Spamalot. Hysterical.

Whew - what a day! Needless to say, Bob and I got the kids snuggled up in the hotel room and went looking for a well-deserved glass of wine. We found it at a little French bistro - great Bordeaux and Chardonnay - wish I could remember the names.

11

Drew is now a proud 11 year old.

Here's his birthday cake.

And here he is with his best buddy Brandon eating their favorite thing, spaghetti.

Guinness Marmite

Mmmm...special for St. Patrick's Day...Guinness Marmite. Marmite is a spread made from left over brewer's yeast. It's quite possibly the worst thing I've ever tasted. I will most certainly NOT be trying this. I'll just stick to the Guinness, thanks.

If you really want it, better snag one now, they're doing a limited run of just 300,000 jars.

From BoingBoing

Burka karaoke

James Kraus is the talented illustrator on Business Filter and an all around great guy. In response to the Happiness Map, he sent this picture and comment this morning. And it's so good I had to post it here on Chautauqua.

"I bet your guess is right on the happiness map. I checked it out on Friday. I was shocked about Finland. I have an acquaintance from Finland and she said they are all very depressed, lots of alcoholism and suicide.

How about some Muslim Karaoke?"

Never let your burka get in the way of your ripping rendition of "Born to be Wild."

Pops and Jeff

Hanging out at the Daytona 500.

Guys

OK so I made my point about women. But, really, guys, the world just wouldn't be the same without you. I mean, as Dave Barry says, "Without guys, some things would never get done."

USA vs. Japan in the open a beer bottle with a helicopter contest

Happy?

Take a look at the happiness map one more time...

I'll place a bet on why Saudi Arabia and it's neighboring oil-rich countries rank "happy."

None of the women were allowed to participate in the surveys.

From Human Rights Watch:

"Women in Saudi Arabia continue to suffer from severe discrimination in the workplace, home, and the courts, and from restrictions on their freedom of movement and their choice of partners. The religious police enforce strict gender segregation and a women’s public dress code of head-to-toe covering. Women are excluded from the weekly majlis (council), where senior members of the royal family listen to the complaints and proposals of citizens. "

Forget being heard by the government, Saudi women aren't even allowed to drive a car.

As an American woman with all the rights and freedoms I enjoy (and take for granted), I can't imagine living this way.

It's easy to forget that women's rights are a new concept. American women have only been able to vote since 1920. Around the world huge numbers of women are legally marginalized, abused and brutally oppressed.

My friend Karen McLaughlin is an expert in the field of women's rights and violence against women and she's spoken all over the world on the topic. She is now Project Director for the Boston Trafficking Task Force.

Everyday Karen works on huge overwhelming problems with the faith that little by little, things can change. Without people like Karen who stick their necks out for change, we'd be nowhere.

Maps

I love maps. Here are some good ones.

The World Happiness Map
It's created by Adrian G. White, a psychologist at the University of Leicester who analyzed more than 100 different studies that queried 80,000 people worldwide on issues relating to health, wealth and access to education.

The US is the 23rd most happy country. The Danes are the most happy. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zimbabwe and Burundi are the least happy.

It's basically a map of access to money, education and health.

Google Traffic Map

This map shows the movement of single day's traffic on Google.

Flight Pattern Map

This is a map of how the FAA visualizes aircraft routes.

Girls

Just wanna have fun...



Rock on Jessica.

Marilyn reincarnated

Molly

I was named Maura at birth but right from the start everyone called me Molly.

I was nicknamed after my Aunt Molly. She's funny, she's strong and she has a heart of gold. I was always proud to be named after her.

When I moved from childhood to young adulthood, I got to know another Molly. She shared my Aunt Molly's qualities. But...truth be told, I didn't ever really know this Molly. But I felt like I did, because I always read everything she wrote.

Molly Ivins died on January 31st after a seven year struggle with breast cancer.

From her New York Times obituary:

"Molly Ivins, the liberal newspaper columnist who delighted in skewering politicians and interpreting, and mocking, her Texas culture, died yesterday in Austin."

After a stint at The New York Times Molly went to The Dallas Times Herald as a columnist...

When she declared of a congressman, “If his I.Q. slips any lower, we’ll have to water him twice a day,” many readers were appalled, and several advertisers boycotted the paper. In her defense, her editors rented billboards that read: “Molly Ivins Can’t Say That, Can She?” The slogan became the title of the first of her six books.

My friends Kate and Liz at Houghton Mifflin (my first job in media/publishing) gave me another one of her books Nothin' but Good Times Ahead. Here's the inscription:

From one Molly to another - This is one of those enlightened self-interest presents: Can I borrow it when you're done? Merry, merry etc. from big fans of both Mols -"

Naturally, I loved her book Shrub : The Short but Happy Political Life of George W. Bush and Bushwhacked: Life in George W. Bush's America. You see, Molly knew 'Dubya' in high school. She had him pegged early on.

I heard about Molly's death when I was in London. Bob sent me an email with a link to her obituary in the Times. I was sitting in the office surrounded by people I had only recently met. They didn't even know my name was Molly. They didn't know any of my Mollys. Tears streamed down my face. How could I explain?

When I got home, there was a letter from my Dad's wife, Hide, written in her impeccable, gorgeous Victorian script. She wrote, on the day after Molly's death:

"How very saddened your father would have been to learn of Molly Ivins' death. He so enjoyed her column; and because he sometimes failed to notice its seemingly random appearances [in the San Francisco Chronicle] I always made it a practice to scrutinize that section of our paper to make sure he never missed a word she'd written."

I remember mentioning Molly Ivins in passing to Dad once and he knew who she was, which didn't surprise me. Dad and I were cut from the same cloth. Hell, I am the cloth he cut. But it wasn't until Hide's letter that I knew he watched for her wonderful, insightful, witty and laugh out loud columns just like I did. How just like Hide to write me such a beautiful, insightful account of her thoughts when I most needed to hear them.
Later in her letter she expounded on my father...

"I know you, I and everyone who who knew and admired him can ever forget all he personified. That, in itself, is another of his legacies to us - simply because, in remembering him, we provide ourselves with a joy that can never fade or grow dim."

I couldn't possibly say it better. About Dad. About Molly Ivins. About all of us. We all have our signature selves...our views, personalities, souls, all of those elements that make us uniquely who we are in our lives...and that essence imbues the lives of those we love, and those who know us.

We are only passing through this world, but we leave our mark in the hearts and souls of everyone we touch.

Here are just a few things Molly Ivins wrote. She leaves all of it behind for us, forever...

"I believe that ignorance is the root of all evil. And that no one knows the truth."

"I have been attacked by Rush Limbaugh on the air, an experience somewhat akin to being gummed by a newt. It doesn't actually hurt, but it leaves you with slimy stuff on your ankle."

"If he gets even more sedate, we will have to water him twice a week. [Molly Ivins about then-President Ronald Reagan]"

"Next time I tell you someone from Texas should not be president of the United States, please pay attention."

[On George W. Bush (and George H. W. Bush)] "If you think his daddy had trouble with "the vision thing," wait till you meet this one."

from her last column, January 11, 2007: "We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war. Raise hell. Think of something to make the ridiculous look ridiculous. Make our troops know we're for them and trying to get them out of there."

Thanks Molly. I'll never forget you. I promise to keep raising hell.

Brilliant!

This is one of the many cups of tea I had during my trip to Glasgow and London last week. I have come away from the trip saying everything is "brilliant!" In the U.S. you would say "brilliant" every time you would otherwise say "awesome!"

Glasgow was chilly but welcoming. It's the Buffalo of the UK. A former industrial great, it's now in the midst of remaking itself. On one block, a church turned modern art museum. On the next, it's a bunch of drunken guys at a gambling joint placing bets on rugby matches.

We had a great time watching people on our first day. Unselfconscious, larger than life, we delighted in the Scots pushing the edge of some very funky fashion trends. We sipped cappucinos at a Starbucks that served Cheese and Marmite Paninis and watched the parade. I have tried Marmite. I did not attempt to eat it again.

I worked hard and got to know the wonderful people at WeeWorld better. I feel very blessed. I really love the company. And we're making some very cool stuff that will be launching soon...

Mid-week we were on to the posh district off Oxford Street where our London offices are located. Such a contrast. So cultured. So perfectly metropolitan. So civilized.
My new friend and co-worker Lexie took me out one night to a private club called The Hospital. I live in a really clubby town...I think I've covered that before. So it's saying a lot when I say that this is the first club I've ever been to, that I wanted to join.

The Hospital is a great concept founded by the Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart and Microsoft’s Paul Allen.

The seven-story building was, yes, once a hospital. It comprises (take a deep breath now) TV, film and recording studios, an art gallery, restaurant and private members’ club complete with three bars, a cinema, library, apartment and private dining room.

It's a private club for people involved in media and the arts. They screen movies and provide business networking for artists and creatives. They have writing groups, book clubs, film clubs, movie clubs, and host nights dedicated to everything from Salsa to legal issues around protecting your copyright to fashion and psychics.

Lexie took me to a Sake tasting. It turns out I like Junmai Daiginjo Akashi-tai the best. Who knew?