Monday, April 30, 2007
Sunday, April 29, 2007
tricyclemap
And if you're coming by tube, turn right when you come out of Kilburn (Jubilee line) tube, and it's about 5 minutes. Parking, should be plenty on a Sunday (although clearly better to leave your car at home given film topic etc). On 189, 16, 32 and 316 bus route.
See Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth for charity
So if you want to see the charity screening of An Inconvenient Truth, it's TODAY at 12.30 (for nibbles) and 1pm for the film. It's £12.50 including nibbles, and THERE ARE SOME TICKETS AVAILABLE ON THE DOOR, so do please turn up if you fancy it. Bookings on 020 7328 1000 (although not sure what time they open).
See you later:)
So if you want to see the charity screening of An Inconvenient Truth, it's TODAY at 12.30 (for nibbles) and 1pm for the film. It's £12.50 including nibbles, and THERE ARE SOME TICKETS AVAILABLE ON THE DOOR, so do please turn up if you fancy it. Bookings on 020 7328 1000 (although not sure what time they open).
See you later:)
Friday, April 27, 2007
Ooooh, maxi dresses are back this summer. Not that I remember then from first time around, but I totally subscribe to the view that mini skirts should not exist in sizes bigger than a size 12. I think if you (I) have slightly chubby legs, keep away from short skirts, leggings, and any combo thereof. Thus spake the un-fashion maven.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
That whole silliness about the Sainsbury's not-a-plastic bag? I mean, it's nice that Anya Hindmarch has done a brand extension etc etc, but I mean, changing hands for £500 on eBay? Maybe celebrity handbags have just gone too far.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Talk about dog-eat-dog; this is bank eat bank; RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland unveils a bid to buy ING, trumping the Barclays bid.
This reminds me of the time that I was involved in a small shul, and our "president" spent all his time on communal politics and forgot to organise Friday nught dinners and Purim parties and things that people like. Eventually, we disappeared...
In the meantime, I can't get my bank manager to call me back. See...
This reminds me of the time that I was involved in a small shul, and our "president" spent all his time on communal politics and forgot to organise Friday nught dinners and Purim parties and things that people like. Eventually, we disappeared...
In the meantime, I can't get my bank manager to call me back. See...
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Very superhero - a kryptonite-like mineral has been discovered in Serbia. Except it isn't green and doesn't sap your superpowers.
Friday, April 20, 2007
S just sent me this, to tell me that the BBC is scrapping the Heaven and Earth show.
I am upset. This is silly. How will Heart and Soul or Bangers and Mash or Shuls and Mosques or whatever duality based not-funky programme be better? I love Gloria. Why can't you just beef up what you've got.
I'm not resistant to change, honest.
I am upset. This is silly. How will Heart and Soul or Bangers and Mash or Shuls and Mosques or whatever duality based not-funky programme be better? I love Gloria. Why can't you just beef up what you've got.
I'm not resistant to change, honest.
A good friend of mine said to me that I have this whole property thing going on that I never blog about.
So here I am.
I love property. If it wasn't very embarassing, I'd definitely love to be an estate agent, and I can price any NW2/3/6/8 place at 95% accuracy and NW1/4/5/11/N2/N3 at about 75%. And there's one street in Finchley where I actually know the price of practically every house in the road.
All this a shortcut to say that my gut feel is that a houseprice crash is coming. I know the macro stuff (lack of supply, demographics, changing families (more divorces/single people etc) meaning increased demand) says no crash, but it seems to be that things are really crazily overpriced. I nearly moved the Finchey two and a half years ago, and the place has increased by almost 50% in that time. As I say, crazy.
Anyway, good market analysis and summary in today's Guardian, and if you have a largeish mortgage, I'd run and get the last fixed rate tomorrow.
So here I am.
I love property. If it wasn't very embarassing, I'd definitely love to be an estate agent, and I can price any NW2/3/6/8 place at 95% accuracy and NW1/4/5/11/N2/N3 at about 75%. And there's one street in Finchley where I actually know the price of practically every house in the road.
All this a shortcut to say that my gut feel is that a houseprice crash is coming. I know the macro stuff (lack of supply, demographics, changing families (more divorces/single people etc) meaning increased demand) says no crash, but it seems to be that things are really crazily overpriced. I nearly moved the Finchey two and a half years ago, and the place has increased by almost 50% in that time. As I say, crazy.
Anyway, good market analysis and summary in today's Guardian, and if you have a largeish mortgage, I'd run and get the last fixed rate tomorrow.
Every time I hear David Miliband referred to as a geek, a little corner of my European defunct IT mountain dies. Geek is good, OK? Take back the power.
Very disappointed to hear that the Spitz, that great, independent music venue in Spitalfields has been given notice to quit. I've seen great stuff there, from GhettoPlotz to OiVaVoi, and I'd hate to see it go. You can sign the petition here.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
See Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth for charity
So if you want to see the charity screening of An Inconvenient Truth, it's a week on Sunday. The movie got two oscars (best documentary feature and best original song (oddly)), but is no longer on general release.
This is a great opportunity to (a) see a movie about green things, (b) do something for charity, (c) go to the Tricyle which is my local cinema and has lovely pink seats, (d) get nibbles and (soft) drink included in the low price of £12.50.
You probably remember that I'm doing a humanitarian aid mission to Moldova (next door to Romania, and where my family came from over a hundred years ago) in May (although this now may be June).
Anyway, I'd love you to come, and to tell all your friends. And if you can't make it, but you'd still like to support my mission, then you can do so here. And if you already have, thank you (again).
So if you want to see the charity screening of An Inconvenient Truth, it's a week on Sunday. The movie got two oscars (best documentary feature and best original song (oddly)), but is no longer on general release.
This is a great opportunity to (a) see a movie about green things, (b) do something for charity, (c) go to the Tricyle which is my local cinema and has lovely pink seats, (d) get nibbles and (soft) drink included in the low price of £12.50.
You probably remember that I'm doing a humanitarian aid mission to Moldova (next door to Romania, and where my family came from over a hundred years ago) in May (although this now may be June).
Anyway, I'd love you to come, and to tell all your friends. And if you can't make it, but you'd still like to support my mission, then you can do so here. And if you already have, thank you (again).
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
I really really want some Moo notecards. They are both moo and notecardy.
While I don't totally understand the back-to-dead-tree business model, they look lovely and yummy and I like post anyway and I must get some now.
While I don't totally understand the back-to-dead-tree business model, they look lovely and yummy and I like post anyway and I must get some now.
I know that this is not everyone's idea of great news, but Google Spreadsheets has added charts. How cool is that. We're all about the thin computing here at Sashinka Towers.
Well, this is a whole new class of crime: wifi theft.
Interesting. I mean, first that the bloke put cardboard in his car windows but you could see the light from the laptop (early in the morning = dark), so clearly felt he was doing something wrong. Also, is this really a crime? If you don't put WEP on your wifi, then you're saying, come in and play. Granted, the telcos don't like it because they want more people to pay.
Interesting. I mean, first that the bloke put cardboard in his car windows but you could see the light from the laptop (early in the morning = dark), so clearly felt he was doing something wrong. Also, is this really a crime? If you don't put WEP on your wifi, then you're saying, come in and play. Granted, the telcos don't like it because they want more people to pay.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
rainbow babe
I don't know if this is a sad thing or not.
I took this photo nearly two years ago - I remember the exact sunny day, walking from Kilburn to West Hampstead - and this was some nice rainbow graffiti at the top of Mill Lane in some community garden project.
The sun just caught my hair and even on my camphone I looked like I had a rainbow growing out of my head, which is a look I have been trying to achieve ever since.
Anyway, this morning, striding up Mill Lane, iPod in-ear, in my own little world, I walk past, and look out for the familiar, friendly graffiti.
And it's gone.
That whole section of wall has been painted over, a new and shiny white (ripe for the local graffiti artists, I can tell you, YBS, whoever they may be will doubtless get there first (aside, I always think s/he works for the Yorkshire Building Society)). Blank. Bare - although as I say, I'm sure not for long.
I feel a nostalgia. I think this might be my favourite photo ever, that I've taken. And I always felt like it was a bit like a blog post; off-the-cuff, on-the-run. I (hardly) ever go back and improve or correct blog posts, but I know I could, and I think I felt like I could go back and get the photo again, better, if I wanted to.
But now I can't.
Things change, I know. One can be too...attached to things. It is, after all, only graffiti and some would say better painted over. And worse things happen.
But, y'know.
I took this photo nearly two years ago - I remember the exact sunny day, walking from Kilburn to West Hampstead - and this was some nice rainbow graffiti at the top of Mill Lane in some community garden project.
The sun just caught my hair and even on my camphone I looked like I had a rainbow growing out of my head, which is a look I have been trying to achieve ever since.
Anyway, this morning, striding up Mill Lane, iPod in-ear, in my own little world, I walk past, and look out for the familiar, friendly graffiti.
And it's gone.
That whole section of wall has been painted over, a new and shiny white (ripe for the local graffiti artists, I can tell you, YBS, whoever they may be will doubtless get there first (aside, I always think s/he works for the Yorkshire Building Society)). Blank. Bare - although as I say, I'm sure not for long.
I feel a nostalgia. I think this might be my favourite photo ever, that I've taken. And I always felt like it was a bit like a blog post; off-the-cuff, on-the-run. I (hardly) ever go back and improve or correct blog posts, but I know I could, and I think I felt like I could go back and get the photo again, better, if I wanted to.
But now I can't.
Things change, I know. One can be too...attached to things. It is, after all, only graffiti and some would say better painted over. And worse things happen.
But, y'know.
It's a well-know-fact that everyone would be more efficient if they just read more how-to-be-efficient books and wrote more lists than they know what to do with.
The strange thing about the "productivity industry" is that the more time you spend immersing yourself in it, the less time you have to actually do stuff. Weird, innit?
Once, I had a client who was very GTD-enabled (getting things done, it's a cult, I tell ya), and he spent most of his time in meetings moving things on his PDA from his "for me to do" list to his "waiting for someone else to get back to me" list. I mean, it seemed odd, but he was remarkably effective, if a little Aspergic.
Anyway, without wasting further time, I give you The Top 50 productivity blogs.
The strange thing about the "productivity industry" is that the more time you spend immersing yourself in it, the less time you have to actually do stuff. Weird, innit?
Once, I had a client who was very GTD-enabled (getting things done, it's a cult, I tell ya), and he spent most of his time in meetings moving things on his PDA from his "for me to do" list to his "waiting for someone else to get back to me" list. I mean, it seemed odd, but he was remarkably effective, if a little Aspergic.
Anyway, without wasting further time, I give you The Top 50 productivity blogs.
Thanks to S, who I suspect off the back of my Neve Tzedek photos sent me this link - Urban Curators. I'm one. Aren't we all? Decay is my middle name.
Monday, April 16, 2007
So I really only joined Facebook because I wanted to promote my Inconvenient Truth screening (which is a week on Sunday, if you want to come...). Honest. I got a very cute email from someone not so down-with-the-kids, but thoughtful, nonetheless, saying "had I heard about Foxbook, it would be a really good place to put my movie thing".
So I signed up. And then, in the last two weeks, I've become slightly addicted to it. Partly, because I have a slightly addictive personality (I'm guessing) and partly because... well, I don't totally know why. I mean, the people I know in real life I know, and the people I vaguely know I run into at parties, and the people I don't know, I don't know.
But now, I know what my 19 year old cousin is doing at university, and when people are very status-enabled (ie they change their status all the time) I know how they feel and what they're doing and everything.
And the wall thing. I went on Facebook and saw that two of my friends had left me really public messages. Nice stuff, how are you, let's have coffee. But still, I don't know how I feel, living my life in public. (You may think this silly, given that I've been blogging for more than five years and some would say that I totally live my life in public, but... it's different. Really.)
So I'm a natural networker (people tell me), although since I got my PVR I've spent a lot of quality time with my TV, and since I'm a little bit of a geek, I like the systemetising of it all, and of course it's a stalker's dream (if I were so inclined), but I've spent a lot of time there, and I don't even know why.
People keep asking me how many friends I have. On facebook.
And then I joined LinkedIn. For years/months I got invites from people, and I thought what's this, and then I got the bug and I'm doing that, too.
In fact, I'm spending so much time on (online) social networking and web-two-point-nought that I'm not actually doing any work.
Must go out to lunch, now.
I have had a meeting this morning. And two conference calls.
So I signed up. And then, in the last two weeks, I've become slightly addicted to it. Partly, because I have a slightly addictive personality (I'm guessing) and partly because... well, I don't totally know why. I mean, the people I know in real life I know, and the people I vaguely know I run into at parties, and the people I don't know, I don't know.
But now, I know what my 19 year old cousin is doing at university, and when people are very status-enabled (ie they change their status all the time) I know how they feel and what they're doing and everything.
And the wall thing. I went on Facebook and saw that two of my friends had left me really public messages. Nice stuff, how are you, let's have coffee. But still, I don't know how I feel, living my life in public. (You may think this silly, given that I've been blogging for more than five years and some would say that I totally live my life in public, but... it's different. Really.)
So I'm a natural networker (people tell me), although since I got my PVR I've spent a lot of quality time with my TV, and since I'm a little bit of a geek, I like the systemetising of it all, and of course it's a stalker's dream (if I were so inclined), but I've spent a lot of time there, and I don't even know why.
People keep asking me how many friends I have. On facebook.
And then I joined LinkedIn. For years/months I got invites from people, and I thought what's this, and then I got the bug and I'm doing that, too.
In fact, I'm spending so much time on (online) social networking and web-two-point-nought that I'm not actually doing any work.
Must go out to lunch, now.
I have had a meeting this morning. And two conference calls.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
One thing I love about Sundays: the Heaven and Earth show. This week, a disputatious debate on The Secret (which sounds like second cousin's to Noel Edmonds' cosmic ordering), and The Telegraph's Andrew Pierce on the panel. I am like this far from calling him Monday (these things don't really work in text) to tell him that it's chutzpah, not hoooot-spar.
I saw this grafitti in Israel a couple of times, and then through the magic of google i discovered it's a progressive rock band - Odradek - and I've been listening to their stuff on myspace and I really like them.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Well, it's been one of those days. I am feeling slightly... hassled, I guess is the fairest thing to say.
A few things have happened:
- someone keyed my car. I have no idea who or when or even why. And it's hardly worth getting it repaired in the bodyshop because (a) I don't really approve of cars anyway, and (b) I live in Kilburn and someone will probably do it again.
- my flatmate's visitor (mistakenly) locked me into my house. Which was just extra hassle I didn't need, although all turned out fine, even if it did take me 30 minutes to work out what had happened.
- a big (personal) project I've been working on for months and months has to be postponed and I'm just disappointed.
- I was going out for lunch tomorrow, and then it turned out that one of the other guest's children is recovering from shingles and I decided not to go. Could be me over-reacting, but I've got too much on and don't fancy getting sick, if I can avoid it.
Other things, too. But tired. At least I have one House left on my PVR.
A few things have happened:
- someone keyed my car. I have no idea who or when or even why. And it's hardly worth getting it repaired in the bodyshop because (a) I don't really approve of cars anyway, and (b) I live in Kilburn and someone will probably do it again.
- my flatmate's visitor (mistakenly) locked me into my house. Which was just extra hassle I didn't need, although all turned out fine, even if it did take me 30 minutes to work out what had happened.
- a big (personal) project I've been working on for months and months has to be postponed and I'm just disappointed.
- I was going out for lunch tomorrow, and then it turned out that one of the other guest's children is recovering from shingles and I decided not to go. Could be me over-reacting, but I've got too much on and don't fancy getting sick, if I can avoid it.
Other things, too. But tired. At least I have one House left on my PVR.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Great Guardian piece on Mimi Ito's flickr stream on bento boxes. The pictures are perfect: great fusion/vegan food, too.
Interesting, too, that she calls her Flickr stream a blog. What a blog is has changed.
Interesting, too, that she calls her Flickr stream a blog. What a blog is has changed.
You know I'm going to Moldova in May? I heard Crossing Continents on Radio 4 this morning (you can listen again here), and it was about Moldova. Poorest country in Europe and a third of adults have left home to leave their children to grow up alone.
I'm back, I'm back, I'm back.
I know I was a little short on words/long on pictures for the last ten days, but hey, I was on holiday. So if you sent me email, I might not have got to it, either.
I had a lovely time, which I will write about at some point. Let's just say I ate a lot of matzah.
Four squillion things to do now I'm back in the saddle, but Mike pointed me to this piece on Unreliable Witness, which had me properly falling off my chair. I am a little bit in love with UW, shy as he may be.
Have a nice day. What have you been up to, Easterly speaking?
I know I was a little short on words/long on pictures for the last ten days, but hey, I was on holiday. So if you sent me email, I might not have got to it, either.
I had a lovely time, which I will write about at some point. Let's just say I ate a lot of matzah.
Four squillion things to do now I'm back in the saddle, but Mike pointed me to this piece on Unreliable Witness, which had me properly falling off my chair. I am a little bit in love with UW, shy as he may be.
Have a nice day. What have you been up to, Easterly speaking?
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
See Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth for charity
You probably remember that I'm doing a humanitarian aid mission to Moldova (next door to Romania, and where my family came from over a hundred years ago) in May.
I have a chunk of money to raise, and I'm doing it by organising a charity screening of An Inconvenient Truth. The movie got two oscars (best documentary feature and best original song (oddly)), but is no longer on general release.
So this is a great opportunity to (a) see a movie about green things, (b) do something for charity, (c) go to the Tricyle which is my local cinema and has lovely pink seats, (d) get nibbles and (soft) drink included in the low price of £12.50.
Anyway, I'd love you to come, and to tell all your friends. And if you can't make it, but you'd still like to support my mission, then you can do so here. And if you already have, thank you.
You probably remember that I'm doing a humanitarian aid mission to Moldova (next door to Romania, and where my family came from over a hundred years ago) in May.
I have a chunk of money to raise, and I'm doing it by organising a charity screening of An Inconvenient Truth. The movie got two oscars (best documentary feature and best original song (oddly)), but is no longer on general release.
So this is a great opportunity to (a) see a movie about green things, (b) do something for charity, (c) go to the Tricyle which is my local cinema and has lovely pink seats, (d) get nibbles and (soft) drink included in the low price of £12.50.
Anyway, I'd love you to come, and to tell all your friends. And if you can't make it, but you'd still like to support my mission, then you can do so here. And if you already have, thank you.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
DSC02289
This building was apparently the first hotel in Tel Aviv, now in a state of some disrepair, but apparently just been purchased to turn into "departments" (as a woman in a shop told me).
DSC02299
Whoever does the "am yisrael chai" (long live the people of israel) graffiti, really gets around.
DSC02324
This image totally catches the area of Neve Zedek in South Tel Aviv. The area was the first district of Tel Aviv to be built, maybe a hundred or so years ago, and was peopled by writers, intellectuals, artists. Now it's being rejuvenated, but some of the original inhabitants are still there: this captures the duality. Funky bar downstairs, older women with unattractive headcovering upstairs (who is waving to me, as you can see in the photo).
DSC02330
The empties from what must have been quite a serious seder: four (sacramental) glasses of wine, plus wine with the meal, times your whole family - equals a lot of recycling.
Friday, April 06, 2007
Monday, April 02, 2007
Because I am the number three search on google for coconut pyramid, and I realise many of my readers may never have seen these, er, delectable passover sweets (yeah, right), here's a pic from the market this morning.
DSC02172
So I had lovely mint tea (tea nana) with lunch, but sadly I was too late for the humous because humous is kitniot (pulses) and I'm ashkenazi and ashkenazim don't eat pulses on Passover (although I'm seriously considering becoming sefardi for this reason) and now we're in that twiighlight zone where it isn't pesach yet, but you have to eat pesach food, but not matzah.
Rules, rules.
Rules, rules.
nachman me'uman
It's a little known fact that I did my undergraduate dissertation on Nachman of Breslov (a chassidic rebbe of the nineteenth century), and you see this stickers everywhere: na, nach, nachma, nachman me'uman (from Uman).
DSC02147
This is the view from my window.
I can see the sea. The sea! I never use exclamation marks (I don't, really, approve of them), but I have a childish joy in seeing the sea.
Tel Aviv is kinda like Manchester, but with a beach. This is not so bad. My nephews are very confused, though: they know they're on holiday, but they keep seeing people from CHeadle because the whole of Cheadle feels like it's in Israel, and nearly all of them are staying at our hotel. "Look, it's that man from shul," they keep saying.
I can see the sea. The sea! I never use exclamation marks (I don't, really, approve of them), but I have a childish joy in seeing the sea.
Tel Aviv is kinda like Manchester, but with a beach. This is not so bad. My nephews are very confused, though: they know they're on holiday, but they keep seeing people from CHeadle because the whole of Cheadle feels like it's in Israel, and nearly all of them are staying at our hotel. "Look, it's that man from shul," they keep saying.
bathr's duties
Of course there are bathr's duties. Life is about rights and responsibilities.
I am stoping myself from going out to get the domain name bathr.com. It's a web2.0 startup, bathing meets social networking. It's gonna be a winner. I'm talking to VCs.
I am stoping myself from going out to get the domain name bathr.com. It's a web2.0 startup, bathing meets social networking. It's gonna be a winner. I'm talking to VCs.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
India Knight's thoughtful piece in today's Times about suing bloggers.
In other news, I am here in Israel, land of great service, slightly damp mediterranean weather, moderately shouty, demanding people, my family and unspeakably expensive wifi access.
I am home (ish).
In other news, I am here in Israel, land of great service, slightly damp mediterranean weather, moderately shouty, demanding people, my family and unspeakably expensive wifi access.
I am home (ish).
Crack of dawn. I'm off to Israel. For pesach. I've sold my chometz, cleaned my fridge, packed my (not insubstantial) bag and ordered a taxi for 6.50.
A charter from Stansted - you think they have wifi?
If I don't see/speak to you before; chag kasher v'same'ach. Have a lovely seder(s).
A charter from Stansted - you think they have wifi?
If I don't see/speak to you before; chag kasher v'same'ach. Have a lovely seder(s).
DSC02114
More Romanian Jews at Haifa.
Afterwards, the guy working the exhibit told me I'm not supposed to take pictures, but he could see I was crying, and he let me carry on.
Afterwards, the guy working the exhibit told me I'm not supposed to take pictures, but he could see I was crying, and he let me carry on.
While I was in NY, the conference I was at was oddly (beshert?) held at the Jewish Heritage Museum, and they had an exhibit of Ruth Gruber photos.
This is Romanian Jews greeting each other at Haifa in 1951. Looking at this photo really made my cry.
Maybe because my family once-a-long-time-ago came from Romania/Moldova, although my great-grandfather's siblings' families, we don't really know anything about, so I don't know what happened to them during the war. Once branch apparently went to Argentina, and I've tried to find them.
Maybe it's because a couple of years ago I was priveleged to meet Ruth Gruber(who is now 97 but honestly only looked about 63 when I met her) and I sat at her feet, spellbound listening to her stories.
Or maybe it was the jetlag catching up with me.
This is Romanian Jews greeting each other at Haifa in 1951. Looking at this photo really made my cry.
Maybe because my family once-a-long-time-ago came from Romania/Moldova, although my great-grandfather's siblings' families, we don't really know anything about, so I don't know what happened to them during the war. Once branch apparently went to Argentina, and I've tried to find them.
Maybe it's because a couple of years ago I was priveleged to meet Ruth Gruber(who is now 97 but honestly only looked about 63 when I met her) and I sat at her feet, spellbound listening to her stories.
Or maybe it was the jetlag catching up with me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
