Perfection on wheels. Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano
Monday, October 13, 2008
My God, Gossip Girl is So Delicious...
Just finished watching it on CW channel. I watched most of the first season and missed a few this season. But still great. Will have to get the Season DVDs next year.
Beautiful cast, exquisite outfits ranging from very preppie to hipster, great trashy storyline. They had a girl fight scene on this episode. Reminded me of Dynasty. Very cool. This season, they are filming it on Columbia campus but calling it Yale. I guess Columbia (my alma mater) is not WASPy enough. True. I think that the only WASP Ivy left is probably Dartmouth, and maybe, Yale.
Chuck, the evil character was wearing an outfit like what I usually wear in the Fall: Thomas Pink dress shirt, Turnbull & Asser ascot, an Emporio Armani jacket, J. Lindbergh skinny trousers and Gucci chelsea boots for the Fall. Albeit, the character has a real trust fund, so everything he wore was probably a notch and a stich above: I'm guessing, Charvet shirt (heavy pastel pink), Hermes ascot (navy with paisley patterns) (I have 2), Brioni brown corduroy jacket, Hermes trousers (brick red) and John Lobb Tudor boots (tan bucksuede). Perfet. Only thing missing was round black frame art history professor glasses (which I have..from Robert Marc) for the full Italio-Ingles Medicci meets New England (dare I say, Byronic) affectation.
Beautiful cast, exquisite outfits ranging from very preppie to hipster, great trashy storyline. They had a girl fight scene on this episode. Reminded me of Dynasty. Very cool. This season, they are filming it on Columbia campus but calling it Yale. I guess Columbia (my alma mater) is not WASPy enough. True. I think that the only WASP Ivy left is probably Dartmouth, and maybe, Yale.
Chuck, the evil character was wearing an outfit like what I usually wear in the Fall: Thomas Pink dress shirt, Turnbull & Asser ascot, an Emporio Armani jacket, J. Lindbergh skinny trousers and Gucci chelsea boots for the Fall. Albeit, the character has a real trust fund, so everything he wore was probably a notch and a stich above: I'm guessing, Charvet shirt (heavy pastel pink), Hermes ascot (navy with paisley patterns) (I have 2), Brioni brown corduroy jacket, Hermes trousers (brick red) and John Lobb Tudor boots (tan bucksuede). Perfet. Only thing missing was round black frame art history professor glasses (which I have..from Robert Marc) for the full Italio-Ingles Medicci meets New England (dare I say, Byronic) affectation.
The Kindle-- by Amazon
I'm seriously considering buying it this month. It's an e-reader and it's been out for a year now. I first considered buying it last year. But I thought, "Fred, you already have books that you've bought that you've not read. Why buy it? Plus, books look nice on a bookshelf. You can stare at them as an aesthetic medidation piece when not reading and also, when people are over, they can look at the bookshelf and browse through them too. Physical books are a personal library and vanity piece."
But then, I recently realized that all I do is stare at the books and once in awhile take it to my sofa and read a few pages and it sits on my sofa. I also realized that I do a lot more reading now on my computer than I do actual books.
I have become very accustomed to writing on my computer and reading on my computer. I read a lot of news and blogs on the computer and I think that my reading speed actually is faster on the computer screen. I glide through the reading and retain the information. The computer screen now is like an ice skating rink for me as a reading platform. I'm faster in it.
Another trivial and probably a very farsical point is that I don't like the strain of keeping the pages open with my thumbs and index finger. It's work and after every 3 minutes my fingers hurt and I have to shift my fingers. To take this example even further, once I had a DVD that I rented from NetFlix on my sofa that I planned to watch. But as I clicked through my Movies on Demand list on my cable, I saw the same movie on the list and I was seriously considering watching it through cable ($4.95) because I didn't want to get off my sofa,open the envelope that the DVD came in and actually put the DVD in the DVD tray vs. just pressing a button 3 times on my cable remote in my Pompei lounge mode :(). I don't like to make effort unless it's for money, love, or knowledge.
OK. Now, the thing is that the Kindle costs $359 and here are the Pros. and the Cons.:
Pros:
1) As I mentioned, I think that I read faster and am even more prone to read on a screen (because it's easier for me now). My behavior has been modified over the past several years. Half or more of my visual intakes and processing is and has become, through a screen whether it be a computer or my flat screen HD TV. It's very comfortable;
2) Ergonomics: the digital ink (currently only black & white) looks pleasing to the eye; it has page marking, highlighting and underlining capabilities, and it's easy to turn the page forward or backward with a simple press of a large side button on either side and I can just hold the thing without any strains to my :) fingers;
3) Dictionary is embedded in the software. So I can lookup a definition with a click of a button. FYI-- When I was a serious reader, I used to have The Little Oxford English Dictionary next to me while I read. So that I can also learn new words while I read. I looked up every word that I didn't know right there and then. It was great. That was, to me, worth the effort. Knowledge!;
4) Font sizes can be adjusted. So when I feel fatigued, I can increase the size of the font, and that'll make me feel like I'm reading faster :);
5) I can download a new book from the Amazon store within less than a minute and the first chapter preview is free. There is no connection or monthly charge for the wireless access. It's included in the purchase price once (and forever). So you don't need a computer with it ever and there is NO shipping charge or wait time to get new books;
6) The electronic version of the books are cheaper than other versions due to the fact that publishers and amazon can bypass inventory or distribution costs. Most new hardcover books that retail for $25+ are only $9.99 (and comes with free set of Ginzu knives ;);
7) I can subscribe to various newspapers and periodicals if I so choose to and they are downloaded wirelessly every morning (or once a month if it's a periodical) while you sleep. Welcome to the 21st century!;
8) Kindle has long battery life (no need to recharge for at least a week) and can carry hundreds of books in it's paperback size footprint. So, if I want to stop reading one book and move onto a different genre/book, it automatically saves where I left off and returns me to where I was as I bounce from book to book. I'm one of those readers, when I read, depending on my moood that day or week, I switch from reading fiction to non-fiction and vis-a-verse. [Nomadic intellect or A.D.S.?];
9) I think that it looks kindda cool. Hospital white, paperback sized, qwerty keyboard with scroll wheels and it IS a revolutionary device. I can see it becoming a museum piece like the first iPod. Heirloom quality I think [just like the contents of my closet. Btw, I knew a guy who inherited a lot of his Bijon suits from his dad. Fckn sweet.]
Cons:
1) The price. $359 is not cheap. I'm gonna try to get one off Craigslist for cheaper. I tried eBay already. It's selling there for $360+. [I'm pennywise, poundfoolish-- jacket $600? Zegna? "That's a steal!" "What? these fish sticks are $1.99 for a dozen? Fck you hermano! :)] [FYI-- There's been conflicting rumors and reports that a new version may show up this month for the new Christmas season and may cost less as Amazon continues to penetrate the market, moving on from early adopters who are fine with paying premiums to more mass market consumers who are more price conscious. I hope that happens.];
2) Book selections are still somewhat limited. Not all Publishers have signed on. So things like the Loeb Classics and Penguin Classics which I adore are not yet available via Kindle. Amazon currently has 180,000 Kindle editions of traditional stock;
3) Similar to having to replace vinyl with CDs and DVDs with HD DVDs or Blu Ray nowadays, I may have to buy books that I may already have in an electronic version. That's optional. Btw, Kindle saves all of your books on their servers. So even if the Kindle breaks (it's sturdy though per the reviews) or is lost or stolen, your library is safe;
4) No color. Just black and white for now. The technology is not there yet. But is scheduled to be in 2 yrs. Doesn't matter to me though. It's just reading not porn (where I insist on color and HD quality.)
I think that the Pros. outweigh the Cons. and given how my visual intake behavior has changed over the past few years and it definitely has, I think that I will read again with this new platform. I miss reading books. Books seem to get deeper into me and lasts longer than film or video and I want/need that.
Btw, the name, Kindle, was inspired by the concept and myth of Fire given to us by Promethus (credit: to Pierce for correcting me on my first post. It was not Vulcan as I thought Jeff Bezos said in a Charlie Rose interview.)
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Corrections
I enjoy it, as a learning experience, when people from time to time, correct my facts, grammar, pronunciation, usage of vocabulary, or even, fashion. Through it all, now, the corrections have become rarer and rarer for me. Thanks to previous corrections.
As long as they dont correct me out of self righteousness or maliciousness and convey it in a diplomatic way, I feel like I'm better off knowing more than I did moments before. I THANK them!
But there are many people who find it offensive to be corrected in anyway. Through their embarrassment and lack of self esteem, they interpret corrections as mere attacks, no matter what. [note: I dont like people who are always criticizing others either. That's the flip side of the coin.]
I try to stay away from people like that. I find them weak.
A healthy ego and a strong mind should be able to handle any corrections or constructive criticisms. [and also, not to criticize all of the time.]
This also translates into one of my favorite aphorisms (from LaRochefocauld)-- "The weak can NOT be sincere." The 'weak' are always trying to hide their shortcomings. Actually, they never admit to nor, do they ever, confront their shortcomings. They are stuck and stagnant and they like it that way.
Hmmm... btw, how many times did the Sun rotate around the Earth today? Anybody?
As long as they dont correct me out of self righteousness or maliciousness and convey it in a diplomatic way, I feel like I'm better off knowing more than I did moments before. I THANK them!
But there are many people who find it offensive to be corrected in anyway. Through their embarrassment and lack of self esteem, they interpret corrections as mere attacks, no matter what. [note: I dont like people who are always criticizing others either. That's the flip side of the coin.]
I try to stay away from people like that. I find them weak.
A healthy ego and a strong mind should be able to handle any corrections or constructive criticisms. [and also, not to criticize all of the time.]
This also translates into one of my favorite aphorisms (from LaRochefocauld)-- "The weak can NOT be sincere." The 'weak' are always trying to hide their shortcomings. Actually, they never admit to nor, do they ever, confront their shortcomings. They are stuck and stagnant and they like it that way.
Hmmm... btw, how many times did the Sun rotate around the Earth today? Anybody?
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Basic Knowledge of History
To my mild surprise and disappointment, I confirmed that most people are ignorant of the most basic historical facts.
I was hanging out at Mercury last night, an early nite. [I left before the throngs beached themselves there.] One of my new favorite bartender Parker was there and he and I started on a conversation and ended up listing the American Presidents (separately) because the topic veered to American History.
I said to him that out of the 43 Presidents (including two termers) and excluding two termers, probably 38?, I can probably only list 20 of them. So, he and I jotted them down. Took about 15-20 mins.
I was able to, to my surprise, list 27 and he 22. I thought that anything more than 20 is pretty good relative to most people. Honestly, most of the 19th century after Andrew Jackson and after Lincoln was a blank in my mind.
We then decided to continue our line of conversation and decided to draw up some basic American History question and test it out on the staff there. Here's the list that we came up with. 8 questions. Again, basic, not esoteric and in terms of dates (years), we would allow a plus or minus 6 yrs.
1) Who were the 3 Axis powers in WWII?
2) When was the Civil War?
3) How many years did the American Revolutionary War last?
4) When was WWI?
5) How many countries sent a man to space? [Not entirely American History but close enough.]
6) Who was our 2nd President?
7) What were the 2 places that the Atomic bombs were dropped in WWII?
8) How many times does the Earth rotate around the Sun every year? [OK. I threw in a Science question].
I thought that these were indeed very basic questions that anybody who graduated from High School should know. But no one there except Parker and Darrin, the manager (who came close) got all of the answers right. Some of the (wrong) answers given:
1) Russia
2) Late 1700s
3) 1776
4) Late 1800s
5) Two
6) Thomas Jefferson
7) There were two?
8) Earth rotates around the Sun 4 times a year; Sun rotates around the Earth and Earth rotates around Mercury.
[I would actually like to ask these questions to Sarah Palin. I'm sure that there would be some great Tina Fey moments from it.]
In any case, even for me, I didnt know the answers to some of these questions after college. But I knew that I should know them. Not because it effects my life in any direct way. But because basic questions should be known by all educated people and that we are better decision makers by knowing facts, contexts, and outcomes from the past. These reference points dont dictate but can guide our decision making. So that we know the pitfalls and the hazards of actions that went before us vs. simply using 'common sense' in a vacuum.
This experiment just confirmed my belief that all opinions do NOT have equal weight and some opinions are actually better than others.
Nowadays, everyone thinks that their opinions matter just as much as anyone else's. But no. If you do not till and cultivate the soil from which your views sprout from, the fruits of those views can not be as ripe and fully formed as the ones based on curiosity, knowledge, and insights. Can anyone disagree with this?
FYI-- I naturally lose respect for people who do not have a basic knowledge of History and Science. [Of course, I suspect, that if one doesnt know the basics of History and Science, the rest, like Literauture, Art, Economics, Architecture, etc. would be quite a stretch. Their lack of curiosity is, to me, an indicator of potential fallacies in their opinions and to a certain degree, their lack of curiosity seems shameful. Think George W.]
However, this doesn't necessarily mean that curiosity makes me smarter either. But it does mean that I am more curious about some basic facts and pursuit of knowledge in general. It also doesnt mean that I dont enjoy being around people who I like (like the Mercury staff). But it does mean that our conversations will have limits. In the end though, I'd rather be with people who are fun and good hearted people than Jeopardy geeks who are boring or cold intellectuals who have no hearts.
But again (I'm going in circles here... sure, why not), the people I enjoy the most are the curious ones with a big heart.
I was hanging out at Mercury last night, an early nite. [I left before the throngs beached themselves there.] One of my new favorite bartender Parker was there and he and I started on a conversation and ended up listing the American Presidents (separately) because the topic veered to American History.
I said to him that out of the 43 Presidents (including two termers) and excluding two termers, probably 38?, I can probably only list 20 of them. So, he and I jotted them down. Took about 15-20 mins.
I was able to, to my surprise, list 27 and he 22. I thought that anything more than 20 is pretty good relative to most people. Honestly, most of the 19th century after Andrew Jackson and after Lincoln was a blank in my mind.
We then decided to continue our line of conversation and decided to draw up some basic American History question and test it out on the staff there. Here's the list that we came up with. 8 questions. Again, basic, not esoteric and in terms of dates (years), we would allow a plus or minus 6 yrs.
1) Who were the 3 Axis powers in WWII?
2) When was the Civil War?
3) How many years did the American Revolutionary War last?
4) When was WWI?
5) How many countries sent a man to space? [Not entirely American History but close enough.]
6) Who was our 2nd President?
7) What were the 2 places that the Atomic bombs were dropped in WWII?
8) How many times does the Earth rotate around the Sun every year? [OK. I threw in a Science question].
I thought that these were indeed very basic questions that anybody who graduated from High School should know. But no one there except Parker and Darrin, the manager (who came close) got all of the answers right. Some of the (wrong) answers given:
1) Russia
2) Late 1700s
3) 1776
4) Late 1800s
5) Two
6) Thomas Jefferson
7) There were two?
8) Earth rotates around the Sun 4 times a year; Sun rotates around the Earth and Earth rotates around Mercury.
[I would actually like to ask these questions to Sarah Palin. I'm sure that there would be some great Tina Fey moments from it.]
In any case, even for me, I didnt know the answers to some of these questions after college. But I knew that I should know them. Not because it effects my life in any direct way. But because basic questions should be known by all educated people and that we are better decision makers by knowing facts, contexts, and outcomes from the past. These reference points dont dictate but can guide our decision making. So that we know the pitfalls and the hazards of actions that went before us vs. simply using 'common sense' in a vacuum.
This experiment just confirmed my belief that all opinions do NOT have equal weight and some opinions are actually better than others.
Nowadays, everyone thinks that their opinions matter just as much as anyone else's. But no. If you do not till and cultivate the soil from which your views sprout from, the fruits of those views can not be as ripe and fully formed as the ones based on curiosity, knowledge, and insights. Can anyone disagree with this?
FYI-- I naturally lose respect for people who do not have a basic knowledge of History and Science. [Of course, I suspect, that if one doesnt know the basics of History and Science, the rest, like Literauture, Art, Economics, Architecture, etc. would be quite a stretch. Their lack of curiosity is, to me, an indicator of potential fallacies in their opinions and to a certain degree, their lack of curiosity seems shameful. Think George W.]
However, this doesn't necessarily mean that curiosity makes me smarter either. But it does mean that I am more curious about some basic facts and pursuit of knowledge in general. It also doesnt mean that I dont enjoy being around people who I like (like the Mercury staff). But it does mean that our conversations will have limits. In the end though, I'd rather be with people who are fun and good hearted people than Jeopardy geeks who are boring or cold intellectuals who have no hearts.
But again (I'm going in circles here... sure, why not), the people I enjoy the most are the curious ones with a big heart.
Friday, October 3, 2008
My Haircare Woman on the VP Debate
I just got my haircut. I love my haircutter. She's a beautiful mid-40s Greek woman. She's been cutting my hair to perfection every month for the past 8 years. I used to have one who did a great job as well but she was a big talker and she would take close to half an hour to cut my hair while she spoke on and on about some meaningless issues. I felt like I gave her money to give her therapy. The results were good. But it just took too god damn long. With Eva, my current haircutter, she does a better job and cuts my hair in 5- 10 mins. and she's a hot cougar. Very slender with a new boob job. I also like the fact that from time to time, she would take breaks from cutting my hair to answer her cellphone to talk to her friends. I find that kinnda funny and adorable. She's European afterall and she has that laid back European style. She reminds me of being at Mykonos where I had one of the most fun and relaxing vacations ever.
I've never ever had a problem with her except once when a few years ago, I brought my girlfriend at the time to wait behind us while she cut my hair. I introduced my gf to her and they quickly exchanged superficial greetings. Then Eva butchered my hair. My girlfriend was hot. Slim, blonde, blue eyes, beautiful face and young. So, Eva, took it out on my hair that day. My hair looked like a wet rat (short, spikey, uneven)and I swear I saw some small empty patches on the back when she showed me the hand mirror to examine the 360. I was alittle upset. But I also thought that it was kind of funny too. [I digressed.]
Anyway today, I asked her if she watched the VP debate last nite. She said yes. So, I said, "What did you think?" She said, "Nobody's going to vote for a black man." I was stunned but didn't show it. I wanted to play along and see where this is going. So, I said, "That's interesting. So you don't think we're ready for a black President yet hey? So maybe in a hundred years?" She said, "No, never." Mind you, there were other people (all women) next to me getting their hair done. But fortunately, the blow dryers were all going. So they drowned out much of Eva's comments. I continued to play along, "Well, if he does get elected, he'll probably get assasinated. So he won't be around for long." She replied, "I know. That's what my husband says too." Btw, let me point out that Eva is not a stupid woman. She's just not PC. Brutally honest. She's been in Manhattan for over 20 years and she and I agree on many things and she calls spade a spade. I really like that about her and her sense of style is impeccable. She looks great in one of her thousands of D&G and Cavalli outfits. A very good eye. That implies some un subpar judgement in my book.
I continued. "Did you like Palin?" She said,"Yes, she's cute. Did you see her wink? She's so cute." "Yeah, I did. She is cute." Then she says, "But she's against abortion." She follows up and says, "That's wrong. Women have the right to choose." I said, "Yeah, I know." Then she asks, "Both of them (Palin and Obama) are against gay marriage right?" I said, "Yes, but they will let the States decide." She says, "Oh." Then I asked her, "So, you're voting for Palin-McCain?" Given her previous comment on Barack, I knew she would say "yes."
She said, "No, she is against abortion. That's wrong." I say, "You're voting for Obama???" She said, "Yes."
I was dumbfounded! But I loved her logic. Quite circuitous. I found it adorable. I love European women. [Note: Some Americans, very rarely though, have European sensibilities and I love them too. But they are rare. Like a four leaf clover.]
I've never ever had a problem with her except once when a few years ago, I brought my girlfriend at the time to wait behind us while she cut my hair. I introduced my gf to her and they quickly exchanged superficial greetings. Then Eva butchered my hair. My girlfriend was hot. Slim, blonde, blue eyes, beautiful face and young. So, Eva, took it out on my hair that day. My hair looked like a wet rat (short, spikey, uneven)and I swear I saw some small empty patches on the back when she showed me the hand mirror to examine the 360. I was alittle upset. But I also thought that it was kind of funny too. [I digressed.]
Anyway today, I asked her if she watched the VP debate last nite. She said yes. So, I said, "What did you think?" She said, "Nobody's going to vote for a black man." I was stunned but didn't show it. I wanted to play along and see where this is going. So, I said, "That's interesting. So you don't think we're ready for a black President yet hey? So maybe in a hundred years?" She said, "No, never." Mind you, there were other people (all women) next to me getting their hair done. But fortunately, the blow dryers were all going. So they drowned out much of Eva's comments. I continued to play along, "Well, if he does get elected, he'll probably get assasinated. So he won't be around for long." She replied, "I know. That's what my husband says too." Btw, let me point out that Eva is not a stupid woman. She's just not PC. Brutally honest. She's been in Manhattan for over 20 years and she and I agree on many things and she calls spade a spade. I really like that about her and her sense of style is impeccable. She looks great in one of her thousands of D&G and Cavalli outfits. A very good eye. That implies some un subpar judgement in my book.
I continued. "Did you like Palin?" She said,"Yes, she's cute. Did you see her wink? She's so cute." "Yeah, I did. She is cute." Then she says, "But she's against abortion." She follows up and says, "That's wrong. Women have the right to choose." I said, "Yeah, I know." Then she asks, "Both of them (Palin and Obama) are against gay marriage right?" I said, "Yes, but they will let the States decide." She says, "Oh." Then I asked her, "So, you're voting for Palin-McCain?" Given her previous comment on Barack, I knew she would say "yes."
She said, "No, she is against abortion. That's wrong." I say, "You're voting for Obama???" She said, "Yes."
I was dumbfounded! But I loved her logic. Quite circuitous. I found it adorable. I love European women. [Note: Some Americans, very rarely though, have European sensibilities and I love them too. But they are rare. Like a four leaf clover.]
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