I will admit – I am a goal junkie. It's borderline problematic as I am a bit too enthusiastic about creating outcomes I can measure, and sigh…. picking a deadline that inspires me to rattle and roll.
Imagine a day of complete and utter failure. Every goal missed. Every attempt thwarted. Can you count this one as a success?
I believe yes, if you have appropriately tuned your definition of success.
To me, success lives at the intersection of authenticity, purpose, and contribution. It's the YES! when I can audit my outcome and know that I made a meaningful impact to the vision by stretching myself, challenging the status quo, and giving the best I have to offer without compromising my spirit.
And "tuning" your success radar is more than pretty descriptive words that intellectualize the concept. It requires that we drop this definition into our heart and soul; feeling it deeply. That we are inspired by the intent & fulfilled by the effort. If these two conditions exist, the outcome is whipped cream and a cherry.
I am not excusing poor results. I am simply suggesting that there is more to success than results. If we have truly aligned our efforts with our passion and talent, the results come. However, we are successful because we lived & worked from a place of authenticity, courageous effort, and a willingness to try again even when facing the sword of failure.
PS… In a world that launches fireworks for first place and gives everyone a snow cone win or lose, taking time to teach our children the true definition of success has never been more important.
Seems harmless enough, yes? And anxiety (or fear or depression or any other feeling that drains your energy) is not bad. There is no shame in a racing heart or heaviness of mood. In fact, if we believe that the world moves in harmonized order, we accept that day is followed by night and winter follows summer & fall. If we believe that the universe modulates itself; gently flowing across a continuum of expressions, we can trust that our own emotional continuum is as natural as the movement of the planets.
Darkness in our life is a great teacher; giving us the sacred opportunity to turn inward to quiet space & deep knowing so that we may see again the magnificence of what we cannot intellectualize. So that we may, perhaps even because we've run out of options, trust the divine.
In the moment, we experience life. We feel sadness, joy, impatience, peace. And then that moment passes, and we are presented with a new moment in which we can be fully present or we can stay locked in the past. When we stay locked, our bodies are alone in the present moment because our minds are still reliving what has already ended.
Thoughts are sticky. It takes intention to clear our minds of what was to make room for what is. Negative emotions are even stickier. They love to cling & grasp to your consciousness. They can become so familiar that we develop a relationship with them; hence labeling something as "MY anxiety." And when we claim it as ours, it becomes part of us in a permanent, deeply integrated way.
See the difference between: "I am currently feeling sad" versus "My depression is rearing its head." I believe we should welcome a full rainbow of emotions; learning from each one, feeling life deeply, and being willing to honor the light and the dark. This is wholehearted living. Just stay awake to what you identify as part of your DNA. Let the impermanent be impermanent & celebrate the natural ebb and flow of your life.
This week, my son asked my daughter if he could borrow one of her pencils. Not just any pencil but a mechanical pencil from her arsenal of coveted writing utensils that she purchased with her own money. This resulted in a narrowing of the eyes and a sharp breath. Dead silence.
Then, the slow release of an exhale followed by one simple syllable: No. Crestfallen, my son's eyes welled. The pleading ensued; matched by equally convincing stonewalling.
In steps Switzerland (aka: mom). I prompted them to consider that, in every moment, we are building character habits. It's not enough to want to be someone who shares freely – we must actually do it even when its hard. It's not enough to want to be resilient – we must actually persevere even when we feel defeated. It's never about the mechanical pencil.
What is your mechanical pencil? Is there something or someone you covet so strongly that you compromise your character for it? Your "something" might be the need to be right (ouch), the need for control, or even your fear of failure. Or, it might be as simple as an ego-feed object (think designer boots, luxury cars, big homes). It could even be stress. What?
If you find yourself talking about how busy you always are or how crazy your schedule is (this conversation is always concluded with a sigh), then perhaps you are addicted to your story of stress. And this is your mechanical pencil.
Let me explain. If the qualities you desire to envelope your life are peace & joy, this story of stress is competing against your character. What are you choosing? Just look at what you are talking about. Are you talking about how you are creating more peace and joy or how crazy your life is?
If you desire to live a life blanketed in your faith, do your actions and words line up? If you desire to make a difference in the lives of kids & your gift is writing, are you writing that children's book or is fear holding you back?
Our modern world loves to distract us, and we all have our personal Goliaths lurking everywhere. Instead of blindfolding ourselves in their presence, conceding to their strength based on their intimidating size, or worse yet, befriending them, can we all see that the choice we make in these moments have a compounding result? That it is more than a decision about a mechanical pencil – it is a choice of character.
How did the pencil story end? I'd like to say she had her own AHA after my profound guidance. But alas, no. She promptly opened our junk drawer, pulled out a nub of a #2 pencil with broken lead & no eraser, handed it to her brother, and walked out of the room. Better than nothing, but not exactly what my motherly idealism hoped for. And in this moment, I get choose: My parenting "value" of believing in my kids to create their own learning as they are ready or my need to control. What will I choose? And what will you choose when it counts?
Did you know that within you exists more wisdom than you could ever imagine? That you have all tools you need to live a life about which you are both proud and excited; one of meaningful impact where you embody your core values in each moment, connect deeply with the present, and experience true, enduring peace. All the while living in our nutty, hectic world in the midst of people and situations that continuously beg you to take the bait of stress, worry, and negativity? All the while achieving goals, completing lists, and generally holding down the fort?
The gap between where you are and the possibility of that reality may seem vast, but I want you to consider the gap as your own personal quest. This is the most important work we do in our lives: moving towards truth & stepping into our most enlightened, peaceful, happy, fulfilled state.
You argue: How selfish! The work I do on "ME" cannot possibly be the most important. I have children to raise, a spouse to love, a community to save, a job to do! And yet, consider: If you are stressed out, wadded up, worried, and exhausted; just how effective are you with the people you love the most and the work to which you are dedicated? Put on your oxygen mask.
So, let's get back to the secret door. Through this door, you can access the wisdom for wholehearted living that exists in you. You were not put on this planet without the tools to thrive. You just have to learn how to find them and live them.
Begin to turn the knob and enter through the door; thus beginning a whole new quest in your life. Don't expect it to be easy or fast! This is gradual, cumulative work for most of us; not a bolt of lightening. (If it was that – we'd all take the hit once and live happily ever after). This is work that starts with a decision. This is work that demands you learn to tame your wild mind and step into your intuitive wisdom. This is the work that recreates itself each day with new challenges and new opportunities.
Don't miss the opportunity to take this quest! The quality of your life depends on it!
Did anybody else just have a childhood flashback of your mom saying "enough is enough" after you failed to heed her "gentle" guidance for the 4th time?
We all have habits that are so deeply grooved that even though we know they have surpassed their welcome, we repeat. And then we repeat again. All the while we know it's hurting us, our lives, our careers, and the companies we work for. It's time to say to ourselves: Enough Is Enough.
Think you don't have any? Here's a short list of examples I see leaders exhibit with obsessive clinging.
1) Failing to make the time to prioritize your day so your actions actually bear the fruit of DESIRED RESULTS & PROGRESS.
2) Checking emails every 5 minutes as if you are an on-call ER doc.
3) Getting so caught up in the daily fires that we forget to develop our people.
4) "Skipping" our own professional development opportunities like training.
5) Reacting and allowing stress to poison our day.
6) Ignoring signs of poor processes, client distress, or building chaos.
8) Making excuses & justifying versus uncovering, auditing, and improving.
9) Going weeks on end without looking at your strategic plan, vision, and goals.
10) Entering conversations and meetings without an intention and desired outcome.
I could go on but 10 seems like a good place to stop.
No one could make an argument that these behaviors have a positive upside. And yet, most of us repeatedly fall into these habits from time to time and have one or two that grip us so deeply that they show up daily.
All of us know that in order to be our most amazing self and to accomplish our big, wild dreams, we must say goodbye to the habits that undermine our performance and relationships.
Most of us have been "trying" to kick one or more of these habits without success for a long time. But the reality is, until the pain becomes greater than the status quo – which typically means we got fired, demoted, or screwed up big time – or until we make a conscious decision that ENOUGH IS ENOUGH and proactively transform our habits… we will never shed the old skin.
Choosing the right path – the self-aware, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, "I'm 100% committed to being AWESOME"path is much easier than getting forced into it because the pain became too great. And the choice is in front of each of us right now. We all know the negative habits we cling to, and we all know that replacing them with something more powerful is 1) totally available to us, and 2) takes awareness, practice, and effort.
Try as we might, we cannot control the world external to us. We can; however, make decisive and conscious choices about how we choose to respond. And within that choice is magic. It is the difference between accepting and rejecting; flowing and resisting; embracing and repelling. And while the blame game soothes the ego, the reality is that consciously choosing to see events as opportunities versus obstacles dictates our success.
Here's a great blog post by a friend who has just waved her own wand and redefined her life. Enjoy!
I'm not sure about you, but I know very few people who personally embrace quiet time with any discipline. However, it is in these moments that ideas hit, brilliance percolates, and solutions come screeching out of nowhere.
When we are taking info IN, we are recyling other's thoughts & weaving their opinions through our minds. This is not OUR wisdom – it is their's. Thus, while a big fan of education & learning, there is a fine line between input that creates true growth & input that prohibits you from hearing your own wisdom. We all know people who are so full of other people's wisdom that it's impossible to know what they actually believe. "Tony Robbins' said this….," "John Maxwell recommends…," "Napoleon Hill believes…." Great. And the world is flat.
When we are DOING, our minds are active & engaged, but because most of what we do is similar to what we have done in the past, we are recycling our own thoughts & further grooving our beliefs of the "AS IS" into our minds. Thus, we repeat the same patterns, sit in the same chair in meetings, have the same conversations with the same people. And we try to solve the same problems with the same thinking we've used for the last 5 years.
We have all witnessed a leader who has tried tirelessly to address an age old problem, and a role change happens, and bam! The new leader immediately solves it. This isn't because one is smarter than the other. It's simply because one is thinking in a new way.
How do you stop the INPUT? Shut everything off & sit focusing on your breath. As your mind wanders, bring it back to your breath. If you want to get up and DO something, notice that & continue to sit. If your mind starts making lists of tasks, notice that and return your focus to your breath. Call it centering, meditation, or just boring yourself, it is in these times of silence that quantum stuff happens. I promise you, you will notice a marked improvement in the quality of your thinking immediately & you will be shocked that you sustain this more creative, empowering, wise thinking for a period of time.
If you base your DOING on the foundation of your time spent "BEING," your results will go through the roof. DOING is the root of all movement but BEING is the root of all advancement. But it takes discipline & a conscious choice to build space into your day. Especially when those around you don't get it. But trust me, the fact that you "get it" will serve you well.
People always ask me how long they should "sit." Here's my INPUT (aka: my wisdom for your consideration – not blind adoption). 23 Minutes / 1 Time per Day. Twice a day is fabulous. Why 23? There is some research that shows 20 minutes is a significant marker in meditation as time is needed for our brain chemistry to shift. 23 for me because it takes me 3 minutes to simply talk myself out of springing back up & into action. Many "sources" recommend 30 minutes. If you have 5 minutes – take it. You can shift your state & calm your mind with 90 seconds of intentional breathing.
My last piece of advice? This is easy in theory & difficult in practice. It forces you to surpass very conditioned patterns of behavior like ceaseless activity & circular mind chatter. 28 days to form a habit. If you are going to test drive this, commit to at least a month of daily boredom.


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Addis Ababa Extraordinary Congress (2018)
NOTE: Sep. 20, 2018. Preliminary verison of page.
On September 3-7, 2018, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) held its first substantive Extraorindary Congress in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The primary purpose of the Congress was to adopt amendments to the acts of the UPU to add eight seats to the Postal Operations Council and revise the rules for election to that council. These changes will take effect in the Postal Operations Council elected by the 2020 Côte d'Ivoire Congress.
Documents of the Extraordinary Congress
Proposals. The proposals submitted to the Congress (as of Sep. 20, 2018).
Documents. All Congress documents (as of Sep. 20, 2018). Document 12 includes decisions of the Congress other than changes to the acts of the UPU.
Reports. Minutes of the meetings (as of Sep. 20, 2018).
Draft Acts. The draft acts of the Extraordinary Congress (as of Sep. 20, 2018).
Selected videos from the Extraordinary Congress
Excerpts from the official video of the UPU Extraordinary Congress. Complete videos are available from UN Web TV at: http://webtv.un.org/meetings-events/conferencessummits/ universal-postal-union-upu-second-extraordinary-congress-3-7-september-2018-addis-ababa-ethiopia. Selections and explanatory titles by James I. Campbell Jr.
Proposals 04 and 11. 48 minutes. Thursday, Sep. 6, 2018, morning session. The debate on Proposals 04 and 11, instructions to the Postal Operations Council regarding the preparation of the "Integrted Remuneration Plan," a proposal on remuneration provisions to be considered at the 2020 Côte d'Ivoire Congress and implementation beginning in 2022. The final version of Proposal 11 as amended in set out as Resolution C6/2018 in Document 12, above.
Norway proposal on reservations. 22 minutes. Thursday, Sep. 6, 2018, morning session. The debate on the Norwegian proposal to relax restrictions on reservations to certain provisions in the UPU Convention.
US statement on Presidential Memorandum. 2 minutes. Friday, Sep. 7, 2018, afternoon session. US closing statement on the Presidential Memorandum and future work at the UPU.
Entry into force of the acts of the Extraordinary Congress. 18 minutes. Friday, Sep. 7, 2018, afternoon session. Discussion of the need for ratification or approval of the acts of the UPU before they are binding on a member country and the date for acts of the Extraordinary Congress to enter into force.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Thompson Square
Thompson Square Named Grand Marshal of Monster Energy NASCAR Series
Posted by Tawny Tucker on June 16, 2017 at 1:30 pm
Photo Credit: Country Music TAttle Tale
Thompson Square will serve as the Grand Marshal for the FireKeepers Casino 400 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series on June 18th at Michigan International Speedway.
The GRAMMY-nominated duo will participate in the pace laps as well as give the command of "Start your engines!" when the FireKeepers Casino 400 gets underway at 3 p.m. The FireKeepers Casino 400 will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1.
"We are honored to have Thompson Square give the command to start the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday," track President Rick Brenner said. "Thousands of fans are eagerly waiting to hear the starting command and see the race action at NASCAR's fastest track."
Thompson Square will return to Michigan International Speedway to perform on August 12. Fans can attend the Saturday concert in Turn 3 FREE with a Sunday admission ticket, MISCamping.com Infield or MISCamping.com APEX wristband.
Race fans who purchase early will have the best prices and the best seats. Children 12 and under are free on Fridays and Saturdays. On Sundays, tickets for children 12 and under start at $15. Children 12 and under can attend three days of NASCAR action for just $15, ensuring families a weekend of fun at affordable prices.
Visit mispeedway.com for tickets and camping information. To learn more about Thompson Square, visit: http://www.thompsonsquare.com
Thompson Square's Shawna Thompson Reveals Dramatic New Look
Bring it on summer! Shawna xoxo A post shared by thompson square (@thompsonsquare) on May…
Thompson Square Performs for US Troops
Friday (12/15/17) night, military members, veterans, and their families enjoyed the second-ever "Base*FEST Powered…
Jamie Lynn Spears Hosts Monster Energy's NASCAR Cup Web Series
v Award winning writing sensation, Jamie Lynn Spears, has teamed up with Monster Energy. As…
Thompson Square Parts Ways with BBR Music Group
Thompson Square have decided to step away from BBR Music Group's imprint, Stoney Creek Records,…
Tags: NASCAR, Thompson Square
Author: Tawny Tucker
The Band Perry Announce 2019 "The Good Life" North American Tour
George Strait to Re-Issue Limited-Edition "Strait Out of the Box: Part 1"
Alabama Announced for Induction Into Musicians Hall of Fame
Riley Green Celebrates First No. 1 with "There Was This Girl"
Eli Young Band Celebrates 4th Career #1, "Love Ain't"


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Harpers: "The Death of a Once Great City" on NYC & "All-powerful" Private Conservancies
ICYMI, Harpers in its July issue featured an article, The Death of a Once Great City: The fall of New York and the urban crisis of affluence. It is definitely worth reading, touches upon the privatization of oh-too-much of NYC, including our parks.
One sentence that stands out in the excellent article by Kevin Baker:
"Starting with Central Park in 1980, much of New York's park system has been handed over to privately funded 'conservancies,' supposedly subordinate to the city government but in truth all-powerful, and quite determined to put everything on a paying basis."
I like his placement of the word "conservancies" in quotes. Conservancy? Sounds so benign. What could go wrong? But, as he outlines (and there is much more that could be added to this), and as we know, so much. Sometimes the privatization, the private management of a public park, comes under the guise of not a conservancy, but a BID – Business Improvement District – like at Bryant Park. (Note: Washington Square Park is NOT privatized. See more below.*)
Why should our parks and public spaces be 'improving' business?
And Baker notes: "For the first time in its history, New York is, well, boring."
The decline of the subways is just the latest diminution of public life in New York. Over the past few decades, what used to be regarded as inviolable public space has been systematically rolled up and surrendered to unelected private authorities. Starting with Central Park in 1980, much of New York's park system has been handed over to privately funded "conservancies," supposedly subordinate to the city government but in truth all-powerful, and quite determined to put everything on a paying basis. A visit to the Central Park Zoo, once free, now costs $18 per adult, $13 per child. A "total experience" ticket for the world-renowned Bronx Zoo costs $36.95 for all "adults" over the age of twelve, $26.95 for younger children, and $31.95 for seniors—in a borough where the median yearly household income is $37,525. (Rental of a single-seat stroller at the zoo will cost you $10. A wheelchair is free but requires a $20 deposit, lest you try to scoot off with it.)
Even the streets are no longer fully under public control. Starting in 1984, New York created seventy-five "business improvement districts," more than any other city in the country—though BIDs are now common in nearly every one of the nation's largest metropolitan areas. BIDs are supposed to be self-taxing coalitions of businesses, often employing the homeless and destitute to pick up trash, prettify the streets, and organize security patrols. But as the New York Times reported, one of the very first New York BIDs instead "organized the workers into what were called 'goon squads' to use force to chase homeless people out of bank lobbies with A.T.M.s."
… "You say you're doing so much for the city, but you're making that money off the backs of the homeless," Tommy Washington, then a forty-one-year-old former BID worker and plaintiff pointed out. "You donate lampposts, flower beds, Bryant Park. How are you going to represent beautify if you're doing ugly behind that?"
Washington's question goes to the heart of the new New York, whom it's for, and what it means. Everywhere now, private institutions have largely taken over the neighborhoods around them, repurposing them solely to meet their own needs.
Too many people want to place a happy face on it all. It's post-Bloomberg. As someone writing a blog for the last ten years on some of these issues, frankly, it's weird. Maybe it's all bubbling under the surface. I hope so. I think so. We had 12 years of Michael Bloomberg. It was a lot to deal with.
"NYU partially re-created the facade of the Poe house. Quoth the raven: Fuck you."
The article continues:
Cooper Union may be the most egregious defacer of its own neighborhood, but it's far from the only one. New York University has torn down much of the historic West Village, including most of what was the landmark Provincetown Playhouse and a home that Edgar Allan Poe once lived in. (NYU partially re-created the facade of the Poe house. Quoth the raven: Fuck you.) Columbia University used (and abused) the power of eminent domain to kick out residents and small businesses at the western end of 125th Street, and is now stuffing that street with the huge, glassy, dreadful buildings of its new Manhattanville campus, courtesy of its own international vandal, sorry, starchitect, Renzo Piano.
This has become an accepted way of proceeding in New York, even for subsidized institutions that are supposed to serve a public purpose. Barclays Center at Atlantic Yards, in downtown Brooklyn, was sold to the public in an elaborate bait-and-switch scheme as part of a spectacular "urban utopia" complex to be designed by Frank Gehry. It ended up instead as an arena with all the charm of your basic bus terminal, home to an unwanted basketball team owned by a Russian oligarch. But then, as with any major New York development today, some form of deception is requisite. The Atlantic Yards scam was bankrolled with hundreds of millions in public funding—though the chicanery here is so involved that no one can even say for sure what the final public subsidy figures will be. The project includes at least $100 million forfeited when the MTA, which has a subterranean train-marshaling yard there, sold its lucrative aboveground rights to the site to the developer Forest City Ratner, which was the low bidder for them. Hundreds of local residents have already been relocated, and before the whole charade is over, thousands more may be displaced from their homes, dozens of longtime neighborhood businesses will have been shuttered, and community leaders will have been shamefully compromised with emoluments ranging from a luxury-box giveaway to an on-site basketball arena "meditation room." But in a brilliant piece of political legerdemain, no elected official was forced to actually vote for the project.
*An important note: Refreshingly, unlike its Manhattan park neighbors, Washington Square Park is NOT privatized, it is not run by a private entity, this is due to community vigilance. This public space continues to be run by NYC and its Parks Department. But there is a "conservancy" just itching to get in there. The privatizers do not like when there is a hold out.
The Death of a Once Great City: The fall of New York and the urban crisis of affluence Harpers
Photos of Bryant Park: Cathryn
My "Talking Point" in The Villager: Jane (Jacobs) and the death and life of a great American park
New Page: Impact of Private Influence & Conservancies on City Parks
Community Board 5 Asks City Council to Enforce Its Own Law Calling for "Increased Transparency" From "Public-Private" Partnerships
Woman Found Unconscious on Washington Square Park Bench Later Died
Report: NYPD Close Washington Square Park With *NSYNC Song "Bye Bye Bye"


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Home Universal Studios Hollywood CityWalk Hollywood L.A.'s Most Talented, Emerging Artists Perform at CityWalk's Free Outdoor Concert Series
L.A.'s Most Talented, Emerging Artists Perform at CityWalk's Free Outdoor Concert Series
Jon Fu
Universal City, CA—Southern California's leading up-and-coming musicians will bring down the house when Universal CityWalk celebrates "Spring Break Live," a free, outdoor concert series taking place on weekends from April 1 through May 7, 2011.
The series gears up on Friday nights with KIIS-FM's "Wango Tango Break Out Star" competition from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m., followed by the "Universal Music Showcase" from 9:00 – 10:00 p.m.
Beginning on April 1 and continuing on April 8, 15, 22 and 29 and May 6, KIIS-FM's "Wango Tango Break Out Star" will feature energetic undiscovered bands rocking to standing room only crowds. Judged by a panel of industry professionals and championed by online public voting, the acts will compete to win a coveted, performing spot at KIIS-FM's most anticipated Summer concert, Wango Tango, which headlines a slate of A-list talent every year.
The Friday night lineup transitions to the "Universal Music Showcase," highlighting emerging pop, hip hop and rock musicians recently signed to Universal Music Group. Among the artists slated to perform will be Mexican-American rapper Baby Bash, electro pop group HyperCrush and pop-rocker Andy Grammer, recently named one of Billboard Magazine's "10 Artists to Watch in 2011."
Saturday nights at Universal CityWalk will rock to a diverse group of rhythmic bands performing an array of music genres, from pop rock to the soulful sounds of a cappella. Two bands will perform nightly as follows: Latina-pop artist Jaqueline Grace and pop ensemble, My Hero (April 2), UCLA's student a cappella groups The Scattertones and Awaken (April 9), rockers A Living Daylight and Avenue 52 (April 16), urban artists The Inheritance and Darius Lux (April 23), USC's student a cappella ensemble The USC Sirens and The Trojan Men (April 30), and rockers Stereofix and Method Echo (May 7).
More information on "Spring Break Live," including a full performance schedule is available at www.CityWalkHollywood.com/SpringBreak.
Regular updates on Universal CityWalk can also be found on Twitter @CityWalkLA and Facebook.
Southern California's top entertainment, dining and shopping attraction, Universal CityWalk is a dynamic entertainment, dining and retail promenade that reflects the area's rich cultural diversity and has served as a prototype for the contemporary entertainment-retail destination. The iconic open-air leisure and nightlife complex offer's L.A.'s best movie-going experience and features a lively mix of dining choices, a collection of contemporary retail favorites, the Telemundo and Mun 2 network offices and production facilities and an exciting range of entertainment choices including mechanical bull-riding, iFly Indoor Skydiving and a variety of live music venues that help define it as "Always Unexpected."
Universal Studios Hollywoood's™ a unit of the Universal Parks & Resorts division of NBCUniversal. NBCUniversal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment television networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. Comcast Corporation owns a controlling 51% interest in NBCUniversal, with GE holding a 49% stake.
Wango Tango Break Out Star
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The CSS Shenandoah fired the last shot of the Civil War and was the only Confederate warship to circumnavigate the globe. But what was Captain James Waddell's true relationship with his Yankee prisoner Lillias Nichols and how did it determine the ship's final destination? Without orders, Waddell undertook a dangerous three month voyage through waters infested with enemy cruisers. He risked mutiny by a horrified crew who, having been declared pirates, could be hanged. This is the true story behind the cruise of the Shenandoah—one of secret love and blackmail—brought to light for the first time in 150 years.
Paul Williams has worked in the television and film industries as a writer, producer and director. He lives in Melbourne, Australia.
"Williams has crafted an intriguing sea saga…a rewarding tale of the sea, of the war and of the heart"—The Northern Mariner/Le marin du nord; "Paul's work is rich, full of detail, and engaging. His methodical research of the famed Confederate commerce raider will delight and inspire any enthusiast of Civil War naval history."—Matthew T. Eng, Naval Historical Foundation.


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May 9, 2022 Localization
Carrier Phase-Based Ranging in Indoor Multipath Channels
Indoor positioning is one of the core technologies behind the idea of Internet of Things (IoT). Some of the use cases are asset tracking and management, factory automation systems, virtual and augmented reality applications, social media relevance and precision marketing in shopping malls. Distances between wireless devices can be determined through various ranging techniques that were introduced in the big picture of localization. Among the candidates, phase based ranging is a low-cost and accurate method that can be implemented on cheap hardware and deployed in real scenarios with relative ease (even in the absence of synchronization among nodes). In this article, the phase slope method will be explained in detail.
The bane of almost all indoor localization techniques is the signal echoes arriving at the Rx from multiple paths. This multipath is a more serious challenge for localization than communication because we can always employ an equalizer to compensate for the channel impact in the latter case. In the former case, however, late arriving echoes significantly alter
the received amplitude for received signal strength measurements,
spread the peak of the correlation for time of flight, and
change the phase of each carrier through vector summation.
To solve the challenge a phase based ranging system must overcome in a multipath scenario, we need to understand the effect of this multipath channel on a time based ranging system.
In this setup, several echoes of the ranging signal are arriving at the Rx and distorting the original pulse shape which makes it difficult to identify the earliest arriving pulse for ranging purpose. The expression for the impulse response of a short term time-invariant channel is given as
\begin{equation}\label{eqMultipath}
h(t) = \sum_{i=0}^{L-1} \rho_i\cdot \delta (t-\tau_i)
where $L$ is the total number of multiple paths while $\rho_i$ and $\tau_i$ are the amplitude and delay of $i^{\text{th}}$ path, respectively.
To zoom into this cumulative outcome, we first delve into the role of bandwidth in a range measuring equipment because it determines the pulse rise time of our timing markers. This involves not only Tx and Rx filtering but also the frequency response of the frontend filters as well as of the multipath channel. For the sake of simplicity, we confine our discussion to the Tx and Rx filters.
Role of Bandwidth
As an example, the spectrum and time domain waveform for a Raised Cosine pulse shape that is most commonly used in digital communication systems are drawn in the figure below for rise time $T_R$ and excess bandwidth $\alpha=0.5$.
Observe that there is an inverse relationship between the pulse rise time and the bandwidth as
B = \frac{1+\alpha}{2T_R}
As the pulse gets narrow in time domain (a small $T_R$), the bandwidth $B$ expands in an inverse proportion.
As an approximation to derive a rule of thumb, we put $\alpha=0$ that corresponds to a rectangular spectrum.
B = \frac{1}{2T_R}
For instance, a range resolution of under a meter requires a timing resolution of $1\text{m}/(3\cdot 10^8 \text{m/s})$ $=$ $3.33$ ns. The required bandwidth then is given by
\begin{equation}\label{eqUWB}
B = \frac{1}{3.33~\text{ns}} = 300~ \text{MHz}
One implication of this relation is that for a low bandwidth signal, the pulse rise time $T_R$ is quite long which in isolation is not a problem. However, this becomes a significant challenge in a multipath channel where multipath components arrive at the Rx after being reflected from the nearby surfaces. This is shown in the figure below for a $3$-path channel whose impulse response is also drawn.
In indoor applications, a distance resolution of 1 m is often desired which translates to a time resolution of $3.33$ ns as seen above. However, the indoor paths can differ by several meters which implies that they can arrive as late as a few tens of nanoseconds. Let us see how it affects the range estimation process.
There are different techniques to detect the signal arrival time, some of which are transmitting a narrow pulse or achieve pulse compression through spreading the spectrum with the help of a discrete sequence or an increasing/decreasing chirp. In any case, in time based ranging systems, a cross-correlation between the received signal $r(t)$ and the expected signal $s(t)$ is computed at the Rx to determine the arrival time. This cross-correlation is defined as
y[n] = \sum \limits _{m = -\infty} ^{\infty} r[m] s^*[m-n]
The index $n$ determines the correlation output which marks a narrow peak in time. At $n=0$, i.e., when the received signal and the stored signal are in complete sync with each other in a single path environment, the output has a maximum value that is significantly larger than other values of $n$ due to the good correlation properties of the ranging signal.
In a multipath channel where the delay of the second arriving echo is on the order of the pulse rise time which is the case frequently encountered in indoor environments, their natural summation at the Rx antenna distorts the correlation output and makes it deviate from a single and clearly defined peak. This is shown in the figure below in terms of distance (and not time) where the channel consists of three paths:
a direct path with a length of $9$ m,
a second path with a length of $13$ m, and
a third path with a length of $15$ m.
It is clear from the figure that a high bandwidth pulse, which is narrow in time domain, has a higher resolution in time domain and all three paths can be differentiated in this case. On the other hand, the low bandwidth pulse has a low resolution in time and the summation of arriving echoes results in the peak moved to $15$ m. This induces a penalty of $6$ m in range estimation.
Phase Slope Method in a Single Path Environment
To combat interference and multipath in indoor channels, a number of difference continuous waves can be used and their results can be stitched together to form a precise range estimate. To understand this process, assume that we are operating in the $2.4$ GHz ISM band in a channel with a single direct path and utilize the available frequencies from $2.4$ GHz to $2.48$ GHz for a total bandwidth of $80$ MHz. This spectrum can be divided into $N=80$ subchannels with a frequency separation $\Delta_\text{F}$ $=$ $1$ MHz between them. The Tx sends a CW at each of these $80$ subchannels while the Rx downconverts and measures the phase for each such frequency. For a single path normalized amplitude environment and subchannel $k$ at carrier frequency $F_k$,
e^{j2\pi F_k t}*\delta (t-\tau) = e^{-j2\pi F_k \tau} e^{j2\pi F_k t}
where the phase term can be explicitly taken out. After taking the desired number of measurements for a direct path at a distance of $9.9$ m (a delay of $33$ ns), a plot of phase versus frequency is drawn in the figure below in the presence of AWGN only and no multipath. Also shown is a line fit that can be utilized to estimate the true range.
The original wrapped phase is drawn against frequency in the top figure.
A phase unwrapping algorithm can be employed to straighten this phase data. This unwrapped phase is plotted in the bottom figure for all subchannels and its slope can be extracted to measure the range, as explained next.
Let us see how the range can be estimated now. Similar to Eq (6) here, we can write
\Delta \theta_{\text{frac},F_k} = 2\pi\left(2R\frac{F_k}{c} + \text{constant}\right)
where the constant term arises instead of $n$ as it might not be the same for all frequencies. The time intervals between phase measurements must be constant and same at both nodes. Note that after phase unwrapping, the slope of the curve is still given by
\text{slope} = \frac{4\pi}{c}\cdot R
from which the range can be found as
R = \frac{c}{4\pi} \cdot \text{slope}
This is why it is known as the Phase Slope method. It is relatively costly to implement due to a number of back and forth transmissions (equal to the number of CWs employed) but it is very accurate due to the wider bandwidth employed. Next, we describe how the phase slope method deals with a multipath environment.
Phase Slope Method in a Multipath Environment
We start with the expression in Eq (\ref{eqMultipath}) for a multipath channel impulse response and see the outcome when a continuous wave or a complex sinusoid $e^{j2\pi F_k t}$ at a carrier frequency $F_k$ is injected into the channel. Being a linear time-invariant system, the result is the convolution between the signal and the channel impulse response.
r(t) &= e^{j2\pi F_k t} * h(t) = e^{j2\pi F_k t} * \sum_{i=0}^{L-1} \rho_i\cdot \delta (t-\tau_i) \\
&= \sum_{i=0}^{L-1} \rho_i e^{j2\pi F_k (t-\tau_i)} = \sum_{i=0}^{L-1} \rho_i e^{-j2\pi F_k \tau_i} e^{j2\pi F_k t} = a_k e^{j2\pi F_k t}
where $a_k$ is the complex gain of the $k{\text{th}}$ complex sinusoid at the Rx side that arises from the vector sum of the amplitudes and phases of the arriving echoes.
\begin{equation}\label{eqMultipathSum}
a_k = \sum_{i=0}^{L-1} \rho_i e^{-j2\pi F_k \tau_i}
We deduce that while each multipath copy of a complex sinusoid arrives with the same frequency $F_k$ but an amplitude $\rho_i$, its phase is also changed by an amount $-2\pi F_k\tau_i$. For example, for a single multipath copy arriving with amplitude $\rho_1$ at $\tau_1$ seconds after the direct path, this phase shift is illustrated in the figure below along with the direct path. The result for several multipath signals can be produced by extending the same concept, i.e., when many of these vectors are added for the same subcarrier frequency $F_k$, we get the channel coefficient for each $F_k$ as a vector sum of the channel taps.
From the above discussion, the phase information does not seem to get preserved. Let us first see how it changes and then draw a similar phase versus frequency plot as in the single path scenario but in a multipath environment. For a two path channel, Eq (\ref{eqMultipathSum}) can be written as
a_k = \sum_{i=0}^{L-1} \rho_i e^{-j2\pi F_k \tau_i} = \rho_1 e^{-j2\pi F_k \tau_1} + \rho_2 e^{-j2\pi F_k \tau_2}
The amplitude and phase of the result is given by
$$\begin{equation}
|a_k| &= \sqrt{\rho_1^2 + \rho_2^2 + 2\rho_1 \rho_2 \cos 2\pi F_k(\tau_2-\tau_1)} \\
\angle a_k &= \text{atan2}\: \left\{-\rho_1 \sin 2\pi F_k \tau_1 – \rho_2 \sin 2\pi F_k \tau_2,\rho_1 \cos 2\pi F_k \tau_1 + \rho_2 \cos 2\pi F_k \tau_2\right\}
\end{equation}\label{eqMagPhase}
Such a derivation can be extended to three or more path channels. As an example, we consider in the figure below the magnitude and phase responses of the output from a channel with an amplitude normalized direct path at $9.9$ m (a delay of $33$ ns) as before but with two additional paths with relative amplitudes $0.6$ and $0.8$ at distances of $20.1$ m and $36.3$ m, respectively. To closely observe the effect of the channel only, no thermal noise is added to the Rx signals.
To compute the range as before in the case of a single path channel, we need to unwrap the phase. Both the original wrapped and unwrapped phases are drawn in the figure below along with the same from a single path channel.
From the unwrapped phase in the bottom figure, one might think that estimating the range through the slope of the regression line will result in a large bias and this is why presence of multipath is detrimental to location estimation in indoor channels (a well-known book on wireless positioning makes this error). However, looking at the wrapped phase of top figure, it is clear that multipath only distorts the ranging result if taken over a limited set of frequencies. This is why the phase slope method was indeed required to improve upon the technique with just two carriers. For a wideband measurement system such as the one considered in this example, and owing to the vector sums shown earlier, some frequencies exhibit a positive error while some other frequencies show a negative error. A wide range of measurements tends to average out or smooth the results and hence quite accurate range estimation can be accomplished.
The presence of this error can be detected from the phase unwrapping jump that occurred due to the multipath at $2.425$ GHz in the above figure. Any such false wrap is harmful to this process due to the propagation of errors which affects all the subsequent phase measurements to the right and increases the slope of the regression line. The problem, therefore, lies with the accumulation of errors in the multipath induced phase jumps as well as subsequent unwrapping process and not the multipath itself. It should be noted that a similar error would have occurred for a wrong unwrap in an additive white Gaussian noise channel as well.
Now the $I$ and $Q$ data in this frequency domain can be taken back in time domain through an inverse Discrete Fourier Transform (iDFT) to locate the timings of the arriving echoes, provided that each such path is resolvable with enough spacing. A Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) and its inverse iDFT are implemented through Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) in which $N_\text{FFT}$ points are mapped from one domain to the other.
The total time span $T_{\text{max}}$ that is free of aliasing is given by the period of the lowest frequency, or $N$ $\times$ $\Delta$, and the Nyquist theorem according to which at least two samples are needed within each period of the waveform for perfect reconstruction.
\begin{equation}\label{eqTmax}
T_{\text{max}} = \frac{1}{2\Delta_\text{F}} = 0.5~\mu\text{s} \quad \rightarrow \quad 150~\text{m}
The time indices of the iFFT are therefore from $-0.5$ $\mu$s to $0.5$ $\mu$s, or $-150$ m to $150$ m. For a set of $N$ $=$ $80$ frequencies and increments $\Delta_\text{F}$ $=$ $1$ MHz, the total frequency span is $N$ $\times$ $\Delta_\text{F}$ $=$ $80$ MHz. Consequently, the time domain resolution $\Delta$ in discrete domain is
\Delta = \frac{1}{80\times 10^6} = 12.5 ~\text{ns} \quad \rightarrow \quad 3.75~\text{m}
Since the path differences in our example channel are greater than this resolution, we should be able to distinguish the three peaks. For a finer resolution, we can zero pad the phase data before the iFFT operation which refines the resolution by a factor of $N/N_\text{FFT}$. For $N_\text{FFT}=2048$, we have
\Delta' = \Delta \times \frac{N}{N_\text{FFT}} = 0.49 ~\text{ns} \quad \rightarrow \quad 0.15~\text{m}
With such resolution, we can see the results of this operation in the figure below. The three paths are determined to be at $10.1$, $19.8$ and $36.3$ m. The first arriving path from an actual distance of $9.9$ m implies that there is a range error of $0.2$ m (or $0.69$ ns in terms of time). We conclude that for resolving the multiple paths, the inverse of the frequency span should be less than the difference between the arrival times of the echoes.
Notice from the magnitude plot before that different subchannels are weighted differently according to the channel response for the time domain signal generated from the iFFT of the I/Q data that determines the range between the devices. Another option we have is to eliminate this weighting and instead just allocate a normalized amplitude of 1 to all subchannels to focus on the phase only, i.e., the following signal is taken into the time domain through an iFFT.
X[k] = 1\cdot e^{j \angle a_k}
where $\angle a_k$ are the phase angles only from Eq (\ref{eqMagPhase}) and shown earlier in the phase plot. The resultant time domain signal is drawn in the figure below that corresponds to equal weighting to all the subchannels and ignores the multipath effect as far as the magnitudes are concerned. This approach is also helpful for estimating range by utilizing commercial off-the-shelf wireless devices that give the user access to the phase values only through a Phase Measurement Unit (PMU) such as ATMEL AT86RF215 by Microchip Technology.
Yet another option is to combine different frequency pairs and estimate multiple sets of ranges that can be input to a more advanced filter for reducing the error.
InterpolationTimestamps
Channel Estimation in Wireless Communication
Carrier and Clock Synchronization in MSK Signals
There and Back Again: Time of Flight Ranging between Two Wireless Nodes
The Big Picture of Localization
Location Estimation through Differential Phase Difference of Arrival


text:
Kim Isenberg
Realty Executives Associates
Oak Ridge Tennessee
Less than 25 miles from Downtown Knoxville is Oak Ridge Tennessee. Once known as the "Secret City", this town has a very unique history. It was constructed by the US Government during World War II as the site of the Manhattan Project, and the world's first atomic weapons were constructed here.
The City is home to Melton Hill Lake recognized as the home of the Oak Ridge rowing course. Melton Hill Lake has miles of shoreline for boating, fishing, and rowing. Melton Lake Greenway is one of the city's 12 greenways. It runs along the western shore of Melton Hill Lake for folks to enjoy scenic & outdoor activities.
Oak Ridge is also home to 16 beautiful parks that are strategically located throughout the City to be within one-half mile of each residential area. The city is also known for it's top-rated schools, parks, athletic fields, close proximity to The Great Smoky Mountains National Park & it's strong historical significance to our country.
Oak Ridge Tennessee Properties
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Like last week, I'm going to wait till I've rewatched it (probably tomorrow) but at the moment I'm thinking probably 4 as well. I liked most of it, and I thought the Fantastic Voyage trope was used infinitely better than in The Invisible Enemy.
Can't quite make up my mind. Still don't like the miniaturization idea, and Fantastic Voyage was being ripped off quite shamelessly, without Raquel Welch as a redeeming feature. Still don't like the idea of a Dalek questioning itself in principle, though I don't think it was as bad as Dalek. and at points raised some interesting ideas. Still not convinced by Peter Capaldi and I think he needs to find his own pace (which probably needs a different kind of story, arguably a two-episode story). I'll give it a three because I think there were some good ideas in there. I can see why some might like it more and some might like it less.
After a second viewing I gave it a 4. It's grown on me a little more, but not to a 5 level. I actually liked the use of the miniaturisation, and I don't mind occasional questioning of the Daleks' absolute evil - as long as they don't change too much in the long run.
I loved it! Space battles, exploding Daleks, cool special effects - my kind of show! And I really liked Peter Capaldi's performance as well. Danny Pink seems like he's going to be an interesting character; I'm looking forward to his first journey aboard the TARDIS.
My first thought, when seeing this was: "Gee, another Dalek-turns-good story. How original." and, while it was still hardly original and it was still a good, fun action-fest, while not amazing.


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Home 153-19 Jamaica Avenue
153-19 Jamaica Avenue
The Kira Affordable Housing Project Debuts at 153-19 Jamaica Avenue in Jamaica, Queens
7:30 am on September 24, 2022 By Sebastian Morris
Construction is complete on The Kira, a 139-unit affordable and supportive housing project at 153-19 Jamaica Avenue in Jamaica, Queens. Designed by GF55 Partners and developed by New Destiny Housing, BFC Partners, and SMJ Development, the 21-story mixed-use building houses a mix of rental apartments, a 5,000-square-foot retail space on the ground floor, and on-site supportive services.
Affordable Housing Lottery Launches for The Kira at 153-19 Jamaica Avenue in Jamaica, Queens
7:00 am on October 14, 2021 By Vanessa Londono
The affordable housing lottery has launched for The Kira, a 21-story mixed-use building at 153-19 Jamaica Avenue in downtown Jamaica, Queens. Designed by GF55 Architects and developed by SMJ Development with BFC Partners and New Destiny Housing, the structure yields 69 residences and 6,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space. Available on NYC Housing Connect are 69 units for residents at 80 percent of the area median income (AMI), ranging in eligible income from $57,326 to $85,920.
Renderings Revealed for High-Rise Affordable Housing at 153-19 Jamaica Avenue, Jamaica, Queens
7:00 am on August 14, 2018 By Andrew Nelson
A new 21-story high-rise is expected to come to Jamaica, as reported by YIMBY yesterday. This is not uncommon for the Queens neighborhood, but 153-19 Jamaica Avenue will be different, and today we have the first renderings for the building. BFC Partners has told YIMBY that all 139 units of the project will let at affordable housing rates. The facilities will also include supportive facilities, managed by New Destiny Housing.
Permits Filed for 153-19 Jamaica Avenue, Jamaica, Queens
Permits have been filed for a 21-story mixed-use high-rise at 153-19 Jamaica Avenue, in Jamaica, Queens. The neighborhood has seen a spike in new development since the city announced an action plan to stimulate the local economy. The site is two blocks away from the Jamaica Center subway station, serviced by the E, J, and Z trains. Brooklyn-based BFC Partners will be responsible for the development. The firm is most notable for being part of the joint ventures responsible for the redevelopment of the Bedford Union Armory and Essex Crossing.


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Social and Aesthetic Totality within Contemporary Photography
Constantine, George Simon (2015) Social and Aesthetic Totality within Contemporary Photography. PhD thesis, University of Leeds.
GS Constantine_PhD Redacted.pdf - Final eThesis - redacted (pdf)
Restricted until 1 December 2035.
This thesis examines how the concepts of social and aesthetic totality are addressed within contemporary photographic practice. More specifically, it uses a historical materialist methodology to consider the types of social totality and aesthetic 'totalization' which underpin four photographic projects: Zoe Leonard's Analogue, Edward Burtynsky's Container Ports, Allan Sekula's Fish Story and David Goldblatt's South African Intersections. I argue that, in different ways, each of these works critically reinvestigate certain aesthetic debates and intellectual problems which surround the (once-derided) Marxian claim that art can 'represent' or 'think' 'capitalism as a whole'. However, rather than suggesting that they revive classical Marxist tropes, measuring them against a 'model' of totalization or claiming that they adopt a Marxist 'stance', I treat them as differentially articulated contributions to the aforementioned debates; that is, as works which 'speak back' to Marxist conceptions of totality by bringing their stakes and aporias to the fore. In short, this thesis considers how Leonard, Burtynsky, Sekula and Goldblatt might help us to re-think the concepts of social and aesthetic totality in the present social, artistic and theoretical conjuncture. To this end, a dialogue is staged between the aforementioned photographic practices and three contested aspects of Marx's understanding of totality. The first chapter discusses Leonard's images of consumer goods and Burtynsky's photographs of shipping containers in relation to Marx's claim that the commodity is the economic 'cell form' of capitalist society. It considers how – through the relationship between photographer and photographed 'object' – they (indirectly) interrogate the aesthetic undercurrents of Marx's argument, its ambivalent materialism, the forms of totalizing (or de-totalizing) subjectivity which it suggests and its claim to extrapolate from the commodity to the whole. The second chapter addresses Sekula's Fish Story, a work directly informed by Marx's Capital and the Grundrisse, in relation to Marx's suggestion that the totality can be known through 'the force of abstraction'. Sekula's understanding of the relationship between photography and abstraction is addressed, as is the work's interrogation of Marx's various theories of abstraction and its account of the capital cycle. The third chapter argues that David Goldblatt's South African intersections calls Marx's topographical (or base-superstructure) understanding of totality into question. I show how – in contrast to various other forms of contemporary 'political' art, yet through a mode of political-photographic engagement – it re-thinks a concept which remained under-developed in Marx's work (yet became crucial to subsequent debates): 'political superstructure'.
Totality, Photography, Marx, Marxism, Abstraction, Contemporary Art
Dr George Simon Constantine


The Bell in Hand is spread over 6,000 square feet and 2 floors. We are an ideal venue for your next event, offering your guests historic charm with a cool vibe. The exposed brick, traditional wood interiors, and abundant windows combine for a comfortable space that your guests are sure to enjoy. Whether you're planning an intimate event or a large corporate gathering, we have four unique areas that can accommodate parties from 20 – 496, with private and semi-private options. We offer creative bar food, 24 different beers on draft, and specialty cocktails. And, because we're just steps away from Quincy Market, there's validated parking available right next door.
You can count on our experienced staff to take care of all the details from booking DJ, bands, as well as offering support for corporate meetings, including microphones and an in-house video system that can be used for presentations or to display your logo, so you can get down to business.
So if you're looking for a spot that can offer your guests a truly memorable Bostonian experience, look no further – ring us at the Bell in Hand today, so we can get your party started.
Are you interested in ordering food?
Our first floor features two distinct rooms with three full service bars.
Our second floor, with two distinct rooms, overlooks city hall plaza and is perfect space for cocktail parties and corporate celebrations. The ambience, city experience, and ease of transportation makes this area a highly sought after event destination.


After a long day of running down the road you start looking for a place to park your truck for the night. Today we've decided to tell you about the best places for drivers to have rest.
The largest truck stop in the world is Iowa 80 and might be the best place for truckers for a rest. It has a parking place for 900 trucks with 15 fuel stations. Here you can also find a service center for diagnostics, repair, oil change and tire rotation. The washing service is also available (for the engines as well).
If you want to buy something there's a huge two-story store where you can buy all that you can wish for.
If you are hungry there are lots of food services – from salad bars to home-cooked dishes – a real foodie heaven.
Among other facilities are shower and toilet rooms, a lounge area with leather chairs and a fireplace, a cinema, a hairdresser's and even the dentist's office and what is the most surprising – a chiropractic clinic.
Gas stations – to fill up the tanks.
Six restaurants where different meals to any taste are served.
A motel – 300 rooms are available, if you want to stay overnight.
A small entertainment park called Pedroland – with a small golf-course, an arcade, an observation wheel and a carousel. You can also visit a reptile exhibition here.
Shops – to buy souvenirs and other stuff you need.
And the most interesting thing – here you can go to an observation tower. The deck is made in the shape of a sombrero and the height is about 60m.
There is even a song where South of the Border is mentioned – Moonjock by Animal Collective.
If you are tired after a long driving or you just want to stop and have a bite Jubitz Travel Center is for you.
It is located in Portland, Oregon. The main facilities are – a parking place for 300 vehicles, 9 fuel lanes and diesel pumps, a 24-hour shop with all necessary stuff, restaurants with different dishes and even a small cinema for 80 viewers. Here you can also find a lounge area with leather chairs to relax in or you can play pool, watch TV and enjoy live music at the weekend.


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British rural voters 'ignored' by Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak
Neither of the candidates for leadership of the Conservative party has made a convincing pitch to rural voters, despite that demographic being one of the biggest sources of Tory power, the head of the UK's biggest rural business organisation said.
Mark Tufnell, president of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), which represents about 30,000 landowners and rural businesses, said Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak had done too little to show how they would boost the countryside economy and deal with pressing concerns such as planning, rural broadband, and farm support.
"I don't think either candidate really understands what is happening in the countryside, and what the real issues are," Tufnell said. "Both of them have said nice things about farms. But there is no understanding of what is actually happening in the countryside. They have not said much about it."
He warned that the failure could cost the party at the next general election. "They assume that we [in the countryside] vote Conservative, and that they don't really need to worry about us. But they should," he said.
At the 2019 election 46% of voters in rural counties voted Conservative and only 29% voted for Labour. But polling conducted by the CLA before Boris Johnson's resignation found a sizeable swing of about 7.5% from the Tories to Labour, putting the two main parties neck and neck in some rural areas.
The Liberal Democrats are also making inroads, with strong local election showings and the capture of the formerly safe blue seat of Tiverton and Honiton in the June by-election.
"[The Tories] have taken countryside voters for granted," said Tufnell. "They've shown a lack of interest."
While Truss and Sunak have sought to reassure farmers during their campaigns, Tufnell pointed out that the bulk of countryside voters and businesses were not farmers.
Farming accounts for only about 4% of the rural economy, and 7% of rural jobs are farming related. About 85% of rural businesses are not related to farming or forestry, and while 12 million people of voting age live in rural areas of the UK there are only about 100,000 farmers.
For rural businesses outside farming key issues include connectivity, since rural broadband and mobile phone access lags far behind that available in urban areas, and planning regulations, as many businesses chafe against some planning rules. The CLA has also said that a lack of affordable rural housing is stifling growth.
Both Truss and Sunak have promised to retain or tighten planning laws. Sunak promised no building on green belt land and Truss vowed to drop house-building targets. Each would restrict the building of solar farms and onshore wind farms.
Tufnell is also concerned that the new Tory leader could bow to pressure from some on the right wing of the party and dismantle reforms to farm support payments, which are being gradually introduced.
Unlike the EU system of payment for the amount of land farmed, under environmental land management contracts (ELMs) farmers will be paid "public money for providing public goods". In return for the subsidies they will be asked to nurture soils, plant trees, improve water management, protect wildlife, and take other measures that help to clean the air and water, and safeguard nature.
The National Farmers' Union has spoken out against the reforms, arguing that at a time of rising food prices the focus should switch to supporting farmers to grow more food. Tufnell, whose 28,000 members own about half the land in England and Wales, urged Sunak and Truss to stay with existing policy and give farmers stability.
Tufnell, who owns and manages a mostly arable farm in the Cotswolds, and is a Conservative party member, said: "It's a false argument, that you need to stop ELMs to grow more food, you can do both. Without clean air and water and nurtured soils you can't produce food anyway. And if you're taking money from the public purse you should show a benefit to the public.
"ELMs are world beating, they are very forward thinking. They are the way the rest of the world will go eventually, but at a slower pace."
Both candidates represented rural constituencies, Tufnell noted, Truss in east Anglia and Sunak in Yorkshire, but he said their policy ideas had focused on towns and cities. "The main focus still remains on the metropolitan and urban areas. There is a lack of focus on the countryside."
Even the drought, which has scorched pasture and left crops dying in the fields to the despair of farmers across the Midlands, and south and east of England in particular, had failed to elicit much response, he added. "I'm not sure how much notice either of them has taken of the drought – they have just been running round the country."
Tufnell called for the winner of the leadership election to install a "proper rural champion" in Downing Street who would advocate for policies reflecting the needs of rural Britain.
The CLA has estimated that investing in the countryside to bring the key infrastructure in rural areas – such as housing, transport, communications and technology – into line with that in towns and cities would improve the UK's economic productivity by £43bn.
"There is a lack of infrastructure that is holding the countryside back," said Tufnell. "There is enormous potential, but it needs political focus."
← Tory-run Thurrock council faces inquiry over 'exceptional' debt levels
Greenpeace places boulders on seabed to protect most heavily fished "Marine Protected Area" →


Whoever said April was the cruelest month just hasn't been in Paris for the past 30 days. Not a peep of complaint about the absolutely fabulous weather we've been enjoying. But that doesn't preclude plenty of concern about the possibility of a very hot summer this year. According to news reports not only is this is likely to have been France's warmest April on record, but also there are predictably bad repercussions if the trend continues. "Ce n'est pas normal," the shopped-out ladies are starting to say at the metro station as they fan themselves with a copy of Madame Figaro. In the parks everyone is enjoying the sun and light breezes, but in closer spaces they are fanning themselves to keep cool.
Fanning oneself to lower the body temperature is a human activity that has probably existed since those scruffy guys were scribbling on the walls of the Lascaux caves. Maybe even before that, but of course it was much cooler then. In the meantime the French have, naturally, mastered the fine art of fanning.
With this warm weather, one fashion accessory that is much in evidence in Paris is the folding fan. Most spots in Paris are not air conditioned, so a fan comes in handy when temperatures rise. Normally I never leave the apartment without my folding umbrella. These days, I don't leave home without my folding fan. I've always loved fans -- so you might say I'm a fan fan. I bought my small pale green little paper fan for 2 euros at a Chinese shop on rue des Archives. Actually at those prices I bought 5 in assorted colors and gave them to friends and houseguests. But as with umbrellas, I imagine I'll be prone to losing fans as well, so I thought it might be good to have an assortment. And better to buy now before the next canicule (heat wave) arrives. When that happens the prices can skyrocket -- even for the cheap ones -- if you can find fans at all.
My favorite fans in the affordable price range came from the boutique of the Hotel des Invalides. from 5 euros to 17 euros for pretty printed fans with historic motifs.
Presented shut: do you love me?
In a bright little boutique on Rue de Rennes yesterday. It has been warm in Paris but the interior of this place was stifling. Why? Because of the preponderance of halogen lights, which make you feel like you're inside an Easy-Bake Oven. Brings new meaning to the term "sweat shop."
Ah, why the halogen lights? Bien sur, in France, electricity is very expensive. And halogen lights use less electricity for the candle-watts they put out, if I'm using the right terms. That is why all apartment buildings have minuterie in their hallways: regular incandescent light bulbs on three-minute timers. In France, I think, ever since there has been electricity there has been a notion of thrift with energy consumption. I've always loved the fact that France was naturally "green," in so many ways.
Now, right when the planet is warming up too much, it seems as though some places or people in France are just not getting the concept. Back in the Easy-Bake Boutique, we ask the sales girl how she can stand it all day. "Oh, ça va," she says, "we are going to install la clim bientôt."
1. We want to cut down on electrical consumption.
2. We install halogen lighting.
3. This makes our store (or office or home) much hotter.
I haven't checked at BHV, but surely Cool Fluorescent light bulbs exist in France? Or maybe I'll check at Monoprix, where the heat from their halogen lighting was driving people out of the main floor in droves.
Sometimes life just isn't all that funny. Sometimes you need a little entertainment. Here are a few of my favorite links that keep me smiling or guffawing when there's not enough chocolate in the cupboard.
www.dilbertblog.typepad.com Scott Adams's thoughts on just about everything.
www.dooce.com Heather Armstrong of Dooce fame. Funny from right down to the kneecaps.
Unofficial and official Steve Martin websites. Nuff said.
www.thenewyorker.com Just a good all-around resource.
www.theonion.com You don't know the Onion yet?
www.borowitzreport.com Irreverance at its best.
www.improb.com The Annals of Improbable Research, and home to the IgNobel Awards. Makes you laugh and then you think. Plan to spend about 5 days on this site if you've never been there before. A gold mine.
http://www.ddbparis.fr/ddb.html French advertising company with many hilarious sketches. MTV and Friskies are among my favorites.
http://www.petitsriens.com/bonus.html Stephane Rubin acts out all of those annoying Parisian pet peeves to a perfect art.
Chevaucher, in French, means to straddle. Literally to be astride a horse. And that sums me up.
Am I a writer or a blogger? Well obviously all bloggers are writers, but not all writers are bloggers. A technician or a wordsmith? These days, it's almost de rigueur to be both. But it's not easy.
On the one hand, there is my mother's generation, many of whom are hard-pressed to find the "on" button for the monitor. (Sorry, Mom!) During a recent visit to my mother's retirement community in South Carolina I was told by several of her friends that they finally just gave up on "that computer thing" because it was just getting too complicated. Understandably so. They want to be able to get emails from their children, open photo attachments, and that's about it. And it's become too confusing for them.
On the other side is my kids' generation, college-age kids who don't really blog much but speed their way through Facebook and texting, and are completely bilingual in English and Internet. Incapable of explaining what it is they are actually doing, much the way you couldn't explain exactly HOW you are riding your bike while you're doing it.
So that leaves mommy-in-the-middle here. Precious few of my contemporaries have blogs. One year ago I had no idea how to write in a blog. Some of you would argue that I still don't, but you may go sit underneath that pigeonnier in the 14th arrondissement. I moved to Paris to experience the ethereal City of Light and now find myself not only caught up in the befuddling world of French paperasse, new systems and so forth, but then when I turn to my comforting link to "home" and my blog, I have a bewildering array of technological terms and techniques that I wasn't prepared to have to learn. I'm soldiering through them, but it takes time and patience, and sometimes cold hard cash. Those lucky, wonderful geeks are not cheap to hire.
This will come as a shock to some computer-savvy folks, but many of my friends don't even understand Skype. As a concept. These are smart, college-educated baby boomers who are still grappling with uploading digital camera images instead of getting the prints at the store. They are whiz kids in their own right, but just not about Internet technology. They keep it on a need-to-know basis. We are a generation that still calls our friends when we're in the airport of their home town, even if we are now calling from our cell phones. It's just in the conditioned reflexes.
Bloggers see the blogoshpere as the world of the future, yet it is when Petite Anglaise gets her two book deals -- printed-on-paper books -- that we all sigh with envy. So I may be straddling two worlds, but we all are to a certain extent.
Look, I may need reading glasses to write my pathetic little blog, but many of my friends think that I am amazingly technically with it. I am not kidding. They say things like "Oh, I'll have to read your website. What's your call name?" Oh, that Polly, she's so adventurous, so daring. She's got a blog!
Then in the blogosphere world, I am a Luddite, an anachronism living life in the breakdown lane. I limp along with poor graphics and a font which I detest. I just learned how to add a little HTML. I didn't know that the "Edit me!" things on the sidebar were actually supposed to be edited. It's like life without your reading glasses. Everything looks equally undecipherable. Touching it could mean the blog equivalent of a core melt-down, so I just leave it be. Thank god I found http://www.blogossary.com/, which at least helped me understand a few more terms. I wasn't born yesterday, but yesterday I did discover http://www.dooce.com/ . Bowl me over that Dooce is a real person. A very very funny person. I thought it was just another blog term.
Writer's information. I happen to write my blog posts in my Yahoo mail account, so that the drafts are always available no matter which computer I'm on. Then I cut and paste to my Blogspot account. I just spellchecked this piece and Yahoo mail dictionary doesn't even have the term blogger. It wanted me to change it to logger or flogger.
Maybe "flog her" would be better.
Ever optimistic, the Mairie de Paris is launching a new "Paris Propre" ad campaign this week, designed to cajole Parisians into keeping their city clean. Using humor instead of draconian threats, the message is designed to be "neither moralizing nor repressive." Its official goal is to recognize and showcase improvement and positive behaviors. Hmmm.
Mayor Delanoe's pooper-scooper edict in 2002 apparently has done less than hoped to improve the situation. The 183 euro fine has been largely ignored. Snickered at, perhaps? Pooh-poohed? The "J'aime mon quartier, Je Ramasse" signs have become faded or defaced.
I don't know if it's just my quirky powers of observation, but it often seems that Parisian pooches must do some arabesques or pirouettes while they are ... doing numero deux. They seem to plop their masterpieces on some pretty weird spots, like pedestals and flower pots. As if it's their special chef-d'oeuvre, dying to be on exhibition. Well, I guess if you're a dog, that is about your only artistic work. Quand meme... And their proud owners are just too enamored to get rid of their darlings' masterful creations.
But so many! According to the Mairie, some 150,000 Parisian Fidos deposit about 16 tons of crottes de chiens on the sidewalks annually.
That's a lotta lotta poop.
We'll see if the talking left shoe really convinces people to clean up after their canine cheris. It's a nice try, but I'm not holding my breath on this one -- except when I walk down the sidewalk.
Accent aigu or accent grave? So hard to know, sometimes. And so many French words are so very close. In fact, the word for "close" is près. The word for "fields" is prés. It is confusing. They sound almost the same. But two very different words. Any French student worth his dictée score can tell you that.
Suffice it to say that the quartier of St. Germain-des-Prés (St. Germain-in-the-Fields) often has its name misspelled, with the accent grave mistakenly in the place of the aigu.
But even at the much heralded Café de Flore?
Oh wait -- back to the Flore. So go check it out for yourself. The gorgeous table covers say Café de Flore - Saint-Germain-des-Près.
Did anyone else notice? Or is the place just so teeming with tourists that the owners figured no one would pick up on that typo? What about all those intello-literary habitués? This is the hangout where drinking an espresso is supposed to actually make you smarter. It's an institution, for God's sake.
I mean, what would Jean-Paul and Simone have said?
I hurry out the door and hop into the waiting taxi. "Bonsoir, monsieur, " I greet the driver breathlessly as I plunk in the center of the back seat. "I'd like to go to the American Cathedral, 23 avenue George V, s'il vous plait."
The car pulls out and I start making my usual small talk with the chauffeur de taxi. "I hope there's not too much traffic tonight. I'm running late and I have a cancer, " I say in French.
The driver dons a worried expression and sits up in his seat. I fret that I have insulted him by saying that I'm in a hurry. I add more to my story. "Yes, and I have friends from the United States who are here to see me. They are here for the cancer. They are waiting at the church for me."
Now he's is looking bewildered and almost frightened. He thinks, perhaps, that they are preparing my funeral? A support group? And he's driving me there?
"Yes," I add, "and first we are having a rehearsal."
Mais ces Americains sont fous, he is thinking as he grips the steering wheel a bit tighter.
"And I'm worried because I have a sore throat," I babble.
That's the least of your worries at this point, lady, he is saying to himself. Le moindre de vos soucis.
"But perhaps it will be better by the time our chorus has its next cancer next week, " I continue.
"Oh, un concert, madame!" He exhales the world's largest sigh and sinks back into his seat as we drive silently through the dark together.
A Parisian hostess just sent out the following directions to a gathering at her apartment. What struck me was that this is so normal for denizens of our fair city. (Names changed to protect the beleaguered. ) This is just to get in the door.
Enter courtyard, bear left. Under the arch there is an interphone with a list of names. Ring Doe and I will buzz you in. Then... go back into main courtyard where you came in and enter the big door with the 'escalier d'honneur'. Enter and walk past the escalier d'honneur (on your right) down to the end of the back hall where there is an elevator. It will come down automatically to pick you up. Press 4e etage and you will have arrived! If you get lost go back to interphone and tell me and I come down and get you. It sounds terribly complicated but is not really so!"
Tonight I went to the Théâtre Edouard VII to see the current production of Idée Fixe by Paul Valéry (1871-1945), a former member of the Académie Française. The play had received rave reviews from the press, and was also a heartwarming performance. Somehow I haven't been up for a melodrama; enough of my own to cope with. This was a perfect choice.
So Chu came in from the 'burbs and we had a gals' night out and went to the theatre. Great theatre. This was not mere entertainment; this was art. Superbly acted, powerful but simple decor. In the best French style, a moving 2-hour intellectual dialogue between the only two dramatis personae. Begins at sunrise, ends at sunset. As such conversations can go, the topics covered ran the gamut from gynecologists' after-hours activities to Einstein's theory of relativity. And this play was written back when Einstein was lecturing live. (I love the difference in pronunciation: in French it's pronounced Ein-shtein.) By the time the play was over you felt as though you'd spent a day with these two men and lived a great philosophical moment with them.
And I'm sure glad that it was all of those lofty things because initially I mostly went to get a real-live glimpse of heartthrob Pierre Arditi.
One of my favorite laugh-out-loud French books, by Luis d'Antin van Rooten, is Mots d'Heures: Gousses, Rames. This delightful, funny collection of Mother Goose Stories needs to be read aloud. Several times, until you get it.
Here's a sample. It's not just for kids! (Actually not much for kiddos at all.) So uncork a bottle of wine with friends and share. The rules: please read it in your best French accent, and don't seek meaning.
It is available at www.amazon.com , which amazingly has the title misspelled.
I hate to be so nit-picky. We all make mistakes. Typos are not such a big deal, fundamentally, right?
So why does it bother me so much? Perhaps it's because the location was so splendid, so perfect in its own right. The day was perfect, the way Paris has been lately. Crystal blue skies, embracing sunshine, delirious blossoms. Intoxicating, seductive Paris.
The building's lofty beauty was jaw-dropping. The exhibit masterful. The crowd almost non-existent, which allowed for close-up inspecting of the descriptive signs accompanying the paintings. Said information was very thoughtfully presented in French, Spanish, and English. Sounds perfect, no?
And there it was. At the entrance, the introduction to the exhibit. Just one little letter. In very large font. But really, really annoying.
"...the artist was invited to America by President Taff..."
Oh, come on. TAFF?? Did no one proofread the signage? It's one thing to have mistakes in personal documents -- but in large typeface for public viewing by thousands?
Naturally, once I found the one mistake (and it was consistent in all three languages), I was like a hound on the trail of foxblood. Typos jumped out at me on every bit of signage in the exhibit. "Mary Cassat" instead of "Cassatt". After that I found lots of spelling mistakes, but by then I had lost almost all of my respect for the curator(s) of the show. I was distracted and resentful.
Why bother to make an effort if you won't do it right? I wonder, would any French institution ever consider hiring an American proofreader to read over the copy to avoid the truly laughable obvious mistakes? And thus allow visitors to focus on what's important, like the actual exhibit.
Oh, by the way. It was the Sargent /Sorolla exhibit at the Petit Palais. Delightful. Otherwise, I mean.
Just back from the Paris Blogue-t-il? www.parisbloguetil.com francophone bloggers' gathering at l'Entrepot in the 14e arrondissement. Lots of fun and some friends from our dear Paris Blog www.theparisblog.com.
More on this soon -- but meanwhile: every one can look forward to the time in the not-near-enough future (keep your fingers crossed for next week) when little boomer-blogger moi gets big-time geek lessons and learns the joys of hyperlinks, RSS, html, enabling comments and more. And a new format!
Meanwhile, ravie de faire votre connaissance, tous les blogue-t-il folks. A bientot.
Yes, I did my taxes.
It's tax day, so Uncle Sam beckons.
Ergo, just time for a teensy helpful household hint, for what it's worth. Then I'll go back to my moutons.
I love the large format posters (100 cm X 150 cm or larger) available at many exhibits in Paris museums and elsewhere in France. Unfortunately they are a pain in terms of storing, shipping in the mail or taking back to the US on a plane. The standard cardboard tubes aren't long enough, which is frustrating. And a wrinkled poster -- well, just don't even think about it.
We came up with a good solution when Bee was here visiting in March.
Go to the basement of BHV and buy a 150 centimeter tube circulaire made out of PVC. At 11 euros it was cheaper than the fancier tubes up in the papeterie section. Then you can block off the ends as you like. Paper and duct tape, whatever.
I imagine this is a bit heavy for mailing (didn't check out that price), but easy to check as a second piece of luggage. Great for storing. Label well so it doesn't inadvertently get used for plumbing repairs.
I did it. I finally have a bicycle to ride in Paris. It's been on my to-do list for months, but somehow I just haven't had the nerve.
I have been observing, for a year now, those chic Parisiennes who maneuver their way through rush hour traffic, in high heels and stylish skirts. How could they be so oblivious to the dangers around them, I wondered. I envied their bravada. I envied their ability to look so glamorous and put themselves in the spotlight -- sitting so tall and gorgeous astride their velos, being admired by all the men in cars and buses.
But I wasn't ready. I needed time to understand the city, to get the flow of life here, to know others who rode their bicycles around. Even then, I just wasn't prepared to make the plunge. Why was I being so cautious? I wondered where I could I keep it. I asked my gardienne if I, too, would be allowed to park a bike in the courtyard, where there are already four in permanent residence. "Mais bien sur," she replied, "comme tous les autres locataires." Of course I had the same rights as the other tenants. Why was I being so anxious? Despite my happy-go-lucky exterior, I clearly am not as adventurous as I might appear.
Part of it was that I had heard how often bikes are stolen here. Or parts of bikes. Still, that's not a huge deal. Also I had seen how close the bus or other cars pass next to the cyclistes. The cyclistes don't flinch. Was I ready for a game of chicken? I also had heard from my friend Vincent that he had once gotten a ticket from the gendarmes for running a red light on his bicycle in Paris on a Sunday in August. August! A 300 euro fine, and they would take away his automobile driver's license if he didn't pay it. That story was scary, but I was hanging onto it simply for justifying my procrastination about getting a bike. I had written about Mayor Delanoe's new Velib program, where bikes will be available for daily rental next to nothing, starting this summer. Maybe I should wait and just rent a bike, to see how it goes. Oh, come on. I was stalling, and not happy with myself for doing so.
Then Saturday I was heading home from Montmartre on the 12 Metro line and when we reached the Madeleine stop I knew it was now or never. I jumped off and prayed that Decathlon was still open. 19h30 and the store was open til 20h00. This is it.
I went straight to the bike section, which I had been perusing for months. To my surprise I beheld what looked like a bike parade. Dozens of people riding bikes in the aisles, examining accessories, discussing with the bike techs their various options. The fabulous staff were jovial and actually laughing, because it was such a madhouse.
"How many bikes have you sold today?" I asked. "C'est incroyable!"
But they were young, energetic and helpful, and cooperative with each other. A real travail d'equipe. Thierry (forgive me if I got your name wrong) was tremendously patient despite clearly having had a very very long day, eager to begin his Saturday evening. He recommended all the right locks. "This you attach to something tres solide," he warned, about the heavy-duty lock. "Then this cable you attach permanently to your seat (selle). The third lock is to attach to your front wheel, when you are parked for a long time. Les voleurs like to steal front wheels." He showed me how to shift the gears (it's a 7-speed), and other features my Decathlon City bike. It has a panier that removes in a click, a headlight that runs on a dynamo instead of a battery, and I learned the word for kick-stand, which is "la bequille" -- same as the word for "crutch".
Then he sent me along to the caisse and it was a done deal. Suddenly I felt kind of the way I had felt 20 years ago when taking my first newborn home from the hospital. "You mean they're letting me leave here with this without any further instruction or permission?"
And off I went. After carrying my bike up the stairs to the place de la Madeleine, I climbed on and started pedaling down the cobblestones of rue Royale, in Paris traffic. Me? Me.
A feeling of sheer exhilaration perfectly blended with blinding panic radiated from every pore. 'This is so cool!" I shouted to myself, "I can't believe I'm finally doing this!" as I reached the mayhem of place de la Concorde. I was so happy. I felt so free. So much a part of Paris. The wind flowing through my hair. Complete bliss, while gripping those handlebars with white-knuckled fear. I found a bike path (piste cyclable) and flew down the streets, and over the bridge.
Watch out, Paris. This crazy American lady has started singing while riding her bike. Somewhere near les Invalides I spontaneuosly began belting out "I have con-fi-dence in confidence a-lone!" a la Julie Andrews. Stay tuned.
April in Paris is such a cliche. But what a great one. Today Paris was sublime, although really more like August: almost too hot to stand in the sun while waiting for the No. 69 bus. That glorious bus route is one of my favorites, mostly because you see so many different parts of Paris, lots of monuments and the Seine. It starts at the Eiffel Tower and winds up at Gambetta (where I was headed for lunch), next to Pere Lachaise. For 1.4 euros it's hands down one of the top sightseeing bargains in the City. And today's sights included the lilacs and spirea softly bursting into bloom in the parks.
So imagine my reaction when a whiny 7-year-old American mini-tourist was drooping upside down and backwards over the seat in front of me, complaining with the classic "Are we there yet?" to his mother. I wanted to straighten his little t-shirted shoulders and say, "Yes, we ARE there yet, junior -- we're in Paris. Look out the window!" But as the mother of a former 7-year-old boy, I knew better. I leaned over and said in a stage whisper, "You know, a really good trick while riding the bus or walking in Paris is to see how many lions you can count." OK, I have to pat myself on the back for that gem because immediately he and his older sister and their father were sitting up tall in their seats, craning their necks to find stone lions. "There are 4!!" they shouted at the Hotel de Ville. So until they got off the bus they were busy and happy campers.
Funny, I would have thought the parents might have nodded a knowing little "thank you" in my direction as they departed. But no. Oh well. I don't need the adulation, but appreciation is ... appreciated. After all, I not only was inventive but I also offered a helpful age-appropriate and instructive activity for the little whiner's scavenger hunt, on the spur of the moment.
I mean, there are other sculpture and bas-relief objects to search for on building facades and statues. Gargoyles or rams or fleur de lys and so forth. But also more PG-13-rated sculpted figures, like naked ladies. Of course I didn't suggest that theme to the little kid. Those folks are Americans. Nor, obviously, did I recommend another favorite, immortalized in a witty coffee-table book, Les Zizis de Paris, by Sergio-Neptunio Martin. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think there are many classical zizis on statues that are in the public view in the US.
Ah, Paris. No fig leaves here -- just April leaves. And how.
Are you feeling anxious about the upcoming French presidential elections? Do the shifting sands of statistics and polls have you worried? Are you concerned that 42% of French voters are still undecided?
Take matters into your own hands and decide the presidency in the comfort of your own abode. Like a combination of two of my favorite games (Pacman and dysfunctional family bingo), this jeu presidentiel will keep you from fretting about anything substantial. Of course, if you want to do that, just watch CNN or Fox. But you knew that.
Merci to Isa for sending this my way.
During my summers as a kid in Tennessee we used to go over to my cousins' house and play with Aunt Betty's Vibrabelt. (Ahem, you wise guys: it's not that kind of vibrating thingy. Get your minds out of the gutter.) It was one of those contraptions for spot-reducing that, as its name suggests, had a vibrating belt that you looped around your derriere and let it shimmy away the fat. In theory.
We cousins mostly goofed around and set it on high to make our voices jiggle when we talked as we leaned our backsides into the wide shivering belt. Far from slimming myself in those chubby pre-teen days, the only result I noticed was a sudden urge to pee. Aunt Betty, on the other hand, was a true Vibrabelt devotee. I can see her now, hair perfectly coiffed, laughing in her luscious throaty Southern drawl and deeply inhaling her Salem menthols while her bum was shimmering away at 100 rpm. Oh, Aunt Betty. She was so glamorous. She had perfect nails and central air conditioning.
In a Proustian-madeleine-dunking way I conjured up vivid images of Aunt Betty today when I visited the newly opened Powea Power-Plate center http://www.powea.fr/ around the corner from me on rue Pierre Leroux. Power Plate is the buzz to beat all buzz, so tendance with the I-need-instant-fitness crowd. In fact, I'm still buzzing a bit from the experience, but more in a literal sense. Either you know all about Power Plate or you've never heard of it, apparently. I only knew what I had seen in a French chic flick and read in fashion magazines, so I was a wide-eyed novice.
Charming, effervescent Regine Petit, the coach who was running the sleek boutique, led me through the motions -- and quelle motions! -- on the big vibrating plate. Regine was delighted to find out I was American and begged to do the session in English. (I used to bristle at such efforts in my naive desire to masquerade as a Parisienne. Now I find I don't mind that sort of request any more -- I know I'll have ample time to practice my impeccable French.) So we swapped vocab while she coached me: you know, technical terms like buttocks and pelvic tilt. I stood on that big plate and held on for dear life while my eyeballs rattled and my thigh muscles really began to burn. And except for the fact that I tend to forget to breathe when exercising (a minor drawback leading to turning beet red) it was a pleasant experience.
According to Regine I accomplished 1-1/2 hours of exercise in the 30-minute session.
She explained that the machine also helps with stretching, improving circulation and lymphatic drainage, and bone density. My muscles feel as though I just trekked the Himalayas. If Powea's Power-Plate is everything they claim, I'll be as glamorous as Aunt Betty in no time. And maybe more svelte.
Free half-hour trial session by filling out this coupon and calling for a reservation.
A little riff on the current blogging buzz going around.
Type "Boston to Paris" in the space provided.
Q. Why do French people think Easter is so great?
A. Because Easter -- C'est une Bunny Day!
Being called away from Paris unexpectedly has been no laughing matter. First of all, I had to miss the entire First Annual Parisian Comedy Festival, which ended yesterday and no one even missed me.
Second of all, I am resorting to finding daily doses of humor in comparing American life to life in France. It's not always pretty.
"I'm Still Hot -- only Now it comes in Flashes"
I think it's time for me to head home to Paris.
A few days before I left Paris (it feels like a decade ago but was just une dizaine de jours) I had a rather unsettling experience. It was happy and pleasant, which is what (being Paris) made me feel so odd.
Since when did La Poste apologize, in advance, for making us wait? This was positively unfathomable.
And she shooed me along with a jovial "A bientot!". I went on my merry way, shaking my head over the gaiety of it all.
I had this unnerving little feeling in my gut. What is happening to the drama of "terrible customer service" that expats love to moan about? What if the French are actually listening to all those complaints and start to become friendly all the time? No, no, I assured myself, this is just an isolated incident.
I then entered the pedestrian tunnel to take the Metro at Duroc station, and something looked out of kilter. Peering around, I noticed a bright, open office where the dark ticket window had once existed. The impenetrable hazy glass where often you couldn't see if the RATP agent was actually there, and if he was you had better ask nicely and only one question at a time, s'il vous plait. And he would shove your tickets and change back through the little mousehole.
"Ah, oui,' she responded, smiling. "No more money here, so no little window. All tickets get bought at the machine," she gestured. "We are now le service clients." So the employees at the Metro stations no longer handle any money and are simply there – drumroll please – to be helpful?
My unsettling feeling was now growing into a full-fledged conviction. I had just discovered the largest contemporary cultural revolution in France and no one was talking about it. France has become a customer-friendly nation right before our very eyes and nobody realizes it. This is so subversive! I ran through my mental rolodex of recent interactions as a customer. Yes, yes... The waiter in that café asked if I wanted milk with my express (horrors). Now it's all coming to me -- he was not being snide, he was being F-R-I-E-N-D-L-Y. But what will become of France if this continues? This slight edge, this keeping on your toes, is what constitutes the daily drama in life here in Paris! This is what living here is about – triumphing over the potential displeasure of an agent, a bus driver, a store clerk. Living here well means "getting it" in terms of how to deal with being a customer always at the mercy of the clerk's or waiter's mood.
As I recited this long plaintive narrative to myself, the metro moved to Invalides, where I had to make a connection.. I thought to myself, I have to get a photo of one of these new friendly "Customer Service" desks. Why didn't I think to get one at Duroc?
At the Invalides station I trudged up the stairs and searched glumly for a dazzling new "Service Clients" window, to snap a photo for posterity.