Saturday, April 24, 2004
And Heeeerrrrreeee's...... Dad!
I finally managed to upload a picture of my Dad, whose birthday was yesterday, and who would have been very happy to see my sister Deena graduate Lamson College with honors on his birthday! I could write a book about Dad, who was a teacher, social worker, activist, ane free spirit in a category all by himself. This picture is with my Mom and my first boyfriend, Andres Paredes, in 1990, at a family gathering in Chinatown. Sadly, that would be my Dad's last summer, as he passed on early the next year, on February 25, 1991, just two months shy of his 55th birthday... My family, btw, have been wonderful with my boyfriends, always treating them like family, which meant a lot to Andres, whose family was 5,500 miles away and not very accepting or supportive.
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My Sister, The Graduate!
Congrats, Deena! 2,500 miles away, in a graduation ceremony in the Phoenix Area, a diploma with honors was bestowed last night upon my sister Deena! The program trained her as a medical billing specialist, and now, diploma in hand, I'm sure she will rise through the ranks to her level of natural Holsberg brilliance. Too bad my Dad couldn't be here to see this. Also, too bad that Geocities is mal-functioning today, because I wanted to post some great pictures of Deena, but no picture will load, so I'm stuck with this old stand-by from 1969:
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Friday, April 23, 2004
Aaron's office, April 5, 2004 - April 23, 2004, R.I.P. (return to cubicle life - sigh)
My Dad would have been 68 today.. I'll dig up and scan a picture this weekend, for the moment, my 'stand-in' is that great socialist and humanitarian, President Inacio Luis Santos da Silva (aka Lula) of Brazil, who always reminds me of Dad for some reason...
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Happy Birthday, Dad...
My Dad would have been 68 today.. I'll dig up and scan a picture this weekend, for the moment, my 'stand-in' is that great socialist and humanitarian, President Inacio Luis Santos da Silva (aka Lula) of Brazil, who always reminds me of Dad for some reason...this entry's permalink
Where The Sun Don't Shine...
... And Where It Do.... I've wasted more time than you want to know trying to install as my PC wallpaper and screensaver this "world clock" that shows where night and day are falling on the globe, in real time... I sort of fell in love with the concept on my long, long, long (long) international flights.... I think it's pretty. You can see this phenomenon for free, to your own specifications, on several sites, which I will post later. My frugality will force me to pass on the $1,500 high-tech home real time clock you hang on the wall (a main cabin in your own home?). And now, I've gotta shake my tail feather (i.e., get moving). Happy Friday. Galería can't be too far away... : - )this entry's permalink
Thursday, April 22, 2004
Oops... Which Way Is China? : - )
Good thing I talked to Christi...I mentioned Tuesday that my 7900-mile cross-country trip was longer than driving through a hole dug to China. Talking to Christi about diameters and such, it became apparent that my tunnel would end on the Indian Ocean floor, drowning me and floating my clueless cadaver right back to New York....
So how far can you get away from New York? About 12,400 miles, that's how far. This is roughly half the earth's circumference, and travelling to this point should land you in the Indian Ocean, 800 miles Southwest of Perth, a city on Australia's west coast. Perth (see picture) is as far as you can fly from New York without leaving the planet, and on Quantas it takes 22-23 hours, via Sydney, not including the layover. The Perth area is known as Australia's "Sunset Coast," click here for pictures.this entry's permalink
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
Mid-week Frolic with Modern Millie
Dust off a forgotten and poorly-timed movie and you can have rousing good time on stage....
Last night I saw "Thoroughly Modern Millie" with my pal Christi, who's a free woman (relieved of parental duties) in New York (at her parents townhouse) for two weeks, and we were both thoroughly entertained by this wry but warm-hearted art-deco blue and purple roaring 20s love story. The public and critics love theater "Millie" much more than its source, the 1967 film comedy, which felt dated and out of place in the Summer Of Love.
That film starred Julie Andrews as the Kansas girl trying to make good in NY, Mary Tyler Moore as a poor orphan, Carol Channing as a singer/socialite/millionairess, and Beatrice Lillie running a white slavery ring disguised as a kindly hotelkeeper. On stage Dixie Carter of "Designing Woman" is venomously hilarious as the slavery entrepreneuse, a faux-dragon lady alternately faking a sweet ridiculous pre-P.C. accent and reverting to the nasty failed American chorus girl-cum-criminal she is. This "Millie" replaces the film's offensive Chinese stereotype henchmen brilliantly with three-dimensional immigrants from Hong Kong whose witty dialogue and musical numbers are presented in Chinese and translated via electronic supra-titles (subtitles above the action). But this is only 1/4 of the plot, which captures the charm and excitement of the 1920s, when, like today, people felt technology racing forward every day, transforming every aspect of their lives. All in all, well worth sleeping only 6 1/2 hours last night. Hope you get to see it sometime. Enjoy these pictures: 
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Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Just realized that when I drove 7,900 miles last summer, winding a path through America, that drive was longer than the diameter of the Earth, which is a mere 7, 814 miles! This means that if I could dig a hole to China, pave it, and drive to other end, that would be 86 miles less distance than I drove last August! this entry's permalink
My Next Stop…
Black and White Memories… As one of the first TV shows to ever make me think, “The Twilight Zone” made a huge impression on my growing young brain. It’s aged well, too, due to its brilliant writing, acting, and direction. I am really enjoying the 8-DVD set of restored “Twilight Zone” episodes that I bought myself on a whim and received yesterday. The first one I watched, about an old lady hiding from death, features an extremely young (and hot) Robert Redford before he was famous. You may also like to know that the episodes are 25 minutes long without commercials, and that the series was known in Latin America as “The Unknown Zone” or “La Zona Desconocida"….. p.s. On Sunday my blog passed the three-month mark! Later, I'll tell you about the other blogging Holsberg...
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Monday, April 19, 2004
There's a lot to see in upstate New York! Yesterday we saw Sunnyside, Washington Irving's early 19th century home/farm, and also Lyndhurst, the bottom two attractions on this map: There are dozens of mansions and historic homes all along the Hudson Valley, as you can see:
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From real-life resumés:
"The company made me a scapegoat, just like my three previous employers."
"Education: Curses in liberal arts, curses in computer science, curses in accounting."
"Reason for leaving last job: Maturity leave."
"Instrumental in ruining entire operation for a Midwest chain store."
Palestine: the Quiz Show! I'm not kidding! Who said militant Palestinians had no sense of humor?
What a great weekend! New York was like early summer for two days, as temperatures rose to 80-85F (26-28C), sleeves got shorter and souls, lighter. Flowering trees were everywhere, especially the odd fruitless Callery pear trees that line many Manhattan streets.
It was a full weekend, with theater on Friday, a day in the country Sunday, and the momentous switchover to a much faster computer. Details to follow...
I rented the 1991 movie "Tito and Me" through Netflix, and was very entertained. Set in 1950s Yugloslavia, it's about a chubby little boy who lives with a bickering, dysfunctional extended family in a cramped apartment, and who idolizes Tito. By writing a prize-winning poem, he gets to join a group of youngsters on a hike to Tito's homeland in Croatia, and has a lot of difficulties. With a playful and brassy jazz soundtrack, "Tito" nonetheless captures the period beautifully, interspersing real footage, with much humorous effect. Note that this was the last movie made in Yugoslavia before that country crumbled and its citizens became warring factions. Especially ironic is the Belgrade kids singing a hymn to their 'brother city' Zagreb, now capital of Croatia. For Tito, the master of Serb-led Yugoslavia, was a Croat, and tolerated no tribalism - 'we are all communists and Yugoslavs, etc....' Tito ruled with the same 'cult of personality' as his Stalinist peers. You could even call his reign "Stalin lite" : - )
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"The company made me a scapegoat, just like my three previous employers."
"Education: Curses in liberal arts, curses in computer science, curses in accounting."
"Reason for leaving last job: Maturity leave."
"Instrumental in ruining entire operation for a Midwest chain store."
Palestine: the Quiz Show! I'm not kidding! Who said militant Palestinians had no sense of humor?
A Taste Of Summer...
What a great weekend! New York was like early summer for two days, as temperatures rose to 80-85F (26-28C), sleeves got shorter and souls, lighter. Flowering trees were everywhere, especially the odd fruitless Callery pear trees that line many Manhattan streets.It was a full weekend, with theater on Friday, a day in the country Sunday, and the momentous switchover to a much faster computer. Details to follow...
I rented the 1991 movie "Tito and Me" through Netflix, and was very entertained. Set in 1950s Yugloslavia, it's about a chubby little boy who lives with a bickering, dysfunctional extended family in a cramped apartment, and who idolizes Tito. By writing a prize-winning poem, he gets to join a group of youngsters on a hike to Tito's homeland in Croatia, and has a lot of difficulties. With a playful and brassy jazz soundtrack, "Tito" nonetheless captures the period beautifully, interspersing real footage, with much humorous effect. Note that this was the last movie made in Yugoslavia before that country crumbled and its citizens became warring factions. Especially ironic is the Belgrade kids singing a hymn to their 'brother city' Zagreb, now capital of Croatia. For Tito, the master of Serb-led Yugoslavia, was a Croat, and tolerated no tribalism - 'we are all communists and Yugoslavs, etc....' Tito ruled with the same 'cult of personality' as his Stalinist peers. You could even call his reign "Stalin lite" : - )
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Sunday, April 18, 2004
Rocketing Into The Future!
I love my new computer! This should save me 1/2 hour a day (which is a lot on a work day) by not crashing, freezing, etc. It's so much faster, I'm still in shock and awe.. : - )this entry's permalink
