Wednesday, September 28, 2011

As I read headlines this AM about Facebook being a liability as a 3rd party can look in on what is communicated on the social media site and having the pleasure to meet Actress Amy Adams, I reflect on my weekends past.


Actress Amy Adams

I had a rare opportunity to tour one of Frank Lloyd Wright's four textile block houses, The Freeman House in Hollywood, CA. Celebrated as one of the centers of 'avant-garde' artistic and political activity in Los Angeles from the 1920's in the Hollywood Hills, it certainly evoked a past of entertained guests  Martha Graham + Clark Gable, so often described in writings of the FLW Designed building.

Although I did not get the impression Mr. Wright had this residential home in mind as a long-term standing structure, it did enlighten me on some of his experimental technique.

Textile Block Motif for Freeman House

  

Freeman House Living Room overlooking Hollywood Blvd. & Highland Ave. - Then



Freeman House Living Room -
Now 



This home was the first on the street in 1923 -
Freeman House Exterior

As I prepared for the week ahead on Sunday, I anticipated the arrival of President Obama to West Hollywood on Monday with street closures abound. His Presidency has had a rough road as we faced the deficit at his introduction along with a crumbling economy of unregulated corporate meltdowns. His re-election seems ominous and I digress...

President Barrack Obama
First Black man elected to Head of Harvard's Law Review in it's 104yr. history
First Black President elected to the United States in our 222yr.  history

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

This past weekend I continued to celebrate those September Birthday's. Let's just say I had a late Saturday morning...

I woke up and got outside to walk the dog. Turning the corner, in my walking slumber nearly mid-day, I found an array of activity.

With profane gangster rap blaring from a cruising car at the stop sign, a family of Orthodox Jews with a stroller walk by in a group on the opposite side of the street as a US Postman sorted his mail next to me. I looked across the street as a well dressed woman in heels complained aloud to her companion about her rude friend. Not to mention sounds were heard of piano music coming from an unknown apartment. All the while my dog and I take our everyday walk.

Gangster Rapper

Orthodox Jewish family with stroller

US Postman

Well dressed woman in heels



Piano music from unknown apartment



The Dog that took the walk

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Ms. UNIVERSE 2011

Leila Luliana da Costa Vieira Lopes
(born February 26, 1986- Angola, Africa)

Though I do not believe human perfection of outer appearence can be any closer than this years Ms. Universe, I do believe no better choice was given for the title. She said, quite seriously, she wants to be a successful business woman and fight HIV/AIDS worldwide. Hopefully, we won't be seeing her in any scandal (which seems to be too often the case these days) but as it appears right now- she is a prime example of inspiration for us all in the 21st Century- stunning.

Some reports only mentioned how USA did not make the top 5 contestants. Not only did USA not make the top 5 but she did not make the top 10! Which brings me to my next diary note...

On UTB Japanese- Newsline (similar to BBC World News), I saw an Asian woman interviewing an Indian woman about our world today. Both women spoke of how the world is recegonizing various nations powers today in the global economy. During the interview, these women spoke about how their native countries, China and India are bigger global market players than the USA. This was coming from an Asian broadcasting system, however, their opinions hold quite a bit of merit. It shows how USA is slipping and we need to regain our footing. It's been too much of a slippery slope in the first decade of the 21st Century.

Top 10 2011 Index of Economic Freedom
http://www.heritage.org/Index/ranking

Last, Sirtuins are hypothesized to play a key role in an organism's response to stresses (such as heat or starvation) and to be responsible for the lifespan-extending effects of calorie restriction. I watched a program over the weekend while downloading songs from iTunes about this gene that everyone has- only discovered in 2000 (in the US). It just needs to be awakend by calorie restriction. For example, scientists did a study on mammals giving 2 subjects the same food but 1 subject received 30% less over 20 years. This 1 subject looked 20-30 years younger than the other. Sirtuins fight off the 'attacking' agents which age the human body. I'm certainly a believer. Implementing this, maybe we can all come a little closer to the perfection of Ms. UNIVERSE 2011!!

Friday, September 9th, 2011

 To all you Virgos who seem to rule the world-

I know more Virgo Birthdays than any other month of the entire year!! Closes to me are my Mother, Sister, Brother-in-Law, Aunt & Grandfather. Friends + co-workers go on + on...................................................

Thursday, September 8, 2011

It's been a decade and the Memorial for September 11, 2001 opens this weekend.

My twin brother and I played basketball together. We stand about 6'-6'-1" tall. Our father would commonly call us the Twin Towers growing up. Obviously, this name was derived from the WTC towers in lower Manhattan, NYC. Oddly enough, these towers were also completed in the same decade my brother and I were born. A certain strength comes from knowing our father called us the Twin Towers- even today.

For the first time, I saw the towers on a summer trip in 1999, I was 23. The second time I saw, Ground Zero, on a protest trip- opposing the Afghanistan + Iraq wars in February 2003- in my opinion, both were clearly more about oil than capturing Usama Bin Ladin. On another trip, I saw Ground Zero in it's nearly completed clean up effort in the Fall of 2004.

'Ground Zero' is an out dated term of the past. This weekend embarks on the new name for the sight.

It is now called:

The World Trade Center and the National September 11th Memorial & Museum

Newly constructed buildings and Memorial park, NYC

Well Designed reflecting pool and waterfall where one WTC tower once stood

The Twin Towers- in Memorandum

I am eager to visit New York City again as the first time I visited people had their typical New York attitude- plain talking, tough, rude- hustle bussel - it's quite invigorating. After September 2001, the attitude was much less abrasive and one of the only places I've EVER been where I was waved to by a handful of strangers throughout my visit. I experienced this from complete strangers down the street on those sidewalks you see full of people commonly seen in movies, I waved back- quite a great thing as I recollect. My brother and I still stand tall, we're still Twin Towers.

For more info on the National September 11th Memorial + Museum, visit;

http://www.911memorial.org/