What is it about New York City that makes it both alluring and sobering at the same time?
Is it the closeness of everything - buildings, cars, people - to each other without conflicting and getting in each other's way?
Is it the candor of its inhabitants that would step aside to make space for you on the subway car but not hold the door for you?
Is it the unexpected calmness of the fast moving people?
Is it the 6 layers deep subway system that teleports you to the most unexpected places within a few beats of your heart?
Is it the endless Central Park that is a sanctuary to humans and migrating birds alike?
Is it the five different languages you hear within earshot everywhere?
Is it the Little Italy landlocked in China?
Is it the dizzying heights, fast moving deeps and the steps in between that plays tricks on your mind?
Is it the delicate gold embroidery on a shawl that catches your eye for just a moment and disappears into the red-speckled sea of puffy black coats?
Is it the children that dress, talk and walk like little adults alongside their hipster parents?
Is it the bagel breakfast that comes with a blue cup of coffee that tells you to "have a good day"?
Is it the Grand Central station where paths merge and emerge in all directions?
Is it the life-sized whale that hangs from the ceiling of Natural History Museum?
Or
Is it the person who lived and breathed New York in a past life that takes you on a journey through the canyons and caves of the city that you did not even know how to dream of?
The person who designs each step you take so that every turn of a corner is a magical encounter with something you always wished for - The Gaugenheim Museum, a Klimt painting, roasted chestnuts from street vendors, an evening at Nobu, gazing under the skirts of Statue of Liberty, Flat Iron Building pointing at you.
The person who knows that you will turn into a five-year-old kid in the world's largest toy store, hugging every single stuffed animal large and small.
The person who walks you on the footsteps of Louis CK in his tv show intro from the subway to the pizza store and finally to Comedy Cellar where your cheeks ache from laughing so hard.
The person that is sure to make each trip to New York brand new every time.
The person who wishes for nothing in return but to see the glitter in your eye and the uncontainable smile.
Rick:
I don't have the vocabulary to thank you enough...
I love you!
Although I did watch one - the first - episode of Downton Abbey, the fictional story was not enough to pull me in like other followers of this TV series and seemed like an old time soap opera. However, I did admire the costumes from the series on display at the miniature museum of FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising a year ago.
Today, I found a documentary about the Highclere Castle (where Downton Abbey is filmed) and its real life nobility inhabitants. Learned much about the history and the customs of this family home with a deep appreciation of the humility and humbleness of the Lord and Lady of Carnarvon of this beautiful architecture and the well kept grounds it sits on sans any drama. I recommend Secrets of Highclere Castle to all Downton Abbey fans or history buffs or the admirers of British countryside alike.
In a paper published on October 2, 2014 in the Science journal, Majorana Fermion was introduced as a particle that is also its own antiparticle, dark matter candidate and possible quantum computer enabler.
Although this surprisingly very stable particle does not require a particle accelerator to make an appearance, it does require a very specific setup with temperatures lowered to 1°C above absolute zero to maintain superconductivity, and very powerful scanning-tunneling microscopes.
Due to its stability and weakly interacting nature, majorana fermions have a future in being utilized in quantum calculations that were previously incalculable.
"The most beautiful clothes that can dress a woman are the arms of the man she loves. But for those who haven't had the fortune of finding this happiness, I am there." -- Yves Saint-Laurent
It was not the theme of Hala Matar's short movie Fruits de Mer that grabbed my attention, but where it was filmed - L.A.'s exquisite Bar Chateau Marmont. Oh and of course the Yves Saint-Laurent quote in the opening scene...
PS. Dear Bar Chateau Marmont, your Dessert Menu link is broken.
From the Inuit mythology:
"Mahaha is a maniacal demon that terrorized parts of the arctic. This creature is described as a thin sinewy being, ice blue in colour and cold to the touch. Mahaha’s eyes are white and they peer through the long stringy hair that hangs in its face. This demon is always smiling and giggling. It is strong, very strong and it is always barefoot. Mahaha is usually seen with almost no clothing on yet it never seems to be bothered by the cold. This cold demon takes pleasure in tickling its victims to death with sharp vicious nails attached to its long bony fingers. Many elders have remarked on the expression of the dead victims Mahaha leaves behind. It seems all of the victim have a similar expression on their dead faces – a twisted frozen smile.
Although this demon is twisted and evil, Mahaha is easily fooled. Most of the stories told about Mahaha end with it being fooled. Usually Mahaha is tricked into leaning over a water hole to take a drink and is pushed into the open water and swept away by the currents.
So if Mahaha ever corners you alone, ask it to have one last drink with you by the water hole before it tickles you to death."
Anastatica is a resurrection plant that is found in arid areas in the Middle East and Sahara Desert. Also known as Rose of Jericho, this small grey plant dries up after rainy season and curls its branches into a tight ball to hibernate. Come rainy season the ball uncurls revealing the capsular fruits it has been protecting to release the dormant seeds unto the earth.
Pyura chilensis are non-moving, sac-like marine invertebrate filter feeders that are also known as sea squirts. These sea creatures live on the rocky coast of Chile and Peru and they are fished commercially for the locals eat them raw or cooked with salad and rice because apparently they’re very delicious.
