Category Archives: Uncategorized

(Community Matters) Off to tour five-star hotel bars, seedy brothels and war-torn desert landscapes. here

(Community Matters) Felt like I was in heaven – Neal’s Yard Dairy. Some of my favorite cheeses in the world.

Central Market carries a few of their cheeses

(Community Matters) Joe Lieberman is certainly earning his way back into my affections, Tammy Baldwin long a favorite.

Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, and Representative Tammy Baldwin, Democrat of Wisconsin, plan to introduce bills that would provide benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees.

(Community Matters) . . . . wakes here

(Community Matters) Height of hypocrisy that some of those who wear their Christian religion on their sleeves could argue against providing additional (or any) assistance to those most in need today. If they’re believers, I guess they’ve reconciled themselves with going to hell.

(Community Matters) Greed, old age, insincere flattery to those in power, powerful mens’ susceptibility to flattery, deception, murder, morality, deceit, remorse.

Pete Postlethwaite as King Lear

Steven and I are staying in an old favorite (Fielding House) in Covent Garden. Vibe of the West End all around us and easy to walk the few blocks to the River Thames and across the Waterloo Bridge to the South Bank. I’d never been to the Young Vic – a terrific theatre complex with ample bar, restaurant and warehouse-fashion theatre which probably seats 600. Not sure whether good karma or luck of the draw, but when we called earlier in the day, there were two seats to last night’s performance of King Lear, despite that the run has been sold out.

The production is led by London’s hottest young director, Rupert Goold who’s just been named associate director for the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Goold weaved in time in the form of characters and references from our contemporary world. Not sure if he intended to shake thought from the 17th century but that’s exactly the effect when modern commandos and Zapatista-style warriors enter the stage on behalf of the King of France and Cordelia, respectively.

Couldn’t help thinking – what’s the lesson about the transfer of power between generations? the lesson to be remembered about the resistance to transfers of power? which is Rush Limbaugh, Mitch McConnell, John Boehner? Is there a lesson here for BHO and his supporters?

Postlethwaite and Tobias Menzies (as Edgar) give truly outstanding performances, as did John Shrapnel as the Duke of Gloucester. The entire company, performance, set design and lighting quite brilliant.

(Community Matters) “We shape a better world.” What an extraordinary mantra for a design firm, one of the largest in the world. This from the Arup Group, who Business Week cites as the world’s 17th largest design firm with “work everywhere” including structural design for the Beijing Olympics stadium and the Sydney Opera House.

Our new friend, Taylor Keep, is in London completing one of their “Foresight & Innovation” projects – research on food, sustainability of the food supply and provocative thoughts launching important questions about food – especially, in Taylor’s mind, the intersection of food and energy policy.

Other foresight & innovation projects Arup has dedicated staff to, researched and published include urbanisation, demographics, water, climate change, waste and energy. It’s extraordinary that an engineering design firm has so long been so corporate social responsibility-minded. Taylor told us how these thought leadership pieces being created on critical global issues are used by staff and further engage clients.

After lunch, we followed Taylor to his offices to meet his boss, Chris Luebkeman. Chris is a scholar who taught engineering to architects at the preeminent schools, including MIT and moved to Arup to lead its research group. Not too many years after arriving, he launched its foresight and innovation group. Much more about all this, especially engaging to me as I’m writing an article about the CSR conference we held in Austin just two weeks ago. Alas, gotta get going. More perhaps later.

(Community Matters) Thanks, Cameron for connecting us to Taylor & Catherine Keep. Wow, what an outstanding young couple. They are living in London temporarily while Taylor completes a project for the Arup Group.

Catherine & Taylor Keep & ST at Amoul

I’ll get to Taylor’s very cool project at his very cool company. But, I have to talk about Amouls – wow. Founded six years ago by a longtime Londoner born in Lebanon, Amoul’s is about the homecooking Amal (Amoul) Oakes was not able to find in London. I met her briefly and spent a bit of time speaking with her daughter, Zeina. They are certainly proponents of the slow food movement and believe in only using fresh ingredients. Luckily, at the end of 2008, Amoul published a cookbook of her favorite receipes. An exquisitely published book with a fine burlap cover, I couldn’t resist and I can’t wait to experiment – especially the chicken livers in pomegranate molasses and savoury lamb pies.

Amoul’s

(Community Matters) I sure hope I rescheduled the dinner party at a friends I just noticed on last night’s schedule. Good gosh, would that be a total wreck or what? Waiting to hear. No email from them, so assuming I did. Just can’t vividly recall.

(Community Matters)
Couldn’t resist – Stovepipe in London and $370 roundtrip tickets on Continental.

Thank you Jeffrey for taking care of my gay koi. No (big) parties! 🙂

Posted from my blackberry.

(Community Matters)
From Dr. Forgoine:

I am very proud to advise the district and the Austin community that
beginning July 1, 2009, I will assume the appointment as Distinguished
Presidential Scholar and Executive Director of the New Center on K-12
Assessment and Performance Management at the Education Testing Service
(ETS) of Princeton, New Jersey (see attached ETS announcement). This will
allow my wife, Kaye, and me to remain in Austin, and I will be focusing my
professional energy and passion on a critical component of education reform
and accountability, namely: student testing and data management.

Posted from my blackberry

(Community Matters) Why can’t Congress pass special legislation exempting auto warranties from any GM bankruptcy?