This and That and More of the Same

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

CATS ARE PEOPLE TOO (or at least they think they are)

BEIJING'S FIRST HIGH-RISE

>"THIS IS OUT FIRST HIGH-RISE. We wanted to do something different than your typical, two-dimensional, obvious skyscraper," says Ole Scheeren, director of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), the cool Dutch design firm founded by Rem Koolhaas. The new headquarters for CCTV, China's state television network, will most resemble a cartoon version of the letter "Z." At 230 meters high, the brightly colored, continuous loop with no right angles will tower over every other building in the city upon completion by 2008.

The roof is retractable and, believe it or not, so is the field.

Here's a look at the Arizona Cardinals new football stadium with 1.7 million square feet of space. There is a portion of the roof (roughly the size of the field) which is retractable, and the field rolls out in a tray which weighs 18.9 million pounds. There are six levels in the stadium: the field (or service) level; the main concourse, the club level, the loft level; the upper terrace and the mechanical level. Permanent seating capacity is 63,400 and is expandable to 73,000. Cost: $455 million. The stadium is owned and operated by the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority and is located in Glendale, Arizona.

The grass playing field, which usually sits in its gigantic steel tray outside the retractable-roof stadium, is rolled in on game days.

Here's the gigantic steel tray rolled outside for watering and sunshine.

"To do something, I have to understand it. The Chinese in America, I think I'm the right one to do this, because I have both experiences." Mian Situ

Mian Situ has painted historical scenes of the Chinese immigrants who came to California more than a century ago. In Situ's portrayals, these newcomers lay railroad tracks, peddle toys in San Francisco's old Chinatown, labor in laundries and gaze ashore from eastbound ships, approaching California for the first time. "He tells a story very, very well," said Howard Terpning, a 78-year-old Tucson painter who is widely hailed as the dean of living Western artists. "But in Mian's case it has to be more difficult, because he's depicting really another world."

‘THE GOLDEN MOUNTAIN, ARRIVING IN SAN FRANCISCO, 1865’: Mian Situ’s favorite painting sold for $72,500 to Howard Terpning, a renowned Western artist.

Monday, August 14, 2006

Jason Danieley and Marin Mazzie's "Opposite You" will thrill you again and again

Fans of married couple Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley have long wondered when the mellifluous-voiced Broadway stars might sing together on an album. OPPOSITE YOU, expanded from their acclaimed evening of duets, is the answer to those prayers, celebratingt duets from Berlin to Arlen to Sondheim. -Amazon.com

"The couple combine for an exquisite 'Happiness' (which Mazzie introduced in Passion), followed by pretty much perfect renditions of 'Good Thing Going' (Danieley) and 'Not A Day Goes By' (Mazzie, and mighty powerful). 'Opposite You' is the name of the CD, from the Danieleys." -Steven Suskin, Playbill Online

"Husband-and-wife duo Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley are the first couple of Broadway. She starred in 'Ragtime' and 'Kiss Me Kate.' He was in 'The Full Monty' and 'Candide.'Now they're showcased in 'Opposite You'...an album of solos and duets that is easily the year's most enjoyable vocal release. Their medley of Irving Berlin duets in priceless, as is their Stephen Sondheim suite." -Chad Jones, Inside the Bay Area

PERSONAL NOTE: Jason and Marin performed songs from their CD in concert Sunday evening at the Ford Amphitheatre. It was an enchanted evening that none of us who were there will ever forget. These two are giant talents with incredible voices.

St Peter's Basilica in Rome is a striking image

(spectacular photo by Ted Casler)

The USS New York -- We will never forget !!

With a year to go before it even touches the water, the Navy's amphibious assault ship USS New York has already made history. It was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center . USS New York is about 45 percent complete and should be ready for launch in mid-2007. Katrina disrupted construction when it pounded the Gulf Coast last summer, but the 684-foot vessel escaped serious damage, and workers were back at the yard near New Orleans two weeks after the storm. It is the fifth in a new class of warship - designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. It will carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines to be delivered ashore by helicopters and assault craft.

"It would be fitting if the first mission this ship would go on is tomake sure that bin Laden is taken out, his terrorist organization is taken out," said Glenn Clement, a paint foreman. "He came in through the back door and knocked our towers down and (the New York ) is coming right through the front door, and we want them to know that."

Steel from the World Trade Center was melted down in a foundry in Amite, La., to cast the ship's bow section. When it was poured into the molds on Sept. 9, 2003, "those big rough steelworkers treated it with total reverence," recalled Navy Capt. Kevin Wensing, who was there. "It was a spiritual moment for everybody there."

Junior Chavers, foundry operations manager, said that when the trade center steel first arrived, he touched it with his hand and the "hair on my neck stood up." "It had a big meaning to it for all of us," he said. "They knocked us down. They can't keep us down. We're going to be back."

The ship's motto? - 'Never Forget'

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Freedom of the Seas: The heavyweight champ

Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas is the most anticipated new-build since Cunard's Queen Mary 2. Sure, part of the buzz surrounds its size -- so to speak. Freedom surpasses the Queen by just 7,000 tons and carries 1,014 more passengers, so the size differential is more hype than reality.

In essence, Freedom of the Seas, which will spawn two sisters (Liberty of the Seas will debut in May 2007 and an as-yet unnamed vessel will launch in 2008), is a stretched version of Royal Caribbean's hugely popular Voyager class of ships. When Voyager of the Seas debuted, the first in the class of five, it made headlines for it's biggest-ever status. But these ships also introduced enduring innovations, such as the first at-sea Johnny Rockets, ice-skating rink, rock-climbing wall and indoor promenade.

And because Freedom of the Seas is a variation on this theme, fans of Voyager-class ships will find much that's comfortingly familiar. The promenade is back, as is the rock-climbing wall, the ice-skating rink, Johnny Rockets, the Promenade Cafe, Ben & Jerry's and Portofino. Indeed, in many public areas, there are hardly any changes in decor and design.

What's really exciting about Freedom of the Seas -- and after a night onboard I found much to get excited about -- are its innovations. Firsts at sea continue with the FlowRider surf park, the magical H2O Zone water park, a children's sun deck, solarium whirlpools that are cantilevered off the side of the ship, a boxing ring and even a men's barber shop!

Ultimately, what I found onboard Freedom of the Seas was a ship that was evolutionary rather than revolutionary in nature. Its new features will no doubt attract the attention of first-timers. At the same time, they are anything but ho-hum for experienced cruisers. While there's something of interest for everyone -- it's also the best ship ever for families.

Saturday, August 12, 2006

HELPFUL SIGNS

Have you seen one of these signs in your community ??

You betcha !!

Remembering . . . . Favorite quotes from the movie "Casablanca"

Rick: Here's looking at you kid.

Yvonne: Where were you last night?

Rick: That's so long ago, I don't remember.

Yvonne: Will I see you tonight?

Rick: I never make plans that far ahead.

Major Strasser: Are you one of those people who cannot imagine the Germans in their beloved Paris?

Rick: It's not particularly my beloved Paris.

Heinz: Can you imagine us in London?

Rick: When you get there, ask me!

Captain Renault: Hmmh! Diplomatist!

Major Strasser: How about New York?

Rick: Well there are certain sections of New York, Major, that I wouldn't advise you to try to invade.

*******

Captain Renault: Carl, see that Major Strasser gets a good table, one close to the ladies.

Carl: I have already given him the best, knowing he is German and would take it anyway.

Ilsa: Play it once, Sam. For old times' sake.

Sam: [lying] I don't know what you mean, Miss Elsa.

Ilsa: Play it, Sam. Play "As Time Goes By."

Sam: [lying] Oh, I can't remember it, Miss Elsa. I'm a little rusty on it.

Ilsa: I'll hum it for you. Da..dee..da..dee..da..dum, da..dee..da..dee..da..dum...

[Sam begins playing on the piano]

Ilsa: Sing it, Sam.

Sam: [singing] You must remember this / A kiss is still a kiss / A sigh is just a sigh / The fundamental things apply / As time goes by. / And when two lovers woo, / They still say, "I love you" / On that you can rely / No matter what the future brings...

Rick: [rushing up] Sam, I thought I told you never to play...

[Rick sees Ilsa. Sam closes the piano and rolls it away]

Rick: How can you close me up? On what grounds?

Captain Renault: I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here.

[A casino worker gives Renault a wad of money.]

Casino Worker: Your winnings, sir.

Captain Renault: [Quietly] Oh, thank you very much. [Loudly] Everybody out at once.

Rick: Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she walks into mine.

Renault: What in heaven's name brought you to Casablanca?

Rick: My health. I came for the waters.

Renault: The waters? What waters? We're in the desert.

Rick: I was misinformed.

Captain Renault: Major Strasser has been shot. Round up the usual suspects.

Ilsa: I know I'll never have the strength to leave you again. I can't fight it anymore. I ran away from you once. I can't do it again.

Rick: I'm saying it because it's true. Inside of us, we both know you belong with Victor. You're part of his work, the thing that keeps him going. If that plane leaves the ground and you're not with him, you'll regret it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but soon and for the rest of your life.

Ilsa: But what about us?

Rick: We'll always have Paris. We didn't have, we, we lost it until you came to Casablanca. We got it back last night.

Ilsa: When I said I would never leave you.

Rick: And you never will. But I've got a job to do, too. Where I'm going, you can't follow. What I've got to do, you can't be any part of. Ilsa, I'm no good at being noble, but it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world. Someday you'll understand that. Now, now... Here's looking at you kid.