Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Monday, November 02, 2009
Sunday Night
Have you ever shown up at a party and felt like an outsider? Well, this was me last night when I arrive at the birthday parties for two sibling restaurants in my neighborhood. Double Crown - a hawker-food inspired tribute to British colonialism in the Far East turned 1. It's older brother Public, one of my favorites (as anybody who has visited me likely knows), turned 6. Both have great food, though I much prefer Public, and both are amazing spaces designed by AvroKO (who you'll notice also did midtown's Quality Meats).
Anyway, as a regular at Public, I got invited. And upon arriving, realized that I was a party that I had no connection to the other party goers (most of whom were more closely linked to the projects and seemed to know each other). But the music was phenomenal and the open bar of killer drinks leveled the playing field.
The throwdown started at Double Crown, and then after a skit whereby costumed waitstaff enacted a battle between a local warriors and British colonial explorer for the affections of three local women, they started a procession to Public for the second phase of the party.
At 10:30pm about 100 of us filed down Elizabeth Street from Bleecker to Prince, as people played instruments and waitstaff served more appetizers and strategically-placed kiosks on the street.
Inside Public the party was done up even better. The Edison light bulbs were all red (how do they do that Glennie?), there were DJ's and silhouetted dancers and I gotta say, it's been a while since I've seen people have such a good time on a Sunday night. I reckon there was a heavy dose of bar staff in the crowd. A few celebs too, as I saw Julia Stiles with some regular dude she's dating and also the famous artist Chuck Close.
I've been to some over-the-top parties, some in Paris spring to mind, the Cirque du Soleil NY launch back in the spring, and even a cottage party in the Laurentian Mountains a few weeks ago. But this one takes the cake. One of the party insiders said that they try to outdo themselves each year. I'm already looking forward to next year.
Anyway, as a regular at Public, I got invited. And upon arriving, realized that I was a party that I had no connection to the other party goers (most of whom were more closely linked to the projects and seemed to know each other). But the music was phenomenal and the open bar of killer drinks leveled the playing field.
The throwdown started at Double Crown, and then after a skit whereby costumed waitstaff enacted a battle between a local warriors and British colonial explorer for the affections of three local women, they started a procession to Public for the second phase of the party.
At 10:30pm about 100 of us filed down Elizabeth Street from Bleecker to Prince, as people played instruments and waitstaff served more appetizers and strategically-placed kiosks on the street.
Inside Public the party was done up even better. The Edison light bulbs were all red (how do they do that Glennie?), there were DJ's and silhouetted dancers and I gotta say, it's been a while since I've seen people have such a good time on a Sunday night. I reckon there was a heavy dose of bar staff in the crowd. A few celebs too, as I saw Julia Stiles with some regular dude she's dating and also the famous artist Chuck Close.
I've been to some over-the-top parties, some in Paris spring to mind, the Cirque du Soleil NY launch back in the spring, and even a cottage party in the Laurentian Mountains a few weeks ago. But this one takes the cake. One of the party insiders said that they try to outdo themselves each year. I'm already looking forward to next year.
Sunday, November 01, 2009
GuyQuotes>Decline of America's Advantage
"More people will graduate in the United States in 2006 with sport-exercise degrees than electrical-engineering degrees. So, if we want to be the massage capital of the world, we're well on our way."
- Jeffrey Immelt
CEO, General Electric
- Jeffrey Immelt
CEO, General Electric
Enjoying Tyler Brûlé Again
My buddy Sam Sniderman was visiting from London two weeks ago, and over a boozy brunch at Freeman's we were swapping media suggestions to an early eighties soundtrack with The Cure in heavily rotation (much to both our delight).
Sam mentioned to me how much he enjoyed the weekly writings of Tyler Brûlé in the FT, which I had noticed a month ago when thumbing through OMERS' copy at Douglas' one Sunday in Toronto. I hadn't realized it was a regular column.
So I dug in to FT.com and started catching up, and have to agree with Sam. Tyler is a fellow Canadian and the founder of my beloved Wallpaper magazine. He had sold it to Time a while back and went on to a bunch of other things and I lost track of him while I waiting patiently for Wallpaper to work through the transition.
His writing has the same flavor that drew me to Wallpaper over a decade ago: A balance of over-the-top snobbery and self-deprecating modesty. Clever writing about an aspirational world that you don't feel guilty about understanding or craving.
Tyler's Fast Lane column is part of my regular RSS feed now. I encourage you to check him out. You can start with this week's nostalgic look at the ritual of the Saturday night trip to video store.
Sam mentioned to me how much he enjoyed the weekly writings of Tyler Brûlé in the FT, which I had noticed a month ago when thumbing through OMERS' copy at Douglas' one Sunday in Toronto. I hadn't realized it was a regular column.
So I dug in to FT.com and started catching up, and have to agree with Sam. Tyler is a fellow Canadian and the founder of my beloved Wallpaper magazine. He had sold it to Time a while back and went on to a bunch of other things and I lost track of him while I waiting patiently for Wallpaper to work through the transition.
His writing has the same flavor that drew me to Wallpaper over a decade ago: A balance of over-the-top snobbery and self-deprecating modesty. Clever writing about an aspirational world that you don't feel guilty about understanding or craving.
Tyler's Fast Lane column is part of my regular RSS feed now. I encourage you to check him out. You can start with this week's nostalgic look at the ritual of the Saturday night trip to video store.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Things you need to stop tweeting about
10 Things You Need to Stop Tweeting About. I particularly agree with #1 and #5.
If I could also add a couple more of my own:
#11 - Your progress on @foursquare
(What is this? Like real-world D&D/SimCity?!?)
#12 - A play-by-play of the sporting event you're at/watching
(If I cared, I'd be watching it too.)
If I could also add a couple more of my own:
#11 - Your progress on @foursquare
(What is this? Like real-world D&D/SimCity?!?)
#12 - A play-by-play of the sporting event you're at/watching
(If I cared, I'd be watching it too.)
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Mac v. PC
This is absolutely awesome.
Thanks to Annu for sending it my way and giving me a huge mid-afternoon laugh.
Thanks to Annu for sending it my way and giving me a huge mid-afternoon laugh.
For real this time: Simplify your scheduling
I gave a shout out to the people over at Tungle about 2.5 years ago when they launched their baby.
As with any beta product, it had its teething issues. I had some early successes with it, but also had some issues with it that prohibited me from using it consistently and getting real efficiency from it. So I stopped using it.
Earlier this year, faced with trying to coordinate bi-coastal teams of overly distracted people, with no common calendar app or platform, and an aggressive project schedule, I decided to try 'er again.
This time it was a huge success. My colleagues, of varied tech-savvy, all with executive-ADD, and ex-McK analytical skills, loved it. For our internal project, it worked like a charm, and let us book meetings without the usual 3 - 10 emails back and forth.
We continue to use Tungle in a small group internally. The next step we're hoping for is an enterprise-wide version - with our own branding and style - that will allow us to leverage Tungle externally with our clients. As we're a professional services outfit, this is where we spend all our time. Having Tungle handle this for us will be nirvana, in my opinion.
Marc and the gang and Tungle have come a long way and they should be proud. And I'm even more stoked for the future.
Check it out. I think you'll dig it.
As with any beta product, it had its teething issues. I had some early successes with it, but also had some issues with it that prohibited me from using it consistently and getting real efficiency from it. So I stopped using it.
Earlier this year, faced with trying to coordinate bi-coastal teams of overly distracted people, with no common calendar app or platform, and an aggressive project schedule, I decided to try 'er again.
This time it was a huge success. My colleagues, of varied tech-savvy, all with executive-ADD, and ex-McK analytical skills, loved it. For our internal project, it worked like a charm, and let us book meetings without the usual 3 - 10 emails back and forth.
We continue to use Tungle in a small group internally. The next step we're hoping for is an enterprise-wide version - with our own branding and style - that will allow us to leverage Tungle externally with our clients. As we're a professional services outfit, this is where we spend all our time. Having Tungle handle this for us will be nirvana, in my opinion.
Marc and the gang and Tungle have come a long way and they should be proud. And I'm even more stoked for the future.
Check it out. I think you'll dig it.
Monday, October 19, 2009
The tough times continue in NYC
I'm working out of my office in the Financial District (FiDi) of Manhattan this week for a change. I typically only work here a few days a month but when I do, I favor a few special lunch joints. Well today, it took me almost an 40 minutes to find some reasonable chow, dttf that two of them had shut down! Bread & Olive - which made the best falafel lunch platter and Zen Palate - which made the best shredded veggie plate, are both closed. Not cool.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Thinking more about the iPhone
Lately I've been seeing more and more cool apps for the iPhone. Apps for budgeting/expenses, for list management/productivity, and a multitude of other things I'm into. So many apps in fact, that I started to seriously consider *trying* an iPhone.
Then I saw this ad:
On second thought, never mind. This points out all the flaws in addition to the crappy phone functionality that Sanj pointed out in an earlier discussion on this subject, and the fact that it just doesn't come across as a serious business device.
All that said, I have to wonder what BlackBerry has up their sleeve. It is their game to lose, and those smart guys in Waterloo have had plenty of time to come up with a way of fueling app development for their devices (other than their "App Store" which provided the portal but not the content).
The future is all about the apps and if RIM doesn't make some radical moves, they will be left in the dust.
I, for one, am not ruling them out. They've got the money and the smarts to pull this off.
Then I saw this ad:
On second thought, never mind. This points out all the flaws in addition to the crappy phone functionality that Sanj pointed out in an earlier discussion on this subject, and the fact that it just doesn't come across as a serious business device.
All that said, I have to wonder what BlackBerry has up their sleeve. It is their game to lose, and those smart guys in Waterloo have had plenty of time to come up with a way of fueling app development for their devices (other than their "App Store" which provided the portal but not the content).
The future is all about the apps and if RIM doesn't make some radical moves, they will be left in the dust.
I, for one, am not ruling them out. They've got the money and the smarts to pull this off.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
GuyWatches>Paris
A similar theme centered around a lonely young dancer with a failing heart and the interplaying stories of people around him in Paris. Again, while the "6 independent stories all turn out to be interconnected" angle is overworked these days, this one was somehow fresh. The intersection was tangential at best as each character explored their own heart ailments. Fantastically acted by some of France's best actors, this too was a lot of fun to watch despite the slightly somber theme. The central character though, was the city itself which was shown from all of its breathtaking angles. Paris is so often touted in the springtime, that one forgets just how beautiful it is in the fall and winter, when this story takes place. If nothing else, it reminded me why I think Paris is the best city in the world.
GuyWatches>One Week
This flick invoked every last sense of patriotism and nostalgia in my body. Set to a fresh soundtrack of Canadian artists (including at least two cameos), lit by beautiful scenery, this is the story of a young teacher played by Joshua Jackson. Diagnosed with terminal cancer, he reevaluates his life, and hits the road on a motorbike in search of adventure and self-exploration. While that particular theme could have easily gotten tired fast, it was freshly executed and played with you nicely without getting too heavy. Despite the morbid subject matter, it was engaging and lively and an absolute pleasure to watch. And it yanked on my Canuck heartstrings incessantly. Probably the best body of work I've seen Joshua Jackson in, so I must commend him for his performance.
Some great flicks
Tucked away in KJ's cozy 60's bungalow in Calgary SW avoiding the sub-zero temperatures, I managed to have a very relaxing Thanksgiving weekend. Part of this meant watching a couple of fantastic movies that actually had a common thread. Each was the story of someone facing their mortality and each skillfully leveraged their surrounding geography to tell that story (one used Canada, the other the city of Paris). It's not often I randomly pick two winners in one night, but this weekend proved an exception.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Things I Don't Understand About the US #412
Your health care system.
Not only is the current - clearly dysfunctional - system a complete mystery to me, but so is the widespread opposition to socialized health care, made so public in the Town Hall meetings a few months ago.
I have been a US resident for just over a year and a half. Fortunately I have not had to see a doctor yet (am lucky enough that I have doctor friends to write me prescriptions where necessary) but booking a dentist appointment for the first time was a lot more complicated that I would have expected. It took the several calls with the receptionist to identify the details of my plan and then another few days for her to confirm that my insurer would cover their services.
I'm certain I will have to go through similar complexities when I want to see a physician. Then there are all the complications of doctors who are "out of network" and services that aren't covered and "co-pays" and a bunch of other bizarre concepts.
But the complexity is not what my real problem is with the US health care system (since I'm sure I'll figure it all out soon enough). My problem is with the cost, and by extension the uninsured.
America pays more on health care per person each year than any other nation in the world (see this great article in this month's Men's Health that informed a lot of my thinking on this matter) and there are still 46 million people uninsured. To put that into perspective that is the entire population of South Africa. Or 1.4 times the population of Canada.
There are all these people who are not covered. People who are avoiding the emergency room because it is so expensive. Nobody I have talked to feels they are getting the quality of care they would like. And doctors - of which I know quite a few - feel that they're both underpaid and hugely inefficient.
So why are people so opposed to socialized medicine?
Argument #1 is the price tag. Well, some new small taxes on those that are profiting from products that contribute to America's main health problems (obesity, heart disease, cancer, etc.) are a great start. The proposed tax on soda is perfect. Extend that to foods that don't meet a certain health profile and you're getting closer. Then increase the existing tax on tobacco. And to double the government's funds and make doubly sure people understand the cause-effect of their lifestyles and bear a proportional burden, let's introduce a fit credit (notice I didn't say "fat tax") on citizens. Just a little kicker for taking care of yourself, and not overloading our hospitals and clinics.
Argument #2 is that they don't want to put the decision in the hands of the government. Who has ever said that would be the case? The notion of "government screeners" is completely fabricated and would never happen (I've never seen one). And besides, whose hand is your health care in now? A big profit-mongering insurance company. The entire thing is preposterous.
You count on the government to make sure your food is safe, terrorists don't board your planes and trains, and your water is clean. You count on the government to supply vaccines and programs the second a new virus appears on the scene. Why can't they play a more active role in (re)structuring and funding health care? I'm sure they'll do a better job of managing your health care bills than the insurance agents.
With an ageing population needing more and better health care, and the increasingly unhealthy lifestyles of the young, this problem is going to get worse and worse.
The system needs to get reengineered now. The insurance companies will hate it, but once all the current inefficiencies are worked out, it won't be so bad. They can adapt. Every other industry has had to do it at one time or another. Old doctors will also hate it, because they'll have to conform to an entirely new system and it will be painful and costly for lots of them. But eventually everything will work itself out and the new system will be better. The new system will also have problems, maybe some like the ones we have in Canada (long wait times to see doctors, etc.) but thanks to capitalism and the free market that makes the USA wonderful, these too will be overcome with time.
I wish Obama and the American people the best of luck. I'm rooting for you.
Not only is the current - clearly dysfunctional - system a complete mystery to me, but so is the widespread opposition to socialized health care, made so public in the Town Hall meetings a few months ago.
I have been a US resident for just over a year and a half. Fortunately I have not had to see a doctor yet (am lucky enough that I have doctor friends to write me prescriptions where necessary) but booking a dentist appointment for the first time was a lot more complicated that I would have expected. It took the several calls with the receptionist to identify the details of my plan and then another few days for her to confirm that my insurer would cover their services.
I'm certain I will have to go through similar complexities when I want to see a physician. Then there are all the complications of doctors who are "out of network" and services that aren't covered and "co-pays" and a bunch of other bizarre concepts.
But the complexity is not what my real problem is with the US health care system (since I'm sure I'll figure it all out soon enough). My problem is with the cost, and by extension the uninsured.
America pays more on health care per person each year than any other nation in the world (see this great article in this month's Men's Health that informed a lot of my thinking on this matter) and there are still 46 million people uninsured. To put that into perspective that is the entire population of South Africa. Or 1.4 times the population of Canada.
There are all these people who are not covered. People who are avoiding the emergency room because it is so expensive. Nobody I have talked to feels they are getting the quality of care they would like. And doctors - of which I know quite a few - feel that they're both underpaid and hugely inefficient.
So why are people so opposed to socialized medicine?
Argument #1 is the price tag. Well, some new small taxes on those that are profiting from products that contribute to America's main health problems (obesity, heart disease, cancer, etc.) are a great start. The proposed tax on soda is perfect. Extend that to foods that don't meet a certain health profile and you're getting closer. Then increase the existing tax on tobacco. And to double the government's funds and make doubly sure people understand the cause-effect of their lifestyles and bear a proportional burden, let's introduce a fit credit (notice I didn't say "fat tax") on citizens. Just a little kicker for taking care of yourself, and not overloading our hospitals and clinics.
Argument #2 is that they don't want to put the decision in the hands of the government. Who has ever said that would be the case? The notion of "government screeners" is completely fabricated and would never happen (I've never seen one). And besides, whose hand is your health care in now? A big profit-mongering insurance company. The entire thing is preposterous.
You count on the government to make sure your food is safe, terrorists don't board your planes and trains, and your water is clean. You count on the government to supply vaccines and programs the second a new virus appears on the scene. Why can't they play a more active role in (re)structuring and funding health care? I'm sure they'll do a better job of managing your health care bills than the insurance agents.
With an ageing population needing more and better health care, and the increasingly unhealthy lifestyles of the young, this problem is going to get worse and worse.
The system needs to get reengineered now. The insurance companies will hate it, but once all the current inefficiencies are worked out, it won't be so bad. They can adapt. Every other industry has had to do it at one time or another. Old doctors will also hate it, because they'll have to conform to an entirely new system and it will be painful and costly for lots of them. But eventually everything will work itself out and the new system will be better. The new system will also have problems, maybe some like the ones we have in Canada (long wait times to see doctors, etc.) but thanks to capitalism and the free market that makes the USA wonderful, these too will be overcome with time.
I wish Obama and the American people the best of luck. I'm rooting for you.
Back in Kensington, Calgary
The logo for Pulcinella shows the legendary puppet holding a wooden peel (which we assume he will be using to unload a fresh pizza from a masonry oven). It is fitting that it looks like a joker, because that is what the guys working the oven were.
I really like the space, but the pizza was disappointing: sweaty cheese and a completely undercooked center crust.
The irony of the experience, is that the waiter told me that they are the only "ANP certified" or "Authentic Napoletana Pizza" which I highly doubt is the case.
It should come as no surprise to readers that the best wood-fired oven pizzas I've had were at Morris East in Halifax and at Tuscany on Bowen Island, BC.
I really like the space, but the pizza was disappointing: sweaty cheese and a completely undercooked center crust.
The irony of the experience, is that the waiter told me that they are the only "ANP certified" or "Authentic Napoletana Pizza" which I highly doubt is the case.
It should come as no surprise to readers that the best wood-fired oven pizzas I've had were at Morris East in Halifax and at Tuscany on Bowen Island, BC.
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Nashville delivers
Though my eyes lingered on the dish with preserved lemon (one of my favorite ingredients) I opted for the snapper with chickpea and spinach stew.
I will be back.
PS. The olives were very Morris East, marinated in chunks of fennel with preserved lemon, garlic and rosemary (my herb of choice.)
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T so please excuse brevity and any typos.
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Winter in Montreal
From 30 degrees at lunch in Austin yesterday to 7 degrees at lunch today in Montreal.
Je suis not amused.
Je suis not amused.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
More on taking on Microsoft...
Like a month ago, I posted about the court injunction that prohibited Microsoft from selling further copies of Word.
(Ironically, literally days after this post, I was at a private party at Toronto's Spoke Club thrown by Microsoft for their #1 reseller in Canada...one of my clients.)
Well, the battle against Microsoft continues, and it seems like Loudon and i4i are winning:
A fun article in ROB Magazine.
(Ironically, literally days after this post, I was at a private party at Toronto's Spoke Club thrown by Microsoft for their #1 reseller in Canada...one of my clients.)
Well, the battle against Microsoft continues, and it seems like Loudon and i4i are winning:
A fun article in ROB Magazine.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Whole Foods Success
I was eating at the Whole Foods world headquarters the other day and they have a mural showing the milestones in its story. It seems they became the powerhouse they are today by acquiring smaller natural/health-oriented stores throughout the US over the last few decades.
Now if you expected any company to grow organically...
I'm just sayin'.
Now if you expected any company to grow organically...
I'm just sayin'.
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