Gotham Gal

who are the role models?

My brother wrote a great post the other day called "role models and fallen idols" which got me thinking, who are the role models for the next generation?

I have always believed the lack of role models is one of the many serious problems in our inner cities. Kids grow up and need role models. They need to have a support system that gives them boundaries, teaches them manners, builds up their self esteem, see that their dreams are achievable and most important give them a huge amount of love.

At some point, our kids have taken to movie stars, rock stars and top athletes to be role models. These are people who have achieved success in their chosen fields. Many of them aren't exactly what I'd like to have as role models for my kids.

Tiger Woods, who obviously has drive, focus, a family and is one of the most amazing golfers of our time ended up, as many do, not being a role model. I could create a huge list here of the many fallen "role models" over the years. He fell hard.

On another note, last week there was a meeting called by President Obama of the top bankers in our country. 3 of them, had to call in because they couldn't get to DC. Supposedly there were weather issues but hey, they could have taken the train, as many do who go back and forth from DC to NYC. They called in, which regardless whether you believe in the politics of Obama or the changes he wants to make in the banking industry, it is utterly disrespectful.

I bring up the Obama meeting with Tiger Woods because both of these actions send a direction message to our youth. I might be the best golfer in the world and appear to be happily married while I rake in the profits from tournaments and sponsors who thinking I am an outstanding citizen and role model but in truth, I'm a douche bag. For the bankers, they have basically said, we are bigger and more powerful than the President because we are rich and untouchable so screw you, we are going to play hardball and not come to your meeting. It is truly a sad portrayal of where we are as a country. Granted, the economy isn't so great but these actions represent a fundamental undercurrent which leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

How do these actions create a desire for our youth to have respect for each other, a desire for hard work incorporated with good values and the desire to be a leaders. All these things are what good role models teach.

None of these people signed up to be role models but in our society, whether you like it or not, they are seen as role models to our youth. I have to ask, where the hell are the heroes that we can dream about becoming in the times that we live in? It sure as hell isn't Lloyd Blankfein and Tiger Woods.

Comments (View) / Posted December 18, 2009 in musings

The annual holiday card

WISHING YOU A HAPPY, HEALTHY AND POSITIVELY UNIQUE YEAR.

I have been sending out an annual holiday card for 20 years or so. Yes, even before kids. Our list has seriously grown over the years. I sent out 200 cards this week. Yikes. All these cards went through the good old fashioned USPS.

We get many cards in the mail too. It is fun to read them, see the pictures and just have that annual check in. Some people we have not seen in a very very long time. I put them in a basket in the kitchen and everyone checks it for the latest card.

The most frustrating thing is just using USPS. We put a Donors Choose card in some of the cards (I didn't have 200 of them). Just before I sent out the card, I had a moment and realized that those cards probably need more postage. I checked the info on line. Weighed the card on my handy kitchen scale and added the proper postage. Wouldn't you know it that 7 of the cards came back yesterday but I know for a fact that others got them through emails. So annoying. Makes me think about sending next years card out through email but it just isn't the same thing.

The Donors choose card has been a huge hit. The card gave each person an opportunity to pick something on the site to give to, on us. Hopefully every person was turned on to the site and the concept of giving through Donors Choose and will continue to do so throughout the year.

For all of those who read my blog, I am posting the card because I want to wish you and yours a happy holiday too. This year, it had to be 3 separate pictures. Getting the kids to take a group picture as they get older has proved to be more difficult than need be.

Ollie got the back of the card. After all, he is our newest family member this year.

Comments (View) / Posted December 18, 2009 in musings

Is the year over yet?

I get the feeling that everyone is just looking forward to the end of this year. Maybe it the economy or the constant media coming at us...way too much information. Or maybe it is just the mild insanity I feel these days but I kind of want a fresh slate.

The last few days I have been tying up loose ends from travel to new home to business deals to kids stuff, etc. Frankly, I am exhausted. I sort of feel like the picture. Emily is the only one who is not blurry. The feeling of being in a fog and looking for some sanity on the other end.

I am once again in the throes of basketball. I went to 4 games so far this week between Josh and Emily.

We are off to Buenos Aires next week, any suggestions that I can add to the list, comment away. Although I might find myself just chilling in a cafe but I seriously doubt it.

Comments (View) / Posted December 17, 2009 in musings

Owning your own holiday

Everyone has certain family traditions. You grow up and generally continue them but sometimes you do everything not to follow those footsteps.

I grew up in a reform Jewish household. There was certainly a connection to Judaism on some level. My parents were involved with starting 2 temples which are now the 2 largest reform congregations in the country. You would have thought we were big Jews but we weren't.

I could probably list a million reasons of the reality of how I found myself disconnected from being Jewish growing up but I will save that for therapy . Neither me nor my siblings were bar/bat mitzvah'd. Yet when we had children, I wanted to give them a connection to Judaism. For whatever reason, I felt it was important. Not sure what kind of job I did there but my guess is, time will tell. In the post-bar/bat mitzvah life, they have zero interest but I am hoping sometime around their mid-20's something will hit.

All our kids went to Hebrew school from the time they were 8 until they got bar/bat mitzvah'd. My brother, funny enough, is doing the same thing with his kids. We are Jewish and perhaps passing on our heritage gives us an ability to connect to our religion in a different way as adults.

On Sunday night, we went to our friends house to celebrate Hanukkah. This is a guy who was raised orthodox. The room was a mix of reform, conservative and orthodox Jews (growing up) but we are all friends and my friend wanted to embrace the holiday and make it his own.

It was a wonderful evening. Latkes, brisket and jelly donuts on the menu. Food is always, no matter how religious you are, a major part of every Jewish event. So, we ate, we drank and lit the candles.

One friend, who is a singer, sang "Light my Fire" by Jim Morrison. My friend, who lit the candles, sang a song that his grandfather taught him for Hanukkah. After all of this, spoke to us and Amichai Lau-Lavie basically deconstructed the holiday. There was conversation around his whole schtick. He is an Israeli born teacher of Storahtelling. He was really fantastic, thought provoking and funny at the same time.

It was such a nice evening on so many levels. It allowed everyone there to continue their personal connection to Judaism be it their desire to continue in their family traditions or shift from being orthodox to becoming a little more reformed. But what was really nice, it let this group of friends connect at a different level because the one constant is that we are all Jewish. We all owned it in our own way as a group without any family and some serious killer jelly donuts.

Comments (View) / Posted December 15, 2009 in Religion

Red Stamp

How will we correspond in the future?

Of course, we are corresponding at lighting speed these days. We are also communicating more now than ever than before through email, text, bbm, etc., Yet, how about for special occasions or just a shout to say feel better or bar/bat mitzvah and wedding invitations or all the greeting card events such as Valentines Day, Fathers Day and Mothers Day?

The local card shops seem to be on the outs. The rents are high and they just aren't doing enough volume to account for the overhead. The business is moving online be it a card, stationary or an evite.

The physical snail mail card business isn't going to evaporate anytime soon. It might transform but it will continue. Personally, I believe some notes should be written by hand. When you receive a gift from lets say a wedding or bar mitzvahs or a new baby, I want to see a handwritten card show up in the mail. Other events, I am happy to get a nice email. Granted, communication is changing and everyone has their own set of do's and don'ts.

Rules are changing everywhere and the fun part is getting involved with the change instead of sticking to the status quo. This is a quote from one of my favorite people, Mo Koyfman, that hits the nail right on head. "Suppliers will hold up distributors every chance they get and almost always struggle to embrace today’s necessary digital ubiquity, fearing erosion of their business rather than recognizing the power of massive distribution". What he is talking about took place in the music industry, the publishing industry and is slowly taking place in other industries too. It is the companies that are embracing change and trying to figure out the new will be the leaders of the future.

Correspondence is social and I believe that the distribution of this particular business is changing. To give you an idea of the size of this business, Hallmark Greeting Cards (which is only one piece of the pie) did $4.3 billion in 2008. I have many thoughts on this topic but am thrilled to join Red Stamp as an advisor. I actually met the owner of Red Stamp through my blog. Love that. Super smart group of people, great site with great ideas about how correspondence in the future is going to play itself out. I am looking forward to being involved with Red Stamp on the correspondence road map.

Comments (View) / Posted December 13, 2009 in businesses

Gift

Thanks to Gabe at Joseph Leonard, I met Max Steiner. Max is a jewelry designer, sculpture, product designer and many more things. More important, he is a doll to work with.

I loved the lego pieces in his collection and decided to commission Max to make something for me to give to Fred. This piece, which I love, pretty much represents what has probably been the key to our relationship. We both love to build things. We might go about things in a different way but at the end of the way, but it works. We had built a family, first and foremost, a life, businesses and for good or bad, a variety of places to live.

Needless to say, the gift was a hit.

Comments (View) / Posted December 12, 2009 in art

A moment of culture..

Yesterday, I went to look at office space with my friend and eventual partner in a business (but that is a story for later). The office is located at 594 Broadway which is between Prince and Houston.

The office was perfect, a slam dunk. As we made our way back to the elevator, we passed MoCCA which is located right outside the elevator. MoCCA is the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art. I had read about the current show so we went in for a quick look.

First of all, how many cities would have a random museum on the 4th floor of a building in what could be an office. Not many. The exhibit is the history of Archie. It was great.

I grew up on Archie comics particularly at camp as a few always came in the care package. I sent my kids Archie comics when they were at camp too. I had read recently that Archie had married Veronica instead of Betty. I guess he went for the cash. LOL!

Anyway, the exhibit is great. Probably a blast with kids. There is also the off-shoots such as Josie and the Pussycats, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and of course the Archie comics from the beginning to now. It is funny to see how the 60's comics were a bit skewed with the times as well as the ones created currently.

A quick trip if you happen to be walking around Soho. Always nice to get a quick dose of culture when you were least expecting it.

Comments (View) / Posted December 12, 2009 in art

Happy Hanukkah

How could I not make latkes tonight? Delicious, messy, guaranteed to smell up the entire house and a once a year treat.

6 Yukon Gold Potatoes, grated with skin
1 large Vidalia onion grated
3 eggs
1/4 cup of matzo meal
salt and pepper

Mix this all together. In all honesty, I am giving a guesstimate. I never really measure just sort of do it by feel. Deep fry in vegetable oil. Make sure when you put the potatoes in the oil, that you have really squeezed all the liquid out. Flip when browned on one side, brown the other and set on newspaper or paper towels to soak up the oil. Keep warm at 260 in the oven until ready to serve. Serve with sour cream or applesauce.

Yum....or and Happ Hanukkah.

Comments (View) / Posted December 11, 2009 in recipes

Urs Fischer: New Museum

Winter hit NYC today. Bummer.

Fred and I spent a bit of the day together today. We lunched at Ruby's in Nolita and did a bit of strolling, shopping and such. We also hit up the New Museum.

I have been to the New Museum a few times. I don't love the spaces there. Almost like a gritty gallery trying to do it on the cheap but maybe that is the look. I wanted to see the Urs Fischer exhibit and so we went.

This is the first solo exhibit for Fischer in an American museum. The work on the top floor, I believe, was made exclusively for this show. Over-sized clay looking aluminum structures. As you continue downstairs, each floor has a different vibe with different sculptures. The third floor has a very cool purple piano that appears to be melting. Personally, I wasn't that into either floor but the second floor was a total, love.

The second floor is filled with triangular and square cubes of aluminum that are then covered with images. They are fantastic. Different angles of a cupcake, a lipstick tube, half a loaf of bread, a sneaker, a Dell computer, a Balanciaga sandal, etc. It is a maze of these cubes. Each one reveals itself to you are you walk through the room. Clever, thought provoking and I would love to bring one home!

I am still not loving the New Museum but the 2nd floor is absolutely worth the trip. Kids would love it.

Comments (View) / Posted December 10, 2009 in art

The Highline rules

The New Yorker posted an article called the Ten Most Positive Architectural Events of 2009. Needless to say, the Highline was the first thing on the list.

When I first had the opportunity to walk the Highline, it was just weeds and graffiti. But I got more and more excited every step I took. It was so obvious that turning these old train tracks into a park would be a huge change for downtown NYC. Architecturally it would change the landscape. Certainly looking at NYC from that vantage point is incredible and anyone who has experienced it will certainly agree.

Here is the paragraph on the Highline from Paul Goldberger from the New Yorker.

Far and away the most uplifting thing to happen in New York this year was the completion of the first segment of the High Line, the magnificent promenade/public park atop the old elevated freight line running through West Chelsea. Designed by designed by James Corner Field Operations and Diller, Scofidio and Renfro, it is crisp, fresh, inviting, and comfortable, and if there is any shortcoming to this brilliant design, it is that it has made this area even more chic than it was before.

On another note, I couldn't so easily cut and paste this from the New Yorker. They still own their content! Interesting.