Speicherville

Kourosh Dini on Actively Working

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 10:59:00 -0700

One thing I actively work on, and have been actively working on for sometime, is maintaining a non-reactive mode of working. Fortunately, or unfortunately, as technology continues its steady advance promising “convenience”, I believe it’s not really a convenience which it delivers. Rather, it’s a shortening of a distance between thought and action. If I’m not careful, this can lead to a more reactive way of working - checking email, twitter, and the like reflexively.
People have grown through a period of time where thought had more opportunity to gestate, merge, form, crystallize, and otherwise before it would eventually manifest as intention. Now, as that distance has shortened, we are delivered a new problem in that we have to devise new methods of holding onto our thoughts, working through them, and eventually delivering them in ways that require holding off the natural inclination of acting upon opportunity.
Just because I can search for an answer to a question instantly, doesn’t mean I should. Simply resting my mind on a question and letting thoughts meander can deliver some pretty cool ideas. But when I instantly search for an answer, I can actually deprive myself of those new concepts that can only come from a period of thought.

(via Instapaper)

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Opera Garnier

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 14:54:00 -0700

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Chateau Versailles

Sun, 17 Apr 2011 14:42:00 -0700

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Yes, I still have photos I haven't uploaded from our trip to Paris.

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On the News

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 05:24:38 -0700

On the News by Mandy Brown

Meanwhile, I’ve grown more particular about the kind of news I want. I want a reading experience that defends the news from the circus that online advertising creates. I want good storytelling and analysis, not naked facts. I want news that admits and defends its point of view (and acknowledges that there is a truth to be uncovered), not news that parrots the party line while making claims to objectivity. I want long essays on the events at Fukushima and the consequences for nuclear power going forward, not shrieking dispatches of each new fire or setback. I want a history of American engagement in Libya, putting the events of the past few weeks in context. I want twenty thousand words on the recession and its effects on the middle class, not another lone statistic about the unemployment rate. I want thoughtful, investigative journalism that exposes the ways in which our government is failing us, so that we can make it better.

And I am willing to pay for it.

I am willing to pay for it too. In fact, I am already via Readability and Read & Trust.

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Early Spring

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 20:13:00 -0700

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Thomas Jefferson and Preparing for Meetings

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 20:36:41 -0800

Thomas Jefferson and Preparing for Meetings

The Brooks Review

Karl Fogel via John D. Cook:

His purpose was strategic: to show up at the meeting with something so substantive that everyone else would have to fall into the role of simply proposing modifications to it, so that the overall shape, and therefore schedule, of the project would be roughly as he wanted.”

Now that is a clever plan.

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Sent with Reeder

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Parked in front of me as I checked out

Sun, 27 Feb 2011 07:38:10 -0800

I just kept repeating to myself "whatever you do, don't hit it."

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Omakase at Takao

Fri, 25 Feb 2011 23:28:00 -0800

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I went to a great sushi place tonight in LA and had the Omakase (where you let the sushi chef choose for you). It was amazing. Here is a list of the 10 courses and some pictures of them.

Hairy crab kegani
Japanese taira scallop
Spanish mackerel sashimi salad
Toro tartare with caviar
Sweet shrimp, uni and truffles with tempura shrimp head
Grilled ama-dai snapper
Beef short ribs "ronan"
Duck miso soup
5 pieces sushi
Coffee jelly with vanilla ice cream, fruit and black sugar honey

http://www.takaobrentwood.com/

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Article: ‘I, Reader’

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 23:10:23 -0800

‘I, Reader’
http://www.themorningnews.org/archives/personal_essays/i_reader.php

By presenting us with a limitless number of nonstopped stories, the narratives that the media relate—the consumption of which has so dramatically cut into the time the educated public once devoted to reading—offer a lesson in amorality and detachment that is antithetical to the one embodied by the enterprise of the novel. In storytelling as practiced by the novelist, there is always—as I have argued—an ethical component. This ethical component is not the truth, as opposed to the falsity of the chronicle. It is the model of completeness, of felt intensity, of enlightenment supplied by the story, and its resolution—which is the opposite of the model of obtuseness, of non-understanding, of passive dismay, and the consequent numbing of feeling, offered by our media-disseminated glut of unending stories…. (“Time exists in order that it doesn’t happen all at once … space exists so that it doesn’t all happen to you.”)
To tell a story is to say: this is the important story. It is to reduce the spread and simultaneity of everything to something linear, a path.
To be a moral human being is to pay, be obliged to pay, certain kinds of attentio

(via Instapaper)

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Blue Cheese, Salary

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 06:42:51 -0800

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Montmartre

Sun, 05 Dec 2010 16:24:00 -0800

After our tour of the Loire Valley, we drove back to Paris and stayed in an apartment in Montmartre, a neighborhood on a hill that overlooks Paris. At the top of the hill is Sacre Couer, a basilica one can see from all over Paris, including our apartment. The first photo in this gallery is the view of the Sacre Couer from our apartment. The rest are of Sacre Couer and the public park below it.

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Here are some photos from our nearby metro stop (if you have a sharp eye, you'll see this stop in Amelie) and a random car.

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While certain sections of Montmartre can be ridiculously touristy, you can still have lots of fun if you stay off the beaten path. Finally, some scenic shots from the hills of Montmartre.

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Sainte Chapelle

Thu, 25 Nov 2010 21:43:00 -0800

It isn't much to look at from the outside, but Sainte Chapelle is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. We visited during the day (it is only a block from Notre Dame Cathedral) but returned later in the week on Kandy's birthday. That night at sunset we attended a violin concerto, Vivaldi's "Four Seasons." It was one of the most memorable nights of our trip. If I play that music and close my eyes, it takes me right back the sunset concerto.

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Chartres Cathedral

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 09:25:01 -0800

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Why Making Dinner Is a Good Idea

Sun, 14 Nov 2010 17:56:00 -0800

Why Making Dinner Is a Good Idea | Wired Science | Wired.com
http://m.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/11/why-making-dinner-is-a-good-idea/

Why do the microwave and frozen dinner inexorably lead to obesity? According to the economists, the cheapness of calories (both in terms of price and time) has led us to dramatically boost consumption. Food stops being something we make and create — it doesn’t require very many lever presses, so to speak — and becomes something we simply ingest. Eating just gets easier. And then we get fatter.
But maybe we’re not just consuming more calories because they’re available at such a low cost. Maybe we’re also consuming more calories because each calorie gives us less pleasure. The lesson of those lever-pressing mice, after all, is that when we don’t work for our food — when it only requires a single press, or a few whirls of the microwave — it tastes much less delicious.

(via Instapaper)

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Chateau Chambord

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 04:58:00 -0700

Aside from Chateau Versailles, Chateau Chambord was the most impressive of them all. We arrived on the grounds with 4 hours till closing time and felt like we'd need even more time. This chateau should be at the top of the list for those with kids (I'd recommend Cheverny also) because, for the most part, you are free to explore the whole place. We had a great time just wondering around this immense place. Aside from the 70 staircases, 200 fireplaces and 400 rooms, the double helix main staircase in pictures 9 and 10 is just nutty. A double helix staircase has two levels that are circling around (in this case, one up and one down). After our long tour, we walked around to the front of the chateau on the far side of the canal and watched the world go by.

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Chateau Cheverny

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 19:51:18 -0700

After our first night at Chateau des Arpentis, we toured two more chateaux. We started the morning with Chateau Cheverny which is still owned and occupied by a family. Cheverny is known for its magnificent interior and for the large pack of hunting dogs kept on the grounds.

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Chateau des Arpentis

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 16:36:00 -0700

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When we drove past the gate in the first picture sometime after 3pm on September 18th, I had a feeling we wouldn't be doing any chateau touring that afternoon aside from the chateau we were going to be staying in for a few days, Chateau des Arpentis. Once we checked in to our room, Chateau Chamount just wasn't a high priority. Anyways, Catherine de Medici kicked her late husband's mistress out of Chateau Chenonceau and sent her packing to Chateau Chamount. We'd just been to Chateau Chenonceau. We decided to spend a few quiet hours at our chateau and then have dinner in Amboise.

Our room was in the top floor on the left third of the chateau. The picture after the one of our room is the view out our window that just stopped you in your tracks. After an extended nap, we walked the grounds. The picture of what looks like a cave is actually an underground passage from the chateau to the pool. The underground passage had a few rooms on the way to the pool containing things like showers, changing rooms and workout equipment. We didn't have a reservation in Amboise that night but we found a small place serving generous portions of couscous and cider. We also stopped by the somewhat famous and unfortunately named patisserie, Bigot, and bought some macaroons.

As a side note, if you've never had macaroons, drop what you are doing and find some right away. They are constructed similarly to an Oreo cookie (similarity stops there) but instead of two chocolate cookies it is two very light and airy almond cookies which can be flavored in endless ways. Instead of white icing, you have all kinds of different icings and jams. They are so good and we intended to bring a box home but didn't get to. Anyways, they wouldn't have made it through checked luggage and I would have eaten them on the plane. They are so fragile, I can't imagine they travel well.

The next morning, I woke up before sunrise and walked the grounds again. This time I ventured past the pool, through the woods and into the cow pasture. It was a beautiful morning.

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Chateau Chenonceau

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 18:56:00 -0700

On the morning of September 18th, we checked out of Hotel Diderot. The plan was to drive an hour from Chinon to Chenonceau to see Chateau Chenonceau. Afterwards we'd drive from Chenonceau to Saint Regle to check in to our hotel for the weekend, Chateau des Arpentis. After checking in, we'd head to Chateau Chamount. We never made it to Chateau Chamount. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

After savoring our last breakfast at Hotel Diderot, we drove to Chateau Chenonceau. On our way, we came across this little cottage just sitting in the field.

Compared to the other chateaux we had been to, Chenonceau was much more commercialized. It had a large parking lot and concession stands outside the gates. There were tons of people there.

The estate of Chenonceau was mentioned in writing for the first time in the 11th century. The first castle was built some time before then. The chateau that is currently standing was built between 1515 and 1521 and is actually the 3rd chateau built on the site. It didn't get its most famous feature, the grand gallery extending across the River Cher, until 1577.

According to Wikipedia:

After King Francis I died in 1547, Henry II offered the château as a gift to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, who became fervently attached to the château along the river. She would have the arched bridge constructed, joining the château to its opposite bank. She then oversaw the planting of extensive flower and vegetable gardens along with a variety of fruit trees. Set along the banks of the river, but buttressed from flooding by stone terraces, the exquisite gardens were laid out in four triangles.

Diane de Poitiers was the unquestioned mistress of the castle, but ownership remained with the crown until 1555, when years of delicate legal maneuvers finally yielded possession to her. However, after King Henry II died in 1559, his strong-willed widow and regent Catherine de' Medici had Diane expelled. Because the estate no longer belonged to the crown, she could not seize it outright, but forced Diane to exchange it for the Château Chaumont. Queen Catherine then made Chenonceau her own favorite residence, adding a new series of gardens.

As Regent of France, Catherine would spend a fortune on the château and on spectacular nighttime parties. In 1560, the first ever fireworks display seen in France took place during the celebrations marking the ascension to the throne of Catherine's son Francis II. The grand gallery, which extended along the existing bridge to cross the entire river, was dedicated in 1577.

On Catherine's death in 1589 the château went to her daughter-in-law, Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont, wife of King Henry III. At Chenonceau Louise was told of her husband's assassination and she fell into a state of depression, spending the remainder of her days wandering aimlessly along the château's vast corridors dressed in mourning clothes amidst somber black tapestries stitched with skulls and crossbones.

The bedroom in the pictures is Louise de Lorraine-Vaudemont's bedroom.

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After touring the chateau and its grounds, we drove to Chateau des Arpentis.

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Hotel Diderot

Sat, 09 Oct 2010 09:00:00 -0700

For the first two nights, we stayed at Hotel Diderot in Chinon, France. Hotel Diderot has the distinction of being one of the best reviewed and most reasonably priced (we paid less than $100/nt) hotels in the Loire Valley. While the setting is quaint, even beautiful, I know people keep coming back for the breakfast. Every morning in the breakfast room, the Dutheil family welcomes you with coffee, tea, cheese, yogurt, walnuts, a basket of bread and the greatest selection of homemade jam I have ever seen. There are three or four tables and each table has eight to twelve different kinds of jam. And this isn't just any jam, this is the best jam you've had in your life. I'll never forget having breakfast here.

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Chateau Villandry

Tue, 05 Oct 2010 19:02:00 -0700

As you can see from the map used in the virtual tour, Chateau Villandry has extensive gardens. After arriving the afternoon of September 17th, we started touring the grounds in the courtyard in the bottom left-hand corner of the map and went counterclockwise and ended with a tour of the chateau. This chateau was constructed in the early 16th century for France's Controller-General for War under King Francis I, Jean Le Breton. The chateau was built around the original 14th century keep where King Phillip II of France once met with King Richard I of England (better known as Richard the Lionheart) to discuss peace between the two nations.

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That night, we ate dinner at L'Etape Gourdmand in a farmhouse outside of Villandry. We both started with the housemade foie gras with chutney and then had the beef tartare with potatoes roasted in duck fat. Both were just amazing.

These are some of the few pictures I took of food when we were eating out. Something about taking a picture of the food instead of digging in just didn't sit right with me. That and, for the most part, cell phone picture of food never do the food justice. Romantic dinners and food photo shoots do not have complimentary lighting setups.

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