JFK-LHR

I drove us back to JFK this afternoon along the I95. This, along with the Queensboro Bridge and the van Wyke Expressway were mercifully uncongested so we had a speedy journey through the brilliant fall leaves of Connecticut, New York State and Long Island. Jennifer used to live around the White Plains area but is so Californian now that the route and even the shopping malls of of the area were probably better known to me.

On the journey, Jennifer was talking about this weekend when she'll be acting as a volunteer to a Los Angeles high school group who help give urban teenagers from less well-off homes a chance to develop positive self esteem. She's a member of the board of the charity and also a counsellor. This week she is taking her assigned pupil and they are going to another charity to volunteer for some other work. Characteristically, Jennifer has also persuaded her gym coach to give the same girl some free sessions to develop good health and eating awareness.

After dropping Jennifer at Jetblue at Terminal Six it was back to the Hertz lot and then airtrain back to Terminal Seven for my BA flight. Amazingly short lines to get airside and I decided to take refuge in the Terraces lounge, which was also quite empty and chilled. Thats where I'm sitting right now, with a gin and tonic with too much gin, waiting for the call for the flight.

Around me sit a few zeks but by now most of them have hung up their bluetooths for the weekend and instead are reading English newspapers, a book about Ceasar and I can count about a dozen stretched out on the loungers, flopped until the plane is called.

I also know tomorrow will be mad for me, helping a move into a new central London apartment and then prepping myself for a week in France.

c'est la vie!

connected in connecticut

Tonight we were in a Thai restaurant in South Norwalk. We sat down to eat at an almost European 8pm, rather than the often 6.30pm type American times (see I'm using am and pm instead of twenty four hour clock, too). The fire rice was pretty hot and I can still taste it on my tongue.

I have had a fair few European meetings this week as well as my American ones. This means that I've been having phone conferences at 0530 in the morning and indeed today had to figure out how to get showered and ready to leave the hotel whilst still being on a phone call. I made it to the lobby for 0700 successfully, but didn't managed to get any breakfast, although once I was in meetings a steady supply of food and drink ensued.

Tomorrow I start at a slightly more civilised 0645 with a meeting in the hotel and then a day which ends quite early before I drive with Jennifer back to JFK. I go to London and she will return to West Hollywood.

weather to go or together

Oops, I forgot to notice that today is the first day of NaNoWriMo. I fully intend to do this, but as I'm travelling at the moment, its rather difficult, what with day and evening meetings. However, I have a long flight on Friday night, so maybe that will give me a chance to get stuck in.

Needless to say, I havn't got a plot, characters or anything else yet. I suppose there will have to be a lot of weather in the first chapter. Chris Baty from NaNoWriMo says "Surge early" to be on par for the month, knowing the daily average needs to be 1667 words. Oh dear. He adds that 70,000 people have registered this year, so I suppose I won't be alone. And Chris makes a third point to embrace the fear. Hey, I've only just got over Halloween.

The sky cracked with more orange lightning, gods were past debating and fighting with chairs now as they decided whether to let rain fall across the sparsely featured plain. It was supposed to be daytime, but there was a purple darkness across the landscape as Jed sheltered behind the broken wall. He'd done something very bad... (55 words)

Nah.

New York Nite

Now to New York for a short visit. I'll be north in Connecticut most of the time, hopefully able to see some of the fall colors. For now, its the neon and sights of Manhattan.

Join me for a wander around Times Square by clicking on either of the Times Square photos and then exploring the network of webcams.

If you can't be there, at least enjoy the views and the people. Have a nice day.

All Hallows Eve

I enjoyed visiting the flaming pumpkins of extreme pumpkins last year and they've got some great ones again this time.

Alternatively, hang a glass witch ball in the window (make sure it contains some strands) and you can ward off any bad witches of the night!

deep dive

Appropriately we met tonight by water. Your single codeword gave me the exact location. Ten minutes of predictable delay before your arrival.

Smiling we met, but I could already tell that some of your original plan had unravelled. The Egyptian dive, the crystals and the failed mission. As you put it - something warned you that it may not all work out. I know you've had to do some deep thinking.

I can already tell you will see things clearly when you return from Heidelberg.

And tomorrow, I must visit New York to discuss the options.

towards the witching hour

Scary Witches can still be fun. Be popular. Woooo.

shut up and sing

Around three years ago the modernist, bluegrass singing Dixie Chicks were on stage in London and the band's Natalie Maines made comments about being ashamed that George Bush came from Texas. There was someting of a furore in the USA and the once popular band plummeted. Radio stations in the US stopped playing their songs and there were pictures of their CDs being destroyed in the street.

Now they have returned with a recent new album and a film called 'Shut up and Sing' which includes footage from the London gig, Iraq war footage and the subsequent protests. Quel surprise that some of the major networks have decided to ban the commercial for the film too, although local channels are getting it played. NBC says the adverts are 'disparaging of President Bush'.

So a film about pop musicians being blacklisted for speaking their mind on a topic which is fairly widely discussed is now being blacklisted. Is this just publicity, or are their other forces at work?

timelord

I watched the first two of the BBC's new Torchwood episodes tonight, from Sky Plus. Torchwood is a kind of spin off from Doctor Who and is actually an anagram of Doctor Who.

I commented about Torchwood during the last Doctor Who series when they visited the Torchwood Institute and there do seem to be a number of tongue in cheek references between the two series. Both filmed in Swansea, there is an invisible elevator in Torchwood on the spot where the Tardis landed on one of the early episodes of the Ecclestone Doctor Who. Jack from the Torchwood series says there's a 'non perception point' that means no-one can see the elevator because of a previous disruption in the area - I suppose maybe the Tardis landing would cause this? (Hmm - did Jack the American say 'elevator' or 'lift'...?)

In the first episode of Torchwood, Jack also refers to the need to see a special kind of Doctor about his apparent immortality (I wonder who that might be?)

I also thought I heard a little piece of Doctor Who music mixed in episode two, so I suppose the BBC are having fun with us. I suspect there will be some discarded Doctor Who artifacts in the rather messy Torchwood headquarters too. There's already a Torchwood website featuring safe handling of alien objects, as an example.

Compared with the BBC's new Robin Hood, I find Torchwood much more entertaining although I suppose the themes like the female sex crazed alien (Welsh species?) in episode two may move it out of family viewing.

And tonight, with the change of clocks, I get to be a time traveller too, just for one hour, and back in time.

sawhney fusion

I've liked Nitin Sawhney's music for a long time and often have an album in the car. There was a collection of his works performed live yesterday evening. I couldn't get along because the seating was very limited, but there seems to be an excellent record of his concert across at the BBC. Here's a small extract, based upon a very specific request by Julie.
Tag: Will Young, Nitin Sawhney, music, live gig

lock

I'm shutting down for the evening. The last few days I've been around Stockholm, Sweden and Frankfurt, Germany. I managed to duck the side visit to Helsinki on Tuesday but it still feels intense. Tonight, the Lufthansa Airbus 300 was on time but we'd forgotten to figure out how I was to get back from Heathrow.

Logistically challenged, with my car in a distant multi-story car park.

Its been a multi-story kind of week.

niederrad

So, against my logic and at your request, we fleetingly met again in a Greek restaurant in Niederrad. Marco had told me it was a rough part of town, but it looked like a good and random place for us.

Corner table, professionally facing two exits and with a small glass of white wine already poured when I arrived.

A few words, a new request and the slightest touch of our hands. I know I should have destroyed the small slip of paper after I had memorised the number, but it has no connections for anyone else.

A few minutes later, the smudged yellow light of a taxi outside and you were back into the early darkness.

My evening had become complicated.