The Clock Tower

THERE'S A TRIPLEX PENTHOUSE APARTMENT AVAILABLE IN A CLOCK TOWER overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge and New York Harbor. It's available for $25,000,000. The price is more than double the amount previously paid for a Brooklyn home.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxone of the bathrooms

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The main floor is dominated by four working clocks housed in 14 foot high windows, which provide unobstructed views out to four points of the compass, on top of one of the tallest buildings in Dumbo, a cobblestone neighborhood that went through renewal in the 1980's.

The clocks are synchronized to show exactly the same time.

A glass-walled elevator and 3 story floating staircase lead to the top of the tower.

There are 3 bedrooms on the 2300 square foot second floor.

At the top of the building is a windswept crow's nest.

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One wonders who will buy this "home". Someone who's probably not too affected by the current economic downturn. A major star? Sports? Rock? An oil king? As they say, if you got it, flaunt it. Well, it's not me. Not only because it's sort of out of my league,(ha), but I get vertigo just looking at the photos. Or it could be rented out for a remake of "The Big Clock".
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Thanks to the NYTimes, for the info and photos.

First Star

Publicity photo taken in 1924.
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Virginia Davis McGhee / December 31, 1918- August 15, 2009
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VIRGINIA DAVIS BECAME THE FIRST DISNEY STAR AT THE AGE OF 4, she recently passed away at the age of 90. Blond and curly haired, she beat out Mickey Mouse, often thought to be Disney's first star. The adorable Virginia was the star of a series of silent films titled ,"Alice in Cartoonland", which featured her interacting with cartoon characters.
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The young Disney, in the early 1920's, was facing bankruptcy. He received backing for the Alice series only if he would allow Virginia to play Alice. Mickey didn't show up till 1928.
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Walt Disney first spotted the tot at the age of 4 in an ad, eating a slice of bread and jelly, smiling and licking her lips, (a filmed commercial, way back then!). She then became the first person to appear with animated characters.
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The series were generally shot in a vacant lot. Virginia was asked to perform in front of a white cloth, strung up in the lot. Disney directed her to look sad, happy, or scared. Animated characters were added later. There were no rehearsals, and they filmed without a permit, left quickly if the police were spotted. Passers-by and neighborhood children usually became part of the movie.
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In an interview in 2006, Ms. Davis/ McGhee recalled Disney's favorite instruction: "Let's pretend".

MeMe

THANK YOU, SYLVIA, AT STUDIO SYLVIA, for honoring me with the MeMe Blog Award. It is wonderful to find kindred souls, isn't it? Your Blog is always imaginative and you are genuinely charming. I thank you and fate. A good combination!
What's required of me is to list 7 pieces of information about myself. Now the brain is going to work! I hope to come up with, and surprise myself with something new. I thought that I had already told all...maybe not!!
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Then I am to pass the MeMe Blog Award on to 7 lovely bloggers... not difficult at all, and hopefully to be taken up and passed along..and on and on....
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MY LIST:
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1. I will talk to strangers and they will be laughing within 10 seconds..and no, I'm not making funny faces!!
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2. I believe that God, dreaming us, has bestowed the great gift of Mozart, Chocolate, Fred Astaire, and Julia Child, to us, to keep us from going really nuts. Oh yes, Vermeer, and, and .... Plus all of yours.
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3. Both of my Grandfathers emigrated from Russia after the Revolution, left wives and children behind (to be summoned later), came to NYC to look for streets paved with gold. One became a bootlegger, the other became a poet. Neither found too much gold, just a few flecks! Changed professions.
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4. I'd usually rather cook for you than go out. Although sometimes I don't mind being served. I love to cook, to throw a party. I always adjust recipes, I can taste what's on the printed page, make it my own. No one has ever complained. My ideal life has someone else doing the clean-up.
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5. I was almost arrested by the KGB in Moscow. Once I tempted fate, the second time was bordering on entrapment.
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6. I've had 2 major professions. #1..Makeup artist to the stars. #2...Consulting the stars(the heavenly ones) for answers...astrology, Tarot, any kind of divination that inspires me. Teaching meditation, healing with Reiki, spiritual consultations, all around psychic, ghost whisperer with a very ecumenical point of view.
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7. I am old enough to retire from anything, but I really wish that I was retiring from having been a Prima Ballerina. Or even a Broadway gypsy. Maybe next time.
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Now, here is my list of bloggy pals..will you please accept? It's good to know more about us!
ARTIT
eclectique
goddessoftheconfluence
Hello, Absurd World
POETIKAT'S INVISIBLE KEEPSAKES
Rubbish By Roan
The Keeping Room

The Edge

THE EDGE
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What part of Heaven are you in, dear friend?
Have you settled in your boyhood choir,
awash in holy water,
fragrant as musky incense?
Did you find that intention
counts for more than the deed?
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Not in Hell, it doesn't seem to be.
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You didn't mean to stray
from the hallowed course,
but fancy
liberates and enslaves us all.
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Maybe you followed my mystical path,
took my advice
and threw bits of your worth into the air,
knew that God was playing catch,
just waiting for that long toss home.
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To be the dream within the stone,
a prospect yet to be,
a hope to be a facet,
still not polished to a gleam.
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I think that you, like me,
will be pushed back
into the ebb and flow of things,
still on the edge of Heaven.
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Pale Male

SOME STORIES ARE WORTH TELLING OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
Maybe you missed this singular tale, which New Yorkers have embraced and taken to their hearts. I was looking over a list of DVD's and came across the documentary, "Nature, Pale Male,(2003)", which I saw a while ago on PBS, on TV.
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A Redtail Hawk decided to make his home on the roof of a very posh 5th Avenue apartment building. Some very influential and celebrated folks live in this building, and will at some point undertake a battle centering on Pale Male, a name that appeared and stayed. New Yorkers embraced the presence of the Redtail, following his swooping glides into Central Park, hovering over 5th Avenue, and then alighting in the nest he built atop this ritzy building. Daily, photographers, nature lovers, and just everyday strollers, crowded the sidewalk across the street from the building, heads tilted backwards to view the activity. I stood there in their midst many times, also mesmerized by the show.
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Then Lola arrived, the perfect mate for Pale Male, joining him in his daily swoops, not averse to living atop the rich and famous. Year in and year out, chicks were added to the nest, and gradually encouraged to join in the familial flight.
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Then in Dec. 2004, the building's co-op board, possibly overwhelmed by the popularity of their location, finally decided to have the nest removed. It seems that all the attention was extremely disturbing to some of the tenants, who feared losing their anonymity. But others, Mary Tyler Moore included, and perhaps the best known, demanded that the nest remain.
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The odds seemed to work against the nesters, and the anti-bird residents got the City to tear down the elaborate nest. But, do not give up just yet! What follows is an "only in New York" story. Because there was such an outcry from the myriad fans of this urban legend, the spirit of this great venture overcame the destruction. The contraption that was built to prevent the Hawks from rebuilding the nest was dismantled and the birds returned!
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I recommend this DVD, only about an hour in length. Also a new documentary has come out, which I haven't seen, "The Legend of the Pale Male", which I hope to catch.
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The nest atop the building.
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For current , up to the minute photos go to www.palemale.com
Also check out Wikipedia.

What, The Curtains?

HOW CAN IT BE THAT ALL SIX MEMBERS OF MONTE PYTHON,
the British comedy troupe, yes!! all six members of the original group, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Graham Chapman, will be present in New York in the fall to celebrate their 40th Anniversary? Graham Chapman, who died in 1989, will somehow be present. If you doubt it, well, that's your problem. I personally am cheering on a sort of ghostly presence, (not a surprise!), maybe carrying a rather dead parrot.
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I am giddy with anticipation of the event, to be held on Oct.15, at the Ziegfeld Theater. The reunion will feature a screening, announced by the Independent Film Channel (IFC), of the documentary,"Monte Python: Almost The Truth, (The Lawyers Cut)." The surviving members, (hmm), will take part in a Q&A session and receive an award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
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We'll also be able to catch a six hour TV version of the documentary, which will have its premiere on IFC on Oct.18
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Tickets anyone? Or will you catch it on TV? I'll have to do both, because I'm already involved in my own laugh fest!!

Strings

CARLEEN HUTCHINS MAY 24,1911/ August 7, 2009

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Carleen Hutchins was an innovative Violin maker, who died at the age of 98. She built a new Violin family, instruments proportional in size and pitch. She helped to reimagine what a violin could be.

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She used technology to build instruments to rival the work of 17th and 18th Century masters. She designed and built an entire family of violins, that became known as the "new violin family", or the "violin octet". It not only extended the range of the traditional violin family, but also corrected acoustic imbalance. She was internationally known for her work.

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The cellist Yo-Yo Ma recorded Bartok's Viola concerto using one of Hutchin's alto violins. Her work was the subject of an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, from 2002/2003.

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As a teacher at a private girls school in NYC, she was invited to join a faculty chamber music group. She bought a viola for $75., became frustrated with its limitations. As an accomplished woodworker, she built a better one for herself. This was the beginning of her dedication. She began her studies with several master violin makers.

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Unveiled in the mid-1960's, the new violin family ranged from a tiny treble violin, an octive higher than a conventional violin, to a 7 foot-tall contrabass.

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In 1963 she founded the "Catgut Acoustical Society", dedicated to the study of musical acoustics.

Frank's Secret..

Frank Buckles, born in Bethany, Missouri on Feb. 1, 1901, shown here at the age of 16 in 1917, when he joined the army.
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FRANK BUCKLES, AT THE AGE OF 108 years old, is the last surviving veteran of
World War I.

When asked the secret to a long life, he replied,

" When you start to die, don't. "

Hey, Lefty!

HAPPY NATIONAL LEFT-HANDEDNESS DAY! Approximately 7 to 10 %
of the population is left handed. Not me. But JR, my sonny boy is. And he was never urged to switch to the right. Whereas in my earlier days there might still have been a cultural pressure for right handed use.
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Through the ages, there has been a prejudice against left handedness, passed down through myth and superstition. In adulthood, left handers were often shunned, resulting in fewer marrying. It was also thought that older mothers were more likely to give birth to left handed children. But a truth lies in the fact that lefties are likely to have more accidents as a result of many things being designed for right handers.
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A justification for forcing the use of the right hand was due in part to the design of the ink pens themselves. The side of the left hand would smear the writing as it passed over the still wet ink. Lefties were the losers, since an ink pen has its nib cut at an angle that favors the right hand. The left will scratch or dig into the paper, unless one is very careful when writing. Catch 22.
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A southpaw is a term for a lefty, originated in baseball. Ballparks are often designed so that batters are facing east, so the afternoon sun does not shine into their eyes. That means that left handed pitchers are throwing with their "south-side" arm.
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In many languages, right is not only a synonym for correctness, but also stands for authority and justice. The word "sinister" comes from the Latin, "sinestra", originally meant "left", but took on meanings of evil or unlucky.
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Bad enough to have to juggle handedness, then to be told to get off the dance floor because you have two left feet! And to add insult to injury, the computer mouse is generally made to fit the right hand better.
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Anyway, have a "righteous" day!

Orange...

COUSCOUS..THEY LIKED IT SO MUCH THEY NAMED IT TWICE!
Probably the easiest dish to prepare, it's just a matter of adding something original, exotic or simple! This is simple and just a bit different. I like to serve it with chicken or fish. Your choice. It goes so well with either. I also like it as is, with a salad, some crusty bread, and a nice light Riesling. Cheers!
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ORANGE COUSCOUS
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2 TBS butter
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1 cup uncooked couscous
14 oz. can fat free, low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup chopped orange sections or 1 small can mandarin oranges, drained (my preference)
3 TBS chopped fresh parsley
1/4 TSP salt
1 TSP grated orange or lemon zest
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Melt butter in large skillet over medium high heat. Saute almonds until toasted and butter is slightly browned. Add couscous, cook, stirring for 1 min. Remove from heat. Bring broth to a boil in saucepan. Gradually add to couscous mix, stir. Cover and let stand for 5 min. Fluff with fork. Stir in oranges, grated zest, parsley and salt. Serves 3-4. Enjoy!
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Any meal that takes about 10 minutes to prepare, gets a gold star in my book.

A Plan

ST. TERESA BENEDICTA of the CROSS (EDITH STEIN) 1891-1942
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I WAS MILDLY SURPRISED TODAY WHEN I CAME ACROSS AN ARTICLE that seemed to connect up with my previous post. When coincidence presents itself, I appreciate how the world seems to flow. It wants me to pay attention. I don't know anything for certain, so I'm always pleased when all I have to do is follow the trail.
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My last post discussed the bravery of a woman, an artist, whose great courage saved her from extermination in Auschwitz. This morning I learned about a woman, Edith Stein, who became a Carmelite nun and experienced a different fate entirely.
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Edith Stein was born into a prominent Jewish family in Breslau, Germany, (now Wroclau, Poland). She was a brilliant young girl, philosophical in outlook, and abandoned her faith at the age of 14. She became captivated by the autobiography of Teresa of Avila, and began her spiritual journey, which led to her Baptism in 1922. Twelve years later she took the name of Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, becoming a Carmelite, as her namesake had. Her appointment as lecturer at the Educational Institute of Munich ended under pressure of the Nazis. She lived in Cologne as a Carmelite (1934-1938), then moved to the Carmelite monastery in Echt, Netherlands.
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The Nazis occupied that country in 1940. Dutch bishops denounced the Nazis, who arrested all Dutch Jews who had become Christians. Teresa Benedicta and her sister Rosa, also a Catholic, died in a gas chamber in Auschwitz on August 9, 1942.
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Pope John Paul II beatified Teresa Benedicta in 1987 and canonized her in 1998. The artist, Dina Babbitt, also a prisoner at Auschwitz, survived after making a deal in her favor with the Nazis. You can read about her exploits in the previous post, "Survivor".
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Edith Stein...St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, said," Whatever did not fit in with my plan, did lie within the plan of God.."


XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXEDITH STEIN

Survivor.

DINA BABBITT with her mother, Johanna Gottlieb, in Nice, France, after the War.
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DINA BABBITT / JANUARY 21, 1923- JULY 29, 2009

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With a portrait of a Gypsy she painted in 1944 at Auschwitz Concentration Camp.

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As a prisoner at Auschwitz, Dina Babbitt used her talent as an artist and portrait painter to save her life and that of her mother's.

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As a Czech Jew she was sent to Auschwitz in 1943. An art student, she was singled out to decorate the walls in a children's barrack. As bizarre as this seems, someone decided to have this done. She found or stole paints to accomplish this and painted Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, as well as animals, on the walls. Eventually this came to the attention of Josef Mengele, the notorious Nazi doctor known as the Angel of Death. He wanted her to document his experiments, but also asked her to paint portraits of gypsy prisoners. She replied that she would only do this if her mother also was spared. Otherwise she said that she was prepared to walk into the camp's electric fence. The Nazis allowed Dina's mother to join her.

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After the war she lived in Paris with her mother. She was interviewed for a job with a cartoonist, an animator, Art Babbitt. She didn't get the job, but eventually married him. Coincidentally, he had worked for Disney on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. They moved to Los Angeles where she worked as an animator in films, and on cartoons. Her favorite was the commercial she did for Cap'n Crunch cereal.

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In recent years Ms. Babbitt sought to bring her paintings home from the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial State Museum in Poland. The Museum wouldn't allow her to retrieve them, saying their historical value outweighed her ownership. Recently the Museum has allowed reproduction of the art, allowing them to go to her, but the originals must remain in Poland to maintain their authenticity.

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She treasured the paintings as much as the Museum did. A comic book version of her story has been made into a short film,"The Last Outrage". She died in Felton, Cal. at the age of 86

Marilyn

MARILYN MONROE/ JUNE 1, 1926- AUGUST 5, 1962
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Can Marilyn ever have imagined herself to be 83 years old? Can we? But Marilyn had the destiny of a legend. And movieland fate seems to dictate a youthful demise for some beauties. I still can stare at that face and fall into it. Not always the acting, not the talent. Her voice made her into a comedienne. Her best effort for me was Sugar in "Some Like It Hot".
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Pinpoints of her soul showed up in her eyes. That left me breathless. I am glad that she will be a peerless beauty forever. Which sounds as if I'm glad that she died young. There's an odd dichotomy there that I'm aware of. Of course I'd love to see her yet, as a stalwart octogenarian, and not a mystery never to be solved.
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Marilyn, are you there? Are you listening? What would you have wanted?
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REST IN PEACE

Encounter

WORTHY

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Don't cling to me

as you take me from the earth,

flattering me about my rosy tint,

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inhaling my heart

then flinging me into your winter garden,

to read my petals on a wistful day.

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Don't wrench away a coy bud

I've hidden

beneath a well placed thorn,

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to give me up,

as if I were a beast impounded

and not a rose.

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I'll start again

as dreams come into flower,

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and let the earth embrace

what it comes upon

in me.

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