Maybe Not - by b

I don't know. I made a whole thing about feeling really connected in my post a couple days ago called Up in the Air. But I've been fighting with Kristin and the boys (e.g. see this) and I've been a genuine grumpomatic at home. I was talking with a friend who said that's not uncommon after a trip far away. I do still feel more connected then ever --- big picture --- but perhaps in this very moment (or week) i'm not. On Monday we travel together for a week to Paris and Munich. I'm looking forward to that and to re-connecting.

THE MOST HORRIBLE DAY EVER IN MY LIFE TIMES 1000 0000 0000 00000 0000000 000000 00000 0000 - by d

TODAY WAS THE WORST DAY EVER
IT STARTED OFF WITH MY DAD GETTING MAD
THEN CAME A COOKING CLASS TOT BY A FREAK WHO WHAKS PEOPLE FOR BEING BAD(LUCKILY I DIDNT GET WACKED
THEN MY MOM WAS LATE BY 30 MINUTES TO PICK MEUP FROM SCHOOL
AND A SECOND AGO I CUT MY FINGER

A HORRIBLE DAY

p.s. i'm really in the mood for a kit-kat :-)

Up In The Air - by b

I just returned from a short, three-day visit to San Francisco, followed by two days in New York. While flying to SF, I watched Up In The Air again. That's a picture of it on my little airplane screen. I must have dozed off when I saw it in the theater ... because there was a chunk I had not seen before. I really liked the film... classic.. simple -- with a deeply flawed yet somehow heroic(ish) main character. A big theme in the film is connectnedess vs. disconnectedness. Clooney plays a man who is very disconnected from family --- though, in a strange way, he is very connected to people in general, much more so, at first, than the young colleague who tags along with him on his journeys.

I have traveled a lot this last year and a half. The travel has let me connect with all sorts of people. Crucially, quite a lot the travel (much of it chronicled on this blog) has been WITH Kristin, Arel and Dorian. Luckily my work allows this--just like it allowed me to live in Barcelona, it allows me to travel around with my family and explore places --- and still be effective professionally.

Whether it is because of or in spite of all the traveling, I have felt less up-in-the-air and more grounded, connected than I have in a long, long time.

BTW... the flight to SF was one of the most beautiful I have been on in some time. The ice and the water was amazing. I wish I got a shot when we hit the Pacific coast and turned south at Point Reyes. Green hills. Gorgeous.

gaudi by k

here are some photos from parque guell, one of gaudi's famous places. i've been there several times, but it was nice to go back and be reminded of how beautiful it is. it's a bit off the beaten track, but when june visited and wanted to see all things gaudi, i signed on. these are june's photos...i thought they were so great i should put them on our blog.

june and kristin in parque guell.

kristin and barak about to meet june.

kristin looking for june...obviously she had spotted me!

snow? by arel!

---outside of our house monday afternoon---

"its raining!!!" -mama
"no its snowing" - me
"yea right" - mama
"see for yourself"- me
"WOW your right!!! DORIAN!!!"-mama
-----------------------------
"Due to harsh conditions--the weather" - Dr. Penburg in english class
**whole class gettting excited**
"Our campus has become very hazarous"
**whole class sighs**
"therefore..."
**whole class on their toes**
"i will not be seeing you tomorrow"
**whole class jumps up and yells for 5 minutes straight**

-----------------------------
so it snowed here the other day and everyone had trouble getting home and driving and stuff. it was apparently the biggest snowstrom in barcelona single like 1962...pretty cool
me and some friends had a snowball fight then went to the mall to get out of the cold.

Oxford - by b

I missed the amazing snow falling in Barcelona on Monday. But I did get to enjoy this moment after leaving my conference (shhh, a couple hours early) in Oxford. Students rehearsing in Christ Church college cathedral.

snow in barcelona! by k

i am finally getting up some more picture from the snow day. it was truly amazing. never seen anything like it here!

the view outside our kitchen window the day after.

dorian right after school. very happy because of snow and no school the next day.

walking home on snowy day.

the view outside our living room the day after.

on the dirt road on the way to school.

arel and dorian in our complex on day of the storm

dorian's snowman the day after the storm.

Dorian Demos Zibz at Park 2.0, Barcelona - by b

{{update march 6, 2010, see this post at the new zibkids blog}}
As some of you know, Dorian and I have been developing a really cool web site that lets any kid become an entrepreneur.. it's called Zibz (biz backwards) and you can find it at www.zibkids.com. Today Dorian had a fantastic opportunity to demo Zibs to a couple hundred grad students at an innovation/entrepreneurship park. He did an awesome job---including a nice intro in Spanish. The event was filmed and we've been promised video. For now, some snaps.

Dorian getting his Madonna mike

Dorian demo'ing. He did all the talking, I was his typing monkey. (I did get a chance to speak before Dorian... a talk on the subject of entrepreneurship... I had been asked to encourage the students to start companies)

After Dorian's demo there was a raffle. Many students ran up to enter.

Later

Dorian

was interviewed

Before the demo, Dorian was given a tour of the Media Lab at the school/park. 

'

He got to try on a cool motion-capture glove.

It was a fun morning! Dorian was nervous going in. But he totally, totally rocked it! He said he had fun. And he said he feels good that he knows he can get up in front of loads of people again.

Oh wait!! My favorite picture. Dorian getting comfortable with the stage before the students arrived. We all have our tricks!

More pics if you like.