Happy Birthday Benji!

The big party for #1's #6 was last weekend, but on October 30th Ben was still able to celebrate at school with his friends (including his new good buddy, Lawrence) and at home. As has been the case in other at-home birthdays, Mom and Dad really splurged - in this case by sticking a "6" candle (reused from Saturday no less) in a brownie (home made!) in a plastic bowl. One particularly enthusiastic cheerleader had no qualms about the celebration.

American Convenience

What a brilliant little snapshot in today's online New York Times. It's an early polling site in the middle of a Las Vegas convenience store with stacks of junk food on one side of the the voting "booths" and a row of video poker machines on the other. A juxtaposition of many things Americana. I gather from the story that millions are already taking advantage of early voting in California, Illinois, Nevada, Arizona, and so forth. It certainly feels like the electorate understands that this time around, one's vote really matters. (And if you're wondering, Tracy and I sent in our absentee ballots about a month ago.)

Family of the Week

The Portnoys are "Family of the Week" at Ben's class. This morning, Ben introduced the other four Portnoys to his classmates and then told everyone about the collage of photos we put together displaying all of the extended family as well as some snaps of some of our travels. Ben did a wonderful job telling lots of little stories about people and places. Way to go, kiddo!

Brick Lane

We had a super time last night with our new friends, Jenny and Brian. They're from Chicago and live directly across the street from us on Hamilton Terrace. Their older son, Brooks, is in the same grade at ASL as Ben (the second picture from the birthday party post is Ben and Brooks).

Last night the four of us decided to go on a little adventure to London's East End, seeking a good curry house on Brick Lane. This destination, as one might surmise, was home to London's brick manufacturers many moons ago (16th century I believe), but the neighborhood has now become home to a large percentage of the city's Bengali population with the restaurant scene to match. It's also now an edgy, artistic enclave with lots of hip pubs, clothing and music stores. For you Chicagoans, imagine Wicker Park meets Devon Street. The history of this part of the city is actually quite fascinating and as we explore more we'll figure out more of the narrative. (When Rob & Marianne were in town last year, we took a walking tour of Old Jewish London and it, too, intersected with Brick Lane, Spitalfields, etc.)

The toughest decision of the evening was deciding where to eat, not made easier by each restaurant having someone outside trying to steer you in their door with the promise of free booze and cheap eats. Our tactic was choosing the restaurant that looked the busiest and we were further comforted, ironically, that the winner offered no "teaser" rates on their food. Mahib Indian Cuisine was jam-packed and the food was outstanding. Was it the best Brick Lane offers? Who knows. I'm guessing they're all pretty much the same. We let the waiter suggest what he thinks MIC does best and we were not disappointed. Countless cold Kingfishers lubricated the evening regardless.

We capped off the night with some drinks at the Ten Bells, a pub that first opened in 1753. Fast forward 355 years, it's now a total hipster bar. The less cool four grown-ups-with-children-and-babysitters didn't care and dove into the pack. When offered a choice between a jug of Pimm's and a nice glass of mind-altering absinthe, Brian said "yes." Just kidding (though the picture belies that). The only open question from the evening remained: Which neighborhood next....

Even Witches Need Their Bottle Sometimes

Ben's 6th Birthday Party

Ben's birthday bash was a big success. Most of the kids from his new class at ASL were in attendance, as were some siblings - all making for a great turnout. The musician/magician entertained and the pumpkin pinata kept the kids on their toes (and ultimately in a scrum).

Ben and Zach dressed as Woody and Buzz Lightyear, while little Sarah got her witch on. The kids loved the extra opportunity to wear their halloween costumes. (Line of the day imho was one of the other dads who said he came dressed as the scariest creature on the planet: a hedge fund manager, which he is.) We did individual cupcakes for each kid, which they seemed to like, and it was amazing to see how quickly the little pirhanas snapped up nine large pizzas. A few of the dads (ahem) might have contributed to the feeding frenzy.

Most importantly, Ben had a super time. We can't believe our sweet little guy will turn six this week. Time flies.

Devastating

For those of you who haven't watched Colin Powell's endorsement of Barack Obama on last Sunday's Meet the Press, it's worth a few minutes of your time. Click here. From one of America's true heroes, it's a devastating attack on what has transpired of the Republican Party, a subtle condemnation of the McCain campaign (if not McCain himself), and an inspiring endorsement of Obama.

Three Amigos

Two Campaigns?

In Hong Kong now. Just flew overnight from London. Managed to read a bunch of newspapers and magazines on the flight (and actually turned off the new Indiana Jones movie it was so awful - and I'll watch a lot of crap). One thing I read in the Times of London was fascinating and implied something I hadn't given much thought before. I think all of us (i.e., the sensible us, not those on the right) have been wondering what is going on with the McCain campaign with the contender himself taking the "high road" at the debate and in recent town halls, where he has been rebuking those in audience referring to Obama as a terrorist and/or an Arab. (What a bizarre electoral moment where one presidential candidate has to defend the honor of his opponent over the shrill - and racist - voices of his own supporters.) But then his campaign is at the same time releasing ads that take a less honorable route, plus the Barracuda is doing the only thing that is in her pea-brained capacity, which is attacking and attacking and ....

What gives? This Times article left me with the distinct impression that Sarah P and her supporters are not conceding to McCain's more balanced campaign hopes and basically stumping as they see fit. They're going full frontal on the Democrats, labeling Obama a terrorist, and stirring up whatever angst they can. Did you see the McCain/Palin supporter who brought to one of these rallies a stuffed monkey with an Obama nametag on it? Sick and disgusting.

McCain's campaign head has said he'd prefer they lose with honor by taking a higher road but that is not the internal consensus. Thus, the apparent incoherence of the Republican campaign isn't necessarily a function of McCain's wavering, doddering mind but the fact that the original "Maverick" has been out-Maverick-ed by his unconscionable VP choice, who is supposedly drumming up support for a 2012 run herself. I'm pleased to see that a number of conservatives from across America have published opinions that basically signal that the McCain campaign has taken a sickening turn that they cannot stomach and will not support their original party of choice in November.

I hope these moral reprobrates continue their screed just long enough to cement the substantial Obama lead and lock in his rightful victory. Then again, let's hope they've done that already and please - for the sake of civil society and public safety - STOP NOW. I wasn't alive in the 1960s to see the civil rights movement, but I sense the sickness I feel when I see these Republican rallies is probably not distinct from what other white northern liberals felt at that time when witnessing pro-segregationist rallies.

By the way, I have been reading fivethirtyeight.com every day for the past few weeks. It's been a great source of insight into the countless election polls. The authors are left-leaning in some of their commentary but I believe they do a relatively unbiased job in presenting and describing the data. Check it out.

Lazy and Stupid

I just walked across the street from our new Mayfair offices and paid 36 pounds for a haircut. It was not a particularly good haircut. And the guy was kind of a jerk. It is not raining so there is no excuse for not walking five minutes to the person who capably cut my hair last year at a meaningful price discount to today. This is one of those instances where I will readily admit I got what I deserved.