Voted Off the Island

FLOTUS in the ATL

Phil Skinner, [email protected]

First Lady Michelle Obama was in Atlanta yesterday to talk about Let's Move! her initiative to restore healthy food choices for school meals and to inspire American families to fight childhood obesity.

Her speech at North Point Community Church (Andy Stanley's congregation) was terrific.  Read it and remember the days when you could really BE a free range kid who stayed outdoors until called home for dinner. 

And she quoted my friend Aaron Mark, proud dad of Murray!

Aaron Marks, a father from Decatur, Georgia, wasn't happy when he found out that his four year-old son was eating pizza for breakfast at school...and donuts and cookies for snacks. So he talked to the school administrators. He joined the school's nutrition committee. And he helped raise money to plant a garden. As he put it: "You just can't take no for an answer. You have to be tenacious." So it's never easy.

Elizabeth Edwards: Yew Geaux Gurl

Elizabeth Edwards, who died last month after a battle with breast cancer, made no mention of estranged husband John Edwards in her will, CNN.com reports.

The will names her 28-year-old daughter Catherine as executor and leaves everything to her three children.

"All of my furniture, furnishings, household goods, jewelry, china, silverware and personal effects and any automobiles ... to be divided among them," the will states, according to CNN.com.

 

Memorial Day

I met an actual Tuskegee Airman in Atlanta last week. The airmen were the first squadron of African American military pilots in the United States armed forces.  They came from all over the United States, trained at Tuskegee Army Air Field (TAAF) in Tuskegee Alabama and fought in World War II. This handsome, pepper-haired gentleman was attending a session on educational funding for children of color who now comprise the majority of students in public schools in the American South.  His entire life has been one of service, leadership and stewardship.

He told me about his distinguished and well educated children.  I told him about my Brooklyn-born, Jewish father, a child of immigrants, who fought in the Pacific.  We shook hands and I thanked him for defending our country and setting an example for generations to come.

Remember them.

Late Night Love

Have I grabbed you with my title? Are you thinking I'm in love?  Well yeah, I am...a little.

I watched two nights of the end of Conan's run on The Tonight Show.  They were, I'm sad to confess, the only episodes of Conan I ever watched. 

Oh Conan.  Love you.  You're great, talented, smart, cute, humble.  How could I have missed you all these years?  My blogging pal Bossy would have me call you Conan O'Boyfriend.

You are now officially the third man in my pantheon of Incredibly Talented & Brilliant People I Was Too Stupid and Preoccupied to Appreciate.  The first two are:

• Jimi Hendrix
• Bruce Springsteen

Now you Conan. And you get a million extra points for being a rocking family man, married to the same person for the long haul.  Like Bruce, come to think of it.

Haiti at My Dinner Table

[This post reflects corrections made Tuesday, January 19, 2010, with input from my friend Sharon Bell]

I invited my friends Sharon and Bob Bell to come have soup for dinner on Friday night.  I thought of them immediately when the news about Haiti broke on Monday morning.  Through Bob and Sharon, who spent many years in Africa in their "youth," and have been professionally affiliated with CARE in Atlanta for decades, I have been privileged to meet some fascinating people who care about the Third World and apply their talents and passion towards making life better there.

Among the Bell's friends, I have met Maryse whose husband Tim has an agricultural development consulting firm in Haiti and he barely survived the quake. Knowing Maryse just a little, and experiencing Haiti through her eyes, has personalized every woe that has befallen the nation right up to this disaster -- from flooding in 2004 and the overthrow of Aristide, to Hurricane Dennis in 2005, and more devastating storms in 2008.

I was pleased to learn that Maryse would join us for supper on Friday night. After dinner everyone was headed for the MLK Shabbat service at The Temple. Back at my house we lit the Shabbos candles, made kiddush, blessed the one child present (Gabe) and the bread, and added our prayers for Haiti.  As we shared soup, bread and wine, Maryse shared the story of her husband's ordeal in the Haitian earthquake. 

Tim was in the 4 story supermarket in Delmas that collapsed "like a pancake."  When he felt the first tremblar, Maryse says, Tim put a trashcan over himself and got himself into a stairwell. Smart man, because that put him in a "void" space where the pancake collapse was less lethal.  "Tim spent about 45 minutes crawling and digging himself out of the rubble, with only the glow of his cell phone to light the way," Maryse told us.  He was incredibly smart and lucky and emerged with only some bruises.

From a Reuters story on the supermarket collapse:

The supermarket, one of the biggest in Port-au-Prince, had completely collapsed on itself, its upper layers falling on those below like a squeezed concertina.

Crushed supermarket trolleys were visible between the sandwiched layers of concrete. Also visible were green and orange supermarket shelving and scattered debris and wares like tea bags, cat food, kitchenware, electronic goods and children's toys, toilet rolls and bathroom sponges.

"We've had to cut through three floors from above, we've been digging through concrete floors, shelving, food, and everything else you would find in a supermarket," said Jose 'Paco' Mendia from the FEMA Florida rescue team.

Though Maryse knew that Tim was alive and had gotten emails from him, she had not yet spoken to her husband. During dinner her phone rang 3 times.  It was Tim trying to call, but none of the calls got through, which added to the drama and the frustration.

As late as Sunday, there were still a few more people rescued from the rubble of the supermarket.  Tim, has now spoken with his wife via Skype. We pray for him and for all of all the people of Haiti.

Miep Gies, Zichrona L'vracha

Miep Gies, the last survivor among Anne Frank’s protectors and the woman who preserved The Diary of Anne Frank, died Monday night. She was 100 and had declined after a fall last month in a nursing home.

“I am not a hero,” Mrs. Gies wrote in her memoir, “Anne Frank Remembered,” published in 1987. “I stand at the end of the long, long line of good Dutch people who did what I did and more — much more — during those dark and terrible times years ago, but always like yesterday in the heart of those of us who bear witness.”

Miep's story is heroic in its utter humility.

In her memoir, Mrs. Gies told of her emotions when she finally read the diary.

She wrote: “The emptiness in my heart was eased. So much had been lost, but now Anne’s voice would never be lost. My young friend had left a remarkable legacy to the world.

“But always, every day of my life, I’ve wished that things had been different. That even had Anne’s diary been lost to the world, Anne and the others might somehow have been saved.

“Not a day goes by that I do not grieve for them.”

Miep Gies, front left, and Otto Frank, center, in a 1945 photograph. With them are those who helped hide the Franks: Johannes Kleiman, back left, Victor Kugler and Elizabeth Voskuijl.

What a beautiful woman in every possible way.  May her memory be a blessing.

Pictures at an Exhibition

Back from a great trip to NYC over New Years weekend. So many things to comment on after my first extended stay in Manhattan in years, but first this.

Spent New Year's Day at the Museum of Modern Art which was absolutely packed to the gills. I believe the entire continent of Europe was visiting MoMA that day because English was definitely NOT the lingua franca. Standing in line to check coats and backpacks I chatted with Brazilians and Italians, overheard Dutch, Danish, Japanese, Romanian and Russian speakers. 

It is just beyond cool that museums like MoMA now allow visitors to take pictures of their collection. Everything in the museum collection is digitized anyway, so there's a sense of freedom and generosity about this that I love. 

All over the museum there were people taking photos with cellphones and cameras.  As long as you don't use flash, or use a tripod it's basically OK.

Atlanta's High Museum allows picture taking with many more conditions.  First you need to get a permit.  Still photography is limited to the permanent collection galleries, but you cannot shoot works of art in special exhibition or on loan to the museum.  I have a feeling this is rather standard.

What did I take a picture of at MoMA?  Matisse's "The Red Studio." But alas, I cannot share it here because "no photographs or videotapes may be reproduced, distributed, or sold without permission from the Museum."

All I Want for Hanukkah Is...

Eight nifty wish-list items for eight nights of Hanukkah.  Honestly, I'm not truly asking for any of these, just day-dreaming and doing my part to stimulate the economy. :-)

1.    A Kindle...though deep in my heart, I know I should be patient and see what Apple comes out with.  The real problem is I have no room in my house for more books.

2.  One of these.

3.      A nice red pair of sh-tkickers.

4.    
       Dinner at Floataway Cafe or The Inn at Serenbe

5.     Massage with hot stones.

6.    Subscription to The New Yorker Magazine...but please don't anybody really get this for me.  They will just pile up and make me feel guilty for not reading them.

7. Contour pillow cuz my neck and shoulders are killing me.

8.  

  AccuSharp Knife sharpener, as recommended by the always delightful Adam Roberts, a.k.a. the Amateur Gourmet.

State Dinner: The Dress, The Menu, The Table Settings

First the First Lady.  Divine.  Love her. Love her hair.  Love her dress by Indian-American designer Naeem Khan. The strapless gown features hand cut sterling silver sequins sewn on pale beige silk chiffon, which create an abstract floral pattern. The dress is entirely handmade, requiring three weeks of work by 40 people, completed in Naeem Khan's family workshop in India.

Image by Nicolas Kamm / Getty Images

According to the Mrs. O blog:

Mr. Khan relayed that he designed 3 or 4 gowns for the event, which were coordinated through Ikram Goldman in Chicago. The brief had been "Indian, chic, simple, but very glamorous." With that, Mr. Khan chose the color, embroidery, cut and all other aspects of the gowns. He called the moment of seeing the first lady in his design, "So joyous," continuing, "For me to be part of this historic occasion, being Indian, it is beyond amazing. It is an incredible moment for me."

The menu for the Obama's first state dinner is restrained and fascinating. Most notably, it was meatless, honoring the sensibilities of their honored guests, Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, and his wife, Gursharan Kaur, and deeply Indian in seasonings.  It featured honey and produce from the White House kitchen garden and had a somewhat southern tilt, with okra, cornbread, smoked collards and pecan pralines on the menu. Guest chef for the evening was Marcus Samuelsson of Aquavit in New York, an American born in Ethiopia, reared in Sweden who is known for his melting pots of flavors and cuisines.

Finally, the table settings and flowers. Also restrained and lovely.  Love the use of magnolia blossoms. Love how the Obamas used a bi-partisan combination of Clinton and Bush china. Love the pistachio green mixed with plum, purple, fuschia and gold. Indian colors. 

Luke Sharrett/NYTimes

Update: Southern Voice "Reborn"

A $12 M gift from Lloyd Russell will help help Chris Cash, who founded Southern Voice in 1988, and former SoVo editor Laura Douglas-Brown start a new gay publication.

"Gay activist and businessman Lloyd Russell was active in Atlanta politics as a Libertarian candidate in the 1990s. His nonprofit was started to support the gay community in Atlanta and in the Southeast...read the rest here

via www.ajc.com