Sentient Life on the Third Rock

2011-04-29 Pictures from the Past III

I recently uncovered a trove of documents relating to the Madison Family at the Levi Watkins Learning Center Digital Library Madison Park Collection and the Trenholm State Technical College Madison Family Collection.

Both collections focus on the life of Elijah Madison, the Patriarch of Madison Park, Alabama.  Eli Madison was born a slave in Alabama in 1839.  At the end of the Civil War (1865), Eli and his wife Frances, along with half-brother Killis Marshall and Gadson Draw and their wives, and his friend Frank Felder, migrated to Hunter Station in Montgomery County, Alabama.  After a short stretch in Hunter Station, the families moved to the King Hill Community to be closer to town. After a few years, the families, especially the Madisons, had accumulated enough capital to buy a plantation. King Hill offered only small to medium plots of land. The families were ready to move on.

The Flatbush Community, Northeast of King Hill going towards the city of Wetumpka, had several plantations for sale. The families pooled their resources and bought the May’s Plantation in 1880. In  1882,  Eli paid $2,380.00 for 560 acres of land in northest Montgomery County. He named the community Madison Park. He and Frances Madison had 10 children and built a church, Union A.M.E Zion Chapel, a school and a community center. The plantation also included a gin house, grist mill, saw mill, shingle mill, a park and a store. The family home where the children were born still stands. Eli imbued in all of his children that there were a part of W. E. B. DuBois’ "talented tenth." Education was key, not for self, but as a tool to pass knowledge onto subsequent generations of the family and in the community as a whole. However, the teaching profession was not the only career he stressed. He told his children, "We need doctors, lawyers, scientists, teachers, bishops and every other profession that will uplift the race."

Elijah Madison (Note: Some people say I look a lot like him.)

“Heed Their Rising Voices,” New York Times, March 29, 1960

On March 29, 1960, the New York Times carried an advertisement titled "Heed Their Rising Voices" which solicited funds to defend Martin Luther King, Jr. against an Alabama perjury indictment. The advertisement described actions against civil rights protesters.  This resulted in New York Times Co. v. Sullivan in which the then Montgomery Public Safety commissioner, L. B. Sullivan sued four black ministers mentioned in the ad including my grandfather Rev. S.S. Seay, Sr. The case established the actual malice standard which has to be met before press reports about public officials or public figures can be considered to be defamation and libel.

2010-03-10 Pictures from the Past II

Jinny was at it again and found this mugshot of Rosa Parks taken at the same time (February 21, 1956 during the Montgomery Bus Boycott). The picture is also from the Montgomery County (Alabama) Sheriff's Department and was posted on the Smoking Gun.

 

2010-03-09 Pictures from the Past

I just found this mug shot of my grandfather, Reverend S. S. Seay taken after his arrest on February 21, 1956 for his role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The picture is from the Montgomery County (Alabama) sheriff's department and was posted on the Smoking Gun. And here is his Wikipedia entry -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.S._Seay

2009-03-30 Jim Crow and Me

he autobiography of my uncle Atty. Solomon S. Seay, Jr. has been released.  It is a chronology of his life as a leading civil rights lawyer in the South.  It is available from Amazon --> here.

Above: My Uncle Solomon Seay, Jr.

Uncle Solomon is the son of my grandfather the Reverend Solomon S. Seay.  His autobiography (There By the Grace of God) is also available on Amazon --> here.  I previously wrote about the connection between my family and the Manic Street Preachers on my blog.  Interestingly, you can still pick up the album "Forever Delayed" by the Manic Street Preachers including "There By the Grace of God" on Amazon --> here.

 

Above. Pictures of my grandfather and myself from his autobiography.

 
Above. Forever Delayed including "There By the Grace of God".

2009-01-19: Blue Mountain

e went skiing this past weekend at Blue Mountain on the escarpment in Collingwood, Ontario.  Jinny tried snowboarding for the first time.

2009-01-18: Ozumo

hile in San Francisco on a business trip recently I was able to hookup with old friends at Ozumo (161 Steuart Street, San Francisco, CA 94105  T: 415.882.1333), a rather hip sushi establishment downtown.  The food was excellent and the music eclectic.

Above (from left-to-right): Me, Matt, Jackie, Wes and Reg.  Matthew Haavisto is taking the picture.

This being San Francisco, I decided to take in Milk (2008) starring Sean Penn as Harvey Milk, the San Francisco supervisor who was assassinated along with the San Francisco Mayor George Moscone on November 27, 1978.  The film was a moving portrayal of Milk's life rising from obscurity as a camera store owner to be the first openly gay elected public office in the US.  Directed by Gus Van Sant with compelling performances by Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin and James Franco; the film, while uplifting, in many ways also left me feeling somehow inadequate and unrealized--that somehow I just gave up the "good fight" and moved away.  I suppose I did.

Above (left-to-right): Sean Penn and Harvey Milk

2008-12-05: Caracas!

ast week Jinny and I traveled to Caracas, Venezuela.  It was only a 5-hour direct flight from Toronto so we arrived in good shape around midnight local time.  Caracas has the odd distinction of being eastern time plus 30 minutes.

The office had emailed a picture of my driver so I was a bit relieved since all of the travel websites suggested that riding in one of the many unmarked taxis from the airport was a sure fire way to get yourself robbed at gun point.

The long drive up the side of the mountain into Caracas was spectacular at night with the glimmer of all the lights in the favelas decorating the hillside like christmas ornaments.  We arrived at the Intercontinental Tamanaco in Las Mercedes, the trendiest shopping and entertainment district in Caracas.  The lobby was full of soldiers from the national guard as well as Russian news crews.  It turns out that both Dmitry Medvedev (the president of Russia) and Daniel Ortega (the president of Nicaragua) were in town along with the still floating bits of the Russian Navy to pay homage to his bombastic holiness Hugo Chavez, el President de Venezuela. (1) 

 
Above: Jinny by the Tamanaco pool. 

I spent the next two days working leaving Jinny behind to peruse the hotel.  There's a decent breakfast buffet, a swimming pool, a brick oven pizzeria and even a casino but the property is definitely a bit dated.  You must be very careful when leaving the hotel grounds--only use marked taxis or drivers arranged by the hotel.  Tourists are frequently mugged even in Las Mercedes.  Also, I never found a single operational ATM anywhere in Caracas even at the airport.  You must bring at least twice the amount of cash you think you will need in US dollars.  The offical exchange rate is something like 2 Bolivars to 1 US dollar but you can readily get 4:1 from the locals, shops and restaurants.  Also make sure you have enough cash leftover for the airport departure tax.  We had to pay an extra 161 VEF (officially USD80) each just to leave!

I was free on Saturday and we hung out at the pool since it was too cloudy to justify taking the Teleferico (cable car) at Avila Magica.  The ride takes about 15 minutes and promises spectacular views of Caracas and the mountains on a clear day.  The swimming pool at the Tamanaco is a meeting place for a colorful cast of characters all with apparently large amounts of money and no obvious reason to be in Venezuela.  We quickly meet a Greek-Australian-Trinidadian starlet who ordered us an endless stream of champagne, whisky and brick oven pizza to while away the afternoon.

 

   

 

We also discovered an incredible Las Mercedes steak house called the Maute Grille (+58 212 991 0892), Avenida Río de Janeiro, entre Calles New York y Trinidad, Caracas 1060.  If you love steak you will have an orgasm at the Maute Grille.  However, please make sure you let them arrange transportation for you back to the hotel.

 
Above: The Maute Grille, Caracas

2008-09-27: Gum (Gingival) Grafts--Just say, "No!"

recently went to my dentist to get a damaged bridge replaced.  She suggested that she could improve the fit and appearance of one of the prosthetics if I got some gum reconstruction or a gingival graft.  A gingival graft is a procedure where they remove tissue from the roof of your mouth and attach it along the gum line to improve abscesses.  I told her that I was not one to take extreme and/or expensive procedures unless they were medically necessary.  She told me that it was a simple, out patient procedure, the cost would be around a $1000 and I would have maybe a week of irritation to my palate.

So I trusted her and I went to a periodontist that she referred to have the procedure done.  Again, I asked him about the issue of pain and he repeated her line that I might have some sensitivity eating on that side for 7 to 10 days.  Well that was September 15th or nearly two weeks ago and I am prepared to conclude that this has been one of the biggest mistakes of my life.  I have endured more pain in the last 2 weeks than I have had in my entire life combined.  I am taking so much pain medication I am wondering what I am doing to my liver.  I called the periodontist and he basically told me to suck it up.  I called again and he finally agreed to give me some Oxycodone.

The bottom line is that I feel there was not full disclosure by either the dentist or the periodontist.  I would never have agreed to pay $1000 to go through this much pain just to make an incremental cosmetic improvement to a dental prosthetic.  I feel that I was the victim of greedy dentists practicing anti-medicine and withholding information in order to pad their wallets.  I have talked with quite a few people and some people appear to do fine with the procedure and I have also found people who described it as the worse experience of their entire lives.  Nonetheless I believe the dentist had the professional responsibility to disclose the variability of outcomes and the possibility of debilitating pain.

Read more stories about gum grafts at the Experience Project --> here.

2008-05-15 An Irish-Israeli-Korean Dinner

y very good friend Neil Ryan was in town this week.  Neil and I worked together for 4 years in Dublin, Ireland.  We took the opportunity to cook a Korean meal for Neil, my friend Jason Schultz (who we met in Korea) and our neighbors Sarah and Mia from across the hall.  Sarah spent time in Ireland and Mia spent time in Israel.  They also brought their friend Jasmine who was visiting from Israel.

The meal consisted of fermented cabbage (kimchi:김치), grilled pork (samgyeopsal:삼겹살) and soy bean paste soup (doenjang jjigae:된장찌개).  You can buy kimchi in any Korean grocery store.  You would really need a special table top grill to make samgyeopsal but they are cheap and can also be found in a Korean grocery store.  I have a recipe for the doenjang jjigae on my other blog: Cooking on the Third Rock.

Above: Jinny and Neil

Above: Mia, Jasmine and Sara

Above: Jason

2008-03-08 Toronto, Lucky #7 and More Snow

White. Light or heavy,
Expected but capricious,
And then she will go.

ell it's still snowing here again in the Great White North and I think I have just about had it.  It was all pretty and novel at first but this is going into the fourth month and I am not sure how much more I can take.  This season's total snowfall (as measured from Sept. 1, 2007) is now something like 200 centimetres with another 10-15cm expected by tomorrow morning. That's more than 6 feet of the white stuff for those of you south of the border.  At least my sheltie Lucky #7 loves it.  Here's more Lucky #7 in the snow.

Above: Lucky #7 in Balfour Park, Toronto, February 2008

2008-02-12 World Press Photo Contest

Above: British photographer Tim Hetherington has won this year’s prestigious World Press Photo Contest. His photograph of a US soldier in the Korengal Valley in the Eastern province of Afghanistan beat more than 80,000 other images submitted this year.

Above: First prize in the contemporary issues singles category was won by South African photographer Brent Stirton. While working for Newsweek he pictured the evacuation of dead Mountain Gorillas at Virunga National Park, Eastern Congo.

2008-01-06 The Kite Runner

had avoided seeing this film actually--the synopsis struck me as somewhat depressing.  Finally I broke down and I am so glad that I did!  What an uplifting film.  It made me once again realize how blessed I am--how much I have to be thankful for.  The film heralds in stark relief how humanity should and can survive in the face of unrelenting adversity.  I can go back to worrying about not having a concierge to walk my pooch up and down Fifth Avenue!  Not!  It's time to fly a kite!

2008-01-01 New Years and Shelties in the Snow

appy New Year to all!  It was a snowy one here in Toronto.  We are supposed to get 10cm by tomorrow.  I feel so blessed for my life.  It is certainly not perfect but I guess I look at the deficiencies as the proverbial comforts of the rod and the staff.  I have so many plans for this year including writing a book, starting a company, getting married, buying a house and spending more time on this blog.  We will see.  Wish me luck!

Above: Looking south over David Balfour Park from our balcony.

Above: Lucky #7 in David Balfour Park.

2007-11-10 Canada, Permanent Residence and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

want to thank everyone for coming here to help us celebrate getting our permanent residency.  This means much more to us than most people can imagine.  In 10 years, Jinny and I have never legally lived together in any country.  And as a same sex couple our chances of immigrating together to the US were approximately zero.  That's why I am so glad that there is Canada and the Canadian people to take us in when my own country would not.  You are all our family.

y mother and father passed away some time ago.  And I don't even speak to my siblings really without lawyers in the room.  My parents were married for 35 years but I don't think they really liked each other.  They didn't argue or fight but they also didn't touch or talk.  I come from the south where traditionally people didn't get divorced.  As long as you supported your family, maintained public appearances and showed up for church on Sunday, then just like in the novel "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" you could pretty much do whatever you wanted.

don't believe in marriage.  I don't--let me be clear about that. At worse I think it's an act of political violence. A way for small minded men to keep women in the house--locked up and out of the way--wrapped up in the guise of tradition and conservative religious nonsense.  At best I think it's a happy delusion. It's two people who truly love each other and yet they have no idea how miserable they are about to make each other. But when two people know this and they decide with eyes wide open to face each other and get married anyway then I don't think it's conservative or delusional.  I think it radical and courageous and very romantic. With this in mind, I ask you Yeobo, my partner of 10 years, "Will you marry me?"

(In memory of Tina Modotti & Frida Kahlo.)

Above: Suki Sushi

Above: The Question 

Above: The Answer

Above: The Happy Couple

2007-10-05 Leafs Smoke the Habs 4-3

Tomas Kaberle scores OT winner as Maple Leafs beat Montreal 4-3 @ ACC!

The gang got together in one of the company boxes at the Air Canada Center to watch the Leafs smoke the Habs 4-3.  See all the pre and post game photos --> here.

2007-09-18 Under the Big Top

n Sunday we went to see Kooza, a Cirque du Soleil production currently running here in Toronto.  What a fantastic performance.  I must confess I had no idea what to expect.  The costumes and music, the story and the feats of human skill (there are no 4 legged critters) are simply breathtaking.  Needless to say the performers brought the entire house to a standing ovation.  If you have never seen a Cirque before I strongly recommended Kooza for a night under the big top like you wouldn't believe.

Above: The Wheel of Death--who insures these guys?!?

Above: Me and Jinny

2007-09-03 Canada, Cottaging and Concrete

Above: Me and Jason getting ready to haul some concrete.

We spent the weekend at Jeff Norman's cottage on Lake Kawagama.  The lake is very large and pristine--you can literally see all the way to the bottom!  Jeff's cottage is not accessible by road so you have to boat over.  After helping Jeff to move a couple of thousand pounds of premixed concrete we finally got around to a little cliff diving and water skiing.  What a blast!  Thanks Jeff.  See all the photos --> here.

2007-07-22 Way Back When

My best friend Jay Koch rescued this newspaper article from his flooded basement.  The article was originally printed Tuesday, August 16th, 1983.

<Click on the image below to enlarge to readable size>

2007-07-20 Belize!

e just got back from another wonderful summer escape to Belize.  My life long friends Reg Hirons and Will Fitzpatrick, both from San Francisco joined us and suprisingly they had never met before in all of my trips to the city.  Reg owns Funky Furniture, 1100 Folsom (@ 7th), South of Market.  Will is the lawyer for a large philanthropy.  See all the photos --> here.

Above: Reg, Jinny and Will at Blue Water Grill

We stayed at Casa Bonita, about a mile north of San Pedro on Ambergris Caye.  They have finally completed the fixed bridge connecting the northern end of the peninsula to San Pedro making the commute much easier.  We went fishing on the reef and spent numerous evenings drinking copious amounts of alcohol discussing family, love, science and of course politics.  We all took turns cooking and the BBQ was well worn.  I ran into all of the old San Pedro crew including Eddie (the dive instructor at Amigos del Mar), Shaggy (bartender at Fido's) and Lori (from Coconets days).

Above: Casa Bonita, Ambergris Caye

Jinny and I retraced our path to Belize through Chetumal spending a night at the Condesa df, a wonderfully modern boutique hotel in the Condesa district of Mexico City.  A definite highlight was an exquisite meal at La Biela, a delightfully delicious and colorful Argentine steak house nearby.

Above: One last dive in the Hol Chan Marine Reserve.

2007-06-16 Papa's Got a New Bag

lan Marshall, sports writer for the National Post says in Saturday's column that Jinny Joung's haircut was "The Best Damn Haircut of My Life"!  Read the whole story --> here or here.

2007-04-08 The Pyramids

The Great Pyramids,
Another trip to Cairo.
Walking with pharaohs.

I spent the weekend in Cairo on business.  Despite being absolutely exhausted from the flight I had a great meeting today with the client.  I even had time to ride horses out to the pyramids in Giza with my co-worker.  The sun was setting behind the dunes and the Pyramids were disappearing slowly into the night.  The smells of the market were everywhere as the mosque loudspeaker called the faithful to evening prayers.

Above: Me and Camel at the Great Pyramid

I arrived yesterday from Toronto connecting in Frankfurt.  I changed and after what I can only characterize as a terrible misadventure with the ensuite bidet, immediately headed to the Cairo Museum which was conveniently located adjoining my hotel.  I have been to Cairo before but never made it to the museum.  It is everything you can imagine and more.  And it is packed--there are still unopened crates of more recent discoveries lining the hallways everywhere.  They are building a new much larger national museum near the Pyramids.

Above: The Cairo Museum

After the museum I headed over to Al Halili market in the old city.  It was getting late and one of the many english speaking "sales agents" encouraged me to follow him into the Delta Papyrus Center (21 El Ghouria St., 3FL No. 17, El Darb El Ahmar, Cairo) to check out the hand made art work.  After paying for a couple of scripts I noticed something very unexpected.  Right there under the desk glass were dozens of business cards and one of them belonged to Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street journal reporter who was kidnapped and murdered in Karachi, Pakistan.  Now that was unnerving.

I finished off the day with dinner at Abou El Sid, probably one of the best Egyptian restaurants in Cairo.

2007-04-04 FC Bustos

ednesday was the last game of the season for FC Bustos in our indoor soccer league.  I was a little under weather so I couldn't play.  That didn't prevent me from doing a few requisite 12 oz. curls after the game though!

Above: Jinny and Marcelo

Above: Frank and Jason

Above: Fab, me and Driss

2007-03-28 Dublin

was in Dublin last week on business and who would I run into walking into my hotel but Anton Shihoff.  Anton is now busy with the recent floatation of his company Finavera Renewables, an alternative energy concern.  Anton and I were roommates in Blackrock when I first moved to Ireland back in 2002.  I knew you when buddy!

2007-03-23 Koch & Co.

ay and Rachel Koch brought their family to visit us a couple of weeks back.  Jay and I actually went to first grade together so many years ago I don't even want to think about it.  (Let's just say decades.)  They have two adorable children Eleanor and Carter.  We took in a few sites around Toronto including Niagara Falls, CN Tower and the Zoo.  Thanks for a fantastic birthday present!  Check out more photos --> here.

2007-03-16 Happy Birthday!

ast night was my 40th birthday party.  Once again I'd like to thank everyone for coming.  I would especially like to thank Jinny for organizing everything.  You can see all of the photos --> here.

2007-03-03 New Blogs for Seething and Cooking

oday I decided to split my blog into three.  Basically, I am creating a new blog devoted entirely to my political, philosophical and religious views.  It is called appropriately Seething on the Third Rock.  I will slowly migrate such content from Sentient Life to Seething.  I am also creating a new blog solely for recipes called Cooking on the Third Rock.  It will take me a while to move all of the comments.  I  hope you all will find the new structure more suitable and that you will continue to visit my sites.  Thanks.

2007-02-20 Ben's Birthday

Ben's birthday party,
Family, friends together.
Thank God Ben is home!

oday is Ben Osborn's birthday.  Actually, the surprise party was Saturday in Minneapolis.  Ben is a very good friend that I met playing ultimate frisbee along the Han River in Seoul, South Korea back in 2002.  We spent quite a few weekends hiking in the mountains, discovering buddhist temples and drinking inordinate amounts of Korean makgeolli (막걸리).  Since then he has fathered two children (Tuscan and Kyan) with his wife Malie and completed a tour of duty in Iraq [1], [2], [3]. I am so glad that I was able to make it.

Below: (L) Me and Ben, (R) Tuscan, Malie, Scott and Kyan

Above: Todd, Lionel, Ben and Me

Above: (L) Ben standing on "frozen" Lake Calhoun, (R) Ben blows out the candles!

2007-02-15 The Burke Brise Soleil

was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin visting my good friend Matthew Anchor a couple of weeks ago [1].  He took me to the Milwaukee Art Museum.  While we didn't have time for Francis Bacon, we did take in the new Quadracci Pavilion--a Santiago Calatrava-designed glass reception hall ensconced by the Burke Brise Soleil, a white, moving sunscreen.

Above: The Burke Brise Soleil, at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

2007-02-14 A Sheltie in the Snow

Snow in Toronto,
Global warming?  No not yet.
And in the future?

oday was the first big snow fall of the year.  Lucky #7, our Sheltie, really loves it as you can see.

Above: Lucky #7 (Click on the image to enlarge)

2007-02-07 Sydney Elizabeth Anchor

ere's Sydney Anchor,
Matthew and Lisa are proud.
Life is wonderful!

I wrote recently about the birth of Sydney Elizabeth Anchor [1].  Matthew and Lisa allowed me to stay with them in Milwaukee on my business trip to Chicago last week.  Yes it was unbelievably cold. (-9F/-22C)  And although the tire blew out in the rental and I was late to my meeting everything turned out well in the end.  Thank you Matthew, Lisa and Sydney for a wonderful visit.

Above: Matthew, Lisa and Sydney

2007-01-01 Happy New Years!

e spent New Year's Eve at home with close friends.  Terry is here visiting from Dublin and Adam Millard is home visiting from London.  Adam brought his brother Michael and a plethora of joy including Alexi who I met Dublin.  I met Michael when he was working with Adam on Shakespeare by the Sea [1].

Above: Sarah, Terry, Michael, Jinny, Adam and Catherine.  See all the photos --> here.

2006-12-25 Christmas at Langdon Hall

inny and I spent Christmas at Langdon Hall in Cambridge Ontario.  Built in 1902, Langdon Hall was the summer home of Eugene Langdon Wilks, the youngest of the seven children of Matthew Wilks and Eliza Astor Langdon.  Eliza was a grand daughter of John Jacob Astor, the immensely wealthy fur trader and real estate magnet from New York.  Astor has the distinction of being the first millionaire in the United States. [1]

We spent a few days indulging spa treatments and sumptuous meals with Wendy and Terry, new friends of ours from Toronto.  Fortunately, Langdon Hall is pet friendly (the property has it's own pair of Bernese mountain dogs, Teddy and Miss Wilks) so we brought Lucky #7 (our Sheltie) and Wendy and Terry brought Brody, a golden retriever.  See all the photos --> here.

Above: Jinny, Lucky #7 and Miss Wilks at Langdon Hall

Above: Me, Jinny, Wendy and Terry at Langdon Hall

2006-11-29 Reg

eg came to visit in the last 10 days.  I know Reg from my days in Houston.  They both now live in San Francisco.  We have been spending quite a bit of time with David Miller at the Drake Hotel on West Queen.  The photo is an unfortunate shot of Reg on the patio upstairs.  Click <here> for all of the photos.

2006-11-24 Jamie, Ainsley and Pork Butt

ast night we were hosted by Jamie and Ainsley for dinner.  Jamie lives across the hall.  Jamie is in insurance and Ainsley investigates financial fraud.  Well needless to say Jason prepared the most amazing pulled pork butt barbeque ever!  (Who said French Canadians can't cook Deep South comfort food?)  He also whipped up a pureed pear soup that was out of this world.  As soon as I get the recipes I will post them.  Thanks guys for the fabulous evening!

 

2006-11-12 David and Stefan

y  friend David Cope came to visit from Hong Kong.  Actually he was here for a training course.  We met in Hong Kong during the SARS epidemic at the beginning of 2003 (see my previous post Fear and Dread in HK).  Also my friend Stefan Brennan is leaving Toronto to go to Saskatoon.  All in all it's been a pretty tough week for Fred's liver!

Above: David, Tara and Alan at BluePoint.  Below (L->R): Stefan at Insomnia.

2006-10-25 Trinidad and Tobago!

Above: Trinidad and Tobago

rinidad and Tobago consist primarily of two small islands off the coast of Venezuela (Trinidad the larger of the two).  I went to Port-of-Spain this week on business and had a chance to pop over to Tobago for a dive.  Trinidad is the financial capital of the two islands, while Tobago has mostly a tourist economy.  With a population of just over 1M, this ex-Spanish/British colony is growing increasingly wealthy exporting oil and liquid natural gas to the US.  If you are planning on diving you should go to Tobago.   And leave your crackberry at home.  It won't work here and this place is definitely on "Island Time".

See all the photos --> here.

Above: Returning from a dive at Flying Reef off Crown Point, Tobago.

Above: Me and Tracy from R&Sea Divers Company, Tobago

2006-10-19 Oktoberfest!

ctober has been an exciting month for us.  Unfortunately, our very good friends Stefan, Nikki and Atule are leaving to go out west.  But we certainly had one great last blow-out at Smokless Joe, our local oyster haunt.  In addition, our friends Sharon and Brad announced their engagement--at last!  They hosted a fantastic get together at Insomnia.  Finally, I made a trip home to Montgomery to see my friend Adriane.  I also stopped by Atlanta to call on Carl and Geoey.  Thanks everyone for filling our life with wonderful friends. See all the photos --> here.

Above: Geoey lookin' a little Soprano at Front Page News in Atlanta

Above: Nikki and Tina @ Smokeless Joe in Toronto

Above: Sharon and Brad's Engagement Party @ Insomnia

2006-10-11 The Irish and Dolce & Gabbana

ur friends from Ireland have gone but I have just a couple more photos.  The first is a group shot on our last night out.  The second is a pair of Dolce & Gabbana jeans at Holt Renfrew.  I could not believe the jaw dropping pricetag even on clearance sale!  Also, they are size 48 so in addition to counting your pennies, you might want to gain a few pounds first.

Above: Yoon, Terry, Me, Jinny and Anthony.  Below: Dolce & Gabbana jeans at Holt Renfrew (size 48).

2006-10-07 Terry, Anthony and Yoon

erry, Anthony and Yoon have come to visit us from Ireland.  We have been having a wail of a time.  Click here to see all the pictures.  Below (L->R): Yoon, Jinny, Anthony and Terry.

2006-09-29 Charles and Janet

y good friend Charles came by with his friend Janet.  Charles is Canadian but lives in Hong Kong.  We met in 1997 when I first went to Korea.  The first picture is of Charles.  The next picture is of Janet and my from Yoon who is visiting us from Ireland.

2006-09-28 London!

he last stop on my trip was London.  My friend Adam Millard is an actor and is based in London.  Amos, who I met a couple of years ago at Shakespeare by the Sea in Halifax, Nova Scotia was also visiting with Adam.  I stayed at the K-West Hotel and bumped into Jason Bak who I just saw in Dublin this summer.  The K-West was quite happening.  Ethan Mentzer and Joey Zehr from the Click 5 were also staying in the hotel (after playing Wembley Arena) and we had a great chat and some beer at the lobby bar.  Wish I could have seen the show!  Another highlight of the trip was a cabaret that Adam took me to on the Battersea Barge.  What a delight!  Thanks Adam for a great weekend!

Below: Adam Millard and Amos Crawley

2006-09-28 Genève!

fter Amsterdam, I flew to Geneva for a couple of days.  Geneva is the second most populous city in Switzerland and is French speaking.  It is situated on the edge of Lake Geneva at the Rhone River.  One of the hallmarks of Geneva has to be the Jet d'Eau, a 140 meter tall water fountain visible from virtually any part of the city.  I biked from Geneva to the village of Salève where I had lunch before crossing the border into France. You can either bike or take a cable car (Le téléphérique du Salève) to the top of the 1380 meter Salève mountain, a favorite launching point for paragliders at the Club de Vol Libre du Salève.

Above: the Jet d'Eau and the Code Bar in Geneva.

Above: Yes my camera has a cool macro feature.

(L->R): The village of Salève where I had lunch.  On the right, I am standing on the paragliders launch pad.  The city of Geneva is in the background and the Jet d'Eau is visible on the left.

Above: The Jet d'Eau at dusk.

2006-09-26 Amsterdam!

was asked by my company to chair a conference in Amsterdam last week.  Having flown through the Schiphol Airport countless times but still never been into the city itself I jumped at the opportunity.  I stayed at the Lloyd Hotel and Cultural Embassy which happens to be a 100 year-old prison in the Eastern Docklands recently converted into something of an art project/performance art space/hotel.  Now this is not a place I would recommend for a business trip (e.g., some of the rooms share communal toilets) but it definitely begins the process of communicating one of the most enchanting aspects to me about Amsterdam--there is art absolutely everywhere.  You can't escape from it--every space, every floor, every wall and every ceiling!  In fact, there is almost no function here without form.  (Very often it seems like some of the architecture and furniture have no function at all!)  How delightful.

I didn't really have time to get about much.  My friend Dimitri [1], [2], [3], an American artist living in Paris, came up to visit and we made a couple of museums and took the usual tourist trek through the Red Light district.  All and all definitely a city I would like to explore more.  Also, be sure to rent a bicycle.  This city is without a doubt the biking capital of the world!

The trip continued with brief stopover's in Geneva and London.  I will write more when I have more time.  My good friends Terry Jack and Yun are coming over to vacay with us for the next 10 days so it also promises some more great stories!  Talk to you again soon.

Below (L->R): The Lloyd Hotel and Cultural Embassy and Dimitri

 
Above (L->R): The Red Light District and puppies on a bike

2006-09-20 Kyan Osborn!

am finally back from what turned out to be a longer than expected hiatus.  And I am pleased to announce the recent arrival of Kyan Osborn--the second son now for my dear friends Malie and Ben Osborn [1], [2].  Congratulations!

2006-08-30 Medical Pioneer Wilson dies at 76

Medical Pioneer Wilson dies at 76
By Nigel Duara and Teri Greene, Montgomery Advertiser

Dr. Hagalyn Seay Wilson, Montgomery's first female African-American physician, died Sunday in Montgomery. She was 76.

Wilson opened her first medical practice on Monroe Street in 1958. She would not retire for more than 40 years.

Her son Marcus Wilson, a Montgomery physician, said he could describe his mother in three phrases: mother, missionary and medical pioneer.

"She wasn't paid for over half the medical services she provided," Marcus Wilson said.

Wilson began her pioneering work with little support from the community. She was not allowed to treat patients at white hospitals, so she worked in the basement "colored ward" of St. Margaret's Hospital. Because of her race, she was rejected by the county medical society.

She knew she would face adversity in Alabama. Still, after earning a medical degree from Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania, Wilson, who grew up in and around Montgomery, returned here to serve.

Speaking of Montgomery in a 2001 interview, she said, "This was where my people were, and this was where I wanted to fulfill my mission."

In the segregated era, Wilson faced an overload of patients -- there were few black physicians at the time, and most saw up to 100 patients a day. Later in her career, she made long-distance house calls to patients in poverty-stricken, rural areas.

Marcus Wilson remembers.

"In a time when almost no one was doing house calls, she was loading up the van and taking care of people," he said.

In the early years, even after Wilson became a well-established and respected physician, many people still referred to her as "Rev. Seay's daughter." Wilson's father, Solomon Snowden Seay, was a successor to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as head of the Montgomery Improvement Association and the longtime pastor of Mount Zion AME Zion Church. Wilson followed in her father's footsteps. As part of the civil rights hearings in 1964, Wilson testified and helped bring about the end of segregation in medicine.

Along with her medical practice, she juggled marriage and motherhood. She has six children: James Wilson Jr. , Marcus Wilson, Samuel Wilson, Karen Jackson, Frances Ferguson and Frederick Ferguson. As adults, one became a lawyer, one a business executive and another a teacher; three became physicians.

Wilson retired in August 2001 after more than four decades of practicing medicine in Montgomery, the last 20 from a Carter Hill Road office. After retirement, she became committed to teaching children at the family's day-care center, Seay-Wilson Learning Center, started by her daughter, Karen Jackson.

Wilson is survived by her children, one brother, one sister-in-law, 14 grandchildren, five great-grandchildren and a host of nieces, nephews and cousins.

Wilson's funeral will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Union Chapel AME Zion Church.

Donations in Wilson's memory may be made to:

The Seay-Wilson Fund
Livingstone College
701 W. Monroe Street
Salisbury, N.C.  28144
Tel.: (704) 216 6044

Some related articles:

• Dr. Wilson Left Caring Legacy, Montgomery Advertiser, September 1, 2006
• A Path All His Own, Wil Haygood, The Washington Post, June 11, 2006
• Historic Healer, Teri Greene, Montgomery Advertiser, May 29, 2001
• Medical Breakthrough, Clinton Colmenares, Montgomery Advertiser, February 23, 1999

2006-08-20 Sydney Elizabeth Anchor

y very dear friend Matthew Anchor and his wife Lisa have just given birth to a baby daughter Sydney Elizabeth Anchor.  Congratulations!

2006-08-20 Weekend at the Cottage

Our good friend Jackie (a nuclear scientist) was kind enough to invite us to spend the weekend at her family's cottage on the French River near Sudbury, Ontario.

Above: Jackie's cottage on the French River

We took Lucky #7 with us and he had great fun minus running off the end of the pier in the dark and being rescued by Jason.  The heroics were set to continue as Jason pulled a massive pike from the water Sunday afternoon.  While Jinny was already planning on some Korean fish soup, Jackie took the lead in convincing Jason to throw it back.  Thanks Jackie for a great weekend!  See all the pictures --> here. 

Above: Jason and the Big One!  (Felicity and Jinny are in the back)

2006-08-14 Adventures in International Business Travel

actually have something good to say about the US Government for a change.  I am happy to report that I received a phone call from the American Consulate in Toronto this morning saying that the State Department had reversed their previous decision and agreed to give me a 10-year passport renewal after all (I guess the squeaky wheel gets the oil).  While I have made more than 500 international trips over the past 20 years, apparently I have been under a veil of suspicion after losing 3-4 passports.  So be advised, the State Department does not think highly of the loss of travel documents.

2006-08-12 Jason's Birthday BBQ on Toronto Island

esterday we all went out to Toronto Island for Jason's Birthday BBQ.  It was Wakefest on the island so all the kids were out getting wet.  I of course settled for a few relaxing beers, hamburgers and marshmellows.  See all the photos --> here.

Above: Jackie