April 7, 2010

Today was the first beach day for us. The weather is fantastic for the entire day. The temperature went up to 90°F and at the beach it was easily above 80°F.

We couldn't go into the water because it was so cold that our feet went numb when we stuck them in. But it was very refreshing.

It was surprising how many people were out there on a weekday. And not all senior citizens but many able bodied men and women.

Either they just didn't go to work or they have no jobs and that's why they chose to sit out in the sun.

Anyway, it was a very good day!

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Last year they were advising people to cut spending and reduce credit card usage because that is the root of the troubles we are in.

People were spending and spending, putting their charges on their credit cards and then getting stuck with huge interest rates. The end result was that they could not afford the large payments and default followed.

This was what prompted the advise that to cut spending is the wise thing to do.

Then come the retailers who are at the receiving end of this curtailed spending advice. At first they cut their prices to attract the buying public (and they sell crap for the lowered prices) then they slowly attempt to return to their original pricing hoping the public would not notice it.

It seems people heeded the advice and slowed down their credit card usages. But now there are complaints about this. Today the market fell and one of the reasons is a report by the Federal Reserve issued today.

According to this report consumer borrowing fell again in February, reflecting weakness in credit cards and auto loans. Analysts said the sharp reduction showed that the weak economy is still making consumers hesitant to take on more debt.

The February decline was the 12th decrease in the past 13 months as consumers slash borrowing in the face of a deep economic recession and high unemployment.

Analysts said consumer borrowing is being held back by fears about job security with unemployment still near 10 percent and a move by banks to tighten credit standards following the severe financial crisis of the past two years.

Now what is it they want?

Do they want us to slow down spending and have a healthy financial situation at every home with no indebtedness to any credit card company and bank and consequently hurt the retail industry?

Or do they want us to go back and start or rather continue borrowing and eventually owe to every Tom, Dick and Harry but make the retailers and banks happy?

You damned if you do and damned if you don't!

April 6, 2010

Easter Sunday is usually the beginning of Spring. The weather gets mild, some trees start to show their flowers, grass start to grow and basically everything started to become a little more colorful.

As I said before we live in an apartment but when we look out the window we can see the changes and as long as the weather stays pleasant these changes are very good for the eye.

Many, many years ago on Easter Sunday people dressed up in their fineries and went out for walks with their families.

In Manhattan, Fifth Avenue was one of the most fashionable places to go and be seen. It started in the 1870s and eventually became very popular. People dressed up, women wore beautiful and elaborate hats.

But this wasn't just a New York event. All over the country in cities people did the same and showed themselves in the popular areas. Years ago we went out to a nearby beach for a walk and found that the boardwalk was filled with people strolling up and down with their families.

This was called the Easter Parade. It was not a parade as we know parades, it was just people parading and enjoying Easter.

Like everything else this changed, too. Or I should say degenerated. It is now a long way from the way it was in the Judy Garland movie of Easter Parade. It is not even a bad imitation of it.

OK, the police closes Fifth Avenue from traffic until about 1 PM for the sake of the people who still want to be there. But one has to see those people!

First of all, most of them are tourists who just want to see weird New Yorkers. The rest are the weird New Yorkers.

For some reason some people insist on dressing up as idiots. They dress up in costumes only they find interesting and they all want to be noticed, pushing themselves front of cameras.

The women's hats are another thing. Years ago these hats were elegant headpieces. Now they are jokes. Who wants to see a birdnest on the top of a woman's head? Who wants to see an Easter basket filled with whatever on top of a woman's head?

Nobody wears normal and tasteful hats anymore. They all try to outdo each other with the craziest creations. Some hats are like an ugly baby that has a face only a mother can love.

This whole Easter Parade thing became a circus. People don't respect anything anymore. My wife and I went to a very lovely place for Easter Brunch. There were many people and families there. We dressed up nicely but we were in the minority.

There were people in polo shirts, men and women in jeans and sneakers.

And if the place would have said there was a dress code they probably would have been sued.

That's America for you! Or is it called progress?

April 5, 2010

They say talent is a God given gift. It is probably correct but who determines what talent is?

Leonardo da Vinci had talent, Mozart had talent, most of the artists that we are admiring today who lived in the past centuries had some talents.

Today's artists' talents I am questioning. It seems that today's artists just like in the old days need benefactors. But today's benefactors are not the same caliber as the ones in the distant past.

What art is to paint a Campbell Soup can? If it weren't for the support of Jackie Kennedy, Andy Warhol would have remained an unknown and struggling artist.

This just proves the old adage: it is not what you know, it is who do you know!

For every successful artist today there are hundreds or thousands possessing the same or even more talent but lacking adequate backing.

There is nothing more upsetting than to be an unappreciated artist.

I knew someone who was multi talented. In all seriousness, this person was close to be a genius.

He created beautiful paintings, he created gorgeous drawings. He made etchings that were fantastic. Actually, I have some of his works in my home.

He wanted to be a movie director and he wanted to be admitted to the university to study that field.

Multi talented doesn't begin to describe him. But he couldn't succeed.

Could not get admitted to the university, could not sell his art work, he was forced to live his life and support his family as a simple factory worker.

Maybe poverty helped him to create. If we think back most of the great artists lived in poverty or were suffering from pain or depression while creating their greatest works. But try to tell that to an artist today.

The person I was writing this about finally died years ago from cancer without ever succeeding or being appreciated. But I cherish the pieces he gave me because if nobody in this world remembers him, I still do.

The question still lingers there. At what point does a person give up trying and decide to fit in society by joining the world of the working people and attempting to make an honest living.

When I was young all I ever wanted was to be gigolo. But I realized my shortcomings and instead became an engineer.

April 4, 2010

There are two anniversaries today. Not because today is Easter Sunday but because today is April 4.

One of the anniversaries is that 42 years ago today in 1968 Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis. I remember when the news came on. At that time nobody was really aware of the magnitude of this.

One wonders what would have happened if he were alive today. The changes would have happened anyway because that is what called progress. But he gave his life for what he believed in.

And, interestingly this year it falls on Easter Sunday at which time a similar anniversary is being celebrated worldwide.

Another but lesser known anniversary today is the end of Nazi occupation of Hungary in 1945. With that the war there was over even though it took longer for the rest of Europe.

In April 1945 the Soviet army took Berlin, and a few months later, in June 1945, British and American (and shortly afterwards also French) troops took possession of their countries' sectors of Berlin.

And with that World War II was over.

But back to Hungary. Buda and Pest are two halves of the capital divided by the Danube and connected with several bridges. Buda is on the hilly west side while Pest is on the flat east side.

The Germans in their withdrawals blew up all the Danube bridges. My family and I lived on the Pest side where the ghetto was located.

On January 18, 1945 Pest was liberated by the advancing Soviet army. I remember when morning came and we realized that we did not hear shooting, no artillery, no bombardment.

Some brave souls ventured out from the air raid shelter we were in and went out to the street.

Our building was just inside of the ghetto walls and at one of the few gates to the outside world that was always guarded by armed Hungarian Nazis.

These brave people came back and told us that the guards were gone, the gate was open and there was no shooting anywhere.

That was when we all realized that we were survivors!

Anyway, it took another month and a half to get the Germans out of Hungary thus April 4 became the official Liberation Day.

From 1950 until 1989 it was a national holiday celebrated with parades and political speeches that glorified the Red Army and the Soviet Union.

As a kid I liked these holidays. No school, holiday atmosphere in the city and if the weather was nice a lots of interesting things to do.

After 1989 this celebration was stopped because by that time the Soviet Union ceased to exist and the political system also changed in Hungary. They realized that they did not have to be grateful to the Soviets any longer for everything.

I agree with this. But I do think they should be grateful for ending the war since Hungary as always, was on the wrong side fighting. Maybe the Hungarians are sorry the war was lost. Maybe they wish the Germans had won.

One never knows the real truth about these things. They are buried deep in rhetoric and double talk.

I do know that I am happy that I survived and I really don't care who liberated me from the ghetto as long as I was liberated.

Just a short remembrance.

On our way home from the ghetto on January 18 we saw a line of Russian soldiers standing across the road with knives in their hands. Naturally we all got very frightened.

When we approached them they smiled and with their knives they cut the yellow Star of David we all had to wear off our coats saying we didn't need these any longer.

This was the last nice thing they ever done but still this is what I remember.

April 3, 2010

Just to continue a little bit on yesterday's subject.

My wife and I love the Caribbean. We have been to several islands but our favorite is St. Maarten. This island is half Dutch and half French, each part belonging to their respective countries.

Going from one side to the other is like two different worlds. I'll explain later.

About fifteen years ago we vacationed in Aruba. That is a Dutch island. We had a great time there. Many superb restaurants, not much American influence, yet.

We sampled local foods and had the chance to try Dutch cooking along with other international foods.

Several years later we went back and were totally disappointed. KFC, McDonald's and other fast food restaurants blanketed the island along with more American style restaurants. What a way to ruin Paradise!

Now back to St. Maarten.

The first time we vacationed there we thought since it was a Dutch island we might be able to find Dutch cooking. No luck. They looked at us if we were asking for Mongolian cooking.

On the Dutch side every restaurant tries to outdo the others with American style food. Might that be Italian or Chinese or sea food but still the same as we can find at home. Sport bars and humongous menus everywhere.

A food critic once said that restaurants should not advertise home style cooking because if we want to eat home style than we should stay home. I agree with this sentiment.

This same ideology applies to American food. If I want to eat American food I stay home. What's the point showing my passport upon entering into a foreign country then once I'm there I feel like I never left home.

Being a tourist, being a visitor is not about making me feel like I never left home. Because then I'll stay home and save a bundle of money.

Being a tourist is experiencing things one might not experience at home. These could be customs, food, weather and a myriad of other things.

The beauty of French St. Martin is that the restaurants are almost exclusively French and serving various regional dishes. To eat at any one of them is a culinary experience.

The fact that they don't like Americans and they might even spit in one's food is another issue but with good French cooking even that tastes good.

My wife and I do like French cooking and we do go to the other side frequently to sample it. Almost always without any complains. The price is another issue.

Since the French side deals in Euro but having a lot of Americans on the island they do accept US Dollar (grudgingly) however, every restaurateur uses his own conversion factor from Euro to Dollar.

Being the tourists we are at a disadvantage because in case of an argument we have no chance of winning against the French.

Apparently the average American traveler or tourist is not keen to try local cuisine. I can not understand why since American cooking is not very colorful, at least not for me.

In a foreign country one can rarely go wrong by ordering the local fare. That is a major part of the tourist experience.

Just make sure never to order steak chien (dog steak)!

April 2, 2010

Americans are funny people.

I don't mean they are funny in a funny way, they are funny because of their universal behaviors and expectations.

They want the whole world to be like them. I don't mean they want the world to like them because nobody really like them but they expect the world to be like the Americans are.

They expect the same morals, the same laws, the same foods and the same customs regardless where they are.

If an American breaks the law in a foreign country he is stunned that the local customs don't give the same benefit of doubt as it is done in the US. And, also that the local court systems are different than the ones in the US.

If they see topless women sunning themselves on the beach they get upset because it hurts their morals. It is irrelevant that in that particular country this might be an accepted behavior.

When an American traveler goes into a restaurant in a foreign country he expects to see steaks, baked potatoes and french fries. If he can not find them he gets upset.

Why is it that if an Albanian travels and can not find "Tirana Fërgesë" on the menu he takes it in stride?

No wonder Americans are disliked around the world. They expect the world to kneel front of them because they are all convinced that the Americans are God's gift to human kind.

It is not very beneficial to brag that one is an American when traveling abroad. Europe is not known for their liking towards us. It is not only the French that dislike us but there are several countries agreeing with them.

Caribbean islands are different. They make their living from the Americans. There are islands that belong to other countries or independent where restaurants are more Americans than the ones in the Mainland.

There are Dutch islands in the Caribbean where they request the female guests not to go topless because it might hurt the morals of the American families. This is a perfect example where we expect others in their own homeland to conform to our standards.

So, why should they like us?

I love when they are trying to transplant American style football into Europe. If my memory serves me right they tried it before and it didn't work. Now it is on again.

There is a single sport that is more popular in the world than all others combined. And that is soccer. But, there is one standalone country where it never found a fertile soil regardless of all the immigrants and all the money. That country is the US.

But now again they are trying to popularize the American style football in Europe. It is a dumb sport and those people will never go for it. Actually it is not even a sport. It is a business.

I'm so relieved though that our influence still accounts for something. Curling is now an internationally accepted sport.

April 1, 2010

Today is April Fool's Day.

Today is when idiots call the zoo and ask for Mr. Wolf. Today is the day when one calls his wife from work and tells her that the train cut off his manhood and other silly things.

But being responsible and mature adults we don't do these things anymore. Or do we?

The joke is actually on me. I have such a cold that it speaks five languages.

I hate colds. I do get a flu shot every year but always manage to get a cold or two. It takes the strongest men off their feet and makes sniffing babies of them. And, there is nothing to do but wait it out.

I drink teas, I eat chicken soup and hope for the best.

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Today was a very lovely day. Finally the sky cleared and the sun came out. It was warm and almost summery. And they swear that Easter Sunday will be just as nice if not nicer.

Remembering years past it is hard to remember when it was so nice on Easter Sunday.

Fortunately the Stock Market is closed tomorrow being Good Friday. Even though today and yesterday it was doing fairly well I feel much safer when it is closed.

One can't make any money but can't lose either.

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I am not an economist (thank God) and I don't claim to understand how money works.

But I have an idea.

New Jersey Transit is a state run commuter transportation agency. It runs trains and buses, primarily to Manhattan.

Right now they are planning to increase their rates by as much as 25%. One of their complaint is that ridership fell a lot and they don't know how else to make up the shortfall. In addition they also plan to reduce the service.

Here is my suggestion.

Why not to drop their rates? Why not to have a sale like every business is having if they want to attract costumers? It cost almost the same to run empty trains as full trains.

If they would drop the monthly fares people might return and everybody would be happy again.

This theory could be applied to every governmental agency that complains that their revenue are not as good as it should be.

Why not to reduce the fees they are hoping to collect? Their attitude is that when participation dwindles increase taxes. Then participation will dwindle again and taxes will go up again. This is a vicious circle where we are the victims.

I can't believe that laws do not permit reduction of fares and fees in order to attract more participants.

It's a good thing that Macy's does not think that way. Business is slow, let's have a sale!