January 27, 2010 by Rebecca Levey
Believe it or not there are actually two major speeches happening today – The State Of the Union and Apple’s State of the Tablet. According to my social networking world the Apple speech is the way more exciting, anticipated and prone to wild projections and fantasies of the two. The State of the Union is really not jazzing up the masses. Over on Slate there is a great parody of Steve Jobs giving the State of the Union Address Apple-style. While the article is tongue in cheek what it underscores is that everyone wants the next big thing and a year ago that was Obama (unfortunately now in Massachusettes it was Scott Brown) – but for those who were energized on the web for politics last year it is now the Apple Tablet that is giving everyone hope.
It’s pretty funny that a gadget that has yet to come out has been praised as the second coming, declared the savior of the publishing world and then pretty much declared a let down by last night – all before it has been unveiled to the public. But, Obama should take a page from the Apple hoopla and get back to the viral marketing and grass roots web work that made his campaign successful. He seems to have forgotten that young people and tech centered people are who created the energy around his initial campaign and they are just as passionate and interested in the world around them, just not necessarily the stodgy old world that Washington represents and of which Obama now seems entrenched. There is nothing cool about Washington DC (that perceived coolness lasted about 6 months)
So, maybe the State of the Union Address can capitalize on the fervor of the Apple Tablet Announcement by refocusing our attention (and the government’s attention) on jobs (and Jobs – like Tom Friedman said) that are truly about the future – innovative, tech focused and creative. About a year ago my Brother In-Law and my husband started a tech side business that included building an iphone app. Where did they find the developers for this app? In India, via elance.com. They got incredibly top-notch development and execution of an iphone app for the price of one month’s rent on a typical Manhattan 1 bedroom apartment. There should be no good reason why his job wasn’t bid on by some American college students looking to make a few thousand dollars and with the skills to turn it around successfully, but there weren’t. That’s what we need to focus on, that’s the kind of job training and push we need in the schools because that is laying the long term groundwork for the next generation of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, or just a team of people who can competitively bid on tech jobs from within our own country.
I’m not sure if the Apple Tablet will bring about the great change that everyone thinks it will – but it will most likely spur the next evolution in computing and technology. Obama was supposed to do the same thing, only he forgot that change doesn’t just happen when the product launches, it takes an entire community to adopt it, engage with it and make it their own. That’s what happened with the iphone and the app store. Now Obama needs his own form of the app store to bring his change to life – that means opening up and listening to what’s out there, letting new ideas through and not letting people wedded to the past rule your decisions (remember all those people who said they could NEVER type on the iphone’s virtual keyboard? They got over it pretty fast when they saw all the benefits of the iphone and app store.) That State of the Union better lay out some serious apps for making this country better or his administration will end up like Windows Vista – all hype, all promised change, and one big CRASH.
This is an original beccarama.com post.
Posted in politics, technology | Tagged app store, apple tablet, change, evolution, Obama, politics, Scott Brown, slate, state of the union, steve jobs, technology | Leave a Comment »
January 27, 2010 by Rebecca Levey
Of all the ways your life changes when you have kids none is more drastic than the way you travel. Gone are the days of a small carry-on with a book, an ipod and some trashy magazines. Suddenly your carry on is like Mary Poppins carpet bag – full of snacks (both salty and sweet), stickers, markers, DVD players, DVDs, coloring books, activity books and depending on the age of your kids, diapers, change of clothes, wipes, ear drops, maybe some pajamas and even a change of clothes for yourself (yes I learned the hard way that mishaps on the plane tend to land in my lap, or down the front of my shirt). Early on when my twin daughters were just babies we were like a small army going off to war as we marched down the jetway. Two strollers that we could fold in 5 second flat, two car seats unlatched and ready to load, and an industrial sized diaper bag that just barely fit in the overhead.
Luckily for me my daughters are long past the nightmare travel age. They wheel on their own small carry-on bags filled with but a few key possessions – a DS, an ipod, a treasured toy and a book. But, I remember well those days when every passenger on the plane eyed us with dread as we boarded and made our way down the aisle. You could see them secretly praying, please don’t sit near me, please, please.
Posted in nyc moms post | Tagged airplane, airport, DS, family travel, ipod, nycmomsblog, parenting, raising twins | Leave a Comment »
January 25, 2010 by Rebecca Levey
When I was eleven I came down with mono. I was staying in Michigan with my grandmother in August while my parents took their first ever trip to England. After endless days of blood tests and doctor visits with no definitive answers a secondary infection allowed them to make the diagnosis and order me quarantined in my grandmother’s bedroom for the duration of the virus. No cousins, no playmates, nobody except Erica Kane and the rest of the daytime soap line up. And this was back when there were only about 5 channels to watch. The one upshot of the whole debilitating month of sickness was that my grandmother finally had to give in and get a TV with a remote control. It was a big step for her, a seemingly frivolous expenditure since her old TV worked just fine, but I could no more get up to change the channel than to run a marathon and the TV was my only company.
Now flash forward 25 years later and here I am at home with my daughter who is nursing a bad cold, nothing like the month long bout of mono I had, but still she’s basically a lump on the couch. As I reconciled myself to the fact that I will now be spending the day at home and reshuffling all of my to-do list items for the week as well as appointments, my daughter planned her day around three things – the computer, the Wii and the TV. First thing she did – caught up her DVR viewing with last week’s American Idol auditions. Next, it was on to Club Penguin. And before I knew it she’d been on the computer for 2 hours. After a lunch break she wanted to watch Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. And now she’s trying to convince me that she should play the Wii even though she can barely move. And I will probably let her. I know you’re not supposed to have a sick day be a fun day since that just makes it all too enticing to fake being sick all the time, but honestly there’s little else to do when you’re sick than veg out and vegging out nowadays involves some sort of screen time.
So here we are in hour 4 of our screen watching marathon day, with Babe Pig in the City on HBO and my daughter cracking up between coughing spells and she couldn’t be happier. And I don’t blame her. The summer I had mono I learned how to play about 25 kinds of solitaire, my daughter on the other hand played, danced, sang and swam with about 25 other penguins today. That I suppose is a 21st century sick day at its best.
This is an original beccarama.com post.
Posted in life in nyc | Tagged american Idol, babe, club penguin, family entertainment, HBO, mono, screen time, sick kids, tech, Wii | Leave a Comment »
January 14, 2010 by Rebecca Levey
9:00 am
Right now I’m sitting in the freezing cold audience of the Martha Stewart Show. With about a half an hour to go all the mom bloggers are settling in and taking pictures. The set is gorgeous. A dream kitchen of course, in all Martha hues, a fabulous craft room and an actual test kitchen that’s buzzing with chefs at work. The staff is as professional, organized and nice as you would expect. I have to admit I’m one of those Martha geeks. It does not bother me that she puts up some perfectionist ideal of crafting or cooking. I admire her the way I admire an Olympian or a principal dancer at ABT – someone at the peak of her profession who epitomizes the best of what she’s espousing. Without Martha where would this entire industry of crafting, cooking and homemaking (not to mention multimedia penetration) be? And for that matter where would the whole concept of a woman run media company be? There may not be enough women also at the top of their company or with the media power that Oprah, Martha and Rachel Ray have – but Martha was pivotal is showing the world that women have the real consumer power and without that us mom bloggers wouldn’t exist either.
9:43
Still waiting for Martha to come out. Shivering by the second. Just noticed the awesome plant/garden area of the set. They asked us on the audience questionnaire whether or not we had a question for Martha that she could help us with and I should’ve said plants! We’ve killed every plant we’ve ever owned. Now the warm up guy is up and trying to get us psyched up for the show. He’s hyper plus a million. Now we’re getting ready for the show to begin and learning how to applaud and help get Martha to commercial break. I could use a little heat (or at least some hot water!)
9:50
The cameras are rolling out and over everyone. Now we’re getting the reminder about Marthastewart.com. Are we ready to meet Martha Stewart? Hell YES! Bring her out!
10:00
BRING ON MARTHA!
Continue Reading »
Posted in life in nyc | Tagged martha stewart, live blogging, foodie, crafting, cooking, TV | Leave a Comment »
December 12, 2009 by Rebecca Levey
For the last five years my husband and I have researched TVs. Our steadfast and true 27″ picture tube set sat like a big ol’ lazy uncle on it’s stand and delivered perfectly fine viewing as far as we were concerned. But, we had the itch. The flat screen bigger-than-your-kitchen-table TV itch. One by one our friends and families turned in their old model TVs for sleek and ever bigger sets. But we held out, year after year, watching prices fall and new models come out, and not quite ready to splurge on something out of pure decadence. After all, our TV worked perfectly fine.
Then this month something happened. Click here to find out what!
Posted in nyc moms post | Tagged family, My Fair Lady, old movies, plasma TV, Star Wars, Television, Wii | Leave a Comment »
December 10, 2009 by Rebecca Levey
This past Tuesday my two daughters and I went to the Metropolitan Opera House Tree Lighting and then on a special backstage tour of the theater. Growing up in New York City some of my most vivid and cherished memories of New York theater are linked to that incredibly beautiful theater. I still remember the first time I sat in the velvet chairs and watched the mammoth sparkling chandeliers rise up to the ceiling stories above as the lights dimmed and the music began. This was the first time my daughters had been inside the opera house being only seven and not yet ready to sit through and appreciate a full-length production of ballet, and certainly not opera.
Imagine your first time inside such an impressively huge and gorgeous theater as a sort of insider. We were led into the main orchestra seating where we heard about the history of the theater and watched the crew as they readied the stage for that night’s opera, Le Nozze di Figaro. I think the girls were more impressed by the size and scope of the sets seeing them in the bare light and with wings clearly visible than they would be with the usual trickery of stage lighting. We then went on to the actual workshops where the sets are constructed, touched up, painted and broken down. The girls got such a kick out of seeing the burned witch remains from Hansel and Gretel missing a toe and in need of repair as well as the giant chefs’ heads that needed spiffing up. From there we walked on to the actual stage. Now, here is where the full-fledged theater geek in me wanted to shake my daughters and try and get them to understand that they were standing on the very stage that Pavarotti had sung on, that Cynthia Gregory had danced on. But really they just thought the slanting floors of the sets and the fact that the paintbrushes were attached to poles to touch up the top of the sets were really cool. Me however? I was seriously elated and awestruck.
Sometimes a backstage tour can leave you feeling like the mystery has gone out of what you loved. Too many warts revealed or illusions shattered. Usually things don’t measure up in real life. The opposite was true after our tour of the Met. I have a brand new appreciation for the scope and magnitude of the artistry and hard labor that go into mounting each production and my daughters were so enthralled by the end (maybe due to my relentless cheerleading and prodding) that they have now decided they want to go to the new production of Hansel and Gretel and attend their first opera.
And, A GIVEAWAY!
IF you would like a chance to see this special holiday production of Hansel and Gretel, sung in English, at the Met leave a comment below. I have two orchestra seats to give away for 8:00pm on Monday, December 14th! The winner will be picked by Saturday December 12th.
For more information on the opera click here!
This is an original beccarama.com post.
Posted in life in nyc | Tagged new york city, metropolitan opera, children's theater, family travel, theater, giveaway, tickets | 3 Comments »
September 22, 2009 by Rebecca Levey
I grew up in Brooklyn way before hipster boutiques and cute home furnishings stores dotted the avenues. Back in the 70’s and 80’s Brooklyn shopping was synonymous with one word – BARGAIN. And finding those deals was a sport for my mom, brought to new highs when my grandmother visited from Michigan and the two of them piled us into the Volvo station wagon and headed into the depths of Brooklyn to the major discount emporiums like Century 21 and Aarons. Stores with salesladies who wore heavy false eyelashes and would eye you up and down in the communal dressing room with a discerning Tim Gunn eye. This was before the widespread prevalence of nationwide discounters like Marshalls and TJ Maxx, back when if you wanted to go to Loehmanns you hauled yourself up to the Bronx, not the nearest mall.
Keep reading at nycmomsblog.com
Posted in nyc moms post | Tagged bargain hunting, discount clothing, nycmomsblog, recession, retail, shopping | 1 Comment »
September 21, 2009 by Rebecca Levey
Here’s a tip for all of those politicians who think they will take their secrets with them to the grave – watch some good old fashioned daytime TV. Why? Because one thing you learn when you follow the love lives and travails of the fictional characters on All My Children or General Hospital is that the truth always comes out. That’s why viewers tune in every day, to see the ramifications of what happens when the gory details are revealed and everyone is shocked – SHOCKED – to learn what they suspected all along. Perhaps if John Edwards followed the escapades of Erica Kane or even set his DVR to Desperate Housewives once in a while he’d have realized that having an adulterous affair while running for office would not remain a secret forever. And had he been a student of the Soaps perhaps it would’ve occurred to him that any love child conceived during this affair would also be brought to light in due time. He’s lucky the child didn’t show up in 15 years (or 5 years in Soap time) with some kooky revenge scheme that involved hoodwinking then kidnapping his legitimate children.
Of course even if John Edwards couldn’t bring himself to watch daytime TV or trashy primetime fare he has only to look at the greatest, sleaziest dramas of our time – those of fellow politicians. Watergate, Iran-Contra, Monica. The best soap operas of all unfold not on network television but on the political pages of national newspapers. Factor in the National Enquirer and the Internet and one has to wonder if the John Edwards and Mark Sanfords of the world are living in some strange media free bubble where “under the radar” still exists.
Maybe its time for politicians to stop surrounding themselves with assistants and advisors who hush up and facilitate their clandestine behavior and start tuning in to Gossip Girl. There are some valuable life lessons to learn from the generation willingly putting themselves under a self-constructed media microscope – someone is always watching and eventually the truth will set itself free. XOXO.
This is an original beccarama.com post
Posted in politics | Tagged gossip girl, politics, soap operas | 1 Comment »
August 18, 2009 by Rebecca Levey
There has been a lot of discussion about whether or not Congress should be allowed to take an August recess when there is so much to be done on health care. Aside from being yelled at and confronted at town halls, and maybe engaging the occasional true Q&A, it doesn’t seem that Senators and Representatives do much on their self assigned vacations. Today however there is an article in the Science section of the New York Times that might make the case for such a break.
Continue Reading »
Posted in life in nyc, politics | Tagged politics, health care, NY times | 1 Comment »
