Friday, June 29, 2007
Thursday, June 28, 2007
World's Smartest Man is Gay - Daniel Tammet
I was on my way to upstate New York, specifically Hyde Park to visit some of my friends at the Culinary Institue of America (CIA) a few weeks ago. I picked up an issue of The Advocate so that I can catch up on some gay news during the two-hour ride. I came across this article. Wow, my eyes were glued to the magazine as I read up on this amazing person.Daniel Paul Tammet, a 28 year old autistic savant from the UK, gifted with a facility for mathematic problems, sequence memory, and natural language learning. He was born with congenital childhood epilepsy.
An autistic savant is a person with both autism and Savant Syndrome. Savant Syndrome describes a person having both a severe developmental or mental handicap and extraordinary mental abilities not found in most people. The Savant Syndrome skills involve striking feats of memory and often include arithmetic calculation and sometimes unusual abilities in art or music.
He can speak languages including English, French, Finnish, German, Spanish, Lithuanian, Romanian, Estonian, Icelandic, Welsh and Esperanto. Tammet is capable of learning new languages very quickly. To prove this for a Channel Five documentary, Tammet was challenged to learn Icelandic in one week, a language with a popular reputation as one of the world's most difficult languages to learn. Seven days later he appeared on Icelandic television conversing in Icelandic, with his Icelandic language instructor saying it was "not human."
And yes, he is gay. Daniel and his domestic partner, software engineer Neil Mitchell, have been together for six years. He has been teaching researchers worldwide about the complexities of the brain, but he also has a thing or two to teach us about love.
Here are some excerpts from his interview from the June 2007 issue of The Advocate:
You sound like an old fashioned romantic.
"When you love someone anything is possible, including a relationship that stands the test of time. LOVE IS GIVING YOURSELF AWAY. And you can only do that once. Otherwise you're giving away fragments of yourself."
Love is considered hard work?
"People find it very easy to fall in love, but they find it much more difficult to actually live it out. They think, It's difficult, so it mustn't be right. They'll go on to another relationship, and they'll have the easy bit again, the unconscious bit, and then they'll move on."
Relationships require heroism?
"you're opening yourself up completely to another person, and you can't know who this human being is, other than what they choose to reveal to you. Entering a relationship is very much an act of faith."
*sigh*
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Fashion Trends - Fall 2008
I just attended an audio/visual presentation conducted by OPR, one of the more reputable fashion information companies in new york regarding the Fashion Trends for Fall/Winter 08. Pictures and information coming soon!!!
Weekly Love for June 25, 2007
Let your heart guide the way early this week and you can reach its desire that much more quickly. You may be quite surprised at where you find yourself when all is said and done! Your chores, work and other responsibilities call to you from Wednesday through Friday and while that might not be the most romantic way to spend your time, you know deep down that you are clearing the way for great things to come. In fact, this weekend should see you realize an ambition you have held for quite some time.
Tribute to Fashion Icons
Gianfranco Ferre, the Italian designer known as the "architect of fashion" for his structured, sculpted shapes and for his groundbreaking tenure at Christian Dior, died June 17, Sunday. He was 62.
New York Fashion designer Liz Claiborne, whose styles became a cornerstone of career women's wardrobes in the 1970s and 1980s, has died Wednesday, June 27. She was 78.
iPhone Madness in New York
You know that guy who's first in line at the 5th Ave Apple Store? His name is Greg Packer. Turns out he's no Apple fanboy. No, he's an obsessive linesitter.
And this is Johnny Vulkan, representative of Keep A Child Alive is first in line at Apple's SoHo store. At least he's doing this for something worthwhile. They will auction the iPhone and give the proceeds to "Keep a Child Alive" Foundation.
Woohoo!
Words to Live By...(no seriously READ IT!)
As we grow up, we learn that even the one person that wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love.
So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back. Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin.
*** thanks to Alex Macayan for forwarding me this very inspirational missive!
So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back. Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin.
*** thanks to Alex Macayan for forwarding me this very inspirational missive!
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