S: Is for Swann Gallery and history that shows us the way.

When I saw this photograph I was mesmerized. I stared at it and absorbed it's stark beauty. This is the Terra Nova in Antarctica taken in 1910 where a staff of twenty-four studied biology, geology, glaciology, meteorology, and geophysics. It didn't even return from Antarctica till three years later. This is a reminder of a time when life was a lot slower. We take the things in our universe for granted, like they have always been here, available for out convenience. The F.A.C.T. is there was a time a wall was around China, computers were a blur in someones head and cell phones were the size of a shoe. With global warming this picture could never happen now and like hippo's, children of tomorrow will wonder what was an iceberg.
"Sail on, sail on
Great ship, Titanic...
Cross the open sea
Pray the journey's sound
Till your port be found
Fortune's winds
Sing Godspeed to thee...". This is from the musical based on the Titanic. Taken in 1912 a year before the Terra Nova came home, Titanic is one of man's greatest accomplishments and his biggest failure. Trying to build the biggest and the best it was frozen water that brought about it's demise. To think that it was to come to port in New York's own Chelsea Piers.


What ever happened to "Give us your poor, your tired, your huddled masses longing to be free..." I have been watching with a bit of sadness, and more than a little concern. We are becoming a country where it's citizens are becoming displaced. Where rights are being taken away. Where anyone can damn anyone with a click of a switch, without proof. Where illiteracy is in the voice of our president and English is not our first language but slowly becoming our second. Where any body's search for a dream supersedes who you step on to get there and is admired by the masses. History and our archives of it give us the clues to make informed, proven decisions F.A.C.T.S

T: Is for Time Caught

There are people and things that shape our lives. Their images are etched into our souls like ever lasting lights that flicker at the oddest of moments. My mother was an artist so I grew up going to museums and galleries. Georgia O'keeffe was a friend as was Norman Rockwell. I could spot a Pablo Picasso or a Mary Cassatt instantaneously. When I was younger I use to balk at being so exposed to art. Swann Galleries has this amazing collection that continuously brings my past back to haunt me, if I let it or embrace it and move on. I choose the later. On Monday their collection of 19th and 20th Century Photographs was put on the auction block. Before it did so I spent time absorbing it's messages and lessons.




What girl has never wanted to be Marilyn? Her tragic life is embedded into how we thought of ourselves. Blonde's have more fun, so they say. Gentleman prefer blonde's. This classic picture is worth a thousand words.


Upon seeing this picture all I could think of was
E = mc2. Einstein for me has always stood for expanding one's mind and not taking things for granted. I have always been into quantum physics. To think that time is only what we see is what has always boggled my mind. It makes more sense that time happens at once and that our brains just have a hard time grasping that concept, but I guess everything is relative. Tonight were people who shape our worlds. Turn into tomorrow and see the things that have change our world. My hats off to Swann Galleries for having integrity and taste to continued expanding our minds. Seeing Picasso, Monroe and Einstein caught in a moment of time just makes me realize that it is a F.A.C.T. that even after death we live on. It doesn't matter if it is a photograph, a letter or the way we have touched someone life is a beautiful F.A.C.T.

C: Is for a club that's a find

The red velvet ropes beckoned to those who know the secret of 49 Grove Street. Beyond the ropes the door of a landmark building and stairs that lead down to a hidden sanctuary. Plush intimate nooks allow for supreme people watching without being watched. Comfort is segmented into four distinct area's reminiscent of a turn-of-the-century private club or your parents basement. With a seating capacity of 300 which is highlighted by dark woods, lavish fabrics, and state-of-the-art audio/visual system which is shockingly unobtrusive. You can actually have a conversation, which in itself is rare in a a club setting. Their service is unsurpassed with a wide range of services including open bar, passed and stationary hors d’oeuvres, sit down dinners and buffet selections that will tempt event the biggest critic. Accommodating they offer seven days, 24 hour availability.

Conceived and designed by veteran New York City and Hampton's restaurateur and night club impersinario, Aram Sabet, 49 Grove fuses together an unparalleled mixture of service, intimacy, comfort and style. A dramatic showplace created with an atmosphere of luxury and fun, with a keen attention to every detail. Internationally renowned Feng Shui consultant Judith Wendell was hired to ensure the lounge exudes the right energy and G.E.M. Audio Services, which designed the sound system for both Avery Fisher Hall and Jazz @ Lincoln Center, was tapped for 49 Grove’s system as well.
Their were two caterers the night I attended. The 1st was "All About Food" which served a delicious guacamole and white chocolate covered peanut butter balls. The second I can't tell you about as the card is missing. I will find it and share more on this amazing caterer as it was some of the best food I have ever had. The tuna tartar was so fresh I thought it was steak tartar at first. There was also an introductory to a brand new company called "Wine Cellar Sorbet" which I will add more when I find the other card.

49 Grove is elegant, comfortable, charmingly run by it's owner who is approachable and caring and a place to hang when in the village. I highly reccommend this if you are looking to have a company Christmas party or a personal bash that you want talked about for some time to come. In NYC clubs spring up everyday but it is a F.A.C.T. that it is hard to find the right fit. 49 Grove is that fit.

A: Is for artist who see the world as wonderous

I run an organization called "Women of Substance". I started it because I saw the movie "Pay it Forward" and was so moved that I wanted to incorporate that into my life. At the last meeting my friend Sue Gilad brought her friend Sherry Mills to meet me. Sue and I had done a show together years ago and we have stayed friends all this time, supporting each other and believing the best in people. You could say we are each others personal cheering squads. Here was another person to cheer and I take great pleasure in introducing her to you. Sherry is a renaissance artist. The University of New Hampshire is where she began her foundation in drawing and oil painting. A year in Europe found her with a master marble sculptor in Pietrasanta, Italy, which she followed with a six-month apprenticeship with a renowned Venetian leather mask maker, who was one of the last true Commedia dell’Arte street performers. His unique trade became her daily life as she joined him in taking Carnivale by storm. Her work in clay sculpture together with leather originated a leather sculpture bag. Since moving to New York 1999, her studies have taken the form of improvisational theatre, Bel Canto voice, and a unique form of dance performed in the basement of St. John’s cathedral. It has been her passion for capturing “street paintings” with the camera that has dominated her focus. Now integrating this work with her poetry, she’s formulated a species of performance that brings the photography to life in time with an intensely visual sung dialogue. Performing in venues throughout the city expect "Good News" in November when Sherry will announce the date for an event with Metro Media. Sherry’s curatorial work can be seen in NY Arts Magazine. She rounds out her life as the artistic director for a documentary about Teotihuacan, Mexico, and was selected by the CEO of Metro Media Technologies’ International Headquarters to represent their Arts in an outdoor program. Sherry is someone to watch and watch closely. To see more of her art log onto www.sherrymills.com. All her photographs are unadulterated moments of the splatters and mishaps that breathe like paintings from the street. Our world is only as wondrous if we choose it to be and that is a wonderous F.A.C.T.

F: Is for following up and films that don't disappoint

This is a brief follow up on the Swann Auction. Total sales were $622,694 with the highest bids going to Thomas Jefferson's Autograph Letter Signed as President to the Marquis de Lafayette recommending that he acquire land in New Orleans, Washington, 10 March 1805, $84,000, Two letters by George Washington fetching $50,400 and $38,400. The Victor Hugo $28,800 and the color photograph of the earth signed by all 12 Apollo astronauts $20,400. I guess I know my stuff considering I picked two of the highest bids. It goes to show a signature is worth a whole hell of a lot
From the moment we saw the preview, Tyler (my friend who works in film) and I could not wait for the 12th of October. We were both fans of "Elizabeth" staring the iridescent Cate Blanchette. This film did not disappoint. I know the critic's have been lackadaisical to down right scathing in their reviews but I saw it at the 2nd matinee of the day with a packed house, who gave it a standing ovation. It's lush pageantry, elaborate costuming and production design are glorious and make it worth seeing on those merits alone. In Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Elizabeth has assumed her persona as the Virgin Queen, and she is dealing with the Holy War on the Continent, domestic unrest under the role of Catholicism, and Mary Stuart her half sister who is a devote Catholic. In the meantime Sir Walter Raleigh has awoken in Elizabeth a women's natural longing for a man and is betrayed by her lady in waiting for his affections. Cate Blanchett couldn’t be more wonderful; she embodies both Elizabeth The Ruler and Elizabeth The Woman. Clive Owen's Sir Walter Raleigh, whom we all read about in high school and promptly forgot(Or was that just me?)is just so amazingly good-looking,it’s a little disarming. He is very reminiscent of Errol Flynn which for me is always a plus. As the imprisoned Mary Queen of Scots, Samantha Morton lends the film its greatest emotional impact. She nails her scenes with an honesty of someone whose life has just gone out of them.
If you have never seen "The Libertine" I recommend this intriguing "Quill" like film that again Ms. Morton excels with a life that is truly being lead.

This film had Tyler and I googling Elizabeth and all the characters whose lives were encased in period of time. It made us find the F.A.C.T.S and that to me is always something to recommend. Randall (producer of "Grey Garden's) as always you were right!