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My iPad

Wednesday, February 8th, 2012

I gifted myself an iPad for Christmas (or Hanumaswanza as it’s called in my house – pronounced on the “mas”). I bought it and ran off into the sunset, i.e. travelled abroad. I use it daily for my New York Times, New Yorker and a Swiss publication (NZZ am Sonntag) and I love using Facetime with my sister and nephew. I know how to turn it on and off. I thought that was about it; until now.

It’s so simple, it has one button – how complicated can it get? I can, of course. I can hit the button twice in rapid succession and see that after two months of use I have EVERY application open – no wonder I’m charging like a champion.

I can move icons, but only if THEY want to! I hate being at the mercy of “0”’s and “1”’s. After my friend Susanne (www.smuellernyc.blogspot.com) showed me how to get an app icon from one page to another (patience is needed and there I’m lacking) it is now time to sort the apps. After all I’m Swiss and things need to have their order (being a producer and a Taurus doesn’t help either in the ‘need order’ category). I successfully got my social apps in one line – how pretty – they are all blue, how quaint. LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Skype all lined up like little soldiers. Now on the media icons:

For the past 20 minutes I have (so far) unsuccessfully tried to get my Swiss newspaper icon to join the New York Times in the Newsstand, but as with our current banking regulations (see FATCA) the Swiss and the Americans aren’t playing nice. The Newsstand keeps avoiding the NZZ newspaper icon – which is actually quite funny – until it isn’t and then it’s VERY annoying. Again: at the mercy for zeros and ones. In desperation I add the NZZ into a new ‘cluster’ I call “Reading”, but I must tell you – it tugs at me that the Newsstand won’t accept anything but the NYTimes and the New Yorker – very un-PC and not what I’d expect from an American product (even if manufactured in China).

My favorite app(s)? I love doodling on the Drawing Pad, watching Netflix movies in my lap, playing around with Sun Scout and showing off my presentations on the Prezi Viewer. And I do think that the New York Times interface is brilliantly done.

Now I look forward to my “Intro to the iPad 2” class at the Apple store on Friday – maybe I’ll be a bit less at the mercy for zeros and ones afterwards.

What are your favorite apps and how do you organize yourself?

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A New Year – Yet Again

Tuesday, December 27th, 2011

Like Birthdays and assorted anniversaries, New Year’s Eve has the nasty habit of sneaking itself into the calendar year after year.  For years I was looking for the perfect way to spend New Year’s Eve.  In the old days there would be fireworks on the frozen lake of St. Moritz in the Swiss Alps at midnight.  However the hotels nixed that since guests would go home after freezing their feet off at the fireworks – not good for sales.  The fireworks are now on January 1st.

Then I spent a few years ‘running’ the midnight run in Central Park. One year my friends and I left a rather boring party and went for a long walk on the beach in Long Island.   The worst year was when we had a nice party until midnight came around and all couples started either making out or slow-dancing and my also-single friend and I sat there feeling a bit left out.

A few years ago my sister and I decided to organize a sledding party with fondue dinner – also near St. Moritz in the Swiss alps (which by the way is where I’m from – so don’t think I’m jet setting around the world to St. Moritz for New Year’s eve – my family is there).  We had all organized the evening to a “t” – when I double checked on a hunch with the sledding venue the day of December 31st around noon only to be told that “we’re closed today because of prior issues with alcohol and who ever told you we were open didn’t know what they were talking about”. I nearly fell out of my socks. I had a party of 15 people and no place to go and about six hours to reorganize.

We scrambled and finally saved the night with a combo of an early pizza dinner, sledding without the help of motorized transportation and a vicious game of charades. The night was such a success that this year – five years later – we had to curtail our list of guests.   There’s no hangover, much physical activity, all ages (18 months to 80 years – no sledding there) and no slow dancing at the stroke of midnight… – a perfect way to start the New Year, I think.

I hope you have at least half as much fun as I have sliding into the New Year and I wish for you to have as much fun and don’t be shy sharing your favorite way to spend New Year’s eve.

Happy 2012!

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Giving Thanks

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011

Switzerland does not have a holiday to give thanks and I think every country should.  My first Thanksgiving in America – I had been here for 11 months – I must have had about a dozen invitations so I would not be alone. I do not remember where I went, but I do remember one of my first Thanksgiving meals in the following years spent with the big family of my friend, with all the trimmings and the leftovers for days after and, of course black Friday – what a concept.  

There was nothing not to love about Thanksgiving – it’s non-denominational, no gift giving involved.   

One year, maybe 15 years ago, I hosted a thanksgiving dinner for ten people.  Trouble started early when I picked up the 20 pounds turkey from the farmer’s market not realizing that a 20 pound turkey was going to weigh 20 pounds (duh). It had never occurred to me either that the turkey might not fit my oven – it did with 2 mm of clearance all around.  Then I did not tie the legs together with nylon but left the cotton strings the bird came with, which of course singed and disintegrated in the oven which resulted in a literal spread eagle and a VERY dry affair.  The one thing that did turn out great was my mom’s recipe for gravy and we sure needed it for the dry turkey.  Needless to say I have been the very fortunate recipient of invitations to Thanksgiving ever since.  

Thanksgiving gives me an opportunity to reflect on what I am thankful for without being caught up in the frenzy of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Other than a roof over my head, food on my table and the newest gadget I am thankful for having the opportunities I’ve been afforded by my upbringing and my education, for a really cool job I love and for working with so many awesome people that run the gamut from CEO’s of fortune 500 companies, to community leaders, diplomats, college students, teamsters and some serious divas (of all sizes, shapes and forms).

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

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The Trash Trend

Wednesday, September 28th, 2011

To be filed under: “We must be the change we wish to see” Gandhi

 I’ve always wondered how trends start, who instigates them and how they spread. A few years ago I read “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference” by Malcolm Gladwell, but don’t remember much hands-on ‘how to’ advice. I’m the last person to set a fashion trend and I’m afraid I’m not going to start any kind of visionary or intellectual trend either.

But now, inadvertently I might have started a trend after all – it might be wishful thinking, but here it goes: let me call it the Trash Trend. Very sexy, I know.

Sunday I got back from a quick bike ride in Central Park and as I pulled up to my condo I noticed a few big ticket trash items strewn around our entrance. As I did at my old home which was a brownstone without a super in attendance I started picking up the trash and walked it over to the trash bin at the curb and since I was at it I picked up a few more items there. The result was much easier on the eye. I went home, took a shower never thought of it gain.

Two days later I get an email through our building’s Google group: a forward of a guy who had posted on http://www.everyblock.com/ an exact description of what I had done and how great it was and he had never seen anybody but himself pick up trash off the side walk in Harlem. I was flabbergasted that anybody would have noticed, let alone write about it. What ensued was an on-line conversation about the merits of picking up after others. And our discussion got quite a few “thanks” – that’s akin to the FB “like”.

Here’s my take on it. I firmly believe in the broken windows theory. Quote: “The broken windows theory was first introduced by social scientists James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling, in an article titled “Broken Windows” in the March 1982 edition of The Atlantic Monthly. The title comes from the following example: Consider a building with a few broken windows. If the windows are not repaired, the tendency is for vandals to break a few more windows. Eventually, they may even break into the building, and if it’s unoccupied, perhaps become squatters or light fires inside. Or consider a sidewalk. Some litter accumulates. Soon, more litter accumulates. Eventually, people even start leaving bags of trash from take-out restaurants there or breaking into cars.”

Littering is a one of my (many) pet peeves (can you tell I’m Swiss?). I have asked strangers in my neighborhood over and over again to pick up their trash when I see them litter. The guy who commented on my action noted in the email exchange that he was taking to a friend, walking down 116th Street, commenting on the trash, when he got a nasty stare from a person walking in front of them. And I must add that 116th street between Freddie and Adam C Powell is notoriously “trashy”. I think there’s a big difference between ‘commenting’, sic: criticizing and doing.

 I have never had anybody give me hard time for picking up trash on the street. Mostly I get thank you’s and the occasional stare of disbelieve. And most of the people I ask to pick up their trash do so and apologize. And the cool thing about getting older is that kids actually listen and pick up after themselves when I tell them to.

Now: every now and then there’s a person who will litter in front of a house to spite the occupants. So be it. I’ll gladly keep picking up their trash too and take the high road and if I catch them I will (politely) tell them to use a trash bin. Littering is a lack of education and respect for oneself and others.

I come from a culture where littering is a major no-no. Every kid, every tourist, every person who has ever littered in Switzerland will know what a swift and forceful reaction they get from total strangers and will think twice the next time. Policing a strict no-litter policy citizen driven and self-regulatory, no p intervention by authorities needed. I think it’s a matter of respect for oneself and ones surroundings; a matter of self-esteem and taking pride in one’s street, block or neighborhood.

Somewhere in a New York City park I saw a sign that read something like: don’t litter, use the trash receptacles: they’re free and easy to use. Are you with me?

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The Big Unfollow – For All The Idiots (Keep Reading)

Thursday, September 15th, 2011

A few weeks ago Chris Brogan posted a story on being “unfollowed”.  I read it, thought it was very interesting (as I think about 98% of his writing is and I have no clue where all his information and ideas come from; he’s either got a huge head or very dedicated and smart people working for him). 

A few days later, as I’m preparing to write an email to a friend I’ve not heard of in a long time I go onto FB to make sure I have his new (and ever changing) physical location right, not to ask him how Florida is when in effect he’s moved on to California.  I type in his first name, and…. nothing.  Strange I think.  Type his name again … nada.   YIKES.  He’s un-friended me!  I have a bit of a gut reaction and think immediately: “what have I done wrong”?…. “is he mad at me”?  Alas – it turns out he’s un-friended us all – no more profile on FB.  Uff.

Chris Brogan unfollowed everybody on Twitter to take care of a spam issue. The reactions he writes where at times visceral, even hostile and some just plain strange. I’ve noticed that I have about the same amount of Twitter followers every time I log on, which is three to four times a week (I know not enough, or too much – depending on who you are), but I do average a new follower daily.  That means seven people think I’m boring enough to drop me from their Twitter list every week. That’s a sobering thought.

When I started my Twitter account I would follow everybody in an account that was similar to mine, hoping I might find an audience (back then mostly for my film Abraham’s Children).  It mostly worked like a charm until I went to unfollow the lot to make space for new conquests.  “Retaliation” was often very swift.  

I use FB, LinkedIn and Twitter to reach out and to communicate my thoughts on what I think is newsworthy.  News coming to me: I’m not so good with.  With (still) only 24 hours a day is there ever enough time to digest but the tip of the social media iceberg, let alone interact and react? 

What are the rules of politeness around a friend or a follower?  How do people see themselves in the numbers of their friends and followers?  Who is actually reading Tweets and status updates of all their followers? Who even notices if you ditch them?  Are the numbers of followers and friends the currency of our social networking self-worth? Are we all communicating out but not across or between? How much are we taking IN?

In the old days of email marketing (about a month ago), a 15% click rate was great.  With Twitter and FB I think we’re not even touching 1% but racing right into 1 per-mille.  In every one in a thousand follower I have a potential customer or client.  That’s another sobering thought.

Dammed if you do and dammed if you don’t. Read: time-sink-run-with-the-crowd-idiot if you do and dinosaur if you don’t.  I choose idiot. And you? (If you’re reading this my money is on idiot…).

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Eid Mubarak

Tuesday, August 30th, 2011

It is Eid al Fitr – the end of Ramadan.   To stay in the neighborhood of my last blog entry – that is physical neighborhood I wanted to share what I experienced this morning.  It made me think about so many things at once. 

I woke at 6:45 AM and as always (weather permitting) I opened all the windows in the house to let some fresh morning air in.  On Frederick Douglass Boulevard a lone male voice was calling for prayer.  Allah Akbar!  The strong voice sang in a surprisingly strong and carrying voice.   Normally very adverse to any kind of unduly noise I had to smile. It’s only once a year that the local mosque up the block calls to prayer on the streets; onEid al Fitr and I did not mind and was imagining the excited children with their Eid presents and parents (I imagine) relieved that the fasting was over and they could properly hydrate during the hot summer days. 

Suddenly I heard a voice from a window: “Hey, stop it, stop it, stop the noise!”  This I thought very curious – we are subject to HOURS of pounding car stereos (the kind that makes your chair skip with the ‘thump’, ‘thump’ of the base), young women in yelling matches and cat fights, people holding entire conversations yelling down the block and I have NEVER heard anybody lean out the window complain.  Was it the early morning hour that woke one of our ‘out of work’ neighbors that prompted the complaint?   Someone who had been partying all night on the block?  Of course the Muezzin carried on – I’m not sure if he even heard the complaint.  

I was thinking what an upside down world; where no one leans out the window to tell a nuisance noise to stop but the Muezzin who calls out once a year gets reprimanded.   I’m thinking next time I’m up all night because of a car stereo, rather than calling 311 and waiting for naught until the police comes by to stop the noise I’ll just get up early in the morning and do a bit of yelling myself.

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Identity and the Other ll

Sunday, January 9th, 2011
As I’ve been digging a bit deeper into “Identity and the Other” (ITO) I have come across some interesting, thought provoking and then hair-raising theories. 

Eugenics for one – [from Wikipedia:  Eugenics is the "applied science or the biosocial movement which advocates the use of practices aimed at improving the genetic composition of a population," usually referring to human populations.]   It seems beyond preposterous and you might have guessed right, after WWll the whole idea of Eugenics much supported by the Nazis found a well-deserved and immediate death knell.   

But think about where in your life you have witnessed or been involved with the ‘thought value’ of Eugenics.   Has your best friend been in an interracial relationship to the horror of her family?  In theory we are all very open minded and very generous with whom we befriend – how open are we when it comes to inviting an “Other” into our families and have them be part of our off-spring?  What if your daughter showed up with a young man (or woman for that matter) of a totally different background – culturally, ethnically, socially? 

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Identity and the Other

Wednesday, November 24th, 2010

It just occurred to me after rereading Ryszard Kapuscinski’s “The Other” – that the fear of the other is fear of looking at oneself.  Without the Other the self would need no defining and the more we expose ourselves to the Other the more multifaceted and interesting and vibrant we become.   What a great way of looking at it.

Or put it this way:  our own identity only exists through the existence of “other” – otherwise there is no reason to define yourself if there is no ‘setting apart FROM’.

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Happiness

Thursday, November 18th, 2010

I love when John Tierney of the New York Times writes and his newest Science Section article  of November 16th, 2010 is no exception.  My favorite sentence in reference to happiness from the article is: “[...] the location of the body is much less important than the location of the mind [...]!”  

How very true is that and still we love to travel and love to have ourselves transported, physically to places that ought to make us happy; and I’m the first to agree that there’s nothing like standing IN nature and experiencing it – some might feel that way about art, a city or a restaurant.

But on the long run and on a much more practical level – the mind travels for free and can go where the body can’t – we should all book more regular braincations. 

I’ll start right now by STOPPING to write…

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Guest Blog: Cross Cultural Luggage – What Color is Yours?

Monday, July 12th, 2010

by Susanne Mueller

Have you ever wondered when you are waiting in the arrival hall of an airport where the luggage on the carrousel originates from?  You look at the diverse people around you and are thinking of which arriving luggage belongs to whom?  Transnationals, business executives, entrepreneurs, consultants, leisure travelers, and families with kids are populating the arrival halls.  These days most of the bags look more like global luggage: plenty of them are the same size, shape, and colors are black, brown, gray; on my mum’s clever observation she bought a bright red one –now it seems multiple people were following my mum’s advise and you see many more red colored bags.  What color is your luggage?  What has luggage in common with cross cultural issues?  Luggage can shed some interesting light on a variety of cross cultural stories beyond borders.

Let’s go back in time and delve into nostalgia:  in the early days, people were traveling on boats and vessels and were carrying, maybe also sending heavy trunks with all their personal belongings to venture to a new world.  The pieces of luggage looked more like entire, immense houses itself.  In those days, people were traveling for an extended amount of time and many travels, discoveries and explorations took much longer than today’s supersonic Concorde flights from Europe to America – which unfortunately, in my opinion, do not exist any longer.  All nostalgic memories we have of the old times when traveling was something special and very much out of the ordinary!

So if we go back to the arrival hall at the airport and still wonder where the luggage comes from do we now look at things differently though a novel, cleaner, unusual, and curious lens?  I used to work at the Lost Luggage office for Swissair lines in Switzerland:  in retrospect I think that was my best ever –non academic however – cross cultural training which I obtained without even thinking or enjoying it fully: After a while I became an expert in deciphering and telling where on this planet the pieces possibly would come from. 

  • Asians tend to have very elegant and high end, high tech pieces that would have wheels on all four corners. So they could wheel their luggage upside down as well as lift them up easy to pack them in the buses. They were apt to travel in groups in and out of many towns and countries in a short amount of time. So all had to be very functional yet elegant to fit their style.
  • Middle Eastern luggage was usually big, vinyl and in dark moron, gray & black colors.  Most of the pieces would have some dust of the desert on them.  Their purpose of travel was mostly to visit family members and they brought with them many goods from foreign lands.  These pieces intrigued me the most as they looked very interesting, mystical and I am sure they could tell a thousand stories from their long travels: Arabian nights without wheels.
  • European luggage seemed to be more practical and typically smaller.  Europeans can travel light and very down to earth.  So a backpack could be as adequate as well as a sports bag or a suitcase.  Many different colors and patterns with or without a logo were available.
  • The American luggage represented in those days the ‘American Tourister’, all looked brand new from a major department store.  Usually, there were many in the same shape and pattern.  Obviously, women on their trips needed a full bag of shoes to accommodate all possibilities of their travels and potential opportunities.  Also Americans were known to travel through Europe in a whirlwind. 

Some observation that I have made was that today in the global environment we see less and less cross cultural luggage –the globalization has taken over: there are fewer nuances.  We all can agree with Thomas Friedman’s quote: “The World is flat” (2005).  “We merge into a global travel civilization where all looks the same.”

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Susanne Mueller, MA, New York, www.susannemueller.biz, a transition coach and consultant is an expert on cross cultural awareness.  She was working for Swissair lines in Switzerland and New York.  She resides in New York, USA.

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