To be exact, there is no precise time or place where I can guarantee you that I will sit down to jot down my thoughts. And, as I always tell my friends, it is quite difficult to have something to say everyday—-let alone something profound to share. However, we make our best effort.
Two places come to mind when I think of WHERE I write my blog. It is either at my home in Tampa, in my second floor, east corner office, right behind my bedroom, a small and cozy place, with a splendid view of the forest behind my house and the Hillsborough River, with all the flora and fauna that such ambience offers. There I sit, facing the river, surrounded by my books, my family photos and my collection of turtles—not real ones, but of every possible material from glass to bronze to granite. The real ones, by the way, move slowly around the backyard, which is why my house was baptized Villa Tortuga when we built it 25 years ago.
The second place is the always-welcoming airline lounge,that oasis where one waits for the flight to leave while perusing newspapers and magazines, surfing the Internet, or just chatting away with a fellow traveller.
Lufthansa’s New Lounge at JFK: beyond inspirational
Now Lufthansa, my airline of choice and/or second home, has just opened its mega lounge at JFK International Airport in New York City. For about a year, I had heard from David Thomas, Lufthansa station manager, about the airline’s plans to open this new lounge.
This lounge was worth waiting for. It is a magnificent place, almost 16000 square feet with three levels of luxury and amenities to satisfy anyone’s most demanding taste. Downstairs a section devoted to Business Class passengers, then a secondary section for Lufthansa’s Senators (the airline’s most frequent travellers). Here one enters to see a full bar——every brand, every drink available.Smiling attendants will bring you the drink of your choice, which you may accompany with a selection of salads, sandwiches and hot soup from an impressive buffet.
Upstairs, a luxurious restaurant awaits First Class and HON Circle passengers. The chef, Wolfgang Stoiber, welcomes you. He, by the way, created the now famous menu of Lufthansa’s First Class Terminal in Frankfurt. The cozy environment could match the best restaurant anywhere, with tables for two, fresh flowers, and the option to order a la carte, or visit the buffet, which should be enough to satisfy demanding tastes. Start with the antipasto buffet, or try a light soup. Main courses vary from steamed Chinese dim sum to Indian curries. Try the Tom Ka Gai Thai soup with coconut milk. Desserts offer variety as well, from cheesecake to chocolate mousse, apple streudl, or, mango macchiato and Austrian style chocolate soufflé. For those counting calories, fresh fruit salad. Chef Stoiber describes his menu:
“We try to combine American, Asian, German and international cuisine. The German passengers may enjoy our dumplings with cabbage and bacon, while crabcakes may be what American passengers are hungry for, and the Asian fare includes curries, for example.”
At home or in the lounge
So, for me, two very different environments in which to write my blogs: the peaceful office at home, where nature inspires ideas, or a grandchild uses crayons to color the outline of a duck, or the busier, more cosmopolitan lounge, where I sit and observe fellow passengers as they read newspapers, or connect to read online. Yes, on this day, The New York Times and the Financial Times act like small curtains in front of dozens of passengers. A special section with stools and power outlets is occupied by those who prefer to read online or check emails. Mobile telephones punctuate the room with occasional rings in a variety of styles; from Mozart to conga to the conventional beeps that sound mundane when compared to the rest. My favorite ring during this visit to the lounge: Abba repertoire from Mamma Mia!
And, yes, there are still a few passengers here who concentrate on their soup or dumplings, sipping wine or champagne, seemingly unaffected by the world around them: no newspapers, no computers, no iPhones or Blackberries. These are the ones who don’t believe time has to be “used”, and they appeared among the happiest.
That’s a blog.
Items of special interest from the IFRA Executive Report:
– ‘Chicago Tribune’ Editor: Launching Weekday Tab is ‘Daring’ Move to
Serve Readers
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003929670
SA: Twelve Major Media Brands Likely To Close In 2009
http://www.247wallst.com/2009/01/twelve-major-me.html
– New Media Venture Turns Bloggers Into Print Journalists
http://blog.wired.com/business/2009/01/new-media-ventu.html
– Kindle and newspapers
http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/01/kindle-and-news.html
– Is an ‘iTunes for News’ Possible?
http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=31&aid=156833
– USA: ‘Kansas City Kansan’ Moves to Web-only Publishing
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/departments/online/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003929743
– Indonesia: Jakarta Post launches redesign
http://www.visualeditors.com/apple/2009/01/jakarta-post-launches-redesign-today/
– Spain: Speaking of redesigns, El Mundo appears to have freshened up,
too
http://www.visualeditors.com/apple/2009/01/speaking-of-redesigns-el-mundo-appears-to-have-freshened-up-too/
– France: Ouest-France facelift: more local news and a new-look website
http://www.editorsweblog.org/newspaper/2009/01/ouestfrance_facelift_more_local_news_and.php#more
– Singapore: ST news now on iPhone
http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article-southeastasia.asp?parentid=103261
– WSJ gets nod for facsimile edition in India
http://www.afaqs.com/perl/media/index.html?sid=23092
– India: Bengaluru emerges as the new battleground for English dailies
http://www.afaqs.com/perl/media/index.html?sid=23083
TheMarioBlog posting #168