Blue Note, Michel Camilo Live

In 2003, Michel Camilo recorded over four nights at New York's legendary Jazz Club, Blue Note. It was the first time with the bassist Charles Flores. Yesterday I have the chance of seeing them with Dafnis Prieto at the drums.

Obviously the atmosphere of Blue Note helps to make the night magic, but Michel Camilo is such a pianist. His hands fly through the piano, you can not follow the movements, sometimes you can figure out that he has more than the regular two hands that usual people has.

I strongly recommend you some of his albums (you can find them at itunes.com): "(2003) Live at the Blue Note", "(1989) On Fire" and "(2006) Rhapsody in Blue". I know, I know why other version of the great Gershwin masterpiece? because it is worth it.

Great experience. Now, I am just waiting for Paquito D'Rivera that I think is going to be here in september.

Follies Spring 06!!! (2)

It is amazing the coverage that Columbia has got with the famous video: I'll be watching you ... Some more links:

NY Times

CNBC (I am still waiting for the link)

Wall Street Journal

Washington Post

and of course, Google Video has offered the videos since the same minute they were published ...

It is really funny that after the last year success with Dean, Dean Baby, our dear fellows of Warthon have tried to create something similar. Here is the result, really poor. Warthon shows that they are out of our league :-D

And the winner is ...

Fortune has published again the list of the 100 more desired MBA Employers.

1. McKinsey & Co.
2. Google
3. Goldman Sachs
4. Bain & Co.
5. The Boston Consulting Group
6. Citigroup
7. Apple Computer
8. General Electric
9. Johnson & Johnson
10. Morgan Stanley

They have chosen a really bad proxy for the paychecks. Hope the rest of the analysis is more accurate.

Follies Spring 06!!!

Twice a year, fall and spring, the students at Columbia Business School arrange a show called Follies. It is two hours of smiles, jokes, parodies, ...

The idea is to celebrate that the Term is over. The last two years the level has risen to unbelieveable peaks. This two videos are some of the most funny stuff you can see. In order to understand part of the jokes let me clarify some stuff:

a) Glen Hubbard is our dean since 2004. He is one of the smartest economist in US and he was running for the post as fed chairman till the last moment.

b) The guy that is dancing and singing in the video is one of my fellows here, he is really similar to Dean Hubbard.

c) Bernanke is the guy that took the fed post from Greenspan

The second video use Every Breath you take from Police to create one of the best parodies ever. It made it on the Wall Street Journal some days ago.

DEAN DEAN BABY

EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE

Ah, here you go with an extra: the premier of Brokeback Bankers !!!

Enjoy !!!

Simply the best

No one doubts that Fernando Alonso is one of the best drivers in F1, however there is a huge difference between being good and being the best driver ever. Some of his achievements are impressive, but most of them are just based on circumstancial elements outside his control, e.g. youngest world champion. Fangio won his championships on his 40s and no one doubt that was one of the biggest drivers ever.

Today at Imola we have seen a battle between two great drivers, but a profound anaylisis is requiered. Last year some sold as a great success that Fernando won the race over Michael with the worst Ferrari on 10 years.

This year Schumacher has resisted to more than 30 laps the pressure of Fernando without any mistake and with a car more than 1.2 seconds slower. Amazing!!! During that time Fernando made more than 6 errors: 2 at Ribazza, 2 at the Chicane, ... Alonso is great, but he has to much to learn from MS.

Congratulations Schumacher!!!

What I missed !!!

After three hours hanging around the NY Auto Show, after three hours where I have the chance of trying a M5 and a M6; of being seated on a Porsche 911; of walking around a amazing Aston Martin Vantage, two Ferrari F430 and a Porsche Carrera GT; I feel desappointed. Why is that instead of focusing my attention on that, I was missing some of the most hot news on the Car Industry:

The Ferrari 599 GTB
The Alfa 8C Competizione

or more regular cars like the BMW Series 3 Coupe.

What a shame !!!

Any wall is gonna be a big screen

Who do not remember the scene of Total Recall? Sharon and Arnold having breakfast in the living room and incredible landscape close the scene through the windows. What? Ah, it's not a window, is a full wall screen where our dear Arnold can watch the last news about Mars.

This seems SciFi. Fortunately we are going to live that world. Panasonic has presented the first screen of 103" and they expect to reach all wall screens in a couple of years. I like it ...

Famous, where are they?

One of the best things of being in NY is that you have the chance to see very famous stuff, e.g. my favorite building (Chrysler Building); my favorite library (NY Library); Wall Street; Columbia University; ... But if you are one of these persons that find the gossips and the famous people appealing you can check out this web page: Gawker Stalker.

This webpage has a record of the famous that are now in NY. For example, you can find William Dafoe at 14th street, our dear hobbit Elijah filming at St. Marks Pl. or Kevin Bacon (Panceta para los de casa) running at 54th street.

Personally I would prefer to hang around with Halley Berry who was shopping today at Columbus Circle; by the way my favorite Shopping Center. I guess it is the destiny :-)

NY Auto Show!!!

This week is the NY Auto Show. Some of the most beautiful cars are going to be exhibit here. Some of the debuts are the new Audi TT and the Lexus LS600h (Hybrid, V8 engine, power of an V12, comsumption of a V6).


Sadly I am going to miss the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione that finally got the green light and it is going to be produced. Just 300 units ($150,000 each) of an amazing 500 HP car.

Opa, yo viacé un corrá

Some of us are hardly working overseas to show the world that Spain is a advanced country, that all those traditional topics: 2 hours siesta, all day fiestas, ... are just part of the past.

However there are no way that we can compete with this: Opa, yo viacé un corrá, the 21st century Macarena.

I am seeing that as the new start music for Sex & The City.

PS: I have found that El Koala has their own Blog to explain all the history.

Making history, when?

Reading the books, one has the idea that there were really incredible moments in the history to be lived; but after a profound reflexion one realize that history usually is wrotten every day and all of us that live the present time usually past through them without figure it out.

Let me give you an example. After decades of cries, complaints, shouts ... from a lot of groups against the fuel consumption, gas emission from cars, ... This year we have lived an authentic revolution in the car industry. In 30 years, someone would say, 2006 was the year when cars change from gas to electric, bio, ... fuel.

Right now there are in the market dozens of cars with hybrid solutions (most of them from Japan, of course), from 65 to 368 horsepower and with levels of emissions of really small cars. Wellcome to the future!