While on a Saturday visit for lunch at a local department I decided to make a Black Friday List. What are the basis for these recommendations? I was with a friend wondering around a local department store. We browsed, looking for gift ideas on different floors and departments. Some items we have, others what we would like to have.
An Illy has a conversational look for a kitchen. The Stelton Pitcher’s Swedish Design fits anywhere. The Filofax has a classic power feel. The Hourglass Packaging caught our attention because of the packaging. A Hermes Change Purse is affordable luxury to impress. Egoiste brings back memories. The Kitchen Aid Blender was recommended. Lastly, Roger Vivier adds a style factor to any look.
Illy Espresso Machine
Stelton Pitcher
Filofax
Hourglass Caution Mascara
Hermes Change Purse
Chanel Egoiste Cologne
Kitchenm Aid Blender
Roger Vivier Boots and Small Purse
This list leans on the materialistic side, but we were in a store.
I took a business trip to Munich on the Deutsche Bahn recently. Booking a first class ticket with a reserved seat to the Bavarian city is a must. Once,,,, I made the mistake of taking D Bahn without reserving a a seat. No Thank You! “Fool me once shame on you, Fool me twice shame on me!”
Reliable not Spectacular
The challenge of buying a bargain ticket on Germany train is same as guessing the winning numbers of a lottery ticket. Sometimes it is cheaper to go first class than second class. YES! It all depends on destination and luck. I had a bit of luck on this travel.
My first class ticket only costs 50 euros round trip plus an additional 10 euros to reserve a seat. I got a ICE normal fast service from main station Berlin to Munich in 5 hours. The new fast express service takes 4 hours. With this, the air line travel has become needles. Especially with the Munich airport being one hour away from the city center. Trust me, this is fastest way to go between these two cities.
The Deutsche Bahn Service, First Class is above average, nothing spectacular but reliable. First class car is made up of leather seats three across. In comparison, second class is 4 seats across.
I had a table for working and spacious leg room. The Internet connection proved smooth, easy to log in with few interruptions on the travel. I saw the ticket conductor once. Then a coach stewart came to ask me if I wanted something from the cafeteria car. I got a juice for 2.80 euros. Suddenly, in the middle of traveling, the stewart came back offering complimentary small chocolate bars.
Center to Center
The trains makes several stops on the way to Munich. On some past travels I had to change trains in Nuremberg before completing the last part of the journey.
I arrived in the center of Munich 4 minutes late. Not bad. I had a smooth journey, felt relaxed, walked straight to my meeting only 10 minutes away from the central station.
If you plan to travel on Deutsche Bahn, book in advance and look at all the options for the best fare.
As I walked to the bakery on the wet, dreary fall day my mind went back to a fashion presentation at Milan Fashion Week. The problem: I cannot remember the brand name. I think the show was on the schedule but for some reason it evades me.
The brands looks were based on strong knitwear. Oversized pieces with lush feels,the looks were designed for women with a life.
The setting for the Fay presentation was impressive: A large space in the company’s head office with blue screen. Secondly, I liked the collection of menswear and womenswear outerwear based on re-interpreted classic looks. A change from the brand’s normal DNA.
How about a collection that says “me now”? I did not know the Paula Cademartori until a fashion colleague asked me to accompany her to the presentation at a Milan antique store. The designer goes for strong fall statement accessories with bags and shoes.
Watching the documentary “Man Made” the other day made me think. In the 21stcentury transgender people continue to have a precarious existence in our society. Violence, unemployment, rejection, and death always lie in wait. The average lifespan of a transgender person is 30, a frightening statistic. Director T. Cooper’s focuses on 4 transgender men. Each with a goal of entering the Trans Fit Con Body Building competition in Atlanta, Georgia.
Thankfully, Cooper handles the material in a presentational manner. It would have been easy to deploy a heavy dose of drama to make the audience sympathetic to the cause. The director avoids the “society as a guilty oppressor”. The documentary keeps the emptional focus centered, showing the discipline involved preparing for a competitive sport. Every body builder lives for the pose on stage.
Not a tragedy, but a film about hope. Each man overcomes the many obstacles staying on track in the face of personal adversity. In the end, a sense of accomplishment is universal.
From Journeyman Pictures, Man Made is available on Vimeo, Google Play, iTunes, and Amazon.
Part 2 of the Black and Paper exclusive interview with Tamy Ribeiro on the future of mobility.
I decided to shift the conversation from the challenges faced as a woman in the field, to ask her expert opinions on the future of mobility and our interaction with cars.
We met at the Shift Automotive Conference during IFA Berlin. How will Driverless Cars transform society? Will driving become more leisurely?
Personally owned cars sit idle 95% of the time. There are pain points for insurance, licensing, parking, etc. With self-driving mobility as a service, people will have transportation at their fingertips with zero friction points. This will transform many aspects of our lives in a positive way. Not to mention the fact that reduced time spent behind the wheel frees up a lot of time for entertainment, news, radio, reading a book or anything else a passenger might feel like doing when they don’t have to focus on the road. So in that way, driving will absolutely become more leisurely.
Tamy Ribeiro
Out With the Old
Cars will have to be designed differently.
Absolutely. When it comes to transportation as we know it today, there is huge potential to improve transportation with their current design. However, autonomous vehicles will bring new mobility services to the ecosystem, and in this case, new concepts will be developed.
The design of a car will no longer be about making life easy for the driver, but rather for the passenger. Which is what we’ll all become when we no longer have the need to have our hands on the steering wheel. That means extra focus can be given to comfort and entertainment, making being in the car a more leisure activity.
Driverless cars have been a part of Sci Fi Films. Reality seems trickier.
Autonomous driving is one of the hardest challenges mankind has ever faced. It is a moonshot that needs to be worked on every day. Waymo, for example, is a leader in the market and has over 16M kilometers of driving on public roads and 16B kilometers of simulation. Still, they prioritize launching in regions where they can drive safely. For those that are not aware of the complexity of driverless cars, cities like New York or Berlin would be the first choice when analysing market potential. However, Waymo is currently operating in Phoenix to learn, while adding more capability and geographical reach each month. It’ll be decades before self-driving cars are all over the roads.
Based in Hamburg, Germany, Amy Ribeiro is the Chief Mobility Evangelist and Head of Partnerships for Wunder Mobility.
A hat is always an elegant accessory. I attended the Borsalino presentation at Milan Fashion Week. Each one makes a personal statement. Check out the pieces.
