Thanks to Kim for suggesting today's Name of the Day: Susannah.

As with many given names, Susannah goes back at least as far as the Old Testament, but has done quite a bit of morphing over the years.  In Hebrew, shoshan meant lily.  In Persian, the flower was called sausan.  Both may relate to an Ancient Egyptian botanical name, but then again, maybe not - some argue that the name comes from a related word meaning joyful.

The Hebrew is normally written Shoshannah; the Greek, Sousana.  Strictly speaking, Susanna is the favored English translation, but we find the "h" version more appealing.

Susannah sounds like a good girl, and indeed her tale is one of virtue.  A pair of Peeping Toms spy on her in the bath, and come demanding favors or else they'll sully her good name.  She tells the Toms no dice, and is willing to face death - these were the days when a bad reputation was truly dangerous.  Just as things look bleak, enter Daniel.  (It's his book of the Bible in which the story appears.)  Daniel performs a cross examination worthy of a modern courtroom drama, and the Toms' tale collapses.  They're put to death for lying, and Susannah - her virtue intact - goes free.  

While you won't find her story in every Bible - some parts of Daniel were stricken during the Protestant Reformation - it was well enough known to keep the name in occasional use through the Middle Ages.  In the 1600s, Susannah gained favor, though was soon eclipsed by the simplified Susan.

Plenty of poets, painters and composers have been captivated by the Biblical tale, but the strongest musical association is with Stephen Foster's 1848 hit Oh! Susanna, popularly associated with the California Gold Rush, which started right as the song took off.

Despite the folk ballad and the Biblical references, Susanna and Susannah have not been smash hits in recent centuries.  Instead, Susan has dominated the popularity charts, ranking in the Top Ten from 1945 to 1968.  The French Suzanne placed in the Top 100 most of the 1940s, 50s and 60s.  The relatively obscure Susanna left the rankings entirely in 1997; Susannah has been gone since 1979!

Today, Susannah seems surprisingly vibrant.  If Isabella can top the charts, why not this equally feminine choice?  She benefits from easy translation into virtually any Western tongue and a raft of nicknames, including:

• The obvious Sue;
• The popular Susie, Suzie, Suzy and so on;
• The slightly offbeat Sukie or Suki - which is sometimes confused with a Japanese word;
• The unexpected Sanna, Sanne - contracted forms more common in Northern Europe;
• The exotic, Slavic Zsu Zsu and Zsa Zsa - perhaps too much for an American girl;
• Our personal favorite, Zuzu - as in It's a Wonderful Life's Zuzu Bailey - a balance between the daring Zsu Zsu and the more common Suzy. 

While there is the potential for spelling headaches with this one, Susannah offers a choice that is just different enough to distinguish your daughter from the current crop of Samanthas and Alexandras.  We think it would wear well on a modern child - upbeat but old school, familiar and yet uncommon all at once.

After returning from the corporate yacht trip where Isa had first met a number of Dylan's friends and associates, including  Zuzu (see "Zuzu’s mettle"), Isa and Dylan lay in bed reviewing the weekend they'd had. The seafood at the tiny coastal restaurant where they docked had been exquisite and was obviously caught on the day locally. The weather couldn’t have been better: mild and sunny, with a good wind to fill the sails. And the guests, how were the guests? They seemed to have a great time, by and large. How could they not?

One guest, however, had been a royal pain, and Isa felt she had to say so.

“Gosh, Zuzu and Bob were a funny couple. Bob is hilarious. And Zuzu... well... she sure is a character." She wanted to say she sure is a BITCH, but felt the need to tiptoe around the point until Dylan arrived at that conclusion himself.  "Boy, she was pretty mean to the other women guests huh? It was really wierd how bitchy she was. You should’ve heard all of the things she was asking me.”

“Hmmmm?” said Dylan.

“Well she was asking everyone all kinds of really personal stuff. I felt soooo bad for some of the gals, especially for Sharma when it was revealed that she’d had an arranged marriage to Hassan when she was like 19 or whatever. She was totally squirming. It doesn’t matter so much how she spoke to meeeee, but I was concerned about your guests. We wanted them to enjoy themselves and they didn’t deserve to have Zuzu grill them with rude and embarrassing questions."

Dylan hmmmmd again. As usual, men don’t really notice women being bitchy toward each other until it is pointed out to them - and completely illustrated with hard evidence, preferably video or some other analysable copy of the bitchiness in question, and supplemental flip charts, expert endorsements etc. Men only notice the male equivalent of being a bitch, which usually involves posturing and showing off about fancy cars or hot girlfriends. There must be a word for that. Michiness? Being a bloke-bitch?  Testosterizing? Dicking? Or perhaps old fashioned willy-waving will do? Anyway, I digress... “Now that you mention it, those were really rude questions she was asking.” Dylan said. “She’s kind of a nutcase. I’ve known them for a couple of years. He’s a really nice guy but she’s nuts.”

Fast forward to the following year and Dylan's annyal corporate yachting weekend approached. By this time he and Isa were practically engaged and she assumed role of co-host completely.  She and Dylan had drawn up the guest list together. “what about Zuzu and Bob?” said Dylan once all of the essential guests had been listed, including Isa's parents. “We don’t owe them any entertainment, but Bob is really funny and he puts everyone at ease.”

“Yeah, why not” said Isa, who hadn’t seen Zuzu in the past year and had allowed time to blot out most of her memory of her. “We need some social lubricators thrown into the mix. Bob is a comedian, he makes everyone laugh and gets conversation going.”

On the day of the trip, the boat waited an extra hour to depart as Zuzu and Bob were late. Isa arranged for the guests to be served breakfast and hot coffee on deck to fill the time. Bob flashed a look of apology and exasperation to Dylan as he boarded. “Um, really really sorry about this. We had some problems getting out of the house this morning.” Zuzu followed. She was carrying, to everyone’s surprise, a bassinet with their small baby in it.

“Hi everyone!  I wasn’t happy with the babysitting arrangements. Dylan, by the way we can only stay half of the trip honey, we need to get back tomorrow morning."

Dylan excused himself from his other guests to speak to the captain and crew about the baby on board, as children under 12 were banned from the yacht for safety reasons. Thankfully the captain was able to justify allowing the child as long as a parent held it the whole time. This time Zuzu’s rudeness, both in bringing the baby and cancelling half of their all-expenses paid stay with zero notice, didn’t escape Dylan.

I watched Isa rise to greet Zuzu and Bob with syrupy warmth. Isa's enthusiasm came from her knowledge that before they’d even set sail, Zuzu had already used up all of the good will Dylan would have shown to her.

For the rest of Zuzu’s stay on board, the slightest indiscretion or impolitic comment led to Dylan putting Zuzu politely in her place.

It was great.

Zuzu didn’t waste much time before noticing Dylan’s new girlfriend Isabel was a good ten years younger than she was, and decided to punish her.

“How old are you?” asked Zuzu, whose real name was Linda.

Isabel immediately responded that she was 28 and immediately regretted it.

“28,” repeated Zuzu loudly and in a sing-song manner to no one in particular, happily settling in to a long line of embarrasing questions. “How long have you been seeing Dyls then? We’ve known him for yeaaaarrrs. He’s soooo sweet.” Dylan had been Isa’s boyfriend for 6 very happy and emotionally stable months.

“Oh, not quite a year yet...”

Zuzu proceeded with more questions like a verbal machine gun. You really can’t defend yourself against them at point blank range.

Isa seemed unfairly picked on, but as the weekend wore on, I noticed Zuzu grilling everyone – well, everyone with a vagina.

“When did you get married? Why did you/didn't you? How old were you? How old are you now? Where have you lived for that time? What are your plans? Any kids? Why not?”

Emma, a sassy and formidable sort of personality, was the one to point out to me that Zuzu was midlifecrisising, and all of her questions and rudeness was an attempt to size up her situation. “Read between the lines. She’s just had kid number 3. Translation: I am chained to the role of mother for the next 18 years at least. They live in Theakston Meadows. Translation: they are mortgaged up to their eyeballs. Her husband is closing his business to focus on a few clients doing direct consulting. Translation: husband isn’t bringing enough bacon home. She’s taking it out on everyone else. She asked me so many life-analysis questions, it felt like a session with a demented shrink.”

Emma, an arts funder who has achieved the impossible of having a high paying sexy job in the public sector, i usually doesn’t fall for those tricks, but claimed that Zuzu had somehow flummoxed her. “I could practically hear the parenthesis: “I’m not sure where I am in life, the deepest thought I ever had about it came from some pop psychology books, and I'm going to take it out on everyone else.”

I wondered if Zuzu would have had the mettle to be so forceful in her questioning if we were on land and could get away.

We spent the first day in San Francisco, doing the tourist thing at Fisherman’s Wharf -- the sea lions remind me of 8-Ball, my big, fat, black cat, lying around, barking and barely moving -- and having dinner and drinks with a friend of ours who recently moved out there.

Then, once my luggage fiasco was solved, we hopped into one of the most fun cars I’ve ever rented -- a black Chrysler PT Cruiser that we affectionately nicknamed “The Hearse” and “The Deathmobile” -- and, with the help of my trusty GPS, headed up north to wine country.

We stayed at a wonderful bed-and-breakfast called the Beazley House. I can’t rave about it enough. The room was comfortable, the people were wonderful, the breakfasts were delicious (and an outstanding pregame meal when you’re about to drink wine all day) and the chocolate-chip cookies were off the hook.

On our first full day up there, we took a tour, mainly to avoid having to worry about drinking and driving, and it turned out to be a great move. Not only did we taste at eight wineries, but we ended up in the northern part of Napa Valley, where we probably wouldn’t have ventured on our own (Beazley House is in Napa, and we went to several places in the Calistoga area).

We also ate like royalty. I can’t even begin to explain how difficult it was going back to “normal” food and drinks after this trip.

I’ll go into detail on some of my favorite places from the trip -- food first, then wine.

Auberge du Soleil was the site of one of the most fantastic meals I have ever been a part of. Expensive? Very, but totally worth it. Every last bite was amazing, as was the wine, and the view was just heavenly. This is the type of meal you treat yourself to once or twice a year, and it was worth every penny. It also makes a great birthday dinner for your significant other and scores some serious brownie points (I hope?).

ZuZu was one of the best Tapas places I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating in. Everything we ordered was delicious. And they found the way to my heart with scallops.

And Celadon was also a great find by the person who planned 100% of this trip (that person was, surprisingly, not me!). Not only was dinner incredible, but I have a soft spot for places that are built into old buildings, yet keep the character of the buildings intact, while adding a modern touch. The exposed brick in the dining room was a great touch.

Now, on to the wineries. I am by no means suggesting that these are the best wineries in Napa Valley -- just sharing my favorites and why I enjoyed them.

Our very first tour of the trip was probably the most fun of all of them. Del Dotto Vineyards keeps their wine cool by storing it in a cave drilled into the side of the mountain. The candles atop the barrels made me feel like I was in an Ozzy Osbourne video. The wine is tasted straight from the barrels, and it was good wine. I recommend trying to get the last tour of the day. Why? With no one else waiting, the tour guides were quite generous with the wine. “Mas vino!” Thanks, Ray!

Another fascinating stop was Castello di Amorosa. Before raving about the place itself, let me say that the wines were among my favorites, as we ended up buying four bottles, all completely different styles. OK, now I can rave about the place: It is stunning. It must be nice to have money. The winery is an authentic European castle that was taken apart, brought to California and reassembled brick-by-brick. It took 14 years. It is truly an amazing sight.

I have to have a soft spot for any place that produces alcohol and is named after a criminal. Therefore, I really enjoyed Dutch Henry Winery. It’s located in a picturesque rural setting, and they were nice enough to host a picnic lunch for our tour and bring the wines out to our table.

While not as scenic as some of the other wineries we were able to visit, in terms of pure wine enjoyment and an informative tasting, Cakebread Cellars is hard to beat. Our tasting guide was meticulous in detailing every wine, and every drop was absolutely delicious.

My girlfriend finally solved a years-long dilemma of not being able to find a good kosher wine for Passover dinner with our visit to Hagafen. Now we just need to remember not to crack open the bottle of 2006 Pinot Noir in the wine rack until next year’s Seder.

Peju Province Winery is another stunning complex, and their Provence is one of the most unique wines I’ve ever tasted. It’s a table wine that looks like a Rosé, but it has a far more complex taste.

Speaking of stunning, straight from Persia (yes, it’s Iran now, and I know the U.S. and Iran aren’t exactly bosom buddies right now, but this place harkens back to more peaceful times) comes Darioush, another beautiful castle brought over and reassembled in Napa Valley.

Last but not least, it was out with the horses and in with the wine barrels at Black Stallion Winery, another gorgeous building and another taste explosion.

Now that I’ve spent all this time writing about wine, it might be time to stop typing and start sipping. Cheers!

Sa trecem deci, la subiect : CAMERA ZUZU (articol de pe softpedia, care-mi apartine) :

Camerele de tip "pinhole" (gaura de ac) sunt camere care nu folosesc lentile, ci o mica deschizatura prin care va patrunde lumina emanata de obiectele pozate (lumina reflectata, dar voi spune ''emanata'' pentru efect). Aceasta mica deschizatura simuleaza de fapt diafragma de la camerele ''reale''. Aparatul se poate face fara prea mare bataie de cap acasa.

Cum functioneaza : Daca sunteti familiari cu ideea de "camera obscura", vehiculat initial de Leonardo Davinci, veti intelege. Imaginea formata prin patrunderea luminii in orificiu este reala si rasturnata (lucru invatat la optica). Aceasta imagine se va proiecta ori pe filmul fotografic ori pe o panza de bumbac subtire (pe panza am reusit acum doi ani...timpii de expunere sunt de ordinul zilelor..deci nu va sfatuiesc. Rezultatul il reprezinta niste umbre nuantate). Se poate folosi o oglinda plasata diagonal pentru obtinerea unei imagini reale pe un perete orizontal. Declansatorul il reprezinta o panza \ placa opaca ce acopera simulacrul de diafragma.

Exista chiar si o comunitatea a utilizatorilor de astfel de camere, concursuri si o dorinta generala de a nu se pierde aceasta veche arta.

Am atasat la mesaj un exemplu de imagine facuta cu o astfel de camera. Cea mai celebra astfel de camera a fost "Dirkon". Camera "Dirkon" a aparut initial intr-o revista cehoslovaca, pe post de bonus. Era printata pe carton, si venea cu un mic film alb negru de cateva pozitii.

Link-uri ajutatore :

http://www.exploratorium.edu/science_explo...es_pinhole.html - camera din cutie de Pringles. Filmul se va atasa in fata capacului.
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/consumer/ed...oleCanBox.shtml - sugestie de camera de la Kodak

Atentie : Nu exista posibilitatea unui focus (camera trebuie neaparat tinuta fix) si timpii de expunere sunt mari. Sunt multe sanse ca siluetele umane sa apara fantomatice, lucru care va crea un efect "cool". Totusi, e ceva sa-i faci poze pisicii folosind o cutie de lapte Zuzu (este o cutie excelenta pentru o astfel de camera, gaura se va face cu un ac foarte subtire, incins, in capacul plasticat - central , daca se poate).

Astept poze facute cu propriile camere "pinhole" (eventual si poze ale camerelor)

Exemplu de poza facuta cu o camera ''pinhole'' (poza nu-mi apartine) :

Si acuuum..doamnelor si domnilor..va prezint, noul model de camera ZuZu(modelul este patentat...imi apartine in totalitate :P - click pe imagine) :

Features :

-mai mica decat o pisica
-usor de folosit (Hmmm....o sfoara printr-o clama : What to do ?)
-preview mode (adica o hartie de calc care-mi permitea sa vad imaginea rasturnata si microscopica proiectata de camera)
-loc special pentru film fotografic (adica o alta gaura)
-design ''deosebit''
-garantie ...cam doua saptamani, cat tinea si laptele ZuZu

Daca va apucati de model, trebuie neaparat sa primesc credit pentru el...ca doar sunt inventatorul, nu ? :P

P.S : Nu am reusit sa fac poze prea coerenta cu minunea asta, si ma costa enorm developarea, dar am reusit sa vad cum se putea proiecta imaginea pe presupusul film fotografic.

We went to visit Sebastian at his foster family's home on Queen Anne last Friday night and fell in love! He is a darling, playful, affectionate beautiful four month old boy and we can't wait to get him home. His wonderful foster family has taken excellent care of him having raised him since he was only a few days old!

He is all black except for one white patch on his lower belly and two white patches under each arm that look like white armpit hair. He will be fixed this week and then we get to bring him home! Not sure what his name will be yet, but we are looking for ideas.