Fabrice Grinda

I was considering going to see the play Reasons to Be Pretty by Neil LaBute, which is running until July 5. It has been getting rave reviews for its trenchant commentary on the high value society places on beauty.

Before going to see it, I decided to check out two of Neil LaBute’s prior plays, which with Reasons to Be Pretty, form a sort of trilogy on beauty. I began with a reading last night of Fat Pig, which was fantastic. It tells the story of a good-looking man who starts dating an extremely nice and funny but overweight girl, and his struggle to balance his love for her with the negative reactions of his friends and society as a whole. The play is tragic-comic. It begins on a light, extremely funny note, but keeps getting darker as it progresses and the superficiality of our society begins to manifest itself.

The dialog is extremely true-to-life, and I was both entertained and moved. The play also led to an interesting conversation afterwards. I will definitely go to the reading of his other play on the topic, The Shape of Things (unfortunately sold out), before seeing Reasons to be Pretty.

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In order to add a bit of diversity to the writing, I am opening up the blog to outside posts. Shoot me an email if you have anything you really want to share with the world, whether it is transcendental or merely amusing!

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I just finished watching Season 4 of Lost and I have to admit I am impressed. The show has rekindled its magic and has by far the most interesting storyline of any drama on TV currently.

The end of Season 4 is extremely interesting. WARNING: Do not read further if you have not seen Season 4 yet. I expected Ben to be in the coffin, not Locke. Jack really wants to go back to the island. It’s unclear why Sun is working with Charles Widmore. He’s just as responsible for Jin’s death as Ben is. She might be trying to set him up.

Here is my speculation for Season 5. As you may recall Ben tells Jack at the very end that they must all go back to the island together and Jack replies he does not know how that is possible as they no longer listen to him and he does not even know where most of them are. I predict that Ben will either kill Penny or have Sayid kill her – both fulfilling his promise to get revenge for the death of his daughter and uniting all of the Oceanic 6 and Desmond for the funeral – either to mourn or plot revenge. In either case, Desmond will become Ben’s (and potentially Sayid’s mortal enemy), a fight he will eventually lose as the pawns have a tendency of dying in the Charles Widmore / Ben Linus struggle.

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I first met Sonico at BarCamp in Buenos Aires last September. They were by far the most interesting company. Alec and I met Rodrigo, the CEO, and his team in person a few days later and we were blown away. It’s hard to put my finger on what it was exactly, but they just got it. They were fantastic people – all close friends from San Andres University in the mid to late twenties – and we loved their approach to business

They already had great traction and we were convinced we could do great things together as the things they were struggling with were exactly things we could help them with (structure of the company, fund raising, etc.).

We decided we had to work together and set about fund raising and restructuring the company (making it a Delaware C Corp, etc.). It ended up being much more difficult than expected. The company continued to grow extremely rapidly reaching nearly 17 million users in less than 9 months of operation! However, Argentine politicians seemed bent on making the country less appealing to investors. They increased their agricultural export tax (one of the worst policies possible to begin with) which led to riots by the farmers. They let inflation runaway and it’s now nearing 25% per year! Several American VCs were put off by the macroeconomic environment in Argentina.

In the end, the team and the story were compelling enough and Rod just succeeded in raising $4.3 million from DN Capital and a few investors. The project remains risky given the competitive nature of the market. Facebook effectively enters market through the expat community and sometimes takes off dramatically as it did in Turkey and Columbia in the past few months.

Despite the threat, I bet on Sonico because I believe that they will find a way to succeed given their single mindedness, extreme focus, doggedness and passion!

Rod, Alvaro, Tom, Gustavo, Alejandro and Anton: it’s all in your hands now, go kick some butt!

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As you might have suspected given my prior post on the topic (The Teutonic Viagra), I have been lusting for the Audi R8. It had caught my eye before seeing Ironman, but its role in that movie cemented its position as my infatuation du moment.

Even though I have another year to go before the lease on my Aston Martin ends, I put my faithfulness to the test by checking the R8 out at the local dealership. As I walked in, its seductive lines immediately caught my attention. Its allure further was further increased by its colors – the same ones as the car in Ironman.

Like the hapless sailors called by the sirens, I approached knowing this path would only lead to adultery, powerless to resist. I apprehensively opened the door. My heart was racing. I sat myself into the seat when it happened. I did not fit! I tried every seating position known to man, but my head was firmly stuck on the roof, my eyes only seeing through the top inch of the windshield.

It never occurred to me I might not fit in an Audi! I can understand that Lamborghinis are made by and for short Italian men (the Gallardo had previously spurned my advances), but an Audi? Sports cars should be able to handle guys who are almost 6’3” even if they have a tall torso!

Belatedly, I realized I had fallen for this wretched flirtatious creature, the one that only brings tension to its peak and then leaves you hanging. Clearly because of the strength of my moral resolve, my marriage was saved. Proud of my achievement, I returned home.

As I was about to give up all hope on lust, there it was again … butterflies in my stomach! William had just sent me sent me an in depth preview of the Ferrari California. The longing was back! My faithful Aston got a reprieve: the California won’t be coming out for at least a year and having been jilted by the prancing horse before, I am more guarded, protecting my heart against the potential of being hurt. And yet deep down, I can feel the hope and longing…

California don’t let me down, I know we would be great together!

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