i felt like at meridian, it could do some good. talk about price until the day before the show. of course, meridian needs to support itself and support the community. but that was not the first consideration, so that made me very happy. >> his work is printed porcelain. he transfers images onto and spoils the surface a fragile shes of clay. each one, only one-tenth of an inch thick. >> it took about two years to get it down. i would say i lose 30% of the pieces that i made. something happens to them. they cracked, the break during the process. it is very complex. they fall apart. but it is worth it to me. there are photographs i took 1 hours 99 the former soviet union. these are blown up to a gigantic images. they lose resolution. i do not mind that, because my images are about the images, but they're also about the idea, which is why there is text all over the entire surface. >> marie in moved into the mansion on powell street just five years ago. its galleries are housed in one of the very rare single family residences around uni

ambassador, welcome -- first became acquainted with meridian in the early 1980s when the president was ambassador hova, and john became a good friend and enlisted me into some projects. little did i realize that a few years from 1982-'83 i would be spending a lot of time here. and so i have some connection with this institution that goes back some time and have always admired the mission, the objective and what it does. i believe that this institution is as relevant and important today as it's ever been and maybe more so. stuart was very generous in his summary and review of my book which being the unabashed, gratuitous politician that i am -- [laughter] i'm not at all bashful about hawking it. but those of you who have written books, and many of you have -- and this is the first book, probably the only book i'll ever write -- i was not aware and still am not of how it all works. but i do know that you do not get rich on books unless you go into paperback rights and a number of other things. so we will not be e retiring soon -- retiring soon -- [laughter] from the book. let me begin wh

you can come down to the meridian between 5-7:00 today but you cannot kiss oscar. >> my bad about that is frowned upon. >> i will have tough questions to answer later today. this is an opportunity for people to get a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity. >> if yes, this is the first time the academy has allowed oscar to be a hands on tool for people to take pictures with. we have done tours before where you can see oscar but this time you can touch him and hold in and take a picture with them. >> he is have the. >> 8.5 pounds. >> why are these hollywood man so short? >> righht? >> he is a lot taller than tom cruise. he is 3 inches taller. >> there you go, he is almost amazonian. that is a look out here at the oscar. we will keep an eye on him throughout the day and we will travel around town and where can people see you? >> we have a happy hour at 5-7 tonight at la meridien. >> do not kiss oscar. >> cynne simpson was caught up in a moment. well done. >> they 0.5 pounds, i had no idea. >> doug hill should meet an oscar for his meteorological forecast. >> i know, now i'm depressed. behind me,

oscar is even available poor pictures right now at the meridian in arlington hotel.o watch the academy awards right here on abc7 on february 24. >> we have someone here who knows a lot about oscar. they are long friends. >> that is so true. he is here to talk about his time with the golden statue. >> we were both young together. but it is a neat to see one. really great to see. this weekend, stephen soder berg cooks up a good movie. she struggles with repression in "side effects." her doctor prescribes a variety of pills. and one of them purchaser over the edge. or does it? "side-effects" is a great cast. -- has a great cast. it never does what to expect except shock and surprise. three and a half stars, and in our rating. just what the doctor ordered. -- and an r rating. she is one of our time's greatest comics and sometimes rises above the so-so script. good for a few laughs. the best bets, silver linings playbook, and side effects. you saw her in "the social network" in the english version with "the girl with the dragon tattoo." i loved it. >> you have been on the

regis, "w" hotel, sheraton, meridian. they have 1,134 properties and in nearly 100 countries.reported it's no surprise that the terrific company beat earnings estimates by 5 cent and topped the revenue estimates. the available per room the key metric was up 4.1% worldwide. that's fantastic. the company of course gave inside guidance for next quarter. let's check in with the president and the ceo of starwood. find out more about the -- where the company is headed. >> great to see you again. great to be back. >> thank you. i have been talking on the show about how a lot of people feel valuations are extended. i'm looking what you've accomplished in the last five years an i'm trying to figure out when the company will get rewarded. you are so much better than you were and yet you're not getting that price yesterday for what your stock is worth. >> this an interesting thing. we're priced in terms of the stock was where it was before the crisis. we have 20% more hotels. we are more fees generating the revenues than ever before. this is a transformation. yeah, the star is up from wh

investigative reporting to the civil-rights story and the other is the fbi environment, killing, the meridian bombing, the attempted set up by the fbi that led to the arrest of tommy terence, murder in athens. tell me if you would the impact having that kind of news coverage on the movement had on sort of the national understanding of what was going on. >> we really understood the press as educational tv. everything that had been going on that we were involved in had been going on for 100 years. it was hard to get it out. because this is 1963, i was reminded that fred shuttlesworking to get martin luther king on the seventeenth of december to promise he would come to birmingham this year but that is because on the fourteenth or fifteenth fred's church had been bombed for the third time in 1962. there had been 16 bombings of homes that receive no publicity. fred shuttlesworth was quite frank that he needed martin luther king to come over there to give intention to this in just this. one of my other good friends, a guy who had been with us in the movement from camera man, was quite blunt with m

joe greco of meridian says mari ya's point is right on. that's not happening today at least.jeff cox isn't quite as sure. he says the major pullback would be closer than other investors think. joe greco, i'm starting with you. we have the s&p below the 1500 mark and we've given back most if not all of what we gained friday. why do you think the market has this factored in? >> tough to make a bullish commentary when the dow is closing at the lows here. u i will echo and agree with maria. like at home i have to agree with my wife maria. if the market really thought the sequestration alone was enough of a pin to pop where we are, then we would be off dramatically. but we live in a very condensed trading market. so up 10, 12 in the s&p or down is pretty easy to digest quickly. i want to make two points though. what i think here and what we're seeing and what we'll see in the weekend is two things. m you've pushed us and here we are. now it's up to you guys. speaker boehner will likely push the blame back across the table to the president and to the left. and that's pretty much ho

the other is the fbi involvement in the viola killing, the meridian bombing, i mean, the attempted, you know, the setup by the fbi that led to the arrest of tommy terrence, the murder in athens. tell me the impact that having that kind of nude coverage -- news coverage on the movement had on sort of the national understanding of what was going on? >> well, we really understood the press as educational media, educational tv. i mean, there was -- everything that had been going on that we were involved in had been going on for a hundred years. and it was very hard to get it out. now, i was -- because this was 1963, i was reminded that fred shuttlesworth came to get martin luther king on the 17th of december to promise that he would come to birmingham this year. but that's pause on the 14th -- because on the 14th or 15th fred's church had been pommed for the third -- bombed for the third time in 1962. there had been 60 bombings of homes that had received no publicity. and fred shuttlesworth was quite frank that he needed martin luther king to come over will to get any attention to this inju

we have jonathan with meridian now.is stalled market the lack of chinese movement, right? stock markets are closed. >> absolutely. the stock markets are closed there. that is had a global effect all the way around. when our markets are closed europe and asia are quiet also. i don't think anyone is taking on any risk or taking off any risk in anticipation what can happy later on this week when the asian markets open back up again. if you look at our economic calendar there is not a ton. retail sales. initial claims coming out later on this week. it will take a little bit of a spark to really get investors off the sidelines back into the market this week. >> are you watching the president's state of the union tomorrow night? >> first speech in second term, it will be interesting to see his tone, his direction, knowing now that he is locked in his next four years and doesn't have to worry about year five. >> so we have that. we have retail sales wednesday morning, and in the meantime we've got a stalled market. back to you

there is not going to be any stoplight streetlights, there is not going to be any dividers, meridiansubgs. there's not going to be any overpasses. this is pretty much what we're talking about here. this next chart shows the existing trails that are currently within the refuge area. again, it's -- um, it's pretty much a small, narrow, one-track -- it's not like you're going to be able to pass one another moving through the area. but the last picture that i want to show here is -- just to give you kind of a view of what the area looks like. it's amazingly flat. you're in -- you're surrounded by a lagoon area. it is beautiful, absolutely. but these are -- these are roads that are current any existence in the area now. so what we're talking about doing is adding -- adding about a 10-mile strip that would allow us to connect the roads that exist to the road that exists in cold bay. to connect a community who needs to have an emergency way out that is safe. they need to be able to connect to those who are on the other side of this lagoon, and the way to do it is this simple road. now, i men

joe greco of meridian equity partners here with me at post 9. europe is closed.e up side. you'd see a little relief from the selling. we started premarket with the euro trading off. george soros starts to beat the drum and go against the currency there. there's a lot of concern about a prolonged recession or a depression there. a lot of names simply aren't producing right now, and people are starting to shed. now that we've broken the 1500 level in the s&p, the question is do we close below it? do we continue there all day, or have a little rally in the second half where it would look a little more optimistic for friday? >> you think the point where the bears are handed the ball is 1500? >> psychologically, it's a nice number. really 1492 is kind of important for me from a technical level. if we can hold that for the rest of the afternoon, i think we're in good shape. if we start to break down over the second half, i'm concerned for friday and what comes over the weekend. >> it's not like we weren't handed any good news. a lot of these retailers beat handily in j