Zoocap

Tuesday, March 9th, and it’s cold and rainy. We decided to continue our trip to Austin, Texas in spite of the weather, because we found a nice place to stayin Austin and it was less expensive. But, we were really very tired when we left Brenham though, our sleepy eyes were telling us that we should’ve paid the extra money for a hotel room . Fortunately, we made it to Austin safe and sound even though it got very windy. We checked in and immediately fell sound asleep.

The next morning, we just hung out in our hotel room, it was way too cold to go out! Believe it or not, it was 43 degrees outside, burr! We watched TV, had our hotel do laundry for us and ordered room service for breakfast and lunch. This cold and wet weather really sucks. The forecast for tomorrow is more of the same, with a chance of tornado’s! But, the next day shows the weather improving and it will be sunny and in the 70’s. Hopefully, we won’t get cabin fever and check out of our very nice hotel. We just have to wait the weather out one more day. Then it’s time to do some shopping and some sightseeing.

We’d really like to see the bats fly from the bridge located in Downtown Austin. We heard Austin has a big mosquito issue, so they took some advice from a man who convinced the city council to get bats to live under a bridge, which they did and now there’s no bug problems, plus they got an additional benefit of the bats becoming a tourist attraction.

We rode out the next days wet weather, and made it to our third and final day here in Austin. It was still pretty cold, so when we went shopping we purchased some warmer clothes, then had lunch at the mall and took the ‘hop on hop off’ bus to see some sights, like the Texas State Capitol building, the LBJ library, the Bob Bullock Museum, and the University of Texas. We were still very cold, so we didn’t bother catching the bats and instead, we went back to our hotel for the night. Tomorrow, we’ll be heading out to San Antonio!

Who knew Missouri even had a wine country? A few fun events are happening this month in celebration of libations from this part of America’s heartland.

Stone Hill Winery has three locations in Missouri but special fun is scheduled for their Hermann site on March 20. For $20, registered participants for the Grapes to Glass event will be given a tour of Stone Hill’s vineyard, cellars, tank building and press house. However, the best part will undoubtedly be the wine tasting. Hermann is located among Missouri River’s hillsides, an area compared to the Rhine Valley in Germany. Founded in 1847, the winery was at one time the second largest in the States. Stone Hill’s wines won eight gold medals throughout the rest of that century’s world’s fairs. In the 1920s prohibition came along and destroyed their business, turning Stone Hill’s cool caves (incidentally the largest series of vaulted cellars in the United States) into a haven for mushrooms rather than wine. Along came Jim and Betty Held to the rescue. They bought the winery in 1965 and went about restoring the buildings and underground cellars. At last count, in 2009, the winery produced over 260,000 gallons of wine and remains Missouri’s oldest and most awarded winery.

Should you decide to visit and need a nice place to sleep, or just sleep off the wine, there are many options available . If Stone Hill’s event isn’t quite your glass of wine, the Bias Winery/Gruhlke’s Microbrewery is hosting their annual Celebration of the Gnomes on the same day, March 20. Located in Berger on a 67-acre estate, participants will be provided with a list of items to locate in the search areas. A special Golden Gnome will be hidden somewhere, with its significance to be announced at the end of the event. Sounds like someone is going to get lucky. Gruhlke’s microbrews will be on hand for those who would rather drink beer.

For a winery with a down-home feel, visit River Ridge Winery . Located on an 80-acre farm, this winery has been in business since 1980. Varietals such as Cab Franc, Syrah and Chardonnay thrive in River Ridge’s vineyard. The Fermentation Room Caf © is open daily and offers a comprehensive menu of food comprised from fresh ingredients. Owners Jerry and Joanie Smith promise that you’ll “come as a customer and leave as a friend.”

There are many other wineries to visit in Missouri. Who knew? Cheers!

Moving to a new city can be an exciting adventure. Not only will the city be a new, but from the moment you get there, everything will become new again. Whether it will be a new favorite coffee shop to hang out in, a new job or an entirely new set of friendships, this will be an experience filled with wonder and adventure. Some people feel the stress of the move, but what they really need to focus on are the opportunities.

The chance at finding the dream apartment or house that they have always wanted, or the opportunity to either escape the summer heat in the desert or the colder winters in the Eastern climates, it is a chance for positive change. Focusing on the positive will help to alleviate some of those aspects of moving that may produce unwarranted amounts of stress and frustration. It is always best if it is possible to visit the new city you are planning to move to before you make your final decision. In this way you can check out the neighborhoods of that city and choose the one that excites you the most.

You can also begin to make some decisions based on the houses or the apartments available , and if you are ready to do so, you can set up your new living arrangements before you have even packed up your old ones. You will have a better idea all around, for the ways in which to pack up your belongings. You will know what you need to get rid of, and the things you choose to keep will already have a place to go as you will be able to picture it all in your mind. The best way to go about relieving the stress of a move, is to remain calm and to stay organized . Early planning will help this take place each and every time, and give you the time to actually enjoy what it is your new adventure may bring.

Cape Girardeau is one of the historic cities of Missouri that continues to represent a great deal of its history not only in its cultural traditions but also in many of the local buildings. The downtown area retains many of its early buildings and it has the charm of an early American town. The town itself was incorporated in 1808, which was prior to the state’s incorporation. However, in 1843 it was reincorporated, though it actually existed as a trading post from approximately 1733. It was established by the French soldier Jean Baptiste de Girardot and the small trading post community would later, after the invention of the steamboat, become the largest port along the Mississippi river that existed between Memphis and St. Louis.

The city has had some interactions with fame in recent decades due primarily to some of its residents. The drama critic for the Wall Street Journal, Terry Teachout, was born there. Teachout is also the chief culture critic for Commentary and has written for other major newspapers and magazines including National Review and the New York Times. In addition, Teachout has a column he authored and continues called Sightings, in which he comments on and discusses the arts in America. This column appears bi-weekly in the Wall Street Journal and you can also read his blog entries at the site About Last Night.

In addition to his critical an analytical writings, Teachout has also had some success as a creative writer. Among other things he wrote the libretto for the opera The Letter, which was based on the Somerset Maugham play. The opera was composed by Paul Moravec.  Many of the residents of Cape Girardeau are well aware of their famous son, though many of the guests who are visiting may read his column in the morning paper though never realize he is from the city as they enjoy their stay in one of the Missouri hotels.

Ever since we purchased our house in 2008 I have become obsessed with design. In fact I have become quite a DIY fanatic with everything from decorating the windows to installing a new sprinkler system. If there is one thing that I have learned in the past year it is this: fancy design stores are expensive but if you are willing to do it yourself and do some hunting you can have the room of your dreams, even on a budget.
The first key to designing on a budget is don’t pay someone else to do something that you can do for free. Now you have to be smart about this, when it comes to big stuff like electrical and plumbing it is best to hire a professional ; however coming up with the design, painting, and hanging pictures are all things that you can do yourself.
The second key is do not underestimate the power of a sewing machine; especially for things like throw pillows and curtains. Although they are sometimes seen as needless accessories, they are often the elements that give a room its finishing touches. With some inexpensive fabric from wal mart you can create your own unique accessories without the extra cost. Also, covering your windows has some practical aspects, not only does it help to protect them but it also gives you added privacy and style.
The third key is to always be on the lookout for a good deal. Strangely enough, most of the time you will find the greatest deals when you aren’t even looking for them. They could be at a garage sale or a quirky antique store downtown.
The final key is to remember it is all about you. The house, the room, it’s yours and it should reflect you and your personality. But don’t limit yourself, there are lots of fun and creative ideas online that can help get those creative juices flowing.

Two of the things I love to do when I visit a new city or town, is to one:  see that town from air.  And two:  if the city has a local winery, I like to take a tour and enjoy the tastings.  The “seeing the city from the air” thing, I think has to do with the fact that I love to know just where I am.  I like to see the whole of the city, so I can picture it in my head while I am on the ground. I guess it makes me feel not so lost.  And the winery fascination stems from many years of working in the restaurant industry, and learning about wines from all over the world.

So when we first pulled into Tampa, Florida I set about to find those two things.  I asked the front desk clerk at the smaller beach hotel we checked into, for his suggestion on getting into the sky.  Sometimes, that view is provided by flying into the city.  Other times it has been helicopter tours, or simply the view from the top of a very tall building or mountain…like the Empire State building in Manhattan or the view of Los Angeles from the Getty Museum.

He suggestion a company that gives hot air balloon rides, Celebration Aviation.  That was cool, as I had yet to be up in a balloon.  We booked a “flight” for the next day.  The view of the city and the coastline of Tampa was amazing.  It was a bit scary to be in the small basket, but it was worth it.  It is a great way to get some aerial photographs, and was the perfect way to get my bearings once we were back on the ground.

The next day we took a drive to the Florida Estates Winery.   The atmosphere was very casual and they had a wide selection of wines, from the less expensive to the finer wines it was all so very beautiful.  The tables were set outside in a grove of Oak trees, overlooking the large working plantation.  Both the balloon ride and the winery were extremely peaceful ways to learn just a little bit more about the city and the people of Tampa Bay, Florida.

Well now that you have check into that amazing room of one of those luxurious Malibu hotels you must be starved. You could go down to the restaurant at the hotel and I am sure it will be great but how about a local hang out. Maybe you could see some cool famous actors or musicians while your eating. How about Duke’s Malibu restaurant. They have the barefoot bar which is a little more casual right off the beach. The menu is also casual with some burgers and sandwiches along with fish tacos and beach style cocktails. The place gets its name from Duke Kahanamoku who was the father of international surfing and Olympic multi-medalist for the U.S.. Duke’s also has a more fine dining cuisine and ambiance for dinner that is topped off with Hula Pie which was created at Kimo’s and features macadamia nut ice cream, chocolate and more chocolate and more nuts with a bit of whip cream.

Moonshadows Blue Lounge is also a sophisticated and tranquil restaurant that features some really unique seafood dishes, a few chicken, pork or short rib selections and great wine selections. This is the spot for a nice romantic dinner on the patio over looking the ocean with the sun setting in the distance. They also feature a great DJ’s on the patio to add to the glamor of the evening. Another legendary classic to the area is Geoffery’s Malibu restaurant. It has been a staple find dining the stars for decades and was designed by Richard Neutra, architect. The faces of fame that have dined here include Frank Sinatra and Shirley MacLaine. Rumor has it that this is also the place were John F. Kennedy began an affair with legendary actress Marilyn Monroe.

My cousin Ron, who grew up in Denver, Colorado, has always bragged that Colorado has the most beautiful countryside in the entire country. I thought that was a pretty big claim and thought about all of the diverse geography across the nation and started to consider possibilities to argue against him. It’s not that I didn’t think Colorado was beautiful, in fact I had never been there before. It’s just that Ron, who always thought he was right made such an extreme statement about the state that I couldn’t help but to want to immediately object. And as my luck would have it, last Fall I got my chance.

Ron invited me to come out and visit for a week in late October. He said that there was usually a lot of Halloween activities going on and maybe we could take some kind of a haunted pumpkin ride or something. Apparently he had forgotten about his earlier statement because he didn’t mention a word about how beautiful his state was. Maybe he hoped I’d forgotten he said it now that I was going to be there to see it first hand. But aside from my desire to put Ron in his place, the trip sounded like fun and despite everything we were pretty close and so I accepted.

Okay, you must know what’s coming. I had a whole slew of places to bring up in comparison to his precious Colorado countryside but even flying over the state into the Denver Airport I was beginning to suspect the truth. I had a great time with Ron and we spent some time outside of the city. We had a great stay in a cabin type hotel and watched the changing colors of the leaves and foliage. The mountains were incredible and I could imagine them in anytime of the year. There was also a lake nearby. We didn’t do anything on it but look out over it. And while I could never say one place was the most beautiful in the nation, I never brought my argument against Ron’s earlier statement.

This part of the trip is always the strangest.  Getting somewhere is always hard, because there are all the impossible things that have to happen before.  You leave a place, and it is almost like closing up the little shop that is your life.  It takes a lot of effort to keep that life going, so when you leave it, it almost seems as though it might not be open when you get back, and all the things that were there have changed, and the people you know have decided to move.  So all that you have of that life is what you’re carrying, and at a point you have to look at it and decide that this is enough, this is plenty of material with which to make a new life.

It’s sometimes easier in Manhattan and sometimes not.  There are hotels, to be sure, at this site, and you know that the stay will be wonderful as always.  And in New York, they have everything, so if you decide you don’t have what you need to create a life, you can find materials to keep building.  But that also reminds you that it might be easier than you’d suspected to create your life, and that the years you put into it might have been easier if only you’d known that you didn’t need that much.  So you decide to go to a gallery and see how the other artists are doing this, how they are constructing their lives.

This part is where is becomes somehow magical.  There is a lot to see, and a lot of ideas, and this is exciting, because there are people here who are just like you, and you know that you can do this too.  This is, after all, exactly what you’re doing in your own city.  This gallery has video, and painting, and performance, and this is what you know, too.  At the same time, it’s a small pinch of jealousy that comes in, because you might be here, but you’re not, and the people here seem to be so decided about what they’re doing.  A half of a conversation later, and you start to sense the same fears and doubts that you have, but they’ve decided to continue anyway.  Exactly like you’ve done, and like you’re doing, and in spite of yourself, this is becoming sweet.

Also known as a cash advance, a check advance, a deferred check loan or a post dated loan, payday loans are short term loans which help out in a time of need, such as an emergency or an unforeseen situation such as a car breaking down or the plumbing in one’s house springing a leak. This is in part, a sign of the times. For many people working today, the recession and the current financial situation not only of the country, but of the world, is such that many people just do not have the funds saved for a rainy day.

When an urgent situation arises, and there is no family or friends to turn to, and one’s paycheck is not due for a couple of weeks, a loan backed by one’s future paycheck may be the answer. Although some of the interest rates are high, these loans are intended to be paid off quickly, and for many people the cost of the interest outweighs the fees and the penalties that can and will accrue once a bill is past due. In order to qualify for a payday loan ,one simply applies in person, over the phone or in many cases nowadays, simply over the Internet. As long as the individual can provide evidence of continued work and a steady paycheck, they do not have to go through the hassle of a credit check and most loans of this nature are approved right away, in most cases, under thirty minutes.

There are no costs up front, and as long as the loans are paid off right away, they do not cost much, they remain to be an affordable option. This loan will be deposited into the borrowers checking account within 24 hours and the loans are discreet. The only thing that the borrower must consider and must investigate, is the reputation of the lender. They must make certain that the company is reputable and is certified. This is a great way for people to get the financial help that they need at a time when the need it most, and they need it fast.

There are many people who are taking all sorts of meats, poultry and fish out of their diets and eating only vegetables. These people are now looking for a good vegetarian style restaurants in there own neighborhoods and in the cities and countries that they visit. People come to the decision to not eat meat for many different reasons. There are many countries where meat is the main part to the meals that are eaten. There are diets like the Atkin’s Diet were meat is the main staple to meals along with vegetables. Those people do not eat breads and pastas or other carbohydrates.

Other reasons for not eating meat might be because in some parts of the world meat is not as available or are to expensive to acquire. There are some religions in the world that prohibit eating meats like pork, beef or any of the bi-products that they produce like milk or cheese. I have known some people who can’t eat meat because the just don’t digest the proteins very well. They end up getting very sick when they eat anything that has meat products in it like chicken soup or yogurt.

Many middle east countries, Asian countries and even some Mediterranean countries have created some delicious dishes with out the use of meats. It used to be hard to find food in America that didn’t include meat but now it is getting easier to find dishes not only in cook books and grocery stores but also in restaurants. In most restaurants there is some sort of meal that can accommodate a vegetarian. There are now many Asian and Indian food restaurants all over the world that have created most of their menu around vegetarian dishes. However, if you are going to try it for the first time maybe you would want to go to one of the countries that started the style of food and learn were it began.

Twitter is a big deal and it seems that everyone is on it these days. Everyone from the average American, to the pop stars, even companies are jumping on the band wagon. It is a very interesting evolution to watch. For me the most interesting is watching what companies are doing with twitter. Some of them are posting store hours, and special events to their Twitter page, but my favorites are the companies that will post media to their twitter account. because then I see that they actually care. In this modern age, there are a million ways to get your product out there, the most common of which is to put up ads that you have paid for on sites and measure how often people have clicked on your ad. This shows ingenuity and adaption to the social media that is evolving out of the internet.

This cheap approach to advertising actually makes me trust them a little more as well. It doesn’t scream about the amount of money they have, but shows that they really do care about people who have fallen on hard times. If you click on a link to one of their videos, it is hosted on Dailymotion, you will find that their commercials are just as simple and straight forward as their marketing campaign. They give you the facts, and let you make your own decision. From what I understand, they chose a spokesperson that really cares about their product and did the commercial because he understands that everyone falls on hard times once in a while. This is the kind of thing I trust out of a lending service. I haven’t used them before, but they seem to understand that the people want to be able to reach out and touch them.

Dennis had to tell his family and friends that he was going to move back to New York. He was born and raised in a small town in Oklahoma and grew up with the ambition of being an actor. He demonstrated an early talent for the stage and everyone in his town knew that he was destined for a career on Broadway. When he was eighteen his family contributed to small moving fund for him and this enabled him to make a major move. At the young age of eighteen he headed off for the big city all by himself with the same dream and ambition that millions of other young people pursue. Well, his parents did go with him on a pre-move trip. They stayed in nice hotel like this and helped him find a studio apartment. They also looked at the theatre information boards and tried to get him settled in. He seemed to have everything he needed when they left him there on his own.

However, like many of the other people who move to New York to pursue a career in the theatre he became distracted by various other elements, like trying to make a living and pay his bills. He started working backstage at a small theatre in Greenwich Village and really only checked the audition boards a few times during his first year there. And he only actually went to an audition once. He developed some friendships at the small company and became comfortable there. His life continued in this manner for about five years when his roommate moved to Boston and he finally decided he just couldn’t afford to live in New York anymore. He packed up his bags and headed home.

His family and friends were all happy to see him and welcomed him back into the small community without judgment or criticism. He started to work at the local laundry facility and had worked there for about six months when his desire to perform started to get the best of him. Dennis considered his years in New York and the mistakes he made while there. He wondered if he should try and start a theatre company in his hometown. He thought about this night after night and it began to plague his thoughts during the day so that he couldn’t focus on anything else. He made a new plan. He was older now and would approach it with a stronger commitment and be more responsible and wise. He knew the time was right for him, but he had to face telling everyone in town that he was moving again.

Joshua Bell is one of the most famous violinists in the world and achieved this status at a relatively young age. He certainly achieved critical acclaim and fame at a young age and has played with some of the top musicians and orchestras in the world. He had an interesting introduction to the violin and was first given lessons when he was a small child and his mother caught him attaching rubber bands to the dresser drawer handles to pluck out the music he had heard her playing on the piano. This was inspiration enough to get the five-year-old Bell a fractional sized violin and begin his lessons. They did not try and force the love or passion on him and he remained interested in other childhood activities and also played sports during his youth.

However, after having experienced success with and approval of his early instructors his parents introduced him to Josef Gingold and were able to convince him to accept their son as a student. Gingold was a renown instructor and violinist and needed to be assured that the young Bell live a normal life and be forced into an obsessive life consuming study. After a reassurance of this from Bell’s parents the two began an extremely productive and affectionate teacher student relationship.

By the time Bell was fourteen he made an appearance at The Philadelphia Orchestra where he performed as a soloist, which is an impressive accomplishment on its own, however when taken into consideration with the fact he was fourteen years old, it is even more impressive. He has developed and extensive repertoire and his Bell’s fans and contemporaries look forward to his future performances and work. In addition, fans of The Philadelphia continue to enjoy its seasons and guests from out of town frequently included a performance as part of their stay. If you’re planning a trip to Philadelphia, click here for information on the best hotel rates in the city.

With its cosmopolitan outlook, and a very lively and thriving urban culture, Dallas has come into an identity for itself as a major player in contemporary global culture.  While it has always maintained a level of visibility as a capital city with a large population, changes in world arts and culture have been gradually but certainly decentering the idea of a national art center.  New York and Los Angeles still hold strong for centers where commercial art gets made and distributed, but other cities are rising up in artistic output.  This is due to the intense creativity of the citizens.  Once a vacation spot or a site for business, Dallas hotels now host guests who are looking for the next generation of artists, or artistry.

For video artists, Dallas is full of good news.  There is a very healthy climate here, with easy access to urban and natural settings, along with an openness to new work and new voices.  Thanks to the efforts of organizations like the Video Association of Dallas, young filmmakers can make work that is seen.  Even with limited access to resources, it is possible to find a community of like-minded artists looking to create something interesting for themselves and for their audiences.

The recent access to video cameras and video software that is relatively cheap and also relatively easy to learn, has made it possible for the next generation of artists to get their stories out.  The VideoFest at the Angelika Film Center has come to be something of a landmark.  It’s a place where local films shot without a budget can be seen next to larger productions.  Beginning filmmakers and established artists have the chance to see their work side by side, forging new contemporary contexts for this next wave of film art.  It’s worth looking into.

What’s the top place for families to visit in New York City?  It might not surprise you to learn it’s the American Museum of Natural History, but it may surprise you to know that by going inside this building, you’ll find out more than you ever thought possible about what’s going on outside the building…  way outside the building.  Right now, on a daily basis, the museum is showing a planetarium space show just about every half hour, titled, Journey to the Stars.

This program has been running for about six months now, so it’s fairly recent, and it’s hosted by Academy-Award winning actress and narrator, Whoopi Goldberg.  The show draws on images from ground and space telescopes, allowing us to simulate images that have never been witnessed before.  Guests will find out what it’s like for stars to be born and to die, and it includes what will one day happen to our own sun billions of years from now (long after we’ve found a way to leave this planet, I’m thinking).  The museum’s astrophysicists and NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration), as well as forty scientists across the world have helped to create this exhibit, and if you don’t know that much about the sky and what’s beyond our atmosphere, you’ll find out a great deal in a hurry.

The show was written by a winner of an Emmy, an author and composer of over a hundred and fifty scripts and books aimed at kids and adults alike.  Her name is Louise A. Gikow, and the chances are good you’ve already seen her work, because she’s written for the Jim Henson Company and Nickelodeon, and, even for the National Lampoon magazine.  She also wrote the last script for the planetarium show here called Cosmic Collisions.

Of course, once you’ve finished taking in the night sky, you’ll want a place to contemplate the universe, and that may be find in any number of places in New York in hotels that are big or small, you’ll find a comfortable place to come inside and contemplate this exhibit and what it’s really like in the Great Outdoors.

After our previous tries to visit the Brooklyn Bridge, we decided to give it one more try, because today the sun was out and the forecast was showing that the it would stay sunny for the entire day. Before we took the subway, we wanted to see if there were any interesting restaurants in New York that might be near the bridge. Then we were off, we took the subway over to Brooklyn and headed to one of the restaurants listed on-line. But, before we could make it to the restaurant, we came upon one of the ubiquitous hot dog vendors, we couldn’t help ourselves, we ate 3 hot dogs each! So, much for a nice sit down lunch in a great restaurant. 
 
We made our way across the bridge end to end, which was back to the Manhattan side. We are tremendous fans of bridges, the elegant structure of Brooklyn Bridge did not disappoint. We wandered around the rest of the day to just experience New York. We landed in Chinatown first, then onto Little Italy and we enjoyed the party atmosphere there, we think maybe it was because New Years was coming up in a few days, but who knows, maybe Little Italy just likes to party all the time. We didn’t blame them, it was a lovely area and we had tons of restaurants to choose from, but we headed back to Chinatown for Chinese food and had a feast, followed by Tsingtao, Chinese beer!
 
Afterwards, we took a walk through Tribeca and to Soho, where there was a mass of crazy street vendors trying every which way to get us to buy knock-off handbags, sunglasses, watches or perfumes! Instead of Soho, it should be called Knock-off. We found a coffee shop and ordered mass quantities of coffee in order to revive us from all the walking we’ve done today. While there, we talked to a local woman who was a delight! She’s not the only local person we’ve met, everyone we’ve struck up conversations with has been friendly and helpful — far from the stereotypical rude New Yorker!  We chatted for a long while and then headed back to our lodgings and a good night’s sleep.

I have always been drawn to the style of Art Deco.  The art and the architecture seems somewhat contradictory to me, in that it looks modern while retaining a vintage feel.  I don’t know if that makes sense, but when I found myself standing in the middle of the Art Deco District in South Beach I was in heaven.  To be honest I was not sure what to expect when I was preparing for my first visit to Miami.  I have never been a bikini wearing beach kind of person, my favorite time on beaches is during storms, so I was wondering just what I would do once I got there.  I found a great hotel online at miamiluxuryhotels.com and when I checked in I explained this dilemma of mine to my bellboy on the way to my room.  He asked what I was interested in and I told him art, food, history, coffee, street markets…and he said that I must visit the South Beach Art Deco District. 

In this district there are more than eight hundred buildings of the Art Deco style.  I had my camera with me of course, and filled the memory card with images of these fabulous buildings to paint from later on when I got back home to my studio.  I went into the lounge of one of the hotels and ordered a drink at the bar.  I asked the bartender about the neighborhood and he gave the full story.  He said that most of the buildings were constructed through the 1920’s, which was also during the time of the prohibition. 

Much of the South Beach area became known for gambling and illegal liquor and speak-easies, attracting mobsters and crime.  For the next few decades the area became quite a slum.  But, he told me, the popular 1980’s TV show “Miami Vice” changed all that.  I questioned him and he said that the show had a lot to do with it, but that at the time the Miami Design Preservation League took interest in the neighborhood and restored all of the buildings to their original beauty.  The Art Deco district and all of South Beach is now one of the chicest and most visited areas of Miami.  I thanked him, and set back out on my journey to explore more of South Beach, and to discover a bit more of the history as well.

Are you going to Huntsville? Need a great room at one of the elegant hotels located in Huntsville? www.hotelshuntsville.com  There are plenty of nice places to stay and there are some fun things to do while you are visiting. There are plenty of things to see when it comes to the NASA space program. There is also the interesting North Alabama Railroad Museum and then there are some different kinds of museums. One of the more charming museums is the Clay House Museum.

The Clay House Museum is an old home that was originally built around the 1850s. The museum was started by a lady named Robin Hall Brewer. She fell in love with tea sets and started a collection that lead here to 8,000 pieces over a decade and a half. It all started with the fancy tea service she took part in at a restaurant in San Fransisco. She started to collect the tea cups, saucers and there matching creamer and sugar bowls that were made by Noritake. The museum is like a shrine for Japanese made tea sets. She also wrote a book on the matter becoming quite the master of tea set knowledge.

Brewer did everything she could think of to make the museum a success. She even volunteered at the Huntsville Weeden House Museum to learn how to run a museum. She learned everything she could about the tea sets and she collected as many pieces as she could. She even flew to Japan and visited the factory were her collection was made. Sadly the 57 year old, Robin Brewer died from cancer in 2008. The old home and museum is now an art gallery for local artists as well. It is located in the Madison area of the city on Eastview Drive. It is a great thing to see what dreams can be created with passion.

I got a friend with all sorts of superstitions about cars. She believes in the whole Saint Christopher thing and keeps a plastic stature of him on her dashboard glued with this uber version of super glue. She claimed it came from NASA where her father worked, but she claimed a lot of things. She was a storyteller about everything and never wasted a chance to entertain someone with a story. She was like Almost Browne expect her name was Cat Morgan. Cat Morgan had a story about her name too.

Cat had all sorts of stories about anything and everything that she could lay her hands on. Dishwashing fluid, mops, roofs, school parking lots, new tires . There are more things I could tell you she has stories about, but I cannot remember them all. Just those. The story about tires is an especially good tale. It stopped mattering to me whether or not this tall tales or big fish were real. I got to understanding that it wasn’t the tale and what was true in it or not true in it that mattered, but what she was trying to tell with the tale. There was where you could find the real, the authentic, the truth if you want it. But you had to look hard.

Here is her story about tires: she was driving on throughway and about two miles ahead of her was a gigantic and monstrous semi truck painted with a Chinese dragon on it that circled around the truck a couple of times with its curvy body. Anyway, she wanted to get a closer look at it because she loves dragons. Cat has stories about dragons too. So she tried to get closer and closer to the dragon, scything a path through the other automobiles on the road. Then she saw the body of the dragon split open, in the back where the door was to upload and unload things. Columns and columns of tires were back there, a whole army of them in the belly of the Chinese dragon semi truck. The tires spilled out and rolled around the road marble-style. A lot of people were mad and unhurt but she just laughed because got another good story to tell. I still don’t know what’s authentic in this story, which is why I like retelling it because I hope to never know.

On my visits to New York, I have noticed that everything tastes better.  The coffee is better.  The spaghetti and ravioli is better.  The Chinese food is better, and the pizza?  Well there is a reason that every other city in the country, has “New York Pizza” shops.  Okay, there was for a while the craze of the California Pizza Kitchen, and of course Chicago style pizza is popular as well.  But the craze of the Chicago pan pizza escapes me, as I have had Chicago style pizza, in the city of Chicago, and nothing beats the pizza of New York City.

Some people claim that the pizza in New York is so good because of three populations that have been drawn to the city throughout the years, the chefs, the food artisans, and the immigrants, all bringing their worlds together in the making of the perfect pie.  The many cultures have brought with them their customs, and their roots can be seen, or tasted rather, in their culinary artistry.  As stated before, the food of the city is just outstanding, check it out.

The first pizza shop was opened in 1905, by Gennaro Lombardi, Lombardi’s and is still on Spring Street, with the pizza cooked in the original coal oven just across the street in the original kitchen in Little Italy.  This pizzeria is still in business and is credited for the beginning of a world wide love of New York pizza.  There are many more long standing pizzerias throughout the city and each of the five boroughs.  Coney Island is home to the famous Totonno’s Pizzeria, and at DiFara, the traditional pieces covered in buffalo mozzarella are still made by Domenico Demarco, the 70 year old pizza chef extraordinaire.

My Italian friends quietly say that they now prefer the pizza of the United States, and of New York most assuredly to any of the pizza in their home towns in Italy.  My first slice was experienced in Times Square, at a popular little joint called Ray’s.  It is a taste I will never forget.  Perhaps it was the excitment of being in the city for the first time, and the vibe of the square, but as I said, it all just seemed to taste better, even down to the last bite of the crust.

In 1956, Paolo Soleri settled on the eastern side of the greater Phoenix area, in the city of Scottsdale.  Soleri was born and grew up in Turin, Italy, and upon completing his degree in Architecture at the Torino Polytechnico, he moved to the Arizona desert to study at Taliesin West with Frank Loyld Wright.  He has garnered many awards over the years, and when he returned for a visit to Italy, he founded the Ceramica Artistica Solimene. This is where he developed, among many other things, the bronze windchimes that so many people living in and traveling through the city of Phoenix so covet.

All around the city, you will find these chimes decorating the homes and balconies, the patios of the restaurants in some of the finest hotels in Phoenix, and in the carry on satchels of those traveling back home.  For the past thirty years, the sales of these chimes have contributed funds for his ongoing architectural project, Arcosanti.  Arcosanti is part of the commitment Soleri made to himself when he moved to Scottsdale, a commitment to experimentation and research in urban development and planning.

Arcosanti is a small village, which houses five thousand people, and has been undergoing construction and modifications beginning in 1970.  It is a way of combining ecology and architecture, which will leave the smallest footprint on the environment as possible.  There is minimal use of raw material, and a great reduction in the use of non-renewable energy and resources.  The site is open for touring seven days a week, the hours Monday-Saturday being 9am to 5pm, and on Sunday from 11am-5pm.

To pop in at any time during operating hours you will take a self guided tour, for group tours previous scheduling arrangements are necessary.  The gardens located throughout Arcosanti are beautiful to wander through, and many times people choose to have their celebrations here.  Most of the residents are artists, so along with the famous windchimes you will find various objects created by those living on the site.  It really is a grand place, in every way, so on your next trip through the Arizona desert, make sure to find some time for a visit to Arcosanti.

The city of Los Angeles is a sprawling metropolis.  To fly into the city at night, you will find a sea of street lights and buildings just outside your airplane window, that never seems to end.  I moved to LA in the summer of 1999, just one week before my birthday and as luck would have it, we drove through the desert of Arizona and California during the hottest part of the day, only to end up on the 101, at the beginning of rush hour traffic.  Six lanes of traffic heading West through the Valley, and six lanes heading East.  It is a different kind of city when you are moving there, as opposed to spending a few nights in a best Los Angeles hotel, being driven around by the hotel chauffeurs.

When I found myself stopped in the madness that is the 101, and the endless sea of not city lights, but the sun reflecting off of the roofs of hundreds and hundreds of cars, I questioned my decision to move to this city.  But we finally reached our new place, unloaded the U-Haul, and I feel directly to sleep.  The next morning, I knew that if I headed out from the Vally, and just drove to the coast, I would be standing on the sand of one of the most incredible stretches of coastline in the Western part of the United States.

I took off on the windy road through Topanga Canyon, and after about half an hour, I turned a curve and saw the blue of the Pacific Ocean in the distance.  My heart started to pound a bit, as I drew nearer to the fresh saltwater scented air.  During the next two years, the beaches along the coast were my home.  From the calm and elegant Malibu, to the funky and energetic boardwalk of Venice.  Any excuse I had to go from one side of town to the other by driving along the Pacific Coast Highway, I took, as even though it was out of the way, it was a great way, a breezy Southern California way, with the top down and the tunes of Moby playing loudly from the stereo.

It’s been years since I was last in San Antonio, but I remember distinctly two things about it: The Alamo and The River Walk.  Known at first as the Mision San Antonio de Valero, The Alamo has existed on its current site since 1724 or two hundred and eighty-six years.  Sixty-nine years after its inception, the mission was secularized and given over to Indian residents who farmed the fields; by the 1800s, the Spanish military a cavalry unit, who called the place the Alamo after their hometown, Alamo de Parras.  In 1835, the Alamo entered history when General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna arrived with an army outside San Antonio, taking the people inside the Alamo by surprise.  The defeat of the Alamo and the victory of Santa Anna has been recreated many times in film, giving rise to the expression “Remember the Alamo!” as a rallying cry against such a crushing blow.  Now a museum, the Alamo keeps that memory alive, open every day of the year except for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

The River Walk has an even older history than the Alamo, stretching back as far as 1536, when Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, at the time shipwrecked and a captive of Indians, saw and later described the River; much later, in 1691, a Catholic priest camped near a stream known as the Yanaguana and decided to celebrate a mass on St. Anthony’s Day and so renamed the stream San Antonio.  Several centuries later, in 1959, the river became a city park, officially starting the development of the River Walk.  In 1962, a landscaping program along two miles of the river walkway planted seventeen thousand trees and shrubs and vines.  The El Tropicano, which was the first riverfront hotel, opened.  Today, in the 21st Century, the River Walk remains a unique addition to the city, filled with shops and luxury San Antonio hotels.

As much as I extoll the virtues of the San Antonio River Walk, you should know that the River Walk is actually drained for maintenance, this year from January 3rd to the 12th; however, this means that San Antonio is holding the Michelob Ultra Mud Festival!  Each year, once the river is filled up again, the Mud Festival is the place to be as media and civic celebrities and politicians attempt to capture the title of the Michelob Ultra Mud Queen and Mud King, attempting to raise money for the River Walk Association.  Included in the festivities are Ultra Mud Pie Ball, Ultra Mud Coronation, and the Ultra Mud Parade.  If you miss it, Bud Light will be holding a Mardi Gras River Parade in February!

My last days in New York have been a busy last few days. Naturally, I went to another house party thrown by one of my dozens of cousins from Med. school. There were board games with alcohol as the gain or win, a live band and all-in-all a great night and morning. We didn’t get any sleep basically, so most of my cousins and I ended up at brunch where the mimosas flow from a fountain (kidding), but alcohol was par for the course.

I spent the rest of the day checking out Brooklyn; I really went there to eat at this very famous pizza place, but the long queue did not seem appetizing. I walked all the way across Brooklyn Bridge, which gave me a stunning view of New York City. I ended up in the artsy part of town, Soho I think, the place where they converted all the dilapidated warehouses into galleries and art studios. Then, I walked into what seemed not a so safe area, wasn’t sure, but I definitely felt like I didn’t want to stand out as a tourist. It was a great day anyway, and I had a great experience in Brooklyn.

That night I got to see Avenue Q, an off Broadway play at this really nice theater venue called New Stages. I got a great deal on my Broadway tickets on-line, click here if you’d like to get great prices too! The venue is a collection of some pretty small stages, almost black-box really, where you almost feel like you’re a part of the play going on. I liked Avenue Q, it was funny, relevant and quotable.

My last day was spent at the American Museum of Natural History. The exhibits were interesting and imaginative, but it was the planetarium that really blew me away. Finally, it was time to head home. I’ll miss my cousins, but now it’s time for them to come to California to visit me.

Austin, Texas is also the state’s capital. In addition, many people would call it the country’s musical capital. The city itself goes so far as to refer to itself as the live music capital of the world. That’s a pretty big claim and Austin has the goods to back it up. Live music is played and enjoyed throughout bars, clubs, café’s and coffee shops across the city. Many of the residents are musicians and the ones who aren’t enjoy and support the music scene. There are also festivals and ongoing events that are not only popular with the residents but attract the numerous populations of tourists that visit the city each year. The hotels Austin fill up quickly in the days before the annual Austin City Limits Music Festival, which was named after the famous PBS program.

The PBS program that the festival is named after has become one of the most popular taped concert series in the world and many musicians and bands consider a performance invitation on it one of their fundamental goals and while the Midnight Special in the 1970s indicated to many musicians that they had arrived or they had made it, a performance on Austin City Limits holds the same appeal to performers today.

The festival began in 2002 and was only two days during that inaugural year. It occurs in the early part of October or late September and since it began it has quickly elevated to the status of Lalapooza, Boonaroo and Coachella as one of the top live music festivals in the United States. It has also drawn some major names in the music industry including Tom Petty and REM. Elvis Costello, Cold Play, John Mayer, Sheryl Crow and Willie Nelson are others and are also among the list of performers that have appeared at both the festival and on the televised program. The Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam and Ben Harper were among the major names from the 2009 nine festival.

Tennis players, with their speed and agility, also have the ability to work out what their opponent might be doing five moves from theirs and the other possible moves to their countermoves.  Tennis players are amazing sportsmen and sportswomen.  However, the clinical mindset it takes to dissect the moves of your opponent has room as well for silly superstitions.  Almost every player has them.  People have seen them throughout many tennis tournaments, and probably will see them again during the up and coming Autralian Open.  Tennis players, even famous ones, are not inured to routines and habits that have become a part of their superstitions.

During his games, Andre Agassi must make the ball boys and ball girls be in the original place they were before he serves.  If that means he asks them to go back, he will do it.  In a whole tournament, one of the Williams sisters, Serena, will actually wear the same pair of socks.  Not copies of the same kind, but the same stinky sweat ridden pair soaked in sweat from numerous matches.  Other famous female tennis players have their share of superstitions.  Hennin-Hardenne would never ever put her feet on tennis lines between points.  Allegedly, this habit has toned down now from her usual ferocity in keeping up her superstition.

What is the point of such superstitions?  Mostly it’s a mental one.  If a player thinks they have an advantage by doing some strange and often dumb looking (or smelling if you’re Serena Williams’s socks), then that player will play like they have an advantage.  It’s a kind of self-imposed psychological trick.  The other reason superstitions work is it makes a brain get some focus which is critical for a match.  Tennis is a detail-orientated sport: a player must be focused on the ball pin ponging around the court and following through on a swing and a million other things.  If having the ball boys out of place distracts you, you will also be off your game.  Therefore, it is better almost to have a superstition that eliminates such distractions,  It isn’t really so much a superstition either as a means to increase the mental aspect of a player’s game.

Perhaps nothing is more important to a company than the internet, especially in terms branding.  An irate customer might take down a company with just a few blog posts, or some well placed forum discussions.  At the very least, a customer, or an angry employee for that matter, can make a pretty large dint in a company’s brand.  Since the internet is a top place for creating a brand, from viral videos and other forms of ad campaigns, it is of absolute importance that a company, in particular those that do the majority of their business online, protect their brand.  Part of the way a company can do that is through search engine optimization.

What is search engine optimization?  It is a way to develop the kinds of sites and the number of sites a web site gets in online traffic process from a search engine.  Part of the way to start is through website analytics software.  Google is a prime place to start.  Such software will allow you to look at who is going to your website, the demographics to be more precise, but also to look at the demographics of a competitor’s website as well.

Google actually provides the tools you need to get good results from such research.  Google Ad Planner allows a company to search out websites that draw in the kind of people you want to draw into your website.  Ad Planner, though purely a research tool, is extremely helpful.  You can take the data and information you’ve gleamed from it for a media planner application, which does what the phrase suggest: it helps you to plan and organize and how to define any problems you have in marketing and make achievable goals from them.

There are other great things about the Google Ad Planner that can help a company out.  It also allows industries to trim and form plans based upon the statistics a subdomain provides, which is the kind of data Ad Planner provides.  From there, you can start building a plan that will allow you to form the sort of results you want from search engine optimization services.

After arriving later in the afternoon in San Francisco, we wasted no time heading out to explore. Our first stop was walking down Polk Street, we heard it’s full of spas, cafes and a few neighbourhood grocery stores, but what’s even better, is that is ends at Fisherman’s Wharf. There’s enough seafood restaurants that could feed the entire state of California. The place was packed with tourist, including us, but thankfully, it was winter the the crowds were much less than what they would be in any other season. We got to sample fresh seafood everywhere we went, from clam chowder to red snapper. That pretty much filled us up to where we didn’t need to sit down and eat at a restaurant. We managed to roll back to our San Francisco cheap hotel room to recharge for tomorrow.

The next morning, we visited China Town, and well, to be honest, we were a little disappointed. I mean, it felt authentic and everything, but it just wasn’t ‘tourist’ friendly. I don’t blame them, really. I’m sure China Town get inundated with thousands of tourist every day, but we really didn’t expect to see so many souvenir shops. The best part about visiting China Town was getting to see how fortune cookies are made. It was amazing that after rounding a corner, we found ourselves in Little Italy! What a difference a street corner makes! In Little Italy, we found the bookstore that was famous for selling and promoting banned books.

From there we headed down Jack Kerouac Alley and had lunch at the famous Ferry Building. Then, with our stomachs full, we took the ferry to Alcatraz. We spent the entire day on the Island, the history is rich and the tour has lots of interesting audio-guides.

For our last day in San Francisco, we spent the time walking to the Golden Gate Bridge, but to get there we had to walk through the Marina. After about two hours of walking, we finally made it to the bridge. What a magnificent site! It was really windy, so it took us over an hour to walk across it and back again. There are phone stations along the bridge, and there are signs posted above them saying ‘Don’t do it!’  The phones are patched directly to a suicide crisis center.

We could’ve stayed in San Francisco for months, it’s such a big city and there’s literally so much to do here. We’re looking forward to our next trip back, but for now it’s time to do some wine tasting in Sonoma and Napa Valley!

There are so many fabulous things about travel in Asia today, and it’s one of the great cultural experiences of a lifetime to visit any part.  There is an immense diversity in any of the cities and countries, and probably too much to see in one lifetime.  But one place that offers a wonderful introduction to this complex world is Singapore.  It’s been described as a kind of gateway, with a blend of east and west, and there are many cultures that converge here.  It is extremely modern, and people who come with the expectation of visiting a world that has a taste of the past won’t find it here.  Instead, the future is very bright, and there are more technological and cultural advancements than most of the great cities in the world.  It’s been on the cutting edge of science and art for some time, and lately it seems to have taken even greater strides forward.

There is certainly a distinct possibility of having an archetypal exotic experience when you enter into the world of food here.  Those who are unfamiliar with Asian cuisine will find many delightful offerings, and it will very likely change the way you think about food in general, and may even change your diet altogether.  Some of the world’s best culinary traditions have a permanent home here, and restaurants in Singapore offer fantastic variations of Chinese, Malay, and Indian food.  There are many other stunning kinds of food here, too, with Italian, and Japanese, and international fusion cuisines all over the city state.  Those who are curious about the karaoke craze in the world, and wonder if it’s for real, or a thing of the past, will find a lot to experience here in Singapore.

With the success of operations like Party World, which has many different locations all over the island, there is a very lively karaoke scene here.  In fact, it’s one of the great evening entertainments, along with a good meal, of course.  Visitors here looking to do as the Romans do should visit a karaoke club at least once.  But it’s a lot like the food, because once is very rarely enough, and it can be a habit that lasts a lifetime.