Zoocap

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.