San Diego Padres Equals Fun in the Sun

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July 26, 2010

Petco stadium in San Diego is beautiful and is home to the National League Champions of 1998, the San Diego Padres professional baseball club. If you visit San Diego from March to October and don’t go to see one of their games, you’re truly missing out on one of the best parts of San Diego.

A summer’s day in San Diego is only complete after a fun outing to watch the home team. The ballpark blends a rustic, classic, old factory into the line of play along with beautiful glistening buildings in the background. They really make it feel like you’re in Southern California. If you’re a visitor staying at a San Diego luxury hotel , and you don’t have tickets, grab a blanket from your room and lay down in the elevated park in centerfield to watch the game for free, there’s nothing better, except being inside the ballpark.

All the seating in the San Diego Padre’s ballpark offers great sightlines. Just beyond the outfield fence, the Padres built a mini baseball diamond for children to play. So, whether you’re hanging out with old friends, or just visiting, this ballpark is designed for everyone to kick back, relax, take in the beautiful ballpark, breath in the sea air and watch as the Padres play hard to win. By-the-way, if you’re 21 and older, stop by the bars up and down 5th Avenue located around the corner from the stadium after the game.

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Wonderful Museums in Hong Kong

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July 1, 2010

While visiting Hong Kong you may want to take some time to enjoy the local museums. There are some really nice collections of interesting things that are special to this big city and country. One can learn so much in one place spending time a the museum. For some great local history head over to the Hong Kong Heritage museum . Step inside the museum that has collections following some of the oldest and richest history in the world. See exhibits on the New Territories that goes back 6,000 years. Learn about the cultures with their Opera and Art history of different Oriental areas. This would be a great place to start on your vacation so you have a larger understanding of the area and its people.  

Other museums that are interesting to the culture and growth of Hong Kong are the Museum of Tea Ware and the Hong Kong Railway Museum. Tea is such a strong tradition with in the culture and the railroad helped the area grow into a trading power house. Both give great insight to how the country and cities grew.  

Hong Kong also has the Hong Kong Space Museum where visitors can come and learn about the stars and planets that have been found in the Universe. They have an opportunity to see and interpret the stars from the astronomers point of view and the astrologers point of view. They have wonderful technology and large screens to see what the space researchers have discovered. The Stanley Dome is a hemispherical projection dome, that has a fully automated control system, producing some amazing planetarium shows.  

Your Hong Kong hotel can also show you the way to a few other museums in the area. All of them have something special and interesting. All of them contribute to the bigger picture of Hong Kong and the surrounding country.

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Neiman Marcus in Dallas

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June 29, 2010

The Dallas of today still has to contend with a national image that comes from a couple generations ago. Today it’s a vastly cosmopolitan city, where politicians, artists, bankers, and intellectuals all have a place in the grand order of things. People from all backgrounds, with different languages, traditions, and cultural practices live in the urban center. Something interesting is happening every day, and there are moments when the cultures, and subcultures push together to make unforgettable moments that speak to a very sophisticated practice in the art of making a community.

The old image, however, is still around, and it’s one that even gets forgotten occasionally. Its origins, coincidentally enough, are roughly in line with the beginnings of the Neiman Marcus retail stores. They started up in 1907, and at the time, they were known for their exquisite taste, providing some of the most luxurious clothes around. They also had a strong reputation from their fashion shows for being one of a kind, and of a very high quality. Their men’s department was added long after they’d been known as a top purveyor of women’s fashion, but that, too, reached a height that earned the respect of competitors as well as shoppers.

It’s still very much that way today, and Neiman Marcus has certainly grown over the years. It’s even become the source of a popular urban legend . It’s still synonymous with high culture and fashion, and the people behind the scenes have tastes which do partly determine how the world will dress in the coming season. For that reason alone, it’s enough to draw a visitor to stay in a five star hotel Dallas offers.

Today, however, it’s a sensibility that’s more widely available than it was at the turn of the 20th century. In those days, the Dallas oil millionaires were the ones who were seen frequenting the store. It’s that idea, of the city slicker living in Dallas, freshly wealthy from a well, that still permeates the cultural imaginary. It did have a place in the history of the city, and may still show remnants of its former self now and then, but today the city is another place entirely, and worthy of endless exploration.

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Plymouth Monument Greets Travelers

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June 26, 2010

One of the primary reasons people, including large numbers of families, visit Plymouth every year is because of its major historic significance and symbolic association to the development of this country’s colonial period. There are many stories about the pilgrims landing in Plymouth and the rock that they first set foot on has come to symbolize the pursuit of freedom and the glory of this country. It is one of the stories, along with the first Thanksgiving, that grade school children don’t leave elementary without knowing and incorporating into their socialized perspective of this country’s history. And those are extremely powerful symbols, enough so that families flock in great numbers to this Massachusetts town every year.

You can pick almost any room in a hotel Plymouth and you will likely find a family who is there to uncover some of their country’s early history. This is an extremely exciting and satisfying experience for most people and fills in the mental images they’ve held throughout their lives. The Mayflower II, which is an exact replication of the original ship and Plymouth Rock are standard points of interest for almost everyone who visits, though there are actually a large number of additional historic landmarks and locations that are great places to visit while you are there.

The Pilgrim Hall Museum has recently been renovated and has expanded to include more displays and exhibits. The museum contains actual relics from the time and has great exhibits that tell the story of the early pilgrims’ experience in the new world. The National Monument to the forefathers stands at the top of a hill facing the harbor. It is the largest granite monument in the country and displays a welcoming beacon into the country. The First Parish Church is an active place of worship and also has tours available. It is the oldest continuous ministry in New England. The congregation traces its origin back to 1606 in England.

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Kansas and Tamara

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June 24, 2010

It is one of those great stories that seems right out of a storybook. A young woman in Kansas grows up with an impossible dream of being in the movies one day, and then one day she does it. For Tamara Feldman , it didn’t seem like a short wait, but in the bigger picture, for any movie star it has to be short. There’s a very small window where one can get discovered and landed in the industry, and it’s only open for a couple of years. It’s enormously unfair, and for women it’s even worse, but that’s how the industry still runs.

So, when a girl from Witchita hits the big-time, it’s a big deal. The Mexican-Native-American actress hit the ground running in the year 2000, at only 20 years old, which is the perfect time to be knocking on doors. They did open, at least, enough of them, to get her parts in shows like CSI, Monk, One Tree Hill, and Boston Legal . This is enough to get the attention of filmmakers, and has two new releases coming out, one this year, and one in the next. It’s not an easy business, but the 20-something on the verge of the next decade is showing that it’s possible to make people pay attention.

She may not be found lurking in Wichita, or visiting the local hotels Kansas is famous for, but the aura is here, and her story is one that does repeat through the ages. It will be interesting to see how Hollywood reckons with her as she starts to show that her intelligence is as bright as her smile, and that people want to see her do more work. In the meantime, her relationship with Bruce Willis sometimes eclipses her own merits, but that’s another pitfall that comes with the territory. When Hollywood notices, it’s handsome men also do, too, and if they do stay together, the age difference will get less and less as the years go by, at least in theory. Her talent can outshine any gossip anyway.

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Local Music Clubs in Chicago

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June 17, 2010

After a long day exploring the city of Chicago, it will be time to get out and see some of the local or international talent that may be performing. This city is known for its music scene and your not going to want to miss it. There is a club for all styles of music. I am sure there is a club or venue not far the luxury hotels chicago is also famous for and your going to enjoy.

Head over to Reggies Rock Club for some great rock music. There is a great band playing every night and they pride themselves on their comfort food. They have a shop called Record Breakers that enthusiasts can search through and hopefully find an old classic on vinyl. It is filled with great CD’s, Movies, T-shirts, posters and other music related items. If your a sports fan as well, this club also features TV’s to watch your favorite game before the show begins.  

You can find some of the best Jazz in the city at Andy’s Jazz Club . This place has a great reputation for bringing in some of the best jazz artists of the city and world. The local musicians bring all forms of jazz to the club like Swing, Fusion, Latin and Afro Pop. It is an intimate setting which is a special feature when jazz is being played. The audience gets to feel like they are in the band. Check out this amazing club that has been around since the 1950s and has hosted some of the greats in the industry.  

Blues is one of Chicago’s legend styles of music and one of the legends of blues opened a great club. Buddy Guys Legends is the place to see some of the best blues in the world. This is one of the newest clubs in the city and it is sure to bring in some of the best.

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Myrtle Beach Unveiled

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June 15, 2010

The way the rhythms become contagious in a small town is a very different rhythm than the way they move in cities. Myrtle Beach has a certain something that is very hard to define, and hard to pin down, and when things start to buzz, it’s a separate sort of communication than can happen anywhere else. When something striking starts to meet the surface of the daily rituals of the town, it usually hits in new and unusual ways.

This is true for interesting events that are happening in town, as well as the things that happen nearby, and it’s not at all unusual for the people here to travel all over to see interesting new work. So when an exhibition like Cynthia Farnell’s “Presence (Veils)” opens in McClellanville, the people here are eager to go. Less than an hours drive is not far in these parts, and it also is an opportunity for visitors staying in Myrtle Beach 4 star hotels to see some local work.

Not to say there’s nothing happening in Myrtle Beach, because there are plenty of things to do all day long, but part of the charm is also in its atmosphere where laid back is the usual speed, and there isn’t another speed anyway.

Professor at Coastal Carolina University , Farnell has created a multimedia installation that looks at the idea of the caul. In many traditional cultures, being born with a caul is a sign that they will have second sight. This refers to the ability to see into spirit worlds, to hear the voices of the dead, and occasionally can include some gifts for telling the future. It is a very old and common idea, but one that has been held under its own veil of secrecy for many years, so the work will speak to local culture in a very provocative way. It’s also quite gorgeous, and the opportunity to see it in person is perfect for the locals as well as for visitors.

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Aiins World in Seoul

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May 24, 2010

Think you have to go to Paris, France, to see the cathedral of Notre Dame? How about traveling thirty minutes outside Seoul, Korea, instead?

Traveling to Seoul may not seem easier for some vacationers; however, once they arrive, they’ll also be treated to such international landmarks as the Eiffel Tower, the Petronas Towers, the Empire State Building, the Kremlin, and more, all in one location at Aiins World theme park. The difference here, though, is that all of these world-class structures are in miniature.

In fact, Aiins World contains 109 miniatures of the planet’s best known architecture and natural landscapes. You’ll find in Seoul the Pyramids, and the Great Wall of China, as well as Mt. Kilimanjaro, the latter which blows out ash and smoke, complete with sound effects. In addition to the Empire State Building, the park includes in its New York section Rockefeller Center, along with its ice skating rink, and the entire street of Broadway. These intricate models are made with such detail that visitors might feel as if they’re looking at the real thing, albeit from a distance. At night, Aiins world is lit up, to foster a festive and romantic mood.

Find the hotels you want in Seoul , then head out to Aiins World, night or day. The theme park is located in nearby Bucheon, between Incheon and Seoul, and considers itself the cultural center of the Seoul metropolitan area. In addition to Aiins World, you’ll also discover the Buncheon Philharmonic Orchestra as well as the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival . This, too, is where you’ll find a number of educational organizations, such as Bucheon College, Yuhan College, the Catholic University of Korea and the Seoul Theological University.

Aiins World is open Monday through Fridays, from 9:30 in the morning to seven in the evening; and Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays from 9:30 to nine at night.

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Corfu Beaches

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May 19, 2010

The beaches in Corfu are the main draw to the island and even though it is only 135 miles in radius the beaches seem to be endless. There are some really amazing mountain ranges that fall along the waters edge leaving visitors with a chance to hike up and enjoy the views of the beach coves lined with small villages. It gives one a sense of freedom in the mind and body. There is a beach that is perfect for every mood one may be in while vacationing on this beautiful island of Greece. There are some that are filled with historical markers left for hundreds of years and some that have nothing but nude bodies on their soft white sand.  

The Paleokastritsa is one of the most famous villages on the island of Corfu. It is not far from Corfu Town and has some picturesque little coves and beach areas scattered around the coastline. The village itself has some really nice places to eat such as Astacos and there are plenty of Corfu hotels to rest your head at night. This is a great place to start your island adventures. It has a great feel to the place with its harbor on the sea and the surrounding olive tree forests on the mountains above. It is a great example of the famous quaint Greek feel and it has lots of ways to stay entertained with many shops, galleries and the market of Corfu Town near by.

When one has had enough of the more crowded villages and beaches, it may be time to seek out some other special beaches on the island. If it is just you, your lover and a carefree attitude than picnic lunch of cheese, bread and wine and head over to Mirtiotissa Beach . This is a rather secluded beach where visitors can enjoy the sun, water, wind and sand in the nude. There are no facilities there so you need to make sure you bring your own food and water. It was one of the best kept secrets on the island. Even though more people know about this wonderful seaside cove, it is still a quiet place to relax.

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Great Pizza in New York and Brooklyn

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April 22, 2010

If you’re going to spend time in New York City , there are certain things that are available to do there that are frequently considered to be an essential part of anyone’s trip. And while some of them might seem to be odd, they are vital parts of New York life and culture and many people believe you can’t really know the city until you’ve experienced these aspects of it. Some of them are standard favorites and also obvious points of interest. These include seeing a Broadway play, exploring the offerings of Central Park and spending an afternoon at the Metropolitan Art Museum.

Those are just a few of the top attractions and activities to pursue while staying in New York and they are most definitely great options. However, the bulk of the suggestions contained in here will be of a much more basic and simple nature. For instance, taking a ride on the subway and following it out to Coney Island is generally not at the top of the list for most tourists, but it is a great way to get a feel for life in the big city and really start to get to know the city, form the inside out so to speak.

Another important thing to do while you’re in the big apple is to try some of the city’s best pizza. Of course what counts as the absolute best can frequently be argued to be a matter of preference, so almost any pizza you find in the city is going to be pretty good. Having a slice at Lombardi’s is something of an event and is considered to be a tradition in many local families. The restaurant opened in 1905 and has been serving great pizza since that time. Grimaldi’s Pizza in Brooklyn is so good that you will frequently find a line waiting to order. Just consider this part of the charm of the experience as you will have a difficult time finding better pizza than this.

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New York City Taxi

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April 8, 2010

One of the biggest icons of New York City is the yellow Taxicab. They are licensed by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission but they are run by private companies. There are more than 13,000 taxis running the city each day and they sure are busy. For-hire vehicles is big business in the Big Apple and its surrounding neighborhoods.  The first official cab company opened in 1907 as the New York City Taxicab Company. They brought in 600 gasoline powered vehicles from the country of France. They were painted green and red. In the 1920s, Morris Markin started the Checkered Cab Manufacturing Company which brought the famous yellow and black taxis to the city. In the 1930s, during the depressions is were the competition for business got interesting. The politics got a little racy when the city was thinking about creating a monopoly on taxi companies. The vehicles were not in good condition and were a bit dangerous because the private companies were not able to afford the maintenance. The city thought they could step in but that would end quickly when there were accusations of a bribe offered to the Mayor from the largest taxi company. It was mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia who created the biggest action on the matter in 1937. He signed the Haas Act which introduced the medallion system and taxi licensing that is still used today. The taxi cabs have endured all of the crazy life that the city has over many years including higher crime rate that started in the 60s. That is when many of the cabs were equipped with security partitions between driver and passengers. Visitors of the city can always count on a taxi to be waiting outside there   Classy hotel  ready to take them to all of the great sights to see. The locals can usually count on catching a cab to get to their business meeting or to a concert in Central Park. Everyone has to put in their budget enough money to get around the city in a cab. One can catch up on taxi industry news as well as reserve a cab on the home pages of each company such as the NYC Taxi or for larger parties one may have to switch to a limo with companies like NYC Royal Limo were rolling in limo style is still an icon of New York City.

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You in Monterey

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March 30, 2010

You, a tangerine dream wearing all of my favorite flavors and stalking the edges of a fence that we crossed once, twice, and again and again, the childhood place where children can’t reach when they’re not sleeping, an empress of flavors who whispers violet rain when the sky is growing dark, and our feet are covered with seaweed.

You, an image of fever in the summer storms, a summer dream in the middle of winter, a legend tracing shadows on the necks of gods, a way of floating between here and heaven when the earth is too far beneath our feet, and the skies are not willing to open up to let us in.

You, grateful at the edges of a day, afraid to wake too soon, a soft storm in a warm hotel , making shadows across my eyebrows when we’re too moved to speak about the things that are moving us, and something in the corner moves, and your gypsy spirit starts to fill her throat with glass and she’s laughing.

You, crossing back between the rows of the cemetery where we saw something touching us, nothing touches us, nothing but us can touch us, as the ocean decides to hold its breaath before she rains on us, and reigns over us, and reins us in, laughing, and she’s laughing because we aren’t silent here.

You, teaching me irreverence and secret portals between this day and the one we left behind, making dresses from the handkerchiefs of the dead, gifts for dolls that children can’t hold in their small hands, like rocks at the end of the bed to keep from floating too far too fast, flying over our own heads in visions of ourselves made sacred, visions of ourselves like we are.

You, chasing ghosts that wake us up again and again, the ones who are waking up without bodies, jealous of our archaeologies and geographies traced after midnight, the hour that the rains come, the come seeping through the rivers of coffee spilling out of the edges between clasped fingers, tracing the hauntings of those things that are not yet born, and not afraid to die.

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Miami Beaches

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March 27, 2010

Miami’s tropical beaches offer a great opportunity to enjoy some time in the sun and get some exercise. There are even some lesser known spots where you can go to avoid the tourist crowds provided you don’t mind venturing off the beaten path and doing a bit of exploring to find them.

South Beach is the ultimate Miami beach experience and not to be missed when you visit . It’s the place to see and be seen and show off the product of months in the gym. While South Beach isn’t clothing optional, like parts of Haulover beach, topless bathing is permitted. This is the perfect beach if you like to people watch as during the day you can easily see vintage cars, models, and rollerblading people of all ages from the sand. The beach is located right across the street from many of Miami’s nightclubs. Once you feel you’ve had enough sun or it’s set and you’re not ready to head back to the hotel room just yet, remember to have a change of clothes ready to slip into so you can hit those clubs .

One of the most interesting beaches in South Florida is Virginia Key Beach which was once the southern end of a barrier island. It’s near the Miami Seaquarium located on both the north and south sides of the Rickenbacker Causeway. This beach can be crowded in areas due to the easy access this location presents but secluded spots can be found if you’re willing to explore. This beach also has the benefit of the only beach in the region that allows dogs if you enjoy travel with your pet.

Haulover Beach , between Sunny Isles Beach and Bal Harbour on Miami beach is known for 2 things. As a fantastic surf spot and more world wide as Florida’s only full nudity beach. Don’t worry if bathing in the buff isn’t up your alley the nude portion of the beach is marked with signs to prevent unintended eye-fulls. South Florida Free Beaches/Florida Naturist Association founded Haulover Beach’s clothing optional section in 1991. Keep in mind that though this is a nude beach there are laws against public lewdness, meaning you probably should wait and get back to your hotel room for more intense affection than hand holding or kissing or at least put your bathing suits back on.

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Los Angeles Band Local Natives Gains Critical Attention

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March 24, 2010

The Los Angeles based band Local Natives was featured on NPR due to their concert at the SXSW Music and Media Conference in Austin, Texas. NPR covered their return to this major spring event in Austin. Also known as South By Southwest, the festival took place from March 12 through the 21 and the final events occurred tonight. The festival began in 1987 and continues its tradition of recognition of excellence at the downtown Austin Convention Center. It is one of the city’s ongoing events that has turned into something of a local tradition that can make careers for talented musicians.

Los Angeles also has a major music scene and the majority of rock bands that are trying to make a name for themselves in this country and land a record deal move to this west coast entertainment mecca. Last year Local Natives performed at the festival in Austin and did a total of nine different concerts. That was when they first began to attract the attention of music critics and it was the point where they began to gain more mainstream and positive attention. They have been compared favorably to similar styled bands such as Arcade Fire and Feet Foxes. They are not the only band to make the news after performing well at the festival.

Local Natives is also not the only band from LA to gain some critical attention. Many of the LA hotels are full of people that are there to take in some of the local music scene. The Black Eyed Peas, Buckcherry, The Eagles and Guns and Roses are just a few of the major bands that are from or have come out of Los Angeles. The city has produced some of the legendary rock and roll bands and is also responsible for some of the cultural music trends that have spread across the country. Whatever Los Angeles does, it does it big. And music the music scene is no different.

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Summer Concerts and Open Air Markets in Palmdale

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March 22, 2010

As is true for many of most of the cities and regions of southern California, summer in Palmdale is absolutely beautiful. In addition to the gorgeous weather aspects and the geographic elements in and around the city, the fun events, festivals and various activities that take place are particularly attractive. Palmdale continues to enjoy a growing number of tourists every year and the quaint inns and regional hotels are noticing not only a larger number but also more diverse population of guests. And whether you are looking for a weekend getaway or actual complete vacation destination, hotels Palmdale , California has something for you and your family.

They summer Starlight Concert Series is one of the more entertaining and popular events that occurs in this city ever year. It takes place at the Palmdale Amphitheater and features national acts that are appealing to all members of your family. The list of performing artists expands generations and music genres, which guarantees there should be something for everyone. Previous bands and musicians include Bucky Covington and The Four Tops as well as the Gregg Rolie Band and others. There is usually an expected crowd of over 20,000 people and last year’s festival had an estimated audience population of 24,000.

Other great activities and events that occur in this city include Thursday Night in Square, which features great arts and crafts, free activities for children and good food. Various entertainment events will also take place throughout the evenings.
It is also important to remember that Palmdale is part of the Antelope Valley , which is in the northern area of Los Angeles County. This means that other major cultural attractions that are associated with the greater LA area are also within a convenient distance. This makes Palmdale the perfect destination for relation, while maintaining a close proximity to other metropolitan centers.

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Television Show About a Radio Station Set in Cincinnati

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March 18, 2010

As with most major cities in the United States, Cincinnati has been a part of the mainstream pop culture. At one time or another most of the major cities in this country have been the featured setting of a television program or movie and with places like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, they are constantly featured in mainstream entertainment aspects. Among all of the distinguishing features of Cincinnati us the fact that it was the setting for a very popular television show that ran from the late 70s into the early 80s.

This show of course, well it may not be obvious to younger viewers, in fact there are some people who are adults today that are not even aware of this show. Perhaps it’s time to put it back in syndication. At any rate, the iconic program now in question is WKRP in Cincinnati, and anyone who is familiar with it cannot read or hear the title without hearing and/or singing the theme song that went with it. Tourists frequently look for the locations of this famous radio station when they visit Cincinnati. The boutique hotels cincinnati and resorts are used to questions about the program and are happy to talk about it and answer questions.

The program aired for four seasons from 1978 through 1982 and starred Howard Hesseman , Gary Sandy, Loni Anderson and Tim Read among others. It was a comedy series based on the misadventures of the staff of the Cincinnati radio station. The plot and much of the series humor was based on the individual quirks an personality traits of the characters rather than external story factors. Many of the characters were based on real life individuals though they were from Atlanta. Interestingly the Cincinnati stations WKRC and WKRC-TV were referenced in the series and have some similarities.

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Ghost Towns of Missouri

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February 26, 2010

Missouri has a great deal of interesting and significant cultural landmarks, icons and major historic institutions and establishments. It also, and to the delight of many of the people who visit the state, has a large number of ghost towns within the state line. If only those towns could talk, they would have some interesting stories about the civil war days and early days of Missouri’s development. Touring ghost towns is a favorite pastime of many people and quite a few of the tourist to the state enjoy visiting the various communities that once thrived. The sleeping accommodations are better in the contemporary cities than what can be found in the ghost towns, though the souls of former residence may continue to reside there.

Old Franklin is one of the listed ghost towns in the state and it is located near Boonville, and appropriately New Franklin, on State Route 87. The region experiences hot humid summers and pretty cold winters so if you’d like to visit, it is best to try and do so in the fall. This town was left vacant when New Franklin drew all of the residents away from it in a very short period of time.

Cane Creek is another deserted town that lost a lot of its reputation with its residents. There is not a lot of information on this town and not too much of it remains. It is located six miles west of Popular Bluff. Jordan is yet another old town that is believed to have been a silver mining town at one time. Not a lot is left here either though the small town church remains and says Jordan on it. There is also a cemetery out back and a couple of other buildings, but not much of anything else. This is only a beginning demonstration of the types of ghost towns that exist throughout the state of Missouri. More information can be found in the more popular and inhabited cities as well as in various places on the Internet. And it should be noted that there are a great deal more ghost towns than what is mentioned here.

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Golfing in Singapore

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February 25, 2010

Have you ever noticed that sometimes when you’re on vacation your meals are an essential aspect of experiencing the area or city that you’re visiting and other times you’ve just been enjoying yourself so much that you suddenly realize that you’re starving and just need to get something, anything to eat? Well, sometimes you even encounter a sort of best of both worlds regarding that question. This means that while all you’re doing is trying to satisfy a great hungry and stabilize blood sugar levels and perhaps prevent a fainting episode, you also end up experiencing some of the local cuisine that is absolutely fabulous and gives you a whole new insight into the culture that you’re visiting. This is definitely the case with Jenny who was in Singapore recently and while she isn’t what you would call a person with a large appetite she like everyone else does get hungry sometimes and when she does she can eat, well, a great deal of food.

Such was the case after she spent a long day golfing at one of Singapore’s public golf courses. She was vacationing with two of her college friends who had promised themselves that they would treat each other to this great vacation a year after their college graduation. And there they were enjoying themselves as if they were back in the sophomore year cutting class and enjoying a day in the city. Meanwhile, Jenny wasn’t hungry when the other two wanted to grab some lunch so she decided she would wait until the next meal. However, her appetite caught up with her before the evening hour and she desperately wanted to find a restaurant in Singapore that could satisfy her growing hunger. As it turns out she didn’t even need to wait to find an indoor seating restaurant but could detect the aroma of a hawker food stall that she had noticed earlier. She had been curious before but was almost desperate now and eagerly requested a dish of the quick served noodle bowl. Her two friends had also worked up an appetite and they enjoyed a satisfying dinging experience at the East Coast Lagoon Food Village that also introduced them to a major aspect of Singapore dining culture.

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Missy Elliott Works NYC

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February 23, 2010

I love hiphop.  I’ve always love hiphop.  I grew up listening to the old school stuff, and I like to breathe it in wherever I can find it, and it’s always everywhere and all the time.  It’s still one of the biggest musical industries in the world, and it’s been a global phenomenon for a number of years.  Here, in NYC, it’s got its home, from the origins in the Bronx in the late 1960s, but it’s traveled everywhere.  South Africa, France, Saudi Arabia, and even Germany, are all places where this music rules.  New players come into the game all the time, and there’s a fierce competition here, but there’s also a lot of love and fun for everyone.

But for all the places to travel, I still like to go to New York the best.  It’s got great hotels, and there’s always this old camaraderie that welcomes me back into the fold.  I like to find out what’s new in town, and I like to touch base with how my icons are doing by getting the word on the streets.  One of my all-time favorites is Missy Elliott .  Her work has been some of the most impressive and consistently refreshing music in the genre.  She’s not from New York herself, being from the humble state of Virginia, but she moved here in the early 90s with her group Fayze.

That’s enough to make her a NY hiphop artist, because the years that followed were amazing. This was a remarkable change of life direction, considering how rough her childhood was.  What makes me so impressed with her, though, isn’t just her audacity, although that’s a part of it.  I love her performance of bravado, and even more I love how humble she remains.  She’s never been afraid to team up with good people to get good work made, even if it means she won’t get all the credit.  She’s about the music, and to really make things move forward, you have to get over yourself.

Categories: Travel.

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Wrestling with the Choir in Fort Wayne

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February 21, 2010

As a conflict resolution specialist, I have been involved in some very difficult situations in my career before.  I work with both teenagers and adults, and it’s more difficult to work with adults, in my opinion, because they don’t play as fair.  They’re also much more prone to becoming offended if there are any perceived insults, and these usually are only perceived, existing in the offended party’s mind alone.  And they also seem much more easily capable of resorting to threats of violence.  I prefer adolescents, as unstable as those hormonal outbursts can be.  They have not yet learned to make the most of their ability to inflict harm in this world.

There haven’t been many cases as extraordinarily difficult as the one that brought me to Fort Wayne.  A reservation in a hotel had already been set up for me, so I would be able to land and get over to the site as soon as I could.  I didn’t even stop to shower, because I’d heard that things were getting very heated.  I made my way to the community center, and even from the outside I could hear that there was a very large commotion going on.

Very few people would have guessed that the director of the choir would be able to hold the wrestling coach in a headlock for very long.  Even on a very bad day for the coach, a very short minute would be the most.  But it was obvious that this was going on for quite awhile, and I wasn’t sure if anyone had tried to break it up.  The schedules had been mixed up, someone explained to me, and the concert and the meet were both set for the same days, and no one wanted to give.  At times like these, I start to go over my notes about how to handle skirmishes between nations, in order to get myself ready for dealing with the more difficult problems, like separating locked adults.

Categories: Travel.

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Planet Earth Legacies in Phoenix

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February 18, 2010

An experiment for anyone in a desert is to see how far you can get without water.  For experimental theatre artists living in the desert, water is other artists doing like-minded work, and audiences who are receptive to new ideas and new ways of making art.  Phoenix is a difficult place for artists to live, but it’s not necessarily a cultural desert.  There are lots and lots of bones beneath the dirt here, and the dirt does not go very deep, so the memory is really all right here, just below the surface.  It’s still a terrific experience to find traces, however.  One interesting project would be for someone who lived here awhile ago to get on a plane, book a room, and head downtown and try to find the site where Planet Earth Theatre once stood.

Like in the desert, where ghosts are often hiding in plain site, this theatre is now an empty lot that holds a fairly prominent position.  This is the main drag for the First Fridays in Phoenix, the gallery walk night that brings out thousands of people every month, in a city that’s reputed to be dead.  The rumors are, apparently, rather premature.  But that doesn’t ease the wound felt by the absence of Planet Earth.  Peter Cirino and his wife Molly did wonders for the theatre scene here a decade ago, and their names are well-remembered by the locals who are still here.

They were bold and daring, and liked to push limits and also push buttons, and it gave audiences something to  think about.  It also helped to inspire that generation of artists who were thinking the same things, but scared to say them out loud.  This was elemental underground theatre, and very few people recognized what was happening.  Kyle Lawson, of the Republic, was almost a singular voice who regularly gave them their due.  When they left, scattered to the winds, they left a hole that’s now being filled, but you’ll have to come here yourself and see what’s new in town.  Peter Cirino is still busy changing lives and inspiring young people, working as  a Professor at SDSU.  There’s justice sometimes.

Categories: Travel.

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In and Around Knoxville, Tennessee

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February 14, 2010

Any visit to Knoxville will provide you with the experience of history, not only of the the city but of the state of Tennessee as well.  Knoxville is located along the Tennessee River, which has played a vital role for decades, in the economic and financial success of the people of the state.  The University of Tennessee is located in Knoxville, and the college town vibe is felt from the local pubs to the elegant hotels, many of which can be found here.

The city is named for Henry Knox, who was a veteran of the Revolutionary War and had been named the Secretary of War.  Two different times, Knoxville has been the state capital, first from 1796 to 1812, and then 1817 to 1819.  Knoxville remains the hub of industry and manufacturing for the state to this day.  When visiting the city there is much to see and much to do.  For those who love the great outdoors, the Smoky Mountain National Park is a short car trip away.  For those who are interested in historical sites and landmarks, the Sunsphere is always a favorite.  Built originally for the World’s Fair of 1982, the observation deck now attracts visitors due to the view…from 266 feet up, the tower offers breathtaking visuals of the downtown area of Knoxville and on a clear day, of which there are plenty, it is possible to see clear through to the Rocky Mountains.

For art lovers and cultural connoisseurs, the city hosts a festival each year called the Dogwood Arts Festival. Throughout the festival there are more than one hundred and fifty activities and events in which to partake, and the artists and craftsman set up stalls to show their work and their wares, and there are many stages that showcase musical talent from the region.  This is a sixty mile stretch of art, of gardens and of public parks that is spectacular to the eyes, the ears…well to all of the five senses.  This is one of the most beautiful of Southern cities, and with so much to do in and around the city, it is a splendid choice for a vacation or a holiday get away.

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A Little Night Music Stars Angela Lansbury and Catherine Zeta Jones in New York

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February 9, 2010

The revival of Sondheim and Wheeler’s A Little Night Music continues its Tony Award winning run at the Walter Kerr Theatre. It stars Angela Lansbury and Catherine Zeta-Jones in her Broadway debut. The production was directed by the acclaimed and Tony Award winning Trevor Nunn. It opened in November of 2009 to a supportive audience and received instant appreciation and success. Tickets for the show are available and many times guests in one of the hotels in New York USA are able to gain purchasing information and assistance through the concierge or hotel lobby.

The musical is based on a novel by Ingmar Bergman titled Smiles of a Summer Night. It is set in a turn of the century country home in Sweden and deals with themes of romantic attraction and the idea of endless love. Stephen Sondheim is one of the most honored and well respected composers and lyrists of this and the last century. He has had an amazing career that has spanned over fifty years and while he has written numerous songs for the stage, only one of those has crossed over to become a mainstream hit. This is the well known Send in the Clowns from A Little Night Music, which one a Grammy Award in 1976 for Judy Collins’ recording of it.

Sondheim has won numerous Tony Awards, in fact he has won more than any other composer and has created some of Broadway and musical theatre’s greatest hits. Among his many productions are Sunday in the Park With George, Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, Follies, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Company. He also wrote the lyrics for Gypsy and West Side Story. He also holds the distinction of having won the Pulitzer Prize and he served as the President of the Dramatists Guild from 1973 to 1981. The Pulitzer was awarded in Drama for Sunday in the Park With George. A Little Night Music deals with the romantic lives and loves of various couples away for the weekend and touches on romantic ideals of eternal love. It originally opened on Broadway in 1973 at the Shubert Theatre.

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Modern Speaker in Harrisburg

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January 21, 2010

Well there are plenty of American politicians from the start of our country that came from Pennsylvania. Some of them came from areas that are now near some luxurious hotels around Harrisburg and there record lives on in many museums. How about someone who has been influential in the past few decades of our government. Newt Gingrich was born Newton Leroy McPherson in June of 1943. He was raised along with his sisters by single mother until Robert Gingrich came into their lives and adopted Newt. He became a child of a military man and was moved many times in his life to live and be schooled on may military installations.

He kept the tradition of change going in his college life. He gained his B.A and M.A. from Emory University, and his PH.D. in modern European History from Tulane University in New Orleans. He became interested in the effect of religion and political theory and found himself attending a Baptist Church. He was baptized at the St.Charles Avenue Baptist Church while he was doing his personal study there. He went on to teach history at the University of West Georgia in the seventies and a class on renewing American Civilization at Kennesaw State University in 1993.

Gingrich became a successful Congressman for the state of Alabama from 1974 to 78. He then came back and became speaker of the house and gave some strong contrast to then President Bill Clinton with the Contract with America. He has played an intricate part in the Republican interests of the American government for many years. In January 1997, the House of Representatives decided to come after Gingrich for ethics violations that they feel he committed in 1994 and he was ordered to pay 300,000 dollar penalty. This became the first time in 208 years of history that a speaker was heavily disciplined for ethical wrongdoing. Newt Gingrich was apart of trying to remove President Clinton from his oval office as the public didn’t like it. His place in government was tarnished for his party and so he resigned. He still remains active in politics today.

Categories: Government, Travel.

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Blue Room Near Fremont

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January 19, 2010

When you come and stay in one of the elegant hotels around Fremont California you may be interested in knowing about the Winchester Mystery House. This is definitely a place to visit. It was built by Sara Winchester on the instruction of a Medium who said she was being haunted by ghosts that were killed by Winchester rifles. Wow. With all the gunslinger who shot a Winchester that could be overwhelming. The Medium told her that the ghosts were responsible for the death of her child and husband and that she was to move west and build a lavish home for them so she could have her eternal life. She worked on the house continuously, it was never to be finished because as long as she was working on the home she was safe from the spirits at least that is what the Medium told her.

Her story is fascinating and completely a mystery because there is no real record of her thoughts. She didn’t leave a diary and so many of what we know is on the word of others who were around working in or on the home. For 38 years the home was worked on all day and all night so there were always people around. Inside the home, there is the blue room and is were she was heard talking to “someone”. The blue room was the room she went to every night to talk with the spirits. It was equipped with a planchette board so she could transmit messages to the beyond world.

This amazing mansion is an endless display of elegance and uniqueness. The tour guides will tell you not to get separated from the tour or you could get very lost There are so many questions like why are the staircases are so unusual. Why was the home built to get lost in. Could it be her way of trying to trick the spirits away from finding her? This Victorian Style mansion built by the obviously disturbed Sara Winchester is a must see if you are visiting the area.

Categories: Travel.

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