Herbert Can Be Ever Ready

Here I am sitting and waiting, because this is what I do.  I wait at the beginning of a century, and at the end of a long metaphor, because I have been a metaphor for so many years.  It is easy to get confused, but when I remember for whom I am waiting, then there is no question.  The only good questions here are about what they might wear, and how they will smell, because there has always been the smell of sandalwood and coffee at the beginning of every meeting.  It is easier to wait in an Indian restaurant than anywhere else, because the smells here serve as a potent reminder.

For first meetings, there should always be food, and for the meetings in between beginnings and endings, also food.  It is a comfort, and it is a metaphor that always continues to unfold in multiple directions, like the growth of a plant, whose roots are always much more complex than the fruit.  Between the root and the fruit, there is infinite possibility for discovery.  In between is a waiting of different kinds and different faces, but the waiting is always larger than  the things that I count in my head in the morning when I wake up alone.

This morning I woke up wondering about them again, and it was an old story, and one that I don’t want to repeat, but I know I will.  As long as there is desire, this story will be filled with doubts and jealousies that gather in the corners of the room, dust that wants to make me wonder if the things that are impossible to weigh are true.  Waiting is a truth that has no weight, and longing is a story that has no ending, and in between there is only a long seven-course meal, where we remember everything that we are.

Filed by Herbert Jones at 11:10 am under Entertainment,Food,People
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There are a lot of famous people who are vegetarians. You can see them eating vegetarian restaurants like this all over the world. It was an interesting study when I found out what well known people were active vegetarians. The animal rights group PETA has even voted in the sexiest female vegetarian with Alicia Silverstone as there star. The list if found had over 580 famous people who were vegetarians. It goes back in time to people like Post-Impressionist Vincent Van Gogh and even important people like President Abraham Lincoln was an animal activist and vegetarian. Susan B Anthony was an amazing women who was also a vegetarian.

Some of the people you find are a sort of given like Tracy Chapman, Vanna White and Suzanne Vega but others are a surprise like Tommy Lee from Motley Crew or Weird Al Yankovic. Who would have thought that learning about some of those who have passed on where vegetarians like River Phoenix. With all the names on a list it is a wonder they are selling any meat in Los Angeles. Every restaurant must have some vegetarian dishes available for all those celebrities. It might be fun to hit a party with all the celebrities swapping recipes of there favorite meatless dish.

I like to think of all those animals that were saved by these humanitarian animal lovers. They could be giving up a lot to save the their favorite creatures. Soy cheese pizzas for everyone on the road with Peter Gabriel. With all that was accomplished by H.G.Wells do you think it was all the extra carbs that kept him going? I suppose that as long as they are working out they will stay thin even with all the grains. Eddie Vedder is also a vegetarian. That makes sense too. So join the very big club of vegetarians.

Filed by Herbert Jones at 4:01 pm under Food
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Custom designed items, perfect for the user, have been a luxury for as long as people have made items. For some people this is the epitome of art, marrying form and function. A beautiful table that can sit in a dining room to be used every day. For others this is just the best in extravagant luxury, having a suit made so that it will fit your body like a glove. I suppose this is why phrases like “Where form meets function” and ” Designed with you in mind ” have become so popular once again. It brings to mind many things, but one of them is this luxury. In an age where everything seems to become the same, and it is hard to find originality any more, it is important to be able to distinguish yourself.

This has become no more true than in the world of loans. It is not to say that there are not a world of different loans, but rather that to someone who has little to no experience with loans they all sort of look the same. In line with being ethical however if you are going to use a catch phrase like that you should have the services to back it up. If you look over the large numbers of places willing to offer you a loan online you get this feeling as though they are all the same, and yet there is one company that says their loans are designed with you in mind. What could this mean?

What Money Mutual does is offers a service in which after taking in your information, they find the right lender who will have a custom fit loan made to fit you in every way. They take into account your history, your regular paycheck and a number of other items. How they get any information you don’t give them is outlined in their privacy policy so that there are no surprises. They also take pride in themselves in having great customer service in case you need to talk to someone before you are willing to take out a loan. I will admit, I’m a little impressed that it seems this really is a loan designed with you in mind and something about that is a little luxurious.

Filed by Herbert Jones at 12:04 pm under Business
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All though it is fabulous, your hotel room in San Francisco won’t be able to keep you from mysteries that lie out on the Island of the Pelicans. The intense prison, Alcatraz, is to much of a lure to keep you in the perfectly divine spa all day. Your going to have to get out into the ocean sea breeze and cross that bay with all the other curious people to see if you really can hear the walls talking in what was once the toughest prison in the United States. The Island of the Pelicans was a harmless piece of land in the middle of the bay when it was first explored and over a few hundred years it became many things. Not much in the beginning, then turned into a military site and then turned into a crazy prison with the most intense inmates. Now it stands as one of the most visited places in San Francisco. People come from all over the world to see Alcatraz and they get there tickets and reservations months in advance.

The island was once owned by Julian Workman who was given the land in 1846 by the then Mexican governor Pio Pico. He was to build a lighthouse on it for navigating around the bay. Some how a Francis Temple had the island and ended up selling it to the United States government through John C Fremont for 5000.00 in 1846. United States President Millard Fillmore had the island set aside to be used for military purposes in 1850 when the U.S. gained California from Mexico after the Mexican-American War. Fremont was to be reimbursed for the purchase of the island but the government never paid him and a battle went on until the 1890s. The military did end up using the island first as a way to protect the coast from any unwanted intruders

Filed by Herbert Jones at 11:20 am under Culture,People,Travel
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Perhaps because it is something that we all use on an often times daily basis, we do not realize that retail is hard industry to work in. From grumpy customers to unreasonable demands, those who work in customer service can never really be sure what to expect at the start of each day. Having spent several years in retail, I can appreciate the challenges. I also have great respect for those who can overcome them. One such company is Next Day Blinds. Virginia ,Maryland and D.C. based, Next Day Blinds key focus is their customers. When you put the customer’s needs first and are willing to do whatever it takes, you cannot help but be successful.
Next Day Blinds has been a long time member of the Better Business Bureau. Their profile can be found on this site: http://www.bbb.org/greater-maryland/business-reviews/blinds/next-day-blinds-corporation-in-jessup-md-23011175. The Better Business Bureau holds businesses to the highest levels of trust, integrity, and transparency. Because of their honorable business practices Next Day Blinds continues to hold an A+ with the BBB.
Another source for evaluating and reviewing business practices is Angie’s List. Even though Angie’s List is on a more local level, the requirements are high. To be considered for the award, businesses must maintain an overall grade of A after receiving a minimum number of reviews, they cannot be on the”Angie’s List Penalty Box” list or have an unsatisfactory review with the Better Business Bureau. For the second year in a row the Next Day Blinds awards wall will be graced with the Angie’s List Super Service Award.
Some may consider it bragging to point out the achievements of others; however, I do not see it that way. When I find a company that distinguishes itself the way that Next Day Blinds has, it makes me want to tell everyone I know. It is companies like Next Day Blinds that run on honor and integrity that deserve our business. So with that I give a hearty congratulations to Next Day Blinds. Keep up the good work!

Filed by Herbert Jones at 1:16 pm under Home and Garden
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It would be a blessing to anyone to have the chance to get your band together for another tour in the same year that you’re having your 63rd birthday.  This is happening this year to Iggy Pop, and it really couldn’t happen to a more swell guy.  They haven’t released all the places and dates yet, but New York had better be a stop.  This is the place to see all of punk rock’s great godfathers and godfathers, along with all the godmothers, even if he is technically from Detroit.  We could probably even go so far as say that after all this time, he’s really a European star, and that’s closer to the New York sensibility.  But maybe Detroit needs a boost, and they can keep claiming him.

It’s an interesting year for music ahead, but this one is reason enough to book a hotel at this site and get ready for a major show.  His new album, Preliminaires is a pretty fantastic work, and like all the work that diverges from the typical Pop, which is to say, everything that he’s recorded, it’s a new direction.  There aren’t the usual grinding melodies that speak of an adolescent angst, this one is much more adult.  It’s very broody and moody, and at times gives a sense of Nick Cave doing show tunes at a dance hall for the dead.

This is a very French work for Pop, if such a thing can even be said.  There is a lot of style here, and because it’s him, there’s also plenty of substance.  He can still hold his own in any mosh pit, and still has the famous six-pack that makes Hollywood hunks hang their heads in shame, but something’s happened here.  He’s found a pathway to express a very deep and profound sadness and loneliness that could never be reached through the pounding anger.  There is no trace of false aggression here, nor is there much self-pity, but a mature artist using all the tools at his disposal to paint the inner life that resonates with all of us.

Filed by Herbert Jones at 12:16 pm under Travel
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The legacies of famous artists who have done important works in New York City are strong enough to cause a large metaphysical weight to fall upon those who come to make new work.  The projects that have the most connections to the world are the ones who often suffer from the weight the most, and they are also up for the most scrutiny from the international critical art community.  It’s a deeply moving thing, then, when an artist can make something that causes others to take notice, because it takes extreme amounts of compassion as well as a large amount of arrogance.  It’s a rather tough combination, and not everyone is up for the task.

Young artists looking for an idea, or looking for ways they might make their idea manifest, often come to New York with the intention of exploring possibilities.  There is no real authority on the best way to do it, except to find a nice hotel and follow up on all of your connections.  It’s still a business based on networking, and it always has been.  It’s fascinating, then, to try to discover what kinds of networks the most bold artists of the 20th century had at their disposal.  Joseph Beuys was by no means an exemplary salesman of ideas, although his work was in many regards concrete examples of his complex philosophical arguments.

New generations of conceptual artists can do worse than trying to muster up the same weight of intention and example that Bueys did with his work, I Like America and America Likes Me.  In this performance, he was flown to New York, put it an ambulance wrapped in felt, and carried into a gallery where he would live with a coyote for four days.  In the process of the performance, there were many iconic actions that left gorgeous impressions on the visual archive of the century.  His work was in many ways a reflection of his views on the war, this was 1974 after all, and also his ideas of a humane world, where Native wisdom gets its sacred and elevated place back.  The only question in all of this is: how did the coyote feel about having to be locked up with a large man for four days?  That’s a statement that only the coyotes would understand.

Filed by Herbert Jones at 10:35 am under Travel
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The truth is that there are few cities like Atlanta, Georgia in the world.  It’s a place of unique sights and engaging people; here, you’ll find Atlanta filled with luxury and comfort and hotels that anyone would be happy to make their home (however temporary), while viewing the sights, including the Georgia Aquarium.

The Georgia Aquarium is the world’s largest with over eight million gallons of water.  Right now, this marine life museum is presenting an exhibit called, Planet Shark: Predator or Prey.  Scarily enough, this is billed as an interactive experience.  The Aquarium already exhibits fourteen species of sharks in its present collection, but this special exhibit goes way beyond what you might find in any other place.

Planet Shark will allow you to see models at full-scale of sharks.  You’ll see one such model of a Great White Shark; this creature was eighteen feet long, giving the shark in Jaws a run for its money.   Speaking of which, you’ll be able to see items and shark cages from the movie, Jaws, as well as numerous artifacts of shark jaws and teeth.  You’ll see fossils that can be dated as far back as three hundred and fifty million years ago.

The idea of this exhibit is to give the aquarium’s guests facts which can foster a more complete understanding of the shark.  There’s a number of myths that build up around these amazing animals, and the aquarium is ready to dispel these myths.  You’ll hear stories, too, about actual encounters people have had with sharks, told not only by the experts, but by the survivors of these incidents.  You’ll learn, too, about how sharks behave and about what relationships they form.  There’s also a display that features an actual Bluefin tuna (700 pounds of it!) and an actual Mako shark, its predator.  Both creatures are frozen, giving an opportunity to see what an encounter between this predator and prey might be like.  The Georgia Aquarium is an absolute must on any trip to Atlanta.

Filed by Herbert Jones at 11:51 am under Entertainment,Travel
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New York is well known for many different reasons. It’s an internationally famous metropolis and is commonly referred to as the theatre capital of the nation. Broadway and city wide experimental productions are not the only thing New York is known for though it is certainly one of the most attractive features for many of its tourists. This brings up one of the interesting aspects of New York. It is so famous and full of great cultural and historic landmarks and attractions that almost every street has a major landmark or icon on it. If this isn’t exactly accurate than it is certainly true that every neighborhood in the five boroughs is distinct and known for a particular establishment or cultural orientation.

There is a reason this overcrowded, noisy, traffic congested city is the number one vacation destination for people across the world. In fact there is more than one. And going back to the subject to neighborhoods and their cultural aspects and relevance, Little Italy in Manhattan is certainly one to explore and enjoy.

Of course its true that some of the best Italian food in New York can be found in Little Italy but there is also a great number of additional cultural features and attractions that entice and entertain tourists and New York residents all year. As with most neighborhoods in Manhattan, shopping is possible and great deals as well as unique gifts and souvenirs can be found in Little Italy. Places like Il Coccio are incredibly enticing to shoppers looking to decorate their homes in some great Italian ceramic art pieces. Sandy’s and the Little Italy Gift shop are great stops for the more general trendy and immediate needs items. Whatever you’re looking for don’t forget to leave time and enough appetite to enjoy a delicious pastry or other dessert at La Bella Ferrara Pasticceria. And most importantly, have fun, relax and enjoy your trip.

Filed by Herbert Jones at 1:44 pm under Travel
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