Herbert Can Be Ever Ready

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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I had no intentions for Spain, and no expectations, and the only thing I wanted to do there was to forget you.  This isn’t hard, it shouldn’t be hard, because there are lots of ways of getting something out of your mind.  People should be as easy to forget as furniture, especially when they don’t last as long as they should.  But you know me better than that, and you know that if I leave a place, with a heart full of fresh cracks, that I will only make it so far before I get tired of my own melancholy, and start looking for other ways of thinking about the things that get lost of left behind.  I didn’t even know Spain when I left, and figured I would get lost.

Unfortunately, I got distracted from my grief, and instead found some of the nicest moments in this short life.  When I decided to head for the coast in the south, I found this site here, and had a place to stay.  It was lovely.  Not quite the dream I had, where I would be sleeping on the beach as a vagabond, tracing memories of you in the sand before the sea decided to take me, out of sympathy for my mangled and battered heart.  This was more like heaven with a tv.  But there was a moment when I was shocked out of my fake misery when I heard Wilco playing from someone’s car.

This was our favorite music, and I don’t remember our favorite song, but if I do remember, I will send you a copy.  And I can’t think of anything that would be more fitting for the end of the love affair of the century, than for you to come here and see them play in May.  However.  The one in the car told me about the concert, and suggested we go together, and the end of this story is where I am only writing to tell you that I’ve decided to stay, and to please send me all my cds back.  New address forthcoming.

Filed by Herbert Jones at 12:01 pm under Travel
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The best time I ever had in Washington was the last one.  That’s the one where I finally got to see why everyone I went to school with loved Seattle so much.  I never made it to the city, not because I wasn’t interested, but because I like so much of Washington that I never felt I needed to.  Spokane, Moses Lake, Bremerton, and anything that had a forest connected to it, these all appealed to me, and it doesn’t hurt that I have a lot of family there.  But I never set foot in Seattle before.  Maybe I was afraid that I’d secretly like it so much that I would have to consider moving there.  All this was very well-founded, because I found this excellent hotel site here and decided to go for a few days, just to check it out myself.

I didn’t tell any of my friends that I was going, just so they wouldn’t try to be tour guides and show me all the cool places.  Every city has cool places, and if that’s all you see, you’re likely to move just about anywhere.  I wanted to run into the boring things, the every day things, and see if there was any magic in that.  Of course, there’s magic everywhere, and it turns out this city has a much greater share of it than any other I’d been to.  I went to the Market, and avoided the guys throwing fish, because that seemed too obvious, and instead found Ye Olde Curiosity Shop.  It seemed funky and unassuming in a lot of ways, and I was caught up in the joke items, because there was a very smart sense of humor behind them.

What really took me in, however, were the shrunken heads.  It’s really fairly alarming to find yourself in Seattle on a Saturday morning, expecting to be surrounded by comfortable people selling comfortable things to make you more comfortable, along with hundreds of umbrellas.  But heads are not what I thought I would see.  This shop has been here for over a hundred years, and the original owner was this anthropologist guy.  It’s unusual enough to make me consider a move, and if the terminal hipness gets to me, I can always go back to Tenzing Momo and talk to my apothecary.

Filed by Herbert Jones at 1:48 pm under Travel
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There is this spectacular person I met through the bus driver who navigates me and ten other people 40th Street and Harlan Avenue on Mondays through Fridays at six o’clock. Of course, the bus driver didn’t introduce me to this person. It was his cousin who works in a firm that does collections who had orange hair from a bad dye job and a permanent smile with bubblegum in her teeth. But she was not the person who knew this person that I am writing about. The person who knew the spectacular person was her neighbor who had an opal pendant in the shape of an anatomical heart and was part of the executive training branch of another company. The spectacular person was her friend, Anne Bobby.

It would seem to me that a spectacular person would not have such a plain name that really belongs on a street sign in a little town. I did not know she would be spectacular until I saw her desk at work where she does professional development. Anne Bobby told me I could meet her at her work for coffee at three o’clock, which was when she got off. I could wait in her office until then because she would be in a long, long, long meeting, but it would not last until three, she assured me. Naturally, I did some superficial snooping while awaiting her to come to the office. It was strange that she had none of the usual photos and desk knickknacks that most people had in their offices or cubicles.

Anne Bobby had a photo of a blue balloon in a blue sky bleached of most its color. She had a photo of footprints in cement that were in front of a sign that said no loitering. In a miniature gumball jar near her computer were not gumballs, but old stamps that been used. At the edge of her desk and in the center was not her name–her plain name was not anywhere in sight–but a silhouetted bust collaged in photos of Tom Waits and headlines about his tours. I already knew her before she came in the door right at three o’clock.

Filed by Herbert Jones at 3:08 pm under Business, People
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It was a beautiful time of day in New York City; the sky is turning pink and the sun was almost ready to set. We were heading back to our hotel to to freshen up and put on a few extra layers of clothes to keep the cold at bay. It was 7pm by the time we made it to Rockefeller Center and the lines we saw earlier today to purchase tickets to ride the elevator up the Rock, was virtually nil! Once, we were inside the elevator, the lights went dark, but the ceiling of the elevator was clear, so we looked up and this gave us the illusion that we were in a rocket ship. Flashing neon lights and video projections on the elevators ceiling helped with the illusion. It only took a few minutes to arrive at the top, but that was by far the best elevator ride we’ve experienced.

Stepping out on the ‘Top of the Rock’ gave us a panoramic views of NY was breath-taking; from the large floor to the ceiling windows, we were greeted with terrific sights. We walked around and found stairs that took us up another flight! This was the lower outdoor observation deck. We were 850 feet up from the street, very high up, it was really very cold up here and windy. But, that didn’t stop us from looking out at a beautiful cityscape. From the north side of the building, we were able to see the entire length and width of Central Park, the buildings only 20 blocks away. When we were on the top of the Empire State Building, we couldn’t see the park. So being able to see it now was well worth the ticket price. There’s a gift shop up there, so we spent some time there. We came out just as the sun fully set and all of a sudden, NYC came to life, all lit up as though it just woke up. It’s was really thrilling to see the transition. Taking the elevator to the top of the Rock is a must, if you plan to visit NY. 

We headed back down and our ears popped all the way down. Once we were on the ground, we headed to the Magnolia Bakery to buy cupcakes. I just had to do something like the girls did in ‘Sex and the City’, before going back to one of the best hotels NY has to offer all its visitors.

Filed by Herbert Jones at 2:13 pm under Travel
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When you are traveling in the city of Austin, Texas and you are traveling with children, have no fears as Austin is a very kid-friendly city.  One of the greatest aspects of the city is a love for arts, culture and music.  The Austin Museum of Art holds special events and activities for the entire family, many of which are drop in, no appointment necessary, so when you leave your room of your perfect Austin hotel, and are walking down the street wondering where the day will take you, make sure you find your way to the museum, as educational and artistic fun awaits you there.  If you happen to stop by on a second Saturday of the month, you will find any number of fun filled activities to take part in.

The second Saturday of February is the 13th, they will be offering a class in Printmaking.  This is provided by a group of print-makers who travel around with their press, Drive By Press. The theme of this day will be the inspirations of music and art posters, and participants will have the opportunity for hands on printmaking using wooden blocks and the printing press.  Be sure to bring along a plain tee-shirt as you will have the chance to make your own rock and roll memories you can wear home with you.  This is a very inexpensive way to spend a Saturday afternoon, as the cost is just $7 for the entire family!  Also offered at this time, every second Saturday, is yoga provided by the instructors of Bea Love Yoga.  This takes place from 1pm to 2pm, and is a great way to stretch off the days of traveling and the stress of the day.

If you live in Austin or are going be there on an extended day, one of the museum’s ongoing programs is called Familylab.  This is a space that is set up, with all of the tools you will need to create works of art, for people of all ages.  This gives them a chance to make connections to the world through the medium of artistic expression and to experience that with the ones who you love.  This section has the same operating hours as the Museum, and once you have paid your general admission, the Familylab is free.  The Austin Museum of Art, is one of the many ways in which the city connects to all those calling Austin their homes, and to everyone who passes through.

Filed by Herbert Jones at 10:31 am under Travel
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I was actually on my way to Europe, but I purposely purchased airline tickets that would make a stop in New York, JFK and made sure there was a serious lay-over, 12 hours serious. I figured that would give me plenty of time to travel to see a bit of Manhattan. When I was younger, I went to New York, but only to Buffalo; the experience was great, but it wasn’t New York City. I have my heart set on getting at least a little bit of the city.

When I arrived in JFK and passed customs, I checked my bags again, which made me bag free for my little excursion on the Metro into the city. I did a little bit of research on the Internet to find what would be the best sites to see and the best New York restaurants to eat at, so once I was there I could save some precious time. After asking people for direction and information, see, I’ve never been on a great transportation system like the Metro, coming from a small town, so I was a bit nervous.

I did manage to find my way to 9th Avenue and 42nd Street and the first thing that hit me was the cold weather, the noise of all the cars, a massively tall skyscrapers and the sheer spirit of New Yorkers. Everything was awesome except the rain! Awww! I didn’t have an umbrella, so I just ran from one over-hang to the next, but all that didn’t keep me from getting wet. I couldn’t take any pictures either, but not losing my cool, and despite the rain, I was going to enjoy the city no matter what.

I ended up walking around for a few hours and managed to find one of the restaurants I looked up on the Internet, and fortunately, they let me in wet clothes and all. I really appreciated that, when I left, they pointed me in the direction of a Metro station, but before I reached it, there was a lone brave hot dog stand offering up New York hot dogs, I was already full from my wonderful meal at that wonderful restaurant, but I couldn’t resist ordering a single hot dog with mustard on it; it was so good.

I caught the E-Line and made it back to JFK in an hour! I wasn’t too upset about not being able to experience a dry New York, because I also arranged my flight back to the States, and this time I’ll have a 15 hour lay-over!

Filed by Herbert Jones at 5:29 pm under Travel
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From now until May 30th, 2010, it’s possible to visit the birthplace of modern skateboarding and take in an exhibit that outlines its evolution at Santa Monica’s California Heritage Museum, which is currently presenting, “Skateboard: Evolution and Art in California.”  When people think of Santa Monica, they might picture a seaside resort town, with a hundred year old famous pier and amusement park, but the city is also home to the skateboard movement, and this is exhibit will be the first of its kind to actually be shown in “Dog Town,” the name given to the Santa Monica and Ocean Park area which gave rise to skateboarding as a form of art.

The exhibit will be guest curated by legendary Z-boys, specifically Nathan Pratt, and a host of other notables in the skateboarding world, such as Chris Dawson (1966 Hobie Champ) and1980s world champ Christian Hosoi.  The idea of the installation is to trace the history of the skate boards from pre-1950 to the present day, featuring the designers and artists and manufacturers of the board, as well as the riders.  The exhibit follows the board from the days in which wood planks with metal skate wheels nailed to the bottom eventually became polyurethane wheels and kicktails.  There will be over 275 rare boards available for viewing from some of the top collections in the world, including Jason Cohn, Ray Flores, Dale Smith/Skate Designs, Inc., Todd Huber/Skatelab Skatepark, and James Lang/South Bay Skates.

The exhibit will also include a full set of events, such as screenings of the film Dogtown and Z-Boys, Skater Dater and Rising Son: The Christian Hosoi Story, which will take place at the museum itself, an historic 1894 home, and at the downtown Santa Monica Library.  Throughout the exhibit’s run there will be special guest appearances and talks and photo exhibits.

If you’re coming to the seaside to spend a few days in one of the hotels Santa Monica has throughout the area, it’s well worth it to check out the beach, the boardwalk, and the exhibit of how skateboarding as an art really began.

Filed by Herbert Jones at 4:09 pm under Travel
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Fort Worth is the seventeenth largest city in the United States of America and the fifth largest city in the state of Texas. In general when one considers the fifth largest city or town in any state the common assumption will be that it is relatively small and while it may contain unique attractions and traditional elements, it is not a major cultural center of its home state. However, in the case of Fort Worth it is important to remember that it is also the seventeenth largest city in the country. When considered in the country and state context it becomes obvious that Texas is home to five out of the first seventeen largest cities in the country. That’s more than the state of California, which has four of the largest seventeen cities. Texas is a big state with big cities, that much is obvious.

One can then reconsider the relevance of fifth largest in the state when that also means that it is also one of the largest cities in the nation. And with everything Texan, Fort Worth is big and full of life. Oh, and one more thing, don’t mess with it. It has a population of just over 700,000 residents, which puts it almost in the middle of Columbus, Ohio with a population of almost 755,000 and Memphis, Tennessee with 669,000 residents.

Fort Worth was first established in 1849 and at the time served as an army outpost. It was a protective outpost and overlooked the Trinity River. This original aspect of Fort Worth’s history is a point of pride and honor for the contemporary residents and its western tradition is reflected in much of the culture, architecture its traditional heritage observations. Tourists who visit the city and stay in one of the Fort Worth luxury hotels are sure to note this fundamental aspect of Fort Worth culture and heritage as it is displayed in most of its landmarks and attractions.

Filed by Herbert Jones at 10:33 am under Travel
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After a boring 9 hour flight and many glasses of red wine, we landed in New York City jet lagged, exhausted and somewhat lost. We managed to find a New York cheap hotel around 11pm and checked in. The room was nicer than we expected and then we proceeded to flop on the bed for a much needed sleep.

The next morning, we didn’t realize what a great location the hotel was in, we felt that we lucked out. We had breakfast in Times Square and then went to collect our New York passes. These passes turned out to be an excellent value and they basically gave us free entry to 50 top attractions through out New York. Our first stop was the Empire State building, then off to The Rockefeller Center, 30 Rock! Took the ferry to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, the Sea Air and Space Museum and a 3 hour cruise around Manhattan on this Double-Decker bus, like the ones they have in London.

The above was done in two days! The next two days, we got tickets to a Knicks game at the Garden, strolled through Central Park, walked through Wall Street, and finally paid homage at the World Trade Center site. But, we were fortunate enough to be in town when the World Series of Baseball was going on and the New York Yankees were one game away for winning. So, we ended up back at Times Square where ESPN has a sports bar, and after surviving our initial shock of the price for one glass of beer, $10.00, we had an excellent night, despite the Yankees losing that nights game. They won the Series two days later and we got to witness New York erupt!

We left our wonderful cheap hotel and caught our flight to San Francisco.

Filed by Herbert Jones at 3:01 pm under Travel
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