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Cartagena in Honolulu

It’s always apparently a very good thing to have a trip to Hawaii planned, because all of your friends will suddenly become very jealous. It’s one of the most beautiful places on earth, by most accounts. The idea of spending time in a place where there’s so much ocean, and so much natural splendor is enough to cause waves of relaxation to start coursing through the body. But the anticipation is nothing compared to the real thing, and Honolulu is an extraordinary experience. Great hotels are just the beginning, framing your time here in a splendor and luxury that are hard to find anywhere else on the planet.

For all of the images of Hawaii as a place that’s relatively disconnected from the rest of the world, with the usual tropes of life on an island, Honolulu is remarkably cosmopolitan. The news of the world certainly reaches here, and sometimes stems from here, and there is a long history of mutual influence between the local community and the rest of the world. This is true for the cuisine, the music, and the visual art, so it shouldn’t be much of a surprise to find the works of Victor Cartagena on display here.

This visual artist is based in San Francisco and comes from El Salvador, and his work has been reaching wide audiences for a number of years. One of his big collaborations is with the Bay Area performance group Secos y Mojados+http://www.secosymojados.net/Players.html . This is a fitting introduction to his own work, since the sensibilities are very similar. Their performances interrogate the border, physical and metaphorical, using mixed media to explore the divisions of self that happen on the way from one place to another. Like in his own solo work, there is a very lively sense of humor, serving to make visible the underlying themes that ask some of the most important questions about the world as it is right now. In Honolulu, with its own particularly complicated history of culture and movement, there is a natural fit with unexpected collisions of meaning.

Fort Collins, Look it up on Ipod

We left Rawlins, and our next stop is Fort Collins, Colorado. A friend of my son, her name is Eyrn, lives there and I would like to meet her before I head back home to Arizona. Fort Collins is, supposedly, to one report I heard by this guy I was sitting next to up at the counter of this cafe in Rawlins, told me it’s the most popular place to live in the country. I didn’t believe him, so I looked it up on the Internet on my Ipod. This guy was somewhat stunned that I was fact checking him right on the spot (Aren’t Ipods the best?). I told him he was close, according to this site, the number one place to live was Louisville, Colorado, which is closer to Denver than to Fort Collins. He wanted me to check another site to see if they also list Louisville. I did, and this site listed Atlanta, Georgia. Needless to say, he didn’t talk to me for the rest of our meal.

On my way there, I spotted a Wind Energy Farm. The facility was huge and it seemed to go on forever. I arrived in Fort Collins and found the city to be interesting, everyone had a dog and was riding a bicycle, even in the snow and cold weather! I found a place to sleep, via my Ipod! Wow, I just love being able to find things instantly on my Ipod. After I checked in, I called my son’s girlfriend and asked her if she had time to go out to dinner with me. She was very eager to meet with me, which was a nice change of pace with my son’s other female friends, they usually found excuses to not be with me. She told me where I could meet her, she picked a place not far from my hotel, and she’d meet me there in an hour.

So, I did a bit of walking around, in the cold snowy weather, and saw that Fort Collins is a college town, it has a great mix of eclectic people. I spotted yuppies, hippies and wanna-be intellectuals. All the shops were full of people shopping. I found the place where Eyrn picked, Jay’s Bistro on 1st Avenue. We had a great meal together, and she seems really genuine and self-assured, which is so different from all is other girlfriends. I though it was about time my son found someone good for him. I hope I’ll get to meet with her much more in the future, but a jokingly told her that I won’t tell my son how much I really like her, because he might just find someone else I hate.

Near Hong Kong

Well you have been staying in a fabulous hotel in Hong Kong like the ones here and maybe you have seen some things already like Victoria Peak or a harbor cruise but there is more. You can always pull away from the city and see some of the other areas that surround it. There is always the Big Buddha on Landau Island and a day trip to macau. Macau is on the west side of the Pearl River Delta and it currently has a rather strong textile industry. They also have manufacture electronics and toys. Then there is the thriving tourist industry contributing to the economy.

This is the town of the first and last European settlement in China. It started with the Portuguese traders who came to the area. While you are learning about Macau you can have some fun in the casino’s in town. The Wynn Macau, Casino Lisboa and the Grand Lisboa are all near each other and light up well at night. There are some interesting historical markers like A-Ma Temple which was built in 1448 as a dedication to Matsu an Asian goddess. As you walk around yo may notice that the streets signs have both Chinese lettering, Portuguese and English on them.

One of the most visited attractions is the Ruins of St. Paul’s which was originally the Cathedral of St. Paul. It was built by the Portuguese in the 17th century. Now they are a ruins that are left behind after a bad fire took most of the building in 1835. There was a typhoon that hit the area and some how the building caught fire. You can see the Fortaleza do Monte looking over the ruin. It was built by Japanese Christians who were not welcome in their own land. The ruin is quite a mix of cultures and one of the most famous landmarks of Macau.

The Modus Operandi of TransGlobe Property Management

I had recently needed to find a place to rent in Canada. The company I chose to help me with that, was one that had been recommended to me by a good friend, so I did not research them, I just called them, set up the appointment, rented my apartment and that was that. A few days later, I was curious about them, see it had been a very long time since I had found such generosity, I would call it customer service but it felt like more than that, I felt like honesty. I called the woman who had helped me at TransGlobe and we met for coffee. At first I think she may have thought it was odd, but then I told her that I was starting my own business and wanted to ask her about the way of TransGlobe, the company policies and mission statements, as I was hoping that I could accomplish what they were accomplishing. She said what I thought she would say, that their goal is to just simply be ethical. They strive for excellence in service not necessarily because it is good for business, but because it is what is right. It just so happens, that doing what is right also happens to in fact be good for business. The operate with honesty, with attention to detail and with consistency in all they do, whether it is the managers of the company relating with employees, or the managers of the properties relating to the owners of those rental properties or with those who are renting the properties. And while many companies hold seminars on how to create the practice of teamwork, the way that TransGlobe operates just inspires that teamwork , much in the same way that their integrity just also happens to be good for business. The lines of communication, she said, where always open and that communication was again, honest and transparent. Meaning there was just simple nothing to hide. I thanked her for talking with me, and I was grateful that I had basically stumbled through their doors unknowingly just based on the trustworthy recommendation of my friend.

Great Hawker Food in Singapore

Do you ever find yourself in a new city and suddenly feel famished? That happens to me almost every time I travel. In general I’m not really much of an eater so when I get busy with something or am interested in things and otherwise occupied I can accidentally forget to eat. I know that’s not a good habit to be in and in my general routine I have built in schedule reminders to have some food. This is particularly easy at work when my lunchtime comes on a regular basis and I just know it’s time to eat then. Oh, I don’t think my hunger response works quite right. I don’t get hungry regularly, which is part of the problem. I’ll go all day or even into the next one without eating anything and not realize it until suddenly I am completely famished and my blood sugar is all out of whack and I feel like I could pass out. And this is always what happens when I’m traveling because I’m so excited about whatever I’m doing or seeing that I forget to eat.

And it definitely happened when I visited Singapore. And it was my first time in Singapore and when I was suddenly famished and feeling sick for food I had no idea what to do or where to go. So get a load of this, there’s something called Hawker food in Singapore and this is basically a really cool version of extremely fast food, but it’s more like an actual meal. It turns out that I was right near this little place outside the National Library called Makarios. It smelled really good and I ordered a plate of noodles with some type of seafood. Sorry, I don’t even remember know what all was in it. All of sudden they handed me this amazing smelling bowl of a noodle dish and I was in heaven. I saw people just standing around with bowls like mine and they were just eating them wherever they were. I found a little table to sit down at ate my food. It was delicious and was exactly what I needed. While I was in Singapore I found out that there were little venues all over that served Hawker food and there were even large tents and tables set up as eating stations for it. But that’s not always necessary, you can just walk down the street and eat it. One of the great things I learned on my trip was that you don’t need a restaurant in Singapore to have a great meal.

The Boss is in Manhattan

They say that to hear the early concerts was like going to a party.  But this was a big party, with a couple thousand people, that went on for a good five hours.  It’s hard to find anything in New York that goes on for more than a couple hours these days.  We don’t have the attention spans, and we certainly don’t have the stamina.  It sometimes takes a visionary to come along and shake things up in just the right way to get us going, and that happened to me certainly.  It left an impression enough that I would still come back to New York, years later, booking a hotel from this site and hoping to be blown away by a new rock and roller.

There’s no one like Bruce Springsteen, though.  The skinny kid from Asbury Park, New Jersey had something back then.  He’s still got it now, whatever it is, but it’s sometimes hard to see because of all the energy from the media over the years.  The rough edges are still there, and are still very rough, and there’s even an occasional moment of awkwardness about him that was so characteristic of his young 20s.  The shows still last an awfully long time, and for someone who’s just turned 60, it’s more than a little incredible that he can still play until all the fans are exhausted.

These little feats of strength give proof to the notion that audiences give to the performer as much as the opposite is true, otherwise there wouldn’t be any point to the touring.  They seem like a genuinely happy family at times.  But it’s terribly fascinating to see how he’s manipulated as much as he’s been manipulated.  They called him the New Dylan once, and now it’s becoming apparent how well he’s used the media.  For starters, he’s been very astute at creating an image for himself that is populist, revolutionary, and still everyday working class.  At the same time, he’s been able to advance a socially progressive agenda in his music and outside of it, in a way that seems singularly capable of uniting large groups rather than separating them.  The music is very emotional, and plays on our deepest sentiments, but the patterns over the years are revealing a very sharp mind pulling all the strings.

NY Guitar

New York is a rock and roll city, and might be the real rock and roll capital of the world.  There is not only music playing all over the city, day and night, live and recorded, from radio stations to cars to apartments to clubs, but there are also attitudes here that speak of the lifestyle that the music came from.  It’s an exciting place to get educated about the variety of instrumentations that are available, and young and hopeful musicians come here every day, looking to learn, and looking to make an impression.  They can find a great hotel here, and there’s plenty of advice about great things to do, but there’s no way to give advice that will make someone do legwork.

You cave to be driven.  That was true for the last generation, and may be even more true now.  It’s a city that constantly tests you, in new and unexpected ways.  The most difficult part of it is not the endless competition, but the level of talent.  This really is where all the talented people go, and there are professionals here that are always monitoring you to make sure you can hold up to their impossibly high standards.  That’s the rat race part of it, but there’s also plenty of exciting and fun things, too.  If you’re here early in the year, every aspiring guitarist should try to make their way to the New York Guitar Festival.

This isn’t old school rock and roll, by any means, where there’s testosterone and power chords in the air, and it feels like someone might start yelling at you about speaker wire, incomprehensibly.  This is real guitar, where serious musicians, including some of the best rock players, gather together and spend time on looking at what this amazing instrument can do.  There’s all sorts of styles here, Indian classical, Euro classical, Brazilian,  and just about everything else, and it’s a great opportunity to get to know where the heart of the artistry lies today.

It’s Too Cold in New York

Arrived in New York and I think I might die of hypothermia. The shock of 35 degrees, and a wind chill of negative 6 degrees put my system into shock. I don’t think I packed to well, the clothes I have won’t cut it here, I’m just going to have to do some shopping! What a shame.

My first day in New York was visiting the downtown area of Manhattan and then took a ferry to the Statue of Liberty, with my nice, new duvet coat, I was well prepared for any cold weather. But, still, I stayed inside the ferry and only popped out once to take a photo of the Statue, then quickly retreated back inside where it’s nice and warm. After that tour, I took a walk to the Financial District and visited Ground Zero. Currently, there’s tons of construction happening and I could make out what will be the beginnings of the new Freedom Tower. I was braving the cold fairly well, so I made it to St. Paul’s, which was across the road and home to all the rescue workers in the following days of the attack of 9-11.

The next day, I visited the Museum of Modern Art and there was an exhibition from the work of Tim Burton, which I was thoroughly pleased with, after all, he is one of my favorite directors, plus he always likes to use Johnny Depp, an added plus. I spent the whole day there, then later joined up with a friend who was staying at a much nicer US hotel in New York than me, it was right next to Central Park. We went out for dinner and to catch up on all that we’ve both been doing since last we saw each other. We both couldn’t believe that we’d be in New York City at the same time. She’s here for a job interview with the apparel industry. I hope she get’s it, then I’d have a reason to visit New York more often.

We spent the entire evening talking and talking. We had so much to tell each other. I said goodbye to her around 2am and headed back to my little hotel. But, before we parted, we made arrangements to meet-up at the park and go ice-skating, oh and she told me, she’d bring me something warmer to where!

Belvedere Castle in New Yorks Central Park

Central Park in New York City is not only a beautiful green zone in an otherwise concrete and brick universe it also has much to offer in the realm of art and culture. There are numerous performances that take place in the park every year and some of them attract some of the biggest names on Broadway and in Hollywood. In addition there are plenty of music and dance performances and if that’s not enough it’s located across the street from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This makes a visit to both places extremely accessible in one afternoon in the city. There are plenty of cool hotels and restaurants near the park to provide tourists with top accommodations and excellent dining opportunities.

One of the interesting attractions located in Central Park is the Belvedere Castle. When one first sets eyes on this amazing fortress it is almost like walking back through time. It can feel almost as though you are stepping directly into a fairy tale where one can look for Willow the Wisp in the evening hours and King Arthur’s knights during the day. The combination Romanesque and Gothic architecture sounds somewhat out of place in one of the most contemporary cultural centers of the world, though it is amazing striking and appropriate after adjusting one’s perspective you can experience it’s grandeur.

The castle was originally built as simply, if that can be used in any description of it, a shell with window openings and a door. It housed the New York Meteorological Society, however this was taken over in 1912 by the United States Weather Bureau. Currently, the park receives its weather outlooks from an Automated Surface Observing System, which is located just south of the castle. It has been featured on Sesame Street, as the home of Count von Count and was also a location used for the filming of The Bostonians, a Merchant Ivory film. A tour of this great Central Park landmark captures the imagination and excitement of adults and children alike and is just one of the reasons the park is such an excellent source of family activities and entertainment.

Gabriel Iglesias in San Antonio

Stand up comedy fans have lots of reasons to celebrate when they’re in San Antonio.  And some of the reasons are larger than others, and some are explosively large, and look like there has been a lifetime of deep observation and lots of cake going into the material.  There’s always been a pretty good scene here, with some of the most exciting music in the region.  San Antonio is a blend of cultures, like anywhere else in the country, and the local scene is on the verge of becoming global.  Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say that the stand-up is becoming more global.  The music has always been very comfortable on many different sides of many different borders, so it’s always nice to see it happen with spoken word entertainment.

This year will be an excellent time to book with an attitude built for luxury. San Antonio hotels offer a very spectacular kind of hospitality that speaks of an international sensibility, but simply can’t be found anywhere else on the planet.  This year should be one of the most exciting times for comedy fans, and will see a lot more of the already easy-to-see Gabriel Iglecias.  This guy is catching a rising star, and has been working his own self off for a few years now, perfecting his voices and his timing, and the material is just excellent.

He’s fluffy, of course, and also extremely charming.  He was born in San Diego, and grew up between there and Los Angeles, where his sharp comic mind was formed by friends and family.  His last name is actually spelled with a c for Iglecias, rather that Iglesias, as part of his mother’s punishment for his father not being at his birth on time.  She modified his name, and he discovered early on that modifying his identity could be very useful, if done with careful attention.  And a whole lot of outrageous intentions.  He has a quality that is very interesting to watch, and one does get the feeling that he’s going to be extremely funny no matter how much he weighs, because there’s something beneath the skin here that is entirely charming.

The Real Lawyers of Orange County

Orange County has got a lot of falsity in it perhaps. The Real Housewives of Orange County prove that with their everything being fake and filled with plastic and synthetics and who knows what else. But not everything in Orange County is fake. Not everything is orange there either, like those desperate housewives who grace, or you might say disgrace if you dislike them (I never dislike anyone unless they’re uninteresting so I never have disliked anyone), the screens of TVs that have the show on.

There are things there that are real and that are not fake. Like everything in this country anymore, it might seem like it’s all fake, like life is all one big reality TV show and you’re auditioning for the part of a lifetime, your lifetime in fact, but there are real things there. I have seen them. I have smelled them. I have tasted them. I have touched them. It might seem strange to have a metaphysical reawakening in Orange Country, but it might also be strange to have a metaphysical reawakening in church where the incense that smokes out heavy metal pots gets so thick you can hardly remember a Hail Mary or an Our Father.

The coffee there is real. Special Agent Cooper might say it’s the best coffee in the world. The Orange County lawyer there is real too. I met him in a bus one day while trying to get lost in a city which had so much order it made it difficult to make things downside up. But he gave me what I needed to get lost: some distraction in the form of words while he spoke about a lot of disconnected things that actually had a lot of connections when I look back on them. Like coffee and housewives. He told me he loathed that show because it had such uninteresting people on there. But that was where he and I disagreed so I had to tell him off. But by that time I was lost in the city with my Special Agent coffee, and having got what I wanted from him and not the bus, I thanked him and got off. I was lost so I couldn’t tell you where I was except that I was where I wanted to be.

Trolleys in Lowell

Phoenix is far from Petrified

From Albuquerque, we drove to Arizona, through the Red Rock State Park and then onto Holbrook, which is the most dead town in all of America. Holbrook is a town with dinosaur statues and tepee’s. We walked down main street and almost felt like the human race became extinct over-night and that the cretaceous period came back to life. The reason we stopped off here is because of its close proximity to the ‘Petrified Forest National Park‘.

Approximately, 225 million years ago, these huge trees grew in the area, and as they fell, they became covered with mud and volcanic ash allowing silica to seep into the wood. Eventually, crystallizing into quartz. This left a most beautiful and abstract coloured logs strewn across the Painted Desert. It was hard to tell they were once trees. The Painted desert was a fantastic vision, layers upon layers of different colours made by carbon, iron and manganese, which makes the sand formations appear, blue, green and purple. It was windy the day we were there, so it was hard to stay outside, the wind gusted up to 50 mph!

From Holbrook we drove into Phoenix, the capital city of Arizona. We really liked Phoenix with its bright colours, palm trees, flowers everywhere and non-stop sunshine. It took us an hour to reach downtown Phoenix after we passed the ‘Entering Phoenix’ sign! We found our hotel easy enough, and we were pleasantly surprised at just how great it was. We booked our hotel room from this site: http://www.phoenixluxuryhotels.com, which our friends told us about. Very nice accommodations.

Tomorrow we plan to drive the Apache Trail; it’s an ancient Indian path, which take you through the Superstition Mountains. We’ll stop at the Goldfield Ghost Town, a real live goldmine back in the late 1800’s. Then we’ll drive to Canyon Lake and onto Tortilla Flat, which was another mining town and on up into the mountains.

Everythings Grander in New York City

There’s no such thing as ‘doing it small’ in New York City. This is my first time in the Big Apple and all the photos I’ve seen of the city don’t do it justice. It’s truly grand here, the whole city is on this constant bustle and hustle. I’m sure I look every bit the part of a gawking tourist. Walking to a destination here is a huge proposition, not like it would be in Boston, where I could cover a fair part of the city center and even a few nearby neighborhoods; it’s just not possible in New York City, where Central Park alone in nearly 13 miles long.

I got up early than expected this morning, probably due to the massive energy in this city, and had no where in particular to go today, well maybe to watch the Yankees play, but that’s later in the evening. My New York hotel is cheap and centrally located, which makes it nice for me to catch the subway and explore any part of the city I’d like to without having to hurry. I wasn’t too far from Central Park, and the sun was shining, so I headed out to try and explore all 13 miles of the park. The Manhattan skyline is a nice backdrop for the park, a nice juxtaposition. There’s plenty of wildlife here, and they don’t seem to be afraid of people. The wildlife probably has an attitude like most of the New Yorkers! I walked aimlessly around for about an hour until I arrived at 5th Avenue, which needless to say lured me out of the park.

I went in F.A.O. Schwartz toy store and walked on the big floor piano, it’s the one I saw Tom Hanks play in the film ‘Big’. I tried playing chopsticks on the piano, but failed horribly. I got to build my own Muppet!  I continued on down 5th Avenue and saw almost every designer boutique and jewellery store that any female who melt over and that any man would go pale. I went into a few of the stores with no intention of buying anything and the staff didn’t seem to mind. Before I knew it, it was time to head back to my hotel and get ready to watch my very first live Yankee’s baseball game. I hope to catch a foul ball!

English Accents in New York Opens Doors

I’m on my last day of sightseeing in New York City. Tomorrow, I’ll be leaving for California early in the morning. I’m so glad I booked a room at one of the small hotels New York has to offer, because it was right across the street from the New York Public Library and it was centrally located.

This morning, I’ve already been on a jaunt to the Financial District and I mailed off several New York post cards to all my mates back in the UK. I then walked to see the World Trade Center, the newer site and it’s so much bigger than I imagined. Right now, I’m relaxing at a nice cafe not far from the site and I’m enjoying my Caramel Frappucino. Later, I plan to check out Times Square when it gets dark, because I’d like to see it all lit up. I didn’t manage to make this trip yesterday like I planned to because I got to talking to this guy from Spain at a Starbucks not far from my hotel. We talked until 11pm! Back in the UK, staying in a coffee shop late at night is unheard of, but this is New York after all, a city that never sleeps.

Yesterday, I did get to see Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, and I found it to be just okay. I guess I needed to be more up on celebrities and world leaders. I did like the part where I got to purchase a photo of myself in the Oval Office with President Obama! That was pretty cool. Then I went strolling around Central Park, just for a bit to say I experienced it. Central Park is such a need soft place for this city of concrete and steel.

I did notice as I walked around, how all the ‘gangster’ type of boys would look at my Nike running trainers. I couldn’t tell if they’d like to take them from me or if they thought my shoes were crap. I tended to think they all thought my runners were cool. My English accent seemed to be a point of conversation everywhere I went, which surprised me a little, because New York, after all, is an international city. I would have thought my accent was nothing new, but that wasn’t the case. Actually, my accent made me feel like a celebrity. It’s really odd how Americans love the English accent.

I found New York to be exactly like how the movies portray it, but I’ve yet to see a steaming street grate!

The Focus on Art in Portland

Many people I know are moving en masse, to Portland, Oregon.  The city is known for the “green” culture, from organic coffee shops to restaurants of the best Portland hotels serving only dishes made with ingredients that were grown close to home, of course all organic and free range.  I have yet to visit this American city, so I spend a lot of time googling about it and looking up various points of interest, which for me means looking up the arts festivals and markets, the galleries and the museums.

One of the aspects of the city that I had not known before, and the one that I dig the most, is the dedication, the devotion and the support of the arts.  Creative and outlandish, beautiful and amazing things are happening in the culture and the artistic scene.  This development has taken place over the last few years, making Portland not only a destination for American travelers, but for international tourists as well.  The knowledge and the tradition of the older artists has fostered a new generation of innovative creativity.  The young artists of Portland are garnering attention from the rest of the world, for their work, and for the institutions and the schools of the city.

There are more than one hundred and fifty art galleries and many museums throughout the city, as well as a grassroots downtown cultural district…the Pearl District.  This is a neighborhood full of warehouse studio spaces and it gives people the opportunity to totally immerse themselves in the artistic way of living.  Many more neighborhoods on the East side of the city are following suit of the Pearl, and the art scene has quite literally exploded.

For those wishing to further their studies and their careers, this is the place to be to find classes and connections.  And for those just visiting, the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the future famous artists of America, is an opportunity that must not be missed.  There are many festivals and open studio walks that occur throughout the year, so anytime you happen to be in Portland, is a great time to see the art, to experience the art, and to live the art.

Tire Pressure: One of the Most Important Aspects of Tire Care

Keeping an eye on the pressure of your General tires is the single most important way you can protect not only the life of your tires and the amount of fuel that vehicle uses, but will keep you and your car safe on the road and will make it far less likely that you may experience blow outs or flats unexpectedly.  Some people may say that you can simple use your vision to check the pressure, but this is not true, the only way to know fully that your tire pressure is in shape, is through the use of a pressure gauge.

If you regularly carry cargo or large loads in your vehicle, the all purpose Cooper tire is a safe bet, but you will need to check the manufacturer’s recommendations, and adjust the pressure according the weight in your vehicle at any given time.  And should you be carrying the larger loads over great distances, it is best to just take a few minutes and check the pressure each time you stop for gas, as variations from the recommended pressure could mean that there is a problem with the tires, one that could result in dangerous, or at the least, very inconvenient situations.

If you do notice that there is a question about your tires, it is best to have them checked by a mechanic or tire technician.  There are many wheel and tire packages available should you need to replace them, and by buying all the tires at once you will be more certain that the tires are properly balanced and rotated, with no tire wearing more to compensate for the other older tires on your vehicle.

This kind of maintenance may seem in and of itself an inconvenience, but this is the only way that you can keep track, not only of the pressure, but in the overall condition of the tires.  For by the regular investigation, you will notice more if the tires do show uneven wear, or if they have been damaged on the road, and you will be able to stop those roadside fixes before they happen.

Spanish Bull

Roquetas de Mar hotels can be found right along the sandy beaches that have been filled with vacationers from all over the world. They come to this old fishing town to let the stresses of their busy lives get taken away with the easy tide. It is a simple and clean little town perfect for some napping and reading, walking and eating and a bit of exploring too. They have a few festivals that happen every year. If you come from the cold may I recommend the December beach party for you New Years Bash. Yes, leave behind the cold and crowded. Hit the beach and fresh air.

There are things to do here all year round. How about a day at the Plaza de Toros. Like any good Spanish city there has to be a bullring. Bullfighting is most associated with Spain but is also done in Portugal, southern France and other Latin American countries. It is a little barbaric for the westerner who is a PETA member, however, it is a tradition passed down for what seems like forever. It started as a prehistoric sacrifice as well as a Roman thing. You know the old man vs animal games that were so popular there.

Roquetas de Mar has a smaller bullring. It not only has bullfighting when the season allows but it also houses some concerts as they pass through. It is modeled after some of the other great bullrings like the Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas which is in Madrid and it is considered the most prestigious ring. In Seville Spain there is the La Maestranza. There is also a real popular ring called Plaza de Toros de Mexico located in Mexico. They all sand resembling the Roman Colosseum of course. So while your in Roquetas de Mar make sure you get out and see the traditions that make Spain so unique.

The Performance of Selling

We live in a time where barriers between disciplines are being removed, or crossed, all the time.  It’s an interesting time, and certainly very challenging, but this new development in how we do things can only be beneficial to us, because we have a lot more options at our disposal.  Options are spectacular things when it comes to making choices, and all of these things can help to make for a smoother decision-making process.  This helps to increase both productivity as well as esteem, for self and the team.  In the long run, whatever troubles there might be in learning new paradigms will reveal themselves as our true teachers.  It’s even splendid to consider that where once we saw trouble, we can now see opportunity.

These kinds ideas are necessary and important to discuss and to keep in mind when going through any kind of corporate training.  It’s certainly beneficial to all to understand the degree to which the old notion of disciplines has been thrown over for new conceptions.  We are now free to cross over into many different fields, so that the implications of atomic energy can have very useful applications in the workplace.  And science can learn things from art.  It’s one of the great benefits, then, to take ideas from the art realm and use them in business models.  It’s not only for the sake of borrowing metaphors, but the underlying philosophy of ideas can find applications in other disciplines, in order to teach us all new ways of seeing things.

Borrowing from theatre, then, it’s probably not a big stretch to see how role-play is something that can be very useful in business environments.  When engaging in any kind of training for sales process improvement, role-playing can give us extremely useful life skills that of course apply in business.  They also allow us practice, so that we can see how the performance of everyday life can be used to our advantage, and can be extremely revealing and simultaneously enormous fun.

Locals in Los Angeles

Stir Crazy, Insomnia, Bourgeois Pig — long time residents of Los Angeles may instantly recognize these names, but tourists may have a hard time placing them.  They’re a few neighborhood coffee shops spread out over Hollywood, Los Feliz and Los Angeles, but you might easily pass them or others by.  Most of the time, travelers want to see the basic attractions of the city — Universal Studios, The Queen Mary, Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Griffiths Park Observatory, The Getty Museum, to name a few — but sometimes, back at the hostel or the best Los Angeles hotel one can find, after a day of hardened touristry (as it were), one may wish to relax like the locals.  But where do they go in town?

Clearly, a number of people can be found in traditional name brand coffee shops, the type advertised with the symbol of a green circle around a lady in a starred crown or of white, cursive script about a dark brown tea leaf, just like anywhere else in the country.  But a few places remain where hard-core regulars sit at their keyboards and monitors, plugged into ample outlets, working away either on homework or the next best American screenplay.  Here, you might find these tireless souls at either Stir Crazy or Insomnia (whose storefront, I’m told, appears as an exterior on a popular daytime soap opera); the latter coffee shop is open late, sometimes as late as one in the morning.  In either case, you’ll find good coffee and a mostly quiet atmosphere in which to work.  The Bourgeois Pig serves as more of a social place; expect more talking here, although there will be plenty of studying and working as well.

For food, some locals will find themselves at traditional Los Angeles haunts, such as El Coyote, a Mexican restaurant established over 70 years ago, and Pink’s, a hamburger and chili hot dog place so popular you may be waiting in line for hours.  But there’s also places like The Newsroom, which focuses on healthier food, on Robertson; it’s a nice less costly alternative to The Ivy across the street.  There are also numerous places to eat on Melrose, such as the Vienna Cafe, which has terrific omelettes and pretzel bread.

Los Angeles is a place that takes a long time to get to know.  Even after fifteen years of living there, residents can still turn a corner and find some place new that is interesting, so don’t be afraid to explore, too.  You’ll find a perfect restaurant or coffee shop for your own particular taste.

Hot Tub Star Gazing

It must have been more than thirty years now, when I first started thinking about the stars in any significant way.  When I was growing up, outside of Milwaukee, there were those occasionally precious clear nights when I could sit outside with my dad while he smoked his pipe, and listen to him tell stories.  He wasn’t always a very talkative sort, being born in a practical time to Depression-era parents who conserved everything, even speech.  But when he was in the mood, you couldn’t stop him, and I loved hearing him tell stories.  Sometimes he would talk about the stars.

It only occurs to me now, sitting in my own backyard, when I force myself to relax by taking advantage of the hot tub the kind folks at choosehottubsdirect.com helped me select, that the stars today are the same ones from my childhood.  Maybe it seems like an obvious observation, but it seems significant to me somehow.  There are so many things that have changed over the years.  The way my generation thinks about money and objects is very different from how my grandparents thought, and we look at the world differently now.

Maybe we know more now, or maybe we know about some things more than we used to, but I tend to think there’s a lot of forgotten knowledge.  Maybe it does have to do with the simpler pleasures, like enjoying the moment of looking at the stars.  But the older I get, the more I understand that my father’s economy with words was never an indication of his inner life, which  I understand now was very large and complex.  His dreams and aspirations were complicated puzzles, and he knew about the stars.  He knew their names, and he always took the time to teach me their names, and only recently I came across some correspondence about how he and his father used to spend evenings staring at the stars, talking about names of things that were older than anything they could have imagined on their own.

Angie Seah in Singapore

When you’re looking to be dazzled by a fantastic combination of urban culture and local flavor, Singapore is one of the most exciting places in the world.  There are so many varieties of experience to be had here, and so many cultures existing in one space at one time, that there is always something new to see.  This is true for Singapore from moment to moment, and for outsiders visiting this city state, there is an even more spectacular experience of the every day.  It is always rich and vibrant, and always fascinating.  Many of the world views that exist here come from different cultures and languages, and many of the views come from the unique modernity that only the most cosmopolitan places experience.  Singapore is unique in world culture, and it always seems to be just a step ahead of most every global phenomenon.

One place to get in touch with Singapore in luscious style is through the cuisine.  There are many different varieties of food offered here, representing the cultural influences of the people that make up the place.  And because of its status as a major port, there is a magnificent selection if you happen to be looking for a seafood restaurant.  The best of these will offer a splendid mix of traditional techniques with amazing innovations.  This is also true for the art here.  There are a stunning number of excellent performance artists making up the new generation of practitioners, and one of the locals worth looking out for is Angie Seah Yeng Fong.

She was born here in 1979, and educated here and in Australia. This spectacular artist has performed all over the world, including the Philippines, Switzerland, Poland, and Romania.  Her poetry has been published in Transylvania, and her visual art is also exhibited widely.  Her works are each enormously complex pieces of a larger puzzle, and when viewed together in context, reveal more puzzles to be solved.  The mystery and the splendid thing here is that there is a sense that they are entirely unsolvable, and only hint at a world even more complex and compelling than their beckoning surfaces suggest.

Women in Corporate Business

For many years the corporate world was without women.  However this is changing.  Corporate training programs, courses and colleges have been educating more women now than ever before.  What is now needed, is for women to have a chance.  Studies show that even though business analysts are stating the benefits of having a female influence on the boards of many of the Fortune 500 companies, there are still twenty-five percent of the companies, that still do not have even one woman sitting on the board of directors.

Years ago, many women were brought into the corporate workforce due to public pressure to do so.  However, the times are changing, and the demand for women in the the boardrooms, as they have a unique perspective on not only sales process improvement, but marketing techniques and creative innovation.  When questioned, many CEOs have stated that while they do want to hire more women, they have not been able to find them.

What a company with women on their board has does that others do not, is the search.  They look for qualified businesswomen actively.  The trouble has been with the past networking circles.  Which until recently, have not included women.  This is a subtle change in relating to one another that can be a bit difficult to put a finger on.  As companies become more innovative and more progressive, the ideas have begun to slowly change.

Women will however, find it necessary to continue to prove themselves, until the mores and the generalizations are finally done away with.  Women bring an entirely new understanding of the markets of the world.  They pay attention to the bottom line, in a different way.  And in this world, when businesses are competing not only for business, but for continuing to be able to practice that business, all sides of the coins must be looked at and considered.

Considering Gas Inserts

If you’re going to retrofit a wood fireplace with a gas insert, then you have to do your research.  Don’t rely on brochures and advice from neighbors.  Get ready to go to the stores and really investigate what installing gas inserts is all about.  Here are a few things to consider:

You have two basic choices of gas inserts, conventionally vented and direct vented.  The conventionally vented insert often gives you less problems with performance.  Almost all have a four inch flex vent that extends from the unit to the chimney top.  This resizes the chimney — with a gas insert you don’t need all the room anymore, because you’ll have fewer combustion products, as opposed to a regular fire, in which a chimney must cope with smoke and heat and air dilution, and so on.

Direct vented inserts use two or three inch flex vents.  One of these vents is for the exhaust, and the other is to bring in combustion air.  If you’re in a tightly sealed home, you may want this type, because you’ll be concerned about the available combustible air that the fireplace receives.

Inspect carefully the make and brand, and even the construction, of your insert.  Because, contrary to popular opinion, an insert is not always just an insert, and occasionally items are not on the insert you might expect.  So be sure to take a close look.  Ask about the manufacturer of the insert.  Consider the smaller manufacturer as well, because many of them can make quality products at fairly low prices, comparatively.

Try not to buy on the basis of a brochure.  As often as possible, you want to take a look at these inserts personally.  Some places have burning displays.  Think of the advantages of seeing the insert in use before you make your choice!  But be sure to ask questions about how the burn display is set up, to be sure that the unit will operate the similarly in your home.  If you like the answers, if you like the construction quality of the insert, if the price is reasonable, then you definitely want to buy it.

If you want to dress up the insert with some gold trim or a gold door, etcetera, then be sure to ask if the inserts are shown with accessories or if they’re added costs.  Check out the base unit price.  Personally, I don’t care for the brass louvres or trim because they can tarnish quickly.  I’d prefer the real 24K gold plated doors, which can retain their shine for years, and it’s not as costly as you might imagine.

There’s more to say, I’m sure, but here’s hoping these few points have given you something to consider when retrofitting your fireplace!

TransGlobe Relieves the Stress of Moving to a New City

So you got the job, and now you must make the move, to a new city, a life of adventure tainted with a bit of stress about that move.  You are at once exhilarated, but may feel a bit daunted about finding a place to live.  This is not uncommon as making a move ranks at the top of the list as far as the stresses of life are concerned, but choosing to rent from a property run by TransGlobe Property Management, will ease your mind and help you to make that transition smoothly.

This is a chance for renewal, not only a change in a job or a lifestyle, but a change in scenery and fresh opportunities as well.  This is when you get to push the “reset button” on your life.  And through sufficient perseverance and planning, you will begin to see that starting over is exciting, not daunting at all.  The first month may seem difficult to endure, but this will be the foundation for your new life and all that follows as a result.  When you choose to go with TransGlobe Property Management you will find that not only are your logistical needs met, but so too are your social needs, as the community that is fostered by the employees at TransGlobe, will welcome newcomers and make them feel completely at home.

Their years of experience will guide you to a location that is perfect for your lifestyle, be that in the middle of a bustling city, or on the outskirts of town.  Finding comfort in one’s surroundings is a great way to find comfort in the move, and this will make your new life a welcome beginning to the future that you begin to build.  In Canada, all signs point towards TransGlobe, for finding rental space appropriate for either work or play, and they will be there to help you make this transition.

Wedding Reception at Tampa Gasparilla Pirate Festival

John and Renee wanted to make a special plan for their wedding reception They were not going to be able to take an actual honeymoon for another year due to some recent economic setbacks they faced, but were determined to go ahead with the actual wedding ceremony and were eager to become husband and wife. So, in order to have as much of a celebration as possible they made reservations in one of the luxury Tampa hotels for a full week after the reception. However, each of them had to go to work for two of those days but they still wanted to return to the fabulous accommodations of the resort and then have an additional two days to just relax and enjoy themselves. This was the one splurge they were making in the past year and it was definitely worth it to them.

They had planned to have an outdoor ceremony at the Babe Zaharias Golf Course because it was listed as an Historical Landmark by the National Register of Historic Places and also because Renee had wanted to become a professional golfer but a major leg injury from a car accident had caused permanent damage and too much pain for her to play professionally. These plans, however, didn’t work out and instead they decided to have the ceremony down by the Bay. They were particularly excited about he the reception, which was scheduled to conclude with a trip to the Gasparilla Pirate Festival. This major annual festival had been a favorite of both John and Renee as well as many of their friends and family. They had thought about arranging a special wedding party float, but that just didn’t pan out. Ultimately, they realized that their plans were kind of scattered and chaotic, but that honestly didn’t matter. They were in love and just wanted to be married and together.

Evasive Goa

There’s a lot to see in Goa, with a pretty spectacular nightlife, and fine entertainments all over the city.  It’s not just discos and clubs these days, and some new as well as traditional music and performance work is done here in Goa.  It only makes sense, since it has a very lively local population, and a very strong economy, and is in fact one of the richest in the country.  There are splendid natural views here of course, with the beaches that are legendary, as well as nature reserves that speak to the enormous biodiversity here.  Restaurants and pubs are plentiful, too, but for those who are looking to spend their time enjoying the luxury of doing nothing in Goa, beach hotel accommodations are probably the best way to go.

Here you can enjoy all the water and sand you like, and it’s in seclusion and privacy.  It’s possible to have an entirely lovely time without setting foot outside the hotel, and let your mind slow down to your body’s rhythms.  It won’t be long before you start to understand what exactly was the magical pull of Goa to so many travelers a generation ago, when people were flocking here from countercultures all over the world, looking to discover something other than their usual ways of life.  Goa’s pull is in the nature, and also in the rhythm of the place.

The long and complex history of Goa can reveal a lot about how it got to be what it is today.  Looking at the Portuguese and their legacy will no doubt show some troubling moments in the past, and the trance music can show its affect on the present.  It’s almost ironic that music like Synsun’s Full Power of Goa has nothing, or very little, to do with the actual Goa.  But then again, the actual Goa is much more complex than anything anyone could ever dream up, and even when you’re here, it’s impossible to see it, even in a lifetime it might be more evasive than the ether.

President James K Polk’s Uncle One of Charlotte’s First Residents

Charlotte, North Carolina is not only the largest city in the state is full of great cultural attractions and also has an incredible history. It’s one of the oldest cities in the nation and the area that is now considered to be the city was first established in 1755 and it was incorporated and officially recognized as a town in 1768. This occurred when Thomas Polk was traveling with Thomas Spratt and his family. Polk, who was the uncle of President James K. Polk and Spratt stopped and decided to build their family houses there. One of the paths that was located very near to their residences was the historic Great Wagon Road.

This major colonial route was a course through the Appalachian Mountains by way of the Great Appalachian Valley. It began in Pennsylvania and continued to North Carolina and on through to Georgia. This was an extremely popular travel route and throughout the eighteenth century it received a large number of German and Scottish and Irish immigrants.

The pathway took the wagons and carriages through the Pennsylvania towns of York and Lancaster. It road crossed the Potomac River and led through the Shenandoah Valley into Virginia. It continued on to pass along into the Blue Ridge Mountains on the east side and went on through to North Carolina and finally Georgia. The other North Carolina cities it passed through include Salisbury and Winston-Salem. It ended near the Savannah River at Augusta, Georgia. This historic route was a fundamental travel aspect of multiple individuals and early families as the new country was being carved out. It can be compared in iconic significance to the more contemporary Route 66. And while tourists staying in one of the luxury Charlotte hotels may be more familiar with Route 66, residents of Charlotte are certainly aware of the Great Wagon Road.

Great City’s Foundation

The name comes from the world Manna-hata which was written down in 1609 by Robert Juet, officer on Henry Hudson’s  yacht. The word Manna-hata means island of many hills by the Lenape people. These native Indians told Moravian Missionary John Heckewelder as slightly different name. Manahachtanienk, which means the island where we all became intoxicated or drunk. So originally the first people to live here were the Lenape Indians. They first met Florentine Giovanni da Verrazzano, European Explorer, in the now called Hudson River.

The Dutch then made there move in 1624. They called the area New Netherland and it grew as a trading settlement for the Dutch fur trade. in 1625 there was a new Fort and Citadel built on Manhattan island. Back then they called it New Amsterdam. The citadel, Fort Amsterdam, was built to protect the new arrivals. The true birth date for New Your City is that same year, 1625. Apparently, Peter Minuit bought Manhattan in 1626 from the natives for some furs, goods and about sixty guilders, which is equaled to about $1000.00 today. What a deal.

New Amsterdam became a city formally on February 2, 1953. The city name changed to New York when the British took over the area from the Dutch. They guaranteed the New Netherlanders many things including freedom of religion when they negotiated 24 articles of provisional transfer. The United State began to form from that point on. New York City held the event of the Stamp Act Congress which had representatives from the first thirteen colonies there in 1765. This first Congress developed the Declaration of Rights and Grievances.  This declaration included the ever popular no taxation without representation.

Visitors come from all over the world to see and learn about the beginning of the United States. One could spend years in the Manhattan learning about the history. When tourists do come they have a choice of many of the best Manhattan hotel rooms and suites money can by.

Kolkata’s Favorite Sports

Like most of India, Kolkatans are mainly fans of Soccer (football).  The city, however, has been the home of many athletes that have won major competitions. Some of the winners of the summer Olympics include: Norman Pritchard, Richard James Allen, Leslie Caudius, Gurbux Singh, Dr. Vece Paes , Leander Paes and the more current most successful cricket captain from the country of India is Sourav Ganguly. But the Olympic games is not the only sport where Kolkata born athletes excel. Gobor Goho is a world amateur wrestling champion. Manotosh Roy is a former Mr. Universe. Manohar Aich was a former Mr. World. Mihir Sen was the first person to swim across the English channel in 1948. His record is held in the Guinness Book of Records. He also swam across the seven straits across all the major continents. Joytirmoyee Sikdar won four gold metals in the Asian Games in racing. There are many more who have accomplished great things in different sports arenas around the world.

Because of their love for football, the city has built a world class stadium called Yuva Bharati Krirangan or Salt Lake Stadium. It holds 122,000 people and is used for mainly football matches. The Eden Gardens Stadium is used for cricket matches. Also making a new claim to the sport of golf, Kolkata has built some of the best golf courses of its kind the Royal Calcutta Golf Club. They didn’t forget tennis either, these beautiful courts are called South Club. Adding another British inspired sport are the equestrian arenas.

There are three football teams to choose from in the city. East Bengal, Mohan Bagan and Mohammedan Sporting. These people choose a team and are absolutely crazy about them. They follow it like a religious faith. But the sport following does not save the crazy for only football. Cricket is also a sport the locals are extremely passionate about. We a team wins the streets go off with excitement. So no matter what sport visitors come to watch, there is always a good stay at one of the five star Kolkata hotels.

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