Monthly Archives: January 2010

Jan29

Keeping Your Vehicle Safe

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Keeping Your Vehicle Safe

Every time you leave your house you check it for safety. Is everything turned off? Are the windows closed? Is the alarm turned on and the doors locked? The same reasoning should apply to your car. The top 10 cities for car theft include Modesto, California; Las Vegas, Nevada; Stockton, California; Phoenix, Arizona; Visalia, California; Seattle, Washington; Sacramento, California; San Diego, California; Fresno, California; and Yakima, Washington. Even if you don’t live in a high theft city, vehicle theft happens very quickly and in just a few minutes your vehicle is gone. However, just like your house, there are a few things that you can do to keep your vehicle safe.
One of the first things is probably the most obvious but also the most frequently forgotten. Lock your doors. Even if your just running into the store for a minute, that’s all the time it will take to jump in your car and go. And it is even easier when you leave your keys in the ignition. Also, if you park your car up close to the entrance, and under a light if you are out at night, it will be less appealing than the car parked in the dark corner at the back of the lot. Though most new cars come with them, you can get yours fitted with an alarm. Even though many people ignore car alarms these days, they do draw attention and that is exactly what a potential car thief does not want. If you are looking for something a little cheaper, you can buy a steering wheel club that prevents your steering wheel from being turned and creates extra steps for anyone who would want to steal your car.
There are also a few things that you can do to make your car less appealing. Always keep items hidden. This includes removable stereos, shopping bags, and personal items such as clothing or purses. You never know what will catch a potential thief’s eye. If you have any custom truck wheels or accessories, make sure you have them securely locked. That also goes for
20 inch rim and 26″ rims ; especially if they are ones that you have spent a lot of money on.
By taking these simple steps, you too can have the assurance of having a complete vehicle whenever you come looking for it.

Jan25

The Fremont Troll in Seattle, Washington

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The Fremont Troll in Seattle, Washington

When I was a child, and I lived in a small town in the Northwest, my parents would venture the two hundred and forty-odd miles to Seattle, Washington, the largest city I knew about, to buy a new camper shell for a pick-up or simply to see the sights, such as the Seattle Space Needle or Puget Sound.  There’s one sight, though, that exists in Seattle that wasn’t there when I was a kid (and as a kid I would have loved to see it): The Fremont Troll, which crouches below the Aurora bridge at the north end.
 
The troll is a gigantic sculpture, created by four area artists for the Fremont Arts Council (Ross Whitehead, Will Martin, Steve Badanes, and Donna Walter).  This object of art consists only of the troll’s head and shoulders, but he’s still eighteen feet all, suggesting an immense creature lurking under the bridge.  Its hair is shaggy and he has a gleaming metal eye that stares to the south.  He’s holding in his left hand an old Volkswagen beetle.  Every October 31st, the local community celebrates with the troll in a kind of movable feast known as “Trollaween.”  The party starts at the bridge next to the troll, then moves along to other art sites in Fremont, such as the biggest statue of Lenin in the United States.
 
If you’re traveling out to Seattle for a vacation, seeing the Space Needle or taking the Underground Seattle Tour, be sure to include the Fremont Troll.  You can visit it during daylight hours at N. 36th St. in Seattle, beneath the Aurora Avenue Bridge (also known as the George Washington Bridge).  There’s plenty of spots in and around the troll to pose and take pictures, and that’s fine to do.  I know that if the Troll existed when I was a child, I’d have insisted on going, because who can resist the opportunity to stand in front of an eighteen foot tall monster?

Jan19

Getting Married in New York

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Getting Married in New York

We were up early to return our car hire in New York, then headed to City Hall in order to apply for our marriage licence. We were warned to arrive early as possible, because New York’s City Hall is a very busy place.

We hailed a taxi and went to the Financial District, where we found City Hall. We went inside and were astounded by the huge reception desk. We were asked by a man why we were there, we told him and he pushed a button and gave us a specific ticket and then points to where we must wait in queue. As we waited, we felt like it was waiting for our goods in Argos. We got to look at computer screens that showed the numbers and informing us which desk we will go to for service when its our turn. We apparently didn’t get here early enough, because the queue was already quite long.

We were having an interesting time, that is if you enjoy people watching. City Hall is the best place to people watch, all kinds of people are going into the chapel, and coming right back out in what I’d say about half a minute! We saw a young girl wearing a designer dress and blue Manolo Blahnik shoes, the same ones from ‘Sex in the City Movie!’ We saw a young Marine and his fiancee’ with both of their families at their sides and they were dressed to the nines. There were people that were dressed in jeans, just as we were, which made us feel slightly better. There’s a small shop in City Hall where they sell beautifully made bridal bouquets and they also have a backdrop set up to take photographs.

We waiting in queue for an hour before we got our marriage license. We went outside and it was freezing! We weren’t dressed for the sudden cold front, so we ducked into the nearest restaurant and ordered breakfast. Afterwards, we headed back to our hotel to get on some warm clothes and our coats. We then headed back out to see Ground Zero. It was really strange when walking to the site and we were surrounded by all these buildings and then when we turn the corner there’s wide open space. But, from what we could tell, not for long, the new construction seems to be moving right along.

We then went to the Flower district to meet up with our florist. I was a longer walk than we expected, so we were a little late. Our florist, Saul, was really great! He had us all set with the perfect arrangements for our wedding. That only took us a half-an-hour, were we thought it would take hours! So, we headed up to Times Square were we were to meet our friends, who are a part of the wedding party. Since we were there earlier than expected we got to check out several of the stores there and got to watch a few street performers.

We will soon be married, right here in New York City. We couldn’t think of a better place to be right now.

Jan18

Seattle is a Playground for Adults

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Seattle is a Playground for Adults

Our first morning in Seattle, after having breakfast at our hotels restaurant, we hopped on the shuttle to the Seattle Center, which is home of the Space Needle, the Experience Music Project, theaters, parks, performing arts venues, fountains and the Key Arena. We had eagerly been anticipating the EMP and we weren’t disappointed. The design of the building was totally awesome; it’s the brain child of Frank Gehry. Inside were well-designed exhibits all about Jimi Hendrix, an interesting history of the guitar and of the music scene concerning the Pacific Northwest. The highlight was the music lab! We got to play with all the musical instruments: drums, electric guitar and the keyboard; we had a blast!
From there, we took a brisk walk to the waterfront and went through the Olympic Sculpture Garden. The weather was absolutely perfect, which made our expedition more pleasant. We back-stepped to the Seattle Center and found an Italian Heritage Festival taking place in another area. They had grape stomping, food booths, cooking demos by some famous TV chefs, singing groups, a cured meat competition, a bocce ball tournament, a beer and wine garden, which had a strolling accordion player. Then there were the vendors selling everything from olive oil to t-shirts. We soaked up the fantastic atmosphere and had a cannoli!

We returned to our hotel, which wasn’t too far away from the Seattle Center. We found this luxury hotel on this site: http://www.seattleluxuryhotels.com, it had the best location and reasonably priced. We were beating ourselves up for forgetting to take the elevator to the top of the Space Needle. There were too many wonderful distractions. Besides, there’s always tomorrow, since we plan to head back to the Seattle Center and see what surprises are in store for us and to play along.

Jan16

Hopping Mad in San Antonio

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Hopping Mad in San Antonio

I’ve heard lots of stories about children and railroads, but this one really takes the cake.  I’ve lived here long enough to know who’s the head cow in the herd, and I know which side my bread gets buttered on.  I’ll give you a hint: it’s the side I don’t touch so as not to get butter all over my hand.  It’s just common sense.  Now, there were lots of times in my short life when I’ve been out well past midnight, with a flashlight and a little sifter can full of baking soda, ready to make some headlines with my discoveries of ghosts, but I haven’t found anything yet that I can’t explain.

Now it might be all right for some people to come here for a vacation and have a taste of luxury.  San Antonio hotels are really something else.  There’s no doubting a good thing.  But some people like to come here looking for ghosts, because they say there are more here than in most places.  I say that’s a lot of hooey.  Any place that has people in it is going to have its share of ghosts and what-have-you.  No place is more special than any other, but maybe, just maybe, they’re a little more active here.  That’s because they’re mad.  They’re not mad at anything in history, mind you, but just annoyed at all the people who come looking for them.

Now I know all about the Gravity Hill ghosts.  Supposedly, there were some children in a school bus stopped on the tracks somewhere in yore, whenever that was.  The train hit the bus, and now whenever a car is stopped on the tracks, it will roll by itself.  That much is true.  The other part of the story is that if you put powder on your bumper, you’ll see little handprints, from these little ghosty children pushing your car over the tracks.  Well, I say it’s the powder industry that’s got us all fanagled in this one.  You’ve got to look at the bottom line, to see which direction the cookie crumbles.  And if you want to know what scares me, it’s not ghosts, in fact, it’s clowns.  Pure and simple.

Jan14

Island Song

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Island Song

There are plenty of fabulous hotels Key Largo has waiting for you. It’s time to check in and see what all the fuss is about. This is a paradise that offers up the best most relaxing or sporting experiences off the coast of Florida. It is the home of the very first underwater state park. There are many unique adventures available at the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. The amazing colors of coral and fish is best appreciated with a snorkel in your mouth. There is a two and a half hour tour that you can sign up for. There is no scuba skills needed. Just bring your swimsuit. Masks and snorkels can be rented for a reasonable price.

Think of all the island music you will hear when you visit the local restaurants and pubs. Some of the great songs of Jimmy Buffett come to mind or how about some Bob Marley. The Beach Boys are not just a California band. They have written Key Largo into one of their big hits Kokomo. Notice that the music of such artist reflects a light happy tones with upbeat danceable rhythm. The inception of Reggae music happened to come along in the early sixties around the same time as the formation of the Beach Boys. Jimmy Buffett came into play in the late sixties. All were inspired by living or being around the oceans of the world.

Each of these three performing acts were known for different things. The Beach Boys had their sweeping perfect harmonies. Jimmy Buffett had is well written songs about everything you would see, find or do on or near a beach. Bob Marley and the Reggae he put out into the world reach a spiritual side of people with its steel drums and deep bass oriented grooves.

Jan8

Australian Open Winner Wilander

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Australian Open Winner Wilander

Mats Wilander is among the greats of tennis.  He has earned eight titles from various Grand Slams and thirty three titles in singles.  In many ways, he has continued the great reputation Sweden now has for its tennis players since Bjorn Borg came on the scene in the seventies and started to wow people with his awesome playing style and strength.  In 1988, he was the top player worldwide.

In other years, he did not fail to impress.  In 1982 for instance, he was only seventeen when he won a single title at the Grand Slam for that year against Guillermo Vilas, his opponent favored to win.  He also was the youngest to win that kind of fame and glory in tennis with that triumphant victory.  in 1984, contined to keep his title and fame in the Australian Open against Stefan Edberg, who would later go on to beat him in another game.

He now spends most of his time coaching up and coming players and sharing his talent and wisdom with them.  Wilander in addition to his coaching captains more.  He also has a lot more time to criticize them as he famously did during the 2006 French Open to Roger Federer, claiming he lacked the focus to be truly great.  Wilander will, no doubt, have a few more words to say this year at the Australian Open Tennis Championship. However, unlike others in tennis who famously lack tact, such as John McEnroe, he later apologized to the younger tennis player for his lack of respect.  He is also involved in charitable efforts these days as well.  His child, Erik has epidermolysis bullosa,  a skin condition without any known cure, and as such, he has put a lot of money into various funding ventures seeking to search out a cure for it.  He is one of the greats that has made tennis such a popular sport world wide since its growing popularity in the seventies and eighties.

Jan5

The Florida Highwaymen

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The Florida Highwaymen

Whether it’s Andy Warhol in New York, or Richard Diebenkorn in Southern California, the artists of an area or a city, tend to define that city.  Such is true of the Florida Highwaymen.  From the desks of the Miami luxury hotels, to the roadside diners, a group of African-American artists left their mark on the state of Florida.  In a southern state, it was a bewildering and a beautiful time, the 1950′s.  Twenty-six artists took their creativity, and their destinies into their own hands when they began to sell their landscape and seascape paintings out of the trunks of their cars, along the highways that criss-cross the state of Florida.

Their colors were vivid and vibrant, and their compositions exemplified life on the coast in a way that moved all of those who were lucky enough to come across them and their works as they made their family road-trips and holidays.  Palm trees bent by the tropical and forceful winds, calm sunsets and the blossoms of the poinciana bushes were their subject matter.  They had no fancy warehouse studios in New York City nor formal training, they painted what they saw and what they felt, on the side of the road or in each others’ garages…loaded up their vehicles each weekend and sold their work to unsuspecting tourists.

The original “highway man” was Alfred Hair.  He gained confidence under the tutelage of A.E. Backus and soon found that he could actually make a living selling his artwork, a momentous discovery for any painter, in those days, and in these days as well.  Unsuspecting in the meaning of or the reason for these landscapes, people bought them up like crazy.  And unsuspecting in that these paintings are worth a substantial amount of money now.  They represent not only a time period, but an artistic movement.  And back then, in the 50′s, these brilliant painters sold their work for around twenty-five dollars a piece.  There are art collectors now, willing to spend much more than twenty-five bucks a piece…much, much more.