Today Is Not Over Yet

At one time, the few weeks following the end of the holiday season, were a slow time for the world of the performing arts, and their audiences, as the citizens of the city of New York recuperated from the long haul that had begun in November.  However, over the last few years, many theatre and music festivals have been popping up during those first few weeks of January, surrounding the schedule of the Association of Performing Arts annual conference.

What was once a dead time for not only the world of the arts, but for businesses such as the restaurants, the retail shops and most of New York City’s best hotels, has now become an incredibly busy and prosperous time.  Now, if you throw a dart on a map of Manhattan, chances are there will be a show playing where your dart lands, and if not right there, then very close by.  This is a great time for the public to see some of the more famous productions and performers, and a great time for those who are up and coming in the business to get seen, in front of the worldwide audience provided by the more than two thousand members of the Association of Performing Arts.  These performances are well written about through reviews, and the life of those shows going up at this time becomes much longer and more visible.

Of the many festivals around town, one of the most attended is the “Under the Radar” Theatre festival. The shows in this festival are innovative and cutting edge, and many of them end up with solid runs on Broadway following these first few weeks of January.  Anytime you visit this city, you will find a great show, however this is one time for true theatre lovers to find their way to the smaller stages, and find their way to some of the most brilliant and talented new playwrights, companies, and players in the world of theatre and the performing arts.

read comments (0)

A hot tub is a great addition for any home, and it offers something wonderful to every member of the family.  They also tend to attract a lot of friends and neighbors, and people you may have not heard from for a long time may start to come calling.  Of course, having a spa in your very own yard is having your own vehicle to a perfect, splendid solitude, any time of day or night, but there is something very social about these as well.  In fact, the social appeal of getting into hot water with people you like is something that goes back a long way.  For many centuries, even millennia, people have been tuned into the social idea of bathing, and there are many cultures that have strong and developed traditions for ritual bathing.

Some places are more formal than others, and the Japanese and Finnish traditions for public spas are still very formalized to this day.  You may want to enter into these traditions, or you may want to keep it casual, but there are many spectacular reasons use choosehottubsdirect.com as your source for your own personal spa.  They have a wonderful reputation for being attentive to every customer’s personal needs, and offer fast and effective service that comes from their years of doing business with people just like you.   There are many decisions to make when selecting your own personal hot tub, but these selections are a pleasure when you’re working with friendly and seasoned professionals.  And while you’re deciding on the size of your tub, and the style to match your own sensibility, you can start to daydream.

The daydreams are every bit as good as the reality, and when you start hosting your own hot tub parties, you’ll see that it’s perhaps even much better than you’d imagined.  It seems as though nearly every enjoyable social activity becomes even better when water is involved.  Whether it’s an outdoor barbecue, or even a movie night, where you and your friends get together to watch your favorite films, the hot tub can become a wonderful centerpiece.  They offer a magnificent sense of relaxation, and make it particularly easy to enjoy each other’s company, and to also take in the enormous benefits of relaxing in the water.

read comments (0)

My guests were just about to arrive for lunch and then we were going to spend the whole day at this small island off the southeast coast of Ibiza called Formentera. These guest were part of the crowd I met during the Ibiza opening parties and I was excited to have them aboard. One was a sister of an acquaintance of mine and a group of her friends. When I was around 16 years of age, she lived with us for almost a whole year. It was amazing to meet up with her and her friends last night. I suddenly have developed a crush on her and all her friends. It’s been 3 years since I’ve seen her and boy has she ever grown up and I get to be with her and her entourage aboard my yacht for an entire week!

When they all arrived, my crew gave them their security cards and showed them to their rooms all the while my chef set-up tapas out on the upper deck alfresco style dinning. Out of the group of seven (I hadn’t met the other four before), there were six girls. One of the girls brought her boyfriend. None of them have ever been on a large yacht before and all of the girls were exactly like what you would imagine when you think of girls on yachts.

All the the girls met through their interest in music and their interest in the Rockabilly scene. All of them dressed like pinup models of the 50’s and none of them ever just wear clothes. They always wear outfits or costumes based on the 50’s and they even fix there hair to match that era’s style. They even formed a group, which does shows in clubs and bars to raise funds for different charities. Naturally, they brought tons of luggage with them onto the yacht and believe it or not, most of them mailed there things here in advance to make sure they had everything they needed.

So, yes indeed, owning a yacht does have its advantages.

read comments (0)

Choosing an outdoor kitchen is a fantastic way to begin something new, and it starts to make sense almost immediately.  With any kind of cooking, the rewards are pretty immediate, and with an outdoor grill, you soon discover which things work, and which don’t, and there are infinite variations from there.  You’ll find new tastes that will excite you and amaze your friends and family.  The setup for your outdoor kitchen is important then, so you have everything you need right at your disposal.  It becomes a new kind of castle for you, in a way, and it’s something you can appreciate during all the seasons.  That’s why it’s a wonderful idea to add an outdoor sink to your outdoor kitchen.

There are multiple benefits to having an outdoor sink, of course, and one of the best of these is the ease you have of washing your fruits and vegetables before you work with them.  Some people don’t even realize how fantastic fruit can be on the grill, but when you’re experimenting with tastes and start to add fresh orange to a couple of recipes, you’ll see what open flame can do with fruit.  You’ll see that the heat from a grill responds particularly well to moisture in the food, and this is what makes that dramatic sizzle that everyone loves.  You might imagine that the juiciest of fruits make the best sounds, and that’s very correct.  Imagine what grilled watermelon can do for a holiday picnic!

There are all sorts of fantastic recipes available for grilling watermelon, believe it or not.  The beautiful red and juicy insides have an immensely wonderful appeal when they’ve got the grill marks on them, like summer putting its signature right on your plate.  Grilled watermelon is amazing when it’s coated with a sugar or honey marinade, to add to the natural flavors and add another touch of zest.  Grilling is life lived with a little more panache, and a lot more pleasure.

read comments (0)

Nightlife in Los Angeles is so boring I don’t know why anyone bothers. Just kidding! Most people are unaware that downtown Los Angeles has a Rocking nightlife. Once you arrive into LAX from some four star hotels in Delhi and get settled into your new hotel room, I recommend booking a private tour that will take you through West Hollywood’s Sunset Strip and the glittering sidewalks of Beverly Hills and a fantastic way to get over your the jet-lag. When the sun sets in the City of Angels, the stars come out to play. After your night-time guided tour of some point-of interests in and around Los Angeles, you will dine among the rich and famous at a renown venue and experience the Rocking world of L.A.’s nightlife first-hand.

Upon meeting your personal guide in the lobby of your hotel, your night ride will take you to Beverly Hills to Fine Dine at the Polo Lounge ; this landmark lounge has been a favorite watering hole for generations of stars and the big Hollywood deal-makers and breakers. Then you’re off to Massimo Beverly Hills located just off Rodeo Drive in the heart of Beverly Hills. Massimo is visited by celebrities and entertainment executives who are dedicated fans of Massimo’s authentic Tuscan cuisine. After dinner, your personal tour guide will drive you to the House of Blues . The home of live blues music and if you’re still hungry, House of Blues will serve you up the best Baby Back Ribs in Los Angeles.

After listening to some the the best blues artists the world has to offer, it’s time to go Clubbing at The Highlands Hollywood . Located in the historic Hollywood and Highland complex. The Highland’s spacious, classy atmosphere is the prefect mix of hipster nightspot and sweaty dance club. Owned by the renowned actor Robert Loggia, the dance floor is roomy and big, the bar is fully stocked and when it comes to sex appeal, Highland’s bartenders are smoking hot. Hip-hop and old-school is mixed with rap and pop. Enjoy the talented Go-Go dancers having as much fun as the dancers on the floor. Step outside onto the smoker’s patio to cool off and catch your breath while over-looking the amazing view of Hollywood Boulevard.

When you notice the sunrise, it’s time for your guided tour to end and head on back to your hotel room and get some well deserved sleep.

read comments (0)

The first director of the botanical garden in Cape Town, the Kirstenbosch Garden, was Harold Pearson.  Pearson is buried in what is one of the most famous reserves of the world, surrounded by the indigenous fauna and flora of Table Mountain. There is a grave marker in the shape of a Celtic cross that reads…”If you see his monument, look around”…which is poetry inscribed in granite.  The garden was founded and constructed in 1913, and is filled with trees and plants native to the country, with water from the Liesbeek River flowing throughout.  The natural forests are on either side of the slopes of the mountain range, leaving the area just about half cultivated and half natural reserve.  Just outside of the gardens, many Cape Town five star hotels offer tours and maps of and for the gardens, and throughout the year this remains one of the top tourist destinations in the country.

The garden is a live display that features more that four thousand of the twenty thousand species of flora that is indigenous to the country.  This makes up fifty percent of the flora for the entire Peninsula.  In the central part of the garden, the cultivated flora and fauna are set up in a pattern similar to that of the spokes of a wheel.  This is sectioned off with various themes, such as the Cycad Amphitheater.  The Cycad hosts the fossils of the living South African world.  Many famous species such the silver trees in the Protea Garden, exist here growing up and on the sides of the mountain slopes.  Part of the “spokes” include a rock garden, named for the garden’s first curator JV Mathews, which is also the grounds for the various succulents that grow throughout the country and are so indigenous to all desert environments.  While traveling throughout the city of Cape Town, this is a day trip that is so well worth, for the beauty and for the education and understanding of the natural culture of this incredible country.

read comments (0)

The vineyards of South Africa are abundant in Cape Town. Luxury hotel accommodations are located throughout each region and create opportunities for very nice holidays spent wandering through the wineries all day, and relaxing in the restaurants of the hotels at night. Just outside of the city of Cape Town is the small village of Paarl. This is a site that is rich with culture, architectural history and heritage, charm and incredible scenery. Along with the vineyards located here, there are other fruit farms up and down Main Street. For those wanting a bit of the outdoors, the nature hikes and bicycle paths are among the most beautiful in the world. Paarl Mountain is one of the attractions here, as it is one of the world’s biggest solid rock formations.

Franschhoek is just a bit further from the city, and is known throughout South Africa for the many fine dining restaurants and the spa resorts that bath one in luxury after a long day spent tasting wine and lingering about through the many galleries, antiques shops and artist boutiques. Here one will also find the Company Gardens of South Africa, as well as the South African Museum. The museums houses works of the painting masters of France, Holland, England, and Africa. This is one of the most incredible and beautiful collections to be found anywhere. The first exhibition at the museum occurred in 1871 and consisted of more than forty-five paintings by the master from Manchester, England, Thomas Butterworth Bayley. Now the collection and the exhibitions have grown. The museum holds stature internationally as one of the best of African and Western European museums.

The town of Stellenbosch is the second oldest in South Africa after Cape Town. This town is preserved historically and is one of the scenic wonders of the country. Stellenbosch is located in the valley of a mountain range and the climate is ideal. This is one of the best places to travel to in search of the tastes of the Winelands and there are many options for tourists to choose from. Wellington is close by, and offers a variety of dried fruit stands and farmers markets. The beautiful estates offer not only wine tastings, but olive and cheese tastings as well. All of these towns are perfect for day trips when one is traveling through Cape Town, South Africa.

read comments (0)

Really what is it with the Miss Universe franchise? It seems like every year there is a scandal. And it also seems to depend on how the Donald is feeling that day whether or not the girl gets the boot. In 2006, Tara Conner was allowed to retain her title after a scandal over drugs. Tara Conner was allowed to retain her title because Trump said that everyone deserves a second chance. How touching.

The next year, Miss Nevada, Katie Rees was not allowed to keep her title after nude photos of her surfaced. Rees got the boot for being topless, but Conner gets a pass for drug use? Something does not add up.

This year’s Miss USA pageant was already marred with scandal after the beauty queen in question Carrie Prejean, the map of California’s go-to-girl on marriage rights was found to also have topless photos on the internet. There were also rumors that she had breast implants.

After the ensuing debacle over the question judge Perez Hilton posed to Miss California and her subsequent answer about being opposed to gay marriage, now this.

It will be interesting to see if Trump gives her the boot or not? Since most on the United States map believe she only received runner-up for her conservative views, it will be interesting to see if she keeps her crown.

And by the way, the Miss California USA co-executive producer, previous winner of the crown and Playboy model, says Prejean has been unavailable for comment.

It’s just hard to understand why it’s okay to pose nude after you win a title and not before? Really what is the difference? Where is the line drawn for Miss USA pageant? It all sounds pretty hypocritical. None of these women seem to exemplify what it means to represent the USA map,this pageant needs an overhaul.

read comments (0)