Hip Young Things

Centuries ago, in marshland territory, Dutch and free African settlers in the 1700s, cleared the area and created a pasture, naming it Noortwyck.  The English arrived and conquered the settlement, now known as New Netherland in 1664, and after that became a hamlet distinct from New York City to the South.  It officially became a village in 1712, and then referred to the following year as Grin’wich, and so the famous site of Greenwich Village in New York became a reality  two hundred and ninety-seven years ago.  It grew in size, in 1822, when an epidemic of yellow fever hit New York and citizens fled to the better air of Greenwich Village.  Today, the Village serves as a landmark of Bohemian culture, and a central area for new ideas and movements of all kinds, including politics, art, and culture.  Once the 20th Century began, it was the home of experimental theater and art galleries and small presses.  Today, you’ll find one of the largest legacies in this small area, the Whitney Museum of American Art.

You’ll also find the Cherry Lane Theatre, begun in 1924.  This is the Big Apple’s oldest and continuously operating off-Broadway theater.  It was originally a farm silo in 1817, then a tobacco warehouse, and a box factory.  Then Edna St. Vincent Millay and members of the Provincetown Players transformed the structure in to the Cherry Lane with the play The Man Who Ate the Popomack.   This was a vital company in the 1950s, developing the Theatre of the Absurd and The Living Theater.  It became known as a place where aspiring playwrights could perform their work.

Currently, until March 14th of this year, you can see Extinction by Gabe McKinley, starring two TV stars, James Roday of Psych, and Michael Weston of House and Six Feet Under.  The play is a dark comedy about friendships and what happens when they’re about to become extinct. You may want to stay near these places, so look for these  small hotels in Greenwich Village and New York.  You’ll find these accommodations offer a great deal of charm and character and even architecture.  Stay close to the places you want to see, and do it with the comfort and service that fits you best.

I am always behind on entertainment and after more than ten years, I am finally watching the West Wing. I had never really thought I would like the show much and only started watching it when I friend I trust told me I should. I particularly like the writing for many of the characters.

In the episode I just watched it was season two and once again it was what they refer to as “Big Block of Cheese Day.” A day on which people who would normally never get to meet with high level White House staffers are allowed to discuss their issues with the people who have the President’s ear. This always leads to situations like what happened when the Organization of Cartographers for Social Equality talks to C.J. They are there to tell her that the president should support legislation that makes every school use a specific map that will promote Social Equality better and show the true size of each country. This wouldn’t have been as funny to me if it wasn’t for the part where they flip the map of the world upside down. She tries to protest that you can’t just do that, and when asked why not, this usually composed staff member tells them that it’s freaking her out.

It is writing like this that makes me want to just grab a United States map and travel to Hollywood. I would love to be able to see some of these scripts as they are being put together. For me it is not the actors who become my heroes in shows like this, it is the great team of people behind the scenes that give the actors something to bring to life. I would love to be able to meet with some of them and find out where they get their ideas from and how they manage to find all the right words. That is something that really gives a show like this an extra spark.

I remember the moment I fell in love with William Shakespeare. I don’t mean that in the romantic sense in case anyone has already become disturbed by that statement. I meant it of course in the poetic sense and anyone who loves the bard will known exactly what I mean and will likely remember their moment of discovery as well. And I’m not talking about a first encounter with reading one of his plays or even seeing a live production for the first time. For every lover of Shakespeare, okay I mean for many, there is an epiphanic moment that occurs during a particularly fabulous performance or production or even moment of “ah ha” reading a play that will forever bind one’s heart and soul to the great plays of this Elizabethan writer.

So, with that elaborate introduction, I set the plot in motion and say that mine occurred very recently. In fact it was last October when I was in DC with my father. My father is a lobbyist and had to be in town for his work. I always find this to be particularly tedious and am not interested in his field. I also happen to be a sophomore English major in college and have been more interested in the twentieth century American writers than anything else. Last semester I took a Shakespeare class, it was required and didn’t really want to. During the last week of October my dad told me he had to go to DC for a couple of days and really wanted me to go with him. You see, my part time job is taking notes for him in these situations and sort of acting like a secretary. Generally I would stay in the hotel room and type up his notes.

Anyway, while we were there I noticed an ad for the Folgers Theater production of Much Ado About Nothing. It happened to be on our list of reading for the semester and my idea was to see the play and not have to read it. So, I talked my father into taking me to it. What happened was utterly amazing. I had never imagined Shakespeare could be so dynamic, spectacular and well, easy to understand. It was like it took place in a sort of Caribbean carnival context, though I believe it was set right there in DC. It really felt like more of a contemporary play and I didn’t have any trouble getting it, if you know what I mean. Ultimately I couldn’t wait to read the play after I saw that and was excited to tell my instructor about it when I returned to school. The funny part is he thought I saw it because I was interested in Shakespeare, not because I was trying to get out of reading a play. I decided not to make much ado over it

A payday loan is a form of a micro-credit for consumers that is being misrepresented by the news media, but mostly by the finance industry. Banks (finance industries) do not like the lost profits aspect, especially when the lost profits are going to a non-traditional micro-lender.

In recent studies, it was found that a loan product such as the payday loan, or the Money Mutual Montel Williams cash advancements is imminently helpful to consumers who have less than perfect credit and require budgetary aid. This study presents a very good case for allowing and encouraging payday loans, with its expanded offers of micro-credit, to all undeserved consumers by banking establishment.

These payday loans began with the intent in mind to serve consumers who seek to build on their financial futures by improving and establishing credit. Establishing credit is a necessity in order to do business with the banking establishments. As payday loans help build a credit record, this in turn benefits individuals with the essential ingredient to apply for a loan, a credit card, or a line of credit at their local bank. Payday loans produce significant benefits for a wide range of borrowers and creates not only a sense of well-being and a sense of accomplishment among the financially strapped individual, but has a positive effect for the local economy. For example, a payday loan borrower is more likely to retain their job, which in turn helps build a good credit score, which then helps when it’s time to purchase a home. This same study shows that the cost of a payday loan to the the majority of borrowers was not harmful and the borrowers were not more likely to take out another loan within a 12 month period.

So, if the media would actually investigate like the above study did, which produced more than anecdotal evidence proving the worth of payday loans, then their reporting would be non-bias and more credible. The conclusion of the study is that a payday loan is not a good indicator of financial folly, but instead, is an instrument for the betterment of financial freedom.

The Rolling Stones have been making music and performing concerts for decades. Their front man and lead singer Mick Jagger is recognized throughout the world. They are an English band that was formed in London in 1962. They officially came together when Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards joined pianist Ian Stewart and multi-instrument player Brain Jones. Drummer Charlie Watts and bass player Bill Wyman would complete the early line up. Jagger and Richards formed an early songwriting team in the band and have remained the primary writers through their history.

Rolling Stones concerts are often closer to being festivals and at the least are major spectacle events. They have played to sell out audiences around the world and back major stadiums and arenas. The merged onto the US scene in the 1960s as part of what is now considered to be the British invasion. Many London and other areas in Britain musicians and bands crossed the water during this time and found greater success in the United States that was previously considered to be possible. The also coincided with the emergence of rock ‘n roll as the major social force it has become.

The Beatles are the band that is most strongly associated with the invasion and they are also credited with reinventing rock as music genre. The Stones have created many albums and hit singles through the years. Every song on their concert play list is a crowd favorite, and they could play all of their hit songs in once concert, as there wouldn’t be enough time. Concert tickets sell out fast and fans often save their ticket stub as a souvenir of the event. Some of the Stones’ most popular songs include Gimme Shelter, Satisfaction, Jumpin Jack Flash, It’s Only Rock and Roll, Angie and Sympathy for the Devil. The list could go on and on, and represents only a fraction of their hits.

Is a performance by the renown cellist Yo Yo Ma a concert, a recital, an event or all of the above? It is uncommon for a solo musician who plays a classical instrument to achieve the amount of interest and following that has been bestowed on Ma, though he draws audience members in much the same manner as a rock star. Okay, he may not fill a stadium-sized arena, but that may be due more to the manner of the performance than the amount of fans he has. A solo cellist does not run and dance around the stage like rock star, nor do they typically have elaborate light shows or a band to enhance the overall effect. Watching a performance by Yo Yo Ma is much easier to appreciate in a smaller venue with fewer people in attendance. Where ever he is, concert tickets for his performances sell out quickly.

Ma is Chinese though he was born in Paris, France. His father was a music professor which is part of the reason he had such an early exposure to the cello, and great encouragement and support in learning it. They family moved to New York when Ma was four. Prior to playing the cello, which he began studying when he was four, the same year he moved to New York, he had studied violin and viola. By the time he was seven he had already begun public performances, and at that young age he performed for President John F. Kennedy. After high school Ma studied at the Julliard School of Music and Columbia University before finally reenrolling at Harvard, where he received his bachelor’s degree in 1976. He would later receive an honorary doctorate by the same prestigious school. Ma has an enormous repertoire and has released many cd’s featuring a diverse collection of music. He has played with some of the world’s top orchestras and also performs solo shows.

I found a good summertime activity for my daughter and son, camping in our own backyard. I remember my lazy summer days were full of inviting my girlfriends over for a camp-out in my huge half-acre backyard and how much fun we had turning that half-acre into anything our imaginations could muster up. My parents found this safer for me and it was convenient, it was easy to get to and there’s less to clean up after the camp-out party was over. Plus, which was most important to me, the bathroom was only a few yards away and if it started to rain, we could all run inside my home where we were safe. I’ve come up with a few tips on how to make camping in a backyard a more exciting camp-out than what I was use to.

For my daughter and son, I set a time and day, not too far out in the future so I can check the weather forecast, but enough time which allows them to invite over a few friends. I stake out a spot that’s flat and even in the backyard where a tent can be set up. I allow my children to set-up the tent all on their own, this gives them a sense of entitlement and accomplishment. I run an extension cord out to the tent so they can entertain their friends with either a movie or music. I make sure there are enough blankets and sleeping bags and provide air mattresses that inflate easily. I now have plenty of glow in the dark sticks for the kids to aid in exploring when it’s dark or for anything else their imagination comes up with. I won’t let them have the propane operated lamps due to potential fire hazards, but I have purchased battery operated lamps that look like a real Coleman propane lamp which can be hung up in the tents or on a tree branch. I make sure, before they head outside, to spray down all the kids with insect repellent. I remember being eaten alive by mosquitoes one night that made the whole evening miserable. I only will allow them to roast marshmallows for Smores and hotdogs on our BBQ island on the patio, supervised, of course. I find my children still to small to handle a real campfire. Next to the BBQ Island, I have a big tub filled with ice and watermelon slices and all kinds of soda-pop and drinks. After all the children have eaten, I leave them to camp, on their own. At least, make them feel like they are alone, out in the wilderness telling ghost stories or just enjoying the night-sky.