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Archive for February, 2010

The birth of ever stricter emissions laws are the death of the traditional engine , run without electronics. This also means the death of repair manuals as we know it. While to me this is fine for my buick le sabre repair manual , I am not ok with the idea of not being able to fix my motorcycle by hand. It seem that by this point everyone knows the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, it is even being taught in colleges around the states now. This book did something to me when I first read it that made me have to go out there and buy a bike and be able to do the maintenance myself. I know this was never really the point of the book, it’s really more about quality and self realization, but there was something in his self diagnosis that spoke to me. I wanted a view of the book like no one else and wanted to be able to take a Motorcycle manuals and fix myself. That isn’t something that I ever became able to do, but I did find a passion for fixing motorcycles. When I hit my mid twenties I started teaching motorcycle maintenance at the high school down the road. It was great as a part time job, and my boss at the mechanic I worked at was happy to let me off for an afternoon to teach those kids something real as he used to say. To me it was nothing much, but I did get a great feeling of being able to zone into each part when I was working on a bike with a kid. In my thirties I even opened up my own niche mechanics business and all I worked on was motorcycles all day. I volunteer with the high school still, but in a different way. I had them set up a work study program and every year I get three to five students who would work with me on the bikes and get credit for it. One of them recently brought up to me that his father used to be a mechanic on cars, got into the business because you didn’t have to know anything, just had to be able to look in there and be willing to fix what was wrong with it. When they converted to only working on newer cars, they brought in new equipment for analyzing the car and new people who could understand the equipment. They had to let his father go because it all got just a little too over the top for a man who never even finished high school. It got me to thinking how that book would have been different had motorcycles all been electronics and not engines. I wonder if there can really even be any way to transfer that into a new edition or if suddenly that book will become outdated one day. I hope not, because on that day, so will I.

Do you want to know one of the most romantic places in the world? Of course you do and so did I, though that’s not what I was looking for exactly when I discovered that it was true. It turns out that my husband and I accepted an invitation by his former co-worker to spend a weekend in Ogunquit, Maine and we accepted thinking it would be a nice chance to get away from it all. We had both had an extremely busy and stressful couple of months so we were just looking to get out of Boston, we weren’t expecting anything else and had no idea what to expect from Ogunquit or the area.

However, from the moment we arrived, which was in the late evening so we pretty much just settled into the comfort of our fireplace warmed room accommodations. However, the next morning we were all up at sunrise and enjoyed a great coffee and pastry breakfast with an incredible view of the water and surrounding trees. There was just enough of a breeze to remind us that we were free and my husband and I looked at each other with a familiar, yet estranged knowing smile. We suddenly laughed at an odd realization we couldn’t quite yet vocalize and our friends wondered what was the joke.

We had a beautiful, quiet day and walked along the water’s edge and found out information on the Playhouse, which is the town’s theatre and is reported to put on some quality productions as well as the museum, which we decided we would visit the following day. That night the four of us enjoyed some delicious hot cocoa and felt almost like kids who were on our own for the first time. We had such an amazing time there that my husband and I agreed it would be our regular preferred escape location and we’ve even begun talking about buying a summer home there.

In downtown Montreal, there is a neighborhood called Griffintown. The area was heavily populated from the 1820’s through the 1960’s. Irish immigrants began coming to this area of Montreal during the great Potato Famine, fleeing Ireland in an attempt at a great life. It is still a heavily Irish population today, however over the years the neighborhood has fallen into disrepair. Independent film maker, Michel Regnier made a documentary on Griffintown in 1972. And in 2003, another filmmaker by the name of William Street, made the movie, Ghosts of Griffintown . The Griffintown Project was created by Lisa Gasior, in an attempt to get the interest of the public focused on a revitalization project for this neighborhood. At one time, there were many beautiful buildings, offices, shops and beautiful options for rental space . And now, this project has become a ten figure renovation project to bring the life back into the neglected neighborhood. This is starting with the redesign of the natural landscape, of the parks along the Lachine Canal, and of the football and soccer fields, and the gardens. The city planners are also taking note of the infrastructure, aspects of the neighborhood such as drainage issues and the condition of the roads are being addressed. They are also including a section of the project which will result in the construction of many more options for mixed residential living options . Most neighborhoods in need of revitalization, find that it comes naturally when the artists come to town. Artists move in because of the cheap living expenses and within a few years, everyone wants to live there. In the case of Griffintown , the planners are forcing this situation by building specifically, artist loft and studio spaces, as well as creating spaces designed to be galleries. With this kind of foresight,Griffintown has a chance now, of rising from the ashes and of becoming a brand new neighborhood.

One of the many wonderful things about big, cosmopolitan cities, is the diversity that is just so illustrated each time you step into one of the different neighborhoods. In New York City, although there is still the all encompassing feeling of being in New York, it feels just a bit different depending on whether you are standing in the middle of Koreatown or Little Italy. This is the case in the Canadian city of Toronto . I had gone to visit a friend of mine who had just found a great apartment to rent , a loft actually, in downtown Toronto, and day we spent the entire afternoon and well into the evening just walking around the neighborhood, stopping for a bit to eat here and there. The neighborhood, I found out, is involved in a Canadian program called the Business Improvement Association . One of the largest in the entire city of Toronto. This means that what you intuitively feel when you are spending time there, is real. It is made up of the business owners in the neighborhood. They do not compete for business, they come together and brainstorm about ways in which to improve business for everyone. They pool their financial resources in order to make certain that the streets and buildings and parks are attractive and well cared for, making their neighborhood a great place to be overall. They want Greektown to be a fun and a great place, to shop, to go out for dinner, to play ball in the park, and to go to the theatre. This is one of the largest Greektown neighborhoods in all of North America, and is the one with the largest population of Greek people, second only to the country of Greece. So it is no wonder that there are of course many Greek bakeries, lounges, cafes and stores located here. It was a marvelous first day in Canada for me, just a great introduction to a great city.

Upon our descent into Miami, our pilot announced that things might get a little bumpy; there were several storms in the area. As soon as he announced that, we felt like our plane had entered into a war zone, it was really very violent, but fortunately, it only lasted about 2 minutes. That was really very scary, my husband wasn’t bothered at all.

When we landed, the caught the shuttle bus to our hotel, but we were right in the middle of a deluge of rain. My husband was preparing himself for the conditions, by heaving our bags up and over the back seat of the vehicle, so we wouldn’t have to go around to the back of the van to get our bags. I but on my rain poncho. We were ready for wet Florida, but as the driver pulled up to our hotel, the entrance was covered! We didn’t have to go through all that rigamarole. We had booked the hotel online and we knew it would be a nice place to stay but we had no idea that it would be luxurious. We emerged from the shuttle van feeling that we over did it with the rain gear.

Miami is the last stepping stone for our month long travels through the US. Our next stop is South America. The reason why we made Miami our last stop, was for the art, and we don’t mean Art Deco, but for body art. There’s this TV show called Miami Ink, the show is about a tattoo studio and their clients. We just love the stories that go behind the reason for getting tattoos. Plus, we both decided that this place would be the first place for us to get our first tattoos. We came up with a design that captured our month away and will encompass our most memorable experiences. I’ve sketched it out, adding things and taking away other things, and my husband liked it. So, next time you see us, we will both have matching tattoos on our backside!

Two brothers, Aw Boon Haw and Aw Boon Par, developed a famous substance used to this day, a helpful salve known as Tiger Balm, which you can find in any drug store.  In 1937, they constructed a park in Singapore known as the Tiger Balm Gardens, meant to be a place to teach Chinese traditional values.  In 1979, the park sold to the Singapore Tourism Board.  A few years later, it was renamed and opened as an amusement park in 1990 as Dragon World.  The park is a collection of fascinating and bizarre statues and figurines that depict Chinese folklore.  Over a thousand statues, in fact, that represent mythological characters, such as the Laughing Buddha, the Goddess of Mercy, the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and more.  Even more interestingly, perhaps, is the Ten Courts of Hell, an area that features the ten steps of judgement before reincarnation, which is pretty direct in its depictions.  These underworld tortures and torments are set inside a 60 meter long dragon’s mouth.   I wouldn’t bring children here, as the statue and sets depict moral values and the punishments received for wrong-doing.  Children might have nightmares afterwards, but young adults may really enjoy it, for the gruesome aspects if nothing more.

Today, the park is known as Har Par Villa and also contains a Chinese Immigration Museum inside the gardens.  While entry to Har Par Villa is free, you may have to pay a fee for the museum, where you may learn about how Chinese people moved from China and settled in other places around the globe.   Even if you elect not to go to the museum, the park itself may be worth a couple of hours.

You can find a great room simply by clicking here, then take in the Tiger Balm brother’s tribute to Chinese folklore.  From there, you can spread out through the city of Singapore, to the Singapore Flyer, to its fascinating Chinatown, and on to the theme parks of Sentosa Island.

In the last ten or so years we have seen a serious shift in the way that we shop. No longer are we required to drive to the store for our every need. With the expansion of the internet we are able to buy books, music, and even clothes without ever leaving the house. Even grocery stores like Safeway allow you to shop for your groceries online and have them delivered. With so much available via the Internet, it is not surprising that you could shop for blinds and other home accessories from the comfort of your couch as well.
The Next Day Blinds website is filled with tips, ideas, and a catalogue of their many different choices. Here you will find a wide array of choices from shutters to shades, blinds to cornices. To begin the online process, you much first decide what type of window treatments you want; there are a variety to choose from and the possibilities are endless. When you have decided on a particular style, your next choice is color. The many different blinds and shades come in a variety of styles and colors. If you are going for a more natural look, there is the Natural Roman Shades Key West collection. As with most online pictures, it is hard to know if what you are seeing is what you are going to get. Feel free to order a swatch, they are free. Once you have decided exactly what you want, you can easily place your order online.
For those who do not feel completely comfortable making such an important purchase online, Next Day Blinds has a team of shop-at-home decorators that will come to your house. This gives you the ability to see what the product will look like in your home.
If shopping at home is not for you or perhaps you would like more ideas, head over and visit the Next Day Blinds Timonium showroom.

If you like art, music and movies that you may be like me and wonder where the famous artists and entertainers come from or live today. When you are looking for a fabulous hotel in San Francisco click here also look for some of your famous favorites. There are so many famous people of all sorts of careers that come from or live now in San Francisco. There are also some crazy people who have made some headlines like Charles Manson who was really from Cincinnati but made is crazy debut in the bay area. Zodiac Killer who is still unidentified also ran his crazy streak in northern California.

I like to think of artists like Ansel Adams. He was born in the big city and became a house hold name with his amazing black and white photos of some of the most beautiful places in America. He loved the National Forests of the country like Yosemite and the Grand Tetons near Jackson Hole. Then you have Isadora Duncan who was the creator of Modern dance. But the biggest list of famous people falls into the actor category. It is endless. Where does one start. There are a few of the classics such as Gracie Allen who gained her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her comic brilliance. Natalie Wood was also born in the city and gained her fame with performances in movies like Miracle on 34Th Street and Rebel Without a Cause.

Then we can jump to some of the modern actors still putting on great performances like Benjamin Bratt, Danny Glover, Rob Schneider, the sweet Alicia Silverston and he intense Liev Schreiber. Wow! He ha an amazing career going. I love him as the brothers he played in the latest films Defiance and X-Men Origins Wolverine. He is a powerful, versatile actor. He is also a director and screenwriter. He has also performed on Broadway most notably in the show Glengarry Glen Ross where he won a Tony Award.