Chocolate Rave

Visiting New Orleans is never difficult.  There is a fantastic night life here all through the year, and even if you’re not in town for the big festivals (we know what those are), there is more than ample opportunity to paint the town red.  If nighttime isn’t your time, there are plenty of things to do during the day.  The food is exquisite, but only if you like butter, seafood, and extremely good taste, and there’s also Cafe du Monde to brighten up every afternoon with their deliciously famous offerings.  A room at one of the luxury hotels, New Orleans opens up like a breeze on a hot day.  There’s also the Voodoo-Hoodoo aspect of New Orleans, that will continue to bring in curious tourists as long as the city is here.

Once in London, I had a professor of architecture who walked American students around the city and pointed out important facets of architecture and important works of art; he was also careful to point out works of art that were important only in the minds of the artist.  In one such case, there’s a statue, two bronze shapes, with a plaque that reads, “Jubilee Oracle,” by Alexander, 1980.  At the time, the statue was only six years old, and the professor pointed out that Alexander called referred to his own work as “monumental sculptures” and that the artist had paid for the honor himself.  Whether or not this was true, the professor was making the point that not all was as it seemed among the art work scattered about the city.  Like London, like New York City, where you can find all sorts of interesting objects just by walking along the streets.  There’s a plaque, too, in New York, but commemorating something far different than a sculpture.  It commemorates the spot where Thomas Edison showed the first movie to a paying audience in the United States…  or does it?
 
The plaque announces that on this spot the motion picture began, that in April of 1896, in a music hall, that Thomas Edison showed on a Vitascope projected a motion picture to the world for the first time.  Not so fast, New York City plaque!  Actually, the first public showing of motion pictures occurred in Chicago, in the Model Variety Theater, eight months previously.  Five months before the date listed on the plaque, motion pictures were shown to a paying audience in Paris at the Grand Cafe.  Before that time, movies had been shown even in New York.  Here’s what actually happened on the site: Motion pictures were shown here by Thomas Edison as part of a Vaudeville production; the picture in question was three of Edison’s short films, known as peephole films, put together.  The plaque was put up in 1938 by the motion picture industry itself.
 
Like my professor in London said, not everything is as it seems.  Although, less than a mile from this plaque, you’ll find a sculpture that is an out-sized version of what it is, a gigantic button and needle (it’s outdone perhaps by a 22 foot tall sewing needle in the Kansas City Garment District), and I’m sure my professor might scoff at this as art, too.  With the passage of time, though, who knows how it might be considered later?  One day people might scramble to get to New York and find a room, just to get a chance to see it.  Even Alexander’s sculpture in London might grow on people and it will become a reason to walk the South Bank of the Thames.  Chances are, though, the giant needle and the rather inaccurate Thomas Edison plaque will be more of a draw.

Walking in Philadelphia can be a lot like walking in every other city, except with a little more of a grainier edge, and there’s always something new where you least suspected it.  This is one of the most interesting cities in the country, with a thriving cultural community that has been very committed to supporting new works by new artists for a few generations now.  It has as much history in the neighborhoods as the larger sister cities, but it’s in the top six in the U.S. for population.  There is also a tremendous broader sense of history here as well, and many of the citizens recognize that it goes back much further than its existence as one of the original colonies.  There are fantastic historical sites where you can visit some of the monuments to the beginnings of contemporary government here, as well as traces of the stories of the native populations.

It’s an extremely diverse place, and there are many perspectives and points of view.  It’s always a spectacular pleasure to decide to make the trip by plane or train, book a cheap hotel in Philadelphia, and look around to see what’s happening in the city today.  There’s always something different, and something new.  When I’m lucky enough to find him, I look for traces of Brad Rothbart, to find out what’s happening in town performance-wise.  If he’s on the bill, usually as a dramaturg, then it’s going to be worth seeing.

Brad is one of the original rice cookers for an organization called RAT.  RAT can stand for Regional Alternative Theater, among many other things, and the fact that it’s no longer around is fitting because it was never really there.  It was always an ethereal structure based on Adorno and Goldman, among many other thinkers, and even when it had meetings and people were there, it was always temporary and autonomous.  Although it may not exist, Rothbart does, and he brings a shamanic intelligence to the work, sort of like the sorcerer’s apprentice, but with a lot more deftness.

Jimmy passed by the Gallo Center for the Arts and imagined his first performance with the Modesto Symphony Orchestra. This was a future projection imagination, not a memory, as he hadn’t even had his audition yet. He arrived in town early that morning and was staying in a hotel Modesto that night. He would fly back to Utah the next evening after his audition. He paused for a moment in the parking lot of the Gallo and thought how easily this could be the beginning of his career or he may never see the place again, or at least for years to come.

He imagined how major life changes and events can be determined by one hour on a single afternoon. He then considered all of the minor factors such as the one vote that could mean he would be hired being sick in bed that day and not making it to his audition. Or, the alternative, perhaps the person before him might have been horrible and he was the best violinist they heard that day and just out of frustration with the alternatives decided to hire him on the spot. All of these and of course many other possibilities wandered through his mind as he gazed off in the direction of the Gallo’s marquee.

Well, that kind of thinking led to the conclusion that life was nothing but a series of chance occurrences and their consequences. He had worked too hard and practiced and studied and performed the violin most of his life to believe that his future was strictly left to chance. And instead of being comforted by the fact he had no control over the decision made by others he was greatly relieved to be reminded that his future was in fact in his own hands. He stopped in a local diner and had meatloaf and mashed potatoes before heading back to his hotel for a quick run through of his concerto excerpt. He would practice again tomorrow morning after he warmed up after his morning coffee.

There are some fascinating things to do in Lowell, Massachussetts — the place where industry really seemed to take hold in America in the 19th Century — especially if you are a lover of history and have an interest in labor relations.  If this sounds like you, you may want to book youself into one of the hotels in Lowell and stay a few days to really explore.

Lowell is unique in that it contains a National Historical Park right in the middle of the city.  The park’s goal is to preserve the history of the American Industrial Revolution; guided tours, held every day of the week, will take you through cotton textile mills and over five miles of canals.  The place to start?  The Market Mills Visitor Center.  This structure used to be the Bigelow Carpet Company’s main complex; it’s here that you can figure out the best way to see the park.  You can make reservations for the tours, start exploring the exhibits, and also view a slide show, titled “Lowell: The Industrial Revelation,” to give you a proper grounding in the history of this place.

There are several museums to examine in Lowell, and combined they create the planet’s biggest textile museum.  You’ll see about a hundred exhibits that show you everything from the inside of a weaver’s log cabin from the 18th Century to an actual working woolen mill from the 1870s.  In the Boott Cotton Mills Museum, you’ll hear see what a 1920s weave room looked and sounded like (with the roaring sound of looms), as well as exhibits on labor and the Industrial Revolution.  The Mill Girls and Immigrants Exhibit takes you into an actual Boott Mill boardinghouse to show how people lived and worked in that time period.  The National Streetcar Museum, housed in the Mack Building on 25 Shattuck Street can instruct you on the history of trolleys in Lowell, providing you with a ride on Desire, a period electric street car.

In addition, you’ll find the New England Quilt Museum, and the Whistler House.  In the former, you’ll see exhibits concerning American quilting, from the past to today; the Whistler House Museum of Art operates to display art work and has done so since 1908.  Lowell is a perfect place to get away and rest; however, if you desire city life, then Boston is only about twenty-six miles away.

Checking into one of the hotels Hartford Connecticut has to offer is only the beginning of a trip down historical lane. Except this lane is actually and avenue. Asylum Avenue has some great historical homes of historical people. There is the Mark Twain House. Mark Twain was, born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, was a great American writer during the late 1800s and early 1900s. He published more than 30 books as well as hundreds of short stories. He’s writing was a special voice that captured the true essence of living in early America. The home was built by Edward Tuckerman Potter and he used some influences of traditional, late 1800s, English and French Architecture. It is a wonderful display of colored brick, towers and deep porches. The museum is a great reflection of Mark Twain and his life stories giving in multi-media format.

Along Asylum Hill there is also the home of another famed writer, Harriet Beecher Stowe. The Harriet Beecher Stowe Center is also in a wonderful old home that gives wind to the life of Stowe who lived between 1811-1896. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was her most famous books but she wrote many more books. Toms Cabin was a real eye opener around the topic of black slavery in America. Her home is a wonderfully charming Victorian Gothic Revival home. It is surrounded with beautiful gardens. The property also includes Katharine Seymour Day House which is a marvelous mansion adjacent to the Stowe home and the Stowe Visitor Center which is filled with exhibits and a store. This home really is a must see if you are in the area. If you have a passionate spot for the human rights of this country and the world you will get quite inspired from a visit to the home of such a passionate woman and her legacy.

One of the enticing pop culture attractions found in the city of Atlanta, Georgia is the World of Coca-Cola. Trevor knew this when he heard that his parents were thinking of taking a family trip there to visit their cousins. He also knew that his girlfriend Cathy would be absolutely in awe of this place and forever grateful, maybe even grateful enough to marry him, if he took her there. The other option was that she would be eternally jealous if she found out he went and she didn’t even know it was there in the first place. He wondered what kind of effect that might have on his potential proposal plans. He decided to go with the sure thing and asked his parents if he could bring Cathy with them on their trip.

Oddly, both his mother and father were immediately receptive and approving of this idea, which couldn’t help but to make Trevor a bit suspicious. However, before he took the chance that they had misunderstood his request or gave them time to change their minds, Trevor quickly called Cathy and told her he had some great news. He asked her to meet him at the local pizza parlor that was right in the middle of their two houses. He started the invitation with the mention of the World of Coca-Cola, which he figured was the best way to draw her interest. And he was right, Cathy took a big sip of her coke and smiled before Trevor continued by inviting her to go with him.

It turns out that the reason his parents thought it would be a good idea for Cathy to go with them is that they wanted to get to know her better. She had been dating their son for over two years and they knew this was serious. In addition, they felt that Trevor would be less likely to get into trouble with his cousin if Cathy was there with him. So they were happy to plan reservations in one of the luxury Atlanta hotels to split between the genders. The trip worked out well for everyone and both Cathy and Trevor had a great time touring the Coke museum and they bought each other t-shirts to commemorate the event. Only time will tell if Cathy will be grateful enough to marry Trevor, but the way things look now gratitude won’t be necessary.

Los Angeles has something to offer everyone.  For the cynical, it’s a great place to watch your world-view confirmed, as so many young aspirations get squashed every day by a machine that rewards those lucky enough to be already born famous.  For the hopeful, there’s still plenty of signs of life here, with ideas of making art that matters, or art that might matter somewhere, always right on the surface of the ocean.  It’s always within grasp, and out of reach just enough to keep you moving in new directions.  For those who love history everywhere, there is a lot to see here.  It has multiple layers, with all of the world’s cultures living in one sprawling place, and they all seem to be driving in the same direction at the exact same time.

It’s a spectacular place to look at the history of the film industry, of superstar’s lives, and there are many other nooks and crannies to explore, too.  If you happen to be looking for a Los Angeles cheap hotel, and have heard of Tom Waits, then you’ll enjoy all of the city, in all different kinds of light.  Those who really know his music understand the deep sense of heartache, as well as the strange dark humor, and will no doubt recognize it in the city of broken dreams.  His characters all still seem to live here, or these might be their sons and daughters, roaming the streets, looking for something that’s vital but also probably lost forever.

It doesn’t even matter that it’s lost, not all that much, because the power of his art is in expressing a hope that exists after all hope is lost.  Somewhere in the deep morning hours, after the party is over, and no one expects anything any more, this is the point where his voices start to speak in the most beautiful and poignant way.  The Tom Waits Tour of L.A. can show you all the secret spots in his songs, and take you to some of his favorite haunts, when he was living here and developing his persona that would eventually turn into a cultural icon.

Those riding the subways in New York City this coming weekend may be in for a surprise.  Staged Improv “situations” have been occurring throughout the city for almost ten years now, under the direction of Charlie Todd, the creator of the company Improv Everywhere.  This weekend, one of those missions is the No Pants! Subway Ride.  The group has pulled more than one hundred pranks, or missions, over the years, this year being the 9th Annual No Pants! mission.  The goal of the company is to create somewhat awkward situations, and then document them for their website, however many of these missions get much more notice, as David Letterman even did a segment about the No Pants! Subway Ride on his late night talk show.

The founder, Charlie Todd, is an instructor and a performer for the popular and famous improv sketch group, The Upright Citizens Brigade. Over the years they have done improv art in a variety of missions such as the Walking of Invisible Dogs.  More than two thousand people joined in on this prank, walking invisible dogs past New York’s 5 star hotels, and along the streets of Brooklyn.  The “invisible” dog leashes were on loan from the owner of the 51 Bergen Street Factory Space, the original location of the invention of that dog toy in the 1970’s.

The key to these pranks is that they are seriously enacted, even though the actions themselves are silly.  For instance, those choosing to participate in the No Pants! ride, will be casually sitting there in their underwear, as if it is just another day on the subway.  The reactions of the people not participating are priceless, and can be seen on the videos captured and available either on Youtube or the companies web site.  Other staged events include spontaneous musicals in marketplaces, the High Five Escalator Ride, and the Cell Phone Symphony.  One never knows what they may see on the streets of New York, and with Improv Everywhere, the streets have become even more unpredictable, and incredibly hilarious.

Keeping children entertained on family holiday excursions can be pretty tough business.  For many parents, they will come away from a family vacation, needing another vacation.  There is a hustle to the city of New York, a bustle that happens just walking down the street.  This is the perfect place to take children.  Be it a walk through Central Park and a look at the “Un-Birthday Party” Alice and Wonderland sculpture, to a ride around the Park in a horse drawn carriage.  When it comes to museums, this is when most children sigh, thinking that museums are boring places filled with bunches of old things.  However, one of the museums located conveniently close and accessible to your room at the best New York City hotel in Brooklyn, is the museum that is dedicated, yes–to children.

Aptly named, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum was opened in 1899, the first museum in the country designed and curated with the child in mind.  And contrary to the belief that the city is expensive, the admission to the museum is just four bucks, free to those under the age of one year.  Should you be traveling in the winter time, know that coat check is free at the museum.  You are allowed to bring your own picnic lunch or have a bite in the museum’s cafe.  There are many different activities and exhibits, all of which have inspired the inception of more than three hundred children’s museums throughout the world in the years that it has been operating.

This is of course, an interactive place, with everything from water parks created just for toddlers, to child sized cars, a library and a program that encourages creative thoughts and actions through various role playing activities.  The array of interesting things includes elephant bones and live python snakes, to art stations and scientific labs.  Should you find yourself traveling with kids through the city of New York, this museum is one stop that you must make, because to tell you the truth, it’s a pretty cool spot for adults as well.