Philippine Butterfly

Archive for March, 2010

With its rich urban life that builds on a long and complex history, Chicago is one of Illinois’ great meeting places of culture. There are plenty of new innovations here, in music, architecture, and art, and they all build upon the past. Some of the pasts are very local, connected to things that happened here in Illinois, and some are very global, drawing on the histories of the various ethnic communities that make up Chicago. It’s a dizzying thing to enter into a public space here, having just left the hotel to catch a new exhibition, and happen by some of the most sumptuous music that comes from long ago.

If the music has an accordion, violins and horns, and sounds alternately Romanian in origin, and alternately Jewish, then that just might be klezmer . Klezmer is an old musical form that can still be heard in the US, especially where there are Eastern European descendants who maintain strong connections to their roots. In many ways, it has become something of a new form in the so-called new world, having adapted new musical structures and songs into its mix. It’s something that can excite ethno-musicologists to no end, and it can also have a particularly marvelous affect on anyone else who happens to be in its proximity.

One of the best and most traditional bands in town is very probably Tum Balalaika , who take their name from an old klezmer classic. The band can vary between 5 and 15 members, and always carries a palpable aura of enchantment. This is old world stuff, and there’s nothing about it to suggest that it’s an act. They love playing the music, and the passion carries through to the crowds as well. They’ve followed in the traditional line for developing their sounds, taking the Romanian and Jewish elements, and combining with a sturdy influence from the Ukranian Gypsy forms. It might come from the 15th century, and at times it feels like being transported back into another time, but it makes beautiful noise in the air today.

When one thinks of Texas tons of things come to mind mostly the culture of rodeos and chili cook offs . If you’re planning to visit Dallas you should plan for a lot more cultural depth, The Kimbell Art Museum has a collection of works ranging in period from ancient works from Egypt to 20th century artists creations as well as Meso-American, Asian, and African pieces. The Kimbell Art Museum also offers classes in the arts for a wide range of students of all ages, and even offers courses for the deaf and those with a limited range of hearing, in hopes increased understanding of the arts will expand an appreciation for them

This is by no means the only museum or type of museum in the area. The Women’s Museum: An Institute for the Future is a place where people can explore the contributions of women throughout history. The Old Red Museum of Dallas County History & Culture is a restored courthouse containing exhibits relevant to the history of Dallas, Texas. Dallas Museum of Natural History has several fascinating exhibits ranging from an urban farm to an active paleontology lab.

Looking to explore Museums of other cultures? Dallas has those as well. The Crow Collection is a permanent set of galleries dedicated to the arts and cultures of Asia featuring pieces from China, Japan, India and Southeastern Asia, from as early as 3500 B.C. The Meadows Museum houses one of the largest collection of Spanish art outside of Spain.

There are even Museums dedicated to tragedies that have touched America as a whole. Whether you feel the need to visit The Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance, a museum dedicated to learning from the past and was started by survivors living in the Dallas area. Maybe you want to visit The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza and learn about that day in November 1963 the President, John F. Kennedy, was assassinated.

Next time you stop through Dallas pause and take a peek in one of these wonderful cultural centers and show appreciation for the history the people working within are keeping alive.

I’m a huge fan of old missions and old churches, and San Antonio was like striking gold for both! There are 5 missions within 10 miles of each other, and believe it or not, I had no idea about this until I arrived in town. I actually had time to visit all of the 5 missions, because I of what happened during my business meeting, which is the real reason why I’m here.

So, before my business endeavour began, I had time to see the Queen of the Missions – Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo . This mission is the central mission of the 5 and the biggest. It’s also headquarters for all the San Antonio Missions. The best part about Mission San Jose was its grounds, because it has been fully restored to its original size. In addition to the church, there are all sorts of support buildings, like the housing quarters and the fortress walls. While I was there, I got to talk to the park administrator and he gave me the whole shpiel about the history, but the best part was his shpiel about the whole history of how the state of Texas was formed.

Then it was time to go to my business meeting in downtown San Antonio, and I was very lucky, because we met in the restaurant of the local hotel where I was staying overnight. My business meeting went better than expected, because, after lunch, I was telling my client about my visit to Mission San Jose and how I’ll be visiting the 4 remaining missions if time allows. My client was also an old mission aficionado, and said he’d be happy to take me to visit the other 4 missions and give me my own personal tour! Needless to say, I not only landed the deal for my business, I got to enjoy an intimate tour of the remaining missions, the last one being the famous Alamo.

Games provide excitement for everyone. Some prefer crossword puzzles and mazes, while others prefer roller coasters or Baseball. Fremont offers all of the above. This page will help you find hotels in the area close to whatever game you are in the mood for.

Mazes are great fun and keep your mind sharp. The most common way to play with mazes is on paper or on a game board. In Fremont, CA , you can walk through a real maze! The Maize is exceptional fun! This Huge five acre maze is made out of cornfields. Of course, since it is organic in nature, it is seasonal. Open for about two months out of the year closing after Halloween. It is a great family outing during the day. For those who would like a little more spook, visit during the evening hours for a real scare!

The Fremont Athletics have been put on hold. While the A’s are still playing in Oakland, plans for the move to Fremont have been placed on hold. It is a game of give and take with the community and the organization. For now, Cisco Field will have to hold on construction until a decision can be made. Nevertheless, a good baseball game always proves to be a good time.

Crossword puzzles seem to be a favorite among the older generation. They are a good way to keep the mind sharp and in shape. The brain is a muscle and needs to be worked out. It is also a lot of fun to challenge others, just make sure there is not cheating and using the internet to find the answers!

Board games are also a nice way to spend a quiet evening at home with the family. Take out a game and watch the friendly competition unfold.

Whatever the game, be safe and play fair.

Here I am in Columbia, Maryland and virtually stuck in my hotel room because of the weather – Snow and lots of it. I was here last year in June, when the weather was perfect and there was this great Jazz Fest , I mean it was great! Chaka Khan was there, Al Jarreau was there and tons of other fantastic performers. But, now, there’s really nothing to do. It seems as if Columbia shuts down for the winter.

I went to down to the lobby of one of the better columbia luxury hotels , and asked them where I could go, besides the movies. They told me to check out the Columbia Art Center, that the current exhibit is the annual Faculty and Students exhibition. They told me if I went tonight that I’d get a potluck dinner. But, for something to do today, they recommended that I should see the African Art Museum . I told them that I did visit the African Art Museum last year and that I really loved all of the exhibits, but not enough to go there again. I then brought up how I really enjoyed the Jazz Festival last summer and how it’s too bad there’s not something like that in the wintertime.

The concierge desk at the hotel recommended that if I like jazz, I should check out a club call the Silver Shadow Lounge. They told me the jazz is excellent there and that I’d have a great time meeting with the locals of Columbia and that the club is upscale for young professionals and an older crowd in need of getting their groove on. I’m not much into ‘clubbing’ it, but supposedly there will be an older crowd, so I’m thinking the jazz might be good.

I headed back up to my hotel room, again, with nothing to do during the day, and waited for night to fall so I can go see a Faculty and Student exhibition with a great potluck for my dinner, and then head on over to a nightclub in hopes of listening to some great jazz.

Tonight is the night, America. It’s the 82 Annual Academy Awards. This is one of the biggest nights in the film industry for not only the working professionals but also the millions of movie fans that exist across this country and beyond. To win an Oscar is one of the first dreams of many people who grow up in the United States and they grow up to celebrate their favorite stars and predict the winners each year. Many of the local hotels are filled with people hoping to catch sight of some of the celebrities. You can find information here on room availability in the Los Angeles area. One of America’s favorite film actors, George Clooney has been nominated for best actor for his work in the movie Up in the Air. The other actors who were nominated for the same award are Jeff Bridges, Jeremy Renner, Morgan Freeman and Colin Firth.

Up in the Air is a poignant comedy drama that is based on a novel of the same name by Walter Kirn. It tells the story of the solitary lifestyle of a man who makes his living in the corporate downsizing world and the people he encounters. The film was directed by Jason Reitman who also directed Juno and Thank You For Smoking. The film has been a popular and critical hit and has already won numerous awards including eight Broadcast Film Critics Association nominations and won for Adapted Screenplay. The film is up for six Academy Awards.

George Clooney already as one Oscar win behind him. He won the award for his work in the 2005 thriller Syriana. He first rose to incredible American popularity in the mid 1990s when he appeared on the television series ER. He was on the show from 1994 to 1999 and became one of the hottest television stars during that time. His popularity and talent made for a smooth transition from television to film and he received major roles in Batman and Robin and Out of Sight while still working on the program. His biggest commercial success, up to that point, came in 2001 with his work on Ocean’s Eleven and the following year he made his directorial debut with Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.

With the economy in flux, so are many companies. As companies grow and shrink there are a lot of companies changing location, either to better fit the growing needs, or so that they may be able to save a little more money. This sort of move is a lot like a personal move , but it usually requires a lot more communication and work. One of the first things to remember to do is to create a list. This will help get things organized and keep everyone on task.

The hardest thing about moving is finding the right space to move into. With a home there are many of them available, but with a business, store fronts tend to be designed for one specific purpose and it can be hard to move a restaurant into a space designed for a clothing store, or an office building into an area designed for a hair salon. The best way to ensure that the right type of space is found is to get a larger property management company to be your representative and have them find one of their properties that will fit your needs. You can even grab a few of these companies and have them compete to see what the best price there is between them. Don’t forget to have them send you pictures or let you in to see it before deciding on a place, just like if you were moving into a new house. Places like Transglobe Property Management Services are often willing to help with this when moving into one of their places. Doing this allows you to plan what the floor will look like and make sure that the ceiling will not be too claustrophobic or anything like that.

As you move make sure that there is good communication going on between the management, the employees and even make sure to tell suppliers about the move. Customers should be informed as soon as possible, to ensure that money is sent to the right place and so that the next time they come in no one is surprised by the move and you lose business. This can be a critical time for a company, and can either come out as being a really good thing, or a really bad thing. If you keep it organized moving can be done without a lot of hassle.

Nearly all of us have been through a time in our lives where our financial state isn’t in balance. Even if we are making a decent salary, sometimes it has been challenging to make ends meet. A majority of us live from paycheck to paycheck, and if an unplanned expense comes up, this throws our budget all out of whack. But, when that happens, there is a solution, payday loan companies. These companies allow you to access cash quickly by using a cash advance on your paycheck. it’s been proven that responsible borrowers using payday loans will only benefit if it becomes necessary for them to get a cash advance loan, even celebrities are endorsing the use of Payday loans, take a look: .

There are great reasons to get a cash advance on your paycheck, like making your car payment loan on time, or if you’ve been in a minor car accident and need to cover your deductible. Say a close family member died, or your daughter just had a baby and you need to fly to another state, getting airline tickets at the last minute are very expensive, so a cash advance will come in very handy. If you have been making late payments on all your revolving credit, this has hurt your credit, credit score and most likely will result in getting a higher interest rate on your credit cards due to bad credit, getting a cash advance to either payoff the balance of your credit cards or to help with making your payments on time, eventually will improve your credit, credit rating and will, in time, help with getting lower interest rates.

Other great reasons are acts of god , a sudden wind storm blow down a tree onto your home, you’ll need money fast to fix any damage to your roof and home. If you’re getting married, and you’ve gone over budget, which is common, getting one of these unsecured payday loans will meet all the financial obligations so that you will rest easy knowing that all the wedding expenses are covered. If you need to clean up your bad credit, there’s no better solution than to get a cash advance loan and payback all your debt. Due to your bad credit, banks won’t even look at your application, but payday loan companies do not do a credit check, for more information .

To be realistic, there will always been some emergency at some point in your life and if you are living paycheck to paycheck, you won’t have the extra cash available to help you with the situation. Payday loan companies are available to help you out and they can be found online, and most require no paperwork to be faxed over, all you need to do is fill out the online application and within 24 hours money will be wired to your bank account. It’s a simple as that.