Frank Sinatra sang about it. The Dutch owned it for a short time as New Amsterdam.Years later, New York is the heart of America and chances are that your great grandparents or great uncle McMurphy had to pass through this mega-city it to settle in the “New World”. Besides having one of the world’s largest harbors, The Big...
As I crossed the Arkansas state line into Tennessee, I played “Memphis” by Johnny Rivers. I hoped that the song might put me in a good mood in spite of the speed trap ticket I’d just received from a Arkansas trooper in a one horse town with more police than residents.I passed a giant chrome pyramid as I turned south for...
Huey Lewis once told us the heart of rock and roll is in Cleveland. However, if you want to go to where rock and roll was born, Memphis is it. It’s the city that created Elvis, and without Elvis there would be no rock and roll. Elvis was born in Tupelo,Mississippi and moved to Memphis as a young boy with his family. He was shy, unpopular in school and seemed an...
I first heard about the Azores a few years ago when I noticed a trip advertised for what seemed to me to be a ridiculously low price of $499 to visit the island of Terceira. For less than $500 the trip included a four star hotel for a week, breakfast, transfers and airfare from Boston. It’s rare to find a price that low to visit New Orleans or Atlanta, let...
I was nervous when I first spied it heading towards the table: it’s giant red spiny claws pointing upward, a dollop of spinach trapped between its cleaved halves. Delmonico’s restaurant created the Lobster Newberg almost a century before I was born and I’d been so anxious to try it, I forgot to ask the price. This famous restaurant is the oldest...
I finally just woke up to reality.Virtual reality. Before you start judging me, I’d like to point out that I still haven’t seen the new Star Wars movie and I don’t have a UNIX computer. I haven’t played a video game since Nintendo 64. What I’ve discovered is that all you probably think you know about virtual reality has been...
I shielded my eyes from the pelting wind and tried to conjure up the album cover in my mind. How many naked babies were in the photo anyway? Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy was released waaaaaay before Photoshop was invented so it was quite probable they were using real live hippie babies back then. It was the 70s and photographing unclothed babies...
I’ve been a Dali stalker lately. Ever since I came across a few strange exhibits of the infamous Salvador, I’ve been a fan. Not of his boring early stuff, mind you, but more of the “what was this guy on?”art. He was the Lady Gaga of his time. the guy making meat suits before it was cool ; The man who almost asphyxiated himself...
You’ve heard Dean Martin sing about it. It’s pizza and chaotic driving conditions are legendary. Naples, or Napoli, as it’s known by its inhabitants is only a couple of hours south of Rome and often gets ignored by first time tourists to Italy, but it’s surrounding sites make for some of the most exciting areas of the entire country. From...
You might remember a long, long time ago in the olden days (15 years ago) when people took pictures with their cameras, rushed to the nearest one-hour photo and waited patiently to see exactly what surprises lay in store on their camera rolls.No one had ever heard of IPhones, apps, memes, or selfies. If the lighting was bad or the subject on your...