TravelCent

Singapore Dance Graffiti

Singapore is always a surprise, with numerous opportunities to find yourself surrounded by cultural events that will really spark your appreciation for art, or fulfill an already-sparked desire to be put into a state of awe.  The virtuosity of the talents that live and work here demonstrates itself in multiple forms, and you can probably find whatever you might be looking for.  There’s so much happening here, in fact, that you can likely find most every form on any given evening.  There are many ways, then, to have a perfect night here, which just demonstrates further Singapore’s charm.  There are many paths to perfection.

One way is to spend the first part in a Japanese restaurant.  The food here is extremely fresh, and the chefs are very adept, and know so many splendid ways to prepare contemporary as well as traditional Japanese dishes.  Because of Singapore’s position as a major trading port, there are many necessary ingredients that are difficult to find anywhere else, but here, they are readily available, making your food absolutely stunning.  This can be followed with any entertainment, but if dance is on your mind, then you won’t want to miss Graffiti of The Celeste coming this March.

This is a new work by Arts Fission, and deals with the themes of the environment and the urban landscape, exploring the nature of change when nature comes into the city.  It is a very apt theme for Singapore, where the rich urban culture is in a tropical setting with forces of nature that are palpable and always present.  This is the same company where Wong Wai Yee has had a lot of splendid artistic history.  Her current work with Moving Arts, that teaches dance to children of all ages, along with the many other dance companies in town, shows that dance is alive and well in Singapore.

Angela Taylor in Baltimore

Baltimore is a wonderful place to relax and enjoy the rhythms of life in a cosmopolitan setting.  The city is very rich in resources, both physical and ephemeral, and some of the most exciting things here depend on the moment and the talent of the local artists.  There are plenty of attractions here, a gorgeous waterfront, and an extremely lively downtown scene.  One can reasonably expect to have plenty of good days shopping and exploring, spectacular meals, and evenings of fun and entertainment.  There’s some great hotels here that can make the stay truly delightful.

There are plenty of talented people in town, thankfully, to provide a sure and steady stream of interesting new work.  Some of the musicians are great at pleasing the crowds, some play excellent covers, and some make their own songs, and push the boundaries of their respective forms, creating new paths for the listeners to follow.  One of the latter is Angela Taylor, and it seems as though she’s spectacularly apt at pleasing crowds as well, moving them through wonderful evenings in different styles and textures.

She’s an indie folk singer from here who’s got plenty of chops.  She teaches at Peabody, and has won a Best of Baltimore award, as well as being a finalist for the Lilith Fair.  She also has a pretty impressive list of creds for recording, and knows her way around electronic music very well.  All of this adds together when she sings, where the voices inside burst out, sometimes with a purr and sometimes a roar, but always with an edge of empowerment, and messages of survival.  There is a lot of darkness here, but always with a very keen edge of hope on this knife of despair, making a delicate balance that is something to behold.

Singapore Memories

Singapore is a barrage of sensations, where sounds, colors, and smells are constantly coming at you, offering you new ways to turn your attention outward, and find new ways to chase your thoughts.  It’s a splendid city to get lost in, if you have the time, and one of the wonderful things about vacations is that funny thing they do to time.  You can enjoy all the sights that the guidebooks recommend, see the local shows, enjoy a Chinese restaurant, and find yourself distracted by the show of everyday life that’s going on in the streets.

There are plenty of entertainments in town, and all art forms, too.  With theatre, performance art, experimental music, installation art, and more, there are always lots of things to choose from.  There are also local filmmakers, too, and the indie scene is not necessarily at a level to compete with the big movie making cities, but with filmmakers like Eng Wee Pen, it is certainly alive.

She has two documentaries, Diminishing Memories 1 & 2, and they’ve both been earning her a lot of attention, and her reputation is growing as a young artist to watch.  Both of these films are about her family from her perspective, the first one constructed of her own memories as a nine-year old, and the second from her point of view today as a 20-something.  This is a very honest family portrait, framed in a way to make you constantly aware of the framing.  This is a rather brilliant touch, so that while we’re watching her memories, we think about how we construct our own.

Augusta Military

There are great military men who have come from all over the United States and have done great things for there country. When you look at Augusta Georgia you will find a few fine military men. One was General Edwin A Pollock. He was born in Augusta in 1899 and went on to become a great asset for the marines and our country. He was awarded many medals for his service as the  Navy Cross. He was a hero in 1942 on the Guadalcanal while fighting against the Empire of Japan.

He went on to receive 34 medals including the Army Distinquished Service Medal, Legion of Merit w/ valor device, Bronze Star w/valor device, Navy Presidential Unit Citation w/3 service stars, Navy Unit Commendation w/1 service star, Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal, Dominican Campaign Medal, Nicaraquan Campaign Medal in 1933, American Defensive Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ 5 service stars, World War II Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal w/ 3 service stars, Order of Military Merit, Taeguk Cordon Medal, Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the United Nations Korea Medal.

One can see how long this man was serving the government, over 35 years. He traveled all over the world. He spent time on the USS Galveston (CL-19) and the USS Arkansas (BB-33). He stood as Commanding General with the Fleet Marine Force, at Camp H.M. Smith Honolulu and beyond until he retired in 1959. He may have started his life in Augusta Georgia but he influenced many other lives all around the world. Find a hotel in green Augusta and see the drinking water that grew such great men. There are many on this site to help you find the best one to fit your personality and needs.

Sunny Winter South Padre

While most of the world is being dumped on by cold rain and snow, South Padre is fluffing up their pillows at the luxury hotels across South Padre anticipate your visit. As long as the storms don’t do something really crazy like drop a lot of snow on the white sandy beaches than this is were everyone might end up. You may want to book now or you could find yourself sleeping on the beach. Which is great during the day but maybe not ideal for a good nights sleep.

There are many activities to do while enjoying your stay on South Padre Island. One such connection to make might be with Captain Billy L. Sandifer. He has almost 50 years of experience fishing in the local waters and is ready to share his knowledge and adventures with you. He is considered an expert fishing guide and has caught all the different kinds of fish in the sea. It would be quite a thrill to pull in a shark with the guidance of Captain Sandifer. He has got everything you need to get out and enjoy the waters and its creatures that live in it.

It won’t be long before Spring Break hits town. Some time in the second and third week of March the city will be mainly in the ages between 19 and 25. This will be a town filled with young fun. The beaches will be filled and the bars will be hopping. Places like Tom and Jerry’s Beach Club and Grill will be the hot spots at night. It is a casual and fun atmosphere with plenty of beer and food to keep you going. Another must see place to eat and hang out is Pirates Landing Here the whole family can enjoy this destination of fun. They have great food and also museums, boat rides, shopping and more.

U2DC

Washington, DC is a funny little town, or so says David Byrne, the Scottish-born music icon.  It’s a place where interesting blends come together, and a place where radical divisions can be immediately apparent.  There are plenty of opportunities to get in touch with the culture wars, and well as the cultural marriages in the world just by visiting, and astute travelers who have a thing for history will find plenty of chances to dig in and investigate larger pictures and puzzling connections.  Coming into the city raw, without much of a plan, can be one of the most exciting ways to get to know it.  With no agenda, and nothing in hand except for the plane ticket and reservations at a cool hotel, the city is here, waiting for you to add your perspective.

It doesn’t mean that your opinions will be accepted without question.  This is a town that’s made for arguing.  People like to argue about the essential issues of the day, like wages and health care, or also to argue about mundane things, like the best way to lace a boot, or even high philosophical matters, like the body and mind problem.  In fact, there are few places on earth where there is so much genuine joy given to fighting, outside of Ireland.  So it’s no coincidence to see a band like U2 play to sold-out audiences here.  DC has an Irish diaspora population, of course, and there’s also the extreme global popularity of some of their songs, but something about the band speaks to this city.

It might be possible to link the band’s relevance here by looking at Irish identity in a global context.  Their particularly brutal history of oppression, from external as well as internal sources, makes it a rather apt lens through which to see the world from a keen political perspective.  This may be something discussed at the U2 Academic Conference in North Carolina, but it’s worth talking about in DC as well. It might lead to some new friendships, or an all-out scuffle, or perhaps a bit of both.

A Million Bats in Austin

Outside my junior high school, there was a cliff and small cave where a few bats wheeled around at dusk.  Years later, I had a chance to see over a million bats exit Carlsbad Caverns, a dark cloud of Mexican freetail bats swirling out from the Natural Entrance and into the sky; however, today, if I want to do some bat-watching, I’d make my way to Austin, Texas, and watch the million and a half of the free tail bats pour out from the Congress Avenue Bridge.  I’ve seen it before, and it’s an astonishing show of nature that occurs nightly in the Texas state capital.

To see this sight, go to the top of the bridge or from below, and wait for dusk.  You’ll want to bring along a hat as well, when these creatures make their entrance into the sky.  You’ll find on Congress Street a sculpture to honor this creature, titled Nightwing.  The bats are, of course, only one of the things that make Austin a favorite city of mine.  Afterwards, you’ll have a choice of great music and great restaurants (all seeming to have an abundance of chips and original recipes for queso dip.  Most of the time, though, I’m in the mood for taking some time out with a cup of coffee and a piece of cake or pie, and that means Mozart’s, a great little coffee shop on the banks of Austin Town Lake.

If you’re in the city, take a night out, see the bats and have a cup of joe at Mozart’s with friends.  After that, while the million and a half bats take care of any pesky mosquitoes, you can find in Austin hotels that are the best you’ll find anywhere for a great night’s sleep.

Mozart on the Streets of San Francisco

When that was really invigorating and somewhat nerve wracking. I’m staring this new journal, of sorts as to collect my experiences and memories of establishing myself as a street musician in San Francisco. I have various reasons for going in this direction and one of them is to gain the most interactive and close solo performance experience that I can. I have played solo parts in my college orchestra though it is an entirely different experience being the only one out there and also being that close to your audience. I also like the idea of the freedom street audiences have. They aren’t in a concert hall where their behavior is sort of monitored by social etiquette and expectations. They can take or leave you on the street and their response to your performance is totally based on their opinion. And they aren’t shy about showing it either. It’s not like they throw rotten tomatoes at you or boo and hiss or anything, they’re enjoyment or lack thereof is just written all over their face.

Meanwhile another reason I’ve decided to do some street performance is because I’m trying out some variations on arrangements of some Mozart concertos and have also arranged some cello pieces for solo violin. I’m really pretty excited about this and figure that a random and unbiased audience is a great place to begin my feedback consideration. So, the only thing I performed today was a solo violin arrangement of part of Mozart’s Jupiter symphony. I know that might sound kind of odd at first, but I really liked my variation of the theme. I played it just off of Pier 35 down along Fisherman’s Wharf. This is where a lot of tourists straight out of their comfortable beds in one of the San Francisco hotels head out. I was relatively near where the cable car picks up and drops off people so I had a steady flow of audiences. I wanted to see how many I could attract and sustain. I also thought it would be less nerve wracking because I wasn’t the main focus of attention and when I felt my hands start to shake I just pretended like I was part of the background and that no one was paying any attention. It worked, when I looked up there was a small crowd of people surrounding me.

NYC Dates

This movement back and forth between coasts has become a rare pleasure for me, where the circles that were inspiring me to consider chaos as a vocational interest started to come together. They came together in magnificent ways, as they typically would, because this was the beginning of another world. It was somewhere after the creation of the fourth world, and at the point where we all started to finally worry about the fifth. It was about time we started to take them seriously, and whether or not the dwarves that lived under the earth would come to occupy the same rooms, and hold their meetings there, was still up for questions, but it was on the verge of a new spinning, that much was certain.

For me, cheap hotels in New York City also remind me of the smell of almonds, and that’s just enough reason to recommend returning again and again. This visit was to find out what happened to the Date Palm Cafe, because this is where we had met. I didn’t know it at the time, and she didn’t understand that it was important, so we just lapped each other in the way the people do when they are slightly conscious. It was, all in all, a good time in life for both of us because we were so fixated on how we were falling off of all the things that we could count on.

This would continue for more than a few years, and they were never pointless, but never made enough sense until we were sitting in each other’s company again and talking about the Date Shake that had come between us. It doesn’t matter if, by the end of the day, the shake was forgotten, and even ignored, and even scorned in some respects, because that, too, feeds the earth, and that too, opens up a window in the world that remembers us. The dwarves get to drink, and they can decide whether or not those things on the surface are still worth keeping when they come.