TND West

We met in Central Park, that much is true.  Or at least, we were introduced to each other there, which counts as meeting.  But it wasn’t until much, much later that we would have our first conversation, the one leading up to the moment where I realized that I was meant to study under her.  I’d heard about her before our introductions, and also took some time to learn about her after the first glance, so by the time we were sitting together, and learning how to breathe from her, I was already sold that she knew some things that other people would only dream about. 

So when I find myself in my hotel in Central Park, waiting to meet with her again, I see that this is a repetition that is welcome in the new year.  She’s been training people to work with these kinds of energies for a few generations, and it won’t be something that goes away like sand on the edges of a boot in the rain.  This is something that will continue, and I am starting to understand that the most essential lessons are those that are learned when you are walking in one direction, with the intention of learning something specific.

You are suddenly thrown in another direction, and one that you could not have predicted.  This is the real meaning of desire, its hidden meaning.  In the alpha and omega of the book of longing, there are chapters written from the dead to the living.  There are things in this fate-line that are beyond understanding, in this life or any other.  There is also another book that has been lost because of certain kinds of flooding, not related to water, which told the rest of our story, and we won’t know where it is until we get to the end, where the rose lies in the center of the four roads.

Considering a vacation in Southern Spain is like contemplating a romance.  There are new daydreams that constantly accompany you, and no one can even guess why you’re smiling all the time.  Valencia is one of the world’s treasures for travelers.  It has all the sumptuousness of Europe with the splendor and history of the Mediterranean Sea.  It is a big draw for tourists looking for a large city that’s not overpowering, and for celebrities looking for some quiet spice.  Valencia has a rich urban scene with its own underground, and there’s always the choice between the city and the sea.  Fortunately, you can always choose both, and if you’re staying in our 5 star hotels, Valencia is right at your doorstep.

Spain is almost synonymous with style, and our hotels are a reflection of the place, so that you can fall asleep and wake up in the studied elegance that is characteristic of the place.  And after a positively gorgeous meal prepared by world-class chefs who are studied in international and local cuisines, you’ll be ready to have your waking daydream in Valencia.  There are many spectacular galleries in town, representing works from the many important movements in Spain, and there are also contemporary organizations producing and promoting edgier work.  One of these is the Forja Arte Contemporáneo.

This group is dedicated to investigating the limits of art through the juxtaposition of established and new media.  They do an impressive array of projects, and seem to be connected to most of the more recognized exhibitions of provocative new art work in Valencia.  They’ve been connected to a collective called La Sala Naranja, who present new works of digital media as far away as Finland.  The focus is on establishing themselves in relation to a larger international network of like-minded artists, and part of an exciting new way of conceiving art in the 21st century.  When in Valencia, keep an eye out for their name connected to any exhibition, because their taste is really quite eclectic and smart, and their eyes are focused on the larger world of art and collaborations.

When traveling to Cape Town, luxury hotel accommodations can make the trip from lovely to heavenly. With only the finest of amenities, our hotels are stunning examples of grace and stature. Treating yourself to a truly decadent experience can invigorate the mind and the senses, and no better place to do it than in the beauty of South Africa, with its rich land and gorgeous sea. Our luxury hotels offer the best in both hospitality and contemporary design. You’ll also be perfectly connected to the world at large with state of the art technologies and in-room entertainment. The dining here is also exceptional, featuring local and international recipes created by world class chefs. Your stay here will leave you rejuvenated, and ready to explore the city.

Cape Town is very lively, and rich in culture. With the long and troubled history in South Africa, there are many sights that have great interest for all the members of the family. There is also a thriving art scene, with a stunning array of galleries and museums. If visual art is particularly appealing to you, then chances are very good that you’ll run into works by one of Cape Town’s most pre-eminent artists, Norman Catherine. His use of everyday material to create unforgettable works of painting, sculpture, and mixed media are almost iconic in the world of African art generally, and South African art specifically.

Norman Catherine was born in East London in 1949, and his work features prominently in South African art exhibitions, and is also shown at an impressive number of international galleries, and is featured in many exhibitions of public art around the world. He began painting in oil on traditional canvas as well as bone and other found objects. By the 1980s, his signature style was already well-established. The visceral humor and splendid use of color make the work of Norman Catherine enormously distinctive. The subject matter is often based in the history of South Africa, and suggests allegorical and metaphorical representations of certain metaphysical truths. His stunning work is unforgettable, and worth watching out for.

I was all abuzz about receiving my Theater Tickets to the avant-garde theater event: Fringe Theater Festival in Washington D.C. My friends managed to see several shows yesterday. They called me up and told me how much fun they had. They were trying to describe one show where two women, dancing up and down and then hanging from the ceiling. They told me they couldn’t wait for me to join them so that we may see many different kinds of performers, in so many different kinds of venues.

The intriguing part about the Fringe Theater Festival is you don’t know if you’ll pick a performance that could be great or that it could be atrocious. My friends told me at one small theater, the audience, one by one, made it’s way into a 30-seat black box room, and they were so close to the actress performing that they could, if they wanted to, reach our and touch her hair that was pinned up in the style of the 1940’s. In the play, she was reminiscing about the post World War II in London.

On another stage, my friends, an actor went on about how she left a bar late at night by herself, that was the play, her telling a story about her bar experience, but that the audience was spellbound by the story. In another theater, a tall fellow wearing blue jeans and a cowboy hat, acting all like John Wayne.

The Fringe Theater Festival, is suppose to be like the original Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where for 3 weeks in the months of August and September, Edinburgh is turned into a theater heaven where 1000 shows are being performed everyday, morning, noon and night in any venue they can find. The Fringe started up when actors were excluded from the traditional theater event, so they would camp outside the event and do their own performances, on the fringe, and all the performances were off-beat, edgy, political and avant-garde. And now, D.C. has it’s own Fringe. I’m looking forward to being a participant in tomorrows off-beat and edgy performances.

Every year in towns throughout the United States preparations are underway for their town’s annual Renaissance Festival. Depending on the state and the weather for that time of year, these popular festivals can be held most anytime. If you have never attended one of these medieval reproductions, you really need to make plans to do so. Plan to make this an all day event because this is an outing the whole family will enjoy. You will be transported back in time to kings and queens, their courts and their knights. It is truly a delightful experience as you leave the present and step into the far distant past. Get your event tickets and prepare yourself for quite an adventure.

There are acres of activities for your entertainment and dozens of vendors offering their wares. You will find many booths offering unique hand crafted items for sale ranging from low cost, simple, souvenirs to very detailed, exquisite and expensive pieces of art. Whatever your taste, whatever your budget you will surely find it at the yearly Renaissance Festival. And the food…you have to try the food. Steamed corn on the cob still in the husk, smoked turkey legs, you name it and you will probably find it here. As you walk around among the crowd and the succulent aromas fill the air, you will definitely find your way to one or more of the food booths, keeping in mind you have gone back in time. You are now in a different era so enjoy all that is being offered. Walk in the shoes of those from long ago.

Do not be surprised if you come across a jousting tournament with spectators choosing their favorite combatant, or the belly dancers, or maybe the circus catches your eye, the court jesters and jugglers, the magicians. Be sure and check out the many theatres and their performances. Stop and listen to the music, enjoy the flamboyant, colorful costumes, talk to the Renaissance participants, many of whom perform at numerous festivals throughout the country. Watch it all, smell it all, taste it all, remember it all. It’s a wonderful trip back in time.

I remember I would spend my time in lines for Concert Tickets back in the day, the early 80’s. I would choose a Ticket location which I thought would be the least busiest. Now, when the concert was for a rock show, I would have to drive into the inner city, the more scarier part of town, because it was mostly deserted in the early morning hours. It beats camping out the night before.

Tickets for a Rap concert, I would head to the suburbs, the malls and find a Ticket place there. Of course this strategy won’t work today, but back in the 80’s Rap was almost only listened to by black people. Whites generally stayed away from Rap music, so the suburbs was perfect for getting concert tickets. I also remember many of times police had to be stationed at many Ticket place locations and make sure that the wristbands which were distributed a half-an-hour before the box-office opened, to prevent anyone trying to cut in line, or push and shove their way to the front of the line. The wrist band was our insurance that we had a legitimate place in line. That was good strategy too, because I didn’t have to camp out when I knew wristbands would be passed out in a lottery kind of method.

But, what I found the most frustrating was almost being the first in line, but the person in front of me took a long time in purchasing their tickets, they were buying up as many tickets as possible, so by the time I got to the window, seating choices were limited and the concert was almost sold out! I was third in line one time and when I got to the ticket window, the concert was already sold out! That’s when I had to find scalpers to get my tickets. Now a days, the Internet as virtually removed any necessity to stand in line, but hasn’t stopped the tickets from being sold out as soon as they go on sale.

Back in the day, when I was a teenager, my mother and I were standing in line to buy Children’s Theater Tickets. I remember, when finally, there was only a few more people in front of us for the ticket counter. They seemed to be together, like they were a family. If so, it was a huge family, like eight or nine children. They didn’t seem to be rich either; more like they were dirt poor cause their clothes seemed really worn and out of date, but they were clean at least.

My mother made a comment to me that I should be more like the children in front of us because they were well behaved. I just gave her a look, like ‘what? I’m well behaved!’, I mean, after all, I was just standing there, not doing anything wrong. The parents were in front of the children not even worried that their kids were miss-behaving. I noticed too that the parents were holding hands and they kept eyeing each other, like they were going to kiss, but held back from doing so.

When the family in front of us reached the ticket window, the ticket lady asked them how many tickets and the father said it loud enough for my back teeth to hear, ‘I would like eight children’s tickets and two adults, please.’ When the ticket lady responded with the price of all those tickets, I saw the father looked down and then back at his wife. I then heard him ask, even though this time he was asking in a hushed voice, ‘How much did you say?’ Of course the price didn’t change, and I saw a look of such deep sadness come across the fathers face. He didn’t have enough money.

I didn’t know my mother was paying any attention to what was happening in front of us, but she was and she immediately pulled out a $20 from her purse and dropped it on the ground. Now, let me tell you, we weren’t that loaded with money either, my mother being a single parent. I watched my mother reach down and pick up the $20, then tapping on the young fathers shoulders saying ‘Excuse me sir, but this fell out of your pocket.’ The father looked straight into my mothers eyes and I could see a whole wordless conversation going on between the two. And finally, the father said, ‘Thank you, Miss. I thought I had lost it on the way here, you truly are a blessing.’

My mother and I didn’t get to see the Children’s Theater http://www.classicsonstage.com/that day, we ended driving home in silence, but we we’re both smiling.