Web of The Week - Shakespeare and Company



Screenshot of Shakespeare and Company website

Shakespeare and Company is an independent bookstore located opposite Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris's Left Bank. Originally established in 1919 by Sylvia Beach, the store became a gathering place for writers such as Ezra Pound, Ernest Hemingway, William S. Burroughs, James Joyce and Ford Madox Ford. So great is the list of great writers who have passed through its doors or spent time living on its upper floors, that Shakespeare and Company has grown from a bookstore into an institution.

During the pre-war years the store was considered the centre of Anglo-American literary culture in Paris, which saw writers and artists of the "Lost Generation," spending a great deal of time at Shakespeare and Company. In fact, it was Sylvia Beach who initially published James Joyce's book Ulysses in 1922, which was subsequently banned in the United States and in the United Kingdom.

Shakespeare and Company has always been more than just a bookstore. From the beginning the shop included kitchen and sleeping facilities, and even today, volunteer workers are able to stay in the store, working, reading, writing and discussing literary ideas, theories, and more. After Sylvia Beach’s death the store was taken over by George Whitman, and following his passing, the store is now run by his daughter, Sylvia Beach Whitman.

The home page for the website has the very unusual characteristic of loading something different every time you press the F5 (or Refresh) key. In deed, the scrapbook nature of the layout, featuring multiple images and scraps of writing, leads to a cornucopia of other images that seem to lead off in an endless and haphazard way into the bowels of the site. It is impossible to know how many layers deep the site goes, which makes exploring Shakespeare and Company either endlessly frustrating, or infinitely fascinating. It all depends on how you approach it.

More Information
A 2005, fifty-two minute documentary film about Shakespeare and Company, Portrait of a Bookstore as an Old Man, can be seen here in its entirety...

Shakespeare and Company on Wikipedia…

The shop was featured in the Woody Allen film Midnight in Paris.

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Friday Fotos: Nap Time

I caught this villager taking a break (i.e., nodding off), from her crochet work one warm summers afternoon, while visiting the village of Artmenistis on the Aegean island island of Ikaria. I love how Greece have adopted this particular shade of blue the national colour.

In a previous post (Grecian Blues) I have posted more images using this blue as an ongoing theme in some of my Greek photography.

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Newark Bay, Hidden Harbor Tour

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It is with a real sense of déjà vu that I write this today, because it is almost exactly a year ago that I took part in one of the New York Working Harbor Committee’s ‘Hidden Harbor’ tours along the Brooklyn waterfront. I wrote about this trip in a previous post so I won’t repeat myself too much here.

With regard to New York City’s harbor, the Working Harbor Committee (WHC) exists to “…strengthen awareness of the working harbor's history and vitality today, and its opportunities for the future, by:
· Involving people in learning how the harbor works and what it does;
· Educating people in the rich and challenging history of the harbor;
· Making people aware of the need to build and sustain the working harbor.”
(Source: Working Harbor Committee…)

To this end, the WHC arranges a series of tours, dubbed ‘Hidden Harbor Tours’ throughout the warmer months of the year – typically from May to October. Tours always have guest speakers and commentary from knowledgeable experts who have worked extensively on New York harbor, all of whom are able to shed extra insights into the history and hidden secrets of the areas you cruise through.

As I am on the WHC’s mailing list, I get regular monthly updates and reminders about upcoming tours and events. Reminders that only serve to make me miss New York City and its magnificent harbor even more, now that I am ten thousand miles away in Australia. Even more so, as I shiver through a freezing Adelaide winter, and think about the heat and humidity of a New York summer.

Although the next Hidden Harbor Tour is tomorrow (July 12), and therefore almost certainly too late for anyone reading this to take advantage of, there are several more tours scheduled for the remainder of the year, and I thought they were worth bringing to your attention if you were going to be in New York City between now and the end of October.

Tuesday, 12 July - Newark Bay Tour
Special Guest Speaker: Lucy Ambrosino-Marchak, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Lucy Ambrosino is the Manager of Outreach for the Port Commerce Department of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, where she has been since 1990.

Departs from Pier 16 at 6:15pm (at the end of Fulton Street, South Street Seaport).

This tour passes by the Red Hook Container Terminal and visits Erie Basin, home of Hughes Brothers Barges and Reinauer Tugs before crossing the harbor toward Staten Island. It then enters Kill Van Kull, the area's busiest waterway dividing Staten Island and Bayonne, passing tug yards, oil docks and marine repair facilities. It then passes under the Bayonne Bridge and visits the giant container ports of Newark Bay, Port Newark and Port Elizabeth where the world's largest container ships tie up. On the way back, we pass by Military Ocean Terminal, the 9/11 Teardrop Memorial, the Robbin's Reef Lighthouse and another container port, ending up at sunset at the Statue of Liberty for a moment before returning to Pier 16.

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Tuesday, 26 July - Brooklyn Tour
Special Guest Speaker: Dan Wiley. Dan is a Community Coordinator to Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez in southwest Brooklyn. Working in the Congressional office since 2000, he has coordinated planning projects and initiatives spanning waterfront communities from the Brooklyn Navy Yard and downtown Brooklyn southwest to Red Hook, Gowanus and Sunset Park, Brooklyn.

Departs from Pier 16 at 6:15pm (at the end of Fulton Street, South Street Seaport).

This tours goes north (actually east) on the East River to the former Brooklyn Navy Yard, passing under the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. The Navy Yard has three large graving docks and an active shipyard, as well as the home port of FDNY's fireboat division. We then travel south along the Brooklyn waterfront, passing the new Brooklyn Bridge Park and the Red Hook Container Terminal, Atlantic Basin, and Erie Basin, home of Hughes Brothers Barges and Reinauer Tugs. We continue into Gowanus Bay and along the Sunset Park waterfront, home of the former large Bush Terminals. We then cross over to the Statue of Liberty at sunset for a moment before returning to Pier 16.

Click Here to book for both tours… 

Price for both tours:
Adult; $29.00
Child: $15.00
Senior: $22.00
WHC Member: $22.00 (Working Harbor Committee members)
Intrepid Member: $22.00 (Intrepid Sea*Air*Space Museum members)

There are many more tours in August, September and October, so make sure you check the full list at the Working Harbor Committee (WHC) website.

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Manhattanhenge, New York City

Manhattanhenge – sometimes referred to as the Manhattan Solstice – is a semi-annual occurrence in which the setting sun aligns with the east–west streets of the main street grid in Manhattan, New York City.

The term, as you might have already worked out, is derived from Stonehenge, the prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire.

Manhattanhenge was popularized in 2002 by Neil deGrasse Tyson, an astrophysicist at the American Museum of Natural History. During Manhattanhenge, an observer on one of the gridded east-west streets will see the sun setting over New Jersey directly opposite from the street, along its centerline.

The dates of Manhattanhenge are usually around May 28 and July 12 or July 13 – spaced evenly around Summer Solstice. In 2011, Manhattanhenge occurred on May 31 at 8:17 p.m., and will occur again on July 11 at 8:25 p.m. The two corresponding mornings of sunrise right on the center lines of the Manhattan grid are approximately December 5 and January 8 – spaced evenly around Winter Solstice. As with the solstices and equinoxes, the dates vary somewhat from year to year.

Manhattanhenge in Popular Culture
Not surprisingly, the Manhattanhenge phenomenon has made it into popular culture, with the event appearing in an episode of CSI: NY that aired on November 25, 2009. Also, the closing scene from the 2010 film Morning Glory features Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford), and Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams), walking off into the Manhattanhenge sunset.

Here’s a very brief 16 second time-lapse YouTube video of the Manhattanhenge event from 2008.

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The same phenomenon occurs in other cities with a uniform street grid. In Chicago, Illinois, for instance, the setting sun lines up with the grid system on September 25, a phenomenon known similarly as Chicagohenge. In Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the setting sun lines up with the east–west streets on October 25 and February 16, a phenomenon known locally as Torontohenge.

If any reader knows of similar phenomena happening around the world, please let us know via the Comments section below.

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Web of The Week: Planning Fun Road Trips

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Depending on where you are accessing this blog from, you are either half way through summer or half way through winter, with varying shades of the seasons in between. Wherever you are though, you can still hit the road for an extended road trip in pursuit of better weather or the long awaited break you have been looking forward to for many months. With that in mind, this week’s Web of The Week could be just what you need.

Tara Waechter started Planning Fun Road Trips back in 2009, to share her love of the open road. As Tara writes on her site: “What I love most about road trips is how accessible they are... There's nothing like the freedom of being able to just jump in your car and drive off down the road in search of adventure!”

In addition to her love of travel, Tara is a great believer in the power of planning – and she has incorporated lots of great planning aids and tips in her website, where you will find a Road Trip Calculator that helps you work out how much to budget for your road trip. You will also find suggestions for North American road trip routes, and tips on healthy eating, keeping the kids occupied and happy, and much more.

Planning Fun Road Trips is a good place to start your research if you are going to hit the highway before the end of the northern summer, or in preparation for summer in the southern hemisphere. There is much to be gained from a thorough look through Tara’s site, and I am more than happy to recommend it as my Web of The Week.

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Friday Foto: Angkor Thom, Cambodia

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Angkor Thom (literally, "Great City"), is located in Cambodia, and was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer empire. Established in the late twelfth century by king Jayavarman VII, it covers an area of nine square kilometres.

I visited Angkor Thom during my month long stay in Cambodia during February 2011, and was left overwhelmed by the scale and beauty of this great complex. Like the other stunning temples around Siem Reap – Angkor Wat being probably the most famous – Angkor Thom has suffered from weathering, wars, and from the stupidity and vandalism of the Khmer Rouge during their murderous reign.

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Thankfully though, much remains to be admired (and photographed), by the hordes of visitors that swarm over the great temple sites and ancient cities of Cambodia.

Most of the great Angkor ruins have vast displays of bas-relief depicting the various gods, goddesses, and other-worldly beings from the mythological stories and epic poems of ancient Hinduism (modified by centuries of Buddhism). Mingled with these images are actual known animals, like elephants, snakes, fish, and monkeys, in addition to dragon-like creatures that look like the stylized, elongated serpents (with feet and claws) found in Chinese art. [Source: Wikipedia…]

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One can only marvel at the size and scope of the thousands of bas reliefs carved into the laterite from which the buildings of Angkor Thom are constructed. How many artisans and sculptors worked – though slaved may be a better word – for how many years to build, carve and shape these ancient cities and temples? And in an age when the average life expectancy of most Khmer people would have been less than 50 years, how many spent their whole working lives on these monumental construction projects – living, working and dying within the shadows of these buildings?

Definitely, worth a visit, and should be in the Top 10 of any travellers ‘bucket list’.

Angkor Thom in popular culture
The film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider features several characters visiting Angkor Thom during their trip to Cambodia to recover the first piece of the Triangle of Light.

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Click on each image to purchase or view excerpts from the books displayed below via Amazon.Com...

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Go Folk Yourself Summerfest

I recently discovered the wonderful Kickstarter website. Kickstarter enables visitors from all around the world to provide financial support for projects of all types under the following general categories: Art, Comics, Dance, Design, Fashion, Film & Video, Food, Games, Music, Photography, Technology, Theater, and Writing & Publishing.

The idea works like this: individuals or groups seeking funding for their personal projects post details and offer a range of incentives to financial backers in the hope they will raise enough money to see them complete whatever project they are working on.

Kickstarter
In essence, Kickstarter is a great way to fund creative projects. The organisers behind the site believe that a good idea, communicated well, can spread fast and wide, and that a large group of people can be a tremendous source of money and encouragement. The internet of course, is perfectly suited to this type of concept, and the rise of Kickstarter, and similar sites, is a testament to the collective power of the internet, coupled with social networking and the ability for internet users to safely and securely make micro payments as low as one dollar.

Why do people, like myself, support projects? Some support projects because the know the people behind the project, others like me do it because they are hooked by the idea and the concept behind a particular venture. Still other people will support a project for the rewards offered by project creators, and so it goes.

Since Kickstarter is focused on creative projects, it is a great way for artists, filmmakers, musicians, designers, writers, illustrators, explorers, curators, performers, and others to bring their ideas to life.

While non-US citizens are able to pledge financial support for Kickstarter projects, they are currently unable to start their own projects. However, the Kickstarter team are working on this issue and hope to be able to offer ways for non-US citizens to launch their own projects via the site.

Scammers and Charlatans
“But wait a minute,” I hear you say, “what’s to stop people raising money for a non-existent project and simply pocketing the money.”

While there are no absolute guarantees that project creators will actually follow through and complete their projects, let alone start them, there are some safeguards built into the whole process. For a start, project creators have to ‘sell’ their ideas to potential backers. They do this by keeping in constant contact with backers through regular email and video updates and other forms of electronic contact. You can write to project organisers and ask them questions, or leave public comments on the project page, and interact with them in other ways.

In addition, most people seeking funding for their projects come to Kickstarter with a past history of work in the project area they are raising funds for. For example, if a band is raising money for their latest album, they may have already released other albums, or at the very least have a band website you can check out. They may also have Facebook, MySpace and Twitter profiles in the bands name where you can check that they are who they claim to be.

None of this guarantees that a project is legit. However, given that project organisers need to set a minimum of 30 days (and in many cases 60 days) to raise money for their ventures, backers have plenty of time to follow the project and withdraw their support if they think someone is running a scam.

Go Folk Yourself Summer Fest
A good example of this ‘due diligence’, can be seen with one of the projects I am currently supporting: the Go Folk Yourself Summer Fest, currently being planned for Williamsburg’s Cooper Park, Brooklyn, New York.

NOTE: If video doesn't load click on link to view on the GFY Kickstarter page

Go Folk Yourself (GFY) is a Music Video Newsblog that promotes independent artists in Brooklyn. This volunteer organization has organized over 15 shows in the past year, and is now planning to throw a free festival showcasing the best of Brooklyn’s independent and folk musicians!

Each show they produce is posted online, and the organization has its own website and YouTube page. Reading through the information on their Kickstarter page, reveals several video’s, updates, and a breakdown of the budget they have put together for their GFY Summer Fest.

As of this writing, the Go Folk Yourself Summer Fest has 43 Backers, $1,705 in pledges, and 26 days to reach their target of $5,500. If they don’t reach their target, project funding fails, and backers are not billed for their pledges.

To learn more about the way you can support Kickstarter projects, or start your own, make sure you read through the Frequently Asked Questions. As I wrote a few weeks ago in a piece called  It Doesn't Take Much to Make a Difference, there are a host of great ideas out there looking for support and funding, and Kickstarter and other sites like it make it easy to do this with a minimum of fuss and risk.

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Macy’s July 4 Fireworks

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Today is July 4th, Independence Day in America. So happy birthday, America. I’m sure you will celebrate in your usual style: with patriotic speeches, flag-waving, unbridled commerce, and of course, lots of fireworks.

2011 marks the 35th year that the Macy’s department store will be staging their famous fireworks display in New York City, and the spectacular demonstration of pyrotechnics will also celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty, as well as the nation’s 235th birthday party.

Undoubtedly the country’s largest fireworks display, vantage points along the Hudson River between 23rd and 59th streets will be at a premium when more than 3 million New Yorkers and visitors, pack the area before the first of more than 40,000 fireworks rises into the night sky. Meanwhile, millions more will be watching the event on television.

Click to view full size

Last year, at this time, I was making my way to a vantage point along the Hudson River to see my first Macy’s July 4th fireworks display. I had great expectations for this famous event, having read and heard about it from time to time over a period of many years.

Unfortunately, when it finally came and went, I couldn’t help feeling that the actual event was something of an anticlimax to the hours of waiting in stifling heat and long lines that snaked their way to the too few Port-a-loos, hot dog carts, and drink vendors.

Maybe I am hard to please, but I don’t think so. Having arrived at the park along the West Side Highway during the afternoon, I expected to find an exciting program of music and family friendly events scheduled throughout the day. After all, what are three million people supposed to do before the first rocket blasts into the darkness at 9:00PM?

The answer, it seemed, was – not much.

As the minutes ticked into hours, and a hot, humid day turned into a test of endurance – especially for those who had arrived early – there was not a lot revellers could do but conserve their energy, eat overpriced junk food, drink lots of water, and wait.

And wait.

At some point during the afternoon the crowd was woken from its torpor to the sight and sounds of a military flyover featuring a number of air force fighters that followed the path of the Hudson River up the length of Manhattan before returning down the river and disappearing into the blue haze.

That, if you didn’t include the occasional police helicopter passing overhead, was pretty much the extent of the afternoons entertainment. That, and a New York City fire department boat spraying jets of water high into the air as dusk fell, which, to be honest, was probably the highlight of the day for me.

Apparently, again this year, “Revelers along the viewing areas will enjoy a FDNY Fireboat Water Show and a military flyover of four F-15's from the Air National Guard's 104th Fighter Wing.”

The theme for the event in 2011 is Gift of Freedom, and in addition to saluting the lady in the harbor, Macy's will also commemorate the 10th anniversary of the attacks on September 11, 2001 with a tribute in light during a soaring rendition of Amazing Grace. All in all, it is bound to be an exciting, spectacular and emotional finish to America’s birthday celebrations.

The most obvious question remains: was it worth the hours of waiting, and would I do it again? I know, I know, that’s two questions. Ultimately, I would have to say, Yes, it was worth the hours of waiting, and No, I wouldn’t do it again.

Having arrived in New York City just days before July 4, I was keen to experience this national holiday in the company of millions of New Yorkers and fellow visitors, and I’m glad I made the effort despite the heat and the hours of waiting. However, this is one event I am more than happy to cross off my bucket list in favour of any number of other choices available to the visitor in New York City on Independence Day.

Be that as it may: Happy 235th Birthday, America. I hope you have a great day.

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Website of The Week: Digital Photography School

Screen shot of the Digital Photography School website

The Digital Photography School website has been on my blog roll for over a year, and has become my first ‘port of call’ whenever I want to catch up on the latest camera reviews, photography tips, or tech tips on how to get the best out of my camera. To quote from the home page of the DPS:

Welcome to Digital Photography School! Discover how to use your digital camera with our Digital Photography Tips. We are a community of photographers of all experience levels who come together to learn, share and grow in our understanding of photography.

This is a massive site, and it might take you some time to get your head around it, so my advice is to start your reading or research in that part of the site that you are particularly interested in right now. For example, if you are looking to purchase your first or new camera, start with the reviews. Of course, it helps if you have some idea of the brand or type of camera you are thinking of buying, before you start wading your way through the hundreds of camera reviews on the site.

If you already have a camera, and want to learn more about how to get the best shots out of it, head over to the Tips and Tutorials section and search there for a specific question relating to your needs.

In the Post Production area of the site you will discover and endless array of advice to help you turn your images into the best possible photographs they can be after they have been downloaded onto your computer.

There is much to discover on the Digital Photography School site, and all skill levels are catered for. It doesn’t matter if you only own a ‘point and shoot’ camera, I am confident that you will find something of interest here to help you improve your photographic skills.

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Here are just a few of the hundreds of photography books that are available via Amazon.Com to help you with your photographic skills.

New York City Dreaming

Typical Washington Heights apartments

Some days, when I’m sitting here at home in my room surfing the Internet and researching and writing blog posts, it is hard to believe that I ever travelled at all, let along travelled for eight months last year and into the first two months of this one.

I am thinking about this now, as I reminisce about the beginning of last year’s travels.

It was exactly a year ago today, that I flew into New York City’s, JFK International Airport for the start of a two month apartment sitting gig that seemed like a gift from heaven. In fact it was a gift from friends of my sister and husband, whose Australian friends have been living and working in New York City for some years, now.

Chris works in the education sector. When New York’s schools shut down for the summer, Chris returns to Australia for two months. From time to time, friends and other family members are able to stay in his empty apartment for a week or two during their New York stay. Sometimes, nobody visits, and the apartment stays empty – apart from the family’s two cats. Obviously, the cats need to be cared for, and when the apartment is left empty, Chris is obliged to pay a pet sitter who visits the house morning and night to feed the cats and change their litter.

As you can imagine, the cost for this service adds up over two months, so when I offered to stay in the apartment last summer and keep an eye on the cats and the apartment, Chris and his wife were happy to accept my offer.

My niece, Scarlett is about to head to America for an extended vacation, and she has arranged to stay at the apartment in Washington Heights during the New York leg of her trip. Lucky girl! I would love to be there as well, but this year I’m staying home. Hopefully, the apartment will be available next year, and if it is, I hope to stay there again, enjoying another hot and humid New York summer.

I can hardly wait. Only twelve months to go!

I have of course, written extensively about my stay in New York on this blog. To read some of those posts use the Search box at the top left of the page and search for “New York City”.

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Friday Foto: Weightless in Space

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0.065 pounds? Ahh, if only! If only.

Yes, folks, this would have been my weight if I was dancing about on a giant red star somewhere out in the far flung galaxies. I guess I would have to add a few pounds for the space suit I would need to wear, but hey, I think I should be able to bear the load of a few extra pounds without too much trouble, don’t you think? Especially, given that my current earth weight is around 232 pounds.

“Where can I find this magical scale?” I hear you ask. The answer is in the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. To be more precise, you will find a range of similar scales fixed into the floor of the Cullman Hall of The Universe, in the Rose Center. Here’s what the website offers by way of an explanation:

Visitors can step on several digital scales located in different areas of the Hall of the Universe and discover their weight on Saturn, Jupiter, a neutron star, and the Sun, among other celestial bodies. Your lunar weight can be found on the first level beside a model of the Moon. [Source: AMNH website…]

Suggested General Admission
· Adults: $16
· Children (2-12): $9
· Seniors/Students with ID: $12
· Adult Members: Free
· Child Members: Free

Suggested General Admission, which supports the Museum's scientific and educational endeavors, includes admission to all 45 Museum halls and the Rose Center for Earth and Space. Should you wish to pay less than the suggested admission, you may do so by purchasing tickets at any admissions desk at the Museum.

Oddly, purchasing tickets online incurs a service charge of $4 per ticket! You'd think it would be cheaper, but I assume the ticketing agency is adding their fees to the process. It hardly seems worth it. On the other hand, if ticket holders are able to avoid the queues, maybe paying an extra four bucks is good value.

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These Boots Were Made For Walking

Columbia Laman Peak OmniTech Hiking Boots

Today I took my new pair of boots (see image) for a walk. I think they enjoyed it. On the other hand, I arrived home tired and exhausted after my 12.6 kms walk.

The good news: I am more than happy with my new footwear. The bad news: I am overweight and unfit and need to engage in more exercise on a regular basis if I am to make the most of my future travels.

This is not the first time I have written about the issue of fitness and travel, and probably won’t be the last. I, like presumably every other traveller, want to get the most out of my travel experiences. To do this I need to reach and maintain a reasonable level of fitness. There is no joy to be had in huffing and puffing up and down monuments, through museum galleries, or down city streets bathed in sweat and pausing for extended rest stops every 30 minutes or so.

Google map of my 12.6 km walking route

The image on the right outlines today’s walking route – which according to Google maps is a total distance of 12.6 kms (7.8 miles). That’s the most I have walking in one day since my stay in New York City last summer.

My new Laman Peak boots are made by Columbia. I settled on these because they fit well, look and feel good, and if they are anywhere near as good as my previous Ocanto Peak boots, again made by Columbia, I will have no cause for complaint.

Unfortunately, when I went looking for another pair of Ocanto Peak’s to replace the pair I have worn almost everyday for the past 18 months, I was told by the salesperson that Columbia had discontinued their manufacture. After a long search over a period of several weeks, I settled on the Laman Peak’s and today took them for a work out. Like I said, the boots did well, but I struggled, not due to the boots, but due to several factors including weight, level of fitness, and my age.

Having good footwear is essential if I am going to get out and exercise more, and continue my ‘training for travel’ regime. There is a lot I want to see of the world yet, and like it or not, walking is probably the best way of working out that suits my current lifestyle.