American Buffalo recently opened at the Dramaworks theatre in West Palm Beach, Florida. The show opened to approving and captivated audiences on Friday night and will play through April fourth. The play was written by David Mamet who is well known for his edgy and succinct dialogue as well as for creating major suspense in unexpected moments. Many of the guests in the West Palm Beach hotels can find information on this play and other entertainment and cultural attractions at the front desk. Attending the theatre or other live performance while visiting a city is frequently considered to be the best way of exploring the community and local culture. Dramaworks is a great example of this in West Palm Beach.

Mamet was recognized by Frank Rich, of the New York Times, as having written one of the best plays of the last decade when American Buffalo first opened in 1975. The play was originally produced as the Goodman Theatre in Chicago and later moved to New York in 1977 where it was staged on the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. Robert Duvall, John Savage and Kenneth Miller appeared in the original Broadway production. Al Pacino later starred in an Off-Broadway revival at Circle in the Square.

Dramaworks is one of West Palm Beach’s top theatre companies. It is a professional, non-for profit company and attracts some of the regions top performers, as well as many guest artists from outside of Florida. It continues to stage hard hitting productions and is not afraid to present sometimes controversial themes. Producing provocative productions is part of their mission and their vision contains ambitions to change the quality of one’s life and outward perspectives through the transformative power of the theatre. This is something they continually strive for anew with each of their productions. They look for plays that will impact the audiences on an individual basis and while this is ongoing in their productions their seasons are also diverse.

Augusta was once just a crossing point for the Native Americans to get to the other side of the Savannah river. It was once just a lush green wild area that had the best passage across the river. Then came along James Oglethorpe, a British general who founded Savannah down river, who gave orders to build in the area to Noble Jones. Noble Jones was then the one who built up this area as a military strategy defense against the Spanish and French. To honor the Princess Augusta, wife of the Prince of Wales Frederick, Oglethorpe named the settlement Augusta.

Augusta has had its share of strife with all the wars and up risings that over the hundreds of years. In more modern times of the 1960s there were some issues that reared their ugly head with the American Civil Rights Movement in the city of Augusta. To this day half of the cities population is African American and there is still some political tension that comes up. Back in the 60s, there was a notable move made by musician Ray Charles.  He decided not to play in town because he found out that the audience would by segregated and the African Americans would be forced to sit in the balcony. More protests and up risings came in the 70s at colleges in other states like the Kent State shootings and the Jackson State killings and it cast a ripple to many cities including Augusta were the racial tensions lead to full blown riots.

Now the city has lightened up and is known for its many golf courses and tournaments including The Masters Championships held there every year. There are some nice places to walk and museums to visit along with plenty of hotels located around the city of Augusta waiting for a visit from people with a fresh perspective.

A great way to orient yourself to a new place or expand on knowledge you might already have about a city is to take one of its sight seeing tours.  Almost every major city in the world has a tour, and Miami, Florida, is no different in that regard:  In fact, you’ll find a number of ways to see and explore inside and outside this South Florida beachside metropolis, some of which are pretty unusual.

First, there’s the Duck Tour, which is the only way to see Miami from the land and sea in the same vehicle.  You will actually be seated inside an amphibious car and, after you’ve hit the landmarks of South Beach, you’ll roll on into the Biscayne Bay for a cruise.  If you’d just like to take some time out on the water, there’s the Island Queen, which offers ninety minutes of narrated cruise on the Biscayne Bay, where you’ll be able to take in the sight of downtown Miami, Fisher Island, Millionaires’ Row, and the Port of Miami.  If these first two options are too high tech for you, then consider an Eco-adventure Tour by exploring Miami in a canoe. You’ll be able to paddle your way through the Coral Gables waterway, or even take a canoe trip at night around Vizcaya Mansion, the Deering Estate.

On dry land, there’s a number of places to go, such as the Art Deco Tour, where you get to see the architectural interests of South Beach, inside and outside.  Miami City Tours will take you to South Beach, Bayside, Coconut Grove and Little Havana, as well as a Biscayne Bay Boat tour.
But if the city gets to be too much, there’s always the Wooten’s Airboat Rides in the Everglades, which are located thirty-five miles to the west of Miami.  No matter which tour you decide upon, you’ll need a place to stay.  Check out this site, and you’ll find a great place that meets your needs after a hard day of exploration.

Lost in Yonkers continues its run at The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California. And while the production has been extended due to popular audience demand, it is scheduled to close on March 7 and the theatre claims it is unable to extend it any longer. This means that everyone must get their tickets as soon as possible and that the tourists staying in some of the inexpensive hotels in San Diego should also make their reservations early. Performances at the Old Globe are popular with locals and tourists alike and information on the productions and the theatre’s box office is available in many of the hotel lobbies.

Lost in Yonkers is one of Neil Simon’s popular stories of life and struggles living in and growing up in and around New York. This play has a more serious tone and temperament than many of Simon’s other works including the coming of age series known as the Eugene trilogy. The play tells the story of two brothers who have been left in the care of their grandmother and aunt in Yonkers New York after the death of their mother. Their father has taken a job as a traveling sales man to pay off the family’s debt and the two boys are left in the care of their severe and threatening grandmother.

A pivotal moment in the play is a dramatic confrontation between the grandmother and aunt, which drives a further wedge between the members of this incredibly dysfunctional family. Though the play varies from much of Simon’s more light hearted comedic works, it has been extremely popular with audiences and has received great critical acclaim. It has won numerous awards including a Tony Award for Best Play and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It also won the Drama Desk Award for Best Play and was adapted into film. The original Broadway production starred Kevin Spacey, Irene Worth and Mercedes Ruehl.

When you are staying at one of the quaint hotels in Alaska you will never need to worry about getting the right amount of sleep. If you are there in the summer and you are waiting for the sun to go down to go to bed you may never make it. The sun never really disappears for the night. If you are there in the winter you may worry that you will sleep like a hibernating bear. But these fine hotels have thick window coverings for the summer and loud alarm clocks for the winter.

Some great summer activities in Alaska include the outdoors. There are some really great hiking trails that lead you up to glacier beds and there are also some great lakes or coast line edges to do some fishing. You can get a little bit of it all on one such trail as the Chilkoot Trail that can be reached near Skagway Alaska out of a cove that use to be a town called Dyea. The Chilkoot Trail lead the the desperate miners during the Klondike Gold Rush. It is an amazing hike that still has many artifacts left on the trail from the old days of travelers trying to get there sleds over a peak that was deep with snow. It was a dangerous story for many then and a beautiful summer hike for many now.

In the winters of Alaska you will find the Northern Lights to entertain you. They are swirling waves of colorful light that dance through the nights sky. They are named after the Roman Goddess, Aurora, who was the goddess of the morning and the Greek word Boreas, which means north wind. They are basically, in layman’s terms atmospheric gases mixed with solar wind particles that come down are charged by the Earth’s magnetic field. At least that is the best way I can describe it. Either way you explain it this light show is one of a kind every night. It is never the same twice and it makes for a great cuddling activity on lovers lane.

One of my favorite things to do when I travel is eat at as many places that I possibly can in the city in which I’m staying. I hope this doesn’t sound like my favorite pastime is eating, which it’s not or that I’m a glutton or something. I’m just one of those people who really feels that you can get a feeling for a city, town and or people from their food. And when I travel, which I try to do as often as I can, dining wherever I am is a great priority. So, I don’t know maybe I do love food, and I guess it is something of an obsession, though it really only comes out when I travel. I guess maybe that’s something for my therapist and me to talk about at our next appointment. Anyway, the point of all of this is to say that my recent trip to Singapore was absolutely fantastic and while I had no idea what to expect, I know understand why its residents are some of the happiest on the planet.

The cuisine of Singapore is extremely unique and also incredibly dynamic and flavorful. The majority of the local dishes are based on Malay, Chinese and Indian traditions as well as mix of others. With this in mind it’s obvious that various spices are essential to the food and local customs dominate the palate. There are many restaurants in Singapore that cater to and specialize in some of these traditional dishes and customs. I had the pleasure of dining at more than one of them while I was there and was absolutely amazed at the flavor intensity of some of them. Interestingly, the food of a particular city or region is also one of the deciding factors in making it one of my favorites. And Singapore is definitely one of my favorite places, I will be visiting there again.

Atlanta is known for a lot of things and its citizens are extremely proud of their city and also for numerous elements in it. They are die hard Hawks and Falcons fans celebrate sports and other aspects of the city’s culture with passion. One of the things that tourists who visit the city can always count on is finding a great place to stay and also finding some great food. The Rolling Bone Barbeque Pit offers great barbeque in a comfortable location and the Fox Brothers Bar-B-Q is recognized as one of the best in the nation. These and other establishments continue to retain Atlanta’s reputation for great food.

The Rolling Bone Premium Barbecue Pit offers some of the best barbeque in Atlanta, Georgia. They are absolutely oriented on providing the best tasting as well as the best quality food available and use all of the major techniques and tools that are necessary to achieving this. Proper cooking techniques are essential in creating the best barbeque and the Rolling Bone is more than aware of this. They marinate, use brining and curing as well as the time honored smoking in preparing their great barbeque. They maintain the simple charm of an earlier time and represent this in their menu as well. Good food, good prices and great quality are stables of this Atlanta establishment.

Fox Brothers Bar-B-Q is another great place to get fabulous barbeque in Atlanta. Their menu features sandwiches and meals based on Texas barbeque technique and style and this is extremely popular with residents and tourists as well. The company was voted by MSN.com as one of the top ten barbeque restaurants in the nation. That’s an incredible distinction. All of the meat in their barbeque is cooked slowly and at low temperatures. The Texas barbeque base is combined with some southern influences to create this unique taste sensation. Regardless of your particular preference in barbeque there is a restaurant in Atlanta that will serve you the best there is.

Cape May in New Jersey is a fantastic place to go to get away from everything worth getting away from.  This is one of those idyllic spots where it’s just you, the beach, and the one you love close at hand.  The days seem made for lazing around and maybe doing some sightseeing, and the nights are very much the same.  Good food and good living seem to be in the culture here, or at least it’s in the culture that’s here right now.  This link will take you to the perfect lodging, and there are options for attractions and events.

It’s possible not to get involved in the local life at all while you’re here, and there are plenty of temptations calling you to stay in your perfect solitude.  However, if you do like solitude, you may have a spooky side that also likes ghosts, because those traits often go together, and if this is the case, then by all means, get involved in the Cape May social scene.  You’ll probably meet Craig McManus, or hear his name mentioned multiple times, because he’s one of the more prominent writers working on Cape May’s peculiar history with hauntings.

He’s a mystery writer as well as a psychic, and grew up spending vacations here without realizing there were so many ghosts.  It was only later after he developed his vocations that he realized he should probably come back, and see if anything caught his attention.  His attention was certainly caught, and there were enough reasons to visit that he’s decided to stay here.  McManus is also a channeler, and has multiple works going on in the local community at all times.  It needs him, because there is a spectacular history of ghosts here, in nature as well as in some of the older buildings, and it seems to attract spiritual people who are looking for ways to get in touch with these things, as well as the deeper part of themselves.

Ah, the end of innocence. I guess it has to happen to everyone at some point and alas, it has finally happened to me. Not to be overly melodramatic or anything, but it’s true and it really does kind of hurt and feel a little bittersweet. As a matter of fact I was driving down Pike street with some Benny Goodman on the radio. I was heading to the market, which is where we used to spend our lazy Sunday afternoons, and that’s when it struck me. At once I was feeling both sentimental and endeared due to our time together but it was tinged with the bitter taste of regret and reality. I had to laugh to myself because I realized that at that moment I understood what the true meaning of bittersweet is. And it is an actual feeling. Anyway, back to my loss of innocence. And this refers to a state of being, not any kind of intimate activity so don’t think I’m headed in that direction. Read something else if that’s what you’re looking for.

Kim and I had been together for the second half of high school. We met in band, she played the clarinet and I played the saxophone. We were instantly drawn to each other and one day she asked me if I wanted to work on a duet piece for our end of the term project. I loved the idea for two reasons, one is I think the clarinet and the saxophone sound great together and the other thing is I had already developed a crush on Kim.

That was the beginning of our true romance and close friendship. We were together all the time and we frequently played music together. We took our instruments down to the Pike Place Market and just played for the fun of it. We were run off a couple of times, but who cares. We also played out in front of some of the cool hotels in the area. Most of our friends were also in the band it was like one big happy family. When we started talking about colleges, even as we were applying I don’t think either one of us was really concerned about what that meant. High school was everything and college seemed to be so far away, like another life or something. When Kim told me she decided not to go to U Dub the first hint of a sinking feeling crept in. Kim decided to go to school back east and we said we wouldn’t put pressure on our relationship we would just see how things worked out. This is our second semester of school and last week I received her phone call. She’s in love with a percussionist in Boston and it’s raining in Seattle.

The Museum of Modern Art in New York was remodeled in 2004, and although some people have their critiques, overall the interior has become a much better venue for the viewing of the paintings and sculpture it houses.  This is a long standing institution, a place where the people of the city, and those visiting the city, not only go to view some of the most incredible works of modern art in our time, and from past times, but it is also a social gathering place, a place to see and be seen.  Many of the best restaurants Manhattan has to offer are located close by, and it is a traditional night out to have a fine meal, a bit of wine and then head off to the MoMA for a new art exhibit opening.

The new spaces offer just that.  The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden was also renovated at the same time as the interior, and the new design offers a place where people can interact with each other, having discussions and observing the main attraction, which is the exceptional collection of work.  Yoshio Taniguchi was the Japanese architect responsible for this incredible re-design, a re-design that has just about doubled the gallery space, and his circular system allows people to move through the museum in a way that is much more efficient.  People as stated, interact a bit more now, and they may walk away with the feeling that they were not only observing art, but were in some way a part of the art happening on any given evening.

There are alcoves where people can sit and relax, enjoy a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, many of them located on balconies which overlook the sculpture garden outside.  The street of this city have always brought art to the people, through street performers and artist markets, but so many times museums and galleries may turn people away, people fearing the stuffy reputation of the modern art world.  The re-design of MoMA has served to not only create a more functional art space, but one that is welcoming and inviting to all those who walk through the doors.