Before I forget, I would like to give you guys some brief notes of some interesting notes of reference regarding the city of Detroit nightlife and some good Detroit music I heard:
One night I went out with Koch and my bro to Slow's a bbq restaurant near Tiger Stadium. Great bar-b-que at a reasonable price. The Kansas City ribs were awesome! It part of the resurgance of that area near Tiger Stadium, which is named Corktown. While you're over there, check out an old style Irish bar called the Gaelic League. You're bound to see Larry singing out some old Irish tunes. Slow's BBQ
Cliff's Bells - Later that night we headed to Cliff's Bells. I love the layout of this place, it's Cotton Clubesque, with the little tables where everyone sits and watch some good time jazz or an mini-orchestra. It has an Art Deco feeling outside and the inside is sure to bring you back to the days of old. Check it out.
Bands/artists - While I was out at Cliff Bells, a band called the Hot Club of Detroit, was playing there. My brother knows the guitarist, Evan, through friends. They have a very interesting sound, which is equated to gypsy jazz. They are making it national. In fact they are on Itunes, check out their music, and pick it up if you like what you hear. Hot Club of Detroit
I saw one of my brother's other friends, Gretchen, play at Jacoby's, an old time German bar near Greektown. It was a medley of people, but one of the guys that played there was Ty Stone, one fo Kid Rock's entourage. He is about 300 pounds, but has a very southern rock voice, similar to Warren Haynes. Good lyrics too. He had recently went on tour with Kid Rock. Not on Itunes yet, but check his myspace out to sample his lyrics. Ty Stone
Sunday, December 31, 2006
Friday, December 29, 2006
The Translator
My cousin lives in New Jersey and he and his wife came into to NY with two of her friends to do a little sight seeing. The hitch on this one is that my cousin's wife, Franca, is Italian (born and raised), as were here friends. Franca can speak very good English, but her friends however, can speak little, if any English. This posed for interesting conversation, since I don't speak Italian. I met them after their bus tour and I greeted them with a simple hello. I tried to speak with them, but they weren't understanding what I was asking them. So, my conversation turned to Franca and Steve, and then Franca would translate any questions I had.
My sister ended up meeting up with us, so I was able to catch up with her. After walking around looking for souveniers, we went to dinner. The visitors from Italy had requested sushi, so I took them to Japonais, which had good reviews for good sushi and a pretty good scene. The food ended up being quite good, I continued to ask questions to Franca, which she in turned asked. I order appertizers for all based on the answers to the questions related to what they wanted. Luckily, body language is usually read the same way no matter where you are from, for the most part, and it seemed that they were pleased by my choices. The sushi was picked out them, so I would not be at fault for that part, and they seemed to enjoy that also. I had sent them back to Italy with a feel that would not be forgotten immediately!
My sister ended up meeting up with us, so I was able to catch up with her. After walking around looking for souveniers, we went to dinner. The visitors from Italy had requested sushi, so I took them to Japonais, which had good reviews for good sushi and a pretty good scene. The food ended up being quite good, I continued to ask questions to Franca, which she in turned asked. I order appertizers for all based on the answers to the questions related to what they wanted. Luckily, body language is usually read the same way no matter where you are from, for the most part, and it seemed that they were pleased by my choices. The sushi was picked out them, so I would not be at fault for that part, and they seemed to enjoy that also. I had sent them back to Italy with a feel that would not be forgotten immediately!
Monday, December 25, 2006
Arrival back to New York
I arrived very late on Christmas night at the airport in New York. And being in New York and not driving a car, waiting for your luggage is like playing the lottery. If your number (suitcase) is picked first you win and you get to beat all the other lonely souls who will be waiting behind you in the taxi line. I lost yesterday. I was unfortunately one of the last few souls who had their numbers come out. It probably cost me about 30 minutes.
Happy Holidays
Merry Christmas, Happy Chaunakkah, Happy Kwanzaa, etc! Whatever you are celebrating, how you are enjoying it with family and/or friends. I'm enjoying my last day in the D. It was a short lived trip, but I tried to pack in a lot of things. Thanks for the memories, all!
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Book Review: The Brief History of the Dead
The concept is very thought provoking in two ways: a worldwide virus eliminates the entire human population except for one person, Laura Byrd and there is another world that we remain in until everybody who remembers us has passed on. The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier is one of the best books that I have read all year. There are two settings, Antarctica, where the lone survivor of "The Blinks" virus is struggling to stay alive from the elements and the potential of catching the virus, and "The City", were the dead remain until those who remember them have passed on.
Think about this concept for a second. Just think about all the people that you have interacted with over the past year. And I'm not just talking about your friends and family, but also your mailman, the guy/girl your run into when your picking up your coffee, the lady at the register of your local grocery store, the bum at your local subway stop, etc. Now that's a lot of people. It make you put things in perspective of what impact you have made on others life.
There are many subplots, and at times, you wish that they would go into a little more detail relating to some of the stories. But for the most part, they give you the hope of second chances in a second "life". You also learn how certain people came to be part of Laura's life, whether it is through their narrative or hers.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
My ethnic holiday weekend
I would say that I have a pretty diverse set of friends, but I can actually prove it this weekend. On Saturday, my friedn Nneka had a holiday party. Nneka is from Nigeria and her and I used to work together at Liz Claiborne. As I walked over to Park Slope and to her house, I entered her place and was the only white person in the party. Granted there were only about 10 people there at the time, but it was a situation that I have never been in before. Nonetheless, I didn't see it any different than a "white" party. As the night progress the people flowed in and out and I remined the lone honky. Not once did I have the feeling of uncomfortablity or feel like I couldn't connect with anyone because we came from different cultures. In fact, I had a better understanding of the political system in Ghana, the difference between reggae and reggaeton, etc. When I was growing up, party of my diet of music was R&B music like Jodeci, Shai, New Edition. I heard a lot of those old school songs at this party. It was probably one of the better parties I have been to in a while. Here's a picture of everyone doing the hustle:
On Sunday, I went over to the gentle Giant's house in Queens for an Asian Christmas Party, where I was again, the lone cracker. We had a potluck dinner filled with good fixin's and we had a grab bag full of gifts. I have known this group for the most part about 4 years and obviously feel much closer to them then the Saturday party. Again, I have never felt uncomfortable around them, except when I mistake a Japanese person for another nationality ; ) (Miyagi as Chinese...ha ha). I definitely get some white jokes there, but I throw some Asian jokes in there too!
On Sunday, I went over to the gentle Giant's house in Queens for an Asian Christmas Party, where I was again, the lone cracker. We had a potluck dinner filled with good fixin's and we had a grab bag full of gifts. I have known this group for the most part about 4 years and obviously feel much closer to them then the Saturday party. Again, I have never felt uncomfortable around them, except when I mistake a Japanese person for another nationality ; ) (Miyagi as Chinese...ha ha). I definitely get some white jokes there, but I throw some Asian jokes in there too!
Monday, December 04, 2006
Slavery of today
I started reading this magazine Foreign Affairs (I know you're thinking what a dork). However, I have bought the last two issues and I have found it quite enjoyable. One of the articles was regarding slavery. The amount of people that are slaves has been estimated between 600,000-800,000 people that are slaves from country to country, intra-country slavery is harder to determine and has a wide range of 8-27 million. Apparently, the biggest culprit is India.
Most slaves are promised a wonderful job in another country. The "dealer" offers them a loan at a very high interest rate and when "employeee" arrives at the host country, what do you know, the job does not exist anymore. But now he/she must pay back the loan to the "dealer" and the "dealer offers them a job, but a very low wage rate so they will more than likely never pay off the loan.
It is much, much cheaper to transport a slave nowadays compared to the times of the Atlantic slave trade. Therefore, it is a very profitable business. Most costs run around $3,000 and they are usually sold for about $12,000.
Approximately 80% of slaves are women and of those women, 50% are under the age of 18. More than likely they will be sex slaves in underdeveloped countries in Asia and the Middle East. The US government cannot focus on this because they are to busy asking these countries to help them fight terrorism. Since most Americans are oblivious that this even as prevalent, no congressman is asked to do so.
So, what can you do? Well, for one thing, you can write your congressperson and tell them that you are very concerned about this issue and ask him/her what they have done to halt slave trade and let them know to push the issues. Another thing is to boycott goods/services from Tier 2 countries (governments who efforts to comply with antislavery laws is weak) - Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Bahrain, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, the Central African Republic, China, Cyprus, Dijibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, India, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Kenya, Kuwait, Libya, Macau, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mexico, Oman, Peru, Qatar, Russia, South Africa, Taiwan, Togo, and the United Arab Emirates.
Most slaves are promised a wonderful job in another country. The "dealer" offers them a loan at a very high interest rate and when "employeee" arrives at the host country, what do you know, the job does not exist anymore. But now he/she must pay back the loan to the "dealer" and the "dealer offers them a job, but a very low wage rate so they will more than likely never pay off the loan.
It is much, much cheaper to transport a slave nowadays compared to the times of the Atlantic slave trade. Therefore, it is a very profitable business. Most costs run around $3,000 and they are usually sold for about $12,000.
Approximately 80% of slaves are women and of those women, 50% are under the age of 18. More than likely they will be sex slaves in underdeveloped countries in Asia and the Middle East. The US government cannot focus on this because they are to busy asking these countries to help them fight terrorism. Since most Americans are oblivious that this even as prevalent, no congressman is asked to do so.
So, what can you do? Well, for one thing, you can write your congressperson and tell them that you are very concerned about this issue and ask him/her what they have done to halt slave trade and let them know to push the issues. Another thing is to boycott goods/services from Tier 2 countries (governments who efforts to comply with antislavery laws is weak) - Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Bahrain, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, the Central African Republic, China, Cyprus, Dijibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, India, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Kenya, Kuwait, Libya, Macau, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mexico, Oman, Peru, Qatar, Russia, South Africa, Taiwan, Togo, and the United Arab Emirates.
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Hosed!
Michigan got hosed with the BCS. At least Lloyd Carr didn't stoop to the level of Urban Meyer to whine about the possibility of not getting into the Championship game...
Florida barely beat several teams, played a division II-A team, and lost to Auburn. Michigan was penalized for having their season end two weeks earlier than Florida because there was nothing that changed with Michigan's record in the last two weeks.
Florida barely beat several teams, played a division II-A team, and lost to Auburn. Michigan was penalized for having their season end two weeks earlier than Florida because there was nothing that changed with Michigan's record in the last two weeks.
Monday, November 27, 2006
The Last Day
I took my parents over to Macy's to see the holiday windows and then took them to the Top of the Rock (it's a observatory at the Rocketfeller Center). I was happily surprised at both. The windows at Macy's had a place on the window if you touched it, one of the characters in the window would sing, play an instrument.
I came up with the idea of going up to the Top of the Rock when I saw the Empire State building. I've been up to the Empire State Buiiding and I have heard that the Top of the Rock has a great view of Central Park. And part of it is outdoors, and the weather was in the mid-60s, unseasonably warm. The views were awesome, even though it was a little hazy. Then we headed out to the Rink at Rocketfeller Center and saw the tree that was to be lighted later this week.
At night we headed over to Prospect Park for the tree lighting ceremony. The had a marching band, a children's choir and a lot less fanfare than the tree lighting in Rocketfeller center.
As I spent the last night with my parents, I enjoyed them coming to visit me. I love showing people around New York. It's such a blast! Plus I usually ending up getting to experience these things for the first time also. I hope they enjoyed themselves!
I came up with the idea of going up to the Top of the Rock when I saw the Empire State building. I've been up to the Empire State Buiiding and I have heard that the Top of the Rock has a great view of Central Park. And part of it is outdoors, and the weather was in the mid-60s, unseasonably warm. The views were awesome, even though it was a little hazy. Then we headed out to the Rink at Rocketfeller Center and saw the tree that was to be lighted later this week.
At night we headed over to Prospect Park for the tree lighting ceremony. The had a marching band, a children's choir and a lot less fanfare than the tree lighting in Rocketfeller center.
As I spent the last night with my parents, I enjoyed them coming to visit me. I love showing people around New York. It's such a blast! Plus I usually ending up getting to experience these things for the first time also. I hope they enjoyed themselves!
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