Weekly Photo Challenge, Mountains
[caption id="attachment_6476" align="aligncenter" width="517" caption="Sani Pass, Drakensberg Mountains"][/caption] The highest mountain range in Southern Africa, the Drakensberg Mountains reaches 11,424 feet. This part of the mountain is the Sani Pass, a 5 1/2 mile unlit dirt road that connects KwaZulu Natal to the Kingdom of Lesotho. [caption id="attachment_6475" align="aligncenter" width="517" caption="Sani Pass Switchback, Drakensberg Mountains"][/caption] Sani Pass, from Lesotho The view of the Sani Pass from 9,400 feet, in Lesotho.
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Soulful Sundays – Kem
Last week, I mentioned a friend who had pointed out a certain phrase in one of India.Arie's songs. A few [caption id="attachment_6496" align="alignright" width="276" caption="Kemistry"][/caption] days later, I got a text that he was going to be visiting New York City. I mention this friend because he also introduced me to Kem. We have the same taste in music and when we get together the conversation usually veers towards books, movies, wine and food. I hadn't thought of Kem until…
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Jamaica at 49. What’s to Celebrate?
When I lived in Jamaica, we'd go to the beach regularly. My older male cousins were all good swimmers [caption id="attachment_6487" align="alignright" width="237" caption="Jamaican Flag"][/caption] and on one occasion, I asked one of them to teach me to swim. He led me out to where my feet no longer touched the sand. Then he let go of my hand and yelled as he turned towards shore, that I should swim. I think of that incident now as I reflect on…
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Historic Harlem – The Hotel Theresa
Imagine if you will, how Harlem must have looked in the early 1900s. Except for a few buildings like the Koch & Company store between Sixth and Seventh Avenues (the building still stands), churches and banks, much of 125th Street west of Fifth Avenue was populated by row houses and tenement buildings with stores at street level. On the southwest corner of 125th Street and Seventh Avenue was the Winthrop Hotel, a six story building that took up Seventh Avenue…
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Travel Photo Thursday – The Apollo Theatre
[caption id="attachment_6450" align="aligncenter" width="462" caption="The Apollo Theatre"][/caption] Listed on the National Registry of Historic Places, the Apollo Theatre is the landmark music hall that introduced performers such as Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, Lauryn Hill, James Brown, Billie Holiday, Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross and countless others. It's also been home to Showtime at the Apollo. Amateur Night introduces new musicians to the public. [caption id="attachment_6451" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Apollo Theatre"][/caption] The Apollo Theatre is located on125th Street between Adam Clayton…
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Historic Harlem – 125th Street & Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd
Of all the places I've lived, Harlem is the only one that makes me constantly aware of history. On my block, for example, the famous Great Day in Harlem photo of black and white jazz musicians was shot in 1958. From time to time, as I've looked out my window to see various groups recreating that iconic photo. And sometimes when I walk down 125th Street, I try to imagine what it must have been like in the early 1920s…
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The Studio Museum in Harlem
When I get tired of creating images with words, I look to art or design to rest my eyes, free my brain and inspire me. Most times, the place I head to is The Studio Museum in Harlem, an oasis of calm and culture in the midst of street vendors, clothing stores and shops selling human hair and all kinds of ‘beauty’ supplies. Since it first opened in 1968 in rented loft space on Fifth Avenue and 125th Street, The…
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Caribbean Airlines Will Need to Rebuild Customer Trust
Though it is said that air travel is statistically safer than traveling our congested highways, it's the high probability for loss that gets me. Thankfully, all 162 passengers on board Caribbean Airlines are alive but when I heard the news of the crash late Saturday night, I felt a sense of unease. As someone who travels frequently, this type of news always shakes me even though my attitude is, if it's going to happen, there's little I can do. I…
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Soulful Sundays – India.Arie
My blog buddy, Elizabeth's post yesterday at Mirth and Motivation had me straining to remember a song, a fragment of which floated tauntingly just outside my consciousness. Each time, I thought I had it, it floated further away from me. [caption id="attachment_6381" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="India.Arie"][/caption] I stayed up quite late listening to Jill and Macy, getting more and more frustrated because it wasn't either of them and worse, I was no closer to finding out than when I began. No point…
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Weekly Photo Challenge – Broken
After an encounter with an elephant. [caption id="attachment_6372" align="aligncenter" width="544" caption="Broken tree"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_6373" align="aligncenter" width="491" caption="Broken tree detail"][/caption]
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