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.
The Apollo Theatre is located on125th Street between Adam Clayton Powell Jr and Frederick Douglass Boulevards in Harlem.
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 when Jamaican born Pan-Africanist, Marcus Garvey, decked out in his military regalia complete with plumed hat, and members of his Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), the first black nationalist organization, would parade down the streets. Or when in the 1960s Malcolm X would stand on the corner of 7th Avenue and 125th and preach black self-determination. Continue reading “Historic Harlem – 125th Street & Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd”
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 Studio Museum has been celebrating the work of artists of African descent. In 1979, it moved to its current location on 125th Street between Lenox (6th Avenue) and Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd (7th Avenue). Continue reading “The Studio Museum in Harlem”
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 think of the time a few years ago in Spain when news reached us of a crash just as we were about to board a flight. We were delayed for several tense hours but when our flight was ready, we went with it. I also recall the American Airlines crashed near Queens in 2001. I tried not to see any of the photos as I was flying out the following morning. And finally, I think of a friend who was lost on Air France 447. The relief I’ve felt that no lives lost were almost overshadowed by these other thoughts.
Continue reading “Caribbean Airlines Will Need to Rebuild Customer Trust”
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.
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 doing an Internet search since I couldn’t even remember the words.
Sometimes, when I can’t solve a problem or remember something, I put it to bed and by the next morning, I’d wake with the answer.
I chuckled when I realized how quietly the information had slipped into my memory. The song, Brown Skin, by neo-soul, R&B singer,India.Arie, had been my personal anthem. How could I have forgotten it? There was a time when I played it so much, I was sure I had damaged it. Then, as one of my best friends who’d met a new love raved ceaselessly about Acoustic Soul, the CD that brought her to our attention, I listened again and heard things I didn’t realize were there.
Continue reading “Soulful Sundays – India.Arie”
After an encounter with an elephant.
Bermuda Cup Match takes place this weekend in Bermuda. My friends are there. Since I couldn’t make it, I’m thinking about them and wondering which of the sites they’ll get time to see.
Held over two consecutive public holidays, Cup Match is a signature event of Bermudian cricket that pits two rival cricket teams, Somerset and St. George’s, against each other. It has been held on the island since 1902.
Outside of Christmas, Cup Match is the most popular event in Bermuda. Scores of Bermudians and international visitors swarm the island, swelling the population to more than twice its size. It is one big weekend-long party that shuts the island down. Continue reading “Weekend Getaway – Bermuda”
Named after Frances Pulteney, heiress of Bathwich, the Pulteney Bridge was built in 1773 over the Avon River near Bath.
The river is mesmerizing, I could have watched it for hours.
Enjoy the views!
I’ve been home for several months now dealing with life and work. I knew exactly what I was going to write about this week but, as you’ve probably read, things changed. It’s as if my brain went gone on vacation and my body got left behind.
So what do travel bloggers do when they’re not traveling? I can’t speak for every travel blogger, but when I’m not traveling, I rely on my city to provide inspiration and content for my posts. And New York delivers, all the time.
Take last week. In the middle of the heatwave that had many of us chained to our air conditioners, I decided to go to Coney Island. It’s one of my summer places. By the ‘D’ train, it’s a direct train ride from my neighborhood. (For variety, I can also take the #6 to Union Square and transfer to the ‘Q.’) Believe it or not, it was my first time to Coney Island this summer.
Continue reading “What Do Travel Bloggers Do When They’re Not Traveling?”
Mercury must be retrograde. I have no other explanation for the big and little things that have gone out of control in the last few weeks.
It started with my phone. A few days ago, it started shutting itself off. Then it began producing error messages that technical support has been unable to explain.
Yesterday morning, I woke to find an email from blogger friend, Rhonda, alerting me to a redirect error on my blog. With help from technical support, we fixed it but when I tried to reinstall my blog page, I inadvertently deleted all my posts, everything I’ve written since last year – nearly 300 posts.
Continue reading “More Technical Difficulties (originally published July 26th)”
