Though I do not live in New York City, many times I like to know what is going on. It would take me about four or five hours to drive there, but that does not mean I wouldn’t do so for the right event. It seems there are always New York City events going on and many of them are of some interest to me. The city is just close enough so I could travel there if I want to, but far enough away where it doesn’t affect my daily life. Though I love to visit the city, I moved a way from a city because it all became too much for me at one point.

It seems that there are a multitude of New York City events from which to choose every single day of the week. New York City is a large, vibrant city that has people from all races, ethnic backgrounds and religious affiliations. This can make for some pretty interesting events. If you like something that you cannot find in your own community, chances are good that there will be a few New York City events that will cater to exactly what you are looking for. As long as you know when to go, you can go and have the time of your life.

There are many places to find out about New York City events. I have a friend who lives in New Jersey and she knows a lot about the things that I like. If she finds any New York City events that she thinks I might be interested in, she shoots me off an e-mail or calls me on the phone to let me know. She knows that many times I will not be able to attend, but she also knows that I appreciate her letting me know what is going on. In many ways, it is almost like having my own New York City tour guide.

If you don’t have a friend like I do, you may have to find another way to find out what is going on in New York City. Luckily for you, this is quite simple. A quick search online will give you more results that you know what to do with. Because there are so many New York City events, there are just as many web sites and online publications that list times, places and suggestions. Once you find a site that gives you what you need, make sure you bookmark it so you can return there in the future. This will cut down on your confusion. Also remember that if you are going to go into the city for any events that you call ahead to make sure all information you have found is correct.

What was the last great book you had the pleasure of reading? Was it a romance novel or good mystery? Then again, maybe that new age Tom Brown stuff is right up your alley. A lot of folks are getting into those enigmatic puzzle plots these days. It’s just plain intriguing. Regardless of where your reading interests lie, you can always get a recap of what’s considered the top ten best seller books. The “New York Times” rates this stuff all the time. They can give you the latest scoop on which novels to check out and which ones to avoid. After all, this is heavy duty entertainment we’re talking about here. A good book is practically incomparable. I know I could use a few more in my life.

I haven’t read much lately. Well, that’s not exactly true. I’ve been busy most of the time and I use my spare reading time to go through Gavin De Becker’s book on safety. It may not be on the best seller books list, but it’s a wonderful source of useful knowledge. And no, not all knowledge is very useful. This particular book, “Protecting the Gift,” elaborates on crime and violence. Particularly against children and women. This is THE book to own in you have kids. Like I said, it’s rich with valuable information. And better yet, it’s true.

There are a number of real stories throughout the text. Sure, some may make you cry and some may make your heart drop, but they’re reality nonetheless. It’s crucial for us all to stay in touch with reality. This gives us better defenses against it’s harshness and cruel side. To live in the dark will only make you a victim. Anyway, this book, “Protecting the Gift,” is a great way to learn more about the dangers of the world and yourself. It’s not meant to make you worry. It’s meant to make you aware and not waste time worrying. Because if you’re wasting time worrying, then you’re not paying attention to what’s really going on.

You’d better believe that most people are interested in the top ten list. They want to know what best seller books receive the most raves. These are the ones they’ll probably use their spare time to read. I, on the other hand, am not interested in best seller books. It all depends on the topic, not the popularity or hype.

When I was a kid, I always thought that air tents were really neat. We would drive by an air tent every day, which held a tennis stadium inside.  I thought that it was one of the most strange and surreal things that I had ever seen. It looked kind of like a caterpillar, and was huge, stretching on for acres upon acres and rising up for many stories. I always wanted to go inside one of the air tents, but my dad asked why. After all, none of us played tennis at all, so there was no reason to go in and to him there was nothing particularly spectacular about it. Maybe he had forgotten what it was like being a kid. Whatever the reason, he could not really understand my fascination with air tents.

The first time I got to go and see some air tents was when I was in college. It was actually a complete accident, as luck would have it. There was a huge water leak in the auditorium where many of the concerts and other events of all kinds were held on the campus. The whole place was flooded and closed down for months and months, and nothing could happen there. Because it was the only campus venue for many important lectures, the deans decided to set up several air tents for the months that it was closed, and they really worked just as well. I really liked them a whole lot better than the auditorium, to tell you the truth.

The best thing about all of those air tents was that you could sneak inside easily and they were so much fun to play in. We used to stage impromptu plays in the middle of the night in the air tents, and invite all of our friends. It was sort of an open secret that anyone could get in who wanted to and so we had a whole lot of fun there without really worrying about getting caught at all. Once the air tents were no longer needed, they started to take them down, but they were so popular that the students campaigned to keep one of them around as a permanent fixture. And since they did seem to increase attendance at performances, the school thought that that was quite a workable idea. As far as I know, there it stands today.

Some of the best mystery books I have read are those I read when I was a kid.  My first exposure to the genre came by way of the set of Nancy Drew mystery books that Mom got for me through a school driven book buying club.  I couldn’t get enough of the series, “Message in a Haunted Mansion”, “Secret of the Scarlet Hand” and “Danger on Deception Island”.  I would stay up all night, not so much afraid to turn the light out, but concerned the details of the stories would change while I was asleep or that I would miss something I should read before daybreak.

As a teen, I moved from the basic mystery books and started in the mystery horror tales, including the fictional and true crime based works.  These books did keep me awake out of fear or terror and did also keep me reading until I finished.  I needed to get the closure with such enthralling, gut griping, spine curdling stories as those in “The Mephisto Waltz”, “The Amityville Horror” and even “The Exorcist”.

More devoted mystery books readers will swear by the Agatha Christie series or will recommend the more modern Sue Grafton novels.  Similarly, others will speak highly of Mary Higgins Clark’s books or books by Jonathan Kellerman.  I, too, would add that detective series and true crime books are as exciting and incite as much fingernail chewing as the best mystery books.  Especially, for example, those by John Sanderford, the brilliant Stephen King and even a few of the master of “junk” novels, Sydney Sheldon.

And mystery book sellers and aficionados will add the hottest new authors to the list, contemporary mystery writers such as Martin O’Brian, Craig Johnson, and Melissa Swaim, Janet Evanovich, and Martha Grimes.  Who are revered at such sites as MurderbytheBook.com, an independent bookseller who appreciates good literature.

The mystery books genre is wide ranging, so true bibliophiles will allow for suspense, thriller and other evocative works to be put on the mystery books list.  It all depends, of course, on how much you read, what you prefer and how much Mwoohahhah you can tolerate.

As the daughter of the queen of self help books, I am, then, the princess of pop psychology.  I have read as many if not more self help books as my mom.  Back in the day, we had therapy but we either didn’t have money for it or we didn’t want to deal with the stigma that small town mentalities would inevitably put on one who had to visit the “nuthouse” or get their head “shrunk”.  The next best thing, for first my mom and then, by proxy, for me, was to read the latest self help books.

The first one I recall in relation to my brilliant and avid reader mother was Gail Sheehy’s PASSAGES, a brilliant survey of all of the stages of life and the instrumental changes each person at each stage undergoes.  The last one I remember my mother sharing with me was one of the many self help books I needed, unfortunately, despite my weekly therapy sessions was THE COURAGE TO HEAL.  A fat ass book of a size sufficient to using it as a doorstop and it’s accompanying workbook.

In between the self help books Mom would pass on to me or I would snatch up as soon as she finished reading them, were at least 1,500 of books on love, sexuality, spirituality, religion and the paranormal.  There was the life saving book by Melody Beatty called CODEPENDENT NO MORE; the brilliant compilations by Thomas Moore, such as SOUL MATES and CARE of the SOUL: A GUIDE to CULTIVATING DEPTH and SACREDNESS in EVERYDAY LIFE and Diane Ackerman, with her books A NATURAL HISTORY of the SENSES and A NATURAL HISTORY of LOVE; Shakti Gawain’s LIVING IN THE LIGHT: A GUIDE to PERSONAL and PLANETARY TRANSFORMATION; James Redfield’s THE CELESTINE PROPHECY and THE TENTH INSIGHT; David Viscott’s HOW to LIVE with ANOTHER PERSON; and the stunning imperative read, NECESSARY LOSSES, by Judith Viorst.

There are hundreds more self help books I could list here, but you will have to find for yourself the ones that appeal to and work best for you and your situation.  According to one psychologist, it is better to use self help books in moderation and to do so in conjunction with therapeutic treatment.  And since today we can thank the self help master above for head shrinkers and guardians of nutbags, that we can do.

A seating chart is of great benefit when a major event is coming to town and planning is necessary. When an event such as a sports game, a touring concert, or a popular musical is being held in a stadium, ticket purchasers are able to view a seating chart of the facility. This lets them know how nice a view they have and which seats are really worth paying for.

Some people would rather buy more expensive tickets closer to the stage while others would prefer cheaper seats farther away from the action, as long as the seating chart promises a decent view. Having the ability to view the venue before committing to seats allows the customer to choose the seats that both afford them the view they want, while at the same time fit into their budget.  It not only helps customers, but also assists the management of the stadium or hall. When a seating chart is shown ahead of time, perhaps on a website or a brochure, it results in fewer misunderstandings and more satisfied customers, who know the kind of seats they’re reserving in advance.

A seating chart is a visual depiction of a stadium or hall’s seating arrangements as relates to the stage. The stage is usually at the top or bottom of the page and a group of elongated triangle shapes above that represent the different levels of seats. They are usually arranged alphabetically, the beginning letters of the alphabet representing the closest seats to the stage and so on until the letter Z. If there are sub-levels then sometimes ground level seats are referred to with A-Z, while high level seats are identified with double letters from AA to ZZ. Many seating charts also give exact measurements of the chairs and entire seating area.

These charts are not just for informational purposes. Weddings planners and teachers can also use a seating chart to better organize their days. A wedding planner might depend on a seating chart as a blueprint to physically arrange the chairs. A teacher likewise might want to create a seating chart not only for desk organization, but also to measure the progress of students.

Thanks to the Internet, seating charts are now viewable online. Beyond that, you can even create your own seating chart for planning your next event, whether it is a classroom, wedding or party. You can customize the details of your seating chart, map out a blueprint and use it as a physical reference.  Need a seating chart? The Internet can help you organize your day.

There are singing competitions all over the country now, where young singers can compete for cash prizes, and the chance of fame and fortune. American Idol is the best known of these singing competitions, but there are many others as well. There is one in Las Vegas with a $50,000 cash prize just for winning the singing contest. Besides that, there is European Idol, which is sweeping much of the rest of the world with it’s unprecedented popularity.

My friends and I all love to sing, but we basically completely ignore these singing competitions. I don’t even think the singing is particularly good. It is all bad pop music, saccharine sweet and completely without soul. We have our own singing competitions and although no one ever gets 50 grand for winning them, I think that they are a lot more fun anyway.

Sometimes after several rounds of drinks, we will pick a song and compete, doing different renditions of it. Whoever can sing it in the loudest, grittiest, most raucous and audacious intonation automatically wins, and everyone has to buy him or her a drink. By the next round of that contest, the winner of the previous one has a clear advantage, and usually whoever wins the first one wins all night, or until he passes out.

Because we are classically trained vocalists, our singing competitions are not always quite so ridiculous. Sometimes we form duos, trios or quartets among ourselves, and entertain our other non-singing friends at parties. They have to vote on which piece is best or perhaps we informally decide among ourselves.

Since we are in professional choirs, we sometimes attend real singing competitions. They receive little attention and many professionals shun them.  Nonetheless they are in fact singing competitions where choirs from all over the state compete for a prize and the recognition of their peers. The best thing about these singing competitions isn’t actually the trying to win, it’s the festive atmosphere of the whole thing. It is wonderful to spend all day just singing some classics with some of the best singers in the country.  These singing competitions are always the highlights of the seasons because it is such an opportunity to be around other great artists, hear what they are doing, and pick up new ideas.

Most of us have groups of friends that we’d like to see more often, but we just don’t get a chance to get together as much as we’d like to.  Though it may sound strange, most people need or want some sort of an excuse to get together, from planning an event to having dinner together.  One great way to get together with friends is to host a book club, where a group of friends gets together to discuss a book they’ve all read.

Book clubs aren’t the stodgy, dry gatherings that they’re sometimes stereotyped to be.  Often it’s the highlight of the month for lots of people.  Book clubs are especially good for groups of friends who either love to read or want to read more, since it encourages people to at least finish one book between each meeting.  Which, for most clubs, is around once a month.  Though it may sound silly, some of the best book club meetings are those where the book is hardly discussed.  This varies some from club to club.  In some book clubs the book is the primary and sometimes sole source of discussion.  While in other book clubs the book itself is only a way to get people together to have a good time.

It’s always nice to have some book club recommendations, especially if it you’re hosting a book club for the first time.  The fact of the matter is that there are a lot of books out there and it’s tough to know what sort of book to pick for the book club.  One of the best book club recommendations is to let each member of the book club pick a book one month until everyone’s had a chance to choose.  This allows the club to sample from the literary tastes of all of the members and often results in exposing members to a wider variety of literature than they would read if they were on their own or if one member chose all of the books.  If you’re just kicking off the club, you may want a few books to start off with to get things going.

One of the best book club recommendations I’ve heard is to choose books that are relatively easy to read and most importantly somewhat provocative.  The first criterion comes from the fact that if a book is tough to read, there’s a good chance people won’t finish enough of the book to talk about it.  Granted, the best book club recommendations will depend on the people in your book club, but most clubs do best with contemporary novels.  The discussion about the book won’t be very interesting if the material is relatively cut-and-dried.  Try to find topics that are either brand new or provocative and applicable to contemporary issues.

My first encounter with the big screen television was way before your time, or at least way before the current time where the big screen television actually exists.  For me, it was reading Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.  In the novel, Montag’s wife stays at home and interacts as a star with the other actual soap opera stars.  She plays a “part” by participating in virtual television.  The characters on the big screen television would do their thing, following a script and a story line, and then would turn to face the interior of the parlor, speaking to Mildred Montag as if she were one of the characters.

From the way Bradbury envisioned the big screen television, I fell in love.  It was wall-sized, it was the wall.  It was, in my imagination, the size and impact of the surround-o-rama amusement park and Expo screens where you watch a movie and are in it because you are standing in the center of the screening room with the action on all walls.  So, for example, when you are in a police chase scene, riding in the cop car, you see the buildings whooshing past on your right and left, see cars behind you on the streets and see the escapee in front of you.

Of course, the latest big screen television technology for the homestead is not as grandiose or as complex, it would cost millions.  But, the concept is the same and the promise is there.  To sit in front of the now, what? 10 foot screen? Is a childish dream come to fruition, realized by the adult wallet.

We had a rental store here for a few short years for those full sized DVDs, the ones that were the size of the old 33 LPs.  In the rental shop they kept a big screen TV that was always playing a movie.  Since my boyfriend at that time was a freak, one who had to look at every item on every row FIRST, then go back to the choices.  I would, instead of following him about endlessly, sit down in the cushy leather furniture and watch whatever was playing.  I didn’t give a damn if it was Land Before Time or Shaft.  I was absolutely mesmerized by the size, the colors, the near clarity that the big screen television afforded the spoiled viewer.

We are spoiled.  We have thousands of makes and models of autos, have millions of books, periodicals and websites, have millions of games and toys.  We have competing salons and beauty shops, competing medical and dental programs and services, and have multiple cuisines lined up in one block for us to choose from.  But I would give up almost all the choices to have just one wall sized big screen TV.

I don’t mean to be a bookstore snob, but buying used books was something many of us were doing before buying used books was cool.  That is, buying used books was once a habit that was a well kept secret of college students and bibliophiles.  They knew the visit to a used book shop would be much cheaper and would result in a pleasant experience.  Maybe with wine, coffee, some unobtrusive music.  A community cat or pup lolling about in the sweet dark corners of the lovely historical smell of heavy wood shelving and decades of ink and paper and thread.

Then buying used books became more difficult and more frustrating a task, as the big chains shoved the little independents aside.  So buying used books has become in one sense more of a challenge and in another sense an almost equally pleasurable.  We can now go online for new and used books.  I for one am delighted, for buying books online means saving time, still saving money.  For reclusive folks like myself, saving social interaction with noisy, neglectful people out there saves one’s sanity.

Let me clarify.  I go to XXX (well known, top selling bookstore in the city) brick and mortar store, which also has an online bookstore, but I am in a hurry.  I have driven in rain and insane traffic, have limited time and have a definite title.  I walk into the brightly lit store and head for the periodicals, seeking a magazine published in the UK.  Seven people are in the aisle I need to access.  Three are LAYING on the floor reading magazines they will not buy, but will instead gunk up with their fingerprints, wrinkle with their greedy paws and stain with their snot.  The other four are standing around, one on a cell phone and others scratching bugs out of their hair, giggling over nudies or just &$$#93%# standing…IN MY WAY.  When did a store become a place to hang out, groom in, furtively steal FREE reading pleasures from and impede actual shoppers with integrity in?  And further, where are the used books????

I hate the physical bookstore now and go with only the online bookstores.  Such vendors offer the same items they offer if they keep a physical sibling site, but also offer hard to find, hard to get at in the land store and hard to remember titles, usually used.  I probably do not have to name the said bookstores, the big popular ones, any more than I had to name the one with all the losers, slackers and nut cases.  If you need the best places for buying used books online, here are my favorites.

Powells.com- One of the world’s largest bookstores.  A city block long and stories high, when you go to the actual store in Oregon, which I wouldn’t mind doing.  They hand you a MAP…the store is so big and so full of millions of books.

e-Bay.com – Look for a title, using the search engine at e-Bay.  Or check out my favorite online bookstores, where vendors as far away as the UK ship within only a few days!  These folks are Dadoak1bookshop (dadoak1).

GreenAppleBooks.com – My favorite used and new bookstore in the Bay Area.  The antithesis of the nightmare chain bookstore I refer to above and therefore a true pleasure as a physical shop, but equally helpful, easy to access and affordable online bookstore, too.

Word Power - word-power.co.uk/about_us A completely independent online bookstore, receiving no state or other funding to advertise or sell, so check them out!