Behind the Screen
The opinions, views, and insights stated within this Monologue are my own. The facts, fallacies, and errors, however, belong to someone else (see disclaimer).
Wednesday, August 27, 2003
I've long had a goal to visit as many countries as I am old, and to keep current. To help guide me in selecting my next destination, I organized a list of popular places to visit according to credible sources.
Well, I think I found another useful source to consider: The World Heritage List.
The World Heritage Committee has inscribed 754 properties (582 cultural, 149 natural and 23 mixed properties in 128 States Parties) on its list. The List, arranged alphabetically by nominating State Party, is current as of 3 July 2003.
I don't know how or when I'll incorporate their suggestions into my Places to Visit list, but I wanted to save a link here on my site for future reference.
Thursday, August 21, 2003
I can't believe I forgot to post this. Last weekend, while in NYC visiting Guyana Peace Corps friends, I had a chance to ride a Segway!
If you don't know what a Segway is, it's basically a two-wheel scooter that carries one person. Lean forward and it advances. Lean back and it reverses. To stop, stand up straight with knees bent slightly. Invented by Dean Kamen, it took well over a decade to develop.
The opportunity to ride one of these $5,000 marvels occurred on our way home from "Moving Out". We were walking through Time Square and saw a few folks riding them right in the median. I stopped and gawked, and a guy came up to me and asked, "So, you want to ride it?" Five bucks later, I was zipping around a crowd of people. It was so cool.
Wednesday, August 20, 2003
Had a blast in NYC this weekend. Though the city was still recovering from Thursday's blackout, I took a risk and stood outside the South Norwalk train station after work on Friday hoping to catch a train into the city. One hour later, I saw my first train. Lucky for me, it was heading my way.
Two hours later I made it to Grand Central Station (it usually takes only one hour). There I met up with Guyana Peace Corps volunteers Jan Bracket, Tammy Cole, and Jessica Shannon for a weekend reunion. Jan and Jess are still serving; Tammy has been back in the US (Texas) for about nine months. To top off the reunion, we also spoke with Emily Sutherland on the phone, who was unable to make it for she was still in DC taking care of Peace Corps things.
It was so great to see these three. I expected to spend the entire weekend catching up on Guyana stories. Little did I know we'd be re-living many of them.
Though much of the power had been restored, a good deal of the city was still crippled. Friday evening, the subway was still not running. Many restaurants were closed. And worst of all, the hotel had NO hot water. It wasn't until Sunday morning that the hot water tanks cranked back up. Sure, we were staying in a four-star hotel and we weren't bathing out of buckets, but it was still a big, cold ordeal none the less.
On Saturday, the four of us walked to Times Square to look for theater tickets for that evening. We ended up scoring four tickets to Billy Joel's "Moving Out." Jumping ahead, the girls really liked the dancing and I thought the band did a good job.
Saturday afternoon we headed down to the site of the World Trade Center. For the most part, it looked like a huge construction site. But there were plenty of memorials and an area to learn about what is going to be built in its place.
On Sunday, we headed to the MET to see some art. We spent about three hours there before I had to head home, Jess had to meet a friend, and Tammy and Jan went to meet up with one of their host Guyana host moms who happened to also be in the city.
It was great catching up with the three of them, hear new stories about current volunteers, and remember the three months that 21 of us had together when we met in Guyana one year ago.
Friday, August 15, 2003
At 4 pm yesterday, Norwalk lost power. After calling a few clients to let them know we were closing for the day, I headed out to SoNo (South Norwalk) to meet my roommates for a few drinks. We settled down at Amber Jacks to wait for power to be restored. It never did. Darkness came, the bar closed, and we headed home.
Eventually, around 10:30 pm, power came back online. Too bad, for we were all hoping for a day off on Friday.
I'm heading into NYC for the weekend, if I can. Rail travel has been suspended, so I might not be able to take the train in. But I'll be meeting up with some current Peace Corps volunteers who happen to be in the US for a few weeks. Haven't seen them in a year, so it will be nice to catch up with them.
Here's a quick summary of the power failure:
CNN.com - 'Lake Erie Loop' focus of blackout probe - Aug. 15, 2003:
"In addition to New York, outages were reported in Cleveland, Ohio; Detroit, Michigan; Erie, Pennsylvania; Toronto and Ottawa, Canada; Niagara Falls, New York; Niagara Falls, Ontario; and other cities in Connecticut and New Jersey.
The power was cut in just three minutes, as 21 power plants stopped operating, according to Genscape, a company that monitors the output of power plants. The plants, including 10 nuclear plants, shut down between 4:10 p.m. and 4:13 p.m., Genscape said. "
Last weekend was spent in Las Vegas with the family. Mom was there for a flute convention. Dad, Cameron, and I just flew in for the weekend.
I left Friday after work and arrived around midnight. Had a late dinner with the folks before heading out with my brother for a night on the town. We went to The Palms, where we drank and gambled the night away. Good times. We didn't get to bed until 5 a.m.
Saturday, the three guys enjoyed a buffet for lunch and then went to the Star Trek "ride" at The Hilton. It was fun way to pass part of the afternoon, but wasn't anything worth talking about.
Afterward, Cameron and I went to Circus Circus to ride their indoor roller coaster. With one loop and two corkscrews, this coaster packs a lot into a short and sweet ride. It was time to head back to the Riviera to meet up with everyone for dinner.
We loaded up in a cab and headed off to the Bellagio. We found a nice Asian restaurant that had no line (the buffet line was too long). We then headed to theater to see "O," possibly the best show out there. This is the second time I saw it and it was just as good as the first.
After the show, we headed out to the streets to watch a few fountain shows in front of the Bellagio. Getting late, we split up. My brother and I headed out to New York New York for a night of gambling and my folks went up the Eiffel Tower.
Sunday morning, dad, Cameron, and I just explored the strip all day. Cameron and I rode the NY/NY roller coaster, which was fun. Eventually, we went back to the Riviera to get mom and head out for dinner and a show.
We ate at the Luxor buffet and then saw "Blue Man Group." It was my second time seeing this show as well, and just as fun. After the show, I headed to the airport for a red-eye flight home. I was at work the next morning, a little sleepier and a little poorer.
Friday, August 08, 2003
I recently learned about an animated series called Red vs Blue that pokes fun at modern video game culture, particularly one of my favorite games: Halo. It is hysterical for those who play the game. The BBC did a story about the online series. Here's an excerpt:
A group of writers, performers and gamers in Texas have produced an increasingly popular and unusual cartoon cartoon series.
The cartoon details the life of two rival camps of soldiers, the Reds and Blues, who spend their time ruminating about life, the universe and everything, stationed in separate bases in a creek called Blood Gulch.
"Red vs Blue pokes fun at the basic tenets of modern video games," explained Burnie Burns, the writer and creator of Red vs Blue, who also voices the characters Church and Tex.
The series, which has reached episode 14, is unusual because it is created using a video game called Halo.
Instead of running around shooting each other the animators use the high-quality graphics engine of the game to create a believable animation world.
Tuesday, August 05, 2003
This weekend, Norwalk was host for the SoNo Arts Festival. Located just one mile away, I went both days. Lots of the typical festival items were there: live music, booths with paintings, booths with sculptures, and booths with other crafts. All in all, it was a nice festival.
SoNo waterfront alive with art and music
(08/02/03) SOUTH NORWALK - Scores of artists, musicians and other performers made their way to the SoNo Arts Festival on Saturday, as thousands of people braved the humidity to check out the celebration.
An arts playground for kids, 150 artists, 25 live performances and a giant puppet parade were just some of the features in the 27th annual SoNo Arts Festival in South Norwalk. The event provided a forum for artists from all over the county to exhibit their work, both professional and amateur. In fact, nearly 20 homeless artists displayed work at the festival."