California Native American Day

by Jamie Rhein on

Native American Day is something the California State University at San Bernadino has taken to heart. When Ronald Reagan signed the resolution in 1968 to make the 4th Friday of September, American Indian Day, the aim was to foster knowledge about California’s Native American population. The university holds a five-day Native American Culture Conference for educators as part of their commitment to honor the resolution’s intent.

The conference started yesterday and will culminate in an evening event that is open to everyone this Friday, September 28. If you go, you can expect Native American music, art, food and Native American bird songs.

Here’s something to know. California has more than 100 recognized tribes. This is more than in any other state. To find out more about California’s Native American history, the 500 Nations Web site seems to be a decent place to start. Here you’ll find links to events, places to visit, casinos and tribes.

Iconic Sopranos Building Selling its Bricks

by Neil Woodburn on

It’s always sad when a huge tourist magnet and cultural landmark is leveled. It means that a small piece of history is gone forever.

This, sadly, is the fate of Satriales Pork Store in Kearny, New Jersey.

Fans of the hit show The Sopranos will recognize this iconic location as the hangout for some of the unsavory characters who populated the series. The phenomenal success of the HBO show has virtually guaranteed that this otherwise unassuming building is a regular stop on the many Sopranos tours being run out of New York. Like so many characters on the show, however, Satriales Pork Store has simply run out of time. It is scheduled for demolition to make way for a condo building–naturally being called, the Soprano Luxury Condominium.

But don’t shed a tear quite yet. The owners of the pork store are now taking orders for Pork Store Bricks. Yep, for just $25-50 Sopranos fans can purchase a masonry piece of cinematic history. It’s not quite the Berlin Wall, but I suppose some fanatics out there will be scooping them up. Apparently the owner has already taken 3,000 orders. Man, talk about organized crime!

The Skyscraper Museum Pays Tribute to the Tall and Taller

by Jamie Rhein on

We’ve posted about a few of the tallest buildings in the world. The latest, Mexico’s Torre Bicentenerio is still in the planning stage. In New York City, the place where skyscrapers first defined the magnificence of a city’s architectural skyline, The Skyscraper Museum is where to find out details about Manhattan’s skyscraper history, as well as the tallest wonders of other countries.

Through October 14 there is an exhibit about the Burj Dubai. In addition to presenting the facts about the building, such as, when it’s completed it will be twice as tall as the Empire State Building, the exhibit covers the sociological, economic and psychological reasons for such a structure–a sort of what this building means and how it represents a shift in skyscraper development and purpose. The modern day skyscraper is made of concrete or composite while the ones predominately made in the U.S. are made of reinforced steel. The U.S.’s skyscrapers were built as office complexes, while the ones in Asia are mostly residential.

The exhibits at the museum are a chance to learn about skyscraper physics as well. Along with the exhibits, The Skyscraper Museum has programs that get people out into the city on building tours. One focus is to point out the buildings that are green. There are also programs geared toward having participants design buildings themselves. The photo shows the location of the museum near NYC’s Battery Park.

Writers Conferences: Travel and Inspiration, or mostly Travel?

by Jamie Rhein on

Every year I get a mailing about a the Maui Writers Conference and every year I think the same thing, “Great gig for writers.” Not necessarily the writers who go as attendees, but the writers who are presenters. My thinking about writing conferences is that if you’re serious about the writing, go where the focus is on writing and the location is an aside. Maybe my feelings about the conference in Maui is just sour grapes because it is so DARNED EXPENSIVE and how could I ever justify the expense of going.

Or, perhaps, you are writing a romance novel set in Hawaii. Therefore, what better way to gather writing fodder for that scene that takes place at a luau than by heading to a luau yourself? Also, going to a writing conference in a spectacular location may be the way you can justify taking that trip you’ve always wanted to take. “I have to go to Fiji, honey, it’s where I’ll learn how to write that novel I’ve always wanted to write.” (The Fiji conference looks as if it’s offered by the same organization.) Click here to see the resort where that conference is held. The problem I would have is that I wouldn’t want to be stuck in a resort, but out seeing what life in Fiji is like. (Not to pick on this conference. I’m just saying.)

Although, I have to say, when I lived in Asia I went to teachers conferences in Kuala Lampur, Jakarta, Bangkok and Hong Kong. I did go to sessions all day which I found useful, but the most fun was the scheduled tours and being somewhere out of my daily routine. If you’re interested in finding a writing conference where an exotic location is a factor, here’s a link with listings.

The Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention that Neil blogged about yesterday fits in a totally different category. This is a conference that is held in different locations. This is neat because it gets people to see different parts of the U.S., as well as reaches a wider range of participants. Maybe you can’t afford Anchorage, Alaska this year, but Baltimore, Maryland next year is within reach.

Tracing the Steps of On the Road

by Neil Woodburn on

Literary pilgrimages, in which one shadows the adventures of a fictional character, is some of the most rewarding travel around if you are a bibliophile.

Certainly the most famous example of such travel is Bloomsday, a national holiday where intoxicated fans of James Joyce’s Ulysses reenact a 24-hour jaunt through Dublin.

While there are many other literary journeys across the globe, the American version of disturbed, lost souls wandering about can be found within the classic, On the Road.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Jack Kerouac’s seminal work, journalist Christopher Reynolds thoughtfully updated and modernized the journey of Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty as they gallivanted from coast to coast.

Revisiting sites from ‘On the Road’ is the perfect guide for such a journey. Reynolds breaks down the article into sections titled “In the book” in which he describes the places Sal and Dean visited. He then follows up with a “Now” section in which he directs the reader to these same places today. Naturally, a few have disappeared. There are, however, a surprising number of restaurants and hotels which are still standing and awaiting the Kerouac faithful.