Live to Inspire

Sunny Spain

I love all the sun in Spain. Every time I go the weather is perfect, sunny, sunny and more sunny. This is one of the things that keeps me coming back over and over again. The graciousness of the staff at the five star hotels Spain always make me feel like a welcomed member of the family. I enjoy this so much. We arrived the other day and began our exploration of Madrid. I haven’t spent much time here, seems we usually come to go to the ocean but this time we came for art and culture. Setting aside a couple of days alone to explore the Prado. A hugh museum with a very extensive collection. I really want to see the Garden of Earthy Delights by Hieronymus Bosh and the paintings of Velasquez and Zuberan . Spanish art has always been a favorite of mine. From the paintings of the high Spanish court to the surrealist movement to the modern works of the abstract and moderns. The Prado has an enormous collection of drawings paintings and sculpture spanning many centuries, styles and empires. The museum houses the royal collection from history with many newly added works over the years. Along with experience the Prado I want to see some of Gaudi’s architectural gems, this may require a side trip to Barcelona, we will figure that out as we go. I really do enjoy the evenings in Spain. Gathering with the locals and tourists in the squares and plazas or the street cafes it is always an experience meeting new people and hearing what is important in their lives. We usually stay up late in the the night enjoying the cool night air and the party atmosphere.

Woodstock in Ohio?

When I was visiting my very best friend in Ohio , she told me about taking me to a hippie fest . I said, what? I’m too old, the sixties are over, or at least I thought they were. Before she picked me up at one of the best hotels Dayton has to offer, and I mean really really nice, she told me to wear something comfortable and kind of hippyish. I told her when the sixties were over, I gave all my hippy clothes to Goodwill . She insisted that she’d just have to take me clothes shopping, because we were headed to Hippy Fest.

After we went shopping, and I managed to find some pretty neat hippy clothes, she knew just where to find these great hippy rags, we made it to hippiefest. We noticed right away all the love and peace was running rampant through the crowd. Wow, it brought back some great memories of when I was younger and enjoying all the outdoor concerts happening in the late sixties. The whole scene was awesome. Everyone was there to have a good time and to listen to some great music. All the performers picked up on the vibe and took everything to a whole new level. I had no idea that Dayton would bring out the best concert crowd I’ve ever seen. What a trip, I’m so glad my best friend insisted that I buy new hippy clothes, because I would’ve felt out of place.

I couldn’t believe that the Turtles actually performed, and not only performed but were the announcers for the whole show and cracked me up every time they came back on stage to announce the next performer. Wow, their songs brought back so many memories, so many wonderful times.  The first to perform after the Turtles was Jonathan Edwards, after him was Joey Molland’s Badfinger.  I was really good and after a little break, next came Melanie and she son Beau who was an excellent concert classical guitarist. She played ‘Ruby Tuesday’.

Then there was another break, I guess the older we all get, the more breaks we need. Then it was time for Flo and Eddie with the Turtles as backup. They were so much fun, more enjoyable than I thought that it would be. After they entertained us thoroughly, it was getting dark and that’s when the psychedelic projection began. Wow, another trip down memory lane. When the hippiefest was over, my best friend drove me back to my hotel room, but I felt like I wanted to go to some kind of poetry coffee house or watch a foreign film at the Roxi. I didn’t want to go to sleep and wake up the next morning and it being 2008.

Hugh Jackman Studied in Perth, Australia

Hugh Jackman is an Australian actor who has achieved great film success in The Untied States. He was born in Sydney in 1968 and knew from an early age that he wanted to pursue acting as a career. While he is mostly known for his role as the Wolverine in the X-Men series, he is extremely talented and initially interested in musical theatre. His first starring role occurred while he was attending the all boy Knox Grammar School. While studying there he performed in the school’s production of My Fair Lady . Jackman went on to study at the University of Technology in Sydney where he graduated with a degree in Communications. Interestingly, after he graduated in 1991, he was offered a role on Neighbors, a popular Australian Soap opera. He declined this offer and instead chose to study at the acclaimed Western Australian Academy of the Arts in Perth. The academy is part of the offerings of the Edith Cowen University and many famous actors have studied there. Other well known graduates of this school include Francis O’Connor, William McInnes and Marcus Graham.

Many of the guests staying at the Perth boutique hotels visit the university during their visit. Some of them are there to tour it as a possibility for study, or consider it for their children, while others simply visit it as one of Perth’s cultural landmarks. Jackman’s visit and attendance was due of course to his passion for the art, and interest in achieving a professional level of performance. In addition to his talents as an actor, he as served as host for the Tony Awards three times and also hosted the Academy Awards in February of 2009. On top of all that, he was also voted by People Magazine as being the sexiest man alive. While that may be an impressive title to most people, it cannot be considered one of the skills he acquired while in attendance at Perth.

New Orleans’ Banjo Annie

There are cities that seem made for luxury hotels.  New Orleans is absolutely in that category.  With a reputation for being the most European city in the U.S., and really a place that is unlike anything else on the planet, New Orleans is a blend of many things.  There are fantastic places to stay here, and our hotels are selected for their ability to create a wonderful hospitality while also providing the latest and greatest technologies.  We save you the guesswork by selecting hotels that meet our highest standards for service and style, and these are things that come naturally in New Orleans.

New Orleans is a magnificent city, which has had a difficult history.  The reconstruction after the floods have brought back some of the best of its charms, and there is always something new here. It constantly reinvents itself with an unusual grace and personality that makes it beautifully unique.  With a dizzying blend of cultures and traditions, it is simultaneously American, French, and African, and has a remarkable ability to take in new cultures as new residents move in and travelers pass through.  Of these, there are many who decide to stay on for one reason or another, and New Orleans is famous for having its share of unusual residents.  One of its more colorful characters from the last century was Banjo Annie .

Born in 1886 with the name Barbara Lee, Banjo Annie had a long and interesting life in New Orleans’ French Quarter.  No one knows exactly where she was born, but it was somewhere else for sure, before she found her way here.  When people first met her, she was young and beautiful, but some string of bad circumstances lead her to begin living on the streets and in the bars.  Banjo Annie did not stay beautiful for long, developing a reputation as one of the hardest drinkers around.  She was one of the pubs’ most loyal customers, if not altogether honest in paying her tab.  She lived, by all accounts, with a great deal of dedication and fortitude.  Her banjo playing came as a way to make some means for herself, and she was seen playing in the streets, wearing many layers of men’s clothes.  She had a very brief bout with sobriety when she was locked away for a year, but soon returned to living on the streets, until her lifestyle got the best of her in 1951.

Kenzo Minami in NYC

There’s something to offer everyone in this spectacular city, and our four-star New York hotels will put you in the center of the action.  Our hotels are carefully selected for their excellence in service and design, offering the best of New York taste and sensibility.  There’s a fantastic combination of old-world charm and new-world convenience, reflecting the extreme cosmopolitan nature of the city, as well as its rich history.  We like to specialize in the rejuvenation of our guests, providing luxurious amenities to accompany the delicious comfort of the rooms, as well as the gourmet meals, and other extras to put you at the center of the world.  
New York is considered by many to be the center of the world, or at least it’s has many turns as the center, being at the forefront of commerce, education, and art.  It has attracted some of the best minds of every generation, coming to New York City to have a turn at fame and fortune.  Those things don’t always work out, but even when they don’t, some of the great ideas in the history of culture come out of the attempts to make something new.  Visitors to New York can find a veritable feast of cultural events to look into, with plays and live music and art galleries, any day of the week.  In design, there are always a plethora of young artists looking to make changes in the world through their images, and one new designer worth looking for is Kenzo Minami .
This designer has some of the hottest t-shirt designs going, with work being shown in galleries as well as in some of the hipper upscale fashion stores.  Coming to New York from Japan, Kenzo Minami is young and extremely bright.  Getting some of his artistic sensibility from his blue collar roots, where the generations of men before him would teach themselves skills in working different media, he has developed a considerable body of work out of a love of drawing.  His sketches turn into graphic delights, with extreme sharpness of line and a terrific sense for color.  Some of the designs suggest a sophisticated retro, while others refer to moments of spontaneous inspirations drawn from both pop culture and a dreamscape.  It will be interesting to watch his work grow as he continues to evolve his artistic identity.

Navagunjara Installation in Delhi

When looking for the perfect five-star hotel, Delhi  has some splendid options for the discerning world traveler.  One of the busiest metropolises in the world, Delhi has a long history of travelers passing through.  It is nothing new to Delhi that so many people, from all walks of life, have felt a magnetic pull to the city.  As such, it has a very well-developed tradition for taking care of strangers, and has honed this into an art form that is nothing less than gracious hospitality.  This is how you will be met when you travel here, from the moment you’re greeted at the airport.  Your stay in our accommodations will likewise be gracious and warm, combining the best part of these old traditions with the newest conveniences of the contemporary world.  
People love Delhi for its seeming contradictions, and its ability to combine the old and the new in fascinating ways.  A lovely example of this is one of the recent exhibits at the Indian Art Summit.  Called Navagunjara: The facade as canvas , this is an interactive installation for the British Council New Delhi.  In the Mahabharata, Navagunjara is an avatar of Krshna, who appears before Arjuna as a peculiar creature composed of the parts of nine different animals.  Arjuna is about to shoot the animal-monster, before recognizing Krshna, and instead of killing him bows before him.  In this story, then, there is a recognition of an animal nature intrinsic to all beings, both wild and tamed.  A balance must be struck in order to achieve awakening, and the balance is gained through humility.
In the installation, created by Italian artist Giovanni Cannatta , the Navagunjara story becomes a metaphor for the interconnectedness of all things.  The visitor walks into the space, and their image is tracked and projected as a shadow on the screen, as a virtual avatar (a fascinating pun on the notion of the sacred avatar).  As they move through the space, there are eight animals who appear on the screen, and they will approach the shadow avatar depending on the visitor’s movements.  If the visitor moves in unstable ways, the animals move away, and if the visitor moves smoothly, the animals come closer.  Once a perfect calmness of movement is achieved, the animals all move in, and the shadow avatar becomes the ninth animal, which then triggers another series of videos.  At this moment the piece really becomes dazzling.  This is a splendid example then of how old traditions and new technologies can merge, in the center of Delhi’s creative heart.

South Africa’s Kendell Geers

When it comes to boutique hotels, South Africa offers a sumptuous variety.  It is a truly amazing country, with a fascinating and very difficult history.  It is extremely diverse, with a wide range of languages, cultures, and styles.  The big cities have very lively centers, with a wide array of activities and distractions to keep the entire family busy.  The bush is absolutely stunning, with varieties of flora and fauna that do not exist anywhere else on earth.  Then of course, there’s the beach.  Considered to be some of the most pristine beaches in the world, it’s easy to see why South Africa is the Motherland for so many people.  Our boutique hotels are extremely distinctive, offering unique and individual features and amenities that give you a perfect home away from home from which to enjoy your time here.

South African culture is as varied as the cultures.  There are musical styles that come from all over the continent, and all over the world, in a continuing evolution of sound and rhythm.  Performance traditions are also extremely varied, and have influences from all the corners of the world.  For visual art, it’s also an open field, where innovation sometimes trumps over tradition and sometimes it’s the opposite.  One of South Africa’s most prominent (to the pride of some and the embarrassment of others) artists is the outspoken Kendell Greers .

Kendell Greers is a performance artist, installation artist, and filmmaker.  He also works in the field of cultural critique, and often uses his installation work as a provocation to speak publicly about issues that are often extremely topical and relevant.  He claims his birthdate in 1968, a pivotal year for this generation, and was exiled for a time from South Africa.  His work reflects an engagement with the contemporary world in all its mystical and material forms and problems.  The work of Kendell Greers is often very provocative, and some critics charge that he is a narcissist, concerned only with bringing attention to himself, but it is difficult to dismiss his deftness at playing with the most important icons of the time, and speaking the obvious when no one else has the courage.

Salvadore Dali

I remember seeing a picture of the painting ‘ Persistence of memory , frequently referred to as Melting Alarm Clocks. This icon of the surrealist movement fascinated me when I was around 6 years old and i came across an image of it while pawing through art books of my mothers. The landscape also a trade mark of Dalian paintings was mysterious and full of hidden imagery. I like looking deeper and deeper into the images making out ever more of the hidden details. The  barren landscape looks forbidding in the light of the setting sun with barren weathered branches strewn about. On these branches hand the faces of clocks as if made of fabric hanging fluidly over the branches. I didn’t draw a lot of meaning from it as a child at least not one conscious level. I just remember being fascinated with the image, the colors, mood and emotion. Oddly the image was not frightening to me. I recall another image that stood out in my mind from the same series of books, Boschs’ ‘Garden of Earthly Delights ‘. Painted centuries earlier than Salvadore Dali’s ‘Persistence of Memory’ and centuries before the term surreal was coined yet the image has many surreal qualities. These paintings in particular and many others drew me into an interest in art. Salvador Dali and the Surreal movement being very favorites as a young adult. Having visited the Persistence of Memory many times at New York Cities Museum of Modern Art. I have now had the chance to see the Garden of Earthly Delights in person at the Prado in Madrid. And now to top it all off I will be staying at Barcelona Spain luxury hotel and using it as a jumping off point to visit the Salvador Dali museum and see the sights and visit the places these artists lived learned and painted in the Catalan country side.

Paycheck to Paycheck Living During a Recession

One of the many problems with living paycheck to paycheck, is that should something happen such as a car breaking down, or the need to go to the doctor, that could send an individual into a downward spiral that may eventually lead to being unable to make the mortgage payment.  Should this repeated happen one will end up in default on their loan.  And current status of the economy is providing evidence of just that, as there continues to be a raise in foreclosures.  Toronto , residents are experiencing, as well as the rest of the country, and it has become a national crisis in the United States as well.

A study done by Career Builders has revealed that in the United States, the current percentage of citizens that are living this way, from one check to the next, is just about fifty percent.  And less and less workers are finding themselves able to deposit any money into a saving account.  They are living lives without a safety net.  One solution most people say, is to get a pay raise.  For many questioned about it, just five hundred extra dollars each month would set them at ease.

One way people may attempt to manage their situations is by seriously keeping track of monthly expenses .  After totalling up the essentials such as rent or a mortgage payment, take note of just how much one spends on going out for coffee, or spending the afternoon at the movies.  And even though it is tough to turn down a job offer in this current climate, one really needs to look at the pay rate, and compare to how much they need, not only to pay the bills, but the necessities of each and every day.  By taking an active role in the end of the check to check way of life, one will see results.

Day Trip From Marbella

When in Ronda, go the bridge. We were like kids in a candy store here, and we could not decide what to do first. Gibraltar beckoned with its lovely monkeys and incredible scenery. the desk at the Luxury Hotels Marbella bureau gave us a hundred ideas of what to see and they flew at us like rapid fire confetti. We decided on Rondo because we had never heard of it, it sounded off the beaten path, plus it is a half hour from Cueva de Pileta cave, with its 20,00 year old cave paintings. We are suckers for caves, so to speak, and we go out of our way to be in the Earth’s bosom, and watch for bats. Some say we have bats in the belfry. This may be so. We drove to Ronda and crossed the famous bridges. and you can check out the old Arab quarter and a bull ring made entirely of stone. In fact Plaza de Toros is the nexus of the the town, the place to navigate from, and you can spend all day checking out the landscape of Andalusia. But on to the caves. It seems a local farmer around 1900 thought the chambers he discovered were just some strange markings, but a British Colonel named Willoughby Verner investigated and dicovered the incredible cave paintings dating back to Paleolithic era, with actual paintings and pottery artifacts found in the walls of the caves. the tours are quite informal, as the family of the original farmer conducts tours as people show up, and there is no set times. It is a lovely wait if you miss a tour, and a flashlight is highly recommended. A steep set of stairs leads to the caves. make sure to wear good shoes for hiking around this amazing display.