Discounts

My decision to move out of New York City this past August came as a surprise to many of my friends and acquaintances and colleagues. Perhaps most of all to me. But even the most die hard New Yorkers I knew were wiling to grant that a plan to quit the city?s cooked pee summer streets for clean country air had a certain logic to it.

But seasons do change, I was reminded, and then what would I do in the dark and dreary winter, when the world would be leached of all color? Then I would pay the price for those mid-day dips in the swimming hole, and afternoon snacks of blueberries picked in my garden, and evening jogs without the risk of bronchitis or heat stroke, and sweater nights on the porch watching the stars.

The price for all of that pleasure would be bleak winter misery.

So it has been a surprise to me that the winter has not been bleak in the least. There have been gray days, of course,  but the winter landscape here in New York?s Taconics has more than compensated.  I am enjoying the bare musculature of the trees, the roll of the corn fields plowed, and the sight of houses that are in the warmer months hidden by leaves.

These are the pleasures of a black and white photograph, a sort of stark pleasure which I suppose I could have guessed I?d have enjoyed, even in summer.  The actual startle has been at how much color I?m finding when I wander, and how much I can appreciate these single instances of color when there aren?t as many gaudy distractions.

In the spirit of Kerry?s quiet winter moment, here are a few of my moments from the Harlem Valley Rail Trail last weekend. Each would be possible in another season, but would I have noticed the green, red and blue, or even the beauty of the shades of gray?

Related posts:

1. Quiet moments of winter: waiting for the train in Natick
2. Winter Wilderness in the Smokeys
3. Winter through a musician?s eyes
4. Winter moon, dark sky

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 24th, 2012 at 1:42 pm and is filed under Alison projects, photography, US travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

The group had good intentions, but the brightly colored $10 cocktails just weren?t big enough.

They were gathered shoulder to shoulder around a few small wooden tables that, shoved together, formed one long place setting of awkward silences sandwiched between awkward getting-to-know-you-but-I-need-to-have-a-few-more-drinks-before-I?m-ready-to-really-get-to-know-you pleasantries. There were about 12 or 13 twenty/thirtysomethings in all, the girls sharply dressed and the guys wearing sharp attention for the girls. I think they?d gathered here at b??ik as part of some sort of cocktail or bar-hopping tour. My brother-in-law and I watched from a cushioned bench near the entrance, sharing $6 pints of Captain Lawrence Pale Ale and a mutual appreciation of being onlookers, not participants.

b??ik is another newish Williamsburg bar with that specific type of clean, minimalist, industrialized vintage character that area hipster and hipsterettes fawn over. The walls like white-washed jeans, the floors cold cement, the tables candlelit, the beer menu simple, the cocktails obtusely named And How, Love Makes You Feel Ten Feet Tall, longitude / latitude. There?s a wood-paneled patio in the back, like a giant sauna with tables and chairs, and the bar itself is, according to their website, ?perhaps the most impressive element? [a] long 19th century butcher block bar, salvaged from an abandoned packaging plant.? Wood and cement. Wood and cement.

More impressive, I think, are the two stark closet-like doors, painted metallic-grey, facing that old butcher block bar. One has ?Restroom? neatly painted in black across the top; the other, nothing. Where oh where could it lead? I imagine it?s the entrance to Pandora?s box, a portal to a mind-bending imaginarium of fantastical wonders and shadowy horrors. It may also lead into the mind of John Malkovich, the actor best known for his captivating performances as Bruce Brazos in Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Quentin Turnbull in Jonah Hex. Open at your own risk.

There are, of course, no happy hour specials, but there are, of course, $3 cans of Budweiser.

Once upon a time this space was home to Phoebe?s Cafe, which was favored by area scenesters when I first moved to Williamsburg some 9 years ago. I tried it once on the recommendation of a flaky-cool editor who worked at a hip downtown magazine I was interning for at the time. I also tried the fish sandwich at the nearby White Castle on the corner of Humboldt and Metropolitan once?it was delicious. b??ik tips its hat to its predecessors with the phoebe?s sandwich (oven-roasted squash, eggplant and portobello, naan, sriracha mayo, $8), as part of a modest 13-item menu that also includes mac and cheese ($8), deviled duck egg ($4), and two types of hot dogs ($4 each).

Through the tall looking glass windows on b??ik?s Graham Avenue-facing facade, a view of C-Town, the neighborhood grocery, the ?SuperMarkets for Savings?. Here the all-female teenage cashiers snack on potato chips and mini-donuts kept in drawers underneath their registers, carrying on fascinating conversations amongst themselves that tend to start with an impassioned ?No, that stupid muthafuckah?? and end with a ?? so fuck that bitch? finality. Once in awhile they say ?you?re welcome? after thanking them for the attentive services they have kindly provided. C-Town?s piss-yellow lighting illuminates bright futures.

My brother-in-law?s paperback copy of The Way We Die Now, by Charles Willeford, lay on our low wooden table near the cushioned bench at the entrance, in front of the tall glass windows, across from the 19th-century butcher block bar, near the two closet-like doors painted metallic grey on the walls like white-washed jeans. We each choked down a small oatmeal cookie and washed away the blandness with the last of our pints of Captain Lawrence Pale Ale. One of b??ik?s proprietors was introduced to the cocktail group, which was still mired in fits and spurts of awkward silence. Everybody at those tables had good intentions; I can appreciate that. b??ik has good intentions, and I can appreciate that too.

b??ik is located at 323 Graham Avenue, just off the Graham Avenue stop on the L train, between Metropolitan Avenue and Devoe Street. M-W 4p-2a; Thu-Fri 4p-4a; Sat-Sun 12p-4a. 347-889-7597.

Related posts:

1. Reason #573 to Love Brooklyn: Fish Fridays at Acme
2. The Beer Intoxicated, and the Bathroom Walls Were Covered in Vintage Star Wars Wallpaper

This entry was posted on Friday, January 27th, 2012 at 11:53 am and is filed under Brian projects, food & drink, US travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Remember your vacation just the way you imagined it!

At the recent PhoCusWright Travel Innovation Conference a speaker waxed lyrical about their new web site, which would relieve its users of the burden of travel planning, letting them get hours of planning done in a few minutes instead. And they considered that a good thing!

I have to disagree. As far as I?m concerned, the process of planning, researching, dreaming and anticipating exactly where you are going, where you will stay, what you will do and all the little details surrounding those things is every bit as much fun as the trip itself. And it can certainly last a lot longer!

Studies show?

That might sound like an over-the-top claim, but there?s plenty of academic research that supports the view that not only is the anticipation as enjoyable as the reality, in time it often replaces the reality in our memories of what actually occurred. Here?s a for-instance: let?s imagine you are planning a week?s getaway to the Caribbean. You anticipate blue skies, clear water, white sand and blissful days of rest with your partner, punctuated only by sensational meals at cute little beachside restaurants serving fresh-from-the-ocean seafood.

What happens might be a little different: it rains half of your time there; there?s an algal bloom that makes swimming hazardous for the first few days; your partner is stressed about work and can?t stop checking email; and by the third day you have tried every item on every menu in a three-mile radius. Which isn?t to say that your vacation isn?t going well, or that you?d rather be home? it?s just not what you anticipated.

Guess what? Exhaustive studies show that many of us?to some extent?replace the reality with what we?d anticipated, and use these combined, curated memories to inform our plans for future trips; even more surprising, we describe our vacation to friends without the low points, thereby luring them into our constructed reality.

Take your time!

Viator understands the power of anticipation and the pleasure you can derive from researching your next trip. We assist your process by providing detailed tour descriptions, customer reviews and photos, along with videos for many of our tours. We also make suggestions for alternative tours in the same or nearby locations, in many cases alerting you to tours and activities you would not have guessed existed.

We think the trip planning process can be a lot of fun, and rather than make it shorter, we?d like to make it longer, helping you make better decisions about what you?ll do on vacation, all the while enjoying the unhurried, pleasure-filled process of making them.

- Rod Cuthbert

Christchurch is rocking again but this time with laughter as the annual World Buskers Festival takes center stage this week.

More than 50 highly versatile and talented buskers from around the world are setting up their pitch and strutting their stuff in some of the most colorful, musical, and flexible ways.

From contortionists to ventriliquists, knife throwers to knife swallowers, jugglers to dancers, rappers to hip hop, they have put one aim ? to get people smiling and shaking with laughter.

Past years have seen street performers from around the world set up their portable stages in Cathedral Square, the City Mall, and the Art Center.

But in post-earthquake Christchurch, that?s just not possible.

Instead, the organizers has created a mini-village in Hagley Park (the city?s new ?cultural? city center), complete with numerous stages, stalls, and even a ?container? garden wine bar.

This year?s line up includes many of the city?s favorites ? Mullethead, Rubberband Boy, and the open-air Street Circus ? name but a few.

There?s even a small 52 seat theater tent (Le Tigre Bleu) set amongst the trees. Close to show times, an old-time carnival barker entices the crowds to enter, promising everything from mime to burlesque.

If this doesn?t get the people of Christchurch shaking with laughter, I?m not sure what will.

Related posts:

1. Christchurch is shaking again but with laughter
2. A Christchurch Christmas Tale
3. Christchurch Shaken But Not Broken
4. After Earthquake, Christchurch Community Spirit Shines

This entry was posted on Monday, January 23rd, 2012 at 12:37 pm and is filed under Australia & NZ travel, Liz projects. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Christchurch is rocking again but this time with laughter as the annual World Buskers Festival takes center stage this week.

More than 50 highly versatile and talented buskers from around the world are setting up their pitch and strutting their stuff in some of the most colorful, musical, and flexible ways.

From contortionists to ventriliquists, knife throwers to knife swallowers, jugglers to dancers, rappers to hip hop, they have put one aim ? to get people smiling and shaking with laughter.

Past years have seen street performers from around the world set up their portable stages in Cathedral Square, the City Mall, and the Art Center.

But in post-earthquake Christchurch, that?s just not possible.

Instead, the organizers has created a mini-village in Hagley Park (the city?s new ?cultural? city center), complete with numerous stages, stalls, and even a ?container? garden wine bar.

This year?s line up includes many of the city?s favorites ? Mullethead, Rubberband Boy, and the open-air Street Circus ? name but a few.

There?s even a small 52 seat theater tent (Le Tigre Bleu) set amongst the trees. Close to show times, an old-time carnival barker entices the crowds to enter, promising everything from mime to burlesque.

If this doesn?t get the people of Christchurch shaking with laughter, I?m not sure what will.

Related posts:

1. Christchurch is shaking again but with laughter
2. A Christchurch Christmas Tale
3. Christchurch Shaken But Not Broken
4. After Earthquake, Christchurch Community Spirit Shines

This entry was posted on Monday, January 23rd, 2012 at 12:37 pm and is filed under Australia & NZ travel, Liz projects. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Discount Mags is offering Elle Decor Magazine for just $3.99/year TODAY only with code 9407 at checkout. If you are looking for a quick overview of this magazine, here?s the write-up from the website:

?Apply international style and ideas to your home design with Elle Décor. Tour the homes of world-renowned interior designers or learn about new fabrics. Intriguing articles and thought-provoking interviews give you tips on interiors and architecture, as well as in-depth profiles of today?s top designers. Elle Décor provides the American homeowner with a global flair.?

No need to be cold with deals that are this hot, hot, hot!

Sorry, that was too ?used car commercial? even for us, and we wrote it. Yuck. The sentiment is true, though. We did find for you the top 5 deals, top 5 coupons and top 5 reader comments of the week in this, the latest edition of The Best of BradsDeals. We?ve got sweaters, shoes, laptop bags, text books, clothes, and that?s just the stuff sitting on our desk!

Now, to the deals?

Top 5 Online Deals:

1. Reebok Shoes from $25 Shipped: Let?s face it, it?s resolution time. No one likes it, everyone does it. If you have decided that this is the year to hit the gym more, do it with some new Reebok kicks. Most styles are at current price lows?just because you?re getting ripped, doesn?t mean you have to get ripped off!

2. LOFT: 60% Off Sale Sweaters: The sweater you got for Christmas from your third-cousin Sue?the one with the applique reindeer with the Christmas light nose?yeah, that?s gotta go. Replace it with one of these gorg sweaters, some of which drop to $14! They don?t light up like Sue?s sweet gift, but hey, we all have to make tradeoffs!

3. Garmin Nuvi 1200CS 3.5? GPS $80 Shipped: Over the river and through the woods, to grandmother?s house we go. Nuvi knows the way, to pilot your sleigh, and at this price, you?ll save some dough, oh!

4. Power Pack Laptop Backpack $50 Shipped: This laptop backpack is at a BradsDeals exclusive price, and the best of the web by $14. We stole a bunch of them off the back of a truck found this great deal just for you, so now you and your laptop can roam free, the way nature intended.

5. Free Pair Prescription Glasses! First time customers get free glasses at Coastal Contacts. Free glasses. Just go there, get free glasses. You?re already on the internet, just click the link. Get free designer glasses. Now! (Ok, finish reading the blog, then go!)

Top 5 Online Coupons:

1. Chegg: 10% off Text Book Rentals

2. Soma Intimates: $20 off $50 via code 11178

3. Target: 15% off Kitchen Essentials

4. Asos: $30 off $150 via code USSAVE30

5. Lane Bryant: $25 off $75, $150 off $150, $75 off $225 via code JANGCLB

Top 5 Comments:

1. This could?t have come at a better time for me, just a couple of hours ago I was a vista print looking at invitations for my friend shower.  This should cover 90% of my purchase.  Thank u Brad.
- Noemi, January 18th, about the $50 at VistaPrint for $10

2. awesome deal!!
- Ccook37, January 16th, about the Keurig MINI Plus Brewer $88 Shipped

3. pretty
- Kodi Henningsen, January 17th, about the Giani Bernini Puffed Heart Pendant $30

4. snagged a great deal  on note nook!!
- buffy, January 18th, about the 50% Off All 2012 Calendars

5. I need one of those!!!!
- Chrissie Blevins, January 16th, about the Brookstone Coffee Cup Warmer $17 Shipped

If you?d like a daily rundown of all the deals and top online coupons, sign up for Brad?s Daily Alerts today to get the best daily deals delivered to your inbox!

Photo Courtesy: miamism