Comments (0) The fifth annual Bright Star Vision Ghana Village Benefit will take place at ArtSpace Gallery from 6:30-10pm on Saturday, February 20th. There will be appetizers, drumming, shopping, a spoken word performance, and other family friendly activities.
Bright Star Vision has been helping the village of Dalive in Ghana. They have built water filters, a library, and a kindergarten. Additionally, they have donated books, clothing, and medical supplies.
Culturally, I am cupcake malnourished. I have yet to visit Magnolia, the famous cupcakery in NYC. Last year, when the Cupcake Truck came to Bushnell Park, I missed it entirely. But that does not mean that I try. My kitchen has several cupcake trays and I own one cupcake-specific cookbook. When it comes to baking, I have not learned the patience necessary to properly frost and decorate baked goods. By default, I’ve been on the mission to find the perfect cupcake. Much like my mission to find the perfect sangria and mojito, the process is more important than the actual outcome. Continue reading 'Cupcakes'»
With Valentine’s Day approaching, and with a close friend going on a top secret date which led to discussion about what makes for a great or horrible date, and with an acquaintance asking me last night what I like about Hartford, I write this report on what I think makes for a (nearly) perfect night out.
Before riding my bicycle to the Wadsworth Atheneum, I began by having an impromptu conversation with my neighbor and was then joined by another resident on the block. There was a fire in a nearby house early Thursday morning, so we were all updating each other and feeling grateful that nobody was injured.
Upon arriving at the museum, I had my choice of parking spots: an entirely empty bike rack that meant my walk from parking spot-to-front door was under thirty seconds. After stashing my helmet and jacket inside one of the museum’s lockers, I grazed from the snack table and listened to the dj. When he was there a few months ago, I did not care much for his musical choices, but he had selections from an entirely different genre this time. Friends and friends-of-friends trickled in; among them included Jude, who writes about the MATRIX exhibit far better than I could. When I first began visiting the museum in the 1990s, the MATRIX was among my favorite sections of the Wadsworth. Continue reading 'On Any Thursday'»
Recently, the Courant reported that both Mad Dawg’s and Room 960 have been shut down for liquor license violations (i.e. serving minors and not having a license, respectively), but it seems they have stripped their website of all evidence that this article was ever published. It’s enough to make one wonder if this story was real, or just some shady, splotchy pseudo memory accompanying a bad hangover. Neither of the two bars have any mention of an hour change or temporary closing on their websites.
This demands the question of why.
Was the story incorrect or inaccurate? If so, providing corrections would have been more helpful and professional than simply removing the information from the newspaper’s online presence, as if pretending like it never happened would resolve the situation. I understand the practice of removing older publications, but when something is still fresh news, it seems more logical to update the information. Having just checked, I do not see any reference to the article in the Corrections section of the site.
Certain stories on the newspaper’s site allow comments and others do not. Sometimes, an article begins one way and is later changed. Do articles disappear for the same reason — pressure?
If anyone at the Courant has an answer regarding why entire stories disappear from their site, I would love to hear from them.
Breaking a long drought of not dining out, I decided to satisfy my curiosity about Tamarind Grill during Taste of Hartford Restaurant Week, an event I would find more enjoyable if there were more vegetarian options and/or if the $20.10 price felt worthwhile for the existing veggie options. Since meat-free meals are generally less expensive, restaurant week usually means getting less of a bargain. It’s not that these restaurants have nothing vegetarian on their menus — they do. But if the goal is to get new customers via the restaurant week, they should have no problem catering to what is a sizable portion of the population. If a self-described steakhouse does not want to do this, there’s no love lost, but most restaurants do not fall into this category. A small salad, pasta, and dessert cost far less than $20 to prepare. If most of the participating restaurants added a glass or wine or a hearty appetizer to the vegetarian option, I would call it fair. Continue reading 'Tamarind Grill vs. Restaurant Week'»
Yesterday, WNPR featured a show on “urban biking.” If you missed it, follow the link for the podcast. It featured some folks from the Beat Bike Blog, as well as a bike messenger and bike shop owners.
I’ve just purchased a home in the Frog Hollow neighborhood, so here’s a photo tour to acquaint readers with my new surroundings:
On Saturday, January 23rd, a performance of Handel’s Messiah (part I and the Hallelujah chorus) will take place at Our Lady of Sorrows on New Park Avenue at 6pm. This concert is a benefit for the Immaculate Conception Shelter, which operates two no-freeze shelters — one on Park Street and one on Lafayette Street.
Admission is free, but they welcome donations, including the non-monetary kind: men’s winter coats and clothing, blankets, men’s toiletries, and food.
I think I’m going to have to sit this one out because of the timing.
Places I’ve been to on the list: Agave, bin 228, Carbone’s, City Steam, Feng, The Half Door, La Fonda, O’Porto, Tisane, USS Chowder Pot, and Wood-n-Tap. Of those, I think the one that offers the best bargain for restaurant week (as far as vegetarian fare is concerned) is Carbone’s.
Of the participating restaurants that I have not been to, the ones I’d most like to try: J Restaurant Bar and Vivo.
Free events that feature family activities make the Wadsworth Atheneum buzz with life. The museum was a good kind of busy. It was not silent like it usually is when I go mid-week. That’s uncomfortable, to be the only person on a floor, to have five security guards able to follow me at any given time. It was also not as busy as the larger museums in New York City that make the experience deafening and stressful. I don’t mind waiting for a few people to observe a painting and then move on, but I never want to wait in a line to catch a glimpse of something. Today’s WAMA population was a happy medium.
For the kids, there were hands-on art projects, like postcard creation. Maybe my timing was perfect, but while I was there, I was not forced to endure the screaming or crying of any kids (or their parents). The children seemed amused by the museum and the activities.
After checking out the Digging Deeper exhibit for the billionth time, I wandered off to explore the rest of the museum. I noticed that the mummy was moved. Not only was he removed, but his exhibit left some small holes in the floor. I was disappointed, mostly because it’s a tradition of mine to visit him and marvel at how the henna dye in his hair lasted thousands of years, but if I go to the salon and dye my hair, it disappears in weeks.
Panorama theme by Themocracy
