New York City

The Morgan Library & Museum in New York

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In 1902 American financier Pierpont Morgan (1837–1913) chose architect Charles Follen McKim (1847–1909) of the prominent firm McKim, Mead and White to design a library to house his growing collection of rare books and manuscripts. Adjacent to Morgan’s home, which stood on the corner of Madison Avenue and 36th Street, McKim created a majestic structure in a classical style based upon villas of the Italian Renaissance. The exterior is constructed of Tennessee pink marble, the blocks set with such precision that virtually no mortar was used. A simple recessed portico is flanked by a pair of stone lionesses. Completed in 1906, Mr. Morgan’s Library—as it was called for many years—is the historic heart of today’s Morgan Library & Museum.

http://www.themorgan.org/

 

Review: Downward Dog by Edward Vilga

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7-21-2013 3-35-35 PMTitle: Downward Dog

Author:  Edward Vilga

Genre:  Fiction/Yoga

Publisher:  Diversion Books

Publication Date:  June 2013

Description: A study in love, loss, and sexual misadventures in New York City, Downward Dog tells the tale of a handsome Bad Boy who becomes a yoga instructor while trying to redeem his womanizing ways and win the forgiveness of the only woman he’s ever really loved.

Down on his luck thanks to a failed nightlife venture which fell apart because of his womanizing, our hero’s stuck with massive debt and broken dreams.

His only safe haven is the yoga world, and when his well-connected best buddy launches his yoga career among NYC’s elite, our working class hero becomes a guru to society’s top 1%, a wolf let loose amongst a flock of comely sheep.

Review:

I didn’t think I was going to like this book because the main character is a womanizer and has a history of being a real jerk but he becomes more endearing as the book progresses. He’s obviously made a lot of mistakes but he really does try to become a better person, mainly because of the woman he loved and lost. I found myself cheering him on and being so disappointed when he made a mistake. By the end of the book, I had a lot of respect for the way Edward Vilga was able to portray this Bad Boy’s journey. He made him very real.

There’s a lot of information about yoga. The way the poses were presented was creative and I learned quite a bit. Like a lot of people, I didn’t realize it was such a workout. I’ve always pictured someone sitting cross-legged and meditating. Wow! Was I wrong! In fact, it may something I’d like to pursue in the future. 

I enjoyed Downward Dog and highly recommend it. You can find it on Amazon. I look forward to reading more by Edward Vilga.

 

Downward Dog Blog Tour:

Author PhotoEdward Vilga, photo courtesy of Diversion Books

Day Three in New York

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We started the day at the Children’s Book & Author Breakfast. The featured authors were Octavia Spencer, Rick Riordan, Mary Pope Osborne, and Veronica Roth. All four were very good and I could have listened to them for a lot longer, which is saying a lot since I usually get bored with speeches. This was definitely my favorite event of the Expo. If I go again, I will go to all of the author breakfasts.6-2-2013 5-45-15 AMVeronica Roth, author of the Divergent series.

That was the end of the Book Expo for us. The rest of the day was for tourism. We took the subway to the World Trade Center. It was my first time on the subway and it was not dirty, not hot, not scary; however, at one of the stops when the doors opened, I saw a rat the size of a small dog running across the platform. My mouth must have dropped open because a guy sitting near me asked, “Did you see that?!” I wish I could have gotten a picture of that!

IMG_20130531_114407_088The view while waiting to go to the World Trade Center Memorial.

IMG_20130531_121801_090One of the memorial pools. So many of the names are of emergency personnel. I’d forgotten how many people lost their lives trying to save others.IMG_20130531_125607_330I had to stop at The Strand Bookstore. This is the view when you walk in.

IMG_20130531_195004_473Last stop: Wicked. It was amazing. If I ever go back to New York, I think I’ll spend my time and money on Broadway. The only negative about that night was that during intermission we got a text from my sister saying that tornadoes were headed toward Joplin and 2 tornadoes had touched down in St. Louis so it was hard to enjoy the 2nd half of the show not knowing what was going on at home.

First night in New York

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We flew into La Guardia last night in a small airplane…what my grandma used to call a puddle jumper. It’d been 25 years since I’d flown. My stomach wouldn’t mind if it was another 25 years. The view from the plane was beautiful. I was a little disappointed, though, because I was hoping to see the New York lights when we flew in but there was too much cloud cover. IMG_20130528_205505_482The cab ride from the airport to our hotel was an interesting one. Our cab driver didn’t say a word the whole way and I wasn’t about to strike up a conversation. As fast as he was driving, I figured he needed to concentrate. Besides, the news was on the TV. Yes, TV. I don’t travel much and I’ve never visited NYC before so I had no clue that the taxis had a TV and a credit card machine in the back seat.

We’re staying at The New Yorker on 8th Avenue. It’s within walking distance of a lot of things. More about that tomorrow. Here’s Tommy checking out the view from our room. IMG_20130529_064729_926

Another view from our room:

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