My trip to New York

I went to New York a few years ago. I went solo. I stayed on Manhattan Island, but that's where everything is. I was there for a week and stayed for a few days at the Jazz on the Town in the East Village. The rooms were cramped and there wasn't a communal lounge but it was ok to sleep in. On one night coming home from the local pubs, it seems that there's a pub at every corner, I had to look around my hostel room for my glasses, which I had misplaced. I got in a bit of trouble since I was looking in the wrong hostel room. For some reason, I couldn't stay the following day. Most of my nights consisted in going to the local pubs where I met some charming waitresses and interesting New Yorkers. One such New Yorker told me he had been to 300 bars in his life. There were probably a good dozen right where I was staying. During the day I checked out the touristy stuff. I went up the Empire State building and went on a ferry to check out the Statue of Liberty. There was more security to see the Statue, then at airports. The Statue is actually not that tall. I also checked out a musical called the Producers. It was awesome with much hilarity. I was right up there in the balcony. I also stayed at the Carlton Arms Hotel, where there was no TV or phone. However, there was a nice decor to the room.
I don't remember much from New York, since I spent my evenings in bars, but I saw a few art galleries. They say New Yorkers are rude. I did not find that to be true. On my way to the museum, a few people helped me find my way. A barfly even bought me a beer. I'll say this though, many people thought I was there to find work and I met quite a few people trying to find work. As they say, if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.

My review of Cuban singer Compay Segundo

Compay Segundo (Máximo Francisco Repilado Muños) (1907-July 2003)was born in Cuba. He is a singer and trova guitarist. He is most known for the movie and album Buena Vista Social Club. However, in the CD Compay Compay we hear him play some wonderful Cuban music recorded in Clubs and Theatres. His most famous song on the album is Chan Chan

Here are a few verses (rough translation) The sweetness that I have/You cannot deny/
Another of his songs is called Sabroso.

The name of this song means succulent. Here's a rough translation of a few lines: The day that you no longer love me/I say quickly/Because I don't want to have/ the head of this animal.

Compay sings danzones, waltzes and sones. His songs are usually short with heavy guitar and ensemble. His songs are usually of a romantic nature and he has a distinctive voice. I heard about Compay Segundo in Mexico. It was not uncommon to hear his songs, however he is known as a great Cuban singer. They are sweet songs of love, loving and longing. The lovely rythym of the guitar and singer make all the difference.

My review of Czech author Milan Kundera

Milan Kundera was born in 1929 in Czechoslovakia. He is of Czech origin but moved to France later in life. His books were banned in communist Czechoslovakia before the velvet revolution in 1989.
In his book The Book of Laughter and Forgetting we see a fragmented novel, but more of a set of short stories. We do experience his past in Lost Letters and Mother. They talk about his upbringing and the state of communist Czechoslovakia. The term disappearance is used more than once. In the Angels we see a couple of teenagers recounting and discussing the novel Rhinoceros and Other Plays by Eugene Ionesco. Though they analyze it, they figure out that it is nonsensical. In the second part of Lost Letters we see an enamored man and his mistress. They have to keep this a secret from their mother. In Litost we see the rise of a relationship between a young educated man and a housewife. Litost has a special meaning in Czech, it means

a feeling as infinite as an open accordion, a feeling that is the synthesis of many others: grief,sympathy,remorse, and an indefinable longing.

In The Angels we see a young woman kidnapped to an island of children. There she learns to live with the children, however problems occur. It is a rather desolate and isolated encounter. In the last story we see the end of a unique character in the book and the ritual orgy that ensues.

This book is quite varied in its approach and does not tie in all the stories together, but rather explores different aspects of life. Like any communist era writer, Kundera talks about the revolution, but more than just that. There are human relationships and engrossing tales of sexuality.

The novel The Unbearable Lightness of Being, also has tales of sexual encounters. The protagonist is a womanizer, who only truly loves his wife. In the end he figures out that it is only she that he wants. This novel, his most famous, is also a movie. It stars Daniel Day Lewis and Binoche. It has deep roots in existentialism. It is a novel about the purpose of living and explores the difference between love and sex. The setting for the novel is also a year before the occupation by the Russians. It takes place within one year. The protagonist and his wife eventually move to the country where they find peace and each other.

My review of author Henry Miller

Henry Valentine Miller (1891 –1980) was an American author. He is also known for his paintings. His works were originally banned because of obscenity. However, in the 60's he got his works published. His style is very distinctive. He is a poet and narrates in train of thought and embellished sentences. He is known for his semi-pornographic descriptions and adventures in the sack. Beyond that, he does showcase his novels with social criticisms and semi-autobiographical accounts. His words are sophisticated and his style of writing is very liberal and complex. He sorts his thoughts in a sort of ambiguous web of poetry.

He was famous for his novel Tropic of Cancer. In this novel we see him in Paris with all sorts of seedy characters, plotting his next exploits. He lived a poor life as an ex-pat living off his writing. There are some descriptive encounters with women and an exploration of different orifices and extensions. The book also recounts drunken escapades and barroom banter.

In Tropic of Capricorn we see more of his life at work in an office. He recounts his life as a married man, with mistresses. This story makes me think a little of the Post office by Bukowski. post office: A Novel
It appears that he is in a constant state of arousal and pursuit. However, this time he is in New York.

In the novel Black Spring, we see vivid images of his past in Paris, New York and his upbringing. He relates a hard upbringing with a group of tough youth. His thoughts are more scattered and poetic in this book. There are more descriptive passages then in the other two books.

Finally, in the book Stand Still Like the Hummingbird, we see Miller as a social critic. His focus is no longer exclusively on women but on the complexities of the American life. He criticizes many aspects of America. There are also some chapters on some of his most liked authors such as Ionesco, Whitman and Thoreau. In this book he often questions the reader and relates anecdotes that foster thinking. This book is more of a reflexive remembering.

Miller was very controversial in the 60's, but today he is known for his endearing style of writing. He was an original when it came to elucidating his points. That is to say, his points were vague and full of irrelevant imagery. However, remember Miller for his task at hand.