Honor By August in NYC

The music washes over you like waves: rising guitar riffs, soaring vocals, deep bass, and you are only feet from the band. 

This scene would be rare in other cities.  But in New York City it plays out almost daily.  There are countless places to see live music in NYC and there are just as many bands lined up for their shot at fame.

One of the best places to see a live show in NYC is at Arlene’s Grocery (http://www.arlenesgrocery.net/).  Despite the name, this bar and concert venue is anything but a grocery store.  The outside of Arlene's uses a grocery store motif with a stooped porch of an old-style American grocery store, but that exterior masks a different world inside.  The upper floor is a first-rate bar.  The lights are dim and the atmosphere is relaxed enough to stop by for a drink after work.  The customers come from all walks of life.  It is not unusual to see students, young professionals, and businessmen sharing the bar for drinks that start at $3-4.

But the real magic of Arlene’s is downstairs.   The door to the downstairs concert venue is almost hidden.  You descend down a small staircase and pay $8 cover to enter an intimate venue for bands.  The lights are dim and the floor is open to accommodate crowds.  There is a full-service bar and seating around the corners.  No matter where you choose to stand or sit you will only be feet from the band and you are guaranteed a great view.  Being that close only serves to enhance the experience and draw you into the music!

The best part is that your $8 cover allows you to see live bands from 7pm until after midnight (usually 4-5 bands).  Many of the acts are local and some are from out of town but every show I have seen was fantastic.  What makes Arlene’s even better is karaoke.  Check their calendar (http://www.arlenesgrocery.

net/calendar/index.html) because almost every Monday and Friday night they have live karaoke.  This means the house band plays the songs you request and you get to stand on stage and act like the lead singer of the band while you sing karaoke!

This month the highlight of Arlene’s schedule has been the band Honor by August (http://www.honorbyaugust.com/

).  The group met while attending Georgetown University and started making incredible music.  Their sound is hard to categorize.  What is not hard to categorize is that they have incredible range.  The songs they play can range from soft and mellow with pianos and acoustic guitars then they can easily transition into harder sounds with strong guitar riffs and heavy bass.  No matter the choice they have a distinctive style that is highlighted by the powerful vocals from Mike Pearsall.  His vocal range is incredible and has the ability to lift you up while you listen to a live show.

Here is a sampling of some of their songs:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=vq7D5N0-i7A&feature=related (their own music video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=KbWGhMP8zOQ&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=KfXW0F1k7OM (live at Arlene’s)

Perhaps the best part of Arlene’s is that you can meet all the bands after they perform. I learned that the guys from Honor by August are incredibly welcoming and love to meet their fans.

What could make all of this better?  Honor by August is performing at Arlene’s every Wednesday for the rest of August and they are playing some of their new songs.  It’s your chance to get out and see some great live bands.

曼哈頓島外的優閒

今天和幾個同學約在上東區吃午餐, 餐廳在五十幾街, 就決定吃完飯後去羅斯福島走走. 羅斯福島是一個在曼哈頓和皇后區之間的小島,  整個島都是住宅區, 平常不是住哪裡的人, 很少有人會特地去.但是在城市裡住久了, 有時候真的很需要離開這都市叢林, 找個安靜的地方去"透氣". 把平常整天煩心的事都先拋在腦外, 享受一個悠閒, 什麼都不做的下午!

要去羅斯福島有幾個大眾運輸方式可以到達
(1) Tramway- 空中纜車. 車站在59街和第二道到路口, 超級好找的. 只要看到覽車你就會找到車站的! 纜車的車票和地鐵票是共用的, 一趟一樣是$2.25. 車上的景色非常優美, 可以看到東河East River, 紐約市皇后區大橋Queensboro Bridge (電影蝙蝠俠最終章「黑暗騎士－黎明昇 」中的高壇市的聯外大橋, 其實就是紐約市皇后區大橋喔!). Tramway是在1976年為了羅斯福島的居民而設立的, 因為當時地鐵還沒有新建完成, 所以先用覽車替代. 
(2) 公車- 也可以搭Q102線公車

(3) 地鐵- F線, 在羅斯福島站下車

我強烈推薦搭纜車, 很特別的體驗, 可以從空中看俯瞰曼哈頓島,很難得有這樣的機會. 纜車本身也非常舒適便利, 纜車乘坐時間約是四分半鐘左右.

羅斯福島總長三公里, 寬只有兩百四十公尺, 幾乎可以從, 從纜車站出來, 幾乎就可以看到島的另一頭了, 飛常的細長! 島上大概有一萬五千住戶. 在羅斯福島上最令人振奮的事, 是美麗的曼哈頓天際線...另外, 大概就是星巴克了~除了星巴克, 兩間餐廳, 一間便利商店...真的沒有什麼店家. 很多人問, 羅斯福島什麼都沒有, 那去羅斯福島做什麼？就是去什麼事都不做, 好好的享受紐約難得的悠閒恬靜!

Afternoon getaway- Roosevelt Island and Long Island City

Sometimes it's just nice to get out of the city jungle for a while and put all the worries, work and anything that's bothering you out of your mind and just enjoy a nice, chill afternoon. 

We met some school friends at the upper-east side of Manhattan so we decided since we are already around fifty something street/1st ave, we should go check out Roosevelt Island, which is a tiny little island in between Manhattan and Queens. 

There are a couple different ways of public transportation to get to Roosevelt Island:

1) Tramway (cable car), at the station is at 59th Street & 2nd Avenue Station. You get a very nice view of the East River as well as the Queensboro bridge  from the cable car. The tram ride takes about 4-5 minutes. You can use your subway card to pay for the ride. The tram was built back in 1976, it was an alternative for the residents on the island to get into Manhattan before the subway stop was completed. 

2) Bus: Q102 Queens surface bus

3) Subway: take the F train and get off at Roosevelt Island stop. 

I strongly recommended taking the Tramway. It's a very fun experience to be in the air overlooking the city. The cable car is huge, it's bigger than my room...(it's either the car is just huge or my room is just way to small... 

Roosevelt Island 3km long and 0.24m wide. It's a very "thing" island. There are about 15,000 residents living on the island. The most exciting part of the island is...the view of Manhattan and...Starbucks. Other than that, there are 2 restaurants, a drugstore, some ice cream trucks on the weekends and that's pretty much it. The island is the most residential area I have ever been in NYC. A lot of people ask, "what do you do on the island?" The answer is, nothing!!! You go to Roosevelt Island to relax, walk along the river and just do nothing! Being busy is over-rated anyways! We all need to relax and do nothing from time to time. It's a head and mind cleansing!

After Roosevelt, we headed to Long Island City. You can take the F train to 21st-Greensbridge station and walk a bit south to the Queensboro Plaza to take the 7 train to Vernon Blvd Jackson Ave station. Long Island city may be my favorite place out of Manhattan in New York! 

Vernon Blvd Jackson Ave station is the closet subway station in Queens to Manhattan. As soon as you get out of the station, you will be on Vernon Blvd, there are  a lot of good restaurants. This area is called "Long Island City", which is known as a home to dynamic artistic community. If you have time, make sure to check out 5 Pointz and MoMA PS1. 5 Pointz is a factory that transformed into an outdoor art exhibit space that is covered by graffiti and the inside is made of art studios as well as over artists' apartments. MoMA PS1 is devoted to complementary art. 

 Along the East River, there are a lot of residential high rises with great view of Manhattan skyline and a surprisingly clean river park called Gantry Plaza State Park. The park just completed expansion in 2009. There are nice comfortable chairs, hammocks and beautiful sidewalks along the East River. This area is perfect for young families to raise kids. It's less crowded and has more green spaces for kids to play! 

Since we walked down to the park after dinner (around 7:30pm) the sun was setting from the Manhattan side, all the pictures of Manhattan were back-lit. But it is a great spot to look at the sunset if it's not too cloudy. 

Map of the day-

Roosevelt Island + Long Island City Gantry Plaza State Park (Vernon Blvd Jackson Ave)

Evena English Time- LIKE的用法

Like


 Like 不是只有"喜歡"的意思, like還可以當做是"就像是"的意思來說. 有時候英文單字會意不能言傳...所以這時候就要用舉例的
情境a)
當你在跟你朋友講述你聽到一件事情很驚訝的時候,
你可以說"I am like so shocked"
情境b)
當你想要誇張的說你去了一個你覺得是全世界最好吃的餐廳,
你可以說"It's like the best restaurant in the world"
如果你常常看美劇或美國電影, 你就會常常聽到"LIKE"
e.g. She is like the fattest person I've ever seen.
      He is like the cutest guy at school.
另外一種用法, 可以當做是"我當時的心情是/我心裡想..."來使用. 這裡又很難言傳了...只好用舉例讓你們會意
情境c)
如果你想要說一過去發生的事, 例如, 有個人撞到你很沒禮貌的頭也不回就走了, 你想要和朋友表達當時的心情, 你可以說"I am like, are you blind or what?" (我心裡想, 你是瞎了嗎？）

Like也可以當作是"舉例來說/例如"來使用
情境d)
你問你朋友想吃什麼, 然後你舉了幾個例子
你可以說"What kind of food would you like to eat? There are some good options, like Korean, Italian, Indian, or Mexican.

噢對了, Facebook的"讚", 英文版就是"like", 不過這裡就是最基本的"喜歡"的意思了!

在美國,尤其是西岸的年輕人, 幾乎每句話裡都有個"like", like已經成為一種幾乎沒有意義的用字了. 不過因為大家都在用, 聽起來就好像很道地很美國喔! 不要覺得很複雜啦, 多聽個幾次很快就會學起來了. 我們也常常在學新用詞阿, 像是"淡定"!!

我現在要來淡定的寫信給我老闆請他不要半夜還一直叫我幫他找資料.... (請問這樣用對嗎？）

喜歡的看官也請來LIKE我的文章, 謝謝大家. Evena English Time我們下次見!

七月四號美國國慶日

身為一個非美國人, 我對美國獨立紀念日和美國國慶最早的印像追朔到1996年威爾史密斯的一部電影--ID4星際終結者, 這部電影的英文就是Independence Day (aka ID4). 小時候對美國的認識不多, 想當初我也才十歲阿...但我還記得第一次看那部電影的時候內心默默的嘀咕: "為什麼外星人總是攻擊美國, 而且為什麼外星人都會說英文?" 雖然外星人總是攻擊美國, 最後總是會有一個英雄拯救美國以及全世界, 至少, 電影都是這樣演的!

來美國十一個月了, 終於讓我等到了七月四號美國獨立紀念日, 也就是美國國慶. 1776年的七月二號, 美國議會表決通過讓美國獨立, 兩天後七月四號, 美國正式宣告脫離英國殖民成為一個主權獨立的國家. 美國, 就在1776年的七月四號誕生了!

我個人對於美國文化和英語的認知以及吸收, 幾乎完全來自美國電影和影集. 我個人對美國國慶日的想像就是, 烤肉和煙火. 果然, 我的第一個美國國慶日, 就是在烤肉和煙火中度過!

我和朋友早上吃了brunch, 去買點烤肉的東西(被分配到準備蔬菜, 其實美國人也是很重事營養均衡的!)然後就搭地鐵到了Brooklyn布魯克林的朋友家的後院烤肉. 大家都準備了好多食物,漢堡肉, 熱狗, 洋芋片, 沙拉, 飲料和啤酒. 就和我想像中的美國國慶日烤肉一模一樣!

在曼哈頓的國慶煙火是美國很大連鎖百貨公司Macy's贊助的. 今年是第三十六屆了. 煙火釋放地點是在哈德遜河上, 也就是曼哈頓和紐澤西州中間的河, 釋放區域從43街一直往下到18街. 總共有四個煙火舞台. 有很多地方可以看到這美麗的煙火, 你可以選擇在曼哈頓看,也可以選擇到河得對面, 紐澤西看. 

要享受紐約生活可以很貴, 也可以很便宜. 幾個好的在曼哈頓觀看地點包括哈德遜河河畔地帶的公園(Riverside Park South, Hudson River Park (Pier 84, 54), West Side Highway). 不過不管哪裡, 都一定會有很多人的. 哈德遜河附近的大樓樓頂也會有超級好的view喔(下次一定要打聽誰住的地方的屋頂看的到哈德遜河!). 

如果你口袋比較深又真, 很想看到漂亮的煙火又不想和大家擠, 你也可以買roof-top bar/restaurant的門票上去看. 紐約人很喜歡roof-top bar, 因為這個城市的夜景很美, 到處都是高樓燈火瀰漫, 我自己也很超愛roof-top bar. 很有名的Hudson Terrence 就是一個很好的選擇, 但是國慶那天晚上光是入場就要$89美金, 那裡飲料餐點又超級貴, 所以, 預算不是很高的朋友可能就不是很適合了. 

另外一種看煙火的方式是在船上, 紐約的港口有很多船公司(cruise)提供國慶特別方案, 船會停在哈德遜河上所以會有很好的view看到整個煙火釋放過程. 當然, 價錢也不便宜. 有興趣的朋友可以參考Cruise Line, NY Waterway tours 或者World Yacht Dinner Cruise. 有時候在國慶日幾個禮拜前他們會在Groupon上有賣優惠價, 明年要看煙火的朋友要記得上Groupon看看喔! 

假如你想要有個好的view看煙火又想要看到曼哈頓的天際線, 可以像我和我朋友一樣, 到紐澤西的Hoboken去看煙火. Hoboken就在曼哈頓隔著哈德遜河的對面. 進曼哈頓也超方便的, 只要搭紐澤西-曼哈頓的地鐵 "Path"就可進到城裡來. 而且Path比 NYC Subway乾淨又新多了!我們大概八點半左右到Hoboken, 人潮已經超級多了, 在河邊的好位子老早就被占走了. 不過我們的spot也不算差, 反正煙火是往天空放嘛!

我很貼心的為大家畫了示意圖. 左邊是紐澤西Hoboken, 右邊就是曼哈頓:)

從Hoboken看曼哈頓, 這成是真的很美. 那些船就是可以買票去坐看煙火的船

煙火大概9:35開始, 是比原本公告的9:20晚了點, 大概就是"fashionable late"(像藝人明星一樣要遲到一點好像比較大排)吧! 不過等待是值得的. Macy's的煙火有超過四萬多發的煙火, 持續了大約二十五分鐘, 每一分鐘就有超過1500顆煙或像天空發射超過1000呎高! 除了典型的煙貨款式, 還有配合國慶的紅藍白煙火以搭配美國國旗, 還有像愛心, 笑臉的特色煙火. 

除了煙火秀, 美國國慶就像台灣的國慶一樣, 一定會有大型演唱會. 在曼哈頓就有一個大行的演唱會其中包括Katy Perry 當國慶家賓. Katy Perry 的那首"Fireworks"這時候超應景的!

每次要去看煙火我都超期待的, 雖然我知道煙火都大同小異, 而且看完都會有點失落...但還是超愛看. 這次的美國國慶煙火真的很美, 也讓我很想念台北大稻埕的煙火. 

4th of July- Independence Day of America

As an non-American, my first impression of 4th of July dated back to 1996 when the movie "Independence Day" (ID4) came out. I had very little knowledge about America at that time consider I was only 10...It was a very cool movie as I remembered. I also remember thinking to myself, why does aliens always attack America? Luckily, there is always a hero to save the planet, at least in the movies. 


After 11 months being in the US, it's finally time for 4th of July, the national day of the United States. July 2nd of 1776, the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence. 2 days later on July 4th, the nation declared independence from Great Britain, the United of America was then born. 


Since most of my cultural understanding of American and English language come from movies and shows, my impression of 4th of July is: B.B.Q and fireworks. And yes, that was exactly what I got on my very first 4th July in America. 


My friends and I headed down to Brooklyn to have a B.B.Q at friend's backyard. There was tons of food, burgers, hot dogs, pasta salad, chips, drinks, beers. The impression of an American B.B.Q from movies appear to be correct judging by this experience! 

This year is the 36th annual Macy's 4th of July fireworks. The fireworks were on the Hudson River which is the river between New Jersey and Manhattan, between 43rd street and 18th street. There were several locations you can see the fireworks. You can stay in Manhattan by the Hudson river, for example: Riverside Park South, Hudson River Park (Pier 84, 54), West Side Highway..and just anywhere along the Hudson river. But no matter where you go, there would be TONS of people. 

You can PAY to go up to some roof-top bars to see the fireworks. They tend to charge you a lot more to get in, but if you have the money and would like to have a good spot and not get stuck in sweat with thousands of other people, that might be a good option. Place like Hudson Terrence would guarantee you a very nice view of the fireworks. 

Another paid option is to get on cruise/boats on the Hudson River. You can check out Cruise Line, NY Waterway tours or World Yacht Dinner Cruise to see if they have tickets, but again, they are pricey. There was also a Pier 83 Rooftop Fireworks BBQ which costed $79 but tickets were sold out days before the July 4th.

If you would like to to see the fireworks AND the Manhattan skyline, you would need to go to New Jersey like my friends and I did. We chose to go to Hoboken which is right across the Hudson River in New Jersey. We took the Path to Hoboken, it was only a 10 minute ride from 14th street station and the Path was way cleaner and nicer then NYC subway. We got to Hoboken around 8:30pm, it was already packed. All the spots right in front of the river were already taken. Luckily we still got a good spot. 

Fireworks finally started around 9:35pm which was a little later than they announced, 9:20pm. But it was all worth it!!! It was one of the best fireworks I've ever seen. The Macy's fireworks featured more than 40,000 shells exploding at a rate of more than 1,500 per minute and fireworks reaching heights of 1,000 feet in the air. 

At the Manhattan side, there was big concert and celebration going on, Katy Perry was performing. The song "Fireworks" seemed very timely and appropriate for this event. 

The fireworks went on for about 25 minutes, there were the classic gold, red, green blue ones, there were also come combination color for 4th of July, red, blue and white. I really enjoyed the fireworks. 

Fireworks are one of those things you hope they never end but you know they will, at some point. They are also one of those things you know they look pretty much the same every time but you are just so excited about to see them, at least I am!!!

紐約同性戀大遊行

七彩的彩虹旗, 五顏六色的氣球, 金光閃閃的亮粉,誇張的羽毛以及短到不能在短的小熱褲, 同性戀遊行是我最愛的遊行之一. 

2010年參加了在台北的同性戀大遊行, 除了對民眾對同性戀的支持感到欣慰, 參加後整個人都覺得被釋放了 (是說原本活的也沒有很被拘束啦!)

說歸說, 同性戀遊行不是只有彩虹, 亮片, 羽毛和drag queen(男扮女裝很誇張的反串), 本質的意義是一種用行動表現自我認同的遊行, 是慶祝誠實的自己, 不在乎旁人異樣眼光的勇氣, 讚揚愛和社群支持的大party. 

ＰＳ我個人超愛drag queen! 超誇張的打扮和超可愛的個性, 他們講話也超直接超幽默的.忍不住讓人像要跟他們一起三八的說話和大笑!!

而且我超誇張的, 太愛同性戀遊行太想要表現我個人對他們的支持, 前一晚還自己做個小牌子寫"You Are Beautiful"然後還買了七彩旗! 

紐約曼哈頓的同性戀大遊行在六月二十四號舉行,紐約州通過同性婚姻的一周年紀念日. 遊行從中午開始一直到五點半人潮才逐漸散去. 大群的人潮重遊行離開後前往五十七號碼頭的另一個叫"Dance On the Pier"碼頭起舞的party繼續慶祝同性戀遊行日. 遊行活動最後以在哈德遜河Hudson River絢爛的煙火畫下完美的句點.我雖然沒有全程參加, 但在Greenwich Village的公寓裡很幸運的看到美麗的煙火!

這場遊行吸引了超過兩百外名遊行民眾和觀看的人潮, 遊行隊宇循著地上的薰衣草路線從34街和第五大到街口一路往南到西村, 最後遊行在Stonewell Inn結束. Stonewell Inn是紐約最有名的gay bar, 1969年代因為一場在Stonewell Inn的暴動而開始了美國的同性戀人權運動. 整場遊行有超過兩百支隊伍, 著名的歌手Cindy Lauper和紐約第一隊同性戀婚姻Connie Kopelov和Phyllis Seigel都是遊行的特別嘉賓. 

我也在遊行好幾天前就規畫好哪裡是最好的觀看景點（要出去玩最會做功課了)! 八街和第五大道是遊行隊伍轉向西邊的路口也是評審指揮團的所在地(在Washington Square Park上一個街區的路口）, 所有的隊伍都會在那停留和表演, 是拍照的最佳地點!

除了LGBT (lesbain, gay, bisexual, transexual)成員, 支持者, 行動主義者, 遊行中也可以看到很多政治人物, 包括紐約市市長Bloomberg以及 美國參議員Schumer都用行動表示對同性戀者的支持, 同時也是對自己知名度的造勢. 這場遊行有很多讓人驚艷的隊伍, 也有很多不是很起眼有點lame(無聊,無趣的)的隊伍, 也有企業贊助來打廣告的隊伍. 在遊行中, 也可看到很多幾乎一絲不掛的人自在的在隊伍中行走和讓大家拍照. 有些人真的對自己的身材太太太有自信到讓我有點不舒服...但是, 我對他們的勇氣和自信感到讚許!

女女也能有高潮. 這好酷!

好有創意喔. 中國菜外帶餐盒

其實是Metlife保險公司的廣告車, 也超可愛的!

這是我在美國這十個月來看過最盛大最有趣的遊行, 整場遊行豐富, 瘋狂, 喧鬧又充滿了愛和平等. 我真的很高興看到同性戀能夠得到這樣的重視程度和人權自由.遊行才剛結束, 我已經在期待下已場同性戀遊行了!