Bed and Breakfast in Harlem, New York

Tips for your trip to Sugar Hill Harlem Inn

2008-05-12T14:40:00.016-04:00

History:
Sugar Hill

Gospel Music:
Sunday 11.00am Convent Ave Baptist @145th

Largest Cathedral in the World:
St John the Divine

Largest Cemetery in NYC:
Trinity Cemetery

Restaurants:
Baton Rouge
Londels
Covo
Java's Brewin
The River Room
Tres Pasos
Café Largo
Butterfly Blue

Or you can order food in from this website or call 212.281.8646

Dance,Music and Theaters:
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Dance Theater of Harlem
The Apollo
The Gate House &
Aaron Davis Hall
Harlem School of the Arts
Classic Theater of Harlem
St Nicks Pub
Parlor Jazz at Marjorie Eliot's
El Morroco Nightclub and Leopard Lounge
Cotton Club

Museums and Libraries:
American Academy of Arts and Letters
The Hispanic Society Of America
Hamilton Grange
Morris Jumel Mansion & Books
Sylvan Terrace
Studio Museum
Schomburg Library
The Cloisters
Jazz Museum
Jazz Foundation
El Museo del Bario
James A.Bailey House

Galleries:
Canvas Paper and Stone
Drum-TV
Wallach Art Gallery

University:
City College

Parks:
River Bank State Park
St. Nicolas Park
Fort Tryon Park
Jackie Robinson Park
Farmers Markets
Ralph Elison Memorial

Walking Tour:
Sugar Hill Walking Tour

Bicycle Rental:
Innovation Bike Shop

Shopping:
Woodbury Common.
It costs $40 each to take a bus there and back.You can rent a mini van for $85
You can also rent a mini van with a driver who will wait for you while you shop and drive you back.Door to door service is $200.A large 7 passenger SUV is $250. Carlos 718.490.3796
Ask Jeremy about transportation for large groups or smaller groups with lots of luggage, to, and from the airport.

More on Harlem:
Harlem One Stop

Profiting from Hunger

2008-05-06T12:30:00.002-04:00

Over the last 30 years, the IMF and the World Bank have pushed so-called developing countries to dismantle all forms of protection for their local farmers and to open up their markets to global agribusiness, speculators and subsidised food from rich countries. This has transformed most developing countries from being exporters of food into importers. Today about 70 per cent of developing countries are net importers of food. On top of this, finance liberalisation has made it easier for investors to take control of markets for their own private benefit.

Agricultural policy has lost touch with its most basic goal: that of feeding people. Rather than rethink their own disastrous policies, governments and think tanks are blaming production problems, the growing demand for food in China and India, and biofuels. While these have played a role, the fundamental cause of today's food crisis is neoliberal globalisation itself, which has transformed food from a source of livelihood security into a mere commodity to be gambled away, even at the cost of widespread hunger among the world's poorest people.

True Freedom

2008-04-20T11:45:00.005-04:00

We Americans love to say,"It's a free country."As if somehow our freedom is dependant on someone else.On a superficial level,certainly if you can't be sure that the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are being respected by our government, it is diminished.But true freedom is something else and if we can find this freedom the other will come automatically.

True freedom surely comes from the truth and what could be more simple than the truth?There is only one other choice and that of course is a lie.Where do we find this truth?The truth is inside all of us.It is not buried deep if we can just allow ourselves to look we will find it.Therefore we must know ourselves.This means that we should know what our relationship with the world is,the world of ideas and people and personal relationships with your neighbors,with nature and with the things we possess.

How are we to be aware of anything?We see the birds and the trees and there is a response to a stimulus,we observe this ordinary process,and we don't need to study any books to see what takes place.Through identification you can have pleasure and pain.Our "capacity" is this concern with pleasure and pain,so long as we are looking to this "capacity" we will fail,because the understanding of ourselves does not depend on capacity.This is not a technique that you develop,but it can be tested by the way you talk and the way you behave.Watch yourself without any identification or comparison or condemnation.Most of our activities are unconscious and now you will be aware of these actions but without guilt or blame.

When I condemn something I do not understand it,so be aware with no sense of justification. We begin to understand ourselves,not just the superficial layers of our consciousness,but the motives,our hidden,confused demands,anxieties and fears.

However it is important not to accumulate the experience which awareness brings.It is important to be aware from moment to moment.We cannot approach a problem of relationship which is always new with an old pattern.

This passive awareness does not come from any form of discipline or any practice.It is just to be aware from moment to moment of our thinking and feeling and not only when we are awake but in our dreams.Thus we open the door into the hidden which becomes the known,and we must go beyond the door into the unknown.Reality is not a thing which is knowable by the mind because the mind is the result of the known,of the past and therefore the mind must understand itself and its functioning,its truth,and only then is it possible for the unknown to be.

Many thanks Krishnamurti for your words of wisdom.

A List of Conspiracies.In Harlem,and Beyond

2008-04-15T14:55:00.013-04:00

Everyone is a conspiracy theorist.It just depends which conspiracy you choose to believe.According to my understanding you are considered a conspiracy theorist if you don't believe the governments conspiracy theories,which may actually put you in the majority.

These organizations and programs listed below are not theoretical,they are real.So don't make excuses.Be a conspiracy theorist and wear the label with pride,there may come a time when you have to hide what you think,but that time has not yet arrived.

The Bilderberg Group , Council on Foreign Relations , The Trilateral Commission,
Skull and Bones, New World Order, Opus Dei, Knights Templar,
Project for a New American Century, Bohemian Grove

MKULTRA , Area51 , Operation Mockingbird, Operation Phoenix , Cointelpro ,
JFK MLK CIA Operation Garden Plot, Iran-Contra, Loose Change 911

9/11truth , Fema, The Military Commissions Act , Martial Law, HJR 192 ,

Trading with the Enemy Act, Internment Camps , Blackwater, The Carlyle Group,

Prison Industial Complex, Government Agents Immune from Prosecution

Livestock, Meat, Meatrix, Poultry, Corn, Monsanto, Cargill,

Orlando Bosch, and Luis Possada, Whitewater,

Reagan,Bush and Clinton and a small place in western Arkansas called Mena,

The Creature of Jekyl Island, The Money Masters, Fractional Reserve Banking,
Peak Oil, Zeitgeist, Passports, RFID, Family Jewels, Marijuana Tax Act,

Here at home in Harlem, GuineaPigKids,

Or just for fun watch this

And remember,you can always fight back
UCC 3-603, People's Rights, Statute of Limitations, Jurisdictionary, Cracking the Code,

Think on these things:

Ambition

“As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there's a twilight where everything remains seemingly unchanged, and it is in such twilight that we must be aware of change in the air, however slight, lest we become victims of the darkness.”

William O. Douglas

What's so Green about Sugar Hill Harlem Inn?

2008-02-09T13:06:00.005-05:00

Since October 2007,we have been using solar power at Sugar Hill Harlem Inn.This process took us about a year and a half to complete.In January of 2006,we started,to investigate the possibilities,of installing photovoltaics on the roof of our house.After searching for a contractor I found one right here in Harlem. Duce Construction. After taking measurements on my roof to make sure I have enough sunlight,we moved forward with the next step,which was applying to NYSERDA, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.They provide cash incentives for the installation of new solar electric or photovoltaic systems by eligible installers.

Most of this tedious paper work was done by the contractor.I was advised however that I needed a new roof and that would cost as much as the the solar panels.The good news was that I would able to get a low interest loan from Neighborhood Housing Services.This is a non profit bank that provide loans for repairs to home owners and that includes the PV installation.They also assist those in foreclosure.After getting the loan and getting off to a bumpy start with a roof contractor,I found a roofing company in Brooklyn called Greene Roofing.They did do a good job on the roof but I practically had to beg them to come do the work.

One problem that we encountered was Con Ed that pesky power company in NYC,that hates competition.As you may know, everything electrical must be UL rated,so everything from the panels to the wires to the inverter is UL rated,but this is not enough for Con Ed,they want the whole system to be UL rated as a kit.There is a company near Kingston NY,called SunWize that sell these kits so we got our PV panel kit from them.However as we approached the time of installation,Con Ed decided that this kit should be UL rated installed,which meant that they would need their inspectors to be able to check PV panel installation.But their inspectors don't know how to inspect PV installations,so they organized a special class for the inspectors to attend,in order to learn how to check the installed UL rating of a solar panel installation.The problem is that they made the class voluntary and nobody showed up.In the end we paid an outside contractor $1600 to come and inspect the installation.

The paperwork took 18 months and the installation took about 2 weeks.The contractor did a fantastic job and if you are a client of Duce,for Christmas you get a bottle of Dom Perignon Champagne and an invite to their Christmas party.So don't forget that old adage,"act globally,shop locally"In this case it was a great success and we are very proud of our solar panels that will still be generating power long after I move on into the next dimension,unless one of those satelites that periodically fall out of the sky,happens to land on my roof.

The food that we serve at Sugar Hill is organic.No human growth hormones in our milk,no factory farm eggs.Our coffee and tea is fair trade.We have a delicious multi grain bread from a very well known gourmet food store on the Upper West Side called Zabars

There is a garden that is mostly composed of trash. Old wood beams and red brick from nearby construction sites that have debris left over from demolished buildings.We found a large table base made from angle iron that was made to cut rebar and then dumped on the sidewalk, outside a building site.Two weeks later we found a piece of glass leaning up against a lamp post 2 blocks away.It made a perfect table top. In order to create a garden,we brought in soil and some old tree trunks and bark, moss and plants that were taken from the woods in an area south of Woodstock in the Catskills.We have built a wall from tree bark that was striped from fallen trees and we are growing wild Virginia creeper on it.

All the food waste is put on our compost which is mixed with leaves.Almost any organic material is suitable for a compost pile. The pile needs a proper ratio of carbon-rich materials, or "browns," and nitrogen-rich materials, or "greens." Among the brown materials are dried leaves, straw, and wood chips. Nitrogen materials are fresh or green, such as grass clippings and kitchen scraps.

Two years ago I did a course on bio-sustainable agriculture in Costa Rica.My teacher was a man called John Jeavons .Unfortunately my garden is too tiny to grow much food but I learned a great deal about seeds and composting and I bought some heirloom seeds from him.Every year I grow cayenne prized for thousands of years for its healing power. Folklore from around the world recounts amazing results using cayenne pepper in simple healing and in baffling health problems.

As well as having worms in the garden we also have another type of worm that is kept in a container in the kitchen.This type of worm is called a red wriggler we feed these little critters scraps of food and the worms produce a very rich soil from their castings.Referred to as intestines of the earth, earthworms are one of the best soil builders on the planet. Earthworms consume one half to a total of their body weight in organic matter every 24 hours. Earthworms eat organic matter such as table scraps, yard and garden waste, leaves, grasses and manure. In its place, earthworms deposit a water-soluble, ready to use casting 5 to 11 times richer in nitrogen, phosphates, calcium and magnesium than the organic matter they consumed. The earthworms powerful gizzard grinds the matter while the intestinal tract secretes chemicals which release the major as well as micro plant nutrients and then deposit them directly into the soil where plants can readily feed. Redworms will not harm live roots or foliage, they will however, consume anything organic that falls to the ground and convert it into a wonderful fertilizer.

To clean our rooms,we use Mountain Green. This is a non toxic,green cleaner,that is used to clean the bathrooms kitchens, floors,and other surfaces.We also use Mountain Green,laundry detergent.These cleaners are never tested on animals. Green cleaning is using environmentally safe cleaning products, equipment, and methods that do not endanger our environment, employees, or the guests. Traditional cleaning chemicals are often made with chlorine, ammonia or other toxic chemicals. Traditional cleaning products have been linked with skin irritations, respiratory infections, and other serious health problems. Sugar Hill Harlem Inn offers eco safe cleaning products and green cleaning methods to ensure healthy, clean, rooms for our employees and guests.

We have done some research on grey water systems but we have found that automated systems for flushing toilets with grey water are complex and expensive. Flushing with untreated grey water will result in fouling of the tank and fetid anaerobic smells. Treatment is expensive. The $650 Homestead Utilities system (s16), which is the cheapest I’ve heard of, would take 23 flushes a day—if you had a restaurant it could earn its keep.Extreme economic unfeasibility can indicate extreme ecological unfeasibility; the earth would be way better off if I just waste the water than if I wasted all the plumbing, pumps, tanks, filters, and electricity needed to make this sort of system work.

Here finally is a list of green activities in NYC

Harlem walking tours. Click here
There are 3 theaters within walking distance of Sugar Hill.
Harlem Stage Aaron Davis Hall Classic Theater of Harlem
There are also restaurants and jazz clubs.I am not sure how that would benefit the environment,but having fun sure helps the atmosphere.
Bicycle tours.Click here.Or bicycle rental click here
There is a park on the block.
There are 2 botanical gardens,Brooklyn and the Bronx
For a list of free museums Click here
For green markets.Click here
Walking, whether it is a stroll through Central Park or a walk across Brooklyn Bridge is great fun and great excercise
Every Monday during the summer there are free outdoor movies shown in Bryant Park.

And lastly we have gospel music.The church that is nearby that we recommend is called the Convent Avenue Baptist Church .So if you are feeling that all is lost and we are not doing enough,you could always try praying.........and good luck with that option.It sure did not help our President.

Most all of these activities are done by the guests,without my input beyond advising them on the most earth friendly activities and for the most part are free,including many of our museums.

New Location for Sugar Hill Harlem Inn.

2007-12-28T15:37:00.000-05:00

Due to an overwhelming response to our opening of Sugar Hill Harlem Inn in September 2005,we have added 4 new rooms,each with a private bathroom, in another building 6 blocks north of here.The address is 408 Convent Ave between 147th and 148th street.

The whole building is light and airy and there is central air throughout. The house is similar to the 460 W141st location ,which was built around the same time.It is a limestone Victorian row house on a tree lined street,mostly Ginkgo. It was almost completely gutted and rehabbed in 2006,so the inside is more modern than the main house.Throughout the building all the hardwood floors are new,all the electric and plumbing and light fixtures are new as are all the bathrooms.

Unfortunately many of the original details are gone.There is only one fireplace,but the original staircase is there with some interesting details in the front entrance including 2 floor to ceiling mirrors and some stain glass windows.This main entrance floor is known as the parlor floor.It is a large room,15'x50' with high 11 ft ceilings and hard wood floors.

Although this is a large beautiful space, it is not used so much by the guests so we have functions there,for weddings,showers,parties and corporate meetings etc.There is a computer on this floor and a telephone,that is there for all to use.There is a small bathroom on this floor.A staircase leads downstairs to the garden floor where there is a dining area and a sitting room area, a large,fully equipped communal kitchen with a built in island table, and doors that lead out into a small garden.There are laundry facilities available also on this floor.Bamboo floors have been installed throughout.The house has 4 floors and 2 of the floors have 2 bedrooms on each floor,each with a private bathroom.One of the bathrooms has a jacuzzi,and one has a separate tub,the other bathrooms just have showers.

The address of the new building is 408 Convent between 147st and 148st.It is one block from the subway which is an express subway stop for 2 trains,the A train and the D train.If you click map you can see where each of these trains take you.The A train,the blue line takes you from Inwood all the way at the top of Manhattan down the west side past 42nd st following 8th ave.From the Sugar Hill and Convent Ave. to Times Sq takes only 10-15 minutes as the train only stops 3 times once at 125th and once at 59th,the bottom of Central Park and then 42nd st.By the way the subway is most always refered to as the train.The A train continues into the West Village,also called Greenwich Village,then on to SoHo and Canal St.,speeding along past Wall st and under the Hudson River to Brooklyn Heights into Queens and as far as Howard Beach where you can catch a free bus or pay $5 to take the Air Train to JFK.Yes you can actually get to the airport for $2,not too bad,but I still say FREE is much better and you can click here to read more about that idea

The D train,the orange line, follows the same path as the A train till it gets to 59th st.Then it turns east to 6th Avenue, (Avenue of the Americas),then it heads south passing Rockefeller Center,and Radio City Music Hall,42nd st,West Village,where it veers off to the East, into the Lower East Side,China Town and on into Brooklyn and eventually Coney Island.

How do I get from JFK to Sugar Hill Harlem Inn?

2007-12-20T11:03:00.000-05:00

DO NOT take the supershuttle.

It costs $60 to take a cab from JFK,including tip and toll.This is the easiest way to travel to Sugar Hill.It is also the most expensive.Unless you take a limo or a helicopter.

The cab will take you up the Van Wick Expressway to Grand Central Parkway.You are in the borough of Queens.There is little beauty on this road,as a matter of fact,this is about as ugly a drive as you could take anywhere.If ugly scenic drives are your thing, there are some industrial zones in New Jersey that are worse,and I can certainly show you how to find them.If you look up you will see a narrow concrete tresel bridge.This is the bridge for the Air Train.Instructions for taking this are below.

When you get to Grand Central you will see a large park with a lake on your right,this is Flushing Meadows Corona Park.The name Flushing has nothing to do with toilets.It was in fact taken from a Dutch word that hopefully means something else.Corona is a part of Queens whose claim to fame is that Louis Armstrong lived there.His house is now a museum.

You will soon pass by Shea Stadium on the right and then LaGuardia Airport.Hopefully the highway is just that,and not a parking lot, and all this passes you by like a blur.Soon you will pass through Astoria and start the steady climb onto the Triborough Bridge.If you look to the left you will see Manhattan looming in the distance,I am not sure what your feeling will be, probably excitement and awe.It does not matter how many times you see this sight,you cannot help but stare and perhaps wonder at humanity's madness,to create something so intense,so concentrated.

You will now be above Randall's Island and Ward's Island.On the left you will see Manhattan's Psychiatric Center,a scary looking building with bars on the windows.You will then pass through the tolls and enter Harlem.

You are now officially in Manhattan and more important,Harlem,the most famous district on the entire planet.Tell the cab driver to take 125th street,not 126th,because you want to go up Amsterdam Ave, not St Nicholas,or you will have to carry your bags across the 141street.Go straight along 125th past the Apollo on the right and make a right on Amsterdam.You are now climbing the biggest hill in Manhattan.At the top of the hill is City College.Make a right on W141.We are in the middle of the block.Look for the house with all the wood and plants.There is also a large pear tree outside.

If you are going to 408 Convent,you should take St.Nicholas Ave. to 149th.Make a left, go one block and then take another left on Convent.We are between 147 and 148th on the right side just on the other side of the bus stop.Please call us from your cell phone,when you reach Harlem to let us know that you are nearby,so someone can be there to meet you.

Do NOT take the supershuttle

If you don't have too much luggage and stairs are your thing,You can take the Air Train to Howard beach,$5,or there is a free bus that can take there, and then take the A train to 145th st.($2). The subway trip should take about one hour.We are a 5 minute walk from the subway.Walk up the hill along 145th st ,one block, to Convent Ave.There is a limestone church Convent Avenue Baptist Church on the left.If you like gospel music,you can go there Sunday morning at 11am.Make a left and walk down Convent Ave. to 141st.You will notice some beautiful brick and brownstone townhouses on the left.The house on the SE corner of 144th street is of particular interest.The movie,The Royal Tenenbaums was filmed there.You may see a yellow wooden house between 141 and 142, squashed between a large building and a church.This is a museum.It was Alexander Hamilton's country house,but the museum is closed and this house is going to be moved,in the spring or fall of 2008, to St.Nicholas Park,just one block away.
Make a right and we are in the middle of the block on the south side of the street.Look for the house with all the wood and plants and a large pear tree outside.You have arrived.

If you are going to 408 Convent,make sure you get onto the front of the A train and take the 147th street exit at the 145th street stop.Walk one block west to Convent Ave.Cross the street and make a right and walk until you see the first tree.This is a ginkgo biloba tree and it is right outside the house.

Did I mention.......Do NOT take the supershuttle

If I was King for 14 nights

2007-12-15T15:52:00.001-05:00

1st night.Land Reform:
Land will be redistributed.
The Black Hills of Dakota will be returned to the Sioux.
The sons and grandsons of Rockafeller have inherited vast fortunes.The sons and grandsons of slaves inherited a broken promise,40 acres and a mule.Slaves built this country and worked much harder than John D Rockefeller.We will live up to our promise.

2nd night:Prison Reform:
All non violent prisoners will be released from prison.For those accused of violent crimes,new tribunals will be set up to determine their culpability,re.Mumia, and Leonard Peltier.For those whose culpability is confirmed,new centers will be set up to rehabilitate.

3rd night Military Reform:
The military industrial complex will be disbanded.Our troops will be sent out around the developing world to help build their infrastructure.

4th night.Bank Reform:
Disband The Federal Reserve and Income Tax.The Federal Reserve is neither.It is no more federal than Federal Express and there is no reserve.They have a license to print money that they turn around and lend with interest to the government.Guess who pays for that?Your income taxes,a completely illegal tax that was never approved by the Supreme Court and introduced at the same time as guess what,the Federal Reserve during Christmas in 1913 when everyone was on vacation.The main reason Americans fought the revolutionary wars was to get rid of a British central bank that was doing the same thing as the Federal Reserve.
Credit card companies will be reeled in and banks will be regulated and forced to pay back fees that do not realistically reflect their costs re: $35 for a bounced check or 30% interest for credit cards?

5th night. Agricultural Reform:
No more farm subsidies.
No more dumping toxic chemicals or animal waste on our lands and in our rivers.Give back the land to small farmers.Allow them to grow hemp.Encourage all to use crop rotation and composting to replace nutrients instead of chemical fertilizers and pesticides

6th night.Industrial Reform:
Industry must be held accountable for any and all pollution costs.A green tax should be levied on all industries that produce anything that cannot be recycled.At the end of their use the old TVs and micro waves will be returned to the manufacturer who will be required to disassemble and recycle.Any cost for incineration will go back to the manufacturer.My neighbor's taxes will no longer pay to dispose of my fridge.
Corporate crime has a devastating effect on our economy,and heavy fines will be levied on corporations who are in violation of the laws.
Corporate welfare will be terminated.Whether it is farm subsidies,or the bailing out of failed industries or the stock market, it is costing the American tax payer billions.

7th night.Health Care Reform:
Free health care.Freedom to self medicate.If you feel exhausted and you want to chew coca to keep awake, if you want to take Ecstasy because you've been traumatized, if you want to smoke pot to increase your appetite or to stop vomiting or just to get high,or if you want to drink ayahuasca or peyote,so you can expand your conscious, then this is your life and your right.As king I will mind my own fucking business.

8th night:Education Reform:
Let's take the police and the word "program" out of our schools.School is not a jail and I don't want my kids programed.We can build school buildings that will change the way children view education.Lots of sunshine and fresh air.Art and music everywhere,a celebration of life in the air.The teachers will come to work because they love what they do, not because the mortgage has to be paid.Children can read their insincerity.School is not just about reading,writing and math,there is so much more to life,than just making money and children understand when you say,"you must get an education"..........."so I can be just like you and your program?".Get rid of all this testing and high pressure,don't we see where that leads us,The path we are on is a dangerous one.Should we just keep going because that is all we know?We need to change our relationship to money and we need to accept our mistakes and lead our children to a better place.If our schools are charging $40,000 a year then we are not teaching our children anything except to be like us,which we can see is wrong.Education must be free on every level.Ignorance is just too damn expensive.

9th night:Housing Reform:
No more ugly houses,PLEASE.My eyes are hurting.I can't take it anymore.America is such a beautiful country.How could you sow the countryside with all that vinyl siding and PVC piping?It is ugly for a reason.
Vinyl chloride is poisonous.One of the by products in the manufacture and the incineration of vinyl is dioxin,the main ingredient in Agent Orange.The same poison we were castigated around the world for using against the enemy, we are stock piling here at home.Does anyone think this is a good idea?
Formaldehyde.It is in your cushions, carpets and particle board and it is poison.
Housing should only be made with natural materials.This is not expensive.It is cheap and once built with all the water recycling and energy producing technology it is cheap to maintain.Everything in nature has a positive effect on nature and recycles back into nature except what people produce.Linear which is the opposite to recycle can only work for so long and then we will suffocate in our own toxins.

10th night: Transportation Reform: The day of the car is rapidly coming to a close.The price of petroleum will force change or we can start now and make a painless transition or we can all suffer the consequences.Remember the gas lines of the 70's?Well this is going to be far worse,because the pumps will be dry.So what is it going to be?Public transportation using trains,trams and streetcars is the only way we can move around together without using too much energy,but if you wait till most of the oil runs out,it will be too late to build the infra-stucture .I believe an efficient system can be built alongside or down the middle of our roads.For example,we are on 99st and Broadway and we want to go to New Jersey.We go onto Broadway and wait for a street car that arrives quietly,they don't have to rattle and screech.We get on the last car because when the train gets to 96th st this car is going to disconnect and go down 96th st to the West Side Highway.Once it gets there it will hook up to another train going up the highway.Passengers will then be instructed to move to certain cars that will be taking certain exits.We want to go to New Jersey so we will go to the car that is crossing the GW bridge.On each side of the train there will be wide oneway walkways so people can pass easily from car to car.

11th night: Labor Law Reform:
Minimum wage in this country is $5.85 per hour,so if you work 40 hours you make $234 per week or $936 per month.I would start out by doubling that.If corporations can't afford to pay a living wage they should close their doors.Slavery was abolished 150 years ago.

12th night:Religious Reform:No more tax exemptions for religion.Religion is a business just like any other,they donate some of their money to charity but the bulk of it they keep.

13th night: Energy Reform:
Here's the deal.We pay them,they poison us,plus our government gives them a generous subsidy.I'm not sure who is getting a great deal here because we all breath the same air and we all drink the same water,well,unless you live in West Virginia where coal mining companies are leveling mountains to get at the coal,and the water is as you would expect,black.The owner of these large coal mining companies actually lives on top of a hill in the region,overlooking this disaster.I'm not sure what he is thinking,but maybe the money he is making is blurring his vision.
Nuclear power plants may not produce CO2 but they do produce the kind of waste that will be around for about 250,000 years.
Coal fired power plants produce huge amounts of CO2,mercury and acid rain,another bad idea.
Oil produces CO2 and we may be running out,we really don't know how long that will last.Don't expect either your government or Exxon Mobil to give you any notice on that one."Sorry we couldn't give you any notification of impending disaster,we were afraid you'd panic and stop buying our product."
Solar ,wind,tidal, geothermal and conservation is not sufficient to ,but that may be because little money has been invested in research.We need to start somewhere and we need to start now.Let us build breeder solar panel factories,factories that produce solar panels,powered by solar panels.

14th night.Bring back small independant newspapers,radio and TV and end the monopolization of the media by a few who wish to brainwash us into believing that none of this is possible

Letter to Jack

2007-12-15T14:31:00.002-05:00

You see Skully,this is your problem..........You think you are sooooooooo 21st century with your shitty little computer that you never turn on,in case it gets the plague or some other disease from the dark ages where it seems you like to reside.For you there is no better sound than a fire being lit at the stake,or better sight, than some poor sod locked in the stocks in the village square.

Your selected vision for Amerika ironically passes by your old buddy Adolph, and when you see the waves of emotion coming from the hoards screaming "seig heil" you find, feel and understand the excitement, but you fail to realize that the nightmare is right on your door step.The sounds of boots pounding on the pavement are getting loader,the fearful concussion shaking the house from fists beating on your door will wake you from your slumber,but it will be too late.Hiding under the bed covers won't help.They'll drag your screaming terrified body out of the bedroom and throw you down the stairs.They will know your deepest darkest fears and they will get to work on you right away, kicking you into the back of a dark refrigerated truck.

Go ahead Skully laugh, huff on your bag of propaganda,your day is fast approaching.

Sugar Hill Harlem Inn or a midtown Manhattan hotel??

2007-11-23T12:56:00.004-05:00

In the past 2 years since being in the hospitality business,I have had thousands of white Europeans and African Americans come stay at my 2 houses here in Harlem.Nobody has ever had a problem in the neighborhood,and in fact as recently as 6 weeks ago,a guest of mine had her wallet stolen while shopping in Bloomingdale's,a well known store in midtown!!

I know that most likely, friends are questioning your decision to stay in Harlem and between the history of Harlem and that which is depicted in the movies,it would seem to be an irresponsible act to bring yourself and your loved ones into a dangerous situation.Let me reassure you that if you were to walk in this neighborhood you would immediately see that this is not just a safe neighborhood but a fascinating place to see.The architecture is remarkable and very unusual.There are jazz clubs,theaters,museums,parks,restaurants and bars.

The subway is at 145th and St Nicholas,so it is less than a 5 minute walk,there are 4 trains that stop here, the A train and the D train,both of these are express trains and they will take you to midtown in 15 minutes.The B train and the C train are local trains and will stop at all the stations that the express trains skip.NYC is the only subway system that have express trains,so even though our trains are much dirtier than yours,they are much faster.

Midtown may have the advantage of being "convenient" because it is close to Times Sq.but if you are staying in NYC for a week then I presume you wish to see more than Times Sq. and I hope you intend to venture outside of midtown.It is really not such a great place to stay.Few people live there.After the hustle and bustle,of Times Square when you go back home, you may need a vacation!

The standards for accommodation can be both expensive and sub standard and your NYC experience may be limited in your cramped hotel room and the standard tourist agenda.
The sights of NYC are spread out all over Manhattan Brooklyn and the Bronx.....and Harlem,so you will have to take the subway every day.

My guests who come to visit are thrilled by the chance to have a real NYC experience to be part of the neighborhood,to be able to ask the opinion of someone where it is best to go and see,someone who has lived here for 30 years and had businesses,I used to be in retail,all over the city.I know this city intimately.

I would like to share with you some of the reviews of people that stayed here. TripAdvisor and Bedandbreakfast.com

Of course if you still do not wish to make a reservation,I respect your choice and I certainly wish you the very best for your NYC trip.This is an incredible city and I am sure you will enjoy your visit here.Manhattan is by far the most popular destination of anywhere in the USA.Every one of my guests who come here are thrilled by their New York experience.

When I first arrived here in August 1977,I just wanted to be able to say that I saw this city and even though I only stayed for 3 days I never forgot the experience.By some random, unforeseen chance I found myself in Melbourne,Australia and for 2 years kept thinking about this place I wanted to call my home.

The great adventure of the New York experience is the diversity.The acceptance of who you are is universal.This is what I recognized immediately in those 3 days.This remains New York's finest attribute,and it is this that attracts all the people that make this city the great place that it is.Some of you may wonder how a fascist like Mayor Giuliani,fit into this portrait and my guess is that he cheated and stole the 2 elections and just to prove my point,decided that New York needed him beyond what the term limits allow and tried to stay in office for an additional 3 months,using 911 as his excuse.

In August 1979 I returned.I have spent my years here moving from neighborhood to neighborhood in search of that zone that I found in 1977,the real New York,but it keeps changing,gentrifying,so I keep moving.Harlem is one of the places where the spirit of New York can be found.There are other places too,but I don't think the soul of New York can be found in a midtown Manhattan hotel.

No Room at Sugar Hill Harlem Inn?

2007-09-23T17:36:00.000-04:00

This room is no longer available.

This is a busy time for us and we have gotten all kinds of fantastic reviews at ww w.tripadvisor.com and we were chosen by BedandBreakfast.com,as the best B&B in NYC in 2007,so we have filled up the rooms this season at an incredible speed.In addition the word is out that we are using renewable energy,generated by solar panels on our roof,the only B&B in NYC to do so.So let me summarize here,in just 2 years of opening our doors at Sugar Hill Harlem Inn,we are the best B&B in NYC and the only B&B to use renewable energy.

In addition, we are in Harlem,not midtown.Don't get me wrong,midtown is a fine place to visit during the day,but I wouldn't want to sleep there.Also we are just a 5 minute walk to the express subway line,the famous and much celebrated 'A train' which takes you to Times Square in less than 15 minutes.

As stated in the opening paragraph,the room you wanted is taken.However we don't want to leave you out in the cold, so we can work this out with you, but you would have to move around a bit from room to room.A lot of people think this is too much of a hassle and as a result do not book.However we have managed to do this many times and we make the move so easy that people are quite happy with the trouble free experience.

You should let us know very soon,because this option will not stay open for long.
You are welcome to call us anytime and we can give you more details.

Easy Parking near Sugar Hill Harlem Inn. 2nd edition

2007-08-22T12:37:00.000-04:00

Is there parking on Sugar Hill?

Yes unlike the rest of Manhattan,there is parking on the street,that is easy to find and it's free.(My favorite price)

On Monday,Tuesday,Thursday and Friday from 11.30am-1.00pm,east of Amsterdam Ave.,you must move your car from the side of the street that is being swept.Double parking is fine during these times.

West of Amsterdam Ave. and on Amsterdam Ave,the same rules apply but the times are 11am-12.30pm with one exception,no double parking on Amsterdam Ave.

Do not double park on W143st between Amsterdam and Convent.There is a school.

Because of the high volume of churches in Harlem, parking on Sunday morning is much more of a challenge.

The later you arrive after 6pm the more difficult it is to find a parking spot.

Although it is fine to unload your bags, there is no parking anytime on the block.(W.141st).This has the advantage of easy loading and unloading.

You are not allowed to park 15' either side of a fire hydrant.You will probably notice that this rule is not always obeyed,but you can be towed for this violation,unless of course you have one of these.

The nearest parking meters are on Broadway,so,happily you will not encounter them.If you do they only take quarters and that will give you 30 minutes,further downtown,you only get 10 minutes for your quater.The limit is usually 1 hour.Remember this....you can park on a broken meter but only for the 1 hour allotted time. I love broken meters,first of all parking is free and secondly most people think they are not allowed to park on a broken meter so you can often find a spot where it is normally hard to find one.

If you get a parking ticket read my Parking Violations in Disarray blog,or show it to me, I don't excel at too many things but on this very important subject I am not too shabby.

Remember...Read the signs!!If you are in any doubt ask me.

There is a parking lot @145st and St Nick.It costs $20 for 24hrs

Columbia Goose Steps into Harlem

2007-08-11T17:35:00.000-04:00

Columbia has resided along the borders of Harlem since the time it was built.Indeed Columbia has always existed as an island onto itself.Up until the late 80's,there was a clear line across 110 st that separated it from The Upper West Side,in the south and at 125st in the north. There was a 3rd line east of Amsterdam Ave.Students were urged not to venture beyond these borders,risking being savaged by the local natives.

During the 90's this wall to the south began to fade due to the gentrification of the upper part of the Upper West Side and Columbia began to build and expand into the neighborhood.Amongst other things they needed a school for the children of their teachers.Instead of investing money into the local public school on 109st,they decided to build their own separate school around the corner.

Now Columbia wants to be part of Harlem.Well isn't that nice.I am reminded of the time when Columbia wanted to build a gym back in the 60's.They thought that placing it in Morningside Park would be a grand idea,since the natives were not putting it to good use.

"Columbia University Confirms No Eminent Domain Will be Sought to Relocate Residents Living in Manhattanville Apartments" Well isn't that mighty neighborly of them.They will however use their mighty power to try to seize commercial property owned by Nick Sprayregen, owner of Tuckitaway storage.I am glad to report that Nick intends to take that one all the way to the supreme court,a costly and probably futile attempt but none the less a noble one that will point the finger of shame once again in the direction of Columbia.

Ten years ago Columbia could have bought any property in Harlem they wanted.Just down the hill to the east of Amsterdam Ave there were empty blocks of space waiting to be developed that could have been bought for a song but Columbia did not want to speculate.There they were, looking down from their ivory towers across Morningside Park,10 minutes walk from their offices but they never went to check it out.I guess they were too afraid of the savage natives.They were so close that even if they had bothered to open the windows they could have heard all the construction going on down the hill.

There is a propaganda Columbia flyer in circulation, called "Building Tomorrow's West Harlem Together" so evidently shame is not part of the Columbia lexicon.More than that, I expect this venerable school expects everyone to forget the past 100 years of neglect and separation from it's neighbors in Harlem

Protecting the Environment:On this shiny colorful cardboard flyer there is a picture of a park with happy families and students lying on the grass and playing,and under the caption the words:

1/"During the proposed revitalization of the old Manhattanville manufacturing area,Columbia will clean up the waste left by past decades of industrial and automotive uses."Is that in spite of your reputation? What did you expect to do?Just lay sod down over the industrial waste?

2/"During construction Columbia will adhere to the highest environmental standards for building,air emission,and energy." That's a pretty broad statement.Whose standards are we talking about?Harlem?As we full steam ahead towards an ecological shipwreck only one condo that has gone up in the past 10 years has solar panels on the roof,and if was not for Con Ed I would have them too.Never mind by the end of summer they will be installed I have been promised.

3/"Columbia will place support services like heating, cooling, truck delivery and parking in a large underground basement to ensure that streets and sidewalks are pedestrian- friendly and environmentally appealing".

Did anyone expect Columbia to put heating and cooling units on the sidewalk?Why would Columbia build car parks when the subway is right there?If you want to protect the environment,how do cars get to be in this picture?Aren't cars the biggest producers of greenhouse gas.This is supposed to be a school.What kind of uneducated moron wrote this?

Eating Cake At Sugar Hill Harlem Inn

2007-07-20T09:36:00.000-04:00

I noticed that a weekly rate doesn't include a breakfast, could you please advise me how much extra this would cost?

We don't have any fixed price for breakfast.I just leave this in place because you would get a substantial discount for the weekly rate,so if you still want breakfast and the discount,why not?I want my cake and I want to eat it too.All I ask is that you give Bernadette a generous tip.It makes her very happy because she feels appreciated and the money puts the icing on the cake, and then we all get to eat cake.

Perhaps if Marie Antoinette had put it that my she would have kept her head.

Harlem.More Parks.Less Condos.

2007-07-06T14:51:00.000-04:00

I attended a meeting in February at the Apollo Theater, by an organization called ICIC. That is the Initiative for Competitive Inner City.

I listened to various banks and other business organizations congratulate themselves on their great achievement over the years and their performance in bringing services to the inner city. A great part of this transformation focused on the bringing of a Pathmark to 125th street as an anchor, in order to attract other business to follow suit.

This was somewhat akin to Mayor Dinkins bringing Disney to 42nd st, in order to set the stage for further development there. However there is something quite disturbing about this picture.
Just as we understand that the revitalization of 42nd st would not have been wise to begin with a Pathmark, since it is in the heart of the theater district, it would be just as easy to make the same assessment of Harlem, which was the center for jazz and African American art during the Harlem Renaissance.

I am disturbed by this wholesale lack of understanding by the city of New York. When I walk along 125th st, this tone of congratulations for bringing services to Harlem in the form of pharmaceuticals and cheap plastic flapdoodle does not convince me that anything of any depth is being brought to this remarkable and most famous district in the world. Developers and government officials in Harlem, instead of remembering this unprecedented and eccentric history, are filling up the community with banks and Duane Reades that raise rents and prevent the development of small business in the area.

When I was at the Apollo that evening in February I expected to meet other small business owners. All I met were independent contractors working as salesmen for other large businesses.
The other even more alarming aspect of this meeting was this lack of discussion of environmental issues. How long, are we going to wait? This business community, in a district that is rife with asthma and type 3 diabetes in children, cannot even mention some kind of building project that they are planning to develop on 125th st that would be “green”. Some kind of project that is being proposed to clean up diesel fumes or turn some of these empty lots into parks with trees that can absorb some of this endless dumping of carbon into the atmosphere.

Instead we are stuck with the monotonous rows of condominiums one of which, the pretentiously named and very ugly Kalahari has photo voltaics on the roof. This by the way is symbolic of our direction not just as a community but as a nation.

This planet that we all share is cyclical; there is virtually no waste in the natural world, all processes, directly or indirectly result in food for other species. The lodgepole pine, when it becomes aged and unproductive puts out an audible song that can be heard by the mountain pine beetle, which then begins to eat and break down the tree, creating humus for the next generation. We can learn from nature. We must convert to a cyclical instead of linear process. As we take wood from clear-cut forests and process it into pulp for packaging and annual reports that employ a dioxin-creating bleaching process, we have taken an ancient cyclical process and converted it into a linear one.

What is the main purpose of business? It is to service the community. Yes, making money is secondary. This idea may be foreign to most businesses, especially if you went to business school and your teacher forgot to mention it, or after featuring it in the first class, it was quickly forgotten. You can easily see that corporations on 125th st are not serving anyone else but themselves.

There is a nearly complete empty block between 127th st and 128th st and between Adam Clayton and St.Nicholas Ave. Should a community have to fight to turn it into a park,and a green market,where community lessons are given on composting and vermiculture? Or could this just come about because someone with the power to implement the necessary change is able to clearly see that a city without multiple parks is an incomplete city and a world that fails to recognize it’s own demise deserves to wake up one morning to see that now, it is too late.

How Safe is Sugar Hill?

2007-05-24T10:19:00.001-04:00

This a question that I am frequently asked.

One way to find out is to look at crime statistics.Our precinct # is 30 and if you click here you can see the crime statistics for this district and you can compare them to other areas in the city.

However that ugly concrete building that you see on the website is 10 blocks north of here and this is an entirely different neighborhood.You can even see a distinct difference if you just walk up the hill across Amsterdam Ave. and down onto Broadway.It is a 5 minute walk but you feel like you are in the Caribbean.You see older men sitting on stools,on the sidewalks playing dominoes, the streets are filled with Latin music,mostly salsa.

Over on this side of the hill and further down the area is quiet with mostly middle class African Americans,and some new arrivals that are both black,white and Asian .You will see architecture that looks like this on Convent ave or like this on Hamilton Terrace.There is a museum just half a block away,Hamilton Grange,a memorial for Alexander Hamilton, the first secretary of the treasury,and one of the founding fathers.There is also a fairly large park St.Nicolas Park,just 2 minutes walk the from Sugar Hill.City College starts at 140 st and Convent and fills the entire area from Amsterdam to the park and down to 135st.There are 3 theaters within 5 minutes walk from Sugar Hill Harlem Inn. The Classic Theater of Harlem,The Gate House and Aaron Davis Hall

I hope this gives you an idea of what the area is like.Bernadette is a 60 year old woman and she has never had any problems walking in the neighborhood.I feel very safe walking around day or night.

I often go upstate to an area,called the Catskills, near Woodstock.I go walking in the woods and look for different wild plants and pieces of dead wood that I bring back to my garden in Harlem,but I have to be very careful.There are ticks everywhere.The whole country side is infested.Unfortunately they carry Lyme Disease and I got it twice last summer. Yes I feel considerably safer in Harlem than up in the woods in the Catskills.

Hand Cars for New York City

2007-05-04T17:02:00.004-04:00

What is a hand car?That is the hand crank railway car that is featured in some movies,always a comedy. The opening scene of Blazing Saddles, depicting railroad construction, features a handcar.There was also a scene in Oh Brother Where Art Thou?

A handcar or pump trolley is a maintenance railroad car powered by its passengers, or by people pushing the car from behind. A typical design consists of an arm that pivots, seesaw-like, on a base, which the passengers alternately push down and pull up to move the car.

In Japan, dozens of commercially operated handcar railway lines, called human car tramways existed in early 20th century. Those were purely built for its service, and "drivers" pushed small train cars all the way. The first line, Fujieda-Yaizu Tramway, opened in 1891, and most of others opened before 1910. Most lines were very short with less than 10 km lengths.Almost all the lines were closed before 1945.

Dressin refers to pedal-powered rail-cycles which were used by railroad maintenance workers in Finland, Sweden and Norway until about 1950.

Now dressins are used for recreation on several unused rail lines in Sweden, Norway, Poland and some other northern European countries. There are several companies renting dressins in Sweden.

In Finland there has been annual competition "Resiina-ralli" (translates "Draisine Rally"), which involves several draisine teams traveling many days in the railroads from one corner of the country to another. The rally is televised and is popular among TV-viewers.

This is just the beginning of an idea and perhaps some more thought should be put into it before posting this blog.But if you have some thoughts or ideas on how this could be incorporated into New York Transit.This is obviously not rapid transit but why does everything have to be so fast?I think we could consider this as an alternative to a 2nd ave line,which is talked about but we see little action beyond that.I see a loop that goes up 1st ave along 125st and down 2nd ave onto Chrystie St. along Canal and then back up Allen and onto 1st ave.Hundreds of hand cars would be left on these tracks and anyone who wanted could use it to go as far as he or she wanted.If nobody was using it the car would automatically lift itself off the track so it would not interfere with the movement of other cars.I think it would lend a carnival like atmosphere to a city that takes itself far too seriously and tourists would flock to see this city that would allow themselves to be seen in such a lighthearted way,exercising and moving together.

A roof could be added with solar panels to heat in the winter and help power the vehicles.Hand cars would always have the right of way.Each car would emit a pleasant sound to let pedestrians know they were coming down the tracks.

This may sound like a ridiculous idea but the subway was considered ridiculous when the idea was first introduced.Either way a decision to lay back the tracks that were covered over or torn up will be made and perhaps the handcar will never be implemented but some kind of tram or street car system is inevitable and it will have to be free to use so that we all use it and leave our cars where they belong,in the history books.

How do I get to Sugar Hill Harlem Inn from Newark Airport?

2007-05-03T14:25:00.000-04:00

Take AirTrain to Newark Airport Train Station.

At Newark Airport Train Station, take a NJ TRANSIT or Amtrak train to New York Penn Station.

It takes less than 1 hour and is great if you are arriving at a time when there is likely to be traffic heading through the Lincoln Tunnel (which is unpredictable, but almost always backed-up midweek at 8:00am-10am and 4:30pm-6:30pm).

Fare is about $14 and is probably the best and most economical way to get to NYC from EWR.
You can then take the A train from Penn Station.It is only 4 stops and will take about 15 minutes.

Bus- there is a large coach bus that travels from Newark to either Port Authority, or Penn Station; Fare is $14/each way ($23/RT) and buses depart every 10-15 minutes
Here is the link to the bus service that will take you to Port Authority,(slightly better than Penn Station)

Taxi- travel time can vary widely depending upon traffic... 1 hour is a good guestimate, but can be as quick as 45 minutes or as long as 1 1/2+ hours! Rates are fixed depending upon destination. Base rate for one stop is $56+ $6 toll . There is also a $1 charge for each oversized bag.

Supershuttle This may be OK if you are landing at LaGuardia.Otherwise do not choose this option.By the time you get here it will be time to turn around and go back home.

Free Concert minutes from Sugar Hill Harlem Inn May 15

2007-05-02T17:07:00.000-04:00

Contact: Susannah Morrow Tel: 212-903-9753
E-mail: smmorrow@carnegiehall.org Harlem Stage Contact:Heidi Riegler CommunicationsContact: Heidi RieglerPhone: 718-340-3018E-mail: hrarts@earthlink.net

MALIAN ARTISTS ABDOULAYE DIABATÉ AND NÉBA SOLO PERFORM AT HARLEM STAGE ON MAY 15 AT 7:30 PM

Free Concert Is Part of the Carnegie Hall / Citi Neighborhood Concert SeriesMusic of Mali
Has Been Featured Throughout Carnegie Hall’s Season in Education Programs and Concert Presentations

On Tuesday, May 15 at 7:30 p.m., Carnegie Hall, in collaboration with Harlem Stage, presents renowned griot singer Abdoulaye Diabaté and balafon virtuoso Néba Solo as part of the Carnegie Hall/Citi Neighborhood Concert series.
The free concert is a rare New York appearance for Abdoulaye Diabaté, and he appears with a band made up of some of Mali’s best-known musicians. Opening the show will be the ensemble of Néba Solo, showcasing spectacular dancers and songs that comment on contemporary Malian social issues.

The performance takes place at Harlem Stage, West 135th Street and Convent Avenue. To reserve tickets for this free concert, please contact the Harlem Stage Hotline at 212-650-7100.

Harlem Stage at the Gatehouse

2007-04-24T17:20:00.000-04:00

PERFORMANCE:Program I,E-Merging & E-VolvingMay 11, 13 & 19
Program II, E-StablishedMay 12, 18 & 20Fri. & Sat., 7:30 PM; Sun. 3 PM

TICKETS:

Program I, $20Program II, $20Program I & II, $36
Student Rush $10
(Subject to availability.One ticketper person. One hour prior to event.Valid ID required.)
Call 212. 650.7100http://www.harlemstage.org/

Harlem Stage at The Gatehouse150 Convent Avenueat W.135th St.
E-MOVES 8

Experience two weekends of fierce new works by thirteen E-Merging, E-Volving and E-Stablished choreographers who define the dance world. Featuring:

E-MERGING Dance Warrior Project (Afro-House); Franklin Diaz & Nelida Tirado (Latin/Flamenco); Hattie Mae Williams (Contemporary); Preston Miller (Hip-Hop); Ray Mercer (Modern)

E-VOLVING Ayo Janeen Jackson (Contemporary); Camille A. Brown (Modern); Christalyn Wright (Contemporary); Erick Montes (Contemporary); Kyle Abraham (Contemporary)

E-STABLISHED David Rousseve/REALITY (Contemporary)Tania Isaac Dance (Afro-Caribbean/Modern)

Pre-Show Artist DiscussionJoin David Rousseve and Tania Isaac. Plus, see Rousseve’s film Bittersweet.Fri., May 11, 6 PM, FREE
See a clip of E-Moves! Visit us on MySpace!

For more information on other Harlem Stage presentations. Click HERE or call 212.650.7100 TICKETS PROGRAMS ABOUT HS DIRECTIONS CONTACT US
SIGN UP TO JOIN OUR E-CLUB

A Sweet Relief on Sugar Hill in Harlem

2007-04-23T08:07:00.000-04:00

My friend Skully thinks the world is going to end in 2012.I’m not sure why he picked that date but it seems to be a popular meeting point for prophesies.I don’t know why he so gleefully looks forward to it since he will be the first to hit the fan and just as he is untangling himself from the spinning blades the wall of shit will arrive forcing him forward into the melee.Not to worry he cheerfully explains," you all will be in hot pursuit."

It was suggested,by him that I make a timetable,a series of catastrophes that will take place over the next few years that will suck us all into the spinning blades

The year is spring 2007, and there is a rumor spreading around that bees are unable to find their way back to the hive.I know bees have a political system, that like ours, is highly undemocratic.The workers do all the work which includes guarding the door looking after the brood and collecting nectar and pollen.The drones lie around giving out orders and screwing the queen.The queen lays the eggs. A coup d'État would seem probable,but scientists think the problem is due to cell phones.Either way, if the worker bees have decided to become slackers like the drones or cell phone radiation is interfering with their navigation system,it looks like the problem may persist for some time. That means a severe shortage of fruit and other foods.It is up to us to boycott the use of these devises.Anyone seen using a cell phone is immediately subject to a torrent of well deserved abuse.Cell phone stores are blockaded.The Weather Underground reorganize and they carry out a campaign of bombings, which are both successful and free of human casualties.

In 2008 the bird flu virus finally mutates so that it is now able to transfer from human to human and all hell breaks loose.Most travel ends and import and export is severely restricted.The world economy starts to unravel and markets begin to plunge.The Bush/Cheney twins become Cheney/Bush and all future elections are postponed indefinitely.Fema Internment Camps already under construction are filled with dissidents.

By 2009 the population has been reduced by 1.5 billion and the flu has run it's course.However taking advantage of a weakened dictatorship in Saudi Arabia, Osama Bin Laden and fellow Saudi members of al-Qaida seize control.The oil fields are regulated by an Islamic group that has cut off oil supplies from the West. Cheney brings back the draft. All those that are unemployed, are seized by a press gang and shipped off to the Persian Gulf to fight for our god given right to burn oil.

By 2010,Bin Laden is once again using American and British armaments,sold to the Wahhabi-Saudi dictatorship, to slaughter thousands of American and British troops. Tony Blair has declared himself the new King of England and is living in Buckingham Palace with a young girl who goes by the name of Cherry Pop.His wife and the Queen have been disappeared and Prince Charles has been shipped off to Gitmo.Keith Richards and Iggy Pop are living at 10 Downing Street and they both look, like they're on crystal meth.

In the summer of 2010 when things look like they could not get any worse,global warming starts to kick in.There is a massive hurricane in Long Island where Skully lives and he starts heading for the fan.He survived the bird flu but he has lost his vinyl sided house, along with all the plastic picket fencing as well as the Blue Persian poppy seeds that I sent him that he never bothered to plant.Everything is floating out there.There is literally nothing left except waves of water logged garbage and a nuclear power plant.

Skully has managed to scale the containment walls of the plant and has fixed a makeshift platform to the side and he spends the day fishing in a sea of putrid trash.He keeps a supply of old bottles and bricks on the platform and uses then to throw at people who try to take over his parapet.By the time winter arrives he has managed to build himself quite a nifty little fortress and as luck would have it, succeeded in grabbing a crate of rocket launchers as it is floating by along with a case of shells.

It turns out to be a very mild winter and spring 2011 starts in February.There are so many tornadoes that it is not even reported by Fox News the one news station left. What is reported however is a massive earthquake in California and nobody can find Arnold.But people don't even care,since there is not much left to govern,most of the state is at the bottom of the Pacific.

Just as things are looking up for Skully,on July 4th, there is a meltdown at the power plant.Luckily he has gone clamming in a boat that he had recently found one morning,entangled in some garbage right under his fortress.He is able to escape the first explosions but he is badly irradiated.He manages to steer the boat up the Hudson,but makes the wrong turn and starts up the East River where all the yuppies from Williamsburg live.As he approaches the bridge a torrent of flaming trash is hurled at him.Luckily he manages to turn the boat around and he heads back around by Pier 6,which is now under water.He sails up the Hudson.

It is a wonderful sight to behold as he floats up river with the tide,but he dare not get too close to the shore in case someone tries to seize his boat.He passes by 42nd st and wonders what happened to the Intrepid.The whole of 12 ave is under water and he sees children swimming around in the fetid water.Further up by the boat basin at 72nd st he notices armored vehicles up on the West side Highway,and the Intrepid lying on it's side in what was once Riverside Park.One of the armored personnel carriers take a few shots at him so he lobs a missile in their direction,he misses but the rest of them scatter.On up the river he heads,Riverside Park is completely under water and there are bags of garbage floating everywhere.

Soon he arrives at the sewage treatment plant at 145th street where he takes a risk and pulls up his boat.There are no people around,so he disembarks and wanders along the top of the plant where the remains of a park are.He slowly crosses a bridge,feeling week and very sick.He heads up 145th street.The whole place is deserted,There are no cars anywhere except a few burned out armored police vehicles.As he crosses Broadway he sees someone playing a sax outside Copelands.He pauses when he sees Skully approach.They stand and look at each other for a moment.Then,as if they both acknowledge that there is nothing much to say he continues his rhapsody.Skully looks around bewildered.The musician stops again.

"There was an outbreak of TB and they came and took everyone away"

Skully walks across the road and continues up the hill to Amsterdam,as he turns the corner he sees an open store.It is Mishkin's pharmacy and a Chinese woman and an African American are inside, searching through shelves of drugs.There is a broken box lying on the ground outside,even in his condition he is vigilant.He can easily read the labels on the bottles lying on their sides,Potassium Iodide.He picks up one of the bottles.He reads the small red letters."Treatment for Radiation Sickness."

"Just what the doctor ordered".

Skully looks up.The African American is standing at the door signaling for him to take a drink.He opens the bottle and takes a sip.It is salty with such a painfully disgusting taste that he spits it out.

"Most people would rather die than drink that stuff"

Skully looks at him defiantly and takes a huge swig, gulping down 2 huge mouthfuls. Suddenly, he lurches forward and heaves a projectile of yellow liquid vomit,he sinks to his knees and moans.He hears voices and as he looks over, the man appears at the door with a cup.Behind him the Chinese lady is staring at him on the ground.He takes the cup from the man and drinks and is pleasantly surprised by the sweet clean taste.He lays back on the ground but instead of a hard surface, everything feels soft and warm.He drifts and floats,sinking below the surface of the sidewalk into what feels like feather cushions.A sweet smell of flowers fills his nostrils.A fantastic ethereal sensation of flight as he is expelled from his body, sends him soaring into the air like a rocket.He looks down at his body lying in a heap on the ground.The couple standing at the door look up and wave to him.He wants to wave back but he realises that he can't.He feels himself fading and slipping away into a tiny pregnant dot, smaller and smaller spinning from a proton to a particle,to an electromagnetic charge,a vibrating strand of energy,oscillating in eleven dimensions, 3 quarks for Muster Mark, decaying beyond the singularity ,nothing,no dimensions,no space,no time, no light, no darkness.No more Skully.

Standard Letter of Defense for Parking Tickets

2007-04-19T13:53:00.000-04:00

Everything in red must be changed to fit your own description.

Billy Holiday,
108 W.139th St,
New York NY 10030
Plate # GWB 911
Ticket #: 7315275940
Date: 04/07/1915

Parking Violations Hearing By Mail Unit
P.O. Box 29021
Brooklyn, NY 11202-9021

To Whom It May Concern:I hereby plead innocent to the enclosed parking summons, number 7315275940 issued on plate #GWB 911, and request a dismissal of the summons and a waiver of any and all fines and late penalties for the following reason(s):
I was taking my grandmother to her favorite fabric and notion store.I pulled over to the curb,adjacent to the store to let her out.Then I got out to open the car door for her and help her out.I helped her walk across the sidewalk and I was holding the store door open for her when I noticed a ticket agent by the car.I immediately ran to the car and drove off.It happened so quickly I was not even aware that a ticket had been issued.

Yours faithfully,

Billy Holiday

Certified Mail Receipt#

Standard Letter for Request for a Copy of Parking Ticket

2007-04-19T13:08:00.000-04:00

Everything in red must be changed to fit your own description.

Billy Strayhorn,
315 Convent Ave,
New York NY 10031

Plate # A train
Department of Finance
Parking Violations Summons Request Unit
Cadman Plaza Station
P.O. Box 29021
Brooklyn, NY 11202-9021

Dear Sirs,
Re Summons 7194152769
I would like to request a hearing but do not have a copy of the above summons. Please therefore send me a copy of this summons, and remove all penalties, as soon as possible.
Yours faithfully,

Billy Strayhorn.

Certified Receipt #