December | 2013 | Amusing the Zillion

Archive for December, 2013

“Airstream: The Silver RV” and the Lure of the Road

Posted in Books, Reading & Writing, tagged airstream, book review, lure of the road, on the road, RV, Tara Cox, Wally Byam on December 14, 2013| 4 Comments »

“Goodbye New York” essays have become increasingly popular but the big question is where would you move? For this former carny kid, no one place will do. The nomadic life of a trailerite seems like an answer. Did you know that you can buy an Airstream for $8,000 to $80,000? From there, it’s a hop, skip and a jump to the next rest area on the Interstate, parking lot at Walmart, RV camp, trailer park, or a new life on the fair circuit.

All of this is preliminary to saying that Airstream: The Silver RV is the perfect gift for anyone who cherishes dreams of a life on the road. Author Tara Cox, the founding editor-in-chief of RVLiving Magazine, who hopes one day to own an Airstream of her own, has researched the history and lore of the vintage classic.

Airstream founder Wally Byam and his wife Marion at the trailer factory. Photo via Airstream.com

Airstream founder Wally Byam’s first aluminum trailer –“The Airstream Clipper” named after the Pan Am Clipper–debuted in 1936 at a time when the onset of the Great Depression created a boom in the trailer industry. Over 400 trailer companies were competing for customers when just a few years earlier there were forty-eight, Cox says. The book’s selection of photos shows the evolution of the Airstream’s “Streamline Moderne” style, which has made it an enduring icon as well as a pop-culture phenom in recent years.

One of the Airstreams at Kate’s Lazy Desert Motel near Joshua Tree. Via LazyMeadow.com

One of several “glamping” destinations mentioned is Kate’s Lazy Desert Airstream Motel owned by Kate Pierson of the forever fabulous band the B-52s. Six vintage Airstreams were restored and decorated by artists Philip Maberry and Scott Walker, who owned the “funky little shack” featured in the B-52s’ “Love Shack” video.

The travel trailer of my carny childhood, which was not an Airstream but had an Art Deco look, was put in storage every year after Columbus Day on the Goshen fairgrounds in Connecticut. One of my earliest memories is tearfully waving goodbye to it till spring when we went back out on the road with the carnival. Perhaps I’ll find something like it if and when the time comes to retire from life in New York City. “Adventure is where you find it, any place, every place,” said Wally Byam, “except at home in the rocking chair.”

Airstream:The Silver RV by Tara Cox. Published by Shire Publications, 2013. Paperback, $9.95

Photo Album: Gingerbread Coney Island in City Harvest Extravaganza

Posted in Events, Photo Album, Photography, tagged Aperitivo Restaurant, Christmas, City Harvest, Coney Island, Cyclone, gingerbread, Gingerbread Extravaganza, Le Parker Meridien, Rolling Pin Productions on December 13, 2013| Leave a Comment »

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Rolling Pin Productions with Aperitivo Restaurant, Brooklyn. Gingerbread Extravaganza, Le Parker Meridien. Photo via Rolling Pin Productions

Coney Island’s Cyclone, Parachute Jump and Carousel are among the gingerbread wonders on display at the Le Parker Meridien through January 8th to benefit City Harvest. Created by Susanna Caliendo of Rolling Pin Productions and Mario DiBiase of Brooklyn’s Aperitivo Restaurant, the Coney Island-themed confection is among 13 whimsical structures in the 5th annual Gingerbread Extravaganza.

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Rolling Pin Productions with Aperitivo Restaurant, Brooklyn. Gingerbread Extravaganza, Le Parker Meridien. Photo via Rolling Pin Productions

The fondant Santa Claus and his elves ride the wreath-bedecked gingerbread coaster, which has tracks made of licorice and cookies. The Carousel’s poles are made of colorful candy canes. Caliendo researched and took great care in the making of the exquisitely detailed horses. She estimates that it took 60-80 hours of work for the two chefs to create the elaborate structure. DiBiase’s training as an engineer before getting into the culinary field was essential to the task of replicating the curve of the Cyclone’s track.

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Rolling Pin Productions with Aperitivo Restaurant, Brooklyn. Gingerbread Extravaganza, Le Parker Meridien. Photo via Rolling Pin Productions

This year’s theme of “Quintessential New York” inspired the city’s top bakeries, pastry chefs, and restaurants, to craft such icons as the Chrysler, Empire State and Flatiron Buildings, the Guggenheim Museum, Katz’s Deli and New York Brownstones.

“With the constant change that is a part of the New York City evolution, Coney Island is one of the few major landmarks that keeps the nostalgia of the ‘old days’ going strong,” said the Gingerbread Coney Island’s creators Caliendo and DiBiase in their artists statement. “Surviving Hurricane Sandy and continuing on despite difficult times will always be a testament to the ‘quintessential’ strength of all of us here in New York City.”

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Rolling Pin Productions with Aperitivo Restaurant, Brooklyn. Gingerbread Extravaganza, Le Parker Meridien. Photo via Rolling Pin Productions

You can vote for the structures on display in Le Parker Meridien’s atrium, which is open 24 hours, or online by selecting it on this page. Purchase one ticket for $1 or 5 tickets for $5 through the concierge desk or online to vote for your favorite. Each vote enters the donor in a raffle to win a 5-night stay at the Parker Palm Springs.

All proceeds benefit City Harvest, the world’s first food rescue organization, where every dollar rescues four pounds of food.

The creation with the most votes will receive the Gingerbread 2013 People’s Choice Award in January.

Under Construction: Coney Island by
Rolling Pin Productions with Aperitivo Restaurant, Brooklyn. Gingerbread Extravaganza, Le Parker Meridien

Coney Island Tourism Initiative Gets $225K from Gov. Cuomo

Posted in amusement park, Coney Island Redevelopment, tagged Alliance for Coney Island, Coney Island, economic development, Governor Cuomo, New York City, REDC, Regional Economic Development Councils, RFP, The One and Only Coney, tourism on December 12, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Alliance for Coney Island’s Poster for the 2013 Friday Night Fireworks. Photo via Facebook.com/coneyislandfun

Coney Island tourism was one of the winners in the third year of Governor Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development Councils competition. An award of $225,000 to the Alliance for Coney Island for improvements to the tourism initiative “The One and Only Coney” was among 824 statewide projects receiving a share of $715.9 million in New York State economic development funding.

“The campaign aims to draw tourists by marketing and expanding seasonal events and programs that will reintroduce Coney Island as America’s Playground, furthering the appeal of Coney Island as a tourism destination,” according to a release from the Governor’s Press Office. New York City received $57.4 million, including funding for a tech incubator in Queens and program expansion and improved accessibility at New York Botanical Gardens.

Johanna Zaki, Alliance for Coney Island’s Director of Operations at a presentation on the 2013 season at Tom’s Coney Island. November 15, 2013. Photo © Tricia Vita

Founded in 2012, the Alliance for Coney Island is a successor to the Coney Island Development Corporation. The non-profit’s mission is “continuing the transformation of Coney Island into a year-round, world-class recreational oceanfront destination while improving the quality of life of the entire Coney Island community.”

Current opportunities on the organization’s website include RFPs for a creative agency/graphic designer firm as well as for fireworks shows and outdoor movie screening vendor services for the annual Flicks on the Beach program for 2014. The Alliance is also seeking sponsors for programming.

Free events such as Coney Island’s Friday night fireworks are currently supported by funding from the Alliance’s founding members. In the past, Schaefer Beer sponsored free Tuesday night fireworks from 1949 till they pulled out in 1968, writes Charles Denson in Coney Island: Lost and Found. The Village Voice sponsored the much-missed Siren Music Festival, a free indie rock concert from 2001-2010.

This promotional short “Coney Is…” showcases the Parachute Jump’s new lights, restored B&B Carousell and future improvements at the New York Aquarium. “The One and Only Coney” is Back, it says.