Tourist Guide

Basil Pizza and Wine Bar has a scrumptious meal awaiting you after your visit to the Jewish Children’s Museum. The hipster restaurant has a great vibe and even better food! You must order the basil fries, they are the restaurants specialty and after a taste you will understand why. The pizza there is also amazing; you can even watch your meal being prepared from the open kitchen. Basil is one of the best kosher restaurants out there!

To get to the Five Towns, you need to take the LIRR. Take the Far Rockaway Branch and get off at either Hewlett, Woodmere, Cedarhurst, Lawrence, or Inwood!

Town: Hewlett

If you are hungry and need a place to eat that isn’t 1,000 calories, Hewlett YogurtStation, or Hewlees as it is better known, is the place to go! Conveniently located across from the Hewlett train station(hence it’s name), Hewlees offers an array of flavors and toppings, and very interesting ways to mix them up.

The store is “Home of the Hewlee,” which is a yogurt concoction made to your personal liking. You can either get a plain hewlee, or a coffee hewlee. A plain hewlee is made up whatever flavor(s) yogurt you choose and toppings. Toppings also inculdes scones or cookies. All of this is mashed up in the hewlee machine to create your very own hewlee. For all the coffee lovers out there, you can also get a coffee hewlee. Which is basically a plain hewlee, the only difference is you can add your favorite flavor coffee to the mix.

They also have a special two for one deal on Saturdays and Tuesdays! Sadly this does not include hewlees, but if you just want plain yogurt, you can save  a few dollars.

Here’s my personal favorite hewlee: Vanilla yogurt, fat free granola, and strawberries. Try it!

One of the good things the Five Towns has going for it, is its driving perks. Anywhere you are stuck at a red light and need to make a right turn, you are free to do so!! As long as you do not see a sign like the one on the right, you are able to turn!

Town: Woodmere

Located just down the block from my house is the gorgeous Woodmere Club. This would be extremely conveniant if I was a golf player, however I am not, I’m more of a tennis girl. Thankfully however, the club has numerous tennis courts, along with restaurants, a fitness center, a pool, and a spa.

This is a golfers paradise, conveniently situated on Long Island. Woodmere golf club boasts an 18 hole par 70 golf course. Hole #1 and #6 are said to be the two trickiest on the course, so if your a golfer looking for a challenge this is the perfect place to go! The golf course also adds a nice touch of green to the neighborhood.

The only downside to the club is the membership fee. Annual membership is a little steep at around $15,000!

If you ever come to visit the golf course, don’t forget to visit me after!

Town: Lawrence

Rock Hall Museum is the one and only museum located in the Five Towns. You could say it has a monopoly on the place. It is a registered historic place. It is one of the finest pre-war homes still standing on Long Island. It was built in 1767 for the Martin and Hewlett families. The Hewlett family donated the residence to the town as a historic museum and learning center for future generations. Hewlett, is also one of the Five Towns, it was named after the Hewlett family. Their actual residence, Rock Hall is located in Lawrence. You are probably asking yourself why? This is because their property was so great that it actually encompassed the entire Five Towns as it is today.

The Museum is located at 199 Broadway, in Lawrence. Not to worry, admission is free, you do not even need to bring your Macaulay Cultural Passport!

Hours:

Wednesday – Saturday: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Sunday: noon-4 p.m.
Closed Monday and Tuesday

This exhibit showcases landscape design in odd shapes and sizes. The long installation on the wall and the egg shaped standing sculpture both contain living plants and wildlife within them. They represent two opposite extremes, on one hand they are full of nature and greens, yet on the other hand they are incased, giving off an inorganic feel.

This photograph seemed to really capture its subjects feeling. When I looked at the picture it was like i could feel the two mens emotions flowing from the paper. The photographer, Paul Strand, also depicted the filth and grime of Mexico as seen by the decrepit walls. The man squatting seems as though he is upset with the photographer while the man standing in the sombrero just appears confused. A desolate feeling comes forth from the photograph and a sense of depression can be felt.

The Jewish Children’s Museum is an interactive life size museum for young children. It features different “exhibits,” many of which correspond to Jewish holidays such as Passover or Purim. Each exhibit is intended to teach young children about Judaism in a fun and interactive way.

The picture to the right is an example of the life size exhibits. This is a large loaf of bread, which in Hebrew is called challah. The exhibit, which takes place in side the bread, explains how Jews use this bread on Sabbath, the correct blessing for the bread, and its importance overall. I did not really know what to expect when I visited the museum, although I did not believe it was a museum displaying Jewish children, as some others might have. The picture below is of the passover exhibit. There was a specific room dedicated to this exhibit which showed all the customs pertaining to passover in  a child friendly manner. There was also a mini supermarket in which children could actually go through the whole process of going to the supermarket, even the cash register!

I had never been to a museum like this when I was a child, but I think it is very informative for young children. It makes the subject matter seem fun and exciting as opposed to boring and dull, the affect many museums have on children.

This Roman Mosaic was found almost completely intact only recently in 1996 in Tel Aviv, Israel during a highway construction. The mosaic is comprised of animal scenes, most of which are violent, which fits perfectly with Roman culture.You can tell that an extreme amount of craftsmanship was put into the Mosaic. Each tiny square was hand painted and put together one by one to make the grand mosaic that served as a floor in a Roman household.

Dona Maria, the girl in this painting is actually only two years old. It is difficult to even tell since she is dressed up like an adult. Everything from her dress to her facial expressions scream maturity. At first glance  I thought she was just a midget. She also looks extremely unhappy in the painting, which could be because she would rather be playing with toys than all dolled up.

This painting features three young boys playing soldier, as the title suggests. It is interesting that children are the focus of the painting especially since the subject matter, war, is a harsh one. Looking at the painting it seems as though the middle child, presumably the oldest, is actually staring at you with a warning in his eyes. This painting was created right after the Civil War so war was on everyones minds. The children’s outfits are each in either red whit or blue, representing the colors of the American flag and the Union victory. 

When I found out I would need to stay late in school on Wednesday to see some off Broadway play that I had never heard of I was less than thrilled. I had the preconceived notion that this was going to be like Film Forum round two. And that did not bring a smile to my face.

When the lights went on and the play began I was pleasantly surprised. The opening scene immediately grabbed my attention. I was not really sure what was going on or what David Duchovny was talking about, but it left me wanting to know more. From there on I was completely hooked.

The lights and loud music in-between each scene really added to the show. It helped heighten the tension and kept my attention focused on the plot completely.

When the wife came onto the stage I thought she looked a little bit like Amanda Peet. And then I realized, it was Amanda Peet, which was pretty cool too. It was shaping up to be a star-studded cast in a random little theatre in the village. The only two actors I did not recognize were Gigi and the lawyer. They were such great actors themselves that the two main stars did not overshadow them. The lawyer, played by John Earl Jelks, had a really great way of delivering his lines. Everything came out so humorous that I was cracking up the whole time, as was a certain female in the front row who made me laugh even more. Gigi, played by Tracee Chimo, was one of the most emotional prostitutes I have ever seen. When she broke down about her mother on the job, it seemed so real. As I sat there I actually felt bad for her and everything she was going through on stage.

When the play was over, I left the theatre in good spirits. I really enjoyed the performance. The best part of the whole show came after the curtains had fallen. I got to meet David Duchovny and Amanda Peet and I even got a picture with both of them! Overall it was really a great night.

Last Thursday’s October 14th performance of Rigoletto was an eye opener. I have always had preconceived notions that the opera is boring and dull. The lack of dialogue and outdated style has always been unappealing to me. But watching Rigoletto changed all of that. The first thing that caught my eye was the gorgeous scenery. The backdrop gave everything such a realistic feel throughout the entire performance.

Having a previous understanding of what the opera was about, made it much more enjoyable. Instead of trying to figure out what was going on, I was able to appreciate the talent and voices of the performers. It amazed me that they could all project their voices so well in an opera house as large as the Met. Although at times, I found it difficult to hear Gilda when she was not singing extremely high notes. The emotion that the singers sang with added to the excitement of the performance. It also helped move the plot along and made it easier to follow. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the opera actually had some humorous parts to it, contrary to my assumptions that it was mainly boring.

The music itself was quite remarkable. Whatever emotion was being played out on stage was audible through the music. It helped heighten tension, convey fear, and intensify love, during all three arias, adding tremendously to the overall performance. I did not fully understand why the orchestra conductor needed a five-minute applause before each aria. Isn’t just one enough? This also occurred with the singers, who came out and took a bow after each aria, and received a five-minute applause. This made it seem like they thought they deserved the recognition and only added to the pretentious name the opera has for itself. Why one bow at the end, with all the performers could not suffice, I am unsure.

Right before the first intermission, someone came out and made an announcement that George Gagnidze who played Rigoletto, was recovering from a cold. This is the same announcement that was made during the opening night performance. It sounds like a pretty long recovery if you ask me. I did not hear anything wrong with Gagnidze performance, but I am sure that other more avid operagoers started nitpicking after the first intermission.

Rigoletto really helped me develop a stronger appreciation for the opera and all the hard work that goes into it. I will no longer place it at the bottom of the entertainment totem pole.

By: Rebecca Glikman

I did not have very high expectations for the documentary Strange Powers. After all I was going to see a movie about a band I had never heard of in a movie theatre I had never heard of. And my suspicions were correct. I did not enjoy the documentary at all, which is odd for someone like me who usually likes quirky movies.

Stephin Merritt, the main character in the movie and the lead singer of the band Magnetic Fields, has a cynical sense of humor that was amusing at times, but was mostly just plain boring. It seemed as though he had nothing to say. I found myself wondering why someone would choose to make a documentary about him numerous times during the film, and why a theatre as small as Film Forum would choose to run it.

This film was also my first introduction to the Magnetic Fields, and probably my last. Their music sounded like folk gone bad, something I do not want to experience again. The lyrics were completely ridiculous and sounded as though they were trying so hard to be “artsy,” yet they failed miserably. Lines such as “I want to be a topless waitress” in the song The Nun’s Litany, left me wondering what they were thinking releasing a song like that. He mentioned that his lyrics were not about anything, but there has to be some reason why he would choose those words; although frankly it is beyond my comprehension.

On a more positive note, the film did succeed in one area. It was really able to capture the whole artistic process. The documentary gave me a better picture of what goes on behind the scenes of every song that is produced. I did not think it was possible for an entire song to be produced and recorded in a room the size of a closet in the West Village in New York City. But Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields proved me wrong!

Overall I would have to say I was not the biggest fan of Strange Powers, but it was definitely an experience at best.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoGZjiowPGo

Lines is a new exhibit at the MoMa which follows drawing throughout the 20th Century. This particular part of the exhibit featured a minimal aspect to drawing and lines in general. In-between the two fans is a black streamer which appears as a never ending line. The streamer stays in-between the two fans at all times making it seem like it is actually drawing.