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Now that the Bloomberg administration has snatched Governors Island from New York’s paralytic and destitute state government, the city can do something radically old-fashioned: build a big new park and hope that greenbacks will follow greenery instead of the other way around.

Think of Governors Island as a pair of conjoined pancakes, one bumpy, the other flat. The bumpy pancake, which faces north toward lower Manhattan, contains fortifications run by the National Park Service and a landmarked historic district of old military buildings that can be spiffed up but not transformed. Pancake No. 2, a flat, unpromising wasteland, will be partitioned between a core of sculpted parkland and blank patches available for private development. So far, the island has attracted plenty of fantasies—an NYU outpost, a conference center, a theater, a hotel—but no developer has offered any concrete proposal. So the agency that administers the island commissioned the Dutch architectural firm West 8 to fashion the park first and let future buildings form around it. The result would be 87 acres of public space that’s truly public, including ball fields with views of the Statue of Liberty and man-made hills and dales.

For decades, new open areas have been born as by-products of business deals and carved out of leftover acreage into awkward, stingy shapes. A 1961 law traded space in the sky for space on the ground in midtown: Companies that built public plazas could pack an extra 20 percent onto their towers’ height. The city and state have funded the construction of Hudson River Park, but not its upkeep. The Bloomberg administration’s rezoning of the Greenpoint-Williamsburg waterfront forced developers to adorn their high-rises with a strip of greenery. The financing for Brooklyn Bridge Park presupposed a phalanx of condos and a big hotel. The High Line was predicated on its power to boost property values. Gradually, a new park evolved from a public good to just another real-estate amenity, like closet space.

If that doctrine had governed New York during its most frantic periods of growth, this would be a far less breathable city. Central Park and Prospect Park exist because nineteenth-century aristocrats and politicians concurred that creating a place where urban multitudes could immerse themselves in nature was a civic undertaking, not a business venture. In the thirties, Robert Moses expanded Riverside Park as a scenic haven from industrial grime.

The future of Governors Island is shaped less by lofty aspirations than by a history of puzzled neglect. Since nobody could quite figure out how to make money there, it has been lying in a state of suggestive dilapidation. During the years when the state government festered, funding dried up, and delays mounted, the island turned into a real-life laboratory of leisure. Leslie Koch, president of the agency that administers the island, has used her paltry budget to entice a growing stream of visitors and to experiment with low-tech attractions like hammocks and free bicycles. The once forbidden island has quietly insinuated itself into the public’s consciousness, and the lessons learned from observing New Yorkers at play have made their way into the future park’s design—which is why the Dutch architect Adriaan Geuze’s design for the park includes a “Hammock Grove.”

If the city’s initiative winds up luring investment, then all of Koch’s watching, waiting, and tinkering will eventually yield a private project that began with a public park—a campus or complex that molds itself to the contoured land and architecture that takes its cues from pathways, hills, and people. Governors Island could wind up being the most conspicuously virtuous legacy of Mayor Bloomberg’s third term.

POLLEPEL ISLAND, N.Y. – The castle on the Hudson River is crumbling.

One of the stranger sights on the river, Bannerman’s island castle is a high-walled ruin topped with turrets that looks like it was built to repel catapult attacks. In reality, the century-old structure off the river’s eastern shore was a warehouse for bayonets, pith helmets, rifles and other military relics.

The island has had a second life in recent years as a summer tourist attraction. Visitors — many who know the castle from their daily train commute to New York City — can take a tour boat or a kayak for guided tours of the island. But hard hats must be worn. Big chunks of the castle tumbled down this winter and more could fall at any time.

“Every year, something deteriorates and comes down on us,” Neil Caplan of the Bannerman Castle Trust said as he gave a tour of the island recently.

The castle looks both majestic and precarious, and Caplan and the trust are scrambling to raise money for repairs before it’s too far gone. This past winter was especially rough: Two walls fell down, including one facing the river bank with “BANNERMAN’S ISLAND ARSENAL” emblazoned across the top. Vegetation sprouts from the walls and the crenelated top is so degraded it looks like it’s missing teeth.

The structure is named for Francis Bannerman VI, who bought the rocky, 6 1/2-acre island in 1900 as a place to warehouse items sold in his war relic store in Manhattan, some 50 miles south. Bannerman was an amateur architect with a touch of P.T. Barnum. He modeled his warehouse after castles in his native Scotland, giving it a siege-ready look with a moat and turrets.

Bannerman also built an island residence much smaller than the warehouse but with the same castle motif. It’s on a high spot of land and commands the sort of sweeping view of the Hudson Highlands that hedge fund managers pay millions for.

The Bannerman family enjoyed an island retreat that was a world unto itself. They could spend idle days by the gardens, watch the ferries go upriver or sail. Down the hill was the castle and a separate powder house, which blew up spectacularly in 1920.

Family members continued to frequent the island for decades after Francis Bannerman died in 1918. The island was sold to New York state in 1967, two years before a fire gutted the castle. Left standing were the high walls familiar to Metro-North and Amtrak passengers.

Bannerman Castle Trust formed in 1993 to turn the scenic ruin into a proper attraction. Caplan, a local real estate agent and bed-and-breakfast owner, has headed the trust since the beginning. The pay is modest, but he’s passionate. During a recent tour of the island for tourism industry officials and the press, he stopped a couple of times to pull weeds from the winding walking paths and actually shouted once: “This is still important to save!”

Visitors can get close-up looks at the castle ruins, but must stay back because of the threat of a fresh collapse. The tour also includes a ramble through island paths that wind through rehabilitated gardens and to the house.

The residence is scheduled for roof, floor and other stabilization work this summer with the help of donations and state and federal grants. More ambitious and expensive work on the castle is still in the future.

Though the island is part of nearby Hudson Highlands state park, the trust is responsible for raising money for its rehabilitation. Caplan praises parks officials as wonderful partners, but the state agency has already closed dozens of parks and has little money to spare. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer has applied for $1 million through the “Save America’s Treasures” historic preservation program, but that money, if it comes, is not expected until next year.

The castle could face more danger if the Hudson Valley gets another winter with cycles of freezing and warmer weather — which pretty much describes every recent winter here. There are fears the island’s signature feature could become a rock pile. That would leave the trust with an even more expensive choice of whether to reconstruct a faux-castle. Caplan hopes to raise enough money before it gets to that point.

“I just get antsy,” Caplan said in the shadow of the castle, “because it can come down at any time.”

___

If You Go…

BANNERMAN CASTLE: Located on Pollepel Island, N.Y.

http://www.BannermanCastle.org.

TOURS: With cooperation from state parks, Hudson River Adventures and the Bannerman Castle Trust run boats to the island for 2 1/2-hour guided tours, May 1-Oct. 31, weekends and some weekdays, adults $30, children 11 and under, $25; http://prideofthehudson.com/pollepel-schedule.shtml or 845-220-2120. Advance ticket purchase suggested. Boats leave from Front Street in Newburgh, N.Y., and the commuter ferry dock in Beacon, right by the Metro-North station. Wear shoes appropriate for trails.

Two companies run kayak tours on selected weekend dates. Hudson Valley Outfitters, 63 Main St., Cold Spring, N.Y., runs five-to-six-hour tours for $120, which includes kayak, equipment and lunch; http://hudsonvalleyoutfitters.com/ or 845-265-0221.

Storm King Adventure Tours, 178 Hudson St., Cornwall-on-Hudson, N.Y., runs a four-hour tour for $120, which includes kayak and equipment; http://stormkingadventuretours.com/ or 845-534-7800.

The Akron, Ohio-based duo The Black Keys is well known for its concentrated, hermetic approach to recording, hunkering down with rudimentary equipment in an unfinished basement or commandeering the floor of a vacant local rubber factory to create terse but soulful rock that seems to have time-traveled into the pair’s amps from some long-ago radio show. But guitarist-vocalist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney now admit they were ready for a change of scene—as well as some company. So when they got the opportunity to work with Grammy Award-nominated producer-musician-provocateur Danger Mouse, a/k/a Brian Burton (Gnarls Barkley, Gorillaz, The Grey Album), they agreed, for the first time, to leave their familiar environs. They weren’t quite willing to cross state lines yet, though.

The Black Keys had originally been approached by Danger Mouse to write songs for an album he was developing with Grammy Award-winning R&B legend Ike Turner, who, in recent years, had been recognized more for his contribution to the birth of rock & roll than for the time he’d spent in the tabloids. That project would never be completed, however, and the 76 year-old Turner passed away unexpectedly in December.

As the pair were composing and sending tracks out to Danger Mouse in Los Angeles earlier last year, ostensibly for Ike, they realized they were also instinctively laying the groundwork for a new album of their own. So when Patrick went to L.A. to visit his wife’s family, he called up Danger Mouse to go out for drinks and, he says, “I asked him straight up if he wanted to produce our record. He said yeah, and we made a plan. Nothing was set in stone until about a week before we went in to record in August. I think Dan and I were intrigued to work with somebody as a producer because we both realized we couldn’t teach ourselves anything more, and it was best to start learning from other people. When we were, like, 22, we didn’t have the money to do this; by the time we were 24, maybe we thought we knew more than we actually did. Now, at 27, we maybe just realized we had stopped being broke, and stopped being dip-shits, and we could learn from other people who make records.”

“After doing four albums in the basement, we were ready to go somewhere else,” Dan confesses, “but it couldn’t just be anywhere. Brian suggested L.A., but we said no way. We still wanted to do it in Ohio. There’s this guy named Paul Hamann, who has a studio outside Cleveland called Suma. I’d done a bunch of projects with him before, bands that I’ve recorded on the side. He’s done some mastering and cut some vinyl for me. In fact, he’s got one of the only studios in the world where they still cut their own vinyl. So we said we wanted to go there, and Brian said, ‘Whatever you guys want.’”

The legacy, the hand-built recording console, and the engineering skills of Hamann were undoubtedly attractive to The Black Keys, but perhaps it was the ambience of the place that really sealed the deal. As Patrick explains, with genuine affection, “The place is covered with dust, it smells like a moldy cabin, and it looks like a haunted house. It was fitting for our first time of going into a real studio—basically being in a haunted house that hasn’t been updated since 1973.” Dan continues, “A big part of the sound of this record is the studio and having somebody like Paul, who is an old pro, recording us and helping us get the right sound. Having him there meant that we were free to jump on any instruments we wanted to add stuff. If I wanted to play organ, I could jump on it and just record it; if I wanted to jump on the guitar, I could do it. Brian and Pat had a moog part they thought would be cool on a song, so they would just try it. That studio is a really special place.”

Danger Mouse fit right in, too. Says Dan, “He came in as our collaborator. Brian does hip-hop, but he likes rock and roll, obscure 60s psychedelic stuff, and we listen to a lot of that too. So he was pretty easy to get along with. Brian has a real ear for melody and arrangement, and that was a big part of this record, his making suggestions about the arrangements.”

Dan and Patrick were childhood buddies who grew up in the same Akron neighborhood and attended the same schools. But they didn’t recognize their natural musical affinity until well into high school when they started jamming together with other aspiring musician friends, who they soon ditched. Early demos of The Black Keys featured a third member, who played a moog bass, but he didn’t last long either, and they subsequently carried on as a duo. Says Dan, “Pat and I just click. We walk in to a groove quite easily. It’s kind of hard to describe.” Their minimalist approach to rock is similar to what the late-70s New York City duo Suicide’s has been to electronic dance music: The Black Keys have been able to make something ferociously noisy, deceptively melodic, and surprisingly sincere out of the simplest tools and riffs. (Unlike Suicide, though, they’re more congenial than confrontational with their audiences.)

With Danger Mouse, The Black Keys didn’t veer uncomfortably far from the elemental rock & roll territory they’d mined so effectively on previous albums like their 2006 Nonesuch debut, Magic Potion, or their Fat Possum discs, Rubber Factory (2004) and Thickfreakness (2003). But they were definitely in a mood to experiment on Attack and Release. Dan explains, “We’d never let it all go before like we did for this one, where anything was game.” The new tracks have a spaciousness and clarity that accentuate the soulfulness in Dan’s preternaturally weathered vocals and in arrangements that oscillate between melancholy and swagger. (On side-by-side, moody vs. head-banging versions of “Remember When,” they do both.) There’s a subtle range of extra instrumentation (organ, piano, synthesizer) and some very cool arrangements (like the ghostly choir that surfaces midway through “I Got Mine”). Guitarist Marc Ribot and Pat’s uncle, multi-instrumentalist Ralph Carney—both veterans of Tom Waits’ band—sat in for a few days of unfettered jamming. Jessica Lea Mayfield, an impressive eighteen-year-old bluegrass/country singer from Kent, Ohio, sings alongside Dan on the plaintive final cut, “Things Ain’t Like They Used To Be.”

Dan and Patrick did finally head west for the mix. Recalls Patrick, “We started August 9; our last day was August 23. We went to L.A. to mix the record with Brian’s engineer, Kennie Takahashi, who mixed the Gnarls record. He’s a younger dude who knows his shit. He matched our rough mixes exactly—the EQ, the compression, everything. He just cleaned them up—or dirtied them up—from there.

“I’m more pleased with the sound of this record than any we’ve ever made,” Pat concludes. “Rather than mask things in, like, a low-fi fog, we can make things sound big and fucked up at the same time.”

www.theblackkeys.com

Biking to work in New York City is fun, healthy and green, and recently it’s become red hot, to boot. The reasons for the surge—there’s been a 66% increase in ridership during the past two years—are no mystery. As many City cyclists have discovered, commuting by bike has become easier and more convenient than ever. And with National Bike to Work Day—the culmination of Bike Month NYC—coming up on May 21, it’s the perfect opportunity to dust off your two-wheeler, if you haven’t already, and join the parade.

In fact, Bike to Work Day starts with a pageant of sorts, as NYC Department of Transportation marshals lead a morning bike commute from Prospect Park to Midtown, ensuring a smooth, and festive, journey for veterans and rookies alike. Riders can also pick up snacks, coffee and free giveaways—not to mention meet up with on-the-spot riding buddies—at Bike to Work Day pit stops in all five boroughs.

The Department of Transportation laid the groundwork for this bicycle renaissance—literally—by building 200 miles of new bike lanes over the past few years, thereby establishing an effective and safe network of commuting routes. In fact, a spiffy “grade-separated” bike lane runs right down Broadway all the way from Columbus Circle to Madison Square Park. Bicycle parking should now be easier, too, thanks to a new law requiring commercial building owners to allow tenants (and their employees) to use freight elevators to bring bikes into the workplace.

All riding to work and no play makes John Q. Cyclist a dull boy, so be sure to check out Bike Month’s slate of 200-plus fun rides, green rides and bike-related cultural events. (Alas, registration is closed for the festive Five Boro Bike Tour, on May 2, though you may still be able to enter by riding with a charity group.) You can view a complete calendar of cycling activities on Bike New York’s website or request that a printed version be mailed to you.

Switching Gears

Bicycling in New York is a fast and safe way to get around—if you use common sense and follow the rules of the road (for the most part, the same ones that apply to cars). If you’re new to urban riding, the streets can seem intimidating. You can become more comfortable pedaling around town with Bike New York’s free two-wheel “driver’s ed” classes. The group’s Bike Commuting 101, a one-hour classroom course, covers such topics as the appropriate clothing and gear for day, night and bad weather and how to determine the best riding route. At the more intensive Savvy Cyclist: Traffic Skills 101, a full-day, hands-on course, attendees learn how to perform a pre-ride safety inspection and how to fix a flat. The class also covers the basics of traffic rules and bicyclists’ rights and responsibilities on the road. The day concludes with a 5- to 8-mile group ride that emphasizes the principles of safe and confident cycling in traffic. Preregistration is required for Traffic Skills 101.

Tune Up

You can’t ride to work if your Schwinn is in the shop with a flat. Grassroots environmental group Time’s Up! helps you learn DIY mechanics with a series of four free bike-repair classes for beginners: Basics for Beginners; Cables and Housing; Cups, Cones and Bearings; and Wheels and Spokes. Classes are held Tuesdays on the Lower East Side and Sundays in Williamsburg. A Monday class at the LES location is taught by, and for, women and transgender participants. No experience is necessary to take any of the classes, and you don’t have to attend them in any particular order.

Once you’ve got a grip on the basics, you can use the group’s tools and repair stands to work on your bike at regularly scheduled open workshops, held Thursdays on the Lower East Side and on Wednesdays and Sundays in Williamsburg.

BIKE TRIPS

Be sure to bring the essentials for any extended bike ride: a helmet, water bottles, tire pump, spare inner tubes and a basic repair kit. Also, on the all-day rides, take enough money to buy something for a picnic lunch, or pack your own.

May 13

The Weekday Cyclists in NYC’s Awesome Views Ride circumnavigates New York Harbor. Starting from Central Park, the ride goes to Staten Island (via ferry), across the Bayonne Bridge to New Jersey, and then up to Liberty State Park and Hoboken, with an outdoor lunch along the way. Participants can return to Manhattan on the PATH train (having covered 35 miles at that point) or continue north to the George Washington Bridge (50 miles). Free.

May 20

Tour Queens’ parks system—Kissena Park, Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Cunningham Park and Alley Pond Park—on the leisurely 35-mile Queens Greenway Ride, organized by the Weekday Cyclists in NYC. Attendees will stop for a picnic lunch at the end of the old Long Island Motor Parkway. And don’t let the thoroughfare’s name deter you: built as a race course—and later turned into a toll road—by the Vanderbilt family at the dawn of the automobile era, it was long ago converted into a bike trail. Free.

May 29

The scenic Wandering to Wave Hill ride, led by the Five Borough Bicycle Club, goes from the City’s best-known urban oasis, Central Park, to the Riverdale section of the Bronx for a visit to one of the area’s best-kept secrets. A lush 28-acre public garden and cultural center with sweeping views of the Hudson, Wave Hill makes for a top-notch picnic spot. Another perk: the ride coincides with the Target Free Saturday program, so you can use the $8 you saved on admission to buy lunch at the café. Free.

June 6

If the Tour de France is a stretch for you this year, consider entering Transportation Alternatives’ sixth-annual Tour de Brooklyn, a family-friendly “rolling parade” through the streets of NYC’s biggest borough. The 18-mile ride starts and ends at McCarren Park in Williamsburg. Snacks will be provided during a short break at Red Hook Park. There’s a limit of 2,500 participants, so register in advance. $5 for TA members; $10 for nonmembers.

CULTURE, CELEBRATIONS AND BEYOND

May 13–August 15

Celebrating the union of form, function and aesthetics, the Museum of Arts and Design’s exhibition Bespoke: The Handbuilt Bicycle presents the work of six internationally renowned bicycle builders. The bikes are not whimsical showpieces. Designed to precisely fit the bodies of their riders, these road and track racers, mountain and commuter bikes illustrate the age-old equilibrium between art and design.

$15; $12 for students and seniors; free for kids 12 and under and members.

May 20 and May 23

Every dog is sure to have her (or his) day at the Time’s Up! Doggie Pedal Parade on May 23. If your Raleigh isn’t Rover-ready, come to the group’s Pup Your Ride Workshop on May 20 on the Lower East Side. Bring your bike and a basket or trailer big enough for your canine companion. Volunteer mechanics will be on hand to assist attendees who wish to attach an add-on. The parade—a celebration of both pet-friendly transport and the benefits of adopting homeless animals—starts at Tompkins Square Park and finishes up at the Washington Square Park dog run, with an end-of-ride bash. Both events are free.

PUBLIC PROGRAM TICKETS:

Robert Moses, Jane Jacobs, and the Automobile

Monday, May 17 6:30PM

Join Owen Gutfreund, Roberta Brandes Gratz and Anthony Flint for a discussion of opposition between Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs.

Robert Moses always wanted to build big—including highways. Jane Jacobs wanted to preserve neighborhoods and encourage mass transit. These and other differences led to the showdown between them in Greenwich Village and engendered a debate that is still going on today. Join Owen Gutfreund, Associate Professor of Urban Affairs and Planning at Hunter College and author of Twentieth Century Sprawl: Highways and the Reshaping of the American Landscape (Oxford University Press, 2005), and Roberta Brandes Gratz, author of The Battle For Gotham: New York in the Shadow of Robert Moses and Jane Jacobs (Nation Books, 2010), for a discussion moderated by Anthony Flint, journalist and author at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and author of Wrestling with Moses: How Jane Jacobs Took on New York’s Master Builder and Transformed the American City (Random House, 2009).

Presented in conjunction with the exhibition Cars, Culture, and the City.

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED

$12 Non-Members
$8 Seniors and Students
$6 Museum Members

*A two dollar surcharge applies for unreserved, walk-in participants.

For more information please call 917.492.3395.

I’ve got another confession to make
I’m your fool
Everyone’s got their chains to break
Holdin’ you

Were you born to resist or be abused?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Are you gone and onto someone new?

I needed somewhere to hang my head
Without your noose
You gave me something that I didn’t have
But had no use

I was too weak to give in
Too strong to lose
My heart is under arrest again
But I break loose

My head is giving me life or death
But I can’t choose
I swear I’ll never give in
I refuse

Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?

Has someone taken your faith?
It’s real, the pain you feel
You trust, you must
Confess

Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Oh…

Has someone taken your faith?
It’s real, the pain you feel
The life, the love
You’d die to heal

The hope that starts
The broken hearts
You trust, you must
Confess

Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?

I’ve got another confession my friend
I’m no fool
I’m getting tired of starting again
Somewhere new

Were you born to resist or be abused?
I swear I’ll never give in
I refuse

Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?

Has someone taken your faith?
It’s real, the pain you feel
You trust, you must
Confess

Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!

Albert Einstein has long been considered a genius by the masses. He was a theoretical physicist, philosopher, author, and is perhaps the most influential scientists to ever live.

Einstein has made great contributions to the scientific world, including the theory of relativity, the founding of relativistic cosmology, the prediction of the deflection of light by gravity, the quantum theory of atomic motion in solids, the zero-point energy concept, and the quantum theory of a monatomic gas which predicted Bose–Einstein condensation, to name a few of his scientific contributions.

Einstein received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics “for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect.”

He’s published more than 300 scientific works and over 150 non-scientific works. Einstein is considered the father of modern physics and is probably the most successful scientist there ever was.

10 Amazing Lessons from Albert Einstein:

1. Follow Your Curiosity

“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”

What piques your curiosity? I am curious as to what causes one person to succeed while another person fails; this is why I’ve spent years studying success. What are you most curious about? The pursuit of your curiosity is the secret to your success.

2. Perseverance is Priceless

“It’s not that I’m so smart; it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”

Through perseverance the turtle reached the ark. Are you willing to persevere until you get to your intended destination? They say the entire value of the postage stamp consist in its ability to stick to something until it gets there. Be like the postage stamp; finish the race that you’ve started!

3. Focus on the Present

“Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.”

My father always says you cannot ride two horses at the same time. I like to say, you can do anything, but not everything. Learn to be present where you are; give your all to whatever you’re currently doing. Focused energy is power, and it’s the difference between success and failure.

4. The Imagination is Powerful

“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions. Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

Are you using your imagination daily? Einstein said the imagination is more important than knowledge! Your imagination pre-plays your future. Einstein went on to say, “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination.” Are you exercising your “imagination muscles” daily, don’t let something as powerful as your imagination lie dormant.

5. Make Mistakes

“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”

Never be afraid of making a mistake. A mistake is not a failure. Mistakes can make you better, smarter and faster, if you utilize them properly. Discover the power of making mistakes. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again, if you want to succeed, triple the amount of mistakes that you make.

6. Live in the Moment

“I never think of the future – it comes soon enough.”

The only way to properly address your future is to be as present as possible “in the present.” You cannot “presently” change yesterday or tomorrow, so it’s of supreme importance that you dedicate all of your efforts to “right now.” It’s the only time that matters, it’s the only time there is.

7. Create Value

“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.”

Don’t waste your time trying to be successful, spend your time creating value. If you’re valuable, then you will attract success. Discover the talents and gifts that you possess, learn how to offer those talents and gifts in a way that most benefits others. Labor to be valuable and success will chase you down.

8. Don’t Expect Different Results

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

You can’t keep doing the same thing everyday and expect different results. In other words, you can’t keep doing the same workout routine and expect to look differently. In order for your life to change, you must change, to the degree that you change your actions and your thinking is to the degree that your life will change.

9. Knowledge Comes From Experience

“Information is not knowledge. The only source of knowledge is experience.”

Knowledge comes from experience. You can discuss a task, but discussion will only give you a philosophical understanding of it; you must experience the task first hand to “know it.” What’s the lesson? Get experience! Don’t spend your time hiding behind speculative information, go out there and do it, and you will have gained priceless knowledge.

10. Learn the Rules and then Play Better

“You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.”

To put it all in simple terms, there are two things that you must do. The first thing you must do is to learn the rules of the game that you’re playing. It doesn’t sound exciting, but it’s vital. Secondly, you must commit to play the game better than anyone else. If you can do these two things, success will be yours!

Thank you for reading and be sure to pass this article along!

Written by Mr. Self Development who is a motivational author that offers a practical guide to success and wealth; support him by visiting his blog at mrselfdevelopment.com.

1. See the Grand Central Terminal Kaleidoscope Light Show

It’s rush hour, Grand Central is slammed, you’re irritated—then suddenly music chimes, the walls turn neon and you’re surrounded by giant swirling snowflakes, twinkling stars and carousels. This winter wonderland appears every half hour on the half hour, rendering viewers incapable of grumpiness for minutes thereafter. Grand Central Terminal, 42nd St and Lexington Ave.(grandcentralterminal.com). Daily 11am–9pm; free. Through Jan 15.

2. Skate at Rockefeller Center

Give yourself the gift of crowd avoidance: During the week, the rink is significantly less packed, so play hooky and get your glide on. If you can’t cut out of work, haul out of bed on a weekend morning and beeline to 30 Rock; the rink opens at 8am. 30 Rockefeller Plaza between 49th and 50th Sts (212-332-7654, therinkatrockcenter.com)

3. See “Tropical Butterflies Alive in Winter”

At the American Museum of Natural History’s butterfly exhibit, more than 500 live, winged beauties flit through a 1,200-square-foot vivarium. The space is kept at 80 degrees, so you can forgo the long johns. Afterward, check out the AMNH’s Origami Holiday Tree, which is decorated with 26 intricately folded paper creatures. American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th St (212-769-5200, amnh.org). 10:15am–5pm, $24, including suggested admission.

4. Sip your way through City Bakery’s Hot Chocolate Festival

At the 17th annual cocoa fest, a different flavor will be offered every day: beer hot chocolate, love potion hot chocolate, happy hot chocolate and beyond. They all taste great with a big, moist, melted-chocolate-chip cookie. 3 W 18th St between 5th and 6th Aves (212-366-1414, thecitybakery.com); Jan 31-Mar 15.

5. Remember when you wore clothes for fashion instead of warmth at “Dress Codes”

The International Center of Photography’s third photography and video Triennial takes its cues ICP’s Year of Fashion in 2009, with rising stars and established artists exploring fashion as a means of social communication. Somewhere between your current cloth’s message—“I’m cold”—and the comically desperate fashionistas in Cindy Sherman’s work, you’ll find inspiration for when spring buds. 1133 Sixth Ave at 43rd St (212-857-9700, icp.org) Through Jan 17.

6. Escape to the tropics at the New York Botanical Gardens

Ensconce yourself in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory and you may forget the bone-chilling temperatures outside. In the Victorian-style hothouse, visitors shed their outerwear and bask in an indoor rain forest. Afterward, check out the Holiday Train Show. Bronx River Pkwy at Fordham Rd (718-817-8700, nybg.org)

7. Visit the Cloisters

The Met’s medieval art and architecture outpost—set in a lovely park overlooking the Hudson River—is beautiful in the snow. A path winds through the peaceful grounds to a castle that seems to have survived the Middle Ages. (It was built a mere 70 years ago, using pieces of five medieval French cloisters.) Check out the famous Unicorn Tapestries, the 12th-century Fuentidueña Chapel and the Annunciation Triptych by Robert Campin, all of which will have you singing Gregorians in no time. 99 Margaret Corbin Dr, Fort Tryon Park, Washington Heights (212-923-3700; metmuseum.org)

8. Treat yourself to Winter Restaurant Week

Winter Restaurant Week begins January 25th. Make your reservations ASAP to score wallet-friendly deals at many of the city’s best restaurants. Suddenly, Eleven Madison Park is in your price range. See nycgo.com/restaurantweek for a full listing of restaurants. Jan 25-Feb 7.

9. Explore the Morgan Library & Museum

This Madison Avenue institution began as the private library of savvy financier J. Pierpont Morgan, and is his artistic gift to the city. Building on the collection Morgan amassed in his lifetime, the museum houses first-rate works on paper, including drawings by Michelangelo, Rembrandt and Picasso; three Gutenberg Bibles; a copy of Frankenstein annotated by Mary Shelley; manuscripts by Dickens, Poe, Twain, Steinbeck and Wilde; sheet music handwritten by Beethoven and Mozart; and an original edition of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol that’s displayed every yuletide. Even on a gray day the main entrance hall is flooded with natural light, making the museum’s café a nice spot for lunch or an afternoon snack. 225 Madison Ave at 36th St (212-685-0008, themorgan.org)

10. Go to the New York Aquarium

After you’ve thrilled to eerie moon jellyfish, fierce sharks and adorable black-footed penguins, be sure to say hi to Squirt, the aquarium’s giant Pacific octopus. Then pop on some glasses for “Planet Earth: Shallow Seas,” a 4-D show that takes viewers into the ocean, complete with crashing waves and salty spray. The ongoing sea lion show, featuring four-year-old Duke, delights kids and adults alike (daily 11:45am, 4pm). Surf Ave at 8th St, Coney Island, Brooklyn (718-265-3474, nyaquarium.com)

11. Visit the Brooklyn Brewery

The name of the game at one of New York’s most successful breweries is beer. The name of the game in the Tasting Room is cheap beer. For four bucks, you get one token, redeemable for the onsite brew of your choice. Settle at one of the picnic tables and sip a smooth Brooklyn Pilsner or seasonal Black Stout Chocolate. Don’t hold back. The more you drink, the more you support a clean environment: The brewery is now 100 percent wind-powered, so getting wasted is now a whole lot greener. 79 North 11th St between Berry St and Wythe Ave, Williamsburg, Brooklyn (718-486-7422, brooklynbrewery.com).

12. Go to the Guggenheim for free

The Guggenheim is as famous for its landmark building—designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and restored for its 50th birthday in 2009—as it is for its impressive collection and daring temporary shows. The museum owns Peggy Guggenheim’s trove of Cubist, Surrealist and Abstract Expressionist works, along with the Panza di Biumo Collection of American Minimalist and Conceptual art from the 1960s and ’70s. Lesser-known fact: Admission is free from 5:45pm-7:45pm on Saturdays. 1071 Fifth Ave at 89th St (212-423-3500, guggenheim.org)

13. Go to the Rose Center for Earth & Space

At this spectacular silver globe—dazzling to encounter on a winter night—you can discover the universe via 3-D shows in the Hayden Planetarium and light shows in the Big Bang Theater. Current offerings include Journey to the Stars,” a space show narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, and “SonicVision,” a collaboration between MTV2 and pop maestro Moby (he mixed the soundtrack featuring Radiohead, Goldfrapp, Coldplay and U2) that’s a computer-animated dreamscape, beamed onto the interior of the planetarium’s dome ($15). American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th St (212-769-5100, amnh.org)

Read more: http://newyork.timeout.com/articles/own-this-city/81134/101-things-to-do-in-new-york-city-in-the-winter

VATICAN CITY—Pope Benedict XVI addressed artists, actors and musicians in the splendor of the Sistine Chapel on Saturday to renew the Catholic church’s friendship with the world of art and remind them they were “custodians of beauty in the world.”

“Through your art, you yourselves are to be heralds and witnesses of hope for humanity,” he said.

But he warned them to guard against “seductive but hypocritical” beauty that creates “indecency, transgression or gratuitous provocation.”

Benedict spoke to more than 250 people – painters, sculptors, architects, writers, dancers, musicians, actors and directors seated amid the frescoed beauty of the Sistine Chapel.

The mainly Italian audience included such leading names as Oscar-winning director Giuseppe Tornatore, singer Andrea Bocelli and ballet dancer Carla Fracci.

Benedict noted the history of the Sistine Chapel as the location where cardinals assemble to elect popes and where “I myself … experienced the privileged moment of my election as successor of the Apostle Peter.”

“Let us allow these frescoes to speak to us today,” he said, referring to Michelangelo’s The Last Judgement.

The pope said the church’s friendship with the art world has been strengthened over time but must be “continually promoted and supported.”

See original article here : YellowBrix, Inc.

ONE.

Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

TWO.

Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE.

Don’t believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

FOUR.

When you say, ‘I love you,’ mean it.

FIVE.

When you say, ‘I’m sorry,’ look the person in the eye.

SIX.

Be engaged at least six months before you get married..

SEVEN.

Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT.

Never laugh at anyone’s dreams. People who don’t have dreams don’t have much.

NINE.

Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it’s the only way to live life completely.

TEN.

In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.

ELEVEN.

Don’t judge people by their relatives.

TWELVE.

Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN.

When someone asks you a question you don’t want to answer, smile and ask, ‘Why do you want to know?’

FOURTEEN.

Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

FIFTEEN.

Say ‘bless you’ when you hear someone sneeze.

SIXTEEN.

When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.

SEVENTEEN.

Remember the three R’s: Respect for self, Respect for others, and Responsibility for all your actions.

EIGHTEEN.

Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

NINETEEN.

When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it .

TWENTY.

Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

TWENTY ONE.

Spend some time alone.

Everything works out in the end, although the end isn’t always what you expect.

Everything repeats, but not in a karma-tastic way. We grow up learning to repeat behavior that we see. Abused become the abusers, rich stay rich, etc… This sign hopefully forces any viewer to recognize this human default we have and think about
how they can change it within themselves…

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.