The City of Your Final Destination

[Flint]

The place where you choose to live depends to a large extent on economic factors. After WW1 a lot of American artists and writers (Hemingway, Miller, Scott Fitzgerald, ...) went to live in Paris because the dollar exchange rate was favourable, and it was cheap for them to live there. When the economic circumstances changed, they left.
If I were rich, Manhattan’s Upper West Side would do very nicely for me. Somewhere like 70^th St between Columbus and Central Park West. Nothing very grand, just a little apartment in some nice townhouse. Vargas Llosa used to have an apartment there. (Munoz Molina lives other side of park – no, thank you, too posh for me).
As I’m not likely to become rich, that’s out of the question.
What then?
Sarasota, Florida, might be nice. It has a theatre, an art centre, and an anual film festival. Too hot in summer, though.
San Diego, California, would be ok, but too expensive.
Then it’s southern Europe. Spain, perhaps.
San Sebastian. Beautiful place, great food, but too rainy and too expensive.
Barcelona. Great place, good food, very good bookshops – but too expensive, and too hot and sticky in summer.
Madrid. Good communications, good food, great museums, but it’s getting too noisy and it’s not cheap anymore.
Granada might be my favourite in Spain.
But I think I’d settle for Lisbon. It’s spectacularly beautiful, there is good food, there are some great museums, and it’s not as expensive as most southern European cities.
Somewhere near Rua Saraiva de Carvalho, or Rua Coelho da Rocha, where Pessoa lived at the end of his life. It’s a quiet part of the city, and it’s not far from the Prazeres cemetery: after all, it was going to be the city of my final destination...

[Cleanthess]

I'm currently living at that apex of human civilization, New Jersey (so far from God and so close to NY), home to both Snooki and The Situation. If I could afford to live anywhere I wanted, it would be at Nara, Japan. Maybe live like Salvador Dali at a hotel room, in that case a place like the Fujita Nara or some such would be just fine. Yeah, live with very few material possessions (mostly due to the fact that rooms in Japan ARE small), maybe an E-Reader, a tablet computer and a couple of big MP3 players. Take long walks around Kyoto's and Nara's temples and zen gardens, meditate, reach out for enlightment, oh, and troll internet forums.

[Liam]

I'm currently living at that apex of human civilization, New Jersey (so far from God and so close to NY)...

Too bad I'm leaving the City; but if we're ever around at the same time, give me a shout-out and I'll take you out for a drink (NOT to a gay bar, I promise, ). I've met several fellow WLF-members already, and they all proved to be wonderful folks!

[Cleanthess]

I don't know man... I remember a certain hidden chastity belt being mentioned inside a thread about your 50 favorite novels Who knows, you might even have a dungeon... and a dragon
On the plus side, if you have those in NY you must be rich...hmmmm...

[Liam]

What if I solemnly promise not to... "go medieval on your ass"?

[Hamlet]

Hamlet, precisely which edition of the OED are you referring to. The Oxford Advanced Learner's Encyclopedic Dictionary supports my view. So does the Webster's.

Now I shall take a look at the so-called park that Liam mentions.

Re this debate, and I've just come across this again by chance Eric, I have different versions of the answer to this. In my older Oxford Illustrated Dictionary, your answer is correct, and in a more recent Little Oxford Dictionary my answer is given as the 'last of three or more'. I could fish out the Shorter Oxford Dictionary, but we have a stalemate it seems, unless Webster's gives us checkmate?

The Oxford Illustrated Dic is an older book, which was handed down, but I keep it as it just reads better than some of the more recent dictionaries, does everything always get worse...

[Liam]

In Search of Venice

[Liam]

Dubai in fog:

[kpjayan]

Isn't it an artistic impression. Middle of the desert and all that at the scorching heat...

Couple of days ago I was at the 86th floor of The Kuala Lampur Twin Towers ( the Petronas Towers).. Its the Dubai Al-Burj next, to feel on top of the world.

[Remora]

It was Hemingway who has Jake Barnes say "Wherever you go, there you are" (or something to that effect) to Robert Cohen who wants to leave Spain for Brazil.

I don't think I'll change anytime soon, so I'll just stay where I am. :-)

[Cleanthess]

It was Hemingway who has Jake Barnes say "Wherever you go, there you are" (or something to that effect) to Robert Cohen who wants to leave Spain for Brazil.

I don't think I'll change anytime soon, so I'll just stay where I am. :-)

Maeterlinck wrote something very similar:

If Judas leaves his home tonight, where if not to Judas and to the possibility of betrayal his steps will go? But, if Socrates opens his door, he will find Socrates asleep on his doorstep and the chance of achieving wisdom. Our adventures wander around us like the swarming bees circle their hive.

Si Judas sort ce soir il ira vers Judas et aura l'occasion de trahir, mais si Socrate ouvre sa porte, il trouvera Socrate endormi sur le seuil et aura l'occasiond'etre sage. Nos aventures errent autour de nous comme les abeilles sur le point d'essaimer errent autour de la ruche.

[Liam]

It's snowing in Boston today.

[Hamlet]

Nice pic, Liam, you've got those trees lined up either side of the sun, very precisely.