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Travel Postcard: 48 Hours in Cooperstown, New York

COOPERSTOWN, New York (Reuters Life!) – Until someone writes an opera about Babe Ruth, opera and baseball might seem like an odd couple, but one small town in upstate New York offers both -- and more.

Cooperstown, New York, which is located on Otsego Lake, the latter fictionalized as Glimmerglass Lake in the novels of James Fenimore Cooper, is home to The National Baseball Hall of Fame and The Glimmerglass Opera, a festival of opera and song.

Two other attractions are The Fenimore Art Museum and The Farmer's Museum, across the street from each other.

Reuters correspondents with local knowledge help visitors make the most of a short visit to the town where carefully maintained Victorian homes give it its character.

FRIDAY

Noon - Arrive in advance of a 3 p.m. check-in at the Otesaga Resort Hotel or at any of Cooperstown's charming and less pricey bed & breakfasts.

12:15 p.m. - Stroll over to Cooperstown's most famous attraction, The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. The museum's collections allow visitors to appreciate the historical development of baseball and its impact on American culture. Visit the Hall of Fame, honoring the sport's most distinguished players.

1 p.m. - Attend the Hall of Fame's Authors Series, included with admission.

2 p.m. - Visit the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum's permanent exhibits, including those on The Negro Leagues, baseball writers and "Viva Baseball!," which celebrates the talent of Latin American players.

3 p.m. - After the museum relax with a cool drink on Main Street at The Cooperstown Diner, The Doubleday Cafe, Danny's Mainstreet Market. Or enjoy some fresh cookies at Schneider's Bakery. A pumpkin spice cookie with chocolate chips is recommended.

4 p.m. - Return to your hotel for a rest before dinner.

5:30 p.m. - Visit the Hawkeye Bar and Grill downstairs at the Otesaga Resort Hotel where you can eat inside or on the outdoor terrace, enjoying a close-up view of Otsego Lake.

6:45 p.m. - In July and August, catch the Trolley in front of the hotel for a 7:30 p.m. performance in the Glimmerglass Opera Festival's intimate 914-seat Alice Busch Opera Theater, on the shore of the lake.

In autumn, enjoy a ride on the Cooperstown Blues Express from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. featuring rolling live Blues music on the Cooperstown & Charlotte Valley Railroad (607-432-2429) or - at 8:00 p.m. - an evening of contradance at the First Presbyterian Church featuring fiddler Henry Jankiewicz and guitarist Tom Hodgson, with Bob Nicholson calling. No partner or experience necessary.

SATURDAY

8 a.m. - Walk through Cooperstown's scenic streets. Get a cup of coffee and a morning newspaper on Main Street and pick up some fresh produce at the Farmers' Market before returning to your hotel for breakfast.

9:30 a.m. - Take the Trolley to The Farmers' Museum at 5775 State Highway 80. One of the oldest rural life museums in the country, it includes a working farmstead, a historic village, and The Empire State Carousel, a popular ride for children as well as a work of art.

11:00 a.m. - Take advantage of the Farmers' Museum special program on bees and honey (and make some yourself)!

11:30 a.m. - Cross the street to The Fenimore Art Museum to see the John Singer Sargent exhibit: "Portraits in Praise of Women," as well as "Empire Waists, Bustles & Lace: A Century of New York Fashion," and "In Our Time: The World as Seen by Magnum Photographers."

The Fenimore's permanent exhibits include "The Coopers of Cooperstown" about the family of James Fenimore Cooper, born in 1789 and considered America's first novelist, "The Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection of American Indian Art" and "American Memory: Recling the Past in Folk Art."

1:00 - Enjoy a light lunch at the Fenimore Museum's cafe. Choose an outdoor table and take in the peaceful atmosphere and perfect view of Otsego Lake.

2:00 - Hop on the Trolley back to Main Street and see more art, this time displayed on the porch and lawn of the Cooperstown Art Association by the Association's members.

The indoor gallery features "The Art of the Vessel," a craft invitational show exclusively for New York State artisans. There is also a solo show, "The Myth of Creation," by artist Amir Hariri.

4:00 p.m. - Browse and shop on Main Street. Pick up some reading material at Willis Monie Used and Rare Books at 139 Main Street. Check out Brenda Berstler's gift shop, Savor New York, devoted to items made in New York State. Almond buttercrunch, mango peach preserves and locally made scented soaps are just a few of the items she stocks.

6 p.m. - For dinner, try the continental cuisine at Alex and Ika's Restaurant at 149 Main Street or Italian food at Nicoletta's Italian Cafe at 96 Main Street. There is also a themed dinner at 7 p.m. at The Smithy-Pioneer Art Gallery where the concert series presents Baye Kouyate's African drum band.

8 p.m. - If you like American country music, go to the Sugarland concert at Cooperstown's Doubleday Field. Vocal group Little Big Town & singer-songwriter Ellis Paul are guests.

SUNDAY

10 a.m. - Walk to Lakefront Park to enjoy stunning views of the lake. Take a one-hour Otsego Lake tour on The Glimmerglass Queen Tour Boat, departing from Lakefront Park. (Reservations: 607-547-9511)

Noon - Walk to the Otesaga Hotel for brunch. Sit indoors in the formal dining room or outdoors on the expansive porch. Make a reservation and request a table with a view of the lake.

2 p.m. - Enjoy the one-hour concert at the hotel of the Cooperstown Community Band, an ensemble that has entertained the greater Cooperstown area for 149 years with popular tunes and patriotic marches.

Outside Groups' Campaign Expenditures Have Doubled

Outside organizations have shelled out twice as much on ads and other electioneering activities to affect Congressional races so far during the 2010 election cycle as they did two years ago.

Unions, political parties and advocacy groups have spent more than $34.2 million on independent expenditures so far during this election, compared with less than $16.2 million at this time in the 2008 election, according to a CQ MoneyLine study of Federal Election Commission reports.

"It's staggering amounts of money," said David Vance, spokesman for the Campaign Legal Center. "People have made big promises to spend, but so far they are keeping pace with those big promises."

Through the third week of August, these organizations doled out more than $18 million on independent expenditures for and against Senate candidates, which is 10 times more than the amount spent on Senate races during the same period two years ago.

The race that attracted the most money was the May 18 Democratic Senate primary in Arkansas, in which incumbent Sen. Blanche Lincoln defeated Lt. Gov. Bill Halter. More than 82 percent of the nearly $9.5 million spent on independent expenditures favored Halter. But he only received 48 percent of the vote, giving Lincoln the victory.

Independent expenditure spending does not always determine the winner of a Congressional race, but this spending can supplement a campaign enough to tip the scales in some races.

Outside funding helped tea party favorite Joe Miller unseat Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Even though Miller was outspent 7-to-1 by Murkowski's campaign, outside groups spent 94 percent of their $565,000 to help him pull out a narrow victory for the Republican Senate nomination.

"When we get involved, we could make a difference between winning and loosing," said Sal Russo, chief strategist for the Tea Party Express, which was the source of nearly all of Miller's outside money.

This election cycle, the Tea Party Express, through its Our Country Deserves Better political action committee, has come out of nowhere to become the fourth-largest source of independent expenditures with $2.7 million.

"Whether it is Sharron Angle in Nevada, Joe Miller or getting Bart Stupak to quit in Michigan," Russo said, "I think those are all places where we have made the difference."

Other Senate contests leading in independent expenditures so far during the 2010 election cycle include:

- Massachusetts, where more than two-thirds of the $2.7 million spent favored Democrat Martha Coakley, but she lost to Republican Scott P. Brown in January;

- Nevada, where virtually all of the $1.7 million spent has supported Republican candidate Sharron Angle or gone against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid;

- Missouri, where 90 percent of the $1 million spent favored Democrat Robin Carnahan, who is running against Rep. Roy Blunt during the fall.

A contentious primary season and recent special elections have also bolstered spending to affect the elections for House candidates. So far, outside groups spent $16.2 million on these contests -- an increase of 11 percent over a similar period during the 2008 election.

The House races that have attracted the most money since January 2009 include:

- New York's 23rd district, where nearly $3.5 million was spent by outside groups to influence who would replace Republican John M. McHugh, who resigned to become secretary of the Army. Ultimately, Democrat Bill Owens defeated Conservative Doug Hoffman in November 2009.

- New York's 20th district, where 72 percent of nearly $2.5 million in independent expenditures were spent to try to elect Republican James Tedisco to a seat vacated by Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. But Democrat Scott Murphy won the seat in April 2009.

- Pennsylvania's 12th district, where outside groups spent morehan $2.2 million to help determine who would succeed Democrat John P. Murtha after his death. The outside spending narrowly favored Democrat Mark Critz, who defeated Republican Tim Burns in May.

It is still early in the election season for independent expenditures, and such spending is expected to increase dramatically in upcoming weeks. At this point during the 2008 election cycle, groups had shelled out just one-tenth of the $152 million ultimately spent to affect Congressional races.

One of the key factors that could increase spending over the 2008 cycle is the Supreme Court's ruling earlier this year in a case called Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, in which the court ruled that corporations, nonprofits and labor unions can use their own treasuries to fund political ads and influence federal elections.

"With the number of races in play and the amount of money that has been unleashed on the system by Citizens United," Vance said, "it's not going to slow down."

Such spending does have to be reported to the FEC, but the means for disclosure remain murky until the agency issues final rules on the subject after the election.

Some of the organizations spending the most on independent expenditures so far during the 2010 election cycle are the Service Employees International Union, with more than $6.4 million, and the AFL-CIO, with nearly $3.7 million.

As expected, party committees also have played a large role in these elections. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has spent more than $2.8 million, while the National Republican Congressional Committee has doled out nearly $2.7 million so far. Those numbers are fractions of what they will ultimately spend.

#yn-theweek-banner img { display:block; }Is Alaska poised to elect a Tea Party senator?

New York – Sarah and Todd Palin's friend Joe Miller seems ready to claim the GOP Senate nomination in deep-red AK. Time to notch a Senate seat for the insurgents?

In her still-undecided GOP primary, Sen. Lisa Murkowski trails Sarah Palin-endorsed lawyer Joe Miller by 1,668 votes, with about 25,000 ballots outstanding. If Miller holds onto his lead, establishment candidate Murkowski's best hope for re-election would be finding another slot on the ballot — but Alaska's Libertarian Party seemingly quashed that possibility on Monday when it announced she would . In deep-red Alaska, does the Libertarian decision mean that the Tea Party has effectively locked up a seat in the Senate?

If Miller can get past Murkowski, it's Tea Party time: Assuming he prevails, Miller would be the "heavy favorite" in November, . "A Senator Miller would join a growing cohort" of anti-establishment Republican senators — "tea partiers plus like-minded veterans led by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) — who owe little or nothing to GOP leadership and the party establishment."

No, a Miller win actually opens the door for Dems: Murkowski and Miller would have been neck-and-neck in a three-candidate race, , with Democrat Scott McAdams trailing far behind. But if Murkowski's not on the ballot, Democrat McAdams suddenly has a real shot — many of Murkowski's supporters find Miller's Tea Party views "toxic," and would be likely to side with McAdams.

And expect them to make the most of it: The balance of the Senate could hinge on this race, , so expect the Democrats to do more than just hope little-known McAdams can pull out a head-to-head contest with Miller. "The buzz on the Internet" suggests the the Democrats may pressure McAdams to relinquish the nomination so a higher-profile candidate — say, former Gov. Tony Knowles — can take on Miller. 

Don't count Murkowski out quite yet: "In Alaska, it's not over even when it's over," . The current Libertarian candidate Scott Haase tells me that he would consider handing over his ballot slot to Murkowski, regardless of what his party bosses have decided, if she will agree to "hoist his banner on behalf of nationalizing the Federal Reserve System... and abolishing the individual income tax." Clearly, this remains a fluid situation.

View this article on GetIssues of The Week

Other stories from this topic:Flashback: Opinion Brief: Controversy:  -  - 

Simon Carter Found on the Emmy’s Red Carpet on Lost's Henry Ian Cusick

Cusick’s multi-ethnic looks and Scottish burr charm fan’s of the Series Lost on ABC.

Los Angles, CA (PRWEB) August 30, 2010 -- The Nokia Theater was once again the center of the fashionuniverse as Hollywood’s Elite walked the Red Carpet for the 62 Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. The shinning stars of the hottest shows on television were glowing in glitter, glamour, and sharing their personal style.

Among the Paparazzi flashes and throngs of celebrities was the London Chic style made popular by Simon Carter. Henry Ian Cusick, star of ABC’s hit series lost, wore a customer made formal collection with vest and trimmed in gross grain on the lapels. Simon Carter, the British designer, and his London Chic look continues to be the designer of choice for Hollywood’s elite.Henry was joined by his wife Annie who wore an Addy Van Den Kromennacker creation. The couple was a crowd favorite as camera lenses of entertainment news are taking a moment to focus on their tasteful choice in Red Carpet Attire.

“The Red Carpet is an important metric of success and serves to honor an actor for his work in the industry. With this is mind, the style choices are critical. Simon Carter is proving to be the ideal choice for male celebrities looking to express their own personal style,” says Tim Danser, VP of Bagir International, which represents Simon Carter in North America.

Henry Ian Cusick who began his career as a classical theater actor took his largest role of his career so far in 2005 where he was cast as Desmond Hume in the ABC critically acclaimed series LOST. Originally a recurring guest star in the second season (for which he received an Emmy nomination), Cusick became a member of the main cast from seasons three to six.Cusick won the role when, while staying at the home of his friend Brian Cox, he met Cox's next-door neighbor Carlton Cuse, the executive producer of Lost. Cusick believes: "A seed was planted, because they had been looking for either a Scottish or Irish character. Now with the series completed, Cusick’s character ended up being a pivotal and essential to the story plot unfolding and earning him another chance at Emmy gold. A fan favorite episode of the series focused primarily on Desmond Hume’s back story and this same episode is often considered one of the best in the series. Cusick appears in 71 episodes of the series which boosts 48 Awards and 188 Nominations.

Simon Carter's signature London Chic lifestyle has been a favorite for Hollywood’s Red Carpets for every major Award show. High profile celebrities such as Jason Mraz, Alice In Chains, Adrian Grenier, Josh Sussman, Edin Gali, Crispin Glover, Russel Wetanson, Mike Inez, and Dennis Keene shined on one of the most important nights in their life with Simon Carter. These A-listers Simon Carter fans are in good company with other international celebrities such asWill and Jada Pinkett Smith, Robert Downey Jr., Jonathan Ross, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, members of Duran Duran, the West Ham United football team, Stanley Cup winner Glenn Anderson, Paul Raffin the former CEO of Limited, and Melissa Gonzalez, the founder of RS Pop.

“Henry Ian Cusick already enjoys a sizable fan base, thanks to his acclaimed stage performances in the United Kingdom.We are honored he choose Simon Cater on his night of nights,”Danser added, “it is like bringing two English Icons together to live the American Dream."

About Simon Carter

Simon Carter, the "King of Cufflinks", is known for excellent quality and great design with a touch of British wit. Simon retains the hallmarks of class and high fashion which are always London chic. West End by Simon Carter is retro cool, fun, and edgy while Simon Carter London is the modern gentleman’s brand.

Simon Carter has its flagship store in Covent Garden, London and boutiques in Toronto, Osaka and Tokyo and is also available globally in stockist such as Bloomingdales, Lord and Taylor, Selfridges, John Lewis, Brown Thomas and David Jones, and in a growing number of specialty stores worldwide. Simon Carter London and West End by Simon Carter clothing lines are manufactured in an exclusive partnership with Bagir International.

About Bagir

Bagir is an exceptional designer and manufacturer of men's fashion with innovation and technology. A triad of excellence receiving international awards such as The Queens Award for Innovation, and Israeli Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor Award, Bagir is one of Europe's largest suppliers of commercial men suiting. In addition to Simon Carter and M&S, Bagir provides tailored suits in Europe for fashion giants such as Kenneth Cole, Next, Patrick Cox, Moss Brothers, Balmain, Burton, Belissimo and has its sights on the US market. Bagir is a leader and multiple patent holders in textile innovations, and designs. With technology innovation as a building block Bagir continues to be a juggernaught by turning their focus wholeheartedly to fashion and design. With their London Design Center, Bagir continues being the leader of commercial fashion by leveraging their expertise of UK fashion and their collection archives to create fashion forward designs for all their global markets.

To learn more about Bagir and Simon Carter contact:

Tim DanserVP of MarketingBagir International499 Fashion AveNew York, NY 10018

212.560.9650

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