Hasta La Gadget!

It’s no big secret that television “diversity” these days often means casting a black actor as the incongruous best friend of the lead actor in an otherwise all-white world.

Joseph Sikora’s Tommy Egan in the Starz drama Power is the flip side. He’s the white best friend in an otherwise almost all-black world.

Sikora gets the irony. In fact, he says with a laugh, “I’m playing the white best friend again in my next project,” Jacob’s Ladder with Michael Ealy.

But on Power, which airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET, Tommy Egan isn’t the good-natured sidekick who rarely gets much of a story of his own. Tommy’s right there in the heart of Power, and without him one of the best shows on television would be very different.

Nor is Tommy the admirable white guy, like Alec Baldwin in Mississippi Burning and dozens of other shows, who nobly saves mistreated black folks.

No, Tommy is a mean-eyed cat in a show full of psycho-killers, a status confirmed two weeks ago when his impulsive act of ultra-violence created one of those scenes that makes everything stop while the characters and the viewers try to absorb what he just did.

Tommy Egan is the running buddy of James “Ghost” St. Patrick (Omari Hardwick) (above). Their backstory is unfolding gradually, but Tommy grew up on the shady side of the law and got most of his education on the street.

When Power launched, Ghost and Tommy were jointly running a drug distribution network with different personal goals. The elegant, polished Ghost wanted to make enough money to open the high-end nightclub his father always dreamed about. Tommy wanted to make money, period.

“Tommy isn’t the kind of guy who thinks about what he’ll be doing when he’s 60,” says Sikora. “He knows that in his line of work, he’ll probably never get there. So he’s looking for more immediate rewards. To Tommy, every day is a gift.”

But for now, Tommy and Ghost are linked.

“They’re two sides of the same coin,” says Sikora. “What Tommy lacks, Ghost has, and vice versa.”

In a world where almost no one trusts anyone else, Ghost and Tommy trusted each other – until late in Season 2, when they fell out.

Ghost wanted to go legit, quit the drug game, settle down with a family. Tommy wanted to keep the drug deal going. Each feared the other was going to screw it up.

The last few episodes have brought them back into a common world, but perhaps with a new edge.

“They’re both on journeys of self-discovery,” says Sikora. “But between them, they’re not just having a little dispute. This is serious. The question is can it be rectified, and I think it can’t.

“They’re both going to use what they know about each other, and that’s almost everything. It’s like a male/female breakup, where someone says maybe we can still be friends. Can they? Or will they just fall back into old habits?”

Forgiving is tough in the life-or-death world of Power, where Ghost’s attempt to break away from the drug world is complicated by the fact his mentor Kanan (Fifty Cent) just got out of prison and wants to get back into the game himself.

Trusting anyone on Power can be dangerous.

“It’s the KRS-One line,” says Sikora. “If you’re soft, you’re lost.”

Still, Sikora’s Tommy isn’t just a cold psychopath.

“Tommy’s different when you see him in a family situation,” says Sikora. “Like with Ghost’s wife (Naturi Naughton, above) or the kids. He does regular things. He’s completely different from when he’s on the street.”

Tommy is also funny, on a show whose storyline doesn’t leave a lot of openings for laughs.

There’s a scene early in the third season where Tommy is auditioning potential new drug clients, and in each of the scenes he’s stuffing his face while he negotiates, talking between bites.

“Sometimes Tommy is the comic relief,” says Sikora, whose own comic resume includes work on Adult Swim. “But he doesn’t think of himself as funny. The important thing is never acknowledge your own joke.”

Still, the heart of Tommy’s story and in some ways the heart of the show is his relationship with Ghost, which Sikora says is complicated enough that he’s still piecing it together himself.

It helps, he says, that “Omari and I are friends outside the set. We know each other pretty well, and I think that shows in the scenes between Tommy and Ghost. It looks like we’ve known each other all our lives.

“I’m so grateful to work with Omari. You can tell these guys have a real understanding of each other.”

Writer Courtney Kemp set Tommy up nicely, Sikora says, and then he filled in some of the other colors.

“I developed a backstory for Tommy, with Omari,” he says. “We drove through Queens, to the places where Tommy grew up. Fifty took us to his old neighborhood and we talked to some of the people there.”

Power finishes its third season Sept. 25 and it’s been renewed for seasons four and five. That’s a long time for any character on this show to survive, including Tommy Egan, but Sikora says the best friend shouldn’t be underestimated.

“Tommy is smarter than he thinks he is,” says Sikora. “In the past, Ghost would tell him, ‘This is your part.’ Now that Tommy has been putting together his own operation, he’s feeling like ‘Hey, I know these things. I was learning from Ghost all those years.’ He just has to rely more on finesse.”

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The Hotel Elysée in mid-town Manhattan

When staying in New York City, there is no better experience than rooming in a piece of history. The Hotel Elysée, a long standing landmark hotel designed in the 1920’s, and once a playground for the rich and famous, offers an extraordinary oasis of European charm in demanding city of cement and steel.

Walking the enchanting interiors of this traditional hotel makes one appreciate the commitment to maintaining an atmosphere of discreet elegance from another time. Carefully maintained architectural details, lodgings decorated with antiques and the finest materials to the framed art work in the corridors and rooms, the hotel creates an atmosphere of vibrant luxury that feels as vital today as when it was established. It creates a backdrop where one expects to pass the luminaries of the past in the hotel hallways today.

The hotel became the home of choice to many celebrities and literary stars from the golden ages of film, broadway, and sports with such time-honored titans as Tenessee Williams and Harold Robbins and including star power like Marlon Brando, Ava Gardner, Tallula Bankhead, Vladamir Horowitz and sports icon Joe DiMaggio.

Walking into the elegant lobby or your own suite, becomes the best kind of time travel as you feel transported to a time when comfort, style and sophistication was de-facto maintained and personal service was provided unconditionally without reservation.

The club room

The hotel, an award winner for many years, as well as being a top ten hotel in NYC on Trip Advisors, offers a club room on the second floor where guests can relax in club chairs or couches that look out the windows to 54th street. This amenity goes far beyond what most hotels provide as you can relax on your own, or invite friends or clients for casual meetings. The complimentary coffee and espresso bar, pastries and fresh fruit are available to guests throughout the day, along with a wine and cheese offering from 5pm-8pm every evening, including Prosseco and Italian wines and domestic cheeses. A complimentary breakfast buffet is offered as well from 7am to 10:30am. I took advantage of both, choosing to meet friends in town in the club room, as well as taking time for myself inbetween adventurous soujourns I always find myself taking while in the big apple. For more formal business meetings, the hotel has an intimate conference room adjacent to the club room.

Conveniently located at 54th, inbetween Madison and Park Avenue, this luxury boutique hotel has only 100 rooms, allowing for unusual intimacy with their guests which I experienced first hand the few times I required assistance from the front desk. The hotel is only six blocks from central park going north and about the same going south to Broadway with a two avenue hop to the west. Many museums and the best shopping in NYC are mid-town as well, as well as Rockefeller Center and Columbus Circle, St. Patrick’s cathedral, Bloomingdale’s, and some of the most famous restaurants in the world, which are all within easy walking distance. Walking to the Museum of Modern Art from the hotel one evening was a pleasure, as was walking to the Ambassador Theater on Broadway to see the musical Chicago on another. All which made for a perfect New York walking experience. Of course I also visited Chinatown and the Brooklyn Flea market on other days, which was easy with the hotel sitting in the midst of multiple transportation lines.

The bedroom of the Presidential Suite

The rooms themselves are evocative of a time past and the Elysee hotel has maintained and even improved on the commitment of the original owner making each room uniquely true to its European inspirations and sumptuousness.

The hotel hosts junior and premier suites in addition to standard rooms and I had the advantage of experiencing one of three Presidential suites that have surely ruined me for any future hotel stay. The suite is the size of a generous apartment and opens into a large living room with fireplace, and antique furniture that is emblematic of the Ritz in Paris. Through a small hall and passing an enormous closet, one finds the oversized bedroom which sports original paintings from the 1800s and a sumptuous queen bed that gives ample room to stow your luggage or shopping bags, or even have a small cardio barre class if required. The marble tiled bathroom with antique pedestal sink finishes the design perfectly. You know you are having a luxurious hotel experience when you second guess sightseeing in New York City for merely staying in the privacy and comfort of your hotel suite.

The Monkey Bar

To lure you back outside the hotel guests receive complimentary passes to the New York Sports Club in addition to concierge assistance to any culture events that may entice you. Being a health-o-file gym addict, I took advantage of the opportunity and had a terrific boxing class with ‘Santana’ at a gym location only five blocks away. That made a return to my luxurious suite all the more important so I could collapse and recover before dinner.

The Monkey Bar, the legendary new York nightspot, is the famous new York restaurant which opened in the depression and sits attached to the hotel. It has hosted such great performers as Jonny Payne and Mel Martin and was a watering hole for many great sports and Hollywood legends and Joe DiMaggio’s presence is felt here again. It maintains its great romantic old world quality with its booths of plush fabric and fine linens. You can choose to have a quick drink at the bar before an evening out, or plan to make your entire evening there. The restaurant’s unique menu is also available through room service.

My suite was dedicated to Tennessee Williams and several photographs and collections of his plays were on display. A framed picture of the playwright hangs on the wall incorporating a letter he wrote to a friend in the late 1950s in which he explains he’ll be working on a new Broadway production and staying in the hotel Elysée while in New York City. Based on the timing of the letter one figures the play is most likely “Sweet Bird of Youth.” It stirred memories of Jimmy Breslin’s famous story of a hotel guest at the Elysee complaining of a ‘man typing’ at 5am one morning so often that they couldn’t sleep. The front desk would never share that it was Tennessee Williams writing his play next door. Discreet enough not to bother Mr. Williams while wanting to help a guest in need, they merely moved the other guest to a room further away. That consideration is how a hotel maintains its status among the best heeled and the same discretion and care is on display today.

For an unparalleled stay in timeless old world elegance, the Hotel Elysée is a one of a kind experience.

Rooms at the Hotel Elysée come with free wi-fi, minibars, flat screen tv’s and some suites come with kitchenettes (as did mine). The club room doubles as a business center for computer needs or printing. Valet parking is available, as well as 24 hour concierge service and even baby sitting.

For more information on The Hotel Elysée

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INDIANAPOLIS – Thunderstorms and tornadoes plowed through central Indiana on Wednesday, demolishing numerous homes and a Starbucks cafe in Kokomo and cutting power to thousands of Indianapolis-area residents, but no serious injuries were immediately reported.

The National Weather Service issued a bulletin saying a “confirmed large and extremely dangerous” tornado had struck near Indianapolis, the state’s capital and largest city, as severe storms rolled through the region in the late afternoon.

The Weather Service also reported that a Starbucks coffee shop was demolished in Kokomo, a city of 45,000 people about 60 miles (97 km) north of Indianapolis, but said there were no immediate reports of anyone hurt.

Video footage apparently shot with a cellphone through the window of a bar across the street and aired by Indianapolis-based NBC News affiliate WTHR-TV showed the entire front wall and facade of the Starbucks collapsing in the wind.

Aerial footage of Kokomo broadcast by WTHR showed a five-block residential area where at least 10 homes were largely obliterated and several others heavily damaged by the storm.

Indiana State Police Sergeant Tony Slocum said in a Twitter message that numerous structures were damaged in Kokomo, with an unspecified number of minor injuries reported in the surrounding county.

The Salvation Army of Indiana reported assisting 200 people in need of food and shelter in the immediate aftermath of the storms. Indianapolis public education officials delayed sending school children home on buses for nearly two hours, waiting until the weather cleared before dismissing the students, the school district said.

AccuWeather.com reported that two severe thunderstorms had produced tornadoes, one just northwest of Indianapolis and the other in the Kokomo area, which according to media reports appeared to have borne the brunt of the storms. 

Television station WLS-TV in Chicago, an ABC News affiliate, reported that at least five tornadoes had struck Indiana, hitting the towns of Kokomo, Arcana, Geneva and Crawfordsville.

WTHR reported that in addition to the flattened Starbucks, a tornado had caused substantial damage to a shopping mall. Footage posted on the station’s website showed a dark, swirling storm with flashes of lightning as cars passed by along wet roads in the area.

Photos posted on social media showed homes with siding ripped off and scattered debris in yards. Another photo showed a barn reduced to rubble.

Indiana Governor Mike Pence, the Republican vice presidential nominee, tweeted: “Keeping Hoosiers and first responders in our prayers as dangerous weather moves through Indiana.” His Twitter page said he was leaving the campaign trail to return to Indiana.

More than 22,000 customers were without power north of Indianapolis, Duke Energy reported. Another utility, the Indianapolis Power and Light Company, said roughly 11,000 customers were without electricity in the afternoon.

Howard County issued a state of emergency to remain in effect until 9 p.m. EDT (0100 GMT Thursday).

Tornado warnings were issued before 3 p.m. as a storm moved through Boone and Montgomery counties, including Crawfordsville, a city of some 16,000 residents about 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Indianapolis 

(Additional reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago, Eric Walsh in Washington, Eric M. Johnson in Seattle and Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, Calif.; Writing by Steve Gorman; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

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It won’t shock you to hear that many companies see lawsuits as opportunities for profit. Patent trolls base their entire businesses around it, after all. And now, they may use technology to help that happen. Legalist, a young startup, is trying to bu…

While poachers are considered destructive criminals of the first order, few think of society as harboring a similar, if less blatant mentality in the handling of natural resources.

Yet a poacher-like attitude is more pervasive in society than one would expect, with instant gratification resulting in behavior that “kills the goose that lays the golden egg”.

It’s easy to separate ourselves as law-biding citizens from the heinous acts of poachers. Public outage is widespread at the wanton desecration of such species as the elephant and rhino, propelling them towards extinction.

On the European continent, it is easy to denounce French poachers’ illegal pursuit of an immediate payoff from the trapping and wholesale depletion of goldfinches. Criminal traffickers are selling these wild song birds, which the public unfortunately snaps up as household pets. The methodology for capturing these birds produces cruel collateral damage in which nine goldfinches perish for every one recovered. Not surprisingly, in the past 16 years, the once ubiquitous goldfinch population in France has been reduced by half and the carnage continues, despite stepped up law enforcement. At some point, the poachers could conceivably exhaust the population and then move on to the next bird “du jour”.

Bad news, but is humanity in general engaged all too often in a variation of the poacher’s same reckless behavior?

In that vein, I think back years ago to a drive in the Chinese countryside. An eerie silence prevailed over the land. No birds, no insects, or other signs of wildlife were in evidence. The only animals to be observed were some domesticated stock when one passed an occasional farm.

The mystery was dispelled when I entered a nearby town and visited its open market. For sale primarily as culinary fare or decoration was every life form, big or small that had once inhabited the surrounding countryside.

This is an extreme example, but the truth is that no people are immune at times from being moved by greed, desperation, or some other motivation to care only for the moment in exploiting a resource.

The July 2014 Science Magazine identified 322 birds, mammals, and reptiles eradicated due to human activity. Most were probably not depleted in the purposeful fashion of the poacher, but the outcome was the same.

In our own country, streams that were once drinkable no longer are as a result of human activity. Some marine species have been decimated from overfishing, and forests with rare plants have been stripped bare. Wolves were wiped out in the Rocky Mountain West at agricultural interests’ request, upsetting the balance of nature.

Are poachers an advance team for a human race of two-legged lemmings inexorably caught in a fatal march to the sea? Or will mankind be able to pull back from the brink and commit itself to a sustainable use of the earth’s remaining natural resources?

Stay tuned.

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