Toronto, she so pretty

Magnet #372 - Toronto

OK, folks. How freakin' adorable is this magnet? So cute.

Then again, package something up in pretty, pretty colors, and I'm most assuredly your first customer.

I picked this up one of the several times I've been up to Canada. I want to say it was at the mall where we saw Independence Day...the weekend of July 4th. Heh.

I must say that I absolutely loved the city of Toronto - it was marvelously clean, it was not terribly crowded, they have great coffee, and the people are so, so nice. I even went so far as to investigate what publishing houses were up there - Bantam and Harlequin - at the time. But, I ended up staying in NYC, which is not so clean, terribly crowded, sometimes great coffee, and sometimes nice people. Well, yeah, that makes sense. Heh.

Anyway, I picked this one for today, because I was thinking, it's nice that I like Toronto so much...because if the next few weeks don't pan out like I want them to at work, I may just move on up there.

It all seems so unfair! Just when I found you, I lost you!*

Magnet #371 - Sports Museum of America

Noooooooooo! They closed the Sports Museum of America! Nooooooooo, say it ain't so!

I'm so freakin' devastated by this news, you have no idea.

To be fair, I have to admit that when I first saw the advertising for it last year (what little there was of it), I wasn't all that interested in going. Then I saw that the asking price was $27, and I was totally not interested.

While I love going to games and watching boys play sports, or staying at home and watching boys watch boys play sports, I'm just a Carolina basketball fan. The rest of sportsdom (outside of the Summer Olympics, and [shirtless] Karch Kiraly and his volleyball playing/judging/commentating), I'm just not a huge sportsfan.

But, upon watching their sizzle reel (I swear, who thinks sizzle reels don't work?) my sister insisted on going, and they had dropped their prices down to $16, and it was in the Standard Oil building (which I love), so we went.

And (second to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Annex) the SMA became one of my favorite museums in Manhattan. I freakin' loved this museum. We went on a Thursday, and we were the only ones there - which should have been our first sign. We literally saw maybe ten people during our three hours there.

But what fun did we have. Seriously. We got to:

• hog the Heisman Trophy all to ourselves.
• watch their opening video of the greatest moments in sports history twice. And alone. Great video, but Jenny was mad that they didn't include the stupid 2.1-seconds left historical shot that Christian Laettner made to win that Kentucky game, which I saw at the Carolina student union, booing the whole way through. I mean, even Ashley Judd (who, by the way has a great quote about being an obnoxious UK fan under the UK exhibit), has to admit, it was a sweet shot.
  
• play the interactive soccer game. Twice.
• hold ARod's bat. Now we understand why the steroids. I hadn't a clue bats were so heavy.
  
• pretend to be a hockey player on the ice.
• compete in an interactive round of sports trivia.
  
• see a ton of Olympic medals and memorabilia.
• see a ton of just superdupercool general sports memorabilia.
  
• timed ourselves on a balance board, to pretend we were skiing.
• touch basketballs in rapid succession to test our reaction times. I'm awesome, in case you ever want to play one-on-one.
  
• practice our balance beam routines, just like when we did them across the folded blanket and/or sofa for the 84, 88 and probably 92 Olympics.

But the best thing we got to do (made even better because no one was around) - we got to put on the headsets, roll the videotape, and call one of the greatest games in history - Joe Starkey's Call of the 1982 Cal/Stanford Big Game:

Alright here we go with the kick-off. Harmon will probably try to squib it and he does. Ball comes loose and the Bears have to get out of bounds. Rogers along the sideline, another one...they're still in deep trouble at midfield, they tried to do a couple of....the ball is still loose as they get it to Rogers. They get it back to the 30, they're down to the 20...Oh the band is out on the field!! He's gonna go into the endzone!!! He got into the endzone!! Will it count? The Bears have scored but the bands are out on the field.

...The Bears, believe it or not, took it all the way into the endzone. If the penalty is against Stanford, California would win the game. If it is not, the game is over and Stanford has won. We've heard no decision yet. Everybody is milling around on the FIELD!!! AND THE BEARS!!! THE BEARS HAVE WON!!! THE BEARS HAVE WON!!! Oh my God, the most amazing, sensational, traumatic, heart rending... exciting thrilling finish in the history of college football! California has won...the Big Game...over Stanford. Oh excuse me for my voice, but I have never, never seen anything like it in the history of I have ever seen any game in my life! The Bears have won it!

I have never had so much fun at a museum in my entire life. Seriously.

Which is why I'm taking the news about its demise so badly. Do you know that the very next day, I went to work and told at least a handful of boys to go visit it. And now they're closed!

I know it's expensive - it had to be, they spent $93 million to build it! I know it's a crap location, I know there was no advertising (heh, the founder said their crack ad campaign resulted in 95% of NYC residents not knowing about it), but people! Come on!

This is a museum devoted to most of America's national pasttimes!!! Without regard for collegiate or pro, bowling or soccer, NASCAR or Tobacco Road basketball, male or female. How can you not visit - it's practically unAmerican!

Or course, I'm not going to lie, there are things that I would change.

• The cost. It was good they brought it down to $16. It's still a little steep.
  
• The location. Even though I love the wonderfully designed Standard Oil building (curved at the base, but with a tower that was designed to be in line with the Broadway skyline in order not to mess up the sightlines), its location at the tip of Manhattan across from the Charging Bull, is just not the best location ever.
• The signage. Because you're in that gorgeous Standard Oil building, you can't mess it up with supercool signage. No one knows you're there! SMA's the most undercover museum I've ever seen.
  
• The displays. They need to run in there and actually look into some of the displays - some of the wallpaper was falling down.
• The swag. Ok, that's unfair. They have some great swag. I was just sad that this wasn't a real magnet.
• The marketing. I'm a NYC resident and I just happened to find out because a taxi drove by me while I was on a bus. The boys I mentioned it to - boys, mind you - didn't even know of such a museum. Come back, I'll work on your ad campaign for free.
  

Please, oh, please, I just hope some private investor (like I dunno, any ten of the people whose medals and memorabilia are actually featured in the museum) comes to save the day. It's such a fantastic museum, it's a shame to see it go the way of Yankee Stadium, Shea Stadium the dodo bird.

*Kudos to those who actually get this obscure reference to one of my favorite movies of all time. Shut it. I write a blog on magnets. Really? You're judging me for what's behind this link? C'mon. (6:04 for the beginning of this song, but 8:10 for the actual reference to the title. And yes, as soon as I find an appropriate magnet, there will be bloggage on that movie.)

Frolicking with the wee folk

Magnet #370 - Stonehenge

I've never been to Stonehenge, but my sister did, and she's the one who brought me this magnet.

I was planning on going on this last trip, but decided to wait until they start and complete the renovations on the visitor center. And hopefully, they'll be including a revamped website, complete with a Google search term package...it shouldn't be this hard to get information on what's going on with their capital campaign and where they are with design, etc. Jeepers.

I mean, could English Heritage make themselves harder to find? I seriously spent 10 minutes trying to find them online!

Anyway, totally going. Apparently, they have this supercool, superspecial tour that allows you to go monkeying around among the stones!

Right now, you're allowed only so close to them, but not allowed to touch. The supercool tour? Lets you go superearly in the morning, and frolic among the wee folk.

Well, I'm not sure if frolicking among the wee folk in the wee hours is such a good thing to be doing out there - who knows what magix might occur with frolicking among the stones. Or maybe you have to be nekkid for something to happen.

Yes, I may have read one too many supernatural romances set in England. What I want to know is, how come when they talk about the Old Folk - the elves and fairies and dwarves, etc. - how come they're all in Europe. Why don't we have any Old Folk in the US?

In fact, the Philippines actually has folklore dealing with the Old Ones...there's a belief that you should always leave one or two grains of rice on your plate, so that the fairy folk (or whatever they are in the Philippines) can take them. I could swear there's another belief about being careful when you sweep the dust off your porch, for fear of hurting the Old Folk. But I don't think that's Filipino.

Though my mother also likes to wave out the back window from the kitchen table, whenever she's eating - as a sign of respect to the fairies that are hanging out in the woods back there. Honestly, I just think she's really waving at the hunters in the deer stands, in case they're out back....well, hunting.

Or, she's just being Mom.

*waves*

Compassion, joy

Magnet #369 - No Whining

This magnet sits just above the deadbolt of my apartment door. Every time I leave my apartment, this is the magnet that I see.

I do wish that I'd pay more attention to it. And I'm sure my friends, family and coworkers wish that I'd pay more attention to it as well.

Another daily reminder I have is on my wall at work. I have a picture of an emaciated Ghandi, sitting beside his spinning wheel, reading press reports back in 1946. Just across the top of the picture, I have written the phrase "Compassion, joy."

A little pathetic, huh? That I need a visual reminder to have compassion? Actually, the caveat is this: I have no trouble having compassion for other people's very real problems of every day life. It's when our work problems become our very real problems of every day life that I have a problem.

Ghandi reminds me that the work I do doesn't save lives, or even make the world a better place. I added in the "Compassion, joy" to remind me to be more compassionate when people are in my cube or on the phone with me, complaining - about work issues, about their own work situations, about our agency or about our clients.

Someone once mentioned that sometimes I act as though no one else at the agency does any work - that it's just me working hard, and no one else. I'll be honest. Sometimes? Particularly at 2 and 3 in the morning when I'm at the office by myself? Yes. It feels that way.

It's human nature to believe that others don't have it quite as bad. When in reality, everyone has their own set of challenges and opportunities to deal with, no matter what position they're in. My problem is that sometimes it's hard for me to see past my own set of challenges and opportunities to actually feel bad for other people's situations.

They say misery loves company, and this week, sitting with several colleagues in a hotel room at Innisbrook during pajamatime, I've learned that I have company. That I'm not alone in my own challenges and opportunities, that I'm not alone at 2 and 3 in the morning, and that I'm not alone in feeling overworked, underappreciated, and like no one else is working quite as hard. Which, oddly, makes me happy.

And so that's why I keep Ghandi's compassionate reminder at my desk.

It's advertising - we're not saving lives here. Sometimes, it just feels like we are.

eta:
Mind you, I would like to propose that the world just follow a pajamatime dress code. I'm way more productive in my jammies than I ever am in a stupid monkey suit.

eta2:
Double mind you, I am SO happy I packed appropriate jammies for this business trip. Had I known that coworkers would see me in them, I might have chosen an alternative plaid print and T-shirt.

Ummm, no. That's a lie. And a blatant one at that.

Never trust a nun with a gun. Especially one who's a cat.*

Magnet #368 - Novice Hame

This is a novice. This is a cat. And of course, you'd only know Novice Hame if you watched Doctor Who.

I'm using her for today because first, I just had to go check my FB friends list to see if I've inadvertently friended a cat. No. I'm serious.

Folks. They have those pets-only social networking sites. Go use those. Don't be suggesting me to be Facebook friends with a cat. Seriously.

Second, I'm going to need the patience of Job to get through the next several weeks at work. And, somehow I'm going to have to channel the grace of God to keep my temper in check. Seriously.

Wish me luck.

*And, yes, I totally botched the DW quote in my magnetpost title. Mea culpa.

Walking in our shoes

Magnet #367 – Tate Modern

So, no offense to the Tate Modern, but I got caught asleep there. Twice. In an hour. Once sitting on the bench. And the other standing up in front of a room full of propaganda poster art.

But, I picked this for today, because on yesterday's plane ride down to Tampa, I watched a Brit docu called The Human Footprint. I’m not going to lie, the only reason I downloaded it was because there’s nothing more pleasant than listening to David Tennant talking in my ear. He has the best narrative voice, it’s just lovely.

But what I got was the best documentary I’ve seen – in all my life.

My youngest sister is fondly dubbed, SaveTheWorldSister, for her Project Vote Smart and Peace Corps stints, her frequent boycotts of Shell and other evildoing global corps, her graduate degree course studies in Sustainable Development, and her bemoaning about the wastefulness of the First World. She’s not a granola nazi, thank God, but she definitely makes me want to be a better environmentally-conscious human.

I’ll tell ya. If her chiding over the years hadn’t already started me down that road, this Human Footprint docu certainly does the trick. For sure, I've been quoting every fact and figure running through my brain.

But the production itself is just made of awesome. It sets out to show you what the footprint of the average Brit has on the Earth over the course of his/her lifetime. The operative word there being SHOW. When you watch this, you'll see why the Tate Modern magnet totally works for this. It's totally bizarre.

They take a little boy and a girl, and who set off on a wonderland of facts and figures, brought to life. From the amount of food that we consume (dudes, Brits eat a freakin’ bathtub of Heinz baked beans in their lives and that we eat 1,200 chickens and four head of cattle, more, I’m sure, if you’re an American) to the amount of waste we humans produce (literally, a hail of crap in a field – gross, gross, gross!) to the amount of gas we humans produce (dudes, you thought the little girl swimming in the beans was gross? They took all the human-produced gas and LIT IT UP in a field). And that’s just what goes on with our bodies.

They then went into human interaction with others. The words we say (something like 120,420,705 words in a lifetime) to the people we “know” (something like 1,700 people, with 300 people we talk to within our social network at any given time), from the sex we have (no, I can’t even go there, because the condom tree [David says the word condom really funny. It’s cute] was just beyond words and the alcohol we drink (presumably to get into or over the sex we have?) and the places we go (59 places), to how we get there (did you know you can drive around for a year in a car and still not equal the amount of carbon I’m putting into the air with JUST THIS ONE FLIGHT???), and how much we drive (the amount of driving Brits do, gets them to the moon and back – though Lord, they’re just on a tiny little island – I bet Americans drive to Mars and back. Sheesh.)

Of course, these were all averages. For Brits. Which means you know ours are even worse. Here’s one set of facts that scares me the most. The AVERAGE Brit watches this much television:

• 148 minutes a day
• 900 hours a year
• 2,944 days of our lives
• Full 8 years in front of the box

You see my TV Dance Card at the bottom of this blog. I can only IMAGINE how much my own tv watching amounts to.

*dies*

Definitely check out this documentary, (here's a couple of screenshots), it will make you think twice about your actions here on Earth. Lord. Just call me Al again.

Together, we're gonna find our way*

Magnet #366 - Stripes of Togetherness

They say that one blog is born every half second. Ok. I made that up.

They also say that most bloggers abandon their blogs within the first couple months of creating it. That I did not make up.

A year ago, I wasn't really sure if I'd stick it out - I mean, the other blog we started died on the vine, much like the trip itself. But joy magnetism still plugs away, mainly because my magnets are multiplying like rabbits.

But it's not been a year without growth. /pun intended

Below is a rather waxing poetical shortlist of what I've learned about the blogosphere and you guys.

- Search. I LOVE stalking my SiteMeter. I find it absolutely fascinating, the things people search online. I LOVE that I can see what people have searched to reach me. I swear, if I could rank all the searches that get you to this blog, "French word for gold" would totally be number 1. It's amazing the number of people in this world who want to know what is the French word for gold. And why, I wonder?

Oh! And good grief, there are lots of people looking for shirtless pics of people (Owain Yeoman, Russell Wong, Brendan Fraser) and end up here. Oddly, no one's searched for shirtless David Tennant.

- Global. I LOVE that the World Wide Web really is worldwide. Hi Beijing! Hi Scotland! Hi San Diego! Hi Norway! Seriously. I love that someone a world a way spent time on joy magnetism. Even better? I love that sometimes, I can link to my own page - literally, in Greek! It's so cool!

Flickfilosopher did this post last week where she showed her own SiteMeter map. Mine's nowhere near as crowded as hers, but I live for those weeks where every continent is represented! Well, ok, save for Antarctica. I am still waiting for someone in Antarctica to visit me. I realize they might be busy, but come on. Throw a girl a subzero bone, will you?

- Linking. I love it. If I could just surf the Internet to provide you with places to go for more information, and have that be my job, that'd be awesome. Yes. When I grow up, I want to be Google.

- HTML. I don't love it. I gotta tell you, it's fun to learn a new tip or trick, but sometimes, when I'm messing around with the html code for this page? You should see the havoc I've wrought. Heh. You're lucky the darn thing's in English and right side up.

- Marketing. Even though I'm really doing these magnetposts for my own fun, I figure if people don't see the pretty magnets, then what's the point. So I force myself to put this blog out there in the 'verse - on my FB status, on my FB wall, on a message board, or just forwarding to specific people that I think might find that day's magnet interesting. When I'm commenting on something fun on other blogs, my name's always hyperlinked back here; though I do try to avoid specifically linking to here in the comments of other blogs. Though, I will say that it's odd how much you start gauging your own traffic based on where you yourself have been.

- Traffic. I can't believe how much I love looking at the page view ticker at the bottom of joy magnetism, and checking out the first-time, unique and repeat visitor traffic. It's fun to see what topics get the most play (almost anything ComicCon or David Tennant and Doctor Who). And you can also start to guess who has Google alerts for which people - Thorsten Kaye or Joshua Jackson. And of course my George. Though, I get an odd tickle over seeing joy magnetism pop up in my own Thorsten Kaye, David Tennant or George Clooney Google Alert emails.

- Historical record. I love that everything I've written on joy magnetism is there for me to go back to. Blogger.com and photobucket.com, please never lose your servers or my content. Ever. But even more so, I love that I can go back and see how I felt about a particular something on a particular day. It's almost better than a diary. Though I'll admit, I stopped keeping a diary the day my grandmother read that I hated her in mine. I was 11, going on 91, with as much of a know-it-all I was then (and now, really). Anyway, moving on.

- Dialogue. Blogging is a two-way street. The best blogs are the ones where people comment and the blogger responds. It becomes a conversation. I love that. That's how you find out where peacocks come from, or that your commenter had a completely different take on something than you did. Nothing upsets me more than seeing a blog where the blogger writes a post, multiple people respond to it, and the blogger can't be bothered to talk back. Talk back to me, bloggers. If I want a one-way street, that's what I have Google for.

- Commenting. I am a commenting freak. It's addictive. I never used to. Now, especially if it's a blog I love or have on my Google Reader and follow religiously, I always feel like sharing. But really? Oftentimes, the funnier stuff happens in the comments. Mind you, my traffic isn't so crazy that you have to wade through dozens of repartee, but I've got some funny commenters here. Thanks, guys!

Well, it's been a fun year together, and a really fun learning process. I hope to keep trying to find my way in the blogosphere, and I can't wait to see how this next year plays out.

Happy magneting!

Lord. I just made up another word.

*From the theme song for Silver Spoons, which I will now be singing all the way down to Tampa today.

eta:
Thanks, Gordon, for today's and yesterday's magnets!

joy magnetism's first blogiversary extravaganza of knowledge weekend

Magnet #365 - Circles of joy

So, about a year ago, I started this thing because I was about to create a spreadsheet to catalog my magnet collection, because I was about to go on a big trip around the US and was afraid I'd repeat a magnet in my collection.

And, when I realized how dorky that sounded, I figured, well, what could be dorkier: A blog to share my magnet collection with the world!

Well, I never went on that roadtrip, but, joy magnetism has truly grown into a fun little project for me - both personally and professionally.

Personally, I've been able to share fond memories, odd opinions, half-a-fact facts for the fact fans, and the occasional random thought and/or rant. Professionally, it's given me more interactive insight in a year, than I've learned in the past five, since we became a more digitally-focused agency.

Today, I thought I'd share just a random (but by no means exhaustive) list of what I've learned:

- Writing. People have always asked me if I was ever going to write a romance novel of my own. I guess it was a natural thing to ask an avid romance reader and a romance editor back in the day. My pat answer was usually, "Are you kidding me? No way, man." Writing tends to come easily to me, always has...but I've never been tempted to write long form. Well, not quite true, there were a couple of attempted script sides for General Hospital in 7th grade and maybe a YA novel started here and there, but nothing as an "adult." But, I've enjoyed writing my little magnetposts. And editing them. And rewriting them. And going back to old ones to correct things. It's great fun. (And way better than those sides I mailed to ABC.)

- Time consuming. My goodness. I do one magnetpost a day. That's hard. Generally, it's the last thing I do before I hit the lights and let the tv lull me to sleep. So, it's no biggie to jot down a quick story for a fun magnet. But man, whenever I find a topic that interests me - I have to research it. At least a little. Or sometimes I go hardcore. Just so I can share. I can't even imagine multiposting during the day with a regular job to hold down. Hats off to ya, though.

- Networking. Well, I'll be. Blogging as a social networking tool apparently works! Whether it's the rather nomadic Goldengait over at The GoldenGait Bridge, Scotsman Cameron over at Stuff on TV, Jace over at Televisionary over on the west coast, they're all bloggers that I've run across online and interact with...here, on their blogs and on Facebook as well. Is that weird? Maybe a little. But, it's great fun discussing shows that some folks I know IRL haven't even heard of.

I really love that joy magnetism has also introduced me to a little community of folks in town who care about the same NYC stuff that I do. I didn't even know they existed. Ephemeral NY tells me about my adopted city's past, while Lost City and EV Grieve show me places we're about to lose. Scouting NY and Greenwich Village Daily Photo shows me fun things I've never seen before, right here in town. Thanks!

- Real-life Friends. I love sharing fun stories of trips and people, and knowing that those friends will get the same giggles remembering fun times. But, I have to admit, I wasn't at all prepared for how annoyed I get when actual friends ask me what's new in my life...when it's pretty much plastered all over joy magnetism. Oh, I am totally getting over myself, because I know that's such an all about me conceit. But, think about it. I've got people I've never met before reading my magnetposts, but there are people I've known for years who don't. It's weird.

- Cursing. Not everyone likes to see shit, damn or the other one in print. Cotter put it well in this blogpost about his stance on profanity - he writes like he speaks. I tend to do the same. It's my blog, and I'll curse if I want to. That being said, after a concerned phone call from mom, from one of her patients complaining that I curse a lot here (I totally don't, btw), I did acquiesce to putting a parental note for those parents who aren't monitoring what their kids are reading online...before they read it. It's a magnet blog, folks. I know it looks like Disneyworld up in here, but just cuz it's pretty, don't mean it's pristine.

- Reactions. While it's awesome that they're reading my blog, people get mad when you shoot your mouth off. To wit: Check out this Anonymous comment about my SAG strike rant. It was a rant, written just when I found out that SAG was thinking of putting it to a vote. NO, I didn't do all of my research on how it effects your industry. Because it was a RANT. Who researches a RANT. And P.S., SnarkyAnon, stupid cocktail waitresses aside, George Clooney walks on water. Don't mess with him. And P.P.S., SnarkyAnon, I hoping to respond to your comment, but was waiting to see what the outcome would be, re: a real strike, but looks like that they still can't get it together. But thanks for reading. Mwah!

And speaking of thanks for reading...thank you for dropping by to read about a magnet or two. I really do appreciate your visits, your comments, your fellowship (hm, when did fellowship get such a religious connotation), and the insight you guys have given me - insight to me (which is what the above mostly was) and insight to you (which some of which tomorrow's magnetpost will reveal).

"I think, therefore I am"

Magnet #364 - Darwin's Tree of Life

I know, I know - now I'm messing around by using Rene Descartes' quote to talk about Darwin's Tree of Life sketch magnet to talk about joy magnetism's one-year birthday. But, there you have it.

First, the magnet. I picked up this supercool magnet from the Natural Museum of History in London. It's the famous Tree of Life sketch that's actually in his "famous transmutation notebook B" and is the "first-known sketch of an evolutionary tree showing how living things are related." And yes, I picked that right up from the back of the magnet packaging.

Though I fell in love with this museum, I totally skipped the Darwin exhibition. I just didn't have time. It would have been amazing, but I was barely able to squeeze it into the itinerary. And, I just wanted to see the architectural detail - which can be found starting here. And no, it has nothing to do with the fact that the exhibition was housed down a long hallway of stuffed birds that totally freaked me out.

Second. I haven't a clue what to count as joy magnetism's one-year anniversary. I've just spent the last 40 minutes watching Carter's return on ER and figuring out why if I'm on Magnet #364, and I started numbering actual magnets on day 2, why isn't today (the day before Magnet #365) joy magnetism's anniversary. There's a leap year in there, but I honestly don't think the math works out, because my first post date was Feb 22, and Blogger says that this is my #365th post. But seriously? My thinking is very much mirroring this magnet here, so I must stop.

So here's my compromise. Today is a very merry unbirthday to me, to me.

And the next two days will be split between what knowledge that I've gained from all of you this year. Stay tuned.

Good gravy. Suddenly, I have a strong need to check my own birth certificate.

Let's be honest

Magnet #363 - SoapNet Liar

This is the perfect magnet to talk about two shows that I've been following, Trust Me and Lie to Me. I haven't checked the ratings for either, and it's been a while since I read any reviews on them. So it's absolutely possible that I'm the only one in America still watching them.

Trust Me is that "not-like-Mad-Men-at-all, trust-me" TNT show with Eric McCormack and Tom Cavanagh as Chicago ad guys, with Monica Potter and a host of lesser-knowns rounding out their Creative group.

The bulk of Trust Me is just stereotypical advertising agency roles and situations. You can almost tell that the ad guy creators come from the Creative side - all the clients are unreasonable, all the account people are idiots and exist just to gum up the works, and the Creatives are running around going to extreme measures just to live up to some high-stakes overpromise they've made to the clients. And they don't care about the media or production groups as evidenced by the amount of mentions they've been given in the last several episodes.

If you're not in the ad business, I haven't a clue why you'd even watch this bunch of neurotic crazy folk trying to solve their usually self-inflicted ad agency problem of the week. To tell you the truth, I don't know why I'm still watching - though I'm guessing I'm just a glutton for punishment while I sit and watch plenty of my real world agita get acted out (in hyperbole, of course) on screen.

But I haven't really been made to care about any of the characters, and I think that's where the show is lacking. Were it not for my fondness for Eric and Tom, and how well they play off each other, I'd have given up several episodes ago. As it is, part of the reason I keep coming back is the part where they show me previews where it looks like Monica Potter leaves the show. And I get disappointed every time. She's not sympathetic - no matter how much they make her cry - I could give a hoot about her. Plus, speaking of stereotypes, I keep thinking her quite annoying character reads more like an account person, than copywriter. (Full disclosure, I'm an account person.)

But, there must be something there, because I still spend my 44 minutes alternatively laughing my ass off and yelling at the screen. (Yes, I fast-forward - three arrows - through the commercials, too, but didn't manage to escape last week's Dove product placement or this week's Facebook product placement.) And on that sad fact...moving on.

Lie to Me is that FOX show with Tim Roth (being allowed to use his accent - yay!) and Kelli Williams as the team that people bring in to figure out when people are lying or not.

I'm not going to lie, I really love this show. A lot of the body language stuff I've heard before from books and documentaries and stuff, and it's true, at some point, I'll probably get tired of them expositioning every. single. microexpression. for every. single. situation.

But for now, the show, with its odd characters (most notably, the boyfriend from ABC Family's Middleman, Brendan Hines - yay, new gig! - who has taken a vow of truth), and dialogue that makes me giggle from the cute (though probably wasn't meant to be), keeps me entertained. A caveat - I'm not entirely sure where they're going with the characters, and their relationships to each other, but they've dropped a few nuances along the way to keep me tuning in.

I am a little worried, because there's a part of me that wonders if everyone in the world will start watching the show, and learn how to lie effectively, without getting caught. The other part of me wants to write down and/or commit to memory every trick that they tell me, because some of that stuff has already been helpful.

Oh, there's even a small part of me that worries for their clearances guy - someone has to clear all that editorial footage they keep using - I haven't looked at who they're crediting at the end, but dang, you have to wonder how Bill Clinton feels when they bring up that Monica footage constantly.

Anyway, check out both shows - I'd be interested to see what other folks think. Honestly.

Ye Olde Salem

Magnet #362 - Old Salem, NC

Every schoolkid in North Carolina gets to go to Old Salem at least once in their lives. It's a living history village in historic Winston-Salem, NC.

For most of the kids it's really just a day out of school, but it was actually kinda cool, seeing how people lived back in the 18th century. They have all these neat displays and do all these neat demonstrations - from ye olde candle-making and gunsmithing, to ye olde cooking in the fireplace and baking.

They have the ye olde best cookies, too. Thin wafers, of varying flavors. Once you start eating them, you can't stop. Seriously. Lemon, Gingersnap, Sugar, mmmmmmm.

I have to say that I've eaten a million ye olde Moravian cookies, and I've watched a few ye olde Moravian demonstrations, but I gotta say, that I hadn't any idea that ye olde folks that founded it - the Moravians - were actually missionaries from Pennsylvania. And, that the Moravian faith originated in (what's now) the Czech Republic! That's kinda neat.

Ye Olde Salem has changed and improved over the years. It used to be this tiny little place where you'd just go and hang out for the day. Nowadays, they've managed to make it a whole Moravian experience - there's a whole fancy visitors center, shops, bakeries, and two new museums I've never been to - the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts and the Toy Museum (that one I need to visit soon). Plus their snazzy site, to make sure you don't miss a thing.

No matter how many times I go, though - my best, most fondest memory of Old Salem, was our class trip in like 6th grade or so, where we stopped off for lunch at the McDonald's at the Old 85 Lexington exit (which is still there, as of last Christmas - how's that for longevity).

It was a very exciting lunch. I got to sit with my crush at the time. I was totally over the moon, and if I could draw little hearts over my "I"s right now, I supertotally would. Plus, I'd totally write "joy loves _____" all over this post. Hahaha.

Yes, I still remember his name. No, I'm not sharing. And maybe I'm about to go Facebook stalk him right now.

eta:
Yes, I totally stole David Tennant's Ye Olde joke from his video diaries. I couldn't resist.

eta2:
Boo. He's not on Facebook. Sigh.

I'm an any chocolate girl

Magnet #361 - Hershey's Special Dark

Picked this Special Dark for today, because my mood's very dark, as I try to get work accomplished from home, wrapped up in sickbed (/drama queen) my now seven blankets.

Anyway, figured that this might make me feel a little better - I love my little chocolate magnets.

It took me a long while to learn to like dark chocolate - if I had to choose, I'd still pick milk over dark. But dark will do in a pinch.

A friend and I once did a chocolate tasting at Michel Cluizel's - we had a chocolate sommelier and everything. We went through the different grades of chocolate - all the way up to something like 99% dark chocolate. Blech.

By the end of the evening, I was totally strung out on chocolate - it was insane. It was my fault really - we were supposed to take only a bite out of each piece...of course, I ate the whole little square every time.

A bear of a day

Magnet #360 - Canadian Bear

So, we all know how much I love bears, and how bears are my unicorn. Which means that whenever I see a good bear magnet, I can't help but pick it up.

I must have picked this up in Toronto...not that I saw a bear there.

Using it for today, because today's been a bit of a bear. I was planning on working all day, just to catch up on being out on vacation Thursday and Friday. Instead, I've been huddled under 6 blankets, fighting off fever, aches and chills.

Can't figure out where I picked it up - my sister and I were busily touching all the exhibits at Sports Museum and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Annex. Then, we were all over the Teddy Roosevelt house. But, really, it was probably the doctors' office on Friday. That's what I'm goin' with anyway.

A useful second life

Magnet #359 - Collage Chick

Love this magnet! Love it!

It reminds me of a friend of mine, whom I've known since junior high. Head either buried in a book, or bent over sewing fun animals on her jeans, she was the smartest girl in the class, flautist extraordinaire, and one of the most interesting chicks in school.

And, I'm not just sayin' it cuz she's the one who made me this collage magnet. It's just I would never have thought to repurpose old scraps of papers, letters, etc., to create something new and supercute. She mentioned that the AIRMAIL was actually taken from something of her father's. Supersupercute!

It's like the really cool stuff we saw at the Museum of Art & Design a couple of days ago. The exhibition is called "Second Lives" and it's basically a bunch of pieces where artists took every day items and created something new from them.

A great description, and accompanying photos are here, but it really was a supercool exhibit. There was a chandelier, made of old eyeglasses - called Spectacle. Or, the chair made of quarters. (Mind you, I could have washed a ton of clothes with those quarters, but it was still cool.) One thing that particularly made an impact on me was the coat of armor that was made entirely out of dogtags, something like 3,000 of them!

There was one installation called My Back Pages, where this one guy, an artist named Villinski, took old 45s of his favorite songs, and created a flight of butterflies from them. Just before he would add the record to his installation, he would play it one last time, a bit of a eulogy for them.

While I was mad at the MAD for not having a ton of MAD tchotchkes set up in their little shop, and for charging a little too high for an hour, I really did enjoy the Second Life exhibit. Makes you think about the stuff you're throwing way every day...and want to donate it to someone to make something new from it.

Mad about museums

Magnet #358 - Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Annex NYC

So, my sister's been up here for the last couple of days, just hanging out in town, visiting museum after museum, eating tons of meals, and patiently waiting while I constantly checked my Blackberry, even though I was on vacation.

The great thing is, as I always say about this fabulous town, that I can always find things to do here in NY. You just never run out. In the last two days, we've done five museums, and only two of them were a repeat for me. And ya'll know I know from NY museums.

We visited the:

• Sports Museum of America, which was a really well-done museum, located in the supercool Standard Oil building downtown, which is slightly out of the way;
• Skyscraper Museum, also downtown, and with a sense of the ironic, only one story, housing one main exhibit comparing the skylines and buildings of New York and Hong Kong;
• Paley Center for Media, with a great photography exhibit from 24, where Kiefer and some of the production team took a bunch of snappies while filming Redemption;
• Museum of Art & Design, which I was so looking forward to, but was slightly disappointed - not by the art which was neat, but moreso by having to pay $15 for a museum we could mosey through in about an hour, and by the lack of cool MAD merchandise (including NO magnets) in the not as cool as I was hoping little shop; and finally the
• Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Annex.
  
  

By far, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Annex was the most expensive, at something like $24, plus tax. But, at least here can you can see where they put the money - from the ticketing area, to the pre-show holding pen, the awesome auditorium venue and film, the snazzy wireless headset to hear the museum soundtrack as you're looking at corresponding and superneat memorabilia.

Plus? They had the coolest little shop - with the best selection of rock magnets. I'm sad I bought only two. This magnet made me think fondly of my Metallica Pandora station. It's what I listen to when I'm pissed off at work - I turn the headphones up and rock out to Metallica. I can't tell if it mirrors my anger, soothes it, or exacerbates it. I just know that they happen to get me through my angry days at work. Too bad I wasn't' able to listen to them these last couple of days running around the city, BBing while crossing crosswalks.

Moving on...I freakin' loved this little Annex from start to finish. It's convinced me that I might be a Springsteen and Clash fan, an Otis Redding fan and definitely not an Amy Winehouse fan.

Seriously, these guys know how to put on a show. Right down to the flat-screen at the end running the Cleveland Hall of Fame on an endless loop. It makes you totally want to see the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (designed by I.M. Pei) in person.

In fact, my sister's already planning her Ohio roadtrip in 2010.

While the Getty's good

Magnet #357 - Getty Los Angeles

Hey. Who went to LA and got me this magnet? And why come I didn't come with you to the Getty?

I can't figure out why the Getty hasn't made it on to any of my Los Angeles itineraries. Definitely for next time, because I haven't even taken time to learn anything about it. Just that it has a neat building...

Oh, and from what I heard it has crappy parking.

Oh! And it has either a somewhat creepy TV ad (because I have a thing about inanimate objects being animated), or it's a really good spot - because good art does always stay with you.

So, next time I'm in LA, Getty, I'll be going while the Getty's good.

(Can you tell I'm writing this with my punny sister in the room?)

There'll be another Carolina victory

Magnet #346 - Basketball Hall of Fame Joy

So I tried to look up who had more folks in the Basketball Hall of Fame - Carolina or Duke.

Then I saw this headline from SI.com, and thought, eh, who cares. Hehehehe. In the words of one of my guys at work, good win.

Of course, it's that same guy who faithfully reports the Carolina scores to me after every game. I always feel bad, because I'm a big Tar Heel fan, but I rarely watch the games.

Here's why: When I started watching the game, the score started to plummet, and Dook was up at the half. Then I skipped the rest of the game, and we won 101-87.

See how much power I have? I know! So, that's me, takin' one for the team.

If you have a chance, definitely head up to Springfield, MA, for the Hall of Fame. It's a terrific building, but also, a really great set up. It's kinda like the Guggenheim - you just take the elevator up to the top, and the work your way down the chronological order of the inductees. I love looking at the memorabilia from the players and coaches. Make sure you go with enough time to spend, and with no kiddie distractions.

A bit pricey, but worth going if you're at all a basketball fan.

Oh! And since you're in the neighborhood, definitely check out the nearby Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden and the museums surrounding it.

Out like a lamb?

Magnet #355 - Landis Valley Museum

Eh, we wish. It's just going to be an unusually warm February day here in New York. Something like 59? Whu-hoo!

It'll be gone before I know it, but I just wanted an excuse to use this lambykins magnet that my sisters brought back for me from the Landis Valley Museum - one of the few places I haven't been in Pennsylvania.

It's even in Lancaster, so I dunno how we missed this one. But, by the looks of the site, it's a living history museum, chronicling the history of the early German settlements in Pennsylvania.

I can't remember if this is the place with the "Amish Experience" where they have that weirdo video that the girls were talking about. But that's totally another magnet. And an even better story.

Now. I just have a find a Witness magnet....

Of architectural merit

Magnet #354 - Guggenheim New York

Ya'll wouldn't believe how many Guggenheim NY magnets I have. And I bought them all in one fell swoop. In my defense, they were packaged as sets, so it's not like I set out to buy six Guggenheim magnets all at once.

I visited for the first time late last year. I'd been to the shop (of course), but once they started renovating, I wanted to wait until it was complete before I went.

Waiting was well worth it. I love it. Seriously. It's gorgeous - you can see my one pic here, or do a Google Images search for it. I couldn't tell you a thing about the stuff on the walls. (Not quite true, but since it was my first time, I just wasn't really paying any attention at all to the artwork housed inside.)

And, of course I'd love this building - it was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, whom I've written about a ton here on joy magnetism. It was completed in 1959, and sadly, FLW himself didn't live to see the final result. Indeed, he got the call for it in 1943, and then spent the next several years fighting everyone over it - clients, public opinion, etc. It was 1956 before he delivered the final design.

You know, I'm always wondering about the longevity of FLW's work. It's gorgeous, but I've often wondered if he thought they would last forever, his imprint on this earth. Or, if, because he built with mostly natural materials and had that closeness with the land reflected in his work, he thought his work would naturally wither and decay.

Case in point - the Ennis-Brown house that we visited years ago. I think they do periodic tours there, but it was totally deserted and fairly in disrepair when we visited years ago. But that was built in the 1920s, so it's to be expected.

The Guggenheim's a bit newer, and though it's been just over a half a century since, it still needed a ton of restoration...where according to Arch Record, the renovation team took off 11 coats of paint! Dudes! Then, when they got down to the concrete, they discovered hundreds of surface cracks. Which then meant they had to evaluate the entire building for its structural integrity. Whoops.

It actually turned out to be fine, and they were able to fix whatever they needed to fix, and made sure to paint it with an appropriate protective paint coat. Which then meant they had to decide what color to paint the building. When they got down to the first layer of paint, they discovered that it was a brownish-yellowish shade. And thus began the controversy, that was finally resolved by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Hah. There's a part of me that thinks that maybe we should have remained true to FLW's vision (if indeed that's really what he wanted). But honestly, that means that there would have been an upside-down Pooh Bear beehive sitting up on Fifth Ave.

In the end, they decided to leave it the color that everyone had gotten used to - depending on who you ask - it's gray or off white or whatever. (According to the NYTs it's really Tnemec BF72 Platinum - goodness, J Crew was nowhere near that color, huh.)

So now, $29 million later, they're back open for business. I'm so happy the building's lost its scaffolding, and that it's back. I've superexcited, because in May they're mounting "From Within Outward", an exhibition for FLW's work. Seriously can't wait.

Oh, I could go on about FLW, but I'll stop. After all there are several more magnets to get through. Hah.

One last thing that I'm sad about is that FLW didn't heart NYC - according to the Guggenheim site, "the city was overbuilt, overpopulated, and lacked architectural merit."

Manic Monday

Magnet #353 - Joy

There are those days like today, when the commute is wonderful.

Where you catch every elevator, every train, every connection, and even every elevator on the other side. Where people cooperate and don't lollygag, and no one's pushing or shoving. And where even the loud talkers aren't around.

Those days should be celebrated.

And then you get to work, and it's crap. But whatevs, man, I had a lovely commute this morning.

Of course, there's something telling when your commute in New York City is the highlight of your day.

Overheard at NY ComicCon...

Magnet #352 - Mario Mushroom

"My people, the ones who like Serenity, the Browncoats, the ones who like Angel and Buffy, and who like Joss, and BSG and all the things that I like. I found out this weekend, that they all look, feel and smell like a bunch of goblins." /some random obnoxious guy sitting behind me

Mind you, I had to listen to him whine about a million things - girls, friends, comics, graphics - seriously, he offered his opinion on everything. Snarffle, he was annoying.

So my ComicCon weekend has come to an end.

I will say that I cheated on NYCC yesterday afternoon - I gave up Seth Green and Breckin Meyer to go to the New York Times Travel Show. Which was SO much fun. I seriously went around the world in two hours, picking up pertinent brochures and fun swag. My fave was a Colorado stress ball, in the shape of a snowball. Yay, swag!

Panelwise, yesterday, I sat through the DC Comics session, to get my 3rd row seats for the Torchwood panel, with the superadorablyhot Euros Lyn, and the charming Eve Myles.

Then today, I got to Javits late, and ended up like 300 people back in line. Which is fine, since the lovely IGN theatre seats 3,000. So, I ended up 5 rows back. NICE.

Especially nice, because that meant I had fabulous seats for the Joss Whedon/Tahmoh Penikett session for Dollhouse, and the Fringe panel, with the entire cast, including Pacey Joshua Jackson! Pictures are here, I just added on to the public FB album.

Things I learned (not sure what's spoiler and what's not, so read at your own risk):

DC Comics:

• There are Lanterns besides the Green one - like Red ones and Blue ones. And Indigo ones? What makes the Green one so special that he gets his own comic?
• DCU. Huh. I had no idea it was so big.
• One of the guys at the Q&A got teased for wearing a suit and tie to ComicCon. He was like, "Look. There are people out there, wearing wings. And I get ragged on for wearing a tie?"
• DC is planning on concentrating on their core characters, getting back to basics.
• To wit: apparently Superman's gone to New Krypton? Batman's apparently going to die and come back and die and come back and die and come back...I dunno, you'd have to see their Batman Covers presentation to understand...done in Keynote. Neat.
• Crisis Aftermath. Apparently they got tired of seeing too many big catastrophic events happen, and then see none of the fallout. This aftermath series, shows how everyone's dealing with whatever CE they went through. And those stories directly effect subsequent stories. (Also? It ends with a Dance. I dunno this series, but I fear for them.)
  
• I know, I have no business blogging this session. I really just sat through it for the Torchwood. So let's move on, shall we?
  

Torchwood:

• Eve confirmed that John Barrowman farts a lot. Dudes. C'mon. Why is this always a subject of conversation when it comes to Barrowman?
• Tosh and Owen are really dead. Sorry, Julie and Erika.
• Rhys is going to play a bigger part in the show.
  
• Eve is friends IRL with the Weevil. At least enough to take tea together.
• Euros is really hot.
• Euros is directing David's last two eppies as the Doctor. But who didn't know that?
• Eve is a cheeky chick.
• Whitney Matheson, the USA Today Pop Candy blog chick, is quite a fangurl. I wouldn't ever have guessed. She asked if Eve had held the John Barrowman doll yet. Ummm, honey, if you'd made it to the floor, you could have picked it up for yourself at the Doctorwhostore.com booth. IJS.
• Eve has fantastic hair. Euros has a perm. Ok, I made up that second bit. But I love his hair. So much right now. What? I never promised you an unshallow post, man. You're the one still reading this.
• Gwen Cooper, having come from a long line of family members guarding the rift, "is exactly where she needs to be," according to Eve. Which means that you know that Russell T Davies is so going to pay off that Cardiff rift Doctor Who episode. It's going to be amazing.
• Torchwood: Children of Earth hasn't been scheduled yet, is going to be awesome, but I'm wishing they'd given another name to one of the new characters. Mr. Frobisher will always be the baddie from Damages for me, and he doesn't look at all like Ted Danson!

Dollhouse:

• Even after watching the clip, I'm still not sure I'm going to like Dollhouse. I'm not a huge Eliza fan. But, I'm a big Joss fan. So you know I'll be watching. Plus, give that Tahmoh Penikett a lead role, and yeah, I'll be there for you every single week, Joss.
  
• Nathan Fillion's gonna get in trouble with Joss for telling another panel (via a taped interview) that he couldn't be there, because he was busy filming Serenity 2. Hahahahah.
• Tahmoh Penikett is hot. And looks like Richard Armitage. He does, Jenny. Or, maybe a little like Leo from Relativity, but who is now on Ghost Whisperer. Either way, he's just hot. And delightfully funny. And cute. And, he's gonna be shirtless in that first episode, from what I gather. Also, he kinda makes me want to watch the BSG miniseries. Almost. But not quite.
  
• Joss wants to do Broadway.
• Joss is a genius. A sometimes self-deprecating one. Sometimes.
• Tahmoh Penikett is hot. Oh, I said that already. What? You're still reading.
• To hear Joss talk about the network, is like watching someone brainwashed. It's hard to see the same guy who got screwed over by Fox, when it came to Serenity. I think it probably has to do with a new regime at Fox (maybe? not sure), but it also has to do with maybe both sides being more collaborative?
• Oh. And, Joss openly admits that the production drama that Dollhouse has gone through, has been mainly personal, but more about what direction they were going to take Dollhouse - in other words, what kind of show was Dollhouse going to be. (He said that Serenity, he always knew what it was, but Dollhouse wasn't so clear.)
  

Fringe:

• I'm not afraid to say it. I don't like Fringe. I've long since lost any interest in the show. But I still watch it. Because of Joshua Jackson. C'mon. Don't tell me you're surprised. Anyway.
• The Observer. Is one man. But there are multiple Observers. He's everywhere. Fox tried to get him on the inaugural platform. They didn't succeed. But, apparently, Fox is seriously trying to get them everywhere.
• Joshua is easily skeeved out, apparently. Or rather, he was most disgusted by that eyeball scene, the one that I'm not describing here.
• I will NOT get involved in the Fringe mythology. Shut it, Jeff Pinkner, I won't do it. And you just can't tell me halfway through a season I've half paid attention to (but will totally be buying the DVD set for) that the icon pics you cut to and from commercials with IS A CODE. ARGLE! You better have them on your DVD set, too, darnit.
• Joshua Jackson is one hot guy. And damn that silly moderator from TV Guide? I dunno, for NOT directing more questions to him. And double damn that silly camera operator in the back, who didn't do enough Joshua close-ups. I get that everyone probably agreed up front that if JJ did the panel, that they wouldn't make an effort to single him out. Still. How much potential hotness did I lose out on? Hmph.
• Speaking of the moderator (first time for him, so I'll go somewhat easy on him). He totally asked silly questions. Like: "Deep in the background of the lab set, there's a set of bongos. Has anyone ever played them?" And they're all like, what? Joshua did a classic Pacey look of wtfe, man, complete with shrug and headshaking. Classic.
• Joshua, my love, has a flowchart on the wall at his apartment, where he's been keeping track of the storyline and the conspiracy. And I quote, "I'm that much of a dork, where I have a flowchart."
• They were signing autographs afterward. When I saw the thousands of people headed that way? Oh, hell no. If there was one thing that NYCC had issues with (outside of the IGN Theatre volunteers who knew what they were doing), it was line and crowd control. I would not have wanted to be anywhere near that ish.
  

Yep. All in all a great time. This is the entire reason I do ComicCon. To see my hotboys on stage. Is that silly? Maybe.

Nah.


eta:
Damn. Long post. Gold star and a dark chocolate Kit Kat smooshed to you if you actually finished reading it.

"Remind me why I do this again?"

Magnet #351 - Dark Horse Comics' Hellboy

"Rotten eggs and the safety of mankind" - Hellboy

I swore I'd never go back to the New York ComicCon again. It wasn't that I didn't have fun - because I totally had a great time last year.

But, it was more like that same situation I always find myself in...I like something, and then I find myself surrounded by the people who really like that something. And ComicCon people...really like their somethings.

This year I was more prepared - for the crowds, the dressing up, for the overexcited boys, for the girls in strange costumes taking pics with the overexcited boys, for the fun toys and tons of well, comics.

One of my favorite things about the Con is just how people tend to bond while waiting in line, playing vid games in the dark, sifting through comics boxes, finding out where people got that cool toy/tote bag/toilet seat to wear around their neck.

My most fave thing are the celebs who come to visit. Although, my celebs aren't necessarily the artists and the writers and creators. I do love that people get to meet their heroes (/pun intended) at the Con. That's supercool.

But for me? It's the panels and screenings. I'd rather listen to the writers/creators/actors of my most anticipated movies and/or tv shows talk about their movies and/or tv shows. Don't need to meet them. Don't need their autographs. Just like to watch their panels.

This year, I did see Colin Baker, the Sixth Doctor - though, I had to read his tag to know who he was. Oddly, he was surrounded by girls of all ages cooing over his autograph. Wait. My friend Erika is right - one day, David Tennant will be there. He'll be like 90, and chasing after the young girls in costume, but he'll be there. Oh, and I had a run-in with NOT-Peter Mayhew of Chewbacca fame. And that's about it. More about that story on my public FB album, here.

Today, if I ever stop typing, and finish up my breakfast, I'll be seeing (oddly hot boy) Seth Green (who is totally including Breckin Meyer in his panel - yay!), and (hot boy director) Euros Lyn and Eve Myles from Torchwood. Tomorrow, is (hot boy) Joshua Jackson in Fringe...I was thinking of doing Joss Whedon's Dollhouse, but I don't want to lose my spot for Fringe. Is that sad? Maybe. (Mind you, I just saw that [hot boy] Daniel Dae Kim's signing autographs tomorrow. Hmmm, that will be a madhouse, I'm sure. So sorry DDK, that we won't be seeing each other tomorrow.)

Huh. Since I used a Hellboy magnet and a quote from it...I guess I need to actually watch both movies now.

This star's for you

Magnet #350 - Bintang Beer

A friend brought this back for me from his Asia tour. It's Indonesian beer!

Bintang actually means star in Indonesian. And, if you think it reminds you of a certain green bottle with a star on it, you'd be correct - it's owned by the Indonesian subsidiary of Heineken.

I would blog a bit more about it, but since I'm still here at work, I'm thinking I'll just lead you to this guy's pretty thorough post on Bintang.

But, if you're reading this, if you could smoosh me a bottle like right now, that'd be great. Or, since we're smooshing, might as well smoosh a whole case, cuz that'd be superawesome. Please and thank you.

Ya gotta love The Nati

Magnet #349 - Cincinnati

Apparently, I have to visit Cincinnati.

Who knew there was a boatload of fun stuff to do there? I mean, the only reason I even have this magnet is because someone did a focus group there!

First, if you visit their superadorable travel site (dudes, just the seasonal icons alone are reason enough to go), you'll see a big pic of The Nati. Ummm, it totally reminds me of Pittsburgh...which is probably why I will love Cincinnati. I think it's the bridges. And speaking of...

Second. They have this thing called the Purple People Bridge! It's a bridge that spans a river connecting two states - it's supposedly the longest one of its kind. On one side you're in Ohio, and the other, you're in Kentucky. Cool! Also, c'mon. It's purple. Hmmm. I wonder if there are any Purple People Eaters on the bridge. I wonder if that song's playing when you walk across it.

Third. You can go to the Hofbrauhaus and pretend you're at Busch Gardens (according to Jenny).

Fourth and also according to Jenny (who really should have just written this post), there's a 62-feet-tall Butter Jesus. OMG. Literally. (BTW, this totally reminds me of when my friend met French chocolatier Jacques Torres, and was a little unnerved when he asked her if she tried his "boddee buuddah.")

Oh, I'm sure I'm missing a million things to do in Cincinnati - I didn't even include the cool train station they converted into a museum, their art museum, the Underground Railroad museum. Good grief.

I guess this just means I need to watch the flight deals out there, cuz it looks like you could probably do a long weekend, and not even hit half the things you'd need to see there!

My problem is trying to spell the darn thing. There's a lot of Ns and Is and Cs in that there city name. No worries, we'll talk about that later.

When I use my other Cincinnati magnet.

Girl with yellow hair

Magnet #348 - Picasso's Woman with Yellow Hair

I can't figure out if I like Picasso's work or not.

Admittedly, it's because I've never seen a comprehensive collection of his work all in one place to make such a judgment. Usually, I see his famous works, or works from specific periods of his life, but not too many all at once.

Obvi, it's never hard to identify any of his paintings, but there is something neat about how they do tend to stop me in my tracks, forcing me to look twice.

This chick is Marie-Thérèse, one of his mistresses, and from what I gather, most of his paintings romanticize her, with sensual lines and a curviness about her. He painted her a lot, capturing her in many poses.

Though she's supposedly part of the Guggenheim collection, I haven't seen this piece. Not surprising, since I've only recently visited the Gug for the first time. In fact, I've had her sitting on the freezer door art gallery positioned horizontally, not vertically. Heh. Oops.

Anyway, the reason why I picked her today, is because I saw the most hysterical trailer (with Coop, Kevin Connolly and Justin Long) for He's Just Not That Into You with a cast that includes Drew Barrymore.

Which reminded me of Drew in Charlie's Angels.

Which reminded me of the original Charlie's Angels.

Which reminded me of Farrah Fawcett.

Which reminded me of the story my parents love reminding me of.

Apparently, when I was about four or five, I wished for blonde hair, and went around telling everyone to call me Jill Munroe.

What's bugging joy

Magnet #347 - John Derian Bug 29

Time again for this series of John Derian magnets from Target that I mentioned a while ago.

Pretty much everything's bugging me today, so I won't pick on any one thing. Mainly because oh, there are SO many to choose from, and then I wouldn't be spreading any joy, now would I. Hmph. You've no idea how hard it is to live up to my name sometimes. People just expect me to be happy, when in fact, this pretty much sums up how I feel right now.

Of course, it's the thing out of my control that I'm most frustrated about, which is that they're calling for 3-5 inches of snow today and tonight. It's been snowing steadily since I left the apartment this morning. And I just took this from our floor within the last hour.

Good grief. If you're gonna snow, then snow, darnit. None of this pretty, pretty snow crap and then not sticking.

Otherwise, it's superpretty, but doesn't get me out of being here at work.


eta:
And of course, London's all oooooh, we gots snooooow. Hmph.