Get yer fries here

Magnet #1224 - French Fries

Ahhh, part of a set.

Today, I'm craving fries. Random how a lot of my posts lately are food-related.

Anyway, here's something I learned these last several months in North Carolina with my parents.

Did ya'll know that McDonald's serves No Salt fries? For serious.

I mean, it takes longer to get them, but they'll fry up a batch and not add salt for you, if it's requested. It's awfully nice of them to be so health-accommodating.

Of course, I've also learned that the secret to McDonald's french fries being the best fast food french fries in the world is...

SALT.

Without that magic salt? Forget it.

The fries are really just fried potatoes.

Get yer ice lollies here

Magnet #1223 - Ice Cream

Ok, fine. Ice lollies are technically popsicles from what I understand, but this magnet my sister got me still fits. Because...

This. I have been craving this for ages now. But like, not the stuff I can run down to Food Lion or Harris Teeter to pick up.

All the freakin' NYC food truck tweets from @VLAIC and @CoolhausNY are driving me crazy, popping up on my TweetDeck, telling me where they're stationed every day. Makes me crazy because I can't get to them from here in NC!

If you haven't had Van Leeuwen ice cream before, you're missing out - my absolute favorite ice cream on Earth right now.

So much so, that it was actually on the Con list of quitting my last job, because their butter yellow truck is usually parked down the street from their building. In the end, the ice cream couldn't prevail...but it just means I'll have to walk further for it, I guess.

Readers for life - #RWA11

Magnet #1222 - Public Library of Los Angeles

A friend sent me this supercool magnet of the art deco Central Library built in 1926 in downtown Los Angeles. It's supposedly the 3rd largest library collection in the US.

Pretty neat seeing it without any major buildings around it. Because this is what it looks like now. Crazy, right, seeing it dwarfed by its glass and steel surroundings?

The library is definitely going on my ever-growing LA to-do list, they give docent tours of the building, which is apparently filled with cool details out the wazoo.

Using it for today because I'm sad I'm not in New York this week for RWA 2011. Tonight's Readers for Life autographing event usually the only night I attend when the Romance Writers of America are in town. It's their big event to benefit literacy, where they fill a giant ballroom of 400 authors and their books, and everyone gets in long lines to get their books signed.

Even if you don't want the autographs, it's always fun to meet your favorite authors and see the latest book they have to offer.

So, someone needs to go for me, and enjoy. Please and thank you.

Herbie goes to Wales

Magnet #1221 - Herbie

So here's random. On a lark, DCsis made us do an unexpected right turn into a Cardiff green market. Really cool place, complete with bread stalls and warm Welsh Cakes, and local wares.

While she was busy exploring the yarn, I walked down to another stall - one of those run-of-the-mill catch-all stalls, the ones that sell household gadgets and odds and ends.

The vendor had a bank of magnets, and in a sea of VW magnets, Ocho here caught my eye.

I haven't a clue what Herbie was doing all the way in Cardiff in a random shop, but of course, I had to buy him! Growing up, Disney's Herbie franchise was one of my favorites - I loved that little VW Bug!

He was awesome. He could win races, and escape bulls and matadors, and make friends with supercute boys, and he even had a girlfriend!

My favorite of the series is still Herbie Goes Bananas, and one of my favorite scenes to this day is when little Paco, the boy who saved him from uncertain death, rolling the plank on Harvey Korman's cruise ship, gives him his nickname, Ocho.

In the cutest little voice ever, he exclaimed: "Ocho! Five plus three makes eight! Ocho!"

And, yes, I just tried to find that exact scene on YouTube, but you'd be amazed at how many tribute videos there are. Yes. To Herbie.

Anyway, using this magnet today, because someone over at Next Movie re-imagined seven famous cars as Pixar creations, and Ocho is one of them.

Superdupercute!

A buck starts here

Magnet #1220 - Dan Nicholas Park

One of the top attractions in the state of North Carolina is Dan Nicholas Park. Most of us take it for granted because we grew up with it, but it really is a great state park.

Save the World Couple and I went to play putt-putt today, something I haven't done in ages.

It's funny how the two courses that I've played several times over the years have grown smaller. The once-insurmountable windmill, wishing wells, loop-de-loops and roundabouts seem to have gotten easier.

We had a fun time, playing both courses - I got two holes in one! Go me!

Of course, for other folks, that would signify a good round or two, but it really just offsets the number of times I blew par...by several strokes. Thank goodness they cap us at six!

The rest of the park, however, has changed drastically over the years. We grew up with paddle boating and an aging nature center and petting zoo. Now, there's a carousel, a zoo and aquarium (which ya'll know I refuse to visit), and a little corporate sponsored choo-choo train!

And when I say corporate sponsored train, I mean, I'm talkin' the Stanback Train, sponsored by the Salisbury Post, riding over the so-and-so Trestle, under the Cheerwine Tunnel, and through the woods (sponsored by Nature, I guess) into the Suntrust Tunnel.

We're talkin' crazycakes local sponsorship - I was both amazed and appalled. But you know what? It works, because I remembered most of the sponsors...and I just blogged on the local goodwill.

Mind you, I also benefited from this local goodwill because the price tag for the train ride?

A single buck.

Wherefore art Warhol?

Magnet #1219 - Andy Warhol's Marilyn Monroe

I picked up this Marilyn Monroe magnet as an Andy Warhol Pop Art set, one of those random things I pick up in random shops.

Using it for today because Save the World Couple and Mom and I headed over to the Reynolda House Museum of American Art, after much contemplation of how to spend our day. It was one of my suggestions, having really enjoyed my visit last year.

So funny, the museum's been there for years, and within the span of a year, I've now been twice. But, it's a really good museum, and for some, a really good introduction into American Art, with some great pieces for Grant Wood (or that Grant guy, I kept saying) and Tiffany and Remington and Bierstadt and Church, and I could go on.

I will say that even it didn't dawn on me until I was looking in my Photobucket for an American artist that one of the artists that seems to be missing from the Reynolda is Andy Warhol. I did a search on their site, but it's quite possible there's one in the collection, but I didn't see it on display.

Still, it was also nice to roam around the bungalow (la-la-la, so big, and still called a bungalow, sheesh) again - even without taking the art into account, it's still a really cool house from the Gilded Age.

What I really want to do is strap on a pair of roller skates and skate around in their basement, which is completely rubber-surfaced to allow everyone to skate the entire length. Of course, I also want to be served a Tom Collins splash of cranberry at their supercool art deco-ish bar, shoot a duck or two in the gallery, rack 'em up on their pool table, drop 10 pins in their alley, and play some squash.

Honestly, it's possible I just want to live in their basement.

Recipe for disaster

Magnet #1218 - Carnation's Easy-Does-It Cookbook

Another one of my Lovely Day Designs magnets I picked up a few weeks ago. Supercute, super-retro.

Picked it for today, because I'm back home in North Carolina, at least for a bit. Which means another couple of weeks of numerous home-cooked breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Yay!

I swear, when I finally move back home to NYC, I will likely drop a good 10-15 pounds without my parents' home cooking to pudge me up.

Don't get me wrong. I definitely know to be grateful for all the meals my parents are cooking for me. It's great. And when I'm ordering my umpteenth meal at from any number of delivery guys who know my address, I'll definitely miss being called down to the table.

But here's something funny. We've started to notice a weird ebb in the flow of my mother's cooking. And I'm blaming those damn cooking channels and their tv shows.

The fact of the matter is - and I say this objectively speaking, I swear - my mother is, hands down, the best cook I know. She is! She always has been. Ask anyone who's had her cooking, they will agree.

Best of all, Mom's one of those old-school chefs that do it by touch, feel, smell and of course, taste. And she doesn't need any of those stupid tv shows with those annoying chefs and their fake kitchens and all their fancy recipes and concoctions to tell her how to make good food.

She does all that on her own.

So herein lies the problem. She's constantly watching all those stupid tv shows with those annoying chefs and their fake kitchens and all their fancy recipes and concoctions.

And she's taking notes!

What's worse, is that she's starting to try and mimic those recipes!

What I'm learning is, all that does is mess with her mojo.

It's no longer Mom's cooking. I mean, it's good, for the most part. But it truly makes me crazy when I hear, oh, I tried so-and-so's recipe. It's like podMom's cooking.

Today, she followed a recipe from someone on tv, and it ended up salty. No. I mean, so salty that even my mother, who thinks salt is a food group, couldn't eat it. We had to throw away the whole NY strip. Steak! We threw away steak!

So my goal for the next few weeks is to break Mom of these silly tv recipes that aren't so great. To go back to trusting her fabulous cook instincts and go from there.

Now. If I could just figure out how to block the signal for Food and Cooking from our DirectTV here at home, that'd be superduperawesome.

And I'm not just saying that because it's on, morning, noon and night when she's home. Nope. Not at all.

"I want people to be afraid...

Magnet #1217 - Dress No. 13, Spring/Summer 1999, Alexander McQueen

...of the women I dress."

- Alexander McQueen

I'm not a fashionista. At. All. If you know me at all, you know my wardrobe is about as far from avant garde as it could possibly get.

I don't read about it, I don't look at it, I barely even notice it.

But, that doesn't mean I can't appreciate it. Sort of.

Which (of course) is how I found myself visiting the Met's Alexander McQueen exhibit today with my friend (the fashionista, who has an excellent in-depth view of her own), after having breakfast at Alice's Tea Cup (where I learned that I really can drink tea if I use enough milk and honey) and a quick pitstop at Vosges (where they didn't have my Rooster, boo).

Ya'll know I tend to love all museum exhibits, but you guys. This one? Was fantastic. I'd even say it really wasn't just an exhibit.

Rather, "Savage Beauty" was a truly amazing experience - such an insightful tribute to Alexander McQueen, the man and the designer, and obviously curated by a team who loved and cared about both.

After a pretty quick 10-minute wait in line (go early, is all I have to say), we finally were admitted to the ultraovercrowded exhibit hall. Or rather, halls.

The exhibit itself spanned several rooms, with each section well thought out and beautifully designed. As you walk through every threshold from room to room, you're immediately struck by the breadth of McQueen's work, and you get to discover one treat after another.

As I peered around dozens (and dozens) of folks to read the narratives and accompanying placards, I could hear snippets of awed and oddly reverent conversations - full-on discussions people were having about the cut and flow of his designs, the fabrics, the runway shows, etc. There was something nice seeing so many people with a true appreciation for the work, even as I knew I was missing things here and there.

My favorite part of the exhibit was watching the video footage of the various runway shows associated with the different pieces and collections. They helped put the pieces in context - for example, the No. 13 dress on this magnet was on a model being spray-painted by two robotic arms.* The story, and the awesome dress only makes sense, when you see the video.

I can't even imagine having seen any of McQueen's runway shows live, but I bet they were all nothing short of amazing. The production budgets alone must have been insanely ridiculous, and it certainly helps explain why haute couture needs to be expensive.

My favorite room was Romantic Nationalism, not surprisingly, filled with - apparently one of the hallmarks of McQueen's work - the Tartans of the Widows of Culloden and Highland Rape collection. You have to see them for yourselves, the images do no justice.

Oh, I don't claim to understand half of the pieces I saw - next time I visit, I'm totally getting the audio guide. If I'm totally honest, for all the pretty dresses I saw, there were spiney corsets, S&M-y stuff and feathers that absolutely freaked me out.

But, as it turns out, fashion is exactly like art. Love or hate it, you don't have to get it to appreciate the work and creativity that went into it.



*The robotic arms spray-painting this dress totally reminded me of my most favorite Shirley MacLaine movie ever - What a Way to Go!

At about the 1-minute mark, you'll see why.

Monica Joy

Magnet #1216 - Santa Monica

My friend brought this magnet back for me from Santa Monica...even though the last time I was there, it was with her and another friend of ours. We were there on the pier to see the sun set over the Pacific, something none of us had done up to that point.

So in the early evening, we sat ourselves in the restaurant at the end of the pier, and settled in to wait for sunset.

But, as what always happens when you get any gal-pals together, we chatted.

We were so engrossed in our conversation...that we forgot about the sunset. And missed it.

Oops.

I'm using this magnet for today, because yesterday, one of my many, many (did I say many? I meant one of my 30+ first cousins on my mother's side) graduated from high school yesterday. Congratulations!

This cousin was the one who didn't have a middle name. And, seeing as how my aunt (unbeknownst to her, she swears) gave her older daughter my middle sister's middle name and her youngest daughter my other sister's middle name, it only seemed fair that Monica would have Joy as her middle name.

So that's what I called her. It's a pretty name, Monica Joy.

Until it turned out that she was signing her name Monica Joy in Kindergarten, and her parents had to tell her it wasn't her real name.

Oops.

What? It's still a pretty name. And honestly, if her name were Joy, then I'd have someone to inherit the JOY magnet portion of the magnet collection. And basically (the considerable) everything I own with JOY on it.

Again, I ask.

What?

How to Succeed

Magnet #1215 - How to Succeed

In a word: delightful.

I've mentioned before that every so often I have to remind myself to take advantage of this town and everything Broadway has to offer, so last month (pre-Tonys, thank goodness), I went to Playbill for their discounts, and decided to hit up How to Succeed.

I can honestly say it's been a while since I've had so much fun watching a show - especially given my reactions to Spider-Man and HAIR and American Idiot. (On Broadway, I mean - seeing David and Catherine in the West End last week doesn't count.)

Mind you, I can't stand the actual storyline of How to Succeed, because it really does cut a little too close to the buffoonery of Corporate America, but once I let that go, I was fine.

The Mod set design was well lush, and the fantastic cast (including the awesome John Larroquette) were outfitted in gorgeous costumes. As with Mad Men, the costumes made me feel as though I born a few decades too late. And the big production numbers were incredible - totally old-school Broadway musicals, and so much fun.

Finally, and here's the biggest surprise for me tonight - little Daniel Radcliffe, with the American accent so good I forgot he was a Brit (take notes, David Tennant), makes a terrific song-and-dance man. Something that - even after I saw him on the Tonys - I was worried about, having heard about the song-and-dance lessons he's had to take. Well, they totally took, because he was a pleasure to watch. Small in stature, but great presence on stage.

It was like...magic.

A tourist's job is never done

Magnet #1214 - United Kingdom

I miss London.

No. Seriously. To be honest, I don't know why I don't just move there. Since my summer session abroad, my heart's always been set on either New York or London.

Sixteen years later, I'm still in New York. But, I'm thinking it's good to have a place to always want to go back to visit. Again. And again. And again.

Case in point: While waiting for everyone to board the plane yesterday, I post-mortem'd our itinerary. Looks like we did pretty well - we managed to do a lot, even as we had to bump a few things here and there.

But the great thing having my running itinerary, is that I've already planned out the majority of my must-sees for the next trip over. Now, I just have to figure out when that is.

I have a couple of friends doing a UK roadtrip in the fall. Is that too soon?

What?

One man's rubbish...

Magnet #1213 - The Perfect Rubbish Gift

...is another treasure for me?

When we were shopping at JOY (seriously, how could we not go in, I love that shop!), I had to buy this Waldo Pancake magnet.

C'est vrai, no?

We left London today, stuffed to the gills with all manner of English wares. Seriously, folks. The three of us left with much more than we came in with.

I'm expecting an OBE for duties performed in service of reviving Great Britain's economy.

Magnets for myself? 20.

Magnets for others? Wouldn't be surprised if it's just about as many. I've decided, what better gift for others than to make them start collecting magnets...if only by their association with me.

And besides, who doesn't like a good rubbish magnet every now and again.

Here, there, everywhere

Magnet #1212 - Doctor Who Experience

TARDIS: Time and Relative Dimension in Space.

No kidding. The darn thing's following us throughout the UK. For realz.

When we got in on Wednesday, it was outside the Earl's Court tube stop, just hanging out, with folks doing what they're supposed to, just walking right by it and not evening noticing the big blue box beside the newsstand.

We just figured that it was because (we thought) the Doctor Who Experience down at Olympia was nearby. But, now we think it's possibly just a real police box. We didn't test this theory, sadly enough - as we passed it a few times a day, it started to fade into the background for us, too.

The big blue box was at the Doctor Who Experience on Thursday, in several places and in several iterations. That's to be expected, I know.

You know what wasn't expected? Was how freakin' cool the DW Experience was. I was fairly sure it was going to be much like the last experience I'd gone to in Cardiff a couple of years ago. I knew they'd revamped it, and the price, but I didn't know it was to include the coolest interactive shows ever. And that includes that Star Trek Experience in Vegas a while ago.

They still had a ton of costumes and props, but the interactive bit was made up of video with the cheeky as ever Matt Smith, live action, 3D and hands-on stuff.

Ya'll. We got to FLY the TARDIS, hence today's video below.* So. Freakin' COOL. The gift shop was fairly big, with a ton of stuff for us to buy (and we did). But the capper of our visit is this superfun magnet that the superadorableshopboy art directed for us. Twas fun watching my two companions (see what I did there?) lay down on the floor at the behest of the cuteboy.

The TARDIS was also at the British Library on Friday, at the Out of This World exhibit, but with a very cute "Back in 5 minutes" note from the Doctor. It should be noted that of course, that there were a few DW exhibits on display, including the Steampunk-y K-1889 and an original score.

Finally, today, in Cardiff, the TARDIS was hanging out in the lobby of the National Assembly of Wales Senedd building. Seriously. Odd no? It's akin to having Superman's egg sitting in the Capitol Rotunda.

Speaking of...we spent today in Cardiff, scoping out Doctor Who and Torchwood locations - and apparently failing miserably in finding a lot of them. It was totally my fault, as I didn't do my research for this particular trip. I figured we had it covered, since both my sister and I had already been this way before.

Still, it was a nice little getaway to Wales, and now we still have reasons to go back.

But the icing on our Doctor Who Experience in London cake, was meeting up with @BlogtorWho, one of my North Stars of the Who-verse.

If you're not following him on Twitter, you should.

If you're not visiting his Blogtor Who blog, you should.

If you're not listening to his episode commentaries, you should.

He puts so much into covering Doctor Who, it's unbelievable. And he does it out of sheer love of the show. And, bonus, he knows his shit.

Plus, he's totally a nice dude who didn't mind traveling clear across London (literally) to meet up with me, my sister and friend.

Although, man, his trip woulda been so much easier had any of those TARDISes we keep seeing had been in working order.



*Team Doctor flying the TARDIS:

All that, and a bag of grits!

Magnet #1211 - Out of this World, British Library

Today was another one of those loose and flowy days, where in time got away from us. Time, and a bag of grits, anyway. Heh.

When we left the hotel, we actually had a plan - New London Architecture, Pollock's Toy Museum, British Library, St. Pancras and King's Cross. All before lunch.

Stop laughing. I can hear you.

Well, despite intense shopping along Oxford, we managed to accomplish all of the above, only by about 3:15ish, when we had to run back from King's Cross all the way back down to our Earl's Court hotel, to grab my imported grits for my friend, whom we were meeting in Trafalgar Square at 4ish. Whew!

But, I wouldn't trade the muss and fuss for anything, as we had a good time at HMV looking for a million Brit music CDs and Simon Pegg's Nerd Do Well book. And at the soccer shop (no really, it was called the Soccer Store, presumably to draw in us dumb Americans). And at the touristy souvenir shops (had to pick up Wills/Kate magnets). And at a place called JOY (yes, I know!). And window shopping. And saying hello to FDR and Winston on Bond Street.

We finally managed to get on with our schedule round about 11 or so...with a fun trip to the Toy Museum, all Victorian with its overwhelming collection of both creepy and cool toys. Seriously, that place must be a madhouse when all the humans go home - you just know all the toys are totally raving afterhours.

My fave part of the trip thus far has been the New London Architecture space - which has a supercool London diorama. Ya'll know I love a good diorama. I mean, it wasn't on the level of the Queens diorama of New York, but nothing gives you a better feel for the layout of a town than a fantastic diorama. Whoa. Ya'll didn't think I could be this dorky, huh. (Well, you are reading a magnetblog! Hmph!)

We also loved the supercool Out of This World science fiction exhibit at the British Library. I mean, the library itself was an awesome building - but the exhibit, despite being overcrowded, was really well done. It basically went through the science fiction genre from several different aspects and POVs, and through books and music and television and film. So good! We weren't able to do the tour or the Library treasures exhibit, but I suppose we should keep some stuff for future visits.

After a quick trot in the rain past St. Pancras, and a quick snap at Platform 9 3/4s for the sister, it was back to pick up the grits for my friend. No, really. She lives with her hub in South London but grew up with me in NC, and that was her one request. It's the one thing she can't find in London. I feel her pain, man. It's hard to get good grits in New York, too.

Well, like they say, you can take the girl out of North Carolina...

#Muchado

Magnet #1210 - Much Ado About Nothing

Confession time. I follow a lot of folks on Twitter surrounding the David Tennant/Catherine Tate production of Much Ado About Nothing. A couple of the actors, a couple of the bloggers, a couple of the fansite folks, etc.

But that's not my confession.

My confession is that, despite following all those Twitterfeeds, I seriously had an OMG moment in London that #muchado was really for Much Ado.

Now, in my defense, I must have known at some point. But for some reason, in my head, #muchado had become a word, pronounced like the Spanish muchacha or muchacho.

It was one of those OMG moments of extreme stupidity, that has perhaps replaced all the other moments of extreme stupidity. And, I keep repeating it with a giggle now, Mooochadoh.

Which is why I can't really judge the two little teenyboppers who sat next to me at #Muchado. The ones who asked us was the play done, and where we were going at the interval.

No, really. They couldn't tell that the play had been left mid-story at the...interval?

But anyway, yay for David Tennant still reeling the young ones into Shakespeare.

And yay for not being ill for today's performance!!! Thank you SO much, David Tennant!

Ya'll have no idea how happy I was not to see the little sheet, or the hear the announcement saying, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the role of Benedick will be played by [insert understudy here]." I would have seriously gone down to the box office, and left a really not-nice note demanding a public apology from the man himself if I'd flown all the way over from the US twice and not seen him perform.

And, it was a great performance, too. There's a reason they're getting accolades, and it's not just cuz they're Doctor Who alum. They have fantastic chemistry (right up to the kissing, anyway, but I have trouble seeing David kiss anyone - weird, I know), and David and Catherine really made this Shakespeare dramedy fun to watch. They were surrounded by an excellent cast, which made it so much better.

The show was funny in the appropriate parts, a bit teary in others - in fact, a lot more teary than I expected. And, with it being set in 80s Malta, that just added a bit more fun to it. It's always fantastic seeing how different companies stage Shakespeare, the decisions they make with setting and costumes, the line deliveries, the add-ons, etc. I love it.

Mind you, no matter who is playing her, no matter what the production, I still regard Hero as the worst, most niminy-piminy heroine ever in the history of heroines, for taking Claudio back after the way he devastated her at the altar. I hate her for it.

I mean, really, you can totally tell a man wrote that story!

*eta:
I forgot! At the interval (actually, after a quick trip to the loo, where all the older ladies were wittering on about how versatile David was), I ran downstairs and found that they were selling magnets. (I dunno why I didn't check earlier, most of the Broadway shows have them, why wouldn't someone be savvy enough to make magnets for me.)

So I bought five. For my sisters and friends. And me. I mean, damn, it's a helluva magnet!

Albertopolis

Magnet #1209 - Royal Albert Hall

Ya'll know how I love planning itineraries, right down to bathroom breaks and beach time. But, what you may not know, is that once we get on site, I'm pretty good about going with the flow and responding to requests. That's the beauty of the itineraries - making adjustments and accommodations for random things that pop up along the way.

For example, I don't think Royal Albert Hall was ever on my list. I'd checked it off years ago, when Maxine Lefever took us American Musical Ambassadors over to see it. And by see it, I just mean, we circled it in a bus, and maybe (even if I can't remember) got off to look closer.

But, one of the things on my list for today - after our overnight flight - was the Albert Memorial, which I'd somehow missed in all my previous visits. Even if it was across. the. street. from the Royal Albert Hall.

And so our journey through Albertopolis*, London's first cultural quarter, began. The South Kensington area was so named because Albert, beginning with his Great Exhibition of 1851, had a hand in planning and/or developing the area with museums (National History, Victoria & Albert and Science), educational institutions (Imperial College), and the arts (Royal Albert Hall).

After a detour to the absolutely incredible Albert Memorial (wherein my love for Victoria and Albert as the greatest couple ever was validated again), through Kensington Gardens and the Serpentine Gallery (which was in between outdoor installations, so we missed out) and the Diana Memorial Fountain (which was closed for refurb), we finally got to do the Royal Albert Hall tour.

It wasn't the supercool behind-the-house tour, which made us a little sad. But, we did get to look at a lot of pictures (not even kidding), learned a lot about the construction (it's smaller than was originally planned, because it was too expensive to build the way Al wanted it) , got to watch the English National Ballet rehearse their Strictly Gershwin production (I'm not sold on Gershwin and ballet, it's got a bit of cognitive dissonance, watching it), and got to see what the view from every level was like (very cool views from the rafters, I swear).

We also got to sit in a box or two, and I don't mind admitting that I totally imagined a production there, and all the fancy lords and ladies in fancy dress, using their opera glasses to spy on the other boxes, rather than the actual show on stage.

We didn't get to go into the Royal box - apparently they hang a flag over her section, when she's present. Needless to say, she wasn't there when we were there. Nor did she greet us in her supernice reception room.

Yeah. I know. I was surprised she wasn't there to see me, either.



*RIBA has an excellent and in-depth online exhibition on Albertopolis - well worth checking out.

These are great days, indeed

Magnet #1208 - Churchill quote

If there's one epoch my sisters and I are well familiar with, it's World War II - on both sides of the Atlantic.

Between books, movies, television, work, our father, yeah, I would argue that it might be the time period we know best. (Or, at least enough to possibly get us through a couple of Jeopardy! or Trivial Pursuit rounds, anyway.)

Which is why I so love this Churchill quote that my friend gave me.

Actually, if I'm honest, I just love the big guy himself as one of my fave historical figures, but this quote, taken from this speech given to Harrow School students is just so indicative of the indomitable spirit of England and her leader at the time.

Figured I'd use this magnet as we all head off this evening for a few great days ourselves in Merry Olde England.

Just a very short holiday, we'll be back before we've had a proper visit. My original intent was just to fly in for David Tennant's performance and fly back, over a weekend. But then everyone started piling on to the trip, adding people, days and things to see, until it became not quite a full-blown vacation, but not quite a fly-in/fly-out trip, either.

Whatever. We're still gonna have a blast.

The non-itinerary's as done as it's gonna get, and I've decided if we see it, great. If we don't, then there's always post-Olympics 2013.

Unless David decides to do another play in the meantime, and then we'll have to talk.



*Note: This is the first trip in several years where I'm opting not to bring along my laptop. The very thought of it, makes me feel superduperunconnected to the world. I'm actually a little uncomfortable at how much I already miss her, and I haven't even left yet.

But her absence by my side (sniffle), means I will likely not do any joymagnetism updates until my return, unless I just get industrious while away.

Mind you, I've totally opted for international coverage on my Droid, so dammit, my TweetDeck had better work!

I don't want to live in a totally unplugged world!

**eta:
Having now re-read and posted this magnet, there's a part of me that just wants to pack up the laptop and bring it with me anyway. I mean...what will I do at the airport? How will I cope?

*hyperventilates*

Some say ambrosia. Some say...Watergate Salad?

Magnet #1207 - Jell-O Salads

Watergate Salad. A yummy remnant from my home economics class in junior high. For me, anyway.

We spend Thanksgiving with a Filipino family who has an American in-law who always brings Watergate Salad as her dish.

For the first couple of years, it sat on the dessert table, green and lonely, in a sea of traditional Filipino desserts. Until my aunt realized that I was the only one who was eating it - she still manages to send it home with me every year.

Of course, Thanksgiving comes but once a year...which means I go the rest of the year without it. Especially because my mother won't make it, and we all know that I don't cook.

And, one could argue that Watergate Salad is something that only needs to be had once a year. But earlier this summer, I discovered that K&W Cafeterias have it! So, yeah. In addition to chicken pan pie, fried okra and the best mashed potatoes in the world? Green Watergate Salad has become a staple. Woot!

What's Watergate Salad, you ask?

The recipe, from Kraft, for Watergate Salad

1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple, in juice, undrained
1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) JELL-O pistachio flavor instant pudding
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1-1/2 cups thawed Cool Whip

Mix first 4 ingredients in large bowl until well blended. Stir in Cool Whip. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Yeah. Easy as pie. Not even any real cooking.

But come on. It's way easier just to head out to K&W. Plus, it sounds dessert-y, right? I love, love, love that K&W keeps it with the salads. Hahaha.

Ya'll, I heart this stuff so much.

It's totally why I had to buy this Lovely Day Designs magnet from this new magnet lady I found down at the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market. Mind you, I bought two sets of three magnets, so I might have gone a bit overboard.

But I wouldn't be me, if I didn't!

Art is art

Magnet #1206 - Art is Art

I picked up this magnet, not surprisingly, at the MoMA, home of art that continually challenges me.

Ya'll know I love my art plain and sweet, and representative of what it's supposed to be. That I pretty much eschew avant garde work for pieces that appeal to me, that I can easily understand, and don't make me think too hard.

That's not to take away from avant garde, that's to say that while I deeply respect creativity, I'm at my core, a very lazy spectator.

That being said, I love cool shit.

And will go wherever in the City I can find it.

This weekend I went over to the Park Avenue Armory - a place that's taken me 16 years to discover - for the last day of Ryoji Ikeda's The Transfinite installation. No, I didn't know who Ikeda was, either, but just seeing the pictures and videos of the strobey lights and data and lit walls and people and general craziness, I knew I had to go.

I was not disappointed at all. The installation was in the supergiant drill hall, and had a front and back side, with different vantage points of the work. It was seriously a visual assault on the eyes and the ears, with strobey lights and pounding rhythms, blocking out all serious thought. At least til you opened yourself up to the experience, and just let it pulsate through you.

As my sister said, when she saw the videos, it was very Intersect-y, like on Chuck. Overall, it was definitely one of those quintessential New York experiences that have to be, well, experienced, rather than magnetblogged about.

So, here ya go, the front side, with all the light patterns on the floor and wall:


And then the backside of the installation, with all the data and numbers:


Finally, there's a whole set of interiors that you should see at the Armory, rooms designed by folks such as Stanford White with details like Tiffany windows. The place is a must-see, even when there's not a big installation in-house.

How are your eyes?*

Magnet #1205 - Cadets Drum & Bugle Corps

Went to see a friend's son perform with @thecadets (Cadets Drum & Bugle Corps) tonight out in Jersey. A work-in-progress preview performance, but superdupercool nonetheless.

I've probably admitted it before, but I was a total high school bandgeek. Played clarinet (section leader, natch, until my senior year, when I quit in a fit of teenage defiance), and so I never marched drum corps.

But, of course, we grew up watching DCI competitions on tv and at school, and when I heard my friend's kid was gonna march Cadets, I was over the moon. Ya'll, they're so good, that even my mother knows who they are. (In fact, I still keep calling them the Cadets of Bergen County. Heh.)

Mind you, for these couple of hours tonight, I totally lived vicariously through this kid. Heh. Plus, the night was totally like one of my beloved behind-the-scenes tours!

So much fun seeing all the band parents - the ones snapping up all the band swag at The Cadets Fan Shop (!), wearing not one, but two layers of branded windbreakers, and blankets, talking about past shows and past showdates where they last met. All of them keeping a watchful eye out for where their kids were, or might show up. It's such a different world, and it was fun watching my friend and his family experience that firsthand.

Loved watching all the pre-show activity - kids running around the borrowed high school facilities, half in uniform, jackets open, getting ready in bathrooms and locker rooms, then meeting up with their small sections and instructors to go over last-minute feedback and advice.

And then - best part ever - marching off lockstep and battleready, to join the rest of the group, shutting out the world, eyes hard and facefront, determined and never wavering, despite family members standing nearby and waving them off.

The show itself was interesting - without giving away too much of it - it's called Between Angels and Demons, a show of opposites, exploring man's inherent good versus evil. The corps was divided into two sides, both in uniform and show moves - two warring factions, and their battlefield the entire 100 yards of the football field.

It's a difficult show with more than 200 sets, and man, watching the fast moves and transitions at eye level was absolutely dizzying. It's something I'd never taken into consideration, as most of the tv coverage is from high above, to allow you to see all the pictures.

As expected, the Cadets were terrific, having built a good foundation so far, and one that will solidify with each day of practice and each performance. When we see them again in competition in a couple of months, you just know they're going to have an amazing show and dominate DCI.

Can't wait!

The best part of the night though, was learning how some things just don't change. For the most part, Cadets were marching by twos and small groups - of course, in lock step and perfect form, something that amazed my friend's family.

I tried to explain that it just becomes second nature, walking in step with whomever you're walking beside, and if not, doing a little hopstep to make sure that you are.

It's so second nature, that even 20 years after my last show, I totally found myself walking in lockstep and squeezing some toothpaste with each step. (I kept the toothpaste thing to myself...no need to let the dork flag fly that free!)


*The opening strains of our high school rallying cry:

How are your eyes?

With Pride!

Busy bee - Escape Home to NYC, Part 3

Magnet #1204 - Brooklyn

Yay, I'm back home!

Well, for a little while anyway, with New York as a pitstop before heading to London for a bit next week. Woot!

On the docket for this trip - last night's drinks at Galway Hooker pub (the boys insist that it's sailing term), tonight's Super8 at the historic Ziegfeld, tomorrow's Armory visit to see the Ryoji Ikeda exhibit on its last day, a DCI thing out in Jersey tomorrow night, the Met for the McQueen exhibit, and the piece de resistance, Monday night's Bono and The Edge discussing Spider-Man over at the 92nd St Y.

Yep. Name any one of those things I could have done in NC.

But, speaking of NC, it's the birthday of a really good friend down in NC, who got engaged on the Brooklyn Bridge, hence today's magnet! Yay, happy birthday, Ro!

Bobo Bucky Balls

Magnet #1203 - Magnet Balls

Ok. I've been waiting for a great sale on Bucky Balls. Amazon finally came through with a great sale, even though these are not Bucky Balls.

But, they're smaller and way supercooler.

And, I may not let go of them for the rest of the evening.

Got fish?

Magnet #1202 - Pirate from Topsail Island, NC

When I was little, we used to go down to the river after the office, and fish until dusk. Then we'd come home, my mom clean the fish (cursing the whole way, "Girls, don't marry men who love fish!"), and they'd eat fried fish for dinner, while the girls and I would...not.

The same would stand for roadtripping to the beach and fishing piers - only for those, we'd take overnight shifts, manning the crabnets and the fishing rods all night long.

Yep, my parents love fishing. Something I've always known, really. But, as it turns out, while my father's forte is eating the fish, it's my mother who wears the fishing pants.

I had no idea how much until today, when the BIL and I took the parents out to Topsail Island, NC - the first time my parents have been out since my dad's heart attack in February, and a much-needed fishing break for the two of them.

When we first got there, my dad shopped for the day's catch at not one, but two different fish markets - across the street from each other. Meanwhile, my mother fairly bounced in her seat, waiting for him to get done shopping. Seriously, she was like an impatient five-year-old. "C'mon! Let's go! Hurry up! Let's go fishing! C'mon!" There was a part of me that wanted to look back from the driver's seat and say, "Settle down, young lady!" but I'm pretty sure nothing would crush her exuberance.

When we got to the pier and were paying our entry fees, we had to call her down with a "Sloooow down!" to get her to come back over to the cashier, to mark her rod. She giggled, and then made for the pier. It was she who led the way to the selected bench, she who dug out the tackle box, and she who pulled out the first bait.

From there, it was like we were actually renting rods from my mother, who (in between casting and fishing with her own rod), made sure that each of us and our other three rods were jigged up and fully loaded with bait. She was also in charge of removing any and all fish from our hooks after we reeled them in. And very helpfully told us where on the pier we should thinking about casting our lines.

On top of that, turns out Mom's one of those humblebraggers (Oh, I'm soooo tired of catching these bluefish. Where are the mackerel?!) who point out your shortcomings (Oh, Joy, there shouldn't be any reason you're not catching anything, that jig is perfectly fine! Here, let's look at it again. No, see, it's perfectly fine!)

After a few hours, exhausted and sunburned (ok, that one's just me), we climbed into our monstrous church van (no, it's not a real church van, just the size of one) and headed...back to the fish markets (both of them!) to make sure that they hadn't gotten anything new, but really to make sure we had...more fish to go home with.

Our day's catch? If you ask mom (and I did), she'll say, oh, it doesn't matter how much we caught! (Even though she totally mentally counted every one!)

We caught probably half a cooler full of fish - and only about four of those were mine. The parents and BIL managed to catch some good ones, though. And some were even thisbig!

Such a fun day...which ended after a 5-hour roadtrip back home, where my dad and mom ate fried fish...and I did not.

By the way, until today, it had been a good 20 years since I'd actually cast a line. And, ya'll - I'm still good at it! Mind you, I don't catch worth a damn, but I get those jigs way the hell out into the water off the pier.


eta:
Oh! Today's magnet! I picked the pirate magnet from Waves (yes, with the requisite giant alligator entryway in front) for two reasons.

1) Because they totally found Blackbeard's Queen Anne's Revenge off the coast of NC and are conducting an archaeological dig around it. How cool!

2) Because I had considered doing a whole Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides post. But, short and sweet? Not as good as the original, but leagues better than 2 and 3, with a whole plotline that I didn't mind, and none of the gross tentacle-y, Ood-like characters I hated from the other two.

Bumble forward*

Magnet #1201 - Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall

Ok folks. My list for Things to Do in LA is always so very long, but this building is definitely in my top 3 to visit. I've seen it from afar, but haven't managed to go in...my friend brought this back from their gift shop, though...so yay!

Frank Gehry's Walt Disney Concert Hall, dedicated in 2003, is the home of the LA Philharmonic, and is arguably one of the coolest buildings around. It's one of Gehry's most recognizable works, and he almost didn't get the gig.

Back in the 1980s, Lillian Disney gave $15 million to help build a world-class performing arts institution to Los Angeles. The Walt Disney Concert Hall committee wasn't on board with Gehry, because at the time, he hadn't done the Bilbao in Spain or any major local work - locals knew him as the guy who had a funny house down in Santa Monica.

In the end, it took Lillian Disney's backing to get the committee on board with using him. Several years later - after much drama (that you can listen to here) - they finally managed to get the supercool building with the curvy-curvy stainless steel exteriors built.

And, bonus, they do tours!



*“You've got to bumble forward into the unknown.”

- Frank Gehry

I just love the quote, because if there's anyone who does that, it's Gehry...crinkling papers to see what shapes he can come up with. Building with materials that don't always exist in nature and have to be custom-built, etc.

Also, it's just a great quote for life, at least for me...given how I seem to be constantly bumbling forward into great unknowns this last calendar year.

"British Culture with an American Accent"

Magnet #1200 - Agecroft Hall

BBC-America's @anglophenia, one of my favorite blogs, did a great series of US/UK culture comparison posts last week that had me giggling in more or less agreement:

• Five Great American Things the British Ruined
• Five Great American Things the British Improved
• Five Great British Things the Americans Ruined
• Five Great British Things the Americans Improved

Loved this series, because it's one of those fun debates that are never-ending, depending on who you're talking to.

What's that have to do with today's magnet from my sisters and BIL, you ask?

Well, Agecroft Hall is a Tudor manor sitting on the James River riverbank in Richmond, Virginia. But we're not talking architecturally-speaking Tudor, like that house in Salisbury, NC, that my sister loves that was built in the last 50 years.

No, it's an authentic Tudor-era manor built in the 1400s, that some wealthy American dude from Virginia bought at auction in the 1920s.

And then had it shipped over from its original foundation in Lancashire, England.

I mean, it's common practice for folks to go abroad and have stuff shipped back. It happens all the time, right? A statue or ceiling frieze here, a mantelpiece or a chapel there. And, while I understand it's not the entire estate, it's still a vast majority of the original estate that was purchased and moved.

We're talking someone had to dismantle it, crate it up, ship it across the Atlantic, uncrate it and rebuild a whole manor house. Jeepers.

I can't tell if this is another Great British Thing an American Ruined. Ultimately, I'm torn.

There's a part of me that's glad someone saved it from disrepair, and stopped it from becoming just another set of ruins in England. A part of me that's glad more generations are able to enjoy and learn about the Tudor era, and not have to travel to England to do it, if they can't get there.

But there's another part of me (the part of me that wishes the Met's Temple of Dendur were in its original setting, rather than sitting in a glass-enclosed atrium on the Upper East Side of New York City, and thinks that the Elgin marbles should go back to Greece) that thinks it's such a shame that some American stunted 500 years of history, and replanted it elsewhere.

A friend said something the other week about loving standing on well-worn marble steps. It's true. I'm always saying, one of my favorite things to do is to step where history happened, to walk where so many other feet have walked.

So it begs the question, does it physically matter where on Earth those stairs are, or just that they still exist 500 years later for more people to walk upon?

You can tell a lot about a man and his...beans

Magnet #1199 - Ronald Reagan Forever Stamp

Today in 2004, Ronald Reagan passed away at the age of 93, and seven years later, 2011 marks a year-long centennial celebration, with various events and concerts, tributes and galas, and educational events set up across the US, and abroad.

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Library is totally on my list of things to do on my next California trip. A friend went out there earlier this year and brought back this superdupercool magnet for me.

It's Ronnie's Forever stamp, to commemorate his centennial - done in watercolor by Bart Forbes and issued back in February.

I just love this magnet because he looks pretty dashing as a former movie star, turned president.

What? Yes, I might have a small thing for Ronald Reagan. Oh, you can't tell me you're surprised. After all, I already said he was the president during my formative years!

Plus, really. A president who kept Jelly Bellys on his desk, just like I used to? How could he and I not get along famously.

Supposedly, he used to say you could tell a lot about people by whether or not they grab a handful of Jelly Bellys, or if they just go for certain colors. And it's true.

At my old job, I used to keep a pretty full dispenser of Jelly Bellys, filled with as many different flavor packs as possible - regulars, sours, sodas, tropicals, ice creams, etc.

I used to have so much fun watching coworkers navigate getting those beans.

The adventurous ones used to turn the knob, and have all the beans spill into their hands and just start eating them. They were the ones who loved discussing what flavors they were eating, and who never minded if they got a random peanut butter or popcorn or coffee. (Well, except for the one chick allergic to peanuts who freaked out and ran for her epi pen - oops. She's ok, but she never ate another Jelly Belly from me again.)

The less adventurous ones would cover the hole, hear the beans fall into the catcher, and reach their fingers into the tiny space to pick out the flavors they wanted. No discussion necessary, because they found the ones they wanted, said thanks, and moved along about their business.

Of course, this was after I bought the cast-iron dispenser, folks. It was even worse when I had the pop-top ones, where they could actually open the top and make lots of noise turning the dispenser round and round (and round and round), so they could reach in for their favorites. Oiy.

As for me, I'd rather just go to the candy store, and buy bags of my favorite flavors, so that I could mix and match and not get any bad beans.

That's not indicative of my OCD and/or control freak self at all.

Nope. Not at all.

Whither thou Rich Tyra Chronicles?

Magnet #1198 - Texas, Lone Star State

Last tv season two of my fave Twitterpeeps, @goddesspharo and @vegtrix nicknamed the show Lone Star, the Rich Tyra Chronicles. So when I saw this magnet at IAH in Houston, I had to pick it up.

If you remember, Lone Star was one of those shows with a healthy ad budget and good critical buzz, featuring hot, unknown actor James Wolk and Adrianne Palicki, Tyra Collette from Friday Night Lights. The show, for a lot of us, was really what happened to Tyra after she left Dillon, TX, and got rich.

Alas, the show lasted two whole episodes - on FOX, of course - before it was pulled due to low ratings.

After the network upfronts a couple of weeks ago, I tried to watch as many trailers of as many shows as I possibly could, just to get a sense of what shows I'm planning on watching this fall, and what shows might be the next set of Lone Star'd shows to get canceled before their time.

I don't have an answer to that question, but I will say that there's nothing that's totally grabbed me, which is surprising, and a little scary, given that I'm usually watching at least 30-40 scripted hours of TV a week.

You can watch more than 40 trailers here, and decide for yourself. As for me, I'll wait to see which horses the networks back with big ad dollars in a couple of months, and go from there.

eta:
I will say, as much as I love Adrianne Palicki, and I want her working, I'm really glad no one opted to pick up Wonder Woman. Early reports were not favorable. And it's better to have just the one pilot, rather than...several episodes in the can and then getting pulled. Again.

For the love of books

Magnet #1197 - Lexxie Couper

I think this might be the last of the Romantic Times convention magnets that my friend brought back for me. Figured it was appropriate, since I just finished watching @avonbooks' Romance Live webcast with romance writers Julia Quinn and Elizabeth Boyle.

I love books. I love the look of them, I love the feel of them. I love holding them.

I love the places they take me, the ideas they hold, and the stories they tell.

But, these last couple of years, I've been having a crisis of faith over the actual reading of them.

I've gone from reading back to back to back to not having read more than a handful of books over the course of the last year. And three of those books were Sarah MacLean's trilogy, so that almost doesn't count (except that they were so very good).

It's troubling, because I used to could drown myself in other people's lives and be transported to the romantic worlds of Regency or Victorian England for a few hours. I could distract myself with books on architecture or the film industry or history.

Now, instead, I buy a ton of books with every intention of reading, but then I can't make it the first couple of chapters before I'm distracted from it, and never pick it up again - which is why I have stacks and stacks of books in my apartment, all bookmarked for my supposed return.

A lot of my problem is that I really can't read without editing. Rewording paragraphs, finding plotholes, recognizing character development mistakes or making mental improvements. I've even found myself composing the revision letters to the authors in my head.

Now, it's more than just that. And I can't figure it out, no matter how hard I try. It's kind of driving me crazy, because I keep hearing everyone I know talk about how much they're reading lately. I'm so jealous!

Clearly my reading block doesn't stop me from buying. So, you're welcome, publishers!

My latest attempt to jump-start my reading is the Kindle app on my Droid Pro. I figured I'd give the app a try, rather than investing in any real sort of eReader. So far, it's great - I buy a title with just one click, and boom. I own it, and can read it whenever I have downtime in random places.

Mind you, I do hate that I'm spending random $7.99s all over the place, and have no physical stack of books to show for it. But, I'm starting to see the same trend - buying a ton of books, and the app's saving a place for my supposed return.

Right now, I'm in the middle of Bossypants (by Tina Fey, which is actually pretty good), Contest (by Matthew Reilly, set in the NYPL, but I wish I'd been told there was an actual monster in it), and More than a Mistress (by Mary Balogh, which was reco'd on Twitter and is ok, though I'm having issues with the characters).

On top of that, I've bought, but haven't yet started The Vespertine (by Saudra Mitchell, because Sarah MacLean kept Tweeting about it), Just Like Heaven (by Julia Quinn, because Theresa Medeiros Facebook'd it), and Lord Langley Is Back in Town (by Elizabeth Boyle, because of tonight's webcast).

The only title that I've actually finished is Unlocked (by Courtney Milan, because it was gifted to me by a reviewer on Twitter, and likely because it was a novella).

See? All these, bought in the last month.

Yep, apparently, my susceptibility to all forms of publicity is still in full bloom...now, I just have to figure out how to get my reading mojo back!

Wish me luck!

Where the streets have a name. And a magnet, too.

Magnet #1196 - Baker Street NW1

I picked this magnet up at 221b Baker Street, at the Sherlock Holmes Museum.

You know, the one where Mr. Watson scared the pants off of me, by simply moving. What? You can see him here in this vid, tho I suppose he's not as scary here.

I was saving this magnet for a couple of reasons. One, because when my former agency rebranded, one of the names were hoping to use was Baker Street, in honor of us looking for the truth (or some facsimile of it), and our amazing powers of deduction (such as they were). But, you wouldn't believe how many Baker Street marketing communications companies there are in this world. So of course, we went with another name and...don't get me started.

Then, I was saving this magnet for when the second Sherlock Holmes (either movie or series) came out, but then I thought that's fooooorever away, and we leave for London in 13 days!

Which totally means I can find other replacement magnets for them while I'm there. What?

You know, there's a big part of me that wants to collect every single one of these street sign magnets that I can find while I'm over there. There's a ton of them.

But, if you think about it, it'd be like me collecting all those Times Square or Broadway or 42nd Street or Wall St. green magnets from those souvenir shops along 8th Ave. And, yes, while I've thought about collecting those, I've wisely refrained.

No room at the inn. For the magnets, or the crazy.

But really, the magnets.

Crazy...well, ya'll are reading this magnetblogpost.

So, there.

I can feel it. The turn of the Earth.

Magnet #1195 - Nine's Soliloquy

Another #DoctorWho CafePress magnet, bought when I realized I had a lot of Eleven quotes, a lot of Ten magnets, and virtually nothing from Nine.

So here it is on this magnet, and below, about :50 seconds in. One of my favorite scenes of Christopher Eccleston, and one of my favorite Doctor speeches across the whole series.