On Beeing Star Struck

We interrupt these regularly scheduled blog posts, to bring you an update on one of the coolest things that has happened to me in a very long time.

Less than 18 hours ago, I was ....

20 feet from STING!

Yes. Auntie Nettie has a fan girl crush. Yes. She realizes how silly that seems, but 20 is the number of years that I have been crushing on Mr. Sting, so somehow it seems appropriate that I was that many feet away from him. (Plus, it's closer than a restraining order specifies ...)

Thanks to a friend in production who knows of this silliness, I got an e-mail entitled "Jealousy" yesterday afternoon:

I stopped by your desk, but you were gone. I just wanted to say that I was sorry for stealing your boyfriend this afternoon and tomorrow……..I’ll be hanging out next door in the penthouse with Sting in a few minutes. He’s on the Joshua Bell Live from Lincoln Center gig tomorrow night! Luckily, I got called to work the gig too! I’ll tell him you said hi!

Needless to say, I called her back and said some things that sound like puck (sorry about that Cynthia -- you know I was being facetious, right?) ... and one thing led to another and she sneaked me into the tech rehearsal for about 45 minutes. As I carefully walked around cameras, over cables, sauntering by crew with headphones, I got to watch the lighting rigs get minutely adjusted, musicians refining their entrances and intonations, and lots of producer types lurking about. I ran an errand or two for Cynthia to earn my keep and missed Sting's appearance, but I got to sit there during his rehearsal.

Usually when I get to see Sting he's either on a flat screen or inches high -- because I can only afford the nose bleed seats and he's so far away. This time, there were about 4 empty rows of chairs between me and the stage. You know, rushing distance. Plus there wasn't arena security. Luckily for all involved, I'm not the rushing type. I may have looked like I was a jaded New Yorker but deep inside me there was a not-so-little fan girl jumping up and down screaming:

STING! THAT'S STING!! OMG(oodness), OMG! THAT'S STING AND I'M RIGHT HERE AND HE'S RIGHT THERE!!!!! STTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNGGGG! I LOVE YOU! ROXANNE! Dream of the Blue Turtles! SOUL CAGES! FRAGILE!

All I could think of was "Don't geek out. Don't geek out. Be cooooooooooool, Auntie Nettie. Don't embarrass yourself OR Cynthia." DEEP BREATHS!

I wish I could have taken a picture, but that would have been uber tacky, especially given the circumstances. A flash in the dark would have certainly given away my position and called attention to the fact that I wasn't supposed to be there in the first place. Plus, I didn't want to appear gauche.

Thankfully Sting has shaved off the hoary hairy beard that he's been sporting recently, but I'm pleased to report that he's lean and lithe. So, he's looking older? Who isn't? Josh is also starting to show his age, does it really matter? They are both talented musicians and it was wonderful to see the shorthand that they have developed from working with each other in the past.

I've always enjoyed watching the behind-the-scenes stuff more than performances, mostly because I know how much hard work goes into rehearsing, scheduling, publicizing, and funding events. Backstage crews, tech crews, productions crews, and other administrative support NEVER get their props -- so here's mine. You guys ROCK!

Between seeing Sting, Joshua Bell, and Chris Botti, the gorgeous flower arrangements, the awesome views of the sun going down over the Hudson, and the very cool set and lights, I have to say it was a very very good night. Thanks Cynthia. What a way to liven up a Wednesday night.

Want to see the glossy, rehearsed, and outfitted version of what I got a glimpse of, watch Live from Lincoln Center's Joshua Bell with Friends @ the Penthouse tonight, January 21, 2009 on PBS or check your local listings. Click here for more details. Guess what I'll be watching tonight?

PBS ROCKS TOO!

Aliens Among Us

Yesterday's entry about Spock got me to thinking. There are so many sci-fi shows, books, and movies, not to mention mythologies about sightings, pictographs around the world with unexplained depictions of unknown creatures, that I have to begin to believe that aliens have been, and are, actually among us.

I think they navigate here through the solar system, using stars and planets as their guides.
They disguise their spaceships in different forms, but always with the saucer format and those ominous glowing balls of light.

They take over strange creatures as their hosts. (That's the only explanation for this photo that I can think of, not to mention the pitch of this chick's voice and many mannerisms!) When the host passes on, the only evidence of their true natures is craftily hidden away on stone markers for future generations to puzzle over.

So I took these in the Nathan Hale Cemetery in Coventry, CT ... Doesn't mean that some of our colonial fore parents weren't aliens. Just saying.

Summer Fridays 2009 - Part One

One of the best things about working at the Big J is that fact that we get about 10-12 Fridays off from June to August, in exchange for some of the Monday holidays throughout the year. This comes in very handy for vacations, explorations, etc. After working so hard for so many summers, sometimes I don't know what to do with myself with all this time off. In an effort not to sink into the horridly debilitating depression that clouded last summer, this year I made a list of places to go and things to try and do. Luckily the weather cooperated, for the most part, and I was often joined by friends, or persuaded by others to deviate from the list. Here's a partial sampling of some of the things that I did on my summer Fridays (besides going to the office and blogging about them!)

Lion Brand Studio

After reading about the studio for so long, I finally had a reason to be downtown. I planned my perambulations to include a walk over to the very lovely Lion Brand studios, where I spent some time ogling the wall of yarn, downloading patterns for projects, and ordering more materials. I tried not to be intimidated by the serious knitters and other crafters. I'm a rank amateur compared to those people.

Right next to the computers are some of the amigurumi animals that can be made by various knit/crochet patterns.

The front window display is changed up occasionally. When I visited, it was a knitted display of the New York City skyline and other notable landmarks/institutions.
There was even a knit replica of the Mayor knitting. Having just seen the mayor outside the office, this guy looks better and more approachable. During my walk-about downtown, I strolled by some very interesting window displays. Since I was on my way to the Lion Brand Studio, I was in a crafty state of mind.

These are a little creepy though.

I think I was so distracted by what I had seen in these windows, I almost completely missed the fact that I walked right by a very low key Spike Lee.

This trip also included an excursion to the famous Strand Bookstore. Now, I love books. I love the smell of old books. I enjoy reading. Unfortunately, I have a problem with narrow aisles and crowds. I like to browse without feeling squished and rushed. I also like my sci-fi sections not be regulated to the back tiny corner of bookstores. Sadly, I've also found that when you are looking for obscure sci-fi books you run into the dilemma that sci-fi geeks hang on to their materials, so the likelihood that you are going to find that rarity is pretty slim. While I did find a few things on my list, I have to spend more time looking on-line for my missing volumes. Maybe my real problem with the Strand that day was that it was a muggy Friday at lunchtime and everyone was hanging out in the a.c.?

Since I was starving and it was lunchtime, I headed uptown and dove into the Union Square Green Market. After the quick walk uptown, the inhaled dust in the Strand, the inferiority complex I had also picked up at the Lion Brand Studio, I was even more susceptible to the aromas emanating from all the food vendors hawking their wares. The breakfast radishes, cilantro, and lettuce that went in my bag were later joined by jalapeno cornbread, maple-flavored breakfast rolls, and chocolaty baked goods. If I had had a cooler with me, I would have picked up fresh cheese and homemade bacon. Somehow, after all the browsing and purchasing, I never did get an actual meal! Once back in Grand Central, I finally bought a Jamaican beef patty at Golden Krust. I've only been walking by it almost every day for three years. For under $5, a well-balanced meal of an ice-cold Diet Coke and very hot, fried dough and spicy meat is the best. thing. ever! On other rambles around the Upper West Side, I walked right by the former residence of famed composer, Sergei Rachmaninoff.

On another Friday, my good friend Jane (from Flax Hill Gardner) joined me in the City. We went back downtown, bought goodies at one of the MoMA design stores, had our nasal passages assaulted in a Lush store, were serenaded by mourning Michael Jackson fans, discovered art works in new places, and were reminded that a City of over 7 million people is just too darn small.

My list of places to visit this summer included the Pearl River Market downtown. This wasn't Jane nor my first visits to the store, but we couldn't resist going back. It's just a sensory delight. From the incense that wafts through the building, the rich brocades of the various shoes, jackets, and children's mandarin-style outfits, to the feel of the fine origami papers, and all the various blue porcelain-wares that I was lusting over, it was fun to explore the two levels of the emporium. It caters to tourists and locals alike. Not only did I buy the typical I heart New York stuff, but I finally got some spicy chili sauce to soup up the Chinese food that my local purveyor just won't make hot enough for me.

The true purpose for our trip this time to New York was to visit Peanut Butter & Co.

For YEARS I have been watching various Travel Channel Sandwich Paradise shows, not to mention Rick Sebak's documentary on PBS, and have seen this shop. It's ridiculous that I've been in New York this long and not gone. Now I can cross another thing off my list.

Luckily Jane I have different food tastes, so we were able to pick different things off the menu.

When at Peanut Butter & Co., you have to try the Elvis ("A grilled peanut Butter sandwich, stuffed with bananas and honey. Try it with bacon for that extra indulgence. Long live the King!") Jane had hers without the bacon.
I hate banana, but love bacon, so I had a specialty sandwich with their Mighty Maple peanut butter and bacon. Salty, sweet, drippy, goofy, and DELICIOUS. So good. (All of their sandwiches are served "homestyle with a side of Cape Cod potato chips and carrot sticks. Just like Mom used to make!") HA! My mother didn't put bacon on our sandwiches. Fried baloney maybe, but not bacon.Here Jane models the fab ring she bought at MoMA. We had a corner booth. Now when I see Sandwich Paradise again, I know exactly where we were sitting, and I can enjoy it even more.It was pretty busy when we were there. We weren't the only ones influenced by the Travel Channel as the clientele was pretty obviously all tourists. After a while Jane and I had more fun watching the construction workers from next door removing a door papered over with flyers. Of course, that may had more to do with the naked male dancer from Pilobolus on the posters than anything else.

After such a yummy lunch, you would have thought we were done with food for the day, but Jane indulged me in back-tracking to find the Baked by Melissa cupcake stall I had spotted on my previous trip downtown. The whole trip back to the cupcake stall was because I promised Casey that I would eat a chocolate cupcake for her, and I wanted to find a vanilla cupcake to eat in honor of Nie's birthday. These little tiny cupcakes are scarily addictive (and expensive too!). One bite and they are gone.

While I didn't quite fulfill my promise to either lady, in some respects the flavors at Baked by Melissa represent their lives a little bit more accurately. I bought a dozen or so with the intent of taking pictures of them in strange locales and for a photo essay for Casey. However, the subway ride and the heat and the humidity conspired to create what what can only be called a 'hot mess' in the box. Happily, after refrigeration, the gooey mess was still edible and was devoured in a New York minute.

Thanks to Jane for schlepping around with me to cross a few things off my Summer Friday list!

For more information about my summer Fridays, stay tuned or check out the Shushing Librarian's adventures.

Random Chirpings

Don't be a chicken. Be a STAR!

(thanks for the idea Cheryl)

Star and other Strange NYC Sightings

As I was walking down Park Avenue last evening en route to Grand Central Terminal, enjoying a brisk spring evening, grooving to my ishuffle and dodging cabs, who did I happen to walk right by?

Jim Belushi and Dan Aykroyd

Guys, hope you made it to your function on time. You made my night.

Also spotted on the streets of New York -- the updated version of the Grim Reaper meets the 1880s meets Mr. Lincoln meets who-knows-what!

6 plus feet plus of hirsute oddness,

aka THIS GUY

You know someone is odd-looking when even jaded Upper West Siders/New Yorkers turn and gawk and comment to each other on the street corner. I thought this guy looked odd to just me, but apparently he's pretty unusual for these here parts. As I happened to have to follow him out of the subway and down four blocks to the library, I heard many remarks and saw many a double take, and NOT at me for being so obvious in digging my camera out of the bottom of my bag and then snapping away.

(Judge me not. You would have done the same.)

The bushy ponytail and full frizzly beard were scary enough from the back. Thank goodness for the zoom function. I was NOT going to get closer, or to go around and see what he looked like from the front. There might have been some red glowing eyes or horns or something.

RIP Arthur C. Clarke/Star Sightings

At the risk of sounding too geeky (or more geeky as the case may be), I am saddened to note the passing of another great sci-fi/fantasy writer.

According the AP reports, Arthur C. Clarke passed away today in his adopted home of Sri Lanka. The guy was more than a sci-fi giant. "He was credited with the concept of communications satellites in 1945, decades before they became a reality. Geosynchronous orbits, which keep satellites in a fixed position relative to the ground, are called Clarke orbits."

2001: the Space Odyssey .



*Sigh* This totally bums me out. My sci-fi/fantasy favorite writers are getting older, passing the torch to their sons or other authors, and/or dying off too quickly. The day that Anne McCaffrey "goes between" I'm seriously going to have to take a few personal days to reread all of the Pern Books. It was bad enough when Robinton "died," and he was just a character in her books.

*******

In semi-related news, I had another star sighting today. Rushing out of the subway, up Broadway, past the Barnes and Noble, was the star of stage and screen, best known for appearances on Mad about You, Spin City, and numerous guest spots on Scrubs, etc ....

RICHARD KIND

(just for you Jenn ... just for you)