If you're fond of sand dunes...

Magnet #1306 - Cape Cod

How cute is this flip-flop from Cape Cod? It's blue and silver! A friend sent it over, after they spent some of their time at the Cape waiting out Hurricane Irene.

I love it! So adorable.

And? It totally doubles as a bottle opener! Yay!

This magnet reminds me of this one Patti Page tape that got some seriously heavy play in the blue van growing up. All of us kids knew all the words to all of the tracks on the tape, and could sing along with every inflection.

But one of our favorites songs, besides Tennessee Waltz and How Much is that Doggy in the Window? was Old Cape Cod. Check it out...I've been humming this song off and on since I got this magnet!




Huh. OR, it could have been any number of Anne Murray albums that we listened to.

Lobby got back...to Capeside

Magnet #1068a & b - Boston Lobster

This two-sided magnet that I picked up at Quincy Market in Boston last year is freakin' awesome.

The lobster's grinning face reminds me of my messageboard friends whom I miss.

But how cute does Lobby look - so happy! You'd think he doesn't realize he's about to get eaten by people of Boston. Poor thing.

Using this magnet today because I finally - finally - finished my Dawson's Creek marathon. Seven seasons over the past three weeks or so, with a DC (Washington) break in between. I mentioned what started my Creekathon a few weeks ago, and it's been so much fun revisiting Capeside and Boston. Fun, and funny, watching a whole series back to back, and from so long ago.

It's slightly dated, with it's constant pop culture references and fashion sense. But mostly the fashion sense. I mean, the shoes alone made me giggle. Still, that cast had some of the most adorable outfits. Even "wrong side of the creek" Joey had some adorable stuff. Though, in later years, that Dawson Leery Scholarship must have paid off buckets, for she was actually wearing a DKNY Jeans winter coat, according to the tag on her sleeve. And good grief, she had a different coat for every occasion! And the scarves! They had the cutest, most adorable scarves!

The music made me crazy. They basically re-scored the show, to save on music rights - which I totally get. But some of the replacement songs were just not right for the seminal moments of the show, and made all the more upsetting when you've got a scene burned in your brain and it's totally not the same song they used in the original.

On top of that, in some of the scenes, some of the music levels overpowered the actual show dialogue. I shouldn't be hearing more of the lyrics than the dialogue, sound dude! And don't even get me started with the use of the international opening for seasons three-six, rather than the Paula Cole track. (Though I was happy they kept it intact for the series finale.)

The show really should have ended at season four - it was a perfect ending to the show. But no, we had to be subjected to the last two seasons...which were made bearable only by adding Busy Phillips. As my sister says, she was like a breath of fresh air to those seasons. It's true.

It was funny because I can recite dialogue from almost every episode from the first four seasons, but I had a hard time remembering some of the episodes from the last two seasons. Like, how in the world did I forget that Joey was Pacey's temp admin assistant for an episode?

It was probably because those last two seasons were very much uneven, and almost a totally different show, riddled with a lot of trial and error in terms of relationships and characters. They did a pretty good job of showing how each of them were leading separate lives, but in doing that, it lost a lot of what the show was about, I thought. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if they had done the One Tree Hill route and skipped college, and jumped right into "real life."

But I suppose the best part of revising Capeside and Boston were the guest stars and cameos. Eddie Cahill, Oliver Hudson, Andy Griffith, Pauley Perrette, Dr. Drew & Adam Corolla, Brenda Strong, Mimi Rogers, Jack Osbourne, Melissa Clare Egan (twice in 2 different roles), Greg Rikaart, and Jensen Ackles. And it just really cracks me up that Seth Rogen, of all people, will forever have Dawson's Creek on his resume.

Overall I have to say, the show held up for me. The same squees at Dawson & Joey and Pacey & Joey and Dawson & Jen 2.0, the same tears at the killer ice cream, all the proms and Jen's good-bye, and of course, the same sighs over Pacey Goo and "I remember everything."

I won't lie. Watching the final montage, there was a big part of me that wanted to run back and grab disc one all over again.

Of course, I'll wait.

But I don't wanna.

The joy axiom

Magnet #974 - MIT

For the most part, I'm a relatively intelligent chick, I think. But my downfall is and always will be anything having to do with numbers. Anything. Whether it's counting blocks or figuring out 20% tip, I cannot do it.

So, today, when we roamed the hallowed halls of MIT, land of the smaht people, I felt pretty unsmaht. Particularly at the student stores cash register, when I looked across the room and stared for a bit figuring out the "May The m x a Be With You." on the wall.

First, I got distracted by the random initial caps of the phrase and wondered who did a such a silly thing. Second, I was like why didn't they just use "force." And finally, the light went on in my head for mass times acceleration. (In my defense, I never took physics. Shut it. I've lived to my mid-30s without taking it. I'm fine.)

Anyway, my cousin (who is exceedingly smarter than yours truly, I'm learning) and I did the self-guided tour which took us all around the campus from the classrooms and labs to Gehry's Stata Center and the fun student union. (Also in my defense, I knew that this piece in the Stata was an Anish Kapoor before I saw the placard, which also made me feel a little smarter.)

Though, honestly, aside from the student stores thing, I probably would have felt a little more intimidated on campus, had we not taken a stroll down the Infinite Corridor of this building on this magnet. In addition to the fun exhibit on fonts (no, really) and on strobes (no, really), the halls were lined bulletin boards with all their fun things to do, and once I got a load of the student life activities, I pretty much stopped being intimidated.

That's what MIT Quidditch(!), the MIT Marching Band (with Strolling Strings!), the MIT Gilbert & Sullivan Players, and the MIT anime library collection (the largest in America!) will do for ya. I kinda thought, oh, wouldn't it be fun to be at MIT.

But then I remembered the joy axiom:

If it has numbers, no.

Wait. Is that a postulate? Definitely a fact, not theorem.

Sigh. I hated Geometry.

Here's lookin' at you, joy

Magnet # 924 - Bear

This magnet that I bought at a gas station in Massachusetts today basically sums up half the roadtrips I've ever taken. Ever.

Ya'll know that when I'm traveling, I'm constantly on the lookout for bears by the roadside. Always.

I did see a bear a couple of days ago on a country road in NC. At least, I think it was a bear.

It was an unfenced field, and there was a black blob in the middle, with a light snout - exactly like this guy here. And there was a pick-up truck off to the edge of the plot of land, watching the blob. I think. I totally looked around to see if there were any other black blobs or cows to make sure it wasn't a bear that went Moooo. (/tm Erika)

Sigh. I dunno.

But seriously, ya'll. One day, this big guy is totally what I'm expecting to see one day.

Just you wait.

Stone's throw from Boston

Magnet #914 - Maymont

Yep, my second Maymont magnet. I've magnetblogged about that house before, so I'm using this one for today's visit to yet another obscure historical house.

This time it was Robert Treat Paine's Stonehurst, in Waltham, Massachusetts, designed by Henry Hobson Richardson, with a little landscaping help from his friend, Frederick Law Olmstead.

Some consider Richardson to be one of the greatest American architects - born in Louisiana, most of his work is scattered in New England, and the Midwest, from Trinity Church in Boston to the original Marshall Field store in Chicago, to having a hand in the NY State Capitol. And of course, everyone knows Olmstead for his work in Central Park and Chapel Hill and myriad other places.

Stonehurst was pretty bare, but man, was it gorgeous! Wood paneling, stone facade, giant hall, several parlors, fantastic. And of course, we were the only ones inside, and while we only did the self-guided tour, we ended up bombarding the poor lady with question after question after question.

Eh. It's what we do. It's who we are.

Oh. And we knocked on some wood, too.

Knock on wood

Magnet #913 - Adams National Historical Park

The whole point of the roadtrip was for my dad's eye surgery in Boston, and so here I sit in the car in a torrential downpour, waiting to go into the small waiting room, magnetblogging away.

True to form, my parents and I managed to find some fun along the way here - and even more true to form, presidential fun, no less, with the Adams National Historical Park being one of our stops.

Such a great way to spend a couple of hours. It starts out at their nice visitors center - truly our tax dollars at work - with screenings of the History/Discovery channel videos of Adams (x2), and then you get a fun, if slide-y, trolley ride to the two sites.

First, you get a house tour of John Adams' house when he was born (that's the house on the right), and then the house on the right, where his son, John Quincy Adams, lived growing up. Then the trolley takes you down to where John and Abigail lived during their time in the White House. Called Peacefield, it was really considered the summer White House, a really cool house museum, where the majority of the collection is authentic to the Adams family.

Which is crazy, cuz when you walk through the house, it's as though you've stepped back in time to the late 1700s, with wallpaper you're not supposed to touch, artifacts and paintings you're not supposed to touch, and furniture...you're not supposed to touch. Mind you, the Adams descendants are free to roam about the house like it's theirs (I mean, technically, it is, right?), which sounds pretty damn cool.

Though, I'd love to roam around the standalone library built off to the side of the house. It's two stories, with shelves and shelves and shelves of books. And on his giant table (which was supposedly brought down to the White House and back), there were several Bibles, including one presented to John Quincy Adams by the Mendi people, the folks he defended over L'Amistad.

But, that's what I find cool about Massachusetts, between this park, Bunker Hill, and Minuteman Park - it makes the birth of our nation come alive. It puts our history into context, and it gives us a sense of what those rabblerousing colonists were up to.

Speaking of rabblerousing...remember that no touching rule? I nearly smacked my dad's hand when he started lightly knocking on a couple of the wooden bureaus in the house. It's what he does. Anywhere. And everywhere. He knocks on wood. I mean - wood beams, joints, furniture, casings - everything. Being a pretty good carpenter himself, he admires the handiwork, and I think, there's a part of him that connects with history whenever he does it. So sorry, NPS.

Mind you, I'll confess to having taken a picture or four in the library. I was just hiding from the tour guide to surreptitiously take pictures for a librarian friend of mine. But, from what I heard from the guide, that Bible from the Mendi? It was stolen several years ago...leaving them to install security cameras. Ummmm, oops? No, really, so sorry, NPS.

But, dudes, the Adamses had a Webster's Dictionary. Volumes ONE. And TWO!!! Whoa!

Openness is the essence*

Magnet #553 - John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum

Last night, Save the World Sister asked me why I'm not blogging on Ted Kennedy.

My response is two-fold. First and foremost, because it's a magnetblog, and I always feel weird blogging on someone's death. Second, I'm trying to keep from the trending topics on Twitscoop. It's weird, I know, but that's what I'm trying to do.

In the end, I can't deny a birthday request, especially for one who so very much would like to play football with the boys at A Kennedy Thanksgiving. So happy birthday, STWsis, with a birthday compromise.

This magnet is what it says - the John F Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, where Senator Edward M. Kennedy is lying in repose through Saturday. I'm sure he's in that grand, nine-story atrium overlooking the water. And with stormy weather on the horizon, I bet it's simply awe-inspiring.

That's actually what I thought of I.M. Pei's building when I saw it. A little imposing, a little boxy, but still a little awesome. Oddly, it feels like it's marooned out in the middle of nowhere - when you drive up, you see the big black glass box popping up. And then when you're inside, it's even cooler.

I should have known Jackie Kennedy was part of the design process - of course, she'd lean toward Pei's sophisticated, somehow modern yet somehow classic work! I love that when they spoke early on in the process, the man tried to manage her expectations, saying that he'd not done a huge monumental work yet. I love even more that she took a chance on him. And what a result!

You really must visit this museum when you're in Boston. With your ticket, you get JFK campaign stickers! I mean, really, if that's not reason enough, I dunno what is.

Your first stop is a small exhibition space for people to get their Kennedy feet wet - really, it's a crowd-holding space before the Kennedy short film that will probably make you teary. Or, sleep, if you're a tired sister. Heh.

After that, the doors open, and you begin the journey through Kennedy history. It's fabulous. I love museums that create mini-experiences for the visitors. And here, it's section after section, with each major era or decision or crisis or aspect of Jack and Jackie, and a lot of the rest of the family on display for the world to learn.

It's weird just how much you're swept away by the terrific story, even when you know there's a tragic ending. By the time you finish at the very somber end, you're a little down and sad, just in time to exit the double-doors into openness and light...

...to walk into a quiet expanse surrounded by glass, allowing an open vista across the water to JFK's Boston. The room is empty, save for a few artifacts here and there. Pei intended the space as an area of hope, a place for quiet reflection - upon the man, his accomplishments, and what we still have left to do.

Quite powerful, really. Befitting of the man. And his brothers.

*- I.M. Pei, dedication program

Fruity displays of affection, or not, as the case may be

Magnet #499 - Caillebotte's Fruit Displayed on a Stand, 1881-82

Nice little still-life from Gustave Caillebotte, a wealthy Frenchmen who was friends with The Impressionists, but not necessarily a part of it, according to his bio.

So this painting's up in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, which I've been to, but honestly, I can't remember if I've seen this particular piece. I just remember going to the MFA to see their Monet show, and that's it. And yet, here's me with a magnet of it.

I just like it because I discovered something odd yesterday: I like strawberry ice cream better than actual strawberries.

Then I got to thinking about it...

• I don't like blueberries, except in muffins.
• I can't stand raspberries, but don't mind them in raspberry walnut salad dressing.
• I don't like cooked cherries or apples, but don't mind them as raw fruit.
• I can't stand pears, but don't mind it in candy form.
• I'm not a huge fan of peaches (cuz of the fuzz), but love them straight out of a cold can.
• I don't like cranberries, except as juice in my Tom Collinses.

See? I told you it was odd. And people wonder why I zip through the fresh market in Union Square every week. Heh.

Great. And now I'm craving fruit salad. Nooo, not that sad little mixed fruit in a cup that people consider "fruit salad." The real stuff, with a ton of fruit and a decadent cream cheese dressing, straight out of the fridge.

Mmmmmm. That's the stuff of real summer, right there.

Happy birthday, Mr. President!

Magnet #462 - Kennedy for President

John F. Kennedy was born today in 1917. 1917!!! He would have been 93 today. Sigh. Still hot. Even now. I'da voted for him, too. I'm just sayin'.

Seriously. Also. Is it bad of me to post this Marilyn Happy Birthday vid, which (if you notice on the vid) she sang it 10 days earlier at his 45th birthday celebration.

Incidentally, even though I just bought that 50-president magnet set (yes, there were extras iconic picture magnets in the pack, in case you were wondering why I can't count, even though I really can't), this is the magnet I made out of the Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum entry sticker.

Don't worry, I bought two other museum magnets - one featuring the building, the other featuring his campaigns. Good grief. That makes four Kennedy magnets.

In one visit.

Indeed.

eta:
By the way, I've noticed there's a return visitor who has been spending inordinate amounts of time - seriously, hours, just this week - on joy magnetism. I welcome the visits, but am starting to worry that you're not human and it kinda freaks me out. If you wouldn't mind posting just a comment to let me know you're human, that would be fantastic. My interactive boys say that I should be reporting and/or blocking you, but if you're a magnet person, I don't want to do that. So please help a gal out? Please and thank you.

Witch way to the kitsch

Magnet #460 - Salem, MA

Love this superbien magnet, though I have slight issues with it.

On this day in 1647, the first execution of a "known witch" took place - this chick named Achsah Young was hanged. Fifty years later, the infamous Salem witch trials took place, where in the space of four months in 1692, 19 men and women were brought to Gallows Hill and hung - a mass hysteria that dissipated as quickly as it started. Freaky.

So the reason I have issues is because once again, we've managed to make a profit off of a horrible dark time in our history. Walk around Salem, and you see various museums (some serious, some not), a ton of gift shops with witchy memorabilia and several sites of witchy interest. I mean, I get it. We all need to make a buck. I just wonder how those executed witches feel about it. Obviously, that didn't stop me from buying this magnet, or a supercute sweatshirt with a pudgy bear in a witch outfit, sitting on a broom.

But all was not evil there. Out of my slightly freaked out about witches haze, there was a bright, shiny thing about that trip:

Pilgrim Diner, one of the original Worcester Lunch Car Company diners from last century. It's really called Deb's Diner, we just know it as Pilgrim Diner because that's what was on the outside - it's been written there since 1936.

This lunch car diner was the best piece of local color and local Americana, ever. In fact, I may have to retitle my post, because it was so authentic, you can't really call it kitsch.

Picture it - the quintessential movie scene, where our heroines walk in the creaky door, looking around shyly. And the entire diner - made up of the guy in the coroner jacket at the counter, the old guys drinking their coffee at their regular table, the cooks in the back, and the sassy waitress behind the counter - the entire diner looking right back at them, staring at the three little Asian girls who just walked in.

Two seconds of quiet pass, and poof! everyone goes back to their business, and the diner soundtrack comes back on.

We sat down - at this spot in the corner - and proceeded to have The. Best. Breakfast. Ever.

The scrambled eggs and bacon? Fantastic.

The toast? Perfect.

The diner coffee? C'mon.

The giantest, most giantest pancakes ever? They were the size of the whole entire plate, practically hanging off the sides. And? They. Were. Amazing.

Jeepers. Talk about a food epiphany.

(Thanks andyi for the flickr slide show down memory lane, and to Elizabeth Thomsen for the fun diner set.)

eta:
So that I remember, a note to myself. I bought my own domain name today. What? My sister just bought a condo, and I thought I should own something, too. Yay for joymagnetism.com!!!

Sorry, we're dead

Magnet #451 - Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University

If today's post title could have an image, it would be this piece of art (that I wish I'd taken note of the artist who created it - sorry!)

I picked up this pin/magnet on Saturday, while at Brandeis in Massachusetts. Since I first heard about the Rose Art Museum earlier this year from Richard Lacayo over at Time (my go-to guy when it comes to museum-y news), I've been wanting to visit.

There's a ton of controversy swirling around this museum - as of yesterday, in what's become a sad ending to a long storied history of amazing curators and exhibitions, the museum ended its final exhibitions.

I don't know what it is, but I'm starting to worry that I keep visiting museums and they keep closing. That's two so far. This year!

A lot of the melodrama started when they basically freaked the art world out by saying that the University was in trouble, and that they would possibly have to sell some of the museum's art to help them out of a financial crunch. And, I suppose the way they just announced it out of the blue, and what their release said, made it seem like the University was just going to sell off art assets to make a quick buck for the University.

I'm not gonna lie, that's exactly what it feels like - whether or not it's true.

Apparently, the curator had the collection appraised by Christies back in 2007, and the collection was worth something like $350 million. The poor guy was just trying to do something good by making sure that his University was armed with that kind of information. Little did he know that the trustees would see the dollar signs, and not necessarily the art.

And we're not talking minor artists here - there's a Lichetenstein right as you walk down the stairs, and a couple of Warhols off to the right, some Kandinsky work as well. Oh, and a Picasso, off in the corner.

So, if you read some of the statements on their homepage, there's something about how the Massachusetts Attorney General office says that they have to maintain the Rose Art Museum on some minimal level. How they'll do that without a director, administrator, education director, no funding, no exhibitions, and no curator is not quite clear to me.

You'll see by my FB public album, I'm personally in love with the building itself - it's a snapshot of 1961, the year it opened. It's kind of like the Brady Bunch staircase, even if the show was almost a decade later.

It's also quite fitting that the museum that was founded in the tumultuous sixties is now plastered with protest signs to Save the Rose - from the giant ATM sign above the entrance, to the plastic roses stuck haphazardly into a planter, to the particularly touching stones clustered at the front door - each with a personal plea. My personal favorite, just above the door says:

Warhol - $70 Million
Picasso - $150 Million
Hoffman - $13 Million
The Rose Museum - Priceless

There are some things money can't buy.
For everything else, there's Brandeis.

The only thing that I'm not really seeing in all of these protests - besides the big-ass petition list - is what people are actually doing to stop the closure. Or even a giant call-to-action to help lobby someone to help. It feels like nothing's going on, at this moment.

Granted, I'm not on campus, I'm not even in the same state. There was a part of me that was expecting a sit-in or a picket line. I guess with the students mostly gone, it just wasn't happening. Saturday's visit felt like a wake, if I'm honest.

I hope it's not too late, and some late-breaking news says that the museum's been saved. It's a shame, really, had the museum continued through to 2011, it would have celebrated its 50th anniversary.

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.

One if by land

Magnet #207 - Old North Church, Boston

Supposedly today's the day that Shawmut village or penninsula renamed itself Boston. I've found only one reference to a date, so let's just go with it.

I picked the Old North Church because it's Boston, and because tomorrow marks the beginning of National Constitution Week, and I thought it might be a pretty good connection.

Oh, I won't go into it, because even if you don't know this particular church, you certainly know the story, or the Longfellow poem about Paul Revere's midnight ride. This is the infamous church, the highest point in Boston, where the guy had to climb up to the steeple and hold up two lanterns to let people know that the British were coming by sea.

Goodness, how different would our world have been had it been a foggy night?

I heard a rumor

Magnet #37 - Gossip, by Norman Rockwell

On a random roadtrip, we stumbled upon Stockbridge, MA, home of the Norman Rockwell Museum. Of course, we stopped, because that's what we do.

They had several of his famous works, such as the Four Freedoms, or Stockbridge at Christmas. But the one that spoke to me and gave me a laugh was this one. Gossip. It's basically the illustration of how a story gets related from one person to another, from the old lady at the top left of the painting, boomeranging back to the same lady at the bottom right of the painting.

So awesome, and so true to life. Especially small-town life. Case in point, my friends and I spent the day in Mayberry, NC, and by the time we got to the tour guide's place, they already knew we were from New York, and coming on the tour. I was freaked out that they somehow knew, but they put my mind at ease, by confessing that it was actually the caller ID on my cell. Whew.

Dr. Seuss, and you can, too!

Magnet #35 - Dr. Seuss

So...today's our company offsite meeting. What is it about these things that make me become the biggest kool-aid drinker ever?

It's quite the stuff and nonsense that I happen to love - when the company gets together and everyone's all onelove and happy. It's like all the bad stuff throughout the year fades away. *sips more kool-aid*

This magnet was from the Dr. Seuss National Memorial Garden in Springfield, MA. I love, love, love this place, and I'm not even the biggest Seuss fan out there. But, they have these giant bronze sculptures of Horton, and the Lorax and the Cat in the Hat and a giant, giant!, book. It's just the coolest place ever.

And, as only Dr. Seuss can, it totally teaches us what matters between the stuff and nonsense of our everyday lives.