Roooosebuuuuuud

Magnet #633 - Hearst Castle

So one of the classic movies that I've never been able to love is Citizen Kane. Mind you, I probably need to see it again by myself, but to be honest, I'm ok if it makes me the crazy one for not liking it.

Even so, that totally didn't stop me from making a special stop at the Hearst San Simeon State Historical Monument...commonly known as Hearst Castle, during my Woman on her Own Roadtrip several years ago. It was every bit as impressive as the movie, and the website, and the docus make it seem to be.

From the shuttle bus tour that takes you up there, to your choice of several tours to take once you get there, the place is just impressive. And beautiful.

You have to actually see it firsthand to believe it. I've done the east coast Biltmore, and I'm hard-pressed to choose which estate is more impressive. I'm thinking the Biltmore, just because well, it is the Vanderbilts, and because I just love the architecture of the Biltmore house. But, Hearst definitely gives the Vanderbilts a run for their money. Heh.

I love how Hearst Castle is not just one castle, but a whole compound of little houses. If by little, you mean the 8-bedroom house, the 6-bedroom house, the 4-bedroom house, and the so-big it's called Casa Grande, 38-bedroom house. 38. Rooms to sleep in. Plus? There's 61 one bathrooms on the whole estate! You could use a different bathroom for two months straight! Whoa.

And check out this guest list. I'm always enamoured of old-school Hollywood, and the thought of all of them hanging out here together is just fascinating to me. I love that they had their glitz and glamour out in the middle of nowhere atop a mountain. Awesome.

The art collection's to die for, the architecture is borrowed from all of Randolph Hearst's travels abroad, and the pools are kinda cool as well.

Definitely stop for a visit - the side trip's worth it. Apparently, I must go back - about four years ago, they built their superbig Visitors Center. Yes, I had to look up when that was, because the new website's pretty expansive, and they have virtual tours of the compound, but also the Visitors Center.

Dudes. they have virtual tours of the center. And the little shop! Not one cam, not two. But three webcams...in their little shop alone!!! Nice.

You can even see the magnets they have on sale. How cool. Seriously.

What?

XoXo, Elizabeth Wakefield

Magnet #338 - Pekklemint Twins

Yeah, you thought it was a stretch before? I'm totally using this Pekkle magnet to talk about the demise of the Sweet Valley High twins.

It's FB's fault, I'm sure, but I've spent the last couple of days reminiscing the past, thinking about my former career, people I used to know, and what led me to and away from publishing.

I suppose one of the "turn left" conversations of my life that led me down the publishing path was with Jenny Douglas (who moved away, never to be heard from again. Sniff). She first introduced me to Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield, letting me borrow Dear Sister, Sweet Valley High book #7. (Would you believe that I totally typed #7, then looked it up, and 25 years later, I still remember the title number. Dang.)

I loved Francine Pascal's SVH series - good gravy, I wanted to be a Wakefield twin. When you're 12, high school was like this amazing place, where crazy insane things happen, and you get to go places and live somewhat adventurous lives. And get to have chocolate-brown painted bedrooms!

I hung out with the Sweet Valley High crowd for a couple of years - until I made the jump to Loveswept (that's another magnet). As I aged up, Elizabeth and Jessica didn't (and no, I don't count any of the other SV series), and so inevitably I left them behind.

But, here I sit, almost three decades later, appalled by the fact that the SVH series has been revamped. Gawker totally called them on the carpet for their silliness, but basically now instead of the perfect size 6, blonde, blue-eyed twins who rode around SV in their Fiat, they're the perfect size 4, blonde, blue-eyed twins who ride around SV in their Jeep Wrangler.

Apparently, they also revamped their personalities as well. And I quote: "Sometimes Elizabeth couldn't help thinking that Robin could be a be a serious hottie, if she'd just stop giving in to her cravings so easily."

Whoa. What? Elizabeth? I mean, c'mon, she was always just a bit judgey, but I don't ever remember her being that much of a bitka.

Seriously.

Get thee to a nunnery!

Magnet #318 - Yaroslavl

Some friends of mine rescued this magnet from their friends who were going to throw it out, because they couldn't remember where it was from. And it's such a pretty magnet, too!

Since the label looked like Russian, I forwarded a pic to my sister and her fiance - both of whom are somewhat conversant in Russian. Handy that they joined the Peace Corps, huh.

They totally came through for me, with emails like: "it's ya-something. i can't read the second letter. ya-something-oh-sla-vle?" Together, the two of them figured out the magnet reads Yaroslavl, and what we've found (or so I think) is that the church is the superpretty Tolga Monastery, which is on the Volga River.

Dudes, it's like 700 years old! Well, the monastery is. These buildings only date back to like 1670. Whoa. Supposedly, back in the 1300s, there was a bishop in the area who spent the night out outside, saw a pillar of fire that led him to an icon of the Virgin, and that's where they set up shop.

Over the years it's been opened and closed, and used for several different purposes. Nowadays...it's a nunnery.

Yay, mystery solved! Well, it takes a village to find a village, I guess. Thanks, you guys - for the magnet, and for the detective work!

In These Stones, Horizons Sing

Magnet #302 - Wales Millennium Centre

So, today I'm headed for Cardiff. Yes. Cardiff. In Wales. Yes. That Wales. For the whole day. Yes. A whole day.

There's a few reasons why. Chief among them is that even though there's a Doctor Who Exhibition at Earl's Court here in London, not two stops away from me, I'm going to the DW Exhibition in a mall in Cardiff. The show's shot nearby, and uses several exteriors around town. So it just seems more authentic (for the new incarnation of the series), to go visit this location and then walking around town.

But, a really big reason is for this building here - the Wales Millennium Centre. It's a working theatre, designed by Jonathan Adams. And, if you've ever watched Doctor Who and its spin-off Torchwood, you'll have seen this gorgeous building. Belowground is where the Torchwood hub is, on the show. But, the venue is on the 1001 Buildings to See Before You Die list, and so I'm checking it off with (hopefully) a tour today.

My favorite part of the building is the facade, where the giant words are first in Welsh, and then in English - and if you look carefully at the magnet, you see the phrase is: In These Stones, Horizons Sing. There's just something awesome about it.

OK, I probably won't be back in time to edit this post, and the next magnetpost will be superlate tomorrow night.

And, gosh. It looks like I'll have to buy a whole other magnet to talk about the actual tour. I know you're shocked.

A post-tour eta:
I had the best tour yesterday - a native Welsh actress from Swansea, with a gorgeous accent to boot. So much fun, and I was the only one on her tour. Plus, how fitting is it that she was actually in a Doctor Who episode, as well.

She was very proud of the heritage of the building and Wales, and it was a lovely thing to see. She went through all the details behind the design elements, and explained the inscription on the front of the building. It's not a direct translation - the poem was written half in Welsh, half in English. It says: "Creating truth like glass from inspiration's furnace, In these stones horizons sing."

Color my world

Magnet #262 - Crayola Crayons

A roadtrip buddy and I once did a 12-hour roadtrip across...

Pennsylvania.

Seriously.

Couldn't help it. We. Just. Kept. Stopping. It was awesome.

One of our stops was the Crayola Factory. It was one of those, OMG, we're in the neighborhood, it's on the way, we can't NOT stop! I can't remember if this is the one we actually turned the car around for, or whether I saw it in the book in time to take the right exit, but we managed to get there.

It's as you would expect a Crayola attraction to be - superdamncute. It's really a fun little discovery land for kids, and clearly, we were out of our demo.

No matter, we got to see how they make crayons, I got this magnet, and we took pictures with the Red crayon, and we got fun little Crayola tchotkes.

The best part, is that the Pez Museum just down the way from it. Even more superdamncute. Loved it. It was just a pitstop, but man, you could probably spend a good hour or two just oohing and ahhing over the hundreds of Pez dispensers. This Project Absurd entry was the only decent description that I could find that does it justice. Truly a fun little museum to explore.

My sister called last night to tell me about the Cumberland Pencil Museum, and I was all excited, because I thought, Cumberland County, PA. Did I mention that Pennsylvania was my favorite state to roadtrip in?

Sigh. Umm, turns out...no. The superdamncool pencil museum is in Cumberland...United Kingdom. Alas, I don't see me making it a London daytrip in December, but gravy, how fun would it be to say I've been to see the longest pencil in the world!

Hoʻomaikaʻi ʻana, ʻōlelo hoʻomaikaʻi, Hawaiʻi!*

Magnet #259 - Hawaii

So, today in 1950, the territory of Hawaii ratified a state constitution, and became a state nine years later.

Yay, Hawaii!

My sisters will remember, but I wonder if anyone else will - remember those I Can Read books? We owned a ton of those things. Freakin' loved those books!

The Toad and the Frog. Where they were having guests for dinner or something? Took forever before I realized that it wasn't Wind in the Willows that I'd read.

Danny and the Dinosaur. Where the dinosaur was running around town?

Sammy the Seal. Where the seal was running around town, something about getting out of the zoo?

That pig one, where the pig was looking for a home, and tried out a few houses or something, and then found a puddle of mud and he was really happy?

And, then, there was this one that was all white, with splashes of green trees, and the tiny people in Hawaii - the Menehunes? Which I totally looked up on that site I just linked to. And just now realized that they're supposedly fairy people. Dudes. Whoa. Now I understand why they traveled by leaves and pea pods!

Good gravy. It's like every time I remember something about my childhood, it gets turned on its axis.

Anyway...so congratulations, Hawaii!

*I'm SO hoping that this magnetpost title actually says, Congratulations, Hawaii! If it doesn't, blame this site. And, yes, I looked up Yay! in Hawaiian and it yielded no results.

The Tango...Argentine

Magnet #242 - Tango in Argentina

My friend and his wife picked this up for me while they were in Argentina. Dudes. Coolest. Magnet. Ever. Flove it! Thank you!

Lookit! It's dimensional! It has tango dancers! It's from Argentina! It's so colorful, I love it.

I learned the tango in college. Yes, I took Social Dance as my second PE requirement. (Now ya'll know why I suck at bowling.) It was great fun...well, except that I took it in the summer and aside from the supercute quarterback of football team, there were some slim pickins. And by that, I mean it was the older continuing ed folks, and then mostly girls. Sigh. Still, Foxtrot, Box step, the Waltz. Better than Arthur Murray.

Here's a fun little Globetrekker vid on the tango, just to give you more background.

I'll admit, outside of Social Dance and before the advent of Dancing with the Stars, the most exposure I'd ever had to the tango was Anna and Duke dancing it on General Hospital. (Horrible vid quality, but I swear I remember this episode like it was yesterday, rather than 1988. Shhhh. Just watch. You know you remember it, too.)

Duh-na-nu-nuh! Duh-na-nu-nuh! Chh! Chh!

Magnet #215 - Beverly Hills

Of course, I watched the original.

Of course, I watch the reruns.

Of course, I am watching the redux.

What I can't figure out is, is 90210:

1. An homage to the original?
2. A spoof of the original?
3. Trying to be to this generation, what the original was to that generation?
4. Trying to be a serious Spelling-esque drama in its own right?

I suppose the answers don't really matter since The CW picked it up for a full season. That's fine. I'm kind of light in the Tuesday 8pm hour anyway.

Now, if only the 9pm hour would calm down just a bit. I think The Mentalist may fall off the dance card fairly early. I love me some pretty, pretty Simon Baker and Owain Yeoman, but maybe not enough to give up Privileged (my new Gilmore Girls replacement) or Fringe (my new Pacey show). And I've already tiered Greek down to online status.

Ah, Fall TV is the most wonderful time of the year!

eta:
Ok. Let's put all these swirling rumors to rest. George is NOT gonna show up in this last season of ER. He's just not.

Except you totally know I'll watch the damn series finale, just in case that damn man decides to prank us again.

An architectural smile*

Magnet #198 - Gaudi's Casa Batlló

So my sister gave me one of those wonderfully designed and packaged books that I love so much - you know the books. The ones that you rarely buy for yourselves - very little text, pretty pictures, well designed and on good paperstock, so pretty, you're afraid to read it?

She got me 1001 Buildings You Must See Before You Die, and I love it. It's fantastic. I love looking through it, seeing all the supercool buildings from around the world. I've been going through it and trying to figure out how many of them I've been to, or seen face-to-face. I refuse to count it up until I get to the end.

I sort of have a leg up, what with living here in NYC, where there are at least a dozen of the buildings. Oh, and also with me having gone to a few countries in Europe. But, if anything, this book has taught me that there's a world of amazing architecture out there. Literally.

This magnet is one of those buildings. It's Gaudi's Casa Batlló, in Barcelona, brought back by the same sister above. Locally, they call it the House of Bones - it does look rather skeletal and bony. But, if you look, there aren't very many straight lines - it flows and ebbs and it's quite amazing. From all the pictures, the inside is just as curvy-curvy. And it has all this neat tilework on the facade. I'm sure it was amazing to see in person. I'm a little sad that there are trees blocking the building from a good view.

It's definitely been added to my list of buildings to see one day. Right now, number one on that list is the Automium, in Brussels. Which was apparently built for Expo 58, a World's Fair type of exhibition.

C'mon. How could you not want to walk inside a giant silver ball? Hello, you could go in and pretend you're Jodie Foster in Contact!


*From an essay by Juan Bassegoda Noneli, lest you think I'm that poetic

And we think they're rude?

Magnet #195 - France-Soir, et un cafe et pain

Country #6 - France

So, again with the musical ambassador kids running around big European cities, unescorted...and for some reason, looking for the Crazy Horse because some of the guys wanted to go? Ummm, I just looked it up, and now I'm sorta wishing I were posting from not my work computer. Oops. Mon dieu, the innocence.

I remember going to the newly Pei'd Louvre, seeing the Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysses, being underwhelmed by the rather short Eiffel Tower (but soooo singing View to a Kill), and being outside Napoleon's tomb. I also remember being a very silly high schooler, having a fight with the boy, and thinking it tres tragic et romantique, having him follow along behind us on the streets of Paris, until I finally accepted the silly rose he'd bought to make up with.

On our way to Le Havre to take a Channel ferry to Portsmouth, with the end of our trip finally in sight, we passed through Rouen for a few hours. Rouen is where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, the Cathedral is where Richard the Lionheart's heart is entombed, and the place Monet came to paint a few of his famous works.

And what did we do instead? Found a spare piece of a4, drew a sign of a famous logo with a yellow highlighter and black pen, and asked the locals...

"Ou est Le McDonald's?"

Next stop. NYC 2012. Ok, ok. Fine. London 2012.

Magnet #181 - London

Sooo, we're in the home stretch of the Beijing 2008 Olympics. Know how I know? Women's Beach Volleyball is finally done.

Sincere congrats to May and Walsh. Get some rest. After what must have been a trillion matches, you guys must be as tired of playing them, as we are of watching them.

I caught only the tail-end of the match, so we're taking a break and looking ahead...

I volunteered for the NYC 2012 Olympic bid - passed out flyers, wore the really cool swag, went to the organized press events, worked other sister events (sporting events, ya'll), stood in the Hudson River (!!!!), and argued with locals to convince them that, yes, they did want billions of people crowding our public transit and stopping our sidewalk traffic by staring up at the tall buildings.

It was a heartfelt campaign, and you wouldn't believe the work, money, branding, blood, sweat and tears that the City put into the Bid. So when we found out that London won, it was bittersweet.

Part of me was ticked off, especially after all the City's efforts. The other part of me was happy, because it meant we wouldn't have to deal with global eyes upon us, or with all the construction, security measures and tourists.

Of course, now? The other part of me is thinking, man, even with all the controversy surrounding China's opening ceremonies, no one can argue that they put on the best live show - ever.

How can London top that?

Uh-huh. No pressure there.

Baltimore boy done good

Magnet #177 - Fort McHenry, Baltimore, MD

One of my sisters has a blog called "I live my life up and down I-95," which she started because she spent a lot of time up and down the I-95 corridor. She lived up near Boston, I live in New York, my other sister lives in DC, and then our parents live in North Carolina. I suppose when you've got your favorite rest areas, and you know which ones to avoid, I-95 starts to feels like an old friend.

But one place that I've never stopped is Baltimore. No reason, really. It's always on the way to somewhere else, but it's generally not even a gas station stop.

My sisters brought this back for me from Fort McHenry. Birthplace of the National Anthem. Site of more than a few major battles in U.S. history.

I picked this magnet from Baltimore because it's also the hometown of Olympics golden boy, Michael Fred Phelps, who managed to score his 8th gold medal today. And, last night, after the preseason football game at the Ravens stadium, they broadcast the race on the jumbotron, and 70,000 folks cheered him on. That had to have been amazing...even though, I spent a bit of that race peering from behind a pillow.

I'm not even a big Phelps fan - definitely not as big as my DC sister. But you don't have to be, to be in awe of such an amazing accomplishment. Jeepers. And, yet, I still find myself wondering how he's displaying that stuff over at his mom's house.

Oh! And the best thing ever? Last night's "Congratulations, Michael" commercial. Visa was supersmart for getting all the spots in the can, and I can't believe the pinpoint accuracy the ad scheduling folks over at NBC are working with. Last night's was my favorite.

Where Morgan says, "But 8, 8 gold medals? Well...we're going to have to invent a new adjective for that one."

Everything I know about wine, I learned from Falcon Crest

Magnet #141 - Oakville Grocery, Napa Valley, CA

Well, it's true. I was only eight or so when Falcon Crest started, a CBS nighttime soap set in fictional wine country, Tuscany Valley.

I loved that show - had the biggest crushes on Lorenzo Lamas, Billy Moses, and even old Robert Foxworth. I loved watching Chase and Richard go up against the devious Angela Channing, played by the ex-Mrs. Ronald Reagan, Jane Wyman.

Seriously, watching this stuff during my formative years is totally why I ended up a romance editor.

Anyway, so like the Ewings fought over land and oil, the Channings fought over vineyards, grapes, and wine.

And sadly, that's where my wine knowledge begins and ends. I know I like white better than red. I know I like it sweet and fruity, and not terribly dry. And, I can't drink wine (or any alcohol) with any meal. I know that's weird, but I can either eat or drink at nighttime events, I can't do both. The alcohol clouds my taste buds for the food. The food clouds my taste buds for the alcohol. (Kinda like separating your veggies from the gravy on your mashed potatoes.)

Anyway, a friend of mine brought this magnet back from her Napa trip - I don't know how she knew that I love these "this far from nowhere" signs, but there you have it. It's from Oakville Grocery, which looks like the cutest place ever. The kind of first-name basis place where the same people have been going since it opened in the late 1800s.

I dunno why I didn't just drive the extra 169 miles from Monterey on my Woman of her Own Roadtrip, but at some point, a lost weekend in Napa is in order.

And then we'll see if my tune about wine changes...or if I end up buying a case of wine - with the prettiest labels.

Where swallows fly, or not

Magnet #112 - San Juan Capistrano

Remember when we discussed that every once in a while I end up in places and sometimes missing the biggest thing to see? (And that's why I generally do an itinerary for every trip I take to avoid such a fate?)

Ummm, yeah. San Juan Capistrano. Famous for the San Juan Capistrano swallows.

On that Woman on Her Own roadtrip I took through Cali, on a whim, I decided to drive through SJC.

I saw no swallows. None. I went to San Juan Capistrano...and completely missed the damn birds. Truth be told, they fly in March, so I really missed them because my timing was off. But still.

Now...if you know me well enough, you know that this is perfectly fine by me, given my hatred of all things fowl. (Except chickens. And cute and not-so-cute ducks. And maybe baby chicks. And owls.) I also get scared of Mother Nature en masse - and apparently - the skies go black when the swallows fly! Gah. Scary, scary, scary.

So, I've made my peace with not seeing the swallows. Sort of. I mean, it's a shame, but really? Lots of birds = lots of bird poop. Ewwww.

But, SJC itself was a lovely little town. Got to see the mission where the swallows used to hang, got to see a bit of the historic district-y area, and of course, the shops.

And as we all know...I like a little shop.

O Wyoming! - GAR Day #16

Magnet #99 - Devils Tower, WY

Yeah, I'm cheating again. Today was supposed to be the last of Wyoming and then the drive into Montana for a quick peak. Devils Tower wasn't on the itinerary, and is on the opposite side of the state from Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons.

I've never been to Wyoming, but figured that I would eventually combine it with some sort of western trip...eventually. It's one of the final 10 or so states I haven't been to.

The rest of the day was to be Montana, just over the border, so that we could check off another state for the trip. Two of us took a cross-country trip, and did a couple of days in Glacier National Park - but there are magnets for that visit.

I do so love Montana - after all, it's the quintessential Loveswept (actually, probably more like a Harlequin, or even a Silhouette) romance novel, where the heroine gets tired of the big city, is ordered to take a vacation, heads out to some remote ranch in Montana, and falls in love with the gruff, yet hot, rancher on the next spread over...you know, the one looking to buy the remote ranch she's staying at. You know, the one who makes fun of the silly city girl trying to make a go of the ranch, and then ends up teaching her the ropes of managing the ranch. The one who - when the newborn calf is lost out in some ravine in the pouring rain - goes out after the girl and manages to save both the girl and the calf.

What? I used to be a romance editor. Who read a lot of romances.

Anyway, so, I grew up fancying that this would some day happen to me - that I'd chuck it all and move to Montana. I told my grandma this, and she made me promise to visit Montana before I picked up and moved - hence the cross-country trip. But, she was right - because as much as I loved Montana, I think I've learned I'm not quite the outdoors girl I thought I could be.

Well, I suppose I could be. Depends on the rancher, I guess.

GAR Track of the Day: Wanted: Dead or Alive

People all over the world...or just UT today, I guess - GAR Day #14

Magnet #97 - Salt Lake City, UT

So today we were to drive from Arches over to Salt Lake City, for a quick pit stop on our way into Idaho for the night.

As usual, I had a million things on the docket for this town - main street, Mormon Tabernacle, etc., etc. I've never been to SLC, but I was so planning on doing the most comprehensive drive-by, ever. That's one of my specialties - drive-by tours...I mean, it was a few years before I actually stopped the car to see the Liberty Bell - and even then, it was only because they moved it from that glass-encased building you could see from the roadside, into its own facility. Look. It sounds Clark Griswoldy, but sometimes, that's all you have time for.

One thing I was looking forward to visiting on this day (and definitely will at some point) is the Golden Spike National Historic Site - Promontory Summit - where the Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads met, making the transcontinental railroad dream a reality. I mean, dudes! They re-enact the final spike being driven into the ground! How freakin' awesome! What? We've already discussed my love of trains.

GAR Track of the Day: Love Train. (Or, what Sarah Larson's no longer on. Yes, I'm still celebrating the George Clooney/Sarah Larson break-up. I might declare it a weeklong holiday, in fact.)

Little red pincushion

Magnet #72 - Keith Haring, maybe.

So, this little red guy was part of a pair that a friend brought back, from (I think) Detroit. The blue one's at home, and his little feets double as a keychain holder. Heh.

I want to say these are Keith Haring guys, but couldn't find them when I looked it up. I ended up using this one at work, to hold a couple of pins that I picked up along the way.

The "It's good to be a space cadet" pin is Deborah, the "loopy Latina" from the Angry Little Girls collection. Yeah, I'm not sure whether or not to be offended by it, either. But, it's cute, nonetheless.

The "I Am Loved" pin was from a new biz pitch to Helzberg Diamonds...apparently, with every purchase in their little burgundy boxes, they give this pin away, too. It's kinda sweet. Of course, absolutely going for broke (literally) to get the full purchase experience, I ended up buying myself a white gold necklace from our store field trip.

Yeah, I try not to bring my wallet on new biz field trips any more.

Hello Pekkle

Magnet #66 - Pekkle and Friends

Not feeling well, so today's a short one.

It's superstereotypical for me to like the cutesy Sanrio stuff, but I guess those folks know what they're doing, because frankly, I love all of their characters. From Bonjour Kitty (the french Hello Kitty who loves chocolate) to Deery Lou (the little Bambi knock-off), they're all so cute and adorable.

But, my favorite is, and always will be, Pekkle. He's an Aussie lifeguard who loves to surf. Funny how I can't stand birds and I can't stand the beach, but I love this little guy. I mean, seriously, how cute is this duck!

I cannot live without books

Magnet #62 - Library of Congress

Today's the day (in 1800) that John Adams approved a whopping $5,000 to establish the Library of Congress, now the largest library in the world. A year later, we had the first books ordered (from London, natch), shipped and delivered. A year after that, Jefferson got our nation's library in order.

Back in my publishing days, I used to submit manuscripts to the LOC to get a catalog number. And in my head, I pictured dusty tomes and very, very, very slow people sending me information.

Three things changed my mind (about the dusty tomes, I mean, never about the slow people):

1) That really good, but not executed so great Jerry Bruckheimer reality show about the teams running around the world on a treasure hunt. (Supercool clues that they had to solve, but stupid teams.) They filmed an episode here, where they had to run around the stacks to find the next clue.

2) That really good, but not executed so great Jerry Bruckheimer movie, National Treasure 2, where they filmed in the vast space of the LOC. Where they had to run around the stacks to find the supersecret Presidential book of, well, secrets.

3) A really good - no, I mean really good - (and free!) tour of the LOC. Sometimes I love how you can just take free tours of our government buildings. I find that AWEsome - it's our government! And we can see our government! In action! Too loving of big government? Sorry.

Anyway, would highly recommend the LOC tour. It's just too cool to hear about its earnest beginnings, and the money we've spent over the years - just to make sure that we have, and are preserving, the most "universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations."

This magnet is what they call the Jefferson Doors - actually, it's the main entrance to the TJ Building. There's three of them, and they weigh like 3 tons. You can't see them very well in this tiny thing, but they are supposed to show Tradition, Writing and Printing (and something about how man has preserved and disseminated history, religion, the sciences and literature).

Ok. Fine. They're supercool doors.

Save the dolphins

Magnet #60 - Newport, RI

So, today's Earth Day, and I've picked a little dolphin from Newport, RI, arguably one of the most flagrant displays of consumer excess in America, if not the world.

Part of me really wants to celebrate Earth Day, but the other part is worried that Earth Day week has become yet another marketing/social responsibility bandwagon. Which would be ok, except that I can't figure out if that bandwagon is going to save the world or desensitize humanity to all green and blue messages from any and all corporate entities.*

At any rate, that's not Newport's fault. I do so love visiting Newport because it truly is the playground of the rich and long-ago famous. And, their gorgeous vacation homes (yes, there's a magnet forthcoming) are just the most ostentatious statements of wealth ever.

The other best thing that I love about Newport is the cliff walk - the 3.5-mile trek along the water, giving you some of the best views of the mansions and the ocean. I'm totally not one for nature, but walking along those rocks, where waves crash against the earth reminds us exactly how small each of us really is in the grand scheme of things.

So, my personal plan for this Earth Day is to make an effort to start living a little bit greener...not just today, but every day.

*Addendum: An experiment. Not including this blogpost, count how many green and blue Earth Day messages you get bombarded with today, and report back. In the last few hours, I've counted the green FOX logo (and at least 4 green-focused in-programming ads), the green YouTube logo, the green Google logo, and a Best Buy email.