"Who"se castle is this?

Magnet #191 - Martha Jones, in Germany

Oddest thing ever...watching Daleks speaking German, as Martha Jones did in Journey's End episode the last series of Doctor Who, when she went to that totally random German castle to help Osterhagen the world.

What? I said I'd have to stretch some of these.

Country #2 - West Germany

Yes, you read that right. That's how long ago the musical ambassadors trip was.

Not in any particular order, we did:

• Heidelberg, went to a castle
• Rode the Rhine, saw castles
• Wiesbaden, haven't a clue what we did there, but I'm sure there was a castle
• Berchtesgaden, remember when the boys in Band of Brothers cleared out Hitler's Eagle's Nest? That's where this is...and that place was big enough to be a castle.
• Learned the German word for shit while playing video games at an arcade, but not the German word for castle...wait, unless it's schloss?
• Ate wiener schnitzel for the first and last time (and EPCOT doesn't count, though they do have castles there.)

Yeah, there's a ton more we did in West Germany, but not that included castles...

Odd to think that I've been to a country that (I suppose, in name only) doesn't exist anymore.

AMA-Ho!

Magnet #190 - Ede, Netherlands

Country #1 - The Netherlands

Just before my senior year in high school, a good friend of mine and I decided to join the American Musical Ambassadors. The AMA was an organization that took U.S. high school students on a whirlwind trip throughout Europe, performing in different venues along the way.

Think of it as a 21-day, 7-country...BAND TRIP. And, for those of you band geeks reading this post, you know what those away games were like.

This will be the start of a short miniseries to uncover how much I remember besides 50 kids running through Europe with the rallying cry of "AMA-Ho!" (Yep, it sounds so wrong now.)

So, after a 3-day intense rehearsal session in New York, off we went to Ede, for a host family stay and a concert in Ede.

Hazy memories of:

• a lovely host family
• cool bathroom fixtures
• a community center dance where girls fought to dance the chicken dance with my supercute host brother Peter
• tile (for some reason)
• Dutch windmills
• Dutch mom telling me that they don't really wear wooden shoes
• acres upon acres of tulips (and maybe poppies)

We also hit Amsterdam, where I was intrigued by the Anne Frank Museum, thoughts of a red light district, and fell asleep on the canals tour. What? It was an overnight flight!

This is the only magnet that I have from that trip, and the only one that won't be a stretch during the next seven days. I looked up what it means, and Kok-Ede was some sort of food company, I think. And, if I take my iGoogle translator widget seriously, then voor grootverbruik means for bulk.

Well, of course. Somehow, I ended up with a magnet from the Dutch version of Costco.

Bust a move

Magnet #189 - Joy in Presidents Park

A few years ago, we visited Presidents Park in Williamsburg, VA. And, I'm considering a trip to the one out in South Dakota.

I love presidential history - which is odd, given that I'm one of the most apolitical folks I know. I hate discussing politics with anyone - the Republicans think I'm on the Democrat side, the Democrats think I'm on the Republican side, and truth is, it's no one's business but my own. Despite the unending efforts of both sides to convince me, I'm not listening to anyone but the candidates. I swear, you'd think I was at the crossroads of Eden and Sodom & Gomorrah, with my soul at stake. Though, really, it's more like the crossroads of Salisbury, NC, and New York, NY...with my vote at stake.

But, I digress - this is a magnetblog, after all. Right. Presidential history - that means (mostly) dead presidents.

This place is loaded with them - it's basically a park where they have 20-feet-tall busts of all of our U.S. presidents placed along a meandering path in numerical order. Twenty feet! Forty-three of them! It's insane! I bet it's kinda scary to be in at night. I bet they all talk to each other when no one's around. I bet I'm creeping myself out.

Anyway. At the base of each president, they have displays that basically go through their fact sheets - personals, career accomplishments, presidential achievements and failures, fun facts, etc. And though you think you know all there is to know about your dead presidents...I'm sure you'd still find one or two things to learn, while you're peering up Harry Truman's nose.

Seriously, folks, it's the coolest place on earth. Or the creepiest.

Saving the world

Magnet #188 - Peace Corps

Growing up, my only exposure to the Peace Corps was really Steven and Elyse Keaton on Family Ties, two hippie Peace Corps volunteers, settled down to raise their three kids somewhere in Ohio.

So when my baby sister decided she wanted to volunteer for the Peace Corps, it took me a bit to realize she was serious.

She ended up going to Uzbekistan, for several months, but the Corps got evac'd in short order. While she was sad to come home, the entire family breathed a sigh of relief that she was actually coming back. I don't think my parents actually slept easy the whole time she was away.

Last Saturday, we saw her off again, our little rolling stone. Off to save the world in another capacity - an internship in Nepal, as part of her second year of grad school to get her MSW - Masters of Saving the World. Ok, really, it's Sustainable Development - basically teaching third world countries to help themselves.

Where all this very admirable do-gooding came from, I haven't a clue. I kinda blame my mom, though. When we were little, every time she'd ask us to do something, we'd all complain and she'd yell at us, and say, "I'm not asking you to save the world!"

Happy birthday, Julie!

Monet and Go Seek

Magnets #187a-l - Mini Monets

We all know by now that I'm a Monet fan. So much so, that Monet has his own little magnetboard exhibit at home. Here's my own little Monet mosaic, I suppose.

Many years ago, on a roadtrip out to Newport, RI, a friend and I did the Cliff Walk, and she took this picture of me. Ever since, it's been my most favoritest picture of me - ever. It's basically me, against the world.

Anyway, if you look at the second magnet in from the left on the bottom row, you'll see my most favoritest Monet - ever. It's Rocks at Pourville, Low Tide, 1882.

The two images look a little alike - the hazy little person at the center, and the waves crashing against the cliffy rocks. And I love the bluesy-purply color palette, not often found in Monet's work.

And so began my quest to see the painting in person. I had first seen this as part of an Impressionists screensaver, back when people were still downloading fun screensavers. (Remember Flying Toast?) I tried researching everywhere, contacting curators about it, and every so often, doing a generic Google search.

On a couple of leads, I had almost booked tickets to Birmingham, AL, and Maine to visit their art museums. Then, I became obsessed with what if it was in the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. But to no avail.

After a while, my search lessened, and I happened to mention my silly Quest for the Monet Grail on a message board...and within minutes, a friend of mine was like, "Ummm, I just saw that painting a couple of months ago at the Rochester Museum of Art."

This whole time, the painting's been in my backyard!

And, so, off I went.

Et Voila!

America's Hometown Hero

Magnet #186 - The Jimmy Stewart Museum

The Britannica Blog is one of my new favorite blogs on my Google Reader, covering a wide array of fun and serious topics.

This excellent blog entry about Jimmy Stewart popped up, prompting me to use this magnet. I absolutely adore classic movies of all kinds - Cary Grant, Hepburn/Tracy, John Wayne, and of course, Jimmy Stewart.

The Jimmy Stewart Museum was a total find, and was tacked on to yet another roadtrip through Pennsylvania. And, his hometown of Indiana, PA, is exactly where you think good people like Jimmy Stewart come from. The museum itself, has several exhibits and much memorabilia of the different periods of his life - childhood, school, military, Hollywood. It's a must-visit for any fan...and makes you want to watch every one of his movies.

Feels like everyone's favorite Jimmy Stewart movie is It's a Wonderful Life. Not mine. It's not Rear Window or Vertigo. It's for sure not Harvey (which I can't stand). And, it's not even Philadelphia Story, though it comes in as a close second.

In the showdown for ultimate geekiness (Goldengait, I'm lookin' at you), my favorite Jimmy Stewart movie is The Glenn Miller Story, with June Allyson. I know! It's crazy! But, Glenn Miller was practically a staple in our household growing up - when we were babies, my dad used to hum "American Patrol" to us and make our hands dance.

I freakin' love the true story of everyman Glenn Miller just tryin' to make a livin' with his music, only to become one of the best-loved band leaders in the world. Every time I see it, I cry at the ending. The first time I saw it, I had no idea - I called my dad up and said, OMG, did you KNOW? And he's like, yes, Joy. Everyone knows - it's a true story, silly.

Well, I hadn't a clue. So. Freakin'. Sad. And, no, I'm not spoiling the ending - go. watch. it. Bring tissues.

Oh! And you can't really beat the Glenn Miller soundtrack, either. Yep, I suppose I am my father's daughter.

So, yeah, Jimmy Stewart. They don't really make actors - or movie stars - like that anymore.

Eat this

Magnet #185 - Gourmet, EAT

Another day, another piece of magnetswag.

Today's magnet reminded me of a "new" summer show I picked up on BBC-A, called Skins. It's on its third series in the United Kingdom, and as usual, the U.S. is slow on the uptake. For once, though, I'm committed to following the U.S. schedule, rather than catch up anywhere online.

But, I'm not going to review it, because Alan Sepinwall, one of my fave columnists, is covering the show, plus, he's like a professional and all, so ya'll pay attention to him. All I can say is that I was all set to hate it, and probably would have not even bothered to watch, had Sepinwall not given it a fairly positive review.

To explain the magnet: there's this totally messed-up chick with an eating disorder, who was just released from her outpatient care...after having gained the required weight to be dismissed. But, she stuffed little hockey puck weights into her undies to weigh her down. After leaving facilities, she starts getting stalked everywhere she goes by the word EAT. Text messages, a plate full of fries. She thinks it's this guy friend of hers trying to save her, but it's not.

It'd be pretty funny, were her story not so heartbreaking.

So, that episode was followed up by a pretty good one this week as well, though I'll admit, I might have identified a bit too much with the band geek clarinetist with a rap star dad (and no, my dad's not a rap star). A drug dealer smashed her clarinet and I seriously gasped out loud right along with her.

Three episodes in, and I'm not quite sure if I'm completely on board or not. Or, maybe it's just because I'm just biding my time until the real tv shows start. But till then, there's no reason to love the ones I'm with right now.