Thank You, American Express

Some people get a new game and just start playing. "Forget the rules!" they think, "I'll figure it out as I go along! I will take the fun immediately!" (Not sure about the correct grammer here. They are all thinking I, so I am keeping it singular.)

Some people get a new game and read all the instructions and won't let anyone play at all until they are done.

Some people do a mix of these things.

I don't have any hard and fast rule to these things, but I do have a soft spot for games I can win, especially free ones. So last month, when American Express announced their Gift Chain, I made it a point to go to their Facebook page. I wasn't actually all that excited about it. Well, I was, until I read the details. First, you have to register your American Express card. Second, you have to use that card to make an *online* purchase of *at least $25* at one of seventeen stores. If you did that, you would automatically win a gift. Automatically win. While those words were intriguing, that seemed like a lot of running around for a gift that could end up being a $2 statement credit. Not worth my time. As I was exiting the page, though, I noticed some legalese that most all legit contests have: NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO PARTICIPATE OR RECEIVE A GIFT.

Wait.

How can no purchase be necessary if you need to spend at least $25? Well, I'm glad I took the ten or fifteen minutes to look into that because I ended up spending $4.40 on postage to send my entries in by mail and with the ten (maximum) gifts I received, I got statement credits totaling $72 plus a free year membership to ShopRunner, which I might not use, but was still free.

Thanks, AmEx (and cosponsors) for my free money. Finally, something to unqualifiedly enjoy about the holiday season (Christmas).

Saturday; Gallery

This weekend, I visited the Steven Kasher Gallery. Although the two main exhibits are on WEEGEE and Vivian Maier, they also have a selection from Accra Shepp's Occupy Wall Street: A visual diary.

Shepp had taken a photo portrait of Rick (I've named my boyfriend Rick) and we wanted to see if his picture was at the gallery. He wasn't. However, it's been a long time since I've been to a gallery, so I will say it was time well spent, though I didn't love anything I saw there. (Except the person I was with, but I brought him with me, so that doesn't really count.) What I did find somewhat interesting, though, was the story of Vivian Maier.

Vivian Maier took thousands of photos in her life and never showed any of them to anyone. She didn't even print most of them. Then, after she died, she was accidentally discovered by some fellow who came across her negatives at a local thrift auction house. Some people are comparing this to Emily Dickinson and some to artists who are not appreciated during their own lifetimes. I disagree with both ideas. If anything, she seems like someone who just couldn't stop snapping pictures and didn't necessarily care about the outcome.

And It's 2012

It's the start of another year. I didn't make any reservations*, mostly because I didn't get around to it, not because I don't think that there is anything I need to change.

Ten things that happened in 2011

• I got my own office at work (I should complete the move in process next week)
• I moved from my basement apartment to a great studio on the other side of Astoria
• I amped up my exercising and got plantar fasciitis
• I got a boyfriend (yeah, that's right!)
• I blogged so infrequently that my average daily number of visitors reached 0
• Rivster, Bill, Beernut, Poppyseed, and Peach moved to within bus distance of me
• We got an intern at work who is fantastic (never thought I'd say that, did you?)
• I got a couch. And an air conditioner. (!!!!!)
• Went to Radio City Music Hall for the first (and second! time)
• I got a super short hair cut

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Just to clarify, I made neither reservations nor resolutions. Thanks to MF and SE for pointing out my horrible, horrible mistake.

The Following Trends Have Me Flummoxed

1) Bacon everydamnthing
2) Mustaches
3) Zombies

Would you like some specifics?

Yes, that's right. Bacon SOAP!

Yum?

You might remember this from your childhood.
Oh, wait. No, you wouldn't.

And if you think I am making up how far up the chain this goes, consider the following fact. The CDC has put up a web page that details how to prepare for a zombie apocalypse. And while I applaud their ingenious use of an imaginary threat to help prepare for a real one, like a tornado or a hurricane, I think it just proves my point. Ridiculousness everywhere.

True Capitalism

I cannot help but be impressed. I think I would have thought, leave it to grow another year, not, "It doesn't look like much, but I have a bunch of indoctrinated people I know I can sell these to."

This is an Egg Cup

The reason I mention this to you is because it turns out that it was not usual to grow up using egg cups. I did a recent survey among friends and colleagues and not everyone even knew what it was. In my head, I was thinking, "Clearly not Gulliver's Travel's fans," but when I looked it up, it turns out that although the end of Chapter 4 of the Lilliput travels does contain a section about breaking eggs on the little ends (or big ends), there are no mention of cups. They are, nonetheless, a great invention.

I believe I decorated this with Rivster when she visited me in Boston one year, I think 1997 or so. I also decorated a spoon rest, but it was horribly ugly and it appears that it has been lost/misplaced/disposed of in between then and now.

I leave you with this (those of you who think that Gulliver's Travel's is a kids book, it's because you haven't read the real thing):

[T]wo mighty powers have... been engaged in a most obstinate war for six-and-thirty moons past.  It began upon the following occasion. 

It is allowed on all hands, that the primitive way of breaking eggs, before we eat them, was upon the larger end; but his present majesty’s grandfather, while he was a boy, going to eat an egg, and breaking it according to the ancient practice, happened to cut one of his fingers.  Whereupon the emperor his father published an edict, commanding all his subjects, upon great penalties, to break the smaller end of their eggs.

  The people so highly resented this law, that our histories tell us, there have been six rebellions raised on that account; wherein one emperor lost his life, and another his crown.  These civil commotions were constantly fomented by the monarchs of Blefuscu; and when they were quelled, the exiles always fled for refuge to that empire.  It is computed that eleven thousand persons have at several times suffered death, rather than submit to break their eggs at the smaller end.  Many hundred large volumes have been published upon this controversy: but the books of the Big-endians have been long forbidden, and the whole party rendered incapable by law of holding employments.  During the course of these troubles, the emperors of Blefusca did frequently expostulate by their ambassadors, accusing us of making a schism in religion, by offending against a fundamental doctrine of our great prophet Lustrog, in the fifty-fourth chapter of the Blundecral (which is their Alcoran). 

This, however, is thought to be a mere strain upon the text; for the words are these: ‘that all true believers break their eggs at the convenient end.’  And which is the convenient end, seems, in my humble opinion to be left to every man’s conscience, or at least in the power of the chief magistrate to determine.  Now, the Big-endian exiles have found so much credit in the emperor of Blefuscu’s court, and so much private assistance and encouragement from their party here at home, that a bloody war has been carried on between the two empires for six-and-thirty moons, with various success; during which time we have lost forty capital ships, and a much a greater number of smaller vessels, together with thirty thousand of our best seamen and soldiers; and the damage received by the enemy is reckoned to be somewhat greater than ours. 

Christmas Surprise

I went to go see The Radio City Christmas Spectacular (featuring The Rockettes) this weekend. Now in 3D!

The cynic in me has to comment that since this was a live show, it was already in 3D*, but I also have to admit that they used 3D technology brilliantly when it came to Santa coming from the North Pole and flying to and through New York.

I was not looking forward to seeing this show. I'd never had the desire to see the Christmas Spectacular because I always figured it would be Christmas-y so what is there to see?

What I did not anticipate is that because it is billed as a Christmas show (and not a holiday show that features everything Christian and Christmas plus a driedle), I enjoyed it as such, as much as I would enjoy any other show on it's own terms. 

Perhaps it helped that watching The Rockettes made me feel like I was in the 1930s or watching an Esther Williams film (without the water) or something like that. They are really amazing. 

There were live animals for the Living Nativity scene. There were fireworks. There were teddy bears dancing The Nutcracker. 

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*And also, that the Chase logo appeared at least four times.

I Love Allie Brosh

Over the summer, I rediscovered "Hyperbole and a Half," a fantastic blog showing off the artistic stylings of Allie Brosh.  I had just had a conversation with a male member of our species who refused to use loofahs because they were unmanly when I somehow stumbled onto this:

found here

It was part of a long laugh-out-loud blog entry of graphic panels about men and shower products.

Since then, and because I loved a lot of the other entries I saw on her site, I have been a fan. Her latest entry, though, takes the cake. It is the heart-breaking, funny truth about why she has not posted for several months and it deserves some type of reward:   Adventures in Depression