Meryl Streep in Stonington Borough

Her IMDB page starts with "Considered by many movie reviewers to be the greatest living film actress" and goes on to talk about her 16 Oscar nominations and how generally fabulous she is.  Swoon.  Oh and did I mention she is a Vassar alumna?  I saw her at graduation, just very briefly, but was instantly struck by how beautiful she was.

She is currently filming in the quaint Connecticut fishing village of Stonington Borough, where my parents happen to have a home.  This new film, Great Hope Springs, also stars Steve Carrell and Tommy Lee Jones.  IMDB describes the plot as "After thirty years of marriage, a middle-aged couple attends an intense counseling weekend to decide the fate of their marriage."  It's not a thrilling opener, but you can bet my butt is going to be in that cushy theater seat.

Mostly because my parent's house is likely to be in the movie!  This week their filming on our block.  My mom keeps texting me about Meryl being in a car right outside, or Tommy Lee Jones standing around outside our house.  And we though Mystic Pizza was exciting!

Meryl and Tommy stroll a transformed Water Street 

Make sure you check it out when it comes out this December.  Look for the blue house with the white front porch!


Photo Credit: Kathy Calnen, stonington.patch.com

New TV Review: Terra Nova

So admittedly, this is not the type of show I would typically tune into, except for one thing: dinosaurs.  I love dinosaurs.  Like, an eight-year-old boy type of love.  I watch NatGeo specials about dinosaurs and I totally lose it at natural history museums; it's crazy.

And the dinosaurs in this show didn't disappoint.  It was just everything else that did.  For those of you who haven't seen the previews I've got a little youtube video for you.  Basically in the future the Earth is uninhabitable because of pollution and so humans have devised a way to go back in time (85 million years to be exact) to build a new society.

If this sounds like every environmental dystopia you've ever seen, plus Jurassic Park, plus Lost you're right.  The show is incredibly derivative and just feels like a poor knock-off.  The two-hour pilot, unlike a movie of a similar length, moved too quickly to actually incite any emotional involvement because it was trying to set up a whole range of future story lines rather than exploring one and bringing it to completion.

So my suggestion: Netflix a NatGeo special instead.

Anthony Weiner's Penis is Ruining Foreign Policy

Jake and I were watching the news this morning when he had the horrible realization that Anthony Weiner's penis is ruining sound, moderate foreign policy.  Weiner-gate, while fabulous for late-night jokes, pun-filled headlines and double entendre, is turning out to be terrible for politics.  It was bad enough when the whole thing was just straight up embarrassing and distracting.  First it was denials and claims that he got hacked, then came the tearful apology, then came the twitter conversations with underage girls, then the pics taken in the Congressional gym, then the realization his wife was pregnant and then finally, the holy grail of good-god-just-resign-already the iphone photo of his penis.  Now, just when you might have hoped the whole thing was behind us, the penis shot seen round the world is having a ripple effect on foreign policy. 

 

Subsequent to Weiner's resignation was the dreaded special election.  Specials, as they're known in political shorthand, are notorious for low turnout.  Except you know who always turns out?  The Jews.  You don't become a powerful minority by sitting on your ass on election day.  Weiner's district has a large Jewish population and, more specifically, a large Orthodox Jewish population.  So while you might say the Democrat lost because of the economy or a weak campaign, you can't deny the fact that he also lost because of Israel.  How could a Democratic candidate lose because of Israel when he himself is a pro-Israel Jew?  Because it wasn't about the positions of the candidates in the race, it was about Obama and sending him a message about his moderate stance towards Israel. 

 

And you know what?  It worked.  The New York Times reported that after the election Obama aides were scrambling to create multi-page talking points about the president's record with Israel.  A couple weeks later, the Leader of the Free World is on television telling Palestinians not to press too hard for U.N. recognition of statehood.  All because the Congressman from the 9th district couldn't keep it in his pants.  If it hadn't been for Weiner-gate and the subsequent surprise results of the special we wouldn't all be freaking out about losing the 2012 election because of the Jewish vote, we'd just be freaking out about the 2012 election for every other reason in the world. 

 

So add it to the list of apologies Weiner had to make: Sorry Chuck for letting you down after you made me your protege; sorry Huma for betraying you while you were carrying my baby; and sorry Palestinians for squashing your dreams of peace and statehood. 

What to Watch this New Fall TV Season

Fall is a great time of year.  Everything is changing and everything feels new - a new school year, a change of seasons, and a brand new season of Fall TV!  This Fall has brought me more than the usual number of changes as you all know and I'm looking forward to getting back to my familiar favorites on the tube.  Most shows start up this very week!  Below is a list of the shows I'll be tuning into and putting on my DVR and you should know that "my recommendation is essentially a guarantee."  You should also know that that's a Ron Swanson quote and not actually a fact as I'm notorious for loving terrible television.  But it's not all bad, I promise!  And what is bad, is awesomely bad so it's still worth checking out, at least in my opinion.

Monday

House 
Fox 8 pm
While I'm beginning to get sick of that predictable moment when the solution visibly crosses House's mind in the middle of a conversation it's still worth tuning into.

The Sing-Off
NBC 8pm
I LOVE a cappella!  This show is hopeful and full of beautiful voices.  Plus, it has music genius Nick Lachey, ugh I mean Ben Folds.

Tuesday

Glee
Fox 8pm
While it seemed to be sliding last season I can't wait to see the new students from The Glee Project.  Here's hoping for more Top 40 smashes and Darren Criss.

The New Girl
Fox 9pm
I haven't seen it yet, but it's one of the only new sitcoms that actually looks decent and possibly funny.  And since it comes on right after Glee, I'll definitely be checking it out.

Wednesday

Modern Family
ABC 9pm
Just won the Emmy for best comedy and it was well deserved.  This show is laugh out loud funny, true to real life and heartwarming.  The family sitcom at its best.

Thursday - aka Epic Day of Television

Community
NBC 8pm
This show has Chevy Chase.  And Joel McHale.  And plenty of quirky story lines and laughs to boot.  This show is still sort of the little brother of the rest of the lineup, but it is a lovable little brother for sure.

Parks and Recreation
NBC 8:30pm
This show is overlooked and it's so funny and so sweet.  It has Aziz Ansari and Amy Poehler who is hilarious.  It's another one with a great supporting cast (see my Ron Swanson quote at the beginning of this post) who are all unique and wonderful.  Leslie Knope for Mayor!

The Office
NBC 9pm
We're all skeptical with Steve Carrell gone, but this funny show is full of wonderful characters and you know you're curious to see where this show is going post-Michael Scott.

30 Rock
NBC TBA
This critical darling is one of the funniest shows on TV and features one of my favorite wish-I-could-be-friends-with-her celebrities: Tina Fey.  How could it possibly be the last season?  And how could you possibly not check it out?

Project Runway
Lifetime 9pm
See: Summer TV: Project Runway.  Make it work!

Jersey Shore
MTV 10pm
Like watching monkeys learn sign language - both fascinating and entertaining.

Grey's Anatomy
ABC 9pm
My favorite girly prime-time soap opera, I'm looking forward to another sappy season.  Last season ended on a very sad and distressing note so I'm hoping things are looking up for my girls when it returns, but not so much that there aren't a few good cries to be had.

Friday

Say Yes to the Dress
TLC 9pm
Can you say guilty pleasure?  It's ogling plus judging plus pretty, pretty prettiness.  To die for!

Saturday

Go out people; you can't watch TV every day

Sunday

Sister Wives
TLC 9pm
The craziest part of gawking at these polygamists is how shockingly normal they seem.  This season brings a new baby and what seems like plenty of family drama.  In a great political twist, the family is bringing a suit against what I agree are unfair polygamy laws.  It will seriously blow your mind.

Fishing the Crystal Coast with Cap'n Jess

Could it have been only a couple of weeks ago that I was in North Carolina?  Pre-Irene, pre-move to Boston, pre-work?  It feels like ages ago.  But it's more than worth revisiting.

While we were there we went on a fishing tour with Captain Jess Hawkins.  Captain Jess has over 30 years of experience studying fish and marine biology and knows the North Carolina coast like the back of his hand.  As fish jumped out of the water, flashing only the briefest glimpse of scales, he could name them with perfect precision.

We went fishing and even us land-lubbing Yankees were able to catch a few.  Even I caught one, although I was mostly happy to be the expedition's chief photographer.  The key is to learn from the birds -  find where they are gathering for their meal and then fish for your own.

Once you've found your prey, just cast it out and reel it in.  Okay, it's not quite that easy, and we may have knotted up a fishing line or two, but we still managed to catch a nice variety.

Spanish Mackerel

Bluefish

Sea Robin

We also went to look for sand dollars and Jess brought us to a shallow area where the water is perfectly clear and we picked up one after another.  Together Jake and I found about 16, although most of those were his finds.  We gave some back to Captain Jess to give to kids who don't find any on their tours.  I still have a few that I plan to turn into Christmas ornaments and general keepsakes.

It was great fun and we'd do it again!

A Little Night Music

Last Friday after work I walked to the T station through the Public Garden and the Commons as usual.  I love that walk for all the entertainment it provides: the two college guys playing Taio Cruz on their violins, the old man with his accordian, the guitar player complete with amps, and even the ipod from behind me playing "Empire State of Mind."  It seems Boston is full of music and I love it. 

 

At night, Jake and I went out to dinner in Davis Square and were met by more musical entertainment.  Two men took shifts on acoustic guitars in the center plaza, but the best show was hidden behind the subway station.  A 13 piece band, complete with tubas, an electric violin, percussion and an assortment of other brass and woodwinds played Justin Timberlake classics and klezmer tunes.  The band included everyone from the dirty hippy in Tevas, the older man with the Hulk Hogan 'stache, the renaissance chick with purple hair, a hipster holding a tuba that looked as though weighed as much as him, and plenty of NSO types (for those of you who didn't go to Vassar I have two words for you: Magic Cards).  Most of them didn't even have sheet music.  Let me tell you, that is some badass nerdery. 

 

They had the crowd going.  An old man in a camouflage kilt was slapping his thigh and bobbing his head and a little girl in Dorothy red slippers and a bicycle helmet skipped around with her dad.  It was one of those perfect September nights, with only the best of late summer breezes.  Everything was just right and the band played on. 

Adventure 5: Old North Church

While in Little Italy, I saw the Freedom Trail and knew we were near Old North Church.  Here is the statue of Paul Revere that stands behind the church before the beautiful courtyard.  

I was happy to see that seeing the church, a real historical landmark, is still free.  We saw tour groups coming through with guides dressed in full revolutionary garb.  We stood in the church for a while and got a history lesson from a guide telling the story of Old North Church from the pulpit.  This is the church where Americans hung the lanterns to tell the people if the British were coming over the ground or by the Charles River.  

"One if by land, two if by sea."

Adventure 4: Little Italy

While we were at the arts festival, I saw signs saying that we were in the "Historic North End."  I knew that the North End was where Little Italy was, but I wasn't familiar enough with the area to find it.  However, when we exited the grocer's market I finally recognized the area and became pretty confident I could get us to the Little Italy area and I did!  The neighborhood is really cute with lots of interesting architecture and, of course, Italian food.

I remembered from a visit with a friend that there is a place in Little Italy where there are two competing and famous bakeries that are known for their cannoli.  As we walked around we were lucky enough to find them.  We got fresh cannoli (you would think the plural is cannolis, but cannoli already is plural and cannolo is singular - thank you Wikipedia) at Mike's bakery and they were so good.  Sweet ricotta cream is really the best.  

Adventure 3: Grocer's Market

We were starting to consider going home after the arts festival, but Jake suggested we explore one more side street instead.  We ended up in the cutest spot that was covered in cobble stone walkways and old brick buildings.

As we continued to explore, we saw yet another set of tents and stumbled upon a grocer's market.  It wasn't exactly a farmer's market because it wasn't all locally grown, but there was a ton of well priced produce and a few permanent shops selling cheeses, fish and meats.

Adventure 2: Boston Arts Festival

While we were walking around Quincy market, we could see that there were tents set up in the area behind us so we decided to check it out.  It turned out to be the Boston Arts Festival.  There was a full-day of musical acts, local artists selling their work, and art demonstrations, all taking place right along the water.

In addition to the artists selling their work, there were also artists making their work.  There was a woman doing a chalk piece based on Dali's famous clocks and a live glass blowing demonstration.

There was also this creature wandering around.  I'm not sure what he was supposed to be or why he was there, but I still like it.  

Adventure 1: Quincy Market

We set out to go to Quincy market.  It's one of my favorite places in Boston and it's full of fun things to see and eat.  We walked around the mall outside Quincy market.  We checked out one of those shops that sells Christmas ornaments all year long.  When we got our first tree I started a tradition of getting a new ornament each year that represents our lives that year.  Last year it was a New York ornament and this year it will be a Boston ornament.

Then we went inside the market and did a full lap to check out all the food.  How could I choose when there are corn dogs, lobster rolls and Chinese food all in one place?  Well, it actually wasn't that hard because I've been meaning to get clam chowder in a bread bowl for about seven years now.  I know, crazy.  The chowder was amazing, but the bread bowl was really just a novelty.

Five Adventures in Boston

I just finished my first week at work and I know that I've been absent too long.  It's been a crazy, hectic week jumping head first into my new job, but now I'm back!

Today Jake and I headed into Boston thinking we were going on one adventure - going to Quincy market - and ended up going on five adventures!  In the next five posts you can find the details of our expanding adventures, plus plenty of pictures.

Sunday at the SoWa Market

Yesterday Jake and I made our first venture into Boston to check out the SoWa market.  It was a great hybrid of arts and crafts fair, flea market, farmer's market, and food truck parade.  There were tons of neat vintage finds at the flea market and really interesting, modern art (as well as quirky tee shirts) in the craft booths.  The farmer's market seemed super fresh and had everything from veggies, to bread, to honey, to eggs and meat.  We got a couple peaches to enjoy as the season winds up.

The highlight for me though was the food.  I got my first ever bahn mi sandwich at the Bon Me truck.  Bahn mi is a Vietnamese sandwich served on a baguette with roasted pork, pate, mayo, cilantro, and pickled vegetables.  We also got truffle fries from the Roxy's Grilled Cheese truck.  I absolutely love anything with truffle and these fries were some of the best I've ever had.  We chose not to get a grilled cheese because Jake had tried them at an orientation event and found it disappointingly greasy.  There was a competing grilled cheese truck at the market with more interesting combos, but our bahn mi sandwiches were more than enough to fill us up.

You'll notice that the fries come with their own branded Next Great Food Truck Race paper liners.  This show, on Food Network Sundays at 9pm, follows food trucks as they travel around the country and compete to sell the most food.  For any lovers of street food, this show is really fun and it features Boston's Roxy's Grilled Cheese (as well as my favorites, the Korean tacos from Korilla of NYC).  

Cupcakes Continued

Sweet: Zero Brattle Street, Cambridge

Welcome back to the cupcake wagon!  But sadly, not everything can be Georgetown Cupcake or Kickass Cupcakes.  Sweet was exactly that.  The decor was super sweet, pink and white, and the cupcakes were the same - overly sweet.

I got a Peach Cobbler cupcake, which sounded really promising, but the peach filling was jam and not real peaches so it became extra sticky and extra sweet.  I did like the streusel topping on the cupcake though.  Anjali got a classic chocolate frosted cupcake.  We agreed that Sweet is better on the classics, but it still wasn't exactly my favorite.  The frosting was more like chocolate mousse rather than classic frosting.  If this is for you it could be a welcome change, but for me I love the frosting so it was sorely missed.  Both cupcakes did boat a very moist cake, which was very welcome.

Greatest Music Ever Sold

In his movie, The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (see post below), Morgan Spurlock interviews some really cool bands about integrating their music into advertising and even has OK Go write his film's theme song.  I've found that lately commercials are featuring more and more interesting music (even if it does tend to bend a little towards the hipster set) and I thought I'd share a few of my favorites.

Matt & Kim - Daylight

Fatty Gets a Stylist - Are You Ready?

Kid Cudi - Pursuit of Happiness

Ingrid Michaelson - The Way I Am

The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

This tongue in cheek documentary by the creator of Supersize Me is definitely worth a rental.  In The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, Morgan Spurlock examines product placement in films while at the same time creating a film financed entirely through product placements.  You get to see him approaching skeptical companies to pitch his idea, and a few of the really cools ones actually accept.

I've always been sort of fascinated with advertising.  To me, its an intersection between two things I like: art and convincing people of things.  I almost always watch the commercials during shows, and like most people, and especially most females, I tune into the Super Bowl for one reason and one reason only: the commercials (okay and possibly also as an excuse to eat nachos).    There is good advertising and bad advertising of course, maybe even responsible and irresponsible advertising, but I don't think advertising is evil.

Like I said, I sort of enjoy being advertised to.  As you know from almost all my other entries, I used to live in New York City.  New York City is probably the capital of advertisements - hello Times Square.  But there are also advertisements in bus shelters, plastered on construction sites, on taxi cabs, even entire subway cars refinished on the outside and inside as advertisements.  We're such a big market we get commercials tailored to us, we get movie releases other parts of the country don't get, we even get product giveaways on street corners!  That's my favorite.  I've gotten Stacy's pita chips, Sabra hummus, Coca Cola, and Simply Orange orange juice.

The movie is really funny, but also thought provoking and interesting.  A brand personality company even notes that Morgan's brand is "mindful and playful" which sounds like a great combination for a Friday night rental to me.  Pick it up to find out what "neuro-advertising" is and then come back and decide whether you disagree with me about advertising being evil.

How to Skip the Line at Georgetown Cupcake

I admit it; I have hopped on the cupcake bandwagon.  They're the personal pizza of cakes.  They adhere to the 'everything small is cute' law (Have you seen baby shoes lately? C'mon).  You can mix and match or order a dozen of the same.  You can whip them up at home and feel like Martha Stewart.  Cupcakes are amazing and cupcakeries (cupcake bakeries) are popping up everywhere, see my previous post for example.

Georgetown Cupcake is one of the most famous cupcake bakeries around; they even have their own show on TLC called DC Cupcakes.  But anyone even remotely familiar with the bakery knows about the line.  Frequently a block long, the line moves relatively quickly but can still be daunting.  Georgetown Cupcakes has become more than a great local bakery; it's now a tourist destination.

So how do you skip the line at Georgetown Cupcake?  Simple, just skip it.  Literally, skip the line and go around the block to Baked and Wired instead.  This place sells mostly cupcakes but also has a coffee house vibe that's much more relaxed than Georgetown Cupcake.  And if size matters to you, these cupcakes are much bigger than the offerings at their more famous competitor.

I got a chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting, which is a favorite combo of mine; a vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting, a staple that I think can show a bakery's chops; a lemon cupcake with a raspberry creamcheese frosting; and an almond cupcake with peach frosting.  Yum!

The honest truth is that they aren't as good as Georgetown Cupcakes, at least in my opinion.  With the larger cupcake the cake to frosting ratio is a little off for me.  But overall they are great cupcakes and you won't have to wait in line for them.  Georgetown is impossibly cute and if you only have a limited amount of time you'll want to take a stroll, not stand in line. 

Best Bakeries in Davis Square

Yesterday I went on a walk to Davis Square as I use my last week of vacation to explore my new neighborhood.  It's a very cute area with plenty of restaurants and a movie theater that serves wine and beer.  Tucked on Highland Avenue are two amazing, but very different bakeries.  I sampled them both.

When Pigs Fly
378b Highland Avenue, Somerville MA
http://www.sendbread.com/home.php

You may have seen When Pigs Fly bread in your local Whole Foods.  They also have several bakery locations in New England including this one in Davis Square.

You won't find any cookies or cakes here - just bread.  But don't let that fool you into thinking there isn't a lot of variety, because there is.  They have sweet and savory breads, the basics and new twists.  I've tried their Raspberry Lemonade bread which has a nice sugary crust and a light citrus flavor with real fruit in it.  They have offerings as exotic as Mango Pineapple Raisin Bread with Toasted Sesame and Ginger right on down to your good old New York Rye.  I purchased the Rosemary Olive bread and got a discount on my Lemon Blueberry Bread Pudding.  They both made excellent additions to that night's dinner.  And this place wins for cutest bags.

Kickass Cupcakes
378 Highland Avenue, Somerville MA
http://www.kickasscupcakes.com/

Here you won't find anything but cupcakes, but you'll find them in super creative flavors.  I got the Pink Lemonade and the Mojito.

They don't post descriptions of the cupcakes, which is sad because when I looked them up online they sounded really interesting, but I'm sure the friendly people inside would have been happy to let me know if I had asked.  The Mojito cupcake had a lime frosting with a garnish of mint and a vanilla cupcake with a hint of rum.  When I bit into the Pink Lemonade cupcake I was pleasantly surprised to find real strawberries inside of a lemon cupcake with strawberry frosting. Both were really delicious with just the right amount of frosting that wasn't overly sweet. 

They also boast really unique flavors like the Lotus Blossom, which has a sake soaked pear center and a lychee frosting.  And then there's the Boston-centric Green Monster, which is a chocolate cupcake with a beer ganache center and a Sam Adams Cream Stout frosting, dyed green of course.  At $3 a pop, these relatively small cupcakes are as or more expensive than better known competitors, but well worth the creative flavor options and great taste.