Are You Watching "The Glee Project" Yet?

If you love Glee, but are getting sick of the increasingly out of touch story lines and unrecognizable, slow paced musical numbers, you need to check out The Glee Project.  If you love Glee, but yearn for more earth-shaking, hand-clapping group numbers and top 40 hits, then you need to check out The Glee Project. 

12 young people compete for an 8 episode guest role on Glee.  Each week they perform two songs: a "homework assignment" song sung live and a music video for which they pre-record the vocals.  The bottom three perform for Ryan Murphy, Glee writer and creator, to determine who goes home.

Below is a video from a homework assignment song performed earlier in the season.

The Glee Project is the best of Glee mixed with the best of American Idol.  I thought after a decade of singing talent shows there wouldn't be much else out there, but the kids on The Glee Project have blown my mind.  They are so unbelievably talented and lovable, it is a joy to watch.  I hooked my sister on the show, and then she hooked my mom on it. The songs are consistently up-tempo and chances are you've heard them on the radio or had them stuck in your head at one point or another.   It's tempting to see the contestants as high school cliches - the fat girl, the rocker, the gay kid, the latina bombshell, many of which already exist on the show - but instead you see them as real people and it makes you see the characters more like real people too.

I think Glee will benefit from this infusion of enthusiasm and reality that has been missing from the most recent season.  We've been reintroduced to what made Glee great to begin with: quirky, talented youth coming of age as outsiders we can relate to and root for, plus a healthy dose of arena/broadway worthy performances.

In this video, the remaining contestants are subjected to that classic Glee hazing ritual: the slushie, and perform a song from the ever-entertaining musical genre: the mash-up.  Spoiler Alert: This is a fairly recent video, so if you haven't seen the first few episodes this will reveal who has left the show so far. 

 

Catch new episodes of The Glee Project every Sunday at 9:00 on Oxygen

My Sister the Cake (and Sandwich) Artist

I bought my little sister a small fondant set for her birthday.  She does great clay sculptures, bakes amazing treats, and decorates beautiful cakes.  We're all big fans of cake shows like Cake Boss, Ace of Cakes, and Ultimate Cake Off.  I seriously believe she could work in one of those shops.  Without any training she created this amazing seaside cake with Nilla wafer sand and a sculpted fondant blue crab. 

She also happens to be a Subway "sandwich artist."  It seems like even this ubiquitous chain knows my sister is an artist with food.  Her masterpiece: the tuna melt on flatbread.

Hot Spot Mystic: Sea Swirl

30 Williams Ave., Mystic, CT

seaswirlofmystic.com

Today Jake and I went to the Mystic Aquarium and were pretty much the only people there without strollers.  It was smaller than I remembered from visiting as a kid, but I enjoyed the Beluga whales and the sea lions.  

After, we went out to lunch at the Sea Swirl.  This roadside stand was once a Carvel ice cream shop and now serves up fried seafood to order, grill fare of the burgers and dogs variety, and soft serve ice cream.

We both had cod sandwiches that came straight out of Stonington Harbor, hot and crunchy, served on a soft potato roll with lettuce and tartar sauce.  The white board out front listed the day's specials as well an announcement for the birth of the owner's granddaughter.  The place has been written up by the New York Times and the Boston Globe and is a local gem.  Come by and grab a seat at the picnic tables soon!

Building a Home

Is harder than I remembered.  Packing and unpacking is a long process.  And even though we had a whole apartment full of stuff that we brought with us, it still feels like there’s so much more that we need that I didn’t anticipate.  Now that I’m in my second apartment I have this new desire to have more grown-up things: cups and towels that all match, furniture that isn’t made out of plastic or particle board.  And I second my friend at spicykoury.blogspot.com about how surprisingly difficult it is to find a decent couch.  99% of everything out there is a terrible chenille or microfiber suede.  We finally settled on a leather couch from Raymour and Flanagan.  It was scheduled to be delivered this past Thursday between 12-4, but we got a call around 2 saying the truck had broken down and they were running two hours late.  When the couch finally arrived the delivery guys told us that it had a scratch and asked us if we would like to send it back for a new one.  I didn't want to start of with a brand new couch that was already damaged, so we let them take it back.  All day waiting and our living room is still empty.  Looks like the process of building our new home continues.  

Hot Spot Boston: The Biscuit

One thing I want to do is to highlight some of my favorite places to do one of my favorite things: eat.  I’ll post them as I find them in Boston (which you may already have noticed I’m using as a catchall for Boston and surrounding towns of Somerville, Cambridge, etc.) and I’ll reach back into the depths of my nostalgia to bring you some NYC gems. 

The Biscuit: 403 Washington St., Somerville, MA

www.visitthebiscuit.com

This place is right around the corner and I love a great little bakery so I was very excited to visit.  The front case was full of really yummy looking treats of the sweet and somewhat savory variety from cinnamon twists; croissants plain or filled with chocolate, raspberry, or ham and cheese; bread pudding; fruit tart; quiche; sticky buns and a variety of scones.  They won me over though with their tea.  They serve Rooibos tea, and not the terrible Tazo variety you can find in Starbucks or Whole Foods or similar places where they flavor it with flowers or berries or herbs. 

I had a Rooibus latte and a slice (weighing approximately two pounds) of banana brioche bread pudding.  It was all amazing, comforting, sweet and plentiful.  I loved it and I can’t wait to go back and try everything else they have.  The treats and the coffees and teas seemed to be the focus there, but I also noticed a pretty extensive sandwich list that I will have to check out too.

The Job Hunt Pt. V: The Philanthropist Wears Prada

I’ve had three more interviews in the last two days.  I finally had that interview with the organization that was hiring, then hired someone, then was hiring again.   The interview was very short and it left me wondering how serious they really were about filling the position or about me as a candidate.  At 15 minutes, the commute would be heaven, but I’m still not sure about those people. 

I had a second interview at the women’s organization and the job description still seems beyond my qualifications.  I applied for two positions there and it turns out the second job I applied for actually reports to the position that I got the interview for.  I don’t know why I got a second interview or if they’ve really read my resume.   At the same time, you can’t grow in a job where you already know how to do everything.  Perhaps feeling a little over your head is a good thing. 

The last interview was the best.  I met with the VP of Communications at a major foundation and she was tall and chic and had beautiful white hair.  The organization sounds fabulous, the jobs sounds fabulous, and clearly she was fabulous.  The best part though, was a printed sign above her desk that said (I’m paraphrasing here): “All you need in life is your friends, to party hard, and to look twice as good as the bitch standing next to you – Paris Hilton.”  What’s not to love?

Boston vs. New York City

Admittedly, this is wildly biased and heavily influenced by the fact that I had the time to get to know New York and Boston is just an acquaintance so far, but here is my highly unscientific early judgment on my first two adult homes. 

Cleanliness – Boston

I can’t say there was no dog poop, but there was significantly less.  And not a single subway station I’ve entered so far has smelled like pee.    That’s a win for you Boston. 

Friendliness – Tie

This one really is too early to tell. The only people on the street who have talked to me in Boston so far are homeless people and I have to say, it hasn’t exactly been pretty.  In New York, people panhandling on the subway will apologize before they start to beg.  Yesterday in Boston a homeless woman called me a bitch because I couldn’t tell her how to get to Copley Square.   New Yorkers may have a bad rap as cold and unfriendly folk, but I wouldn’t count them out in this category just yet. 

Convenience – New York

Hands down.   I waited fifteen minutes for the bus in Boston yesterday, on a weekday.  That’s like the M31 on a Sunday, or something you might find in Queens.  The grocery store doesn’t deliver, so I’m assuming the McDonald’s and the liquor store don’t either.  New York has everything, everywhere, all the time so this one goes to the Big Apple. 

Variety – New York

We walked around Harvard Square yesterday and in one stroll I feel like we saw all there was to see.  I feel like Boston is a city I can wrap my arms around.  It’s really more like fifteen small, quaint New England towns all put down in the same spot, attached by a subway and separated by suburbia.  Every subway stop in New York was a whole new world.  East Harlem was so different from the West Village was so different from the Upper East Side was so different from the Financial District and so on and so on.  For a tiny island in the Northeast, Manhattan is unmatched in this category. 

Aesthetic – Boston

I sat in the Public Gardens yesterday and there is not match.  I love Central Park, but this was so much better.  There are Victorian homes.  With yards.  Made of grass.  So much grass!  And trees!  New York is beautiful in its own way.  I love the Chrysler Building and Grand Central, but nature really takes the cake and come fall, I know Boston is not going to disappoint. 

Food/Culture – New York

Broadway.  The Fashion District. The Met.  Enough Michelin Star restaurants to feed an army.  There really was never a question.  This one goes to New York where the bright lights, the food trucks, the nightlife, and the art scene, like everything else in New York, never sleep.   

Affordability – Boston

So far, I don’t feel like I’m spending less in Boston, but you get more bang for your buck, so everything feels like an upgrade.  For the price of a one bedroom walk up in New York, you can get a two bedroom apartment with an elevator, laundry, a dishwasher, and a garbage disposal (otherwise known as the New York holy grail, and something you might dish out three grand a month for).