Monthly Archives: January 2012

The weekend my best friends came to visit.

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A few weeks ago, my best friends James and Rebekah came to visit NYC and I got to see them for a few days. I have missed them so much! Okay, so Rebekah was going to be here for the next week for a music intensive, but I like to pretend that they came solely to see me.

We had such a great time. I haven’t done all of the tourist things in NYC, so we crossed a few of those off our lists, and just had a great time. They arrived mid-day Saturday, and that night we had tickets to see Seminar with Alan Rickman. Before the show, all we could talk about was how close we were about to be to Alan Rickman. Little did we know!

Seminar was incredible, by the way. If you have the chance to see it, you need to. Alan Rickman is the teacher of a four-student writing seminar, and it’s very make-it-or-break-it. I absolutely loved it and would love to see it again.

After the show, we decided to stand at the stage door and see what we could see. Uh, okay, well, we saw Alan Rickman. Like the star he is, he let the other four actors come through the line first (because they were completely deserving of attention and he would have overshadowed them), and then he came out.

He came right over to where we were (and he brought his own Sharpie because he is a saint), and I immediately stuck out my Playbill, and he signed it! Rebekah got hers signed, too, and we thought we were almost dead.

And then I grabbed a quick photo of Rebekah with Alan Rickman in the background, which is just great. He turned around after this to sign other stuff, so I couldn’t get one, but having a signed Playbill pretty much made it worth it. If you know Rebekah, you know that there probably isn’t a bigger Alan Rickman fan in the world, ever.

One of my favorite things we did was go to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building and got some amazing city shots. However, we went at about 8:30 on a Sunday morning, which was great because there was literally no line to get in, and we could take as many uncrowded pictures as we wanted. The down side? It was wind chill colder than 10 degrees outside. YEP. Despite my face nearly falling off, though, I got a few shots that I absolutely love. First, a northern view of Manhattan – you can see Central Park wayyyyy up there. I’m addicted to doctoring landscapes, so this one has a little bit of that in it, too – but I can’t say I regret it. Hello, new Facebook Timeline cover photo (already done it).

Then I have a couple of great shots of all of us. I think this is the only picture we have of James doing a normal face (but the other ones were hilarious, too). Yes, we’re inside, taking a picture reflected from the mirrors all around the inside. It was too cold! Plus, this let us get a great shot of all of us. Isn’t it crazy how great an iPhone picture can be?

This is one of my favorite pictures of all time. There will never be a better best friend than Rebekah. She is the best, and I am in love with this picture. Aren’t we adorable in our winter wear? PS Do you like my glasses? Christmas present to myself :)

And then, because I’m a clown, I sent this picture to my dad, who told me the high for OKC that day was 72 degrees. This was the last picture I took before we went inside. It was just really, really cold that day, okay? Brr! Worth it to be up there, but man, it was cold. I totally look like some sort of hipster with this lens flare, though, right? Instead of just a girl who wishes she would have also worn her earmuffs.

After this, we had brunch with one of Rebekah’s friends from Si Parla, Si Canta (2010), and then did an NBC Studio Tour. No pictures allowed there, unfortunately. That night, we had dinner at Lombardi’s (which was amazing), and James had gotten mystery tickets to a show for that night and he took us to it. He had gotten us tickets for Rent! We had such a great time, and the show was really great. Somehow, I didn’t get any pictures then – sorry!

It was such an amazing weekend, and I can’t wait to see them again. I had been feeling a little homesick, and seeing my best friends in the world was so refreshing. Hear that? Anyone else who wants to come visit, please do!

Crosspost: My review of the Alcatraz pilot

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“Is anyone else’s head exploding right now?”

Once again, Jorge Garcia, as Alcatraz expert Dr. Diego Soto, asks the question on every viewer’s mind. No, this isn’t Lost and there aren’t any smoke monsters (yet), but some of the similarities are rather uncanny. Before you write this off as a preemptive disappointment, though, read on through to see some recap, commentary, and predictions. As thrilling as these two back-to-back episodes were last night, I can only imagine that  JJ Abrams, Jack Bender and the rest of the team have so much more in store for us.

The Basics

The show is based around the mystery that in 1963, all of the inmates in Alcatraz were transferred out; however, the canon is that when the transfer guards showed up, the entire prison was empty of inmates and staff. In the present day, Det. Rebecca Madsen (Sarah Jones) finds herself pulled into the mystery by FBI agent Emerson Hauser (Sam Neill) and his assistant Lucy Banerjee (Parminder Nagra), bringing with her Alcatraz expert Dr. Diego Soto (Jorge Garcia). As we learn near the end of the pilot, Hauser was one of the two original guards who found the empty island, and he’s built a New Alcatraz with which to contain all of the original inmates upon capture.

Alcatraz has followed suit on one of Lost‘s most famous fall-backs: the flashback. Both episodes flip back and forth between 1960, to introduce us to the characters as they enter and live on the Rock, and present day, where they resurface and our heroes have to track them down before they repeat their crimes. In such capable hands, the flashback is once again an incredibly effective tool, especially since it connects the inmates’ pasts and presents with startling clarity. While they haven’t aged, they do appear to have changed in a few ways, but we’ll find out more about that later.

    

Curious? Click through to A Big Picture Window to read my recaps of the first two episodes along with some end commentary.

Jason Wu for Target Preview – My Favorites

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I don’t know if you know this about me, but I love fashion. I love shopping. I love clothes. I love every single thing about it. Actually, there is one thing that’s bad about loving shopping – it gets expensive, and quickly. That’s one reason I absolutely love the Target designer collaborations. I’m pretty sure I have every pair of shoes from the Dolce Vita collection last year, and you’ll find more than one piece from the various clothing collections in my closet.

Fortunately for my heart, unfortunately for my wallet, the Jason Wu for Target lookbook was released on the morning of the 10th. The collection drops on February 5th, and it’s probably a good thing that it isn’t very convenient to go to Target here. That said, hopefully this collection doesn’t break the Internet like the Missoni one did, because I’d like to pick up a few things. Let’s take a look at some of my favorites, okay?


In a surprising turn, I’m going to focus on bags before clothes. I know, right? It’s like you don’t even know who I am anymore. But you know me – I love a big bag and a good clutch. The big bags on the end both look like great totes for the coming warm months, and the bag on the right is especially tempting as a makeshift work/laptop bag, if it’s the right size. Plus, the black clutch looks perfect for a night on the town. I feel like I can say that now, you know? A night on the town. Since I’ll live in The Town at that point.


Now, on to the dresses! It was hard to pick four favorite outfits, but somehow I’ve managed it. By the way, I hope the shoes are part of the collection, too, because there are some really fantastic basics in the pictures.

The first dress is just so classic summer – it’s going to be something you can dress up or down, depending on the occasion, and I’m thrilled about it. The second looks like a great classic piece – can you imagine this as a canvas for layers upon layers of chunky, bright beads? My fingers are itching as I type that. The third is just beautiful. I’m sure one of the first thoughts of many was, “What a great dress for a Fourth of July party!” And that’s true, it would be. But it’s also a dress that can transition into fall, I think, which I’m excited about. Finally, the last picture I chose because of that classy light coat, but I suspect that’s a black version of the white dress in picture two. I can’t decide which one I’m more excited about. Does this mean there may be more colors of the others? I can’t wait to find out!

I have to say, I’m loving the high necklines. Normally I’m on the fence about a high neck, but these look like they’ll survive the line between classy and stuffy/unflattering to non-models. I’m still kind of in love with the return of retro styles, and I hope this is a preview of more to come, for those of us who shop at your average store.

See the rest of the collection here. What are you most excited about?

All photos courtesy Target.

My copy of The Fault in Our Stars came yesterday, but I haven’t read it yet. I know.

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For the past few years, I’ve been a fan of author, vlogger, and Nerdfighter John Green. I’ve loved all of his books, and when it was announced early last year that his new book would be out in early 2012, I went on high alert. In July of last year (July! Six months ago! What?), preorders were available, and I wavered. Then he announced that he was signing all preorders, and I jumped on the chance. Then it was announced that he was signing the entire first print run, and, well, I had already preordered, so I still won.

If you’re a Vlogbrothers fan, you’ve probably seen at least one of John’s signing videos. He had to sign over 150,000 bookplates for the first print run, which is a whole lot of signing, when you get down to it.

I don’t know about for him, but for the rest of us, it was totally worth it when we got our signed preorders in the mail yesterday.

However, there’s more! What? Yes!

After I’d preordered the book, the announcement came out that there would be a very limited edition run of the audiobook read by the author. As the official audiobook is read by Kate Rudd, this is a one-time-only deal, so obviously I had to jump on it. Like everyone I’ve ever talked to, hearing an audiobook in the author’s voice is so rewarding, and I can’t wait. This hasn’t arrived yet, but I should have it sometime next week, once it gets to my parents’ house and they’re able to forward it on to me in New York (oh, the trials of moving).

- Six CDs of me reading The Fault in Our Stars.
- One DVD including eight bonus videos in which I discuss themes from the book, visit settings, talk about different inspirations, and explore the ways the nerdfighter community shaped (and made possible) the story I ended up writing.
- A wristband for The Hectic Glow, a band so beautifully underground that they don’t even exist.
- An awesome concert ticket for The Hectic Glow, a concert so epic that it never technically occurred.
- Four TFiOS-themed postcards designed by nerdfighters that you can send to your friend to brag that you own the John Green-narrated audiobook and they don’t.

Doesn’t that sound great? I’m pretty excited. Hopefully I’ll get to crack TFIOS sometime in the next few days, now that A Big Picture Window has launched and things seem to be moving at a more constant pace.

Have you read TFIOS yet? Are you going to read it?

 

Officially Launching…A Big Picture Window: Small Screen. Big Talk.

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I’ve been awaiting this post for quite a while now, and I can’t tell you how absolutely thrilled I am to be able to announce that as of today, I can officially say that my new blog is live and launched! Welcome to A Big Picture Window: Small Screen. Big Talk.

Though it’s been brewing in my head for a while, I knew I wouldn’t be able to successfully launch it on my own. Therefore, I recruited some good friends who I know love television as much as I do. So please welcome Chevy, Caroline and Kailee to the table, as they’ll be writing regularly. I figured for as much television as I watch, I need to be doing something with all of that knowledge instead of letting it just sit in my brain week after week. Here’s a quick excerpt from my What to Expect letter:

When ABPW was just a twinkle in my television’s eye, I knew I didn’t want to write just another episode review blog. Yes, reviews will be posted here, but I want more than that. When I read posts about shows that I love, I always leave wanting a little bit more meat, more references to the past, more speculation with regards to the show’s past. I want a retrospective look at shows that have ended, not just a rewatch. I want more depth when it comes to character analysis – you know, I’d even just settle for a character analysis, because you really don’t see that very often. I want to read more about the shows I love from someone who has watched them intensely for years and who really knows these characters, someone who maybe cares more about what happens to her favorite characters than to some people in real life.

As you can see if you click through, I have some pretty big hopes and dreams for this blog, and if you’re a television fan, I hope you’ll join us.

Click through to explore and check out all of the sections and articles. There are more features coming all the time, and we look forward to posting recaps and commentary of all of our favorite shows. There will probably be some overlap, but I think the four of us have wide enough ranges of interest to cover almost everything. Ideally, we’ll have at least a couple of posts of each type per week, and that may rise or fall depending on the season. However, with some shows like Community and Cougar Town probably getting bumped to summer, it’s looking more and more likely that we’re about to have a full-year run of shows, with an unprecedented break of the typical cable season.

Interested in contributing? Shoot me an email with your interests and/or pitch, and we can work something out. The one thing I’ve really tried to stress in the building process is that I want this to be a fun joint project among friends that can lead to some recently-published social media work and potential writing samples, or it can be just for fun.

What does this mean for Mustard Ampersand? Not much, actually. I still intend to blog here as a personal blog and about different things in my life, as was always the intention, but I wanted a separate outlet for my television writing. That doesn’t mean there won’t be some crossover (and I may crosspost a few things I think are important), but don’t worry – I’ll still be blogging here at least once a week.

Questions? Comments? Let’s hear it! I’m so excited for this new endeavor, and I hope you are, too.

Secret Santa reveal :)

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About a month ago, one of my dear blogger friends Mary of Babble+Bloom posted about putting together a Secret Santa exchange for a small group of ladybloggers. Naturally, I took her up on that offer because it sounded so completely awesome, and I was not disappointed.

Though I admit I’m a little late in posting this (sorry!), I can’t tell you how absolutely thrilled I was to receive my own package in the mail around Christmastime. I mentioned in my “about me” for the exchange that I love to read and that basically I’m a huge nerd, and I am so excited to say that Elena of Caffeinerd definitely came through for me! Check it out below.

I have no idea where my copy of Ella Enchanted is, and really, since I didn’t bring any books with me when I moved, it’s great to have an old favorite on my shelf again. And would you believe I’ve actually never read The Witches? I know, who am I? I’m thrilled to death with these two books.

Aren’t these Harry Potter prints completely awesome? They came from the SparrowsNestScript Etsy store. I want to just frame them together and hang them up. I know that’s a bookmark, but I can’t bear to potentially mess it up by actually using it. That’s why I can never have bookmarks – I always wind up losing or tearing them, and I can’t bear to do that so I just hoard them. It’s weird, I know.

Thank you so much, Elena! I love every single thing here, and I am so excited to know you now. Everyone be sure to check out her blog, Caffeinerd.

2012 Resolutions: An Affirmation of Self

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You know, I’m usually not one for new year’s resolutions. They’ve always seemed a little trite, mostly because it doesn’t seem like most people wind up keeping them. But I think I’m going to make a few this year. Because while I know that I’ve made great strides in the last year, I also know that I still have miles of room for improvement.

All the same, I’m thrilled for 2012 to be here. I still can hardly believe it. 2011 was the year of healing, and I predict 2012 will be the affirmation of self. I know who I am and what I believe and where I want to go in life, and I’m dedicating 2012 to making that my concrete reality.

So, in no particular order,

  1. Read more. I only have about fifteen books on record for this year, and that’s embarrassing. I’m setting my Goodreads challenge to a higher number this year, and I fully intend to finish it out.
  2. Get back in shape. I used to be in pretty great shape, but the last year and a half haven’t been so good for my physical health. I have the time, the membership and the motivation, though, so I fully intend to take care of business.
  3. Keep writing. I failed on my promise of finishing a novel this year, so my next goal is to finish one before summer. I’ve also done a little bit of screenwriting lately and found that immensely enjoyable (though I know I’m basically on the wrong coast for that), so I might keep giving that a stab.
  4. Take advantage of every opportunity in NYC. I’m here, so I might as well meet everyone I can and go everywhere I can. That’s the whole point of living here, isn’t it?
  5. Continue blogging. I have a pet project that I’m working on in addition to this (another reason for my absence) that I hope to announce soon that I can attach to my professional information, so I’m really excited about that. I also want to keep blogging more here because I’ve been told countless times that people are depending on me to hear about my NYC adventures.

That’s really all I have for now. I know they’re vague, but I don’t want to put figures or make precise promises right now. My goal is to see improvement in myself, not to stress myself out over numbers and deadlines, as far as these go.

What are your resolutions? Link me to your posts!