Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Once Upon A Time...

Those words have been the prelude to so many wonderful stories(and a Broadway musical). It is my hope that they are not only the title of, but also the prelude to a wonderful story to be told on ABC television.
I think I may have found my next Halloween Costume
I have finally discovered my favorite show of the new television season.  Yes, there is an evil queen…every good story needs one. But there is also Snow White and Prince Charming, the Seven Dwarfs, Rumplestiltskin, and Jiminy Cricket!

All of these characters, thanks to an evil curse, have been trapped…stuck in time, in the town of Storybrooke, Maine to live here in our world where happy endings are a thing of fiction. The gaps are filled in for us via flashbacks to the Enchanted Forest where all of the characters we know and love existed. What I find most fascinating about even just the pilot episode is seeing where these characters fit into our "Real" world. Snow White is a teacher, Grumpy is the town bad boy and Jiminy Cricket?…a shrink, in human form of course.

Snow White and Prince Charming's child has been "saved" from the curse thanks to a magical tree stump that transported her to our world only seconds before the Evil Queen's wicked spell could come to fruition. She appears in our universe as an orphan named Emma Swan. Emma gave up her child Henry at birth to none other than The Evil Queen, now the mayor of Storybrooke.

If all of those tidbits aren't enough to get you interested in the story, I have one more to impart. Once Emma decides to stay in Storybrooke…time starts back up for the town. I gasped and cried, of course. I'm a sap when it comes to story telling and this show has nailed it!

I hope it can hold onto it's ratings long enough to at least be granted a second season. I think there is amazing potential here to tell a story we haven't seen before. Not one about the end of happy endings, but one that teaches us how to find them again.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Shibu-YEAH!

I've barely made it outside of my hotel this trip. Luckily, one night our account manager scheduled a client dinner over at The MGM Grand. We ate at Shibuya, a great asian-fusion place. I had to take my own arty shot...

See? Arty!
The menu here was mainly sushi, and if you've read by blog at all, you know how I feel about that. They also have a nice selection of warm dishes. I chose...

                     JIDORI CHICKEN 
                           Half Organic Chicken Breast & Thigh Skewers, Satsumaimo Croquettes, 
                           Shishito, Lemon Teriyaki


I don't know what was in those croquettes, but it was amazing! The Sauce was light and flovorful with just the right amount of twang. I did accidentally eat one of those skinny peppers, thinking it was a green bean, but my tummy survived it.

The most important part? Dessert!!! They have quite a wide selection on their dessert menu. Lot's of things you wouldn't expect in a Japanese reaturant. I decided on...

                     CALPICO PANNACOTTA
                           Vanilla Calpico Cream, Raspberry Yuzu Gelee, Raspberry Yuzu Jam Macaron

Not only does it sound delicious, I was completely unprepared for the presentation that was to be set in front of me. Out of all of the desserts my fellow diners and I sampled, mine was the most beautiful.

Awe & Wonder!!!
I'm not sure you can see it in the photo, but those berries are dusted with edible gold. How decadent is that? I felt like I was eating something right out of a Dr Seuss book.

I gotta say, one of the best perks of my job is getting to sample food like this all over the country. Be envious...be very, very envious :-)



Monday, October 10, 2011

Schweet! Suite

Ok, sometimes I complain about the amount of travel I have to do for my job. This time I could complain about a lot of things having to do with this trip, but one of them is not the room the client gave me at The Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas. This, ladies and gentlemen...is my suite!

I call that The Porn Sofa. Imagine the possibilities!
This is the view as I came in the door. There is a great little nook in front of the smaller window where the desk I'm writing this post from is located.

What can I say? The Porn Sofa really dominates the room
This the view towards the bed and the HUGE picture window. I should also point out that if I could find a way to bring that curvy lamp behind The Porn Sofa home with me...I would!



The shower and vanity...nice, but wait for it!!!!!


BAM!!! The jacuzzi tub! I have been in it twice. It's delightful. I might just have to get one of these for my  house one day. The coolest thing is that I FIT IN IT! I can almost lay out flat and float!

Oh, I almost got too caught up in the interior. Here is my view!

The sign, and all of The Strip in the background!!!
It's not often that I get perks like this when I travel. Usually the client throws us in whatever hotel they happen to have comp rooms in. So when it does happen it's a special treat. A treat I am hoping to take full advantage of.

Gotta go...The Porn Sofa is giving me it's "Come hither" look!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Yikes! I've Become Kim!!!

I haven't blogged in a while, and I'm sorry for that. I'm heading into the "Busy" season at work, and well...quite frankly, I haven't had much to say. I had prepared a post about the cool suite I have here at my hotel in Las Vegas, but that will have to wait.

Something has happened today that has made me very sad. Steve Jobs, the former CEO of Apple Computer, has died at age 56 from pancreatic cancer.


Now, I did know Mr. Jobs personally. But from 1983, I was a follower of his. When he started Apple Computer and the first Mac computers found their way into my classrooms, I was hooked. Imagine, a simple user interface that didn't require learning a programming language to operate!

Ever since, you could say I was an Apple Fan Boy. I would only purchase Apple products. I am forced to work with Microsoft PCs because of my job and it only serves to enforce my loyalty for what I consider to be the only true computing experience.

Many of my friends laugh at me. But, those same friends also enjoy their iPods and their iPhones. For me Mr. Jobs, and Apple, have created a "complete" experience. My phone interacts with my computer and my life in a seamless coalescence that I never dreamed possible all those years ago.

Steve Jobs had that vision. He had that spark and the drive to make it happen. When he stepped down as the CEO of Apple, I was worried. I knew something must be wrong in order for him to make such a decision. What I didn't realize is that he would be taken so quickly. I was looking forward to his next step, his next magic trick...his next, "Oh, and one more thing."

The world has lost a true visionary. No one can deny that his legacy will live on, a true homage to the man, who in more ways than one, changed the world.