Of Madison Avenue and Meat

I can't afford to buy from Madison Avenue in NYC. That's why I've occasionally indulged in quality knockoffs. I'm convinced the only good thing to come off the back of a truck is a really good Gucci knockoff.
Here's why:
Yesterday, two men from Circle C Meats (Garner, NC) knocked on my door here in Smithfield, NC and asked my husband and I to buy some meat from the cooler in the back of their pickup. We protested mightily at first, but there were a lot of words coming out of their mouth and they kept lowering the price on this "top quality" beef that we could never buy at the grocery store for this price. And, but wait, there's more...they threw in some "free" chicken. By the time they stopped making deals I was writing a check for $189.52. It wasn't until after they left we came to our senses--we were snookered. Our price per pound came out to about $9. There's not enough meat there to support that price.
We called asking for a refund. They said read your brochure--it says no refund. We called the bank to cancel our check, but we were too late. We've lodged a complaint with the Better Business Bureau and are reiterating our request in writing to Circle C for a refund. Both North Carolina law and federal law says we have three days to reconsider our purchase. So we now have to wait and see what happens next.
So the moral of this story is buying meat off the back of a pickup is a far cry from Madison Avenue. Stick to the Gucci knockoffs. You'll be just a little bit closer.

Chip-in-a-Shoe

There's a rumor out there that high-end show designers like Christian Louboutin might start adding tracking devices or some kind of microchip to their shoes in an effort to curb knockoffs. After all if I pony up $600 for a pair of bury-me-in-my-Christian Louboutin-pumps then I had damn well better get the real McCoy.
So my favorite shoe designer has all of my movements in a database somewhere, helping them design footwear for every movement for every environment I might find myself. Oooh, more shoes for me!!
But there is a dark side to this. Some weirdo with an underground foot fetish working for the shoe empire might need to act out his fantasy in real life. Then my family will really have to bury me in my pumps (if homicide will release them).
Also, some wacko on the street with a homemade scanner might decide to rob me of my super delicious luxury shoes. Again, there is violence associated with my purchase.
Let's look at this another way? Where does the company's right to make a legitimate profit supercede my right to privacy?
So my choices are to allow the Christian Louboutin to potentially invade my life and track my every movement (maybe even putting me in harm's way) or go without should the chip-in-a-shoe become a reality.
Fortunately, I value privacy over looking good.

Songs of the Sea and Shore

It's only been a few months since Thunder and Spice came into existence. Jim, Jerry, Laura, her daughter Elaina met at a rehearsal last winter for singers for the summer Renaissance Faires in North Carolina.
Each loves to sing songs of the sea and shore, which includes sea shanties, pirate and pub songs, as well as melodic harmonies in the Celtic, Folk and Renaissance tradition. Each member puts a variety of theatrical talents and years of musical experience to use in this versatile performance group.
They have so far performed at the Raleigh/Wake Forest and Rocky Mount Faires, Bath Fest (Bath, NC) and later this summer will soon travel to Charlotte for the Faire.
Whether singing bawdy songs at the pub, leading a family crowd in folk sing-alongs, trading sea shanties with pirate crews, these lads and ladies perform with incredible energy and a contagious sense of fun!
Learn a little more about Thunder and Spice via the movie below.

Merry Men (and Women)

For this multi-media (mm) project I'll be focusing on the newly formed folk group Thunder & Spice. This group of Merry men (and women) love the music from the Renaissance period--think the days of King Henry VIII. The group wants to reintroduce the music of days long ago to contemporary society.
I think now -literally- is a great time to talk about and highlight that period of music. The movie "Robin Hood" has just been released and we will hear a lot of this kind of music (both instrumental and with words). Just as the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies have inspired a new era of pirates, the "Robin Hood" movie serves as a great way to highlight this genre of music and maybe even inspire a few singers and musicians to get involved. There are four members of the group, one of whom is a teenager. I'm curious as to why she gives up her weekends for North Carolina Renaissance Faires when she could be at the mall or something with her friends. The other three are adults and also volunteer their weekends at Faires. Why? What is the motivation? What about the music of the period draws them in? I will use audio (like that found here) and photographs. This audio is a little snippet of a song Thunder & Spice call "Lobo." Sung in Spanish and loosely translated, the song tells the story of an encounter of a beautiful young girl and a dangerous and dastardly wolf.

Little Thunder, Big Spice

As a way to take my career to the next level, I'm going to engage in a little multi-media (mm) storytelling over the next few weeks.
I’m going to start my intro to mm with a profile on a rising folk group out of the Raleigh area. When I think about the group, Thunder & Spice, I think about Malcolm Gladwell described how the club kids in the 1990s bought back the Hush Puppies brand. Intentional or not, they reminded a whole new generation of not-quite-as-young people that it’s cool to be retro.
In 2010, a quartet of folk singers is giving retro a whole new meaning. They are trying to revive the maritime and renaissance songs of centuries long ago. The recently formed Thunder & Spice, out of the Raleigh area, spend their available weekends at area Renaissance Faires where visitors are transported to the time of King Henry VIII, when women were Lady’s and Lass’ and curtseyed to a passerby and men were fine gentlemen hopefully of good standing with the King. But the music reflected a time of merriment on land—carousing in pubs, romancing a love (even if only for a night)--and of hard work on ships—turning the capstan or setting a sail.
Over the coming weeks, this blog will profile Thunder & Spice (Laura, Jerry, Elaina, and Jim), as they recall the days of old through song, balancing everyday work, life and family.
So if an underground movement of young club kids can make what’s old new again, Thunder & Spice should have an easy time of restoring a fading art form.

Country Life, City Life

I recently moved to North Carolina. Smithfield (not the ham place), specifically. I'm living in a farm house that was first built in the early 1900's with subsequent sections added on later. I'm liking the extra space--coming from a one bedroom basement apartment, 3 bedrooms feels like a mansion.
I'm taking advantage of the yard I never had growing up in the projects of New Jersey's seaside bedroom community of Red Bank. I shared a postage stamp size front yard with the neighbor next door. In the back, we shared a clothes line as part of postage stamp. On our 1 acre of land we've started a garden and a compost pile. It think it's the latter part that has really bought home my new diggs.
A friend called the other day and I didn't answer because I was turning my compost heap. Hmmm...turning my compost heap...not something any of my friends would ever think they (or I) would hear me say. But the composting is a good, albeit sometimes tedious and even downright boring thing, sometimes. On the plus side I'm trying to convince myself that having a few hours of boring tasks such as managing my compost heap or raking my yard is just the time I need for reflection. It's a chance for me to turn off my phones--actually I just put them away from my immediate reach--and get a little exercise.
Now I just need to repeat that little directive 100 more times and I'm sure I'll start to believe it.

Sleepy Stupors

I've been having this ongoing conversation with my brother-in-law about personal responsibility. I was reminded of a quick trip I took earlier this month to Anaheim to attend the Natural Products Expo West show. On my van ride from the airport to my crappy hotel, the driver, a non-native born who had just become an American citizen was in such good spirits, made a comment about how much he loves this country and how fortunate we are to have 24 hour McDonald's. However, the down side of that, he said, was that these restaurants are making our kids fat.
Tired after my cross country flight, I piped up with McDonald's isn't making our kids fat. Parents are making their kids fat by allowing them to eat greasy goodness far more than the kids' limited amount of exercise allows for. In my sleepy stupor, the truth was out.
Along the same lines I watched an episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution TV show. While I applaud his efforts to bring nutrition back to school breakfasts and lunches in the U.S. I think he's missing the boat. Why is a celebre-chef, from England no less, taking up the cause to transform our kids' school eating Habitats?
Since when is it too hard to turn the TV off at night, put our kids to bed and get them up in the morning to a bowl of cereal? I'm not even talking bacon and eggs!
So to the current and future parents (like myself) I say, let's exert a little personal responsibility for our charges.