Magnolia Cupcakes---my Kryptonite
It is a blessing and a curse that I live near the famous Magnolia Bakery. I have to pass by the little shop on the corner of Bleecker and Eleventh Street in Greenwich Village each time I walk to campus and back home again.

The smell of their cakes made on the premise lure me in and usually you can even see the cakes being laden with icing by employees in front of the passing windows, taunting me. Worse still, is that when ever my friends come to visit they insist we walk to the bakery for their delicious butter cream cupcakes and I find I'm accompanying some out-of-towner friend of mine twice a week, especially since they are open till midnight, damn them.

The bakery opened up in the West Village in 1996 and their cupcakes were made famous to non New York residents after an episode of Sex and The City showed its stars eagerly consuming them. Now, tour buses dock on the corner and bring groups of tourists to delve upon the shoebox-sized shop.

I usually know better and try not to visit on the weekends because starting on Fridays and lasting through Sunday there is literally a line around the block. When my friend stopped by on a Saturday night, we waited for 20 minutes in the cold, lined up 11th street. In line we spoke with a gay couple who also live nearby and have been coming here for years for the German Chocolate Cake. In front of us were two groups of young women from DC and California, posing for photos underneath the blue awning marked Magnolia Bakery.

Inside the demand for cupcakes makes it necessary for the staff to constantly make more cupcakes in a side room and an employee to steadily fold take-out cardboard boxes. There is a sign on the window that says "Limit: One Dozen Cupcakes Per Customer." The store itself is really small, but they manage to cram and I mean "cram" at least 15 to 20 people inside the old-fashionably decorated store. Another employee mans the door and allows more customers in, only once others exit. That's how tiny and popular the store is.

When you are waiting with cupcake boxes in hand to select these divine eats, sometimes they run out of the vanilla cupcakes, which are better and more moist than their chocolate ones, and that's when things can get a bit ugly. But the quick working staff usually bring out two new trays within 5 mins.

This most intriguing part is that although the bakery is a big hot spot and included on NYC tours, it remains true to its unpretentious roots. The store doesn't even have a website, yet has published two cookbooks that are ranked #3,847 on Amazon. The inside of the store has a 50s dinner appeal with Formica counters and wallpapered walls.

If you plan on visiting the city or the area soon, this bakery is a must ... hey, and I'll go with you.

The Magnolia Cookbooks:



My other magnolia cupcake post, yes I am obsessed.

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Look Flirt In A Skirt , gave me a button for my blog. Do feel free to link me now! ;)

The Devils Candy
I'm reading "The Devils Candy" (1991) by The Wall Street Journal reporter Julie Salamon who chronicles the making of the film version of The Bonfire of the Vanities, one of Hollywood's all-time biggest flops. So far it's an absorbing read, mainly because I'm a film buff and the name dropping that goes on is very interesting.

BUT...on the back flap a reviewer writes the following description to talk about how powerfully this book chronicles the destruction of what should have been another great picture by Brian DePalma:

"Like watching a World Trade Center tower topple onto Wall Street." --Kirkus Reviews

What a weird metaphor to have used, but how could Kirkus Reviews possibly have conceived that 10 years later the world unfortunately could very easily picture such devastation in a less figurative way. In hindsight the quote also makes the title of the book "The Devils Candy" take on new meaning.

Here's a photo of the back cover

Are they expensive?
(Looks at price tag)

My mind screams "Yes" in answer.

I have a theory, if a shoe goes by two names--it is expensive! EG: Monlo Blanicks, Jimmy Choos, Franco Sarto, Kate Spade, etc.

Do I own any of these? No. Well, actually I do have a few pairs of Franco Sarto's, they just fit my feet so well and I got them at DSW so they were in the $50 range. Thus, a steal!

And although I love shoes, I would never bring myself to spend the big bucks for the famous designer shoes and plus I'm a baby when it comes to uncomfortable shoes.

I have small feet, size 5, which makes finding "grown up" shoes difficult. I actually end up getting a size bigger and I've gotten so used to sliding in my sneakers and boots that now, when I find a shoe that fits I'm not used to having my toe so close to the edge.

One Tree Hill Signing
Last night I was given the assignment to cover the One Tree Hill soundtrack CD signing in the city. I had never watched the show, but I recognized one of the stars, Chad Michael Murray, from the movie "Freaky Friday."

Since I wasn't able to call the PR contact in advance, my name was not on the press list, so I flashed some credentials and was able to talk my way into the press junket.

I met each of the cast members, all of them seemed very down to earth and friendly. Tyler Hilton was especially talkative and animated. Bethany Joy Lenz was very pretty and sweet. Chad, also nice, admitted that he has OCD, but declared that he was not a neat freak. After they left the crowd he was holding his fiance's hand, she's also from the show, but I actually didn't get to speak to her, which is why I can't recall her name.

Again, I've never watched the show, so I didnt ask any questions about it, lol. I was like "What's your fav song on the album?" But that was OK since my story was about the CD being released and the commotion it caused.

I had to give a draft of my story to my "editor" by 9:45 that night, so I only had an hour to write it, but here's what I had: One Tree Hill CD Signing

Here are some phtorazzi pics from the event.

Dedicated to the memory of my father

Benny Settembre
April 10, 1954 - Jan 24, 2000


It may have been 5 years since I last saw your familiar face, heard your wise ass jokes, ate your pizza or sang oldies songs in your beat up old car, but you have stayed in my heart all along.

There is not a day that goes by that I'm not reminded of you, so much of ME is you.

If tears could build a stairway and memories a lane, I'd walk right up to heaven and bring you back home again.

Missing you always!
Your friend and daughter,
~Tara

PS: If you want to continue to feel melancholy like me, here is a poem that I wrote a couple of months after he passed away, just before my graduation "Left Behind"

PPS: Didn't he resemble DeNiro? He acted a lot like his film characters at least, especially in Midnight Run. People would actually stop us in airports and ask for his autograph and he'd go along with it and sign Bobby D, lol.

News Story: Ha, I can't argue with this: Jan. 24, called worst day of the year


"I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up DOES rejoice. Still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone. I guess I just miss my friend."
--Shawshank Redeption

A step down?
Does anyone else find it a bit unsettling that Academy Award winners, Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman and Catharine Zeta Jones are doing television commercials? Are they that desperate for more $$

Kidman can be seen in Chanel #5 perfume commercials, Zeta in T-Mobile ads and Roberts is doing voice overs for AOL.

I mean shouldn't they have some higher standards now that that they have the covitted golden award?

Come on, you never saw Katharine Hepburn in a TV commercial, and yes they had TV's then. DeNiro and Jack aren't pimping themselves out in TV ads like teeny boppers Britney Spears and frankly neither should the Best Actress winners.

PS: Speaking of the Academy Awards check out:

My very own snow globe
I have the blinds up in my place so I can see the blizzard coming down past my window, I feel like I'm what's inside a snow globe. Shake me up! :)

These are some photos I took of the snow when I was out earlier seeing the NYU Graduate Film Festival. I figured I showed you photos of inside my apartment, I should share some photos from outside. The snow so makes it look prettier and as if I live on the set of Muppet Christmas Carol ;)

Also take a look at the last photo, that's how much snow we got!


       
my neighborhood

Captain Hook of the East Side
I've been a bit of a social butterfly lately, going to dinner parties after work and after my grad class.

A few days ago I went to a 75th birthday dinner for my friends' grandmother. The apartment was around 48th street on the East Side and decorated in a Victorian style. It was definitely a NYC party from a different generation, with all the women arriving in floor length mink coats and smelling of Shalamar and Channel #5. I had champagne courtesy of the waiters that were present and talked with a real-estate agent and a man with an eye patch. Mr. eye patch said he was a retired producer or director for Law & Order. I mentioned that I had interviewed Elizabeth Rohm, the blonde district attorney on the original version of the popular show. He then said that they had just been talking about her and wondered what I thought about her. I said I wasn't really impressed by her. He laughed at that and said she couldn't act and was hard to get along with, which is why she is being written off the show. I think it happened on last night's episode or so he said. I was itching to ask him about the patch but I didn't have that much champagne ;-)

PS: saw Super Size Me yesterday and it was really well done, intersting and funny. Although I was disgusted and barely wanted to eat that evening I have to say I was also strangely still craving the golden arches french fries, lol. I definately will avoid going as often now, not that I go that much anymore, but I'm not cutting myself off altogether.

PPS: Is it weird that I want one of these? Darth Tater: The dark side of Mr. Potato Head

Why it sucks being small
I was going to say vertically challenged but I thought, why sugar coat it?

* You can never reach items on the top shelf

* You often get asked for your ID because people think you're a minor.

* On the subway bad breath gets puffed your way.

* It's harder to find clothes that fit.

* When dancing with someone taller, you can't lean your head on their shoulder like they do in the movies, instead your nose is in their chest.

* You get called Gidget--girl midget.

Why it's good to be small
I'm going to try and stay away from the cliche, good things come in small packages, because frankly I'm not a fan of jewelry, which is what usually comes in tiny boxes and instead would prefer a big screen tv, which would come in a big box...I digress...

* When you can't reach items on the top shelf, you can point and have someone else get them down for you.

* You get asked for your ID a lot, and it can be flattering as you get older.

* Nobody on the subway can smell if you have bad breath

* Smaller clothing items are usually the first to go on sale.

* When dancing with someone taller you get a close-up view of their chest.

* Gidget, played by Sally Field or Sandra Dee, are cute, lol. Although I really did hate being called this in elementary school, and it was my own mother who started the nickname!

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Yay I Made The Top 10


For the last few days I've made the top 10 list here and there at BE but then people click on my link and rate my blog with a low score and I'm back off, until someone gives me a high score and on it goes... But I'm glad to have made the list even at some point :)

Catch-22, Thighmaster and Cupcakes

Can I just say that I had wanted a ThighMaster the moment I saw Suzanne Somers infomercial back in the 80s. I guess I've always been a sucker for celebrity driven infomercials or maybe it was the bright colors on the twisty gadget that attracted me. Or perhaps even at the age of eight I was looking for a gimmick to losing weight without really exercising ;)

Either way, I was determined to have one, even after my mother laughed at me when I asked for it that Christmas--I got a Fisher Price kitchen set instead.

A decade and a half later the red exercise gadget still lingered in the recesses of my mind and thanks to eBay my dream of owning one came true four years ago, albeit a lot later than expected.

I now own a buttmaster too, which I like even better actually, but picture being in college and your friends laughing at you for having them in your dorm room. Their double takes though were worth the teasing, lol. I would also bring my toys along for long car trips, when I was not driving of course, and to entertain my passengers.

I just moved them from my family's attic to my apartment, where two skeptical, former college friends of mine have been seen using them while watching TV on my coach earlier this week. Ha!

At first I wasn't impressed with the devices fitness ability for it was easy to do the thigh crunches, but holding those crunches closed--that's a different story.

On a side note... I spent a wonderful weekend with my girl friends from across the country, but now I have to do an afternoon yoga class tomorrow to forget the Magnolia cupcakes, King cake and Ferraras cookies from the weekend. I also have to get my New Yawk accent back, because some how I've seemed to have picked up their southern drawl unintentionally. My friends have noticed it on the phone that I'm drawing out my words. I was all "dawwnnnntown" instead of "downtown" and said "fahrends" instead of "friends" ;)

PS: Happy MLK day!

What Liberal Media?
Even though you might not be aware of it, there is a bias in the media, no matter which way you lean on the political spectrum. There will always be a spin or a slant to the news, because people from both the red states and the blue states are biased. For every book like Bernard Goldberg's Bias, which argues that the media is biased in favor of liberal causes and issues, there is a book like David Brock's The Republican Noise Machine, which says there are organized right-wing Christian voices dominating the media. It seems liberals want to blame the conservatives and argue that there is a conservative bias in the news and vise versa. It all depends on where you stand on the issues being mentioned in the news.

I do not believe that bias occurs only from the left or from the right, but that there is a general bias because people, who have opinions and views, report the news and no one single person is completely unbiased. EG: Lou Dobbs or Ann Coulter. Although books like What Liberal Media?, The Republican Noise Machine, and Bias, shows strong instances of when liberal biases and conservative biases have occurred, they do not prove an overall bias that is solely liberal or conservative that is dominating the media today. Instead, these books with their varying views reinforce the fact that bias can be seen on both sides of the political spectrum.


Ben H. Bagdikian writes in his book, The New Media Monopoly , "In 1983 there were fifty dominant media corporations; today there are five. These five corporations decide what most citizens will--or will not--learn." Since billion dollar corporate conglomerates control the outlets that supply America with news they also have the ability to manipulate what is shown and not shown, affecting public opinion based on what is beneficial to their monopolies. "They manufacture a social and political world," writes Bagdikian who hints at another bias besides conservative or liberal-- a money bias. He shows how the dollar and ratings have a stronger effect on news reporting than political agendas but how they can also go hand in hand.

Organizations are now making a conscious effort to battle bias and to report more fairly. The media tries to give the varying opinions a voice, but striving for balance in their reporting at times has led to there being more soft news and journalists being afraid to state their opinions as strongly as they once did. Being afraid to offend readers and take sides on an issue has led to the popularity of pundits and activist journalism, because there is a need for a critique on the media and news in general. After all, it is a Journalist's responsibility to be critical of people in political power and to analyze what is true and what is not, that is what American democracy and free press is about.

The idea of whether or not bias exists in the news is moot: it does. The bias is not in every report, but it has a presence, because people are biased even when they think they are not. Where people live, what they do, who they spend time with, where they live, all of this and more shapes their views and it is hard not to give more attention to your particular views and put a slant on them. I think the bigger question is not what kinds of biases are out there, but how much does it really affect public opinion, you are either one way or another already, how much will bias in the news change an opinion? In What Liberal Media? Eric Alterman writes, "a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest."

Yet, just because bias is already in the media does not mean we should accept it. I do believe the pursuit of objectiveness is noble and can be achieved. Every story should have two sides and journalists should strive for balance even in blogs, but obtaining even reporting will not eliminate bias totally.

(These are excerpts from an essay I wrote in my Media Ethics graduate course at NYU.)

Rush Limbaugh? Don't get me started...

Doin' the caw caw pigeon


So, I'm walking to work today and it was one of those warm mornings where I didn't have to wear a hat or scarf and was enjoying having the wind blow my hair around for once. Then just as I crossed the street and was nearing the subway entrance, a mad flying pigeon appeared out of no where, flying right at me. I sort of made a little squeal as I crouched down, hoping it would fly above me or veer to the left before making contact. Alas, it flew straight towards my head and flapped its dirty wings in my hair. It was so scary, if felt like a bat was in my hair or something and I could hear cooing noises above my ear, which made me squirm even more. I could have been screaming, I really have no idea for sure.

When the pigeon finally flew away--what seemed like hours later--I had a group of people looking at me from a distance but not wanting to get too close to the actual fiasco. Some of the women gave me a sympathetic look; men were looking at me as if I was crazy while I was busy checking frantically to see if there was any poop on my black coat or in my hair.

I tried my best to walk away gracefully and seem somewhat unfazed by the incident, I smoothed out my hair and walked down the subway steps as if this happened to me everyday and I was late for a day at the spa, lol. At least that's how I hope it looked to the people around me shaking there heads as if I invited the pigeon to have a romp on my head.

New office, same cubicle


The office that I work at in Times Square, just moved from the 16th floor to the 9th floor. Although the new floor smells of fresh paint and is all shiny and new, I still have the same icky cubicle with a tinted window on one side, where my coworkers can see in.

*Good news: I'm away from loud cubicle neighbor guy who talks about nipples. The new office also has a foosball & TV rec room. Let the games begin!

*Bad news: I'm no longer near cute office boy, but he did stop by this morning to inspect my new space :) I'm also in a heavy traffic area since I'm near the printer and everyone keeps walking by. I better not access my official blog page, I'm sure the pink background and cosmo glasses will catch their attention and get me into some trouble.

Words of Advice: Never eat a powdered bavarian doughnut at work, even if it's free and especially if you are wearing dark grey pants. I look like a sloppy coke addict.

Tara Reid's nipples---appropriate office conversation?
This new guy at work, who is in the cubicle next to me, keeps telling me about Tara Reid's nipple and how one came out at some celebrity event. He offered to e-mail me pictures of the Janet Jackson-like accident, "please don't" was my reply. Every time he says 'nipple' it seems to reverberate off the white office walls and into the quiet work area, making me cringe. Someone definitely needs a lesson on appropriate office conversations. The account managers behind us are on conference calls with clients and he keeps screaming, nipple. I was not really answering him, thinking he would get the hint that I had no desire to talk about Tara Reid's nipples, but he was not getting it. I finally was like, "um, can we drop it." He did thank goodness but now he's talking about Dave Chappelles show.

It also annoys me that he speaks so loudly in general and is always trying to have conversations between the plastic dividers, it's not like we are in a private office, everyone can hear, which is why I don't even like to make personal phone calls either.

On a side note, that slutty Tara Reid, so ruined the name Tara for all the Tara's of the world, me obviously included. I was able to deal with Tara Lipinski, after all she won a gold medal for America, but Tara Reid does not serve any purpose, she can't even act.

PS: Since I already broke one of my resolutions this year, I'm going to stick to another one. I am going to a Yoga class tonight at this Yoga center near my apartment that I've been meaning to try since this summer. I think it was featured in an episode of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. It's been awhile since I did yoga, I'll let you know how it goes.

News Article: Looming pitfalls of work blogs

Quality of condoms, Planned Parenthood does not protect
Consumer Reports conducted a study on condoms and guess what got the worse rated condom for both reliability and strength out of all 23 brands? Planned Parenthood. LOL! Isn't that just great, *shaking head* Full Article

The girl upstairs wears ski boots!
At least it sounds like she does and she also enjoys rearranging furniture on her spare time, which she seems to have plenty of. Another hobby of hers is to invite lots of friends over, talk in the hallways and carry an antique bicycle up and down the stairs while laughing.

My sleuthing has uncovered that she's twenty-something like me, but I think she's on the older part of the spectrum. She definitely does not have a 9 to 5 job, given the fact that she never wakes up before 9 a.m. I think she might work somewhere in the fashion or music industry, because her outfits are very tutu-like, not corporate, and she constantly plays instruments and her radio at all hours. She also gets fashion magazines that always seem to end up in my mailbox. She could also be a trust fund baby, because her apartment is newly renovated and packed with high end technology and furniture and I never see her doing any real work of any sort. She seems to use the apartment as a place to party and crash. Luckily for me, I think she has a boyfriend and spends most of her time at his place.

Apparently she doesn't think it's rude to play her electric guitar or keyboard at 1:20 in the morning on a weekday, it's not like anyone in our building has to get up early for work or anything. Urghh, I can't imagine being so inconsiderate to my neighbors.

The base from her sound system vibrates my walls and can be heard even through my ear plugs. I think I'd die laughing if "These Boots Are Made For Walking" ever played. I've only banged on the ceiling twice, when it was past 1 a.m. and the female dog had the nerve to pound back with her ski boot laden feet. I feel like I'm back in a college dorm room.

Last night she kept time with the music by tapping her foot on the floor. I was even able to guess a few of the songs from the tapping beat. Keep in mind, when I'm sleeping my head is only a foot below the cieling.

When I do finally end up falling asleep I dream of schemes for REVENGE! They are as followed:

1. The instant gratification plan: When leaving the building in the morning on my way to work, usually around 8ish, I could ring her buzzer, waking her up since she is never up before 10 a.m., and then quickly walk to the subway station.

2. The It's mine I keep it now plan: The next time I get her mail, I will not go upstairs and put it on her door mat. As the SNL sketch goes, "It's mine, I keep it now!"

3. The I could go to jail plan: Climb up the fire escape that we both share with a pair of scissors, hope her window is open, sneak in and cut the strings of her guitar.

4. The if I had a lot of money plan: While ski boot girl is out of her apartment, pay a carpet company to lay carpet all throughout her place to act as a sound buffer, even in her kitchen. I'd order white carpet to go with her sterile hospital-white walls that are so bright they hurt my eyes whenever she opens the door. But then again if I had enough extra money to lay down carpet in her place, I could simply use the money to move elsewhere, on the top floor with nobody above me. My luck though, the roof would also be used as some rich guys helicopter pad.

5. The Apartment Building Secret Santa Plan:
I buy a one size fits all slippers and leave them at her door like a little apartment building gift exchange. Then she can start wearing the slippers when stomping around her apartment, since for some reason she needs to have shoes on at all times at all hours. She even wears heels after midnight when just chilling around her apartment. I just don't get it, the first thing I do when I come home is to ditch my heels and pad around barefoot or with socks.

Note: I have not acted on any of these plans and no I'm not a psycho, but a couple more sleepless nights and I could come close to being one...