Fairly Genius Finds, Vol.1

Good morning and welcome to the first full volume of...

fairly genius finds 

... a collection of things from around the city, the globe and (mostly) the web that I can confidently say are fairly genius for one reason or another ... in no particular order
enjoy!

Live from Le Poisson Rouge

** Norah ...oh Norah ... if you are hot-blooded human woman and you don't love Norah Jones' sultry, jazzy and silky-smooth vocal stylings ... well. I'm not sure what to say to you. She is divine. Take notes boys, cuz most women love her. and she's great to throw on the ipod for some sweet lovin' to ensue. 

This new album is a bit of a departure for her - a new band and some new style makes this a revelation. Seriously - click and enjoy. Especially that last song (it's about her dog). 

Norah on Hulu - fairly genius indeed.

filmaps.com

** Perhaps it's because I just moved to LA and the movie business is everywhere ... but this is a cool concept for a lil' web site. I've always loved a good flick, and this site gives you quick access to all that random information - where DID they film that cafe scene in Pulp Fiction? ("be cool honey bunny")

Random online databases are fairly genius ... 

** Gear Deals! GAWWWD. I am totally and utterly dedicated to bargain shopping for outdoor gear. It's in my blood (I'm Jewish after all) but it also makes me happy to get what I want at a ridiculously good deal. I dont even have to gloat about it .. i just know i did good. and got something amazingly useful and quality. 

i've passed these sites around to friends before and many have found them useful. so here's a short list of some favorites - 

One Deal at a Time

steepandcheap.com (all sorts of camping + outdoor stuff)

tramdock.com (mostly ski and snow sports)

whiskeymilitia.com (skate and snow gear)

woot.com (tech, home and random goodies)

Always Good Deals

sierratradingpost.com + sierrasnowboarding.com (outdoor of all sorts)

backcountry.com + backcountryoutlet.com (outdoor galore!)

great deal on great gear - my favorite fairly genius find!

Gemma Redux : Omne Necklace

** Being a Industrial Designer means that you can love a product for its ingenuity and artful use of materials. Even if you aren't sure you could afford it or would ever use it. This one I'm on the fence about. It's beautiful, clever and totally unique. So I might break down and buy one, some day when I can afford such things. 

Needless to say, I love versatility in all things. This is a great example a designer using her head!

flexible design is fairly genius.

Outstanding in the Field

** I love this idea. These people make me happy. Their "about us" page reads as follows:

Our mission is to re-connect diners to the land and the origins of their food, and to honor the local farmers and food artisans who cultivate it.

Outstanding in the Field is a roving culinary adventure - literally a restaurant without walls. Since 1999 we have set the long table at farms or gardens, on mountain tops or in sea caves, on islands or at ranches. Occasionally the table is set indoors: a beautiful refurbished barn, a cool greenhouse or a stately museum. Wherever the location, the consistent theme of each dinner is to honor the people whose good work brings nourishment to the table.

Ingredients for the meal are almost all local (sometimes sourced within inches of your seat at the table!) and generally prepared by a celebrated chef of the region. After a tour of the site, we all settle in: farmers, producers, culinary artisans, and diners sharing the long table.

Need I say more? If anyone was curious about birthday gifts for me - this is a great option. just a suggestion... I'm a total amateur foodie. I have no culinary training (unless you count Alton Brown) and I still eat lots of things I know I shouldn't (bacon cheeseburgers anyone?). But I grew up with some amazing examples of how to make a dinner party come together (thanks mama!) and it ain't easy. As I've learned more and more I've come to realize that the further your food gets from the farm, the more trouble you are bound to be in from eating it. On all levels. 

So these guys are doing a great thing - bringing people to the earth. bringing people together. and bringing amazing food to the table.  a win/win for all involved. 

food+farms+friends = fairly genius.

** Ok. I probably have gone on long enough. Don't want to get ahead of myself ... there's always Vol.2 **

Bumper Car Theory

During the work day, every so often, things get slow. So I chat. 


The other day I was waxing philosophical with one of my nearest'n'dearest about life, love and the pursuit... Specifically about how we learn from mistakes and mess ups, if they don't scar you permanently and make you phobic.


This is a snippet of that conversation that I thought might be interesting to share. (I'm in blue - my lovely friend is in black) 


Bumper Car Theory

you learn from it .. but it scars the shit out of you ...

and you learn to fear it ...

so its tricky.

totally agree

the older i get, the more those lessons learned become phobias ... ugly stuff.

that's interesting

I've never thought of that

hmm

i have a theory on this one ... as with all things

fairly genius theory?

haha ... could be.

i will perhaps call it the "unified theory of stubborn"

when we are young we act like bumper cars ... we try every path, we bounce off the guards, we hit each other, we spin round and round ... we have fun with it ...

the older we get, the more controlled our driving. the more tightly we grip the wheel. we obey traffic. we stop speeding. we stop spinning our own compass, we stop making wrong turns on purpose. we get stubborn.

we think we know where we are going. so we drive there.

and once we arrive, we think we know where we are.

and then we realize ... we were just driving. gripping the steering wheel. eyes ahead.

the best example is dating ... but it applies everywhere.

i think that is very very true

you need to write about that

when you are young you are just crazy - if you like boys, then all boys get a glance. but as you get older, you THINK you know what you like. you PICK a type. you start gripping the wheel ... and then you realize one day (i did anyway) that the guys you choose are wrong for you.

i'll do that ... just for you

the grand unified theory of stubborn.

i love it

or perhaps "bumper car theory"

sounds more fun anyway
-------------
For the record - gmail chat is fairly genius

PB+J

I have a love affair with peanut butter and jelly... 


Over the years I may eaten somewhere in the range of 10,000 pb+j sandwiches. Quite literally, one a day for  the entire duration of my public school career. Any many, many more in college. 


That being said, I made a discovery that made me so happy I have to tell the world. Or at least the world wide web. 


So without further ado, I give you the first of many... 


fairly genius find

This item practically defines what I mean by fairly genius. 


Take a classic, like the utter perfection that is the PB+J 


Throw in a clever new ingredient. How about some delicious, salty, crushed potato chips. 
Wrap it in chocolate. 


Ok, now... wrap it in a cute magenta box and put it at the checkout of a store I frequent... and just wait for it. 


BOOM! Suddenly it's in my basket. In my bag. In my purse. In my desk. Out of it's wrapper. And then it's being enjoyed. Shared with my sister. Ogled by coworkers. 


May I add, that it is as good as you imagine. Maybe better. It is divine. 


It is fairly genius people! 

makin' change

First lets start with an exciting development - I went and changed my hair. As any women will tell you, when things get stale in any part of your life, you think about changing your hair. It's weird. I can't explain it... 

When I cut my dreads off in April I was looking to turn a page. Well, just a few months later I'm living in LA and everything about my life is different. Mission Accomplished.


Of course, my "normal" hair is a lovely shade of dishwater brown ... so it wasn't long before I was fed up with it and looking to spice it up. Truthfully - nothing is as spicy as dreads. They are the ultimate in hair "statements" and mine were so damn epic (see picture from halloween of last year) that there's nowhere to go but down from there. *sigh*

That being said - I love this new color. Margie @ Carltons in Century City is magic. ACTUALLY - she's fairly genius. 


In other news:


I decided that since I'm in LA and I have always missed my work in theatre production, that I should try to get some art department work. Build some stuff .. ya know, crafty art+design type work. Great for a kid who can't go a week without using an Xacto blade. Or a kid who is constantly finding uses for fabric scraps or looking for an excuse to buy a band saw... 


This type of work was, by all accounts, made for me. I have the random assortment of skills that actually seem to fit beautifully with this kinda work. Or so I've been told by some. 


It does seems slightly more diverting than staring at a computer screen all day. Not that I don't love my Mac. Because I  L - O - V - E  my Mac. I worked in an Apple Retail store for almost three years - so I am quite the computer nerd. 


Lets be real about this though - I am starting to like my job a bit more. My boss is a good guy, my coworkers are all very nice. The work keeps evolving. So I'm not withering away... it just seems like being in LA means I should explore my options. As that crazy guy in Pretty Woman said, "Welcome to Hollywood! What's your dream? Everybody comes here; this is Hollywood, land of dreams. Some dreams come true, some don't; but keep on dreamin' - this is Hollywood. Always time to dream, so keep on dreamin'."


My dream is to work somewhere that encourages me to wear sneakers, and to bring my pup to work. Where I get build things, get messy, and see my work come. Maybe I could even have my dreads again ... hmmmm. A girl can dream, right? 


As my sis has said, no one loves their job. And if they do, they can't broadcast it. Everyone would de-friend them if they did. So I'm not alone if I'm bored, or stressed, or just apathetic to work sometimes.  


Day dreaming is fairly genius. 

Home Sweet Home

If you know me then you are probably aware that I've recently made some big life changes. I just moved across the country. I recently started my first "big kid" job after college. I just spent 10 days in Israel.

Suffice it to say, I'm all over the place. I feel a bit like my compass is spinning. If you follow your compass and it always gets you home, then where does my compass point? Pretty big questions…

Generally home is where your family is. By that standard, LA is an ok spot for me. My big sis is here. We live less than a mile from each other. We are thick as thieves. Of course, the rest of my familial connections are a couple thousand miles away. Brass tacks.

They also say "home is where the heart is." Well … according to that, my home is certainly in NC. In Raleigh I lived a life I loved. I had the best roomies, a great house, a fantastic (underpaying) job with coworkers I adored. My college crew was still (mostly) there. Drinks and dinner every night with a laundry list of lovable characters. Blowout parties and generally good times abound.The list goes on and on.

So, WHAT THE HELL am I doing in LA?

The easy answer was, somethings gotta give. I could have gone on in Raleigh forever, become a "local" and put down some good solid roots. I would have even been happy, certainly content. But THAT would have been pretty predictable. I always said I'd live a big life, get out of NC, see what the world had in store for me. If I stuck in Raleigh I would have done the easiest thing and taken the path of least (no) resistance.

So I did the opposite. I chose to break out. Take a job in a city that I would never have chosen for myself. Uproot, say goodbye to my friends and family and move across the country. Give it a whirl and see what happens. Let's just say, I was feeling pretty pretty cocky. Perhaps a bit too big for my britches, as Grandpa Butch would say.

I arrived in mid-September. The weather is beautiful. The beach is lovely. My sister is excited as hell that I'm moving out.

Oh yeah, and did I mention we're going to Israel?

Lets talk about this for just a hot minute - I took a job and they knew I was going to take off for 10 days just a few weeks after I arrived. It was awesome they let me go. It was even more bizarre they let me AND my sister go. (Did I fail to mention my sis and I work together?)

So I move to LA. I find a place to live. I move in. Then I bail for 14 days of insane travel and a spiritual quest to the homeland.

The whole trip is about introducing young Jewish Americans to their "home away from home" in Israel. They emphasize that we are already a part of this country, that we could be citizens if we wanted. This is our home as much as anywhere on Earth, because it was created for all the Jews of the world. It's pretty intense, and really eye opening. It also adds to my feelings of confusion about where "home" really is. Maybe Israel is home too?

Oi vey. This is getting convoluted.

There's a moral to this story though … the thing I'm really working on at the moment. Appreciate where you are. Respect where you came from. And try to love where you're going (even if you're not sure where that may be)...

*j