Wednesday, May 20, 2009

MacHalo Tour, Imagine



I’m a fan of a book series called “The Fever Series” by Karen Marie Moning. I joined the author’s message board and ended up catching the fever. I've even designed a couple of things for their zazzle site. See picture here and here.

The MacHalo, a prop from the last book is making a tour of the United States and abroad. It’s currently in NYC in my care and I’ve been walking around with my fellow Moning Maniacs taking pictures of the modified pink helmet. Last night I was at the John Lennon memorial in Central Park with some friends shooting some photos and renewed my membership in the Smart Ass Club of America.




As soon as I put the MacHalo down on the ground it attracted several tourists. My friend quickly explained about the MacHalo while I continued to take pictures. Pretty soon I was joined by other people taking pictures. They were under the impression that the MacHalo was part of the display.

I had packed up my camera and handed it to my friend when a young woman approached me,“I don’t get it.” She said as she stared at the MacHalo.

Those of you who know me in real life or via my blog already know that I have a twisted sense of humor and my mouth is pretty fast. Unfortunately the general public doesn’t realize this about me. That coupled with my dead pan delivery tends to make for some pretty funny situations.

I could’ve explained yet again to the female about the MacHalo being a prop from a comedic moment in the book but we’d already tried that and she didn’t seem to be able to wrap her head around it. What’s a smart ass female to do? I glanced over at my friends and shrugged. No way in hell could I pass this chance up! My friends nodded their heads at me in encouragement.

“The lights are symbolic of the souls that have been sacrificed in wars all over the world. It’s symbolic of how when even one life is lost a light goes out in universe. You know a soul with the potential to do good and make a difference in the world is gone.” I said.

The girl stared at me and then back at the MacHalo as if she were in awe. I decided to continue. “Imagine if these souls were still with us. Imagine all they could’ve accomplished and how the world would’ve been a brighter place just by them being here.”

A couple of people had wandered over during my speech and nodded their heads in agreement. I decided to go out balls to the wall. I swept my hand out towards the crowd and then the MacHalo.

“You may say that I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only one, I hope some day you’ll join us and the world will be as one. “ I said and pointed to the MacHalo.

My friends joined me in a reverent head bow and next thing you know the tourists went into a picture taking frenzy. When they were done I retrieved the MacHalo and walked out of the park without a word. They were none the wiser and my friends were snickering away.

Labels: books, machalo, new york, smartass

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Posted by @ 7:00 PM
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Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Absent Mindness Is A Sign Of Genius

“Is it middle child?” the Barnes & Noble sales clerk asked. We’d been at it for several minutes. I couldn’t remember the title or the author of the book I wanted. Well actually I did remember that it had the word middle in the title. Score one for me, yea Mia.

I’ve always been absent minded. So much so that before I leave the house my mother recites a check list for me,still I always manage to forget something. “No.” I replied,"that's not ringing a bell." I looked up at the ceiling for some reason that always seems to help me think as if the answer it’s going to float down from the heavens and my narrowed eyes will allow me to see it better. “Hmmm middle of the road, middle ground, middletown, middle ages, middle lyrics, middle me this middle me that…” I said as I drummed my freshly manicured nails along my forehead. The clerk laughed.My mind wandered.Hmm I’m glad I cut my nails down they were getting too long. This polish the manicurist chose for me is nice. What did she say the color was again? Nude.


“Middlesex!” I shouted out startling the clerk. “Middlesex?” “You heard me sister. Middlesex, I think.” She laughed again and checked the computer "Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides" Is that the one?” “I can’t know for sure unless I see the book but it’s looking good.” She left and returned quickly with the book. “Yup that's the one!” She opened the book and glanced the liner notes. “Oh this looks good I’m getting it too.” We set the book aside and continued our discussion about recently read books and my attention was drawn to a stack of books near the counter. ooh hello what's this? The cover looks nice . I held up the book, Stephanie Meyer’s “Twilight” “That book is fantastic, I read it in two days. They’re making it into a movie. You’ve gotta get it." I looked over the cover again, opened the book and ran my fingers over the pages. I was sorely tempted but I didn't want to go over my budget. “Mia, It’s on sale.” she whispered in sweet temptation. I shivered. I deal with temptation by yielding to it “I’ll take it.”

I left the store with a little extra bounce in my step swinging the B&N bag over my shoulder.It hit me later on the way home while I star gazed out the bus window. Naturally I had forgotten to buy the one book that I’d been wanting for weeks, Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner

Damn this absent mindness of mine. Maybe I should invest in..what’s it called again the herbal thingy for memory loss? Geko...no wait that’s a lizard...geico..no that’s insurance.What is it again? Rocky Balboa! Hell no! That’s a boxer. Focus female…Ginko Bilboa! Yeah that’s it…I think. Absent mindness is a sign of genius my mom the woman with a 160 IQ is fond of telling me. Yeah sure mom if that were true I wouldn’t have failed college math…three times.

Labels: about me, books

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Posted by @ 12:55 PM
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Friday, June 06, 2008

Once Upon A Time In The Kingdom of New York

I love to read, something obviously inherited from my mom given the way she inhales books. As soon as I was old enough to walk by myself and hold onto a book with out losing my balance my parents got me my own library card and it turned out to be the most treasured possession of my childhood. My library card supplemented my Scholastic Book Club addiction and saw more action than a double jointed hooker at a sailor's convention and had the skid marks to prove it.



The other day my mother was standing in front of our book cases looking totally frustrated while trying to find a spot for Milton’s “Paradise Lost”,when she pointed out that we'd officially run out of space for our books. “Your dad is going to have to build us another book case” she announced. I looked up from my online book shopping and scoped out the book cases and nodded. The 8x4 twin book cases with shelves deep enough to hold two rows of books per their seven shelves were filled to capacity. Every so often despite my protests mom gives away old books in order to make room for new books, “It's a good thing to do" she always says, "passing on the love of the written word!” For me it's hard to part with the books so she does it when I am not around. Funny how I have absolutely no problem with giving money or clothing away but when it comes to my books that's another matter. I love my books. I read them over and over finding new things in them each time. They are more than just paper and binding. They are treasured friends each containing special memories for me so parting with them is hard. This year mom has no books she can bear to part with so my dad has no choice but to build another book case or watch her make good on her threat to evict a kid from their bedroom and convert it into a library. I’m not too sure she is playing when she says that and neither is my dad.


My fertile imagination, love of books and fairies for that matter sputtered to life when I first heard the phrase “Once upon a time in the kingdom of New York …” from my mother's mouth. As a kid my mother would make up fairy tales to keep us entertained. My siblings and me were always a part of her stories. Sometimes I’d turn up as a mischievous sprite, my sister Caitlin would be the princess of a village called Central Park and my brother Steven was the knight in not so shining armor due to his reluctance to clean and buff his armor in between his adventures. My uncles would always make an appearance as well as jesters, dragons, wizards, and kings. Sometimes our characters were goodness personified and other times we weren’t so great but we all had potential and by the end of the story we’d see the error of our ways. Between you and me I think the woman was trying to tell us something.


By the third grade I was reading Dean Koontz and books on the Third Reich much to the shock of my teachers who questioned my parents about my choice of reading material. I think they thought that I was going to grow up to be a serial killer or something. My parents never censored what I read. They were fully aware of what I was reading because my mom an avid reader would have her own copy of what I was currently into and read along with me. My parent's attitude was if I could put the letters together, sound out the words, and understand what I was reading well then go for it. No matter what I read my mother and I would discuss it after I was done. It's something we still do to this day.


Thanks to the magic of books I have slain dragons, witnessed Hamlet’s descent into madness, been lost in Homer’s Odyssey and Iliad, touched by Shylock’s monologue in The Merchant of Venice. I was thrilled when Thumbelina finally got her wings, and for awhile had a healthy fear of the dark thanks to Stephen King. As an adult I’ve cheered for every Jennifer Weiner heroine, rooted for Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunters, Ann Rice's Lestat The Vampire, and have been moved by the likes of Esmeralda Santiago, Zora Neale Hurston, Harriet Jacobs,Jane Austen, and Lord Byron.

It’s funny though no matter how many authors I read and love my favorite stories still begin with “Once upon a time in the kingdom of New York…”

Labels: books

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Posted by @ 12:58 AM
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