I just did the 2nd edition of my apparently now yearly roundup of top Wii games for families at Hitched magazine. I interviewed Jeff Gerstmann, EIC at GiantBomb.com, again, and he had some great games to add to my list, and helped give me some more insight into the ones I hadn’t had a chance to try out myself. I did just recently get outdoor adventure, and I’ve been playing it quite a bit. It’s a great little workout. I even got my parents to try it, though they wouldn’t let me take a photo of them trying to maneuver a mine cart together.
Posts Tagged ‘Hitched magazine’
Weekly Reading: Top Wii Games
Feeling the Reach: Stories Around the Web
It’s always a pleasant surprise to get a link back from a blog — especially one that doesn’t belong to a friend, but I’ve had some pretty big surprises this past week, which resulted in some pretty big traffic for this little blog.
First, Cracked.com linked to my wavy facade post — in an article called 15 More Images You Won’t Believe Aren’t Photoshopped (see #12) — which had a link to pictures I took of a building in Paris that looks like it’s melting.
Overnight it brought thousands of people to the blog, overloading the servers for a time. I have noticed that post frequently gets found in searches, so I imagine it was the first thing the author found, and he linked to it. Thanks, Cracked!
Also, my recent Hitched interview with Alimi Ballard has been picked up by People magazine’s Celebrity Baby Blog and b5 Media’s FBI Dramas Blog, both with ample quotes from the interview. That doesn’t bring anyone back to this blog, but it’s still very cool to see my work being quoted.
It’s nice to see the reach of some of my pieces — especially ones I didn’t really expect to have much impact. It’s good inspiration to keep writing more.
Madame Chocolat: The Most Delicious Interview
Most of the interviews I do for the articles I’m writing are over the phone, so it’s a real treat to get to meet the person I’m writing about face to face. Over the last few weeks, I did not one, but two interviews — for two publications, SpoiledinLA and Hitched magazine — with Hasty Torres at her Beverly Hills chocolate boutique Madame Chocolat. I also took plenty of pictures.
Now, hanging out in a chocolate shop — and getting to indulge in some of the sweets — is never something I’d turn down. I even have a tag devoted to chocolate on the blog. And Hasty’s shop didn’t disappoint. We chatted over lattes mixed with chocolate spoons, and I checked out the incredible holiday chocolates and got a tour of all the goodies in the store, from truffles and bonbons to chocolate covered cheerios. I must say, my favorite chocolate so far was the white chocolate citron, a pretty and creamy bonbon made with lime juice and decorated with delicate teal branches and leaves (second chocolates back on the right in the picture below). The caramel hearts were also delicious, as were the rich and enormous chocolate chip cookies. (OK, I promise to stop drooling now.)
I also learned that you can have a chocolate party at Madame Chocolat, for kids or adults, where you can make chocolates of your own. Ahem — anyone planning a party?
The SpoiledinLA reviews aren’t online yet, but the Hitched Candid 7 article where I talk to Hasty about her relationship with her husband, celebrity chef Jacques Torres is up now. The interview was fantastic, but of course I couldn’t use it all. Here’s my favorite outtake, about how Hasty and Jacques make their relationship work when they both have their own chocolate shops on opposite sides of the country — and how they hope to work together one day:
It works because of our love of chocolate and the love of what we do. It’s so helpful to have a partner who understands what you do and works in your industry. Jacques is still my mentor, and he’s still my chef. There are so many people who say they could never work with their spouse, but since that’s how we met, we really do well together. We’re like yin and yang in the kitchen—we can anticipate each other’s needs, and we know how to help each other out.
Check out the Hitched article to learn how Jacques proposed in the chocolate shop, what their favorite chocolates are, and how being on “The Girls Next Door” has brought in a flood of new requests for “body parts” chocolates.
Weekly Reading: AllBusiness and Alimi Ballard
It’s been a while since I’ve done a weekly reading post since I haven’t had too much of my work published lately (don’t worry, I’ve still been working, but I’ve had more print assignments than usual, so they won’t come out until January or February). In any case, I’ve had two articles published recently:
Candid 7 with Alimi Ballard: I interviewed the Numb3rs star about his growing family, doing his own stunts and balancing work and family time. Alimi was a great interview — very friendly and warm, and lots of fun to talk to.
Engaging Customers With Microsoft Surface: I take a look at the coolest new multitouch computer and what it means for business. By the way, I want one of these. And seeing it on CNN’s election coverage only makes me want it more.
Weekly Reading: This Time Featuring a Monkey!
Well, it’s been another busy week, but I got to see a lot of people. The Tuesday night blogger meetup was nice, and today I went to the Social Media Cafe/Tuttle Club, where there was a nice, big group to chat with over croissants and coffee. I got to catch up with Mike, Darika, James, Rob, Melinda, Toby, Lloyd, LJ, Josh and Steve, and I met a few new people, including Roger, Justin, Terence and Laura.
The best part of the event was that there was a nice little discussion group afterwards hosted by James and James of Spinvox about the “future of voice.” We talked about the difference between voice and text, where voice recording, storing, transcribing and translating technologies are going, and the implications of having a record of all the things you’ve said.
They also started by having us do a funny little drawing activity, where we added on to shapes, which was supposedly a psychological test that revealed what we thought about ourselves, how other people viewed us, our career, religion, home and love life. Mine were pretty funny, though I don’t know how accurate they were. I apparently see myself as a dinosaur/dragon with a fat tail and spikes, but I think other people see me as a flower… hmm… leave your psychological interpretations below.
And what have I been writing this week?
There were the usual entertainment and fashion posts for Sugarscape, though the site was experiencing some pretty serious technical problems that slowed posting considerably, so it’s possible not all my stories made it up.
I got back on the wagon with writing for Hitched with a post about “Going Green This Summer.” Big thanks to Jamie from WalkIt.com for helping me put some ideas together, and thanks, Luke, for connecting us.
I also managed to do a few posts on Londonist — a nice little piece about “New Cancer Centre Offers Free Support,” and what you’ve been waiting for… “Stupidly Cute Monkey Born at London Zoo.” Check out the video of the endangered little critter below. Sort of so ugly it’s cute, and then ridiculously so because of its fuzzy little head and skinny little limbs.
Weekly Reading: A Short List for a Short Week
Happy Friday, everyone. And even happier in London where everyone has Good Friday off, which also means a four-day weekend, since Monday is a holiday, too. Because of my traveling last weekend and today off, I only have three Londonist posts to share, though I did have a Hitched article from earlier in the week, if you’d like to check that out, too.
- Cannabis Cop Faces Charges: This story is exactly what you think it is — a cop stealing pot from the evidence locker.
- Posh Handbag Pincher Brought to Justice: A moped gang (yes, apparently moped gangs exist in England) have been smashing windows and stealing designer purses.
- Cling Film Arsonists Get Off With Drunk Defence : These two twentysomethings are thanking their lucky stars that they got off with only a light fine and community service after wrapping 5 cars in cling film then lighting them on fire when they were drunk. Their defense? They were too drunk to remember. (Oh, and for my American readers concerned with spelling, defense is spelled defence here.)
Later today, I’m off to Barcelona for the weekend. See you Tuesday!
New York in a New York Minute
I’m sure I’ll be posting a bit more, with photos and better descriptions, but Evan and I got back from our New York weekend today.
We left from Gatwick airport Friday morning and had a 2-hour delay off the bat since our plane didn’t arrive on time. After an uneventful flight — Evan slept and I finished reading Youth in Revolt (very funny) — we got to Newark, took the train to our hotel (the W, very nice) and got ready to go out to dinner.
We had Greek food (yum), went to see Towards Darkness (unfortunately the theater wasn’t very full, though it was well-received by the friends and family who came), and went out for drinks at the Thirsty Scholar (fun!).
Saturday we went to MoMA (very cool, check out the photo), walked through Central Park (always lovely), had Mexican food in DUMBO (quite an adventure to get to, though the food was delicious), and went out with friends at B Bar.
Sunday, we had brunch (I miss American-style brunch), Evan bought a camera, we had drinks with a friend, then spent a long time in Newark airport waiting for our flight (we were early). The flight was bumpy. Evan slept; I didn’t. I did, however, completely conk out on the train in from Gatwick. I also managed to take an accidental 6-hour nap this afternoon (oops) while Evan was at work.
More about the weekend soon.
Also, check out my latest Hitched article, “Online Tools to Keep You Organized.”
