Rainpocalypse 2010: San Diego Recap

Rainpocalypse: San Diego I-15 N.
Photo: Kara DeFrias.

Day 1:
Dear San Diego: Lemme give you
a tip from back home - wipers on,
lights on. #rainpocalypse2010

Day 2:
There's a LOT of water coming out
of the sky. Did we Californians piss
Him off so much that's He's given up
and is sobbing His eyes out? We're
such heathens. #rainpocalypse2010

Day 3:
It's raining, but that won't stop me
from pretending I saw the lunar
eclipse!

Day 4:
Some perspective: the 2" of rain in
San Diego over 3 days equals 2 feet

Rainpocalypse: San Diego I-15 N.
Photo: Kara DeFrias.

of snow.

Day 5:
Entering day 5 of Operation H2O.
Assault from the skies relentless
and ground troops quickly losing
morale. #rainpocalypse2010

Day 6:
There seems to be a chink in the
armor. A large yellow ball has
appeared in the sky. Troops hopeful.

Rainpocalypse 2010 Foursquare check-in.
Screen grab: Kara DeFrias.

Merry Christmas! (2010)

From all of us in San Diego to all of you, I bring you one of my favorite Christmas songs ever:



Wanna see the best Santa/kid pic ever?

Here it is.

Viva Las Vegas: Bellagio, Buffets, and Candy

We went Vegas last week on doctor's orders, and since we had a few gift certificates at our disposal we splurged and stayed at the Bellagio. We drove from San Diego not because we're nuts, but because we like road trips. Here are some pics from the trip.

World's largest thermometer, Baker, Calif. Photo: Kara DeFrias.

The view from our Bellagio suite. Photo: Kara DeFrias.

We had breakfast at Jean-Phillippe Patisserie before heading over to the Bellagio
Conservatory, which was decorated for Christmas. Photo: Kara DeFrias.

John & I in front of the Bellagio Christmas tree.
Photo: Kara DeFrias.

Polar bear family in The Bellagio Conservatory. Photo: Kara DeFrias.

The Bellagio Fountains Water Show. Photo: Kara DeFrias.

A view looking up the Strip toward Paris and MGM. Photo: Kara DeFrias.

I want candy! And The Sugar Shop at Planet Hollywood (sort of) delivered.
ProTip: pass on the dry cupcakes. Stick to vintage candy bars. Photo: Kara DeFrias.

BIG CUPCAKE...little taste. The Sugar Factory at Planet Hollywood was
mystical and a little bit of a letdown. Photo: Kara DeFrias.

The artisan cheese and cured meat bar at The Wynn Buffet. Photo: Kara DeFrias.

In the Battle of the Buffets, Wynn beat Bellagio by a landslide. What put it
over the top? The impeccable attention to detail and inventive dishes - try
the microsalads and save room for dessert! Photo: Kara DeFrias.

Glee Columnist and Kara As A Child

So folks over at Tea With Lemon brought me on as their Glee recapper. I'm so excited to be writing TV reviews again! Though, if my track record from my entertainment site editor days are any indication, Glee fans should be wary of this news...as any show I review ends up getting canceled, with no official network press release or any kind of formal announcement (see "Glory Days," "Young Americans," and others).

Now that I'm officially on their team, the crew gave me a warm welcome by kindly postulating that this may have been me as a child.

I can't say they're wrong. ;)

Video: TEDxSanDiego highlights (11/08/2010)

Without further ado, here's the highlight reel from our TEDxSanDiego show. It feels like there were about a thousand people who made this show happen, under the insightful curation of Jack Abbott, so I listed all of the ones below from the official TEDxSanDiego page on TED.com.

(Yours truly has a super-classy moment at 0:52, so pay attention.)



About TEDx
In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.

Credits

Backstage shot of Simon Sinek.
Photo: Kara DeFrias

Curator: Jack Abbott. Founders: Chuck Longanecker, Adrian Hong, Andrea Kates.

Show Director: Kara DeFrias. Technical Director: Michael Esposito. Video: Brent Altomar. Music: Jake Shimabukuro. Used with permission. Stage Manager: Lynn Kelly. Presentations Manager: Blayn Beck. Presentations and Technical Coordination: Jill Millard.

Logistics Manager: Kent Macintosh. PR Manager: Sarah Hardwick. Marketing and Design Manager: Beth Callender. Project Manager: Jasmin Harris. Speaker Relations Manager: Liz Philips. Copywriter: Shannon Carreiro. Experience Design/Orchestration: Sonia Rhodes, Mark Tomaszewicz.

Photographer: Travis Houston. Onsite Video and Photo Management: Christina Carreno. Talk Video Manager: Brad Gardner. PR: Erin Coller. Social Media: Mel Gordon. Hospitality Manager: Warren Chaumont. Registration/Concierge Manager: Lesley Wilson. Speaker/Sponsor Experience Manager: Kathy Doherty. Speaker Presentation Support: Lisa Tran. Data Management: Guy McClellan. Media Relations: Jean Walcher. Reception Hospitality: Joy Houston. Volunteer Coordinator: Belle Castillo. Founder Support and Logistics: Dawn Vitale. Videographer: Tim Schaaf. Medical: Deirdre McBrayer.

Speakers
Christine Comaford, Jake Wood, Kurt Gray, Tom Yellin, Shannon Spanhake, Marty Cooper, Pankaj Kedia, Dr. Eric Topol, Dr. Robert Bilder, Dr. Tony Haymet, Nick Pudar, Jake Shimabukuro, Gad Shaanan, Roxana Velásquez, Lawrence Burns, Pete Garcia, Jean Isaacs, Bill Toone, James Fowler, Jason Russell, Simon Sinek, Joe Pine.

Helpful links
* Follow TEDxSanDiego on Twitter
* Like TEDxSanDiego on Facebook
* Official TEDxSanDiego show URL (site)
* How to Put On a TEDx Show in 10 Easy Steps (article)
* Going from TED Fan to Working on TEDx (article)

City of Brother-Lee Love Once Again: Cliff Lee Returns to Phillies

Cliff Lee. Photo: Ballcaps

Dear Rest of MLB,

Consider this your official notice: you've been served.

Pitchers and catchers report in 66 days. With Cliff Lee. 

Love,
The Phillies

In superbly awesome news, pitching sensation Cliff Lee is returning to the Philadelphia Phillies. That means our pitching staff consists of: Lee, Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels (aka R2C2). My grandmother, a lifelong Phillies fan, would love this news.

The Grinch Who Stole Christmas a la Glee: Sue Sylvester Style

The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Photo: Alex Ross

In tonight's episode of Glee, Sue Sylvester is Theodor Geisel's iconic title character from The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. I took liberties with the prose, inserting Sue. Enjoy!

Sue Who Stole Christmas
(in the rhythm of Dr. Suess'
The Grinch Who Stole Christmas)

Every Gleek down in Gleek-ville
Liked Christmas a lot...
But Sue, who lived just North of Gleek-ville, did NOT!

Sue hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season!
Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason.
It could be that her head wasn't screwed on quite right.
It could be, perhaps, that her tracksuit was too tight.
But I think that the most likely reason of all
May have been that her heart was two sizes too small.

...

And THEN
They'd do something he liked least of all!
Every Gleek down in Gleek-ville, the tall and the small,
Would stand close together, with Christmas bells ringing.
They'd stand hand-in-hand. And the Gleeks would start singing!

Jane Lynch as Sue Sylvester on Glee. Photo: Fox.com

They'd sing! And they'd sing!
AND they'd SING! SING! SING! SING!
And the more Sue thought of the Gleek-Christmas-Sing
The more Sue thought, "I must stop this whole thing!
"Why for forty-three years I've put up with it now!
I MUST stop Christmas from coming! But HOW?" 

...

She stared down at Gleek-ville!
Sue popped her eyes! Then she shook!
What she saw was a shocking surprise!

Every Gleek down in Gleek-ville, the tall and the small,
Was singing! Without any presents at all!
Se HADN'T stopped Christmas from coming!
IT CAME! Somehow or other, it came just the same!

And what happened then...?
Well...in Gleek-ville they say
That Sue’s small heart grew three sizes that day!