Author: elemonated

At CIA Starbucks, even the baristas are covert

Posted on by elemonated

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/at-cia-starbucks-even-the-baristas-are-covert/2014/09/27/5a04cd28-43f5-11e4-9a15-137aa0153527_story.html

The hilarity when secrecy and customer service collide. I kind of want to work for the CIA Starbucks, not gonna lie.

If it weren’t in the middle of no where, being able to drink coffee with analyists and international go-betweens, intelligence experts, and cartographers practicing new languages and getting interviewed sounds just about ideal.

“The baristas go through rigorous interviews and background checks and need to be escorted by agency “minders” to leave their work area. There are no frequent-customer award cards, because officials fear the data stored on the cards could be mined by marketers and fall into the wrong hands, outing secret agents.”

Perhaps I’m just a sucker for a secret.

Happy Advertising Week!

Posted on by elemonated

I’m going to be super exhausted this week because it’s Advertising Week all over Manhattan and I’m volunteering!

Advertising Week is in its 11th year, and it’s the largest collection of communications and marketing leaders in the industry. Lots of lectures with lots of topics, lots of food, and lots of music. Speakers like Dan Ackerman, Ariana Huffington, Jamie Oliver, Laura Adams, Jessica Alba, Mario Batali are going to be discussing awesome things in tech, comm, and marketing, and A-Trak, T.I., The Script, Outkast, and Wiz Khalifa are all performing.

Unfortunately, I have to miss much of the night shows because I have school at night, but it doesn’t bother me that much because I’m honestly going to learn (thought it would have been really cool to be at the kick-off gala.)

Get your tickets here, and I hope to see you at an awesome lecture!

Bee and PuppyCat premieres November 6th!

Posted on by elemonated

beeandpuppycat.cartoonhangover.com

Bee and PuppyCat premieres on November 6th! I’m so excited. The Kickstarter obviously went through and the team has been working on it for months. I love Natasha Allegri’s writing style and her brain children are some of the most interesting and entertaining of this comic style.

BG3

Plus, the art is just so lovely and fantastical.

BG5

The whole Cartoon Hangover team and all of their guests are ridiculously talented and hilarious, and they’ve gotten me excited and laughing at cartoons in a way I haven’t for years now, in a package I can actually consume (go Youtube, no television for me.)

Jo Malone Rain Series – Rain and Angelica

Posted on by elemonated

As promised!

When the painted birds laugh in the shade,
Where our table with cherries and nuts is spread:
Come live, and be merry, and join with me,
To sing the sweet chorus of “Ha, ha, he!”

– Laughing Song, William Blake

Jo Malone Rain Series
Rain and Angelica

Wet: citrus, floral, vetiver, a little pepper
Dry: vetiver, pepper, citrus, floral, water

This is definitely a more feminine leaning fragrance. A big punch of floral, tempered little by the warm, almost powdery vetiver and bright lime in it. In fact, the last two really just serve to highlight the angelica on me. Very floral heavy. And actually less aquatic on my skin than Black Cedarwood and Juniper. Definitely more dewy than rainy in my head, but it’s perfectly pleasant.

It’s not quite for me because it’s a little too sweet. The lime fades away too fast for me to really enjoy the juxtaposition. It’s still a lovely scent, and I can see this on someone whose favorite season is spring and also stirs honey into their tea.

Jo Malone Rain Series – Black Cedarwood and Juniper

Posted on by elemonated

Review time!

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.
– Sonnet XVII, Pablo Neruda

Jo Malone Rain Series
Black Cedarwood and Juniper

Wet: juniper, spice, tree bark, cedar
Dry: juniper, spice, tree bark, water

I love how woody this scent starts out, and am a little disappointed it falls to the background after a few minutes. Although the distinct cedar dies out on the dry-down for me, it leaves a warmth that I feel like is necessary to round out the sweet, watery juniper. Apparently there’s chili in this as well, which likely supports that point. I can’t stop sniffing it. It smells like how I want my sheets to smell after a night in, and a scent I could get used to on my pillow at night. Quite seductive, at least to me.

I like it on myself, but I would absolutely love this scent on a guy. It’s warm and sweet without being the masculine go-to sandalwood which I feel gets overplayed, and it’s just dark enough that there’s depth and passion implied, but light enough for day wear.