Laurie Sandell's Blog, page 365

Guess where I'm going on Sunday? LONDON

[image error]That's right: My sister has a first-class companion ticket she needs to use before December, and she's going on a business trip this Sunday. So guess who's going with her? Call me crazy, but I don't find it difficult to travel (especially *cough* first-class), and I'm not going to give up an opportunity to hang out with my friends again. Why would I?[image error]

On the agenda: A second visit to The Tate (it's huge and I'm the type of museum-goer who gets tired after one exhibit); mo' shopping (will try...

Leaving London and bereft about it

[image error]The first time I ever went to London, I was 19 and on a month-long backpacking trip through Europe. I don't remember liking it very much; it was expensive and confusing and not all that different from New York. Do you know what makes all the difference when it comes to traveling in a foreign city? Friends. I met Rob Wilkins in 2002, when I participated in a reality show called To Live and Date in New York. (Bet you didn't know that, did you?!) Rob was the director, and we became great...

Pop Life at The Tate Modern

[image error]I did the normal tourist thing and visited the Tate yesterday with my friend Gen, Rob's sister. On the ground floor, we saw–experienced–Miroslaw Balka's installation, "How It Is." The sculpture is an enormous, velvet-lined black box; you enter via a ramp, and are immediately enveloped in total darkness. It's kinda scary, kinda sexy: This video best describes the experience. Then we headed upstairs to check out the Pop Life exhibit: Lotsa Warhol, some great Damien Hirsts, like his...

I hugged a saint and I liked it

[image error]Because I can't do normal tourist things like visit the Tate, Friday I found myself standing in line at Alexandra Palace (known as "Ali Pali" here in England) to receive a token good for one hug from the living Indian saint, Mata Amritanandamayi, or Amma. Rob, Cary, baby Oscar, Rob & Cary's friend Adam and I arrived at Ali Pali at 2:00 P.M., ate a quick bite, then got into a loooooong line at 3:00 P.M. in the hopes of receiving a token for the Darshan, or "hugging ceremony," which would...

Tea at Claridge's with a major star

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High Tea at Claridge's

I'm in London, sitting in a funky little coffee shop in Bethel Greene, sipping a delicious decaf Americano (why, oh why, can't we figure out how to make coffee like the Europeans do?) Yesterday was one of those surreal days where I looked around and said, how is this my life? First, I flew to London business class: My sister, Karyn, is afraid to fly and has this notion that if you're sitting in business class, nothing bad can happen to you. So whenever she gets the...

I'm headed to London! It's news to me, too

[image error]Life doesn't get any crazier than this: Yesterday I got a call from my editor, asking if I could hop a plane to London. Those two enormous mega-stars I mentioned–the ones I can't name–are there now, so that's where the interview is going to take place. Leaving tonight on the redeye; doing a celebrity interview tomorrow; then staying through the weekend to catch up with friends. I'm most excited to see my friend Cara, who moved there when her husband was transferred, and my friends Rob and...

Kaiser Cartel is playing tonight at The Living Room

[image error]When I was in high school, I was one of those people who didn't have a clique; I was friends with a ragtag set of misfits from a variety of groups. One of the people I loved the most was this guy Ben R. (I'm not going to give away his real name, as he now goes by Benjamin Cartel), who used to wear Doc Martins and chains and play in a killer band that did a punk cover of the Carvel Ice Cream song. I lost track of him over the years, then, when my book came out, he found me on Facebook. Turns o...

Fort Greene Finally Gets a Bookstore

[image error]Where have I been? Just the other day, I was strolling down Fulton St., on my way to Provisions to pick up some groceries, when a new construction site stopped me dead in my tracks. Inhabiting the space that used to be occupied by Nationwide Insurance: Greenlight Books! I've lived the neighborhood for almost five years, now, and the entire time I've been wishing and hoping and crossing my fingers for a bookstore. My friend Derek and I have had many a conversation on his stoop about opening...

Black Sheep, Meet Black Sheep

[image error]I felt a kinship with this little guy I just can't explain. This touching moment transpired at the Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival, which I attended this weekend with my friend Rob and his daughter Eve. [image error]I am such a city girl: "It feels just like petting a wool sweater!" I exclaimed after touching a sheep. "Actually, a wool sweater feels like a sheep, not the other way around," Rob corrected. [image error]Some of the sheep had crazy, woolly  dreadlocks; others stood naked and bald–embarrassed–in their...

The Genius Bar Really Is Made Up of Geniuses!

[image error]So, I've been running around all morning, getting ready for my trip upstate (I'm reading tonight at Oblong Books), and my buzzer just rang. Lo and behold, it was FedEx, dropping off my computer! Just a few days ago I reluctantly left my laptop with the guys at the Apple store's "Genius Bar" (see right), complaining of a black bar running down the right side of the screen. They told me they were going to have to send it away for repair, which could take up to a week or more, but would ship it ...