My first special offer ..... at the Morse Museum

I am so busy preparing for my Zonta District 24 Board meeting this weekend. However, I have been drawn out of that singular focal point by the discovery that the Zonta International Board is also meeting this weekend.

In Orlando .... at the Marriott!

How cool is that.

You no longer have to take my word, you'll soon have the entire ZI Board singing the praises of Orlando!

But there is one tourist tip for which I want the credit for the "exclusive" release.

The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, Winter Park (where else?)

I can't do this place credit in a quick post. There will be more later - let's just dip in our toes first.

and when I say "dip in our toes" I mean : "Watch out! This place will blow your socks off!"

Whatever my love for Disney - this museum is the jewel in Orlando's crown. 

But Mrs. Banks - why do you say this? what is so good about this place?

This museum is small and still one of the most beautiful I have visited.

Louis Comfort Tiffany's 'Oyster Bay'

This museum houses the world's largest and most comprehensive collection of Tiffany glass items, including magnificent window panels (as above), along with the famous lamps and jewellery, paintings, pottery and all the way down to humble glass buttons.

The Tiffany studios were innovative, creative and prolific. 

The studios reached their peak around the turn of the 20th century, when the American oil and business barons were booming. Tiffany received some of the most extraordinary and extravagant orders.  

It's a light ...in a ball ... with water lillies ... all that glass ... in perfect globe!

What made Tiffany unique was that he created a range of glass work techniques that allowed him to create these intricate and delicate designs, combined with the most intense response to passing light. Tiffany didn't paint the glass - he developed different dies, in a wide range of over 5000 colours, and coloured the glass.

Wisteria and Snowball Tree, 1904

He also made use of, and honed to professional standards, many different glass working techniques such as:

• rippling for water;
• paper thin layered shards to represent leaves on trees;
• bubble mottling for abstract designs; and
• drapery - literally folding and draping sheets of glass to look like fabric. Handy when making angels.

example of draping

The Museum tells the most interesting stories, some of which I will touch upon in future posts. These include

• Tiffany's own life story and how he ran the factory; 
• his beautiful home, Laurelton Hall which was practically constructed of Tiffany work and how it operated as a working design studio; 
• stories behind many of the major pieces on display at the museum; and 
• the amazing story of the development of the Morse Museum itself.

Reading lamp - wouldn't we all want one of these?

I don't want ruin your visit to the museum with spoilers. you deserve to have your experience first hand, just like I did.

I will instead share other elements, like my visit to the Museum's Christmas in the Park event - another amazing story, with a delightful Zonta - relevant twist!

Now here is the BEST NEWS:

When I last visited the Museum, I met with their Marketing Manager, and she agreed to host

FREE PRIVATE TOURS 

but only for me and my friends!

Caveat: I can only take a maximum of 50 people per tour group. Are there 50 of you out there reading this??

He made his own pillars for his house. With carved daffodils. DAFFODIL COLUMNS PEOPLE!

Amazing hey?! See what special arrangements I make for my special Zonta friends!

So - are you in?? Do you want to come with me to Orlando and enjoy our special tour of this very special museum?

OMG! It's a Jolly Birthday with Mrs. Banks!

Mrs. Banks is now 2 years old!

 

 After all these posts, I need some chocolately english goodness. (source: sugarsnapnyc.com)

I am as surprised as anyone that I have persisted with this for 2 years now. Who'd have thought I'd  unload that much drivel, AND maintain the delusion to last this long?

Were you around for this?

Mrs. Banks 1st Birthday Celebration

or even perhaps this?

Mrs. Banks launches on to teh interwebs!

Actually no-one was around that far back.

Annual Wrap-up Time

Since Mrs. Banks 1st birthday, the world "hits" map has changed.

Australia has closed the gap with the USA! Over the past 12 months, only 300 clicks divided the two countries.

Oh - my dear Polish reader - where have you gone?

AND when Aussies do come to the site, they read more pages and stay longer!  Way to go, my Aussie friends!

Let's look at the top post for the year.

After last year's stella run, the anti-Disney Princess post came out the winner again this year!

I like to think that people enjoy a unique piece of content, drawing on the obvious problematic feminist theme facing Disney lovers.

But I am not that delusional.

It is because the post makes so many links to a wide range of content from others, that are then led to my post AND the photo of the Disney princesses AND the word "princess" in the title. It's an uphill battle, my fellow Zontians.

Whilst traffic is still predominately driven by 'Disney' and 'Orlando' theme keywords, this year a Zonta themed post made it into the top ten. The post announcing the International Convention dates is at No. 6, and the fixed page giving details for Zonta International is No. 13 and the Amelia Earhart Fellowship post came in at No.14 after having a mini-viral moment on Facebook!

I like to think that more Zontians are visiting Mrs. Banks, and perhaps more people are searching for Zonta online. But what, exactly, do I know about how people are finding Mrs. Banks?

This graph is a blogger's dream!

That big blue 38% wedge is organic google searches, which means Mrs. Banks comes up in keyword searches.

No. 2 at green 19% is where people are going straight to Mrs. Banks - either from their favourites, an RSS feed or just typing it straight into their URL address box. Which must mean that some of you come here deliberately - on purpose!

Encouraging is that Facebook referrals - which are predominately to other Zontians - is now No. 4 after not being countable last year.  Awww .... you guys!! You know, that just encourages me to keep producing this festival of the craptastic!

And guess what - there is still more than another year to go before we are all together in Orlando. Yes - another year of this random, braindumping, impulsive warblings to go before I even think about stopping!

Thanks to the international crowd whose "likes" spirit me to continue: Penny from Australia, Lily from Chile, Pam from Florida, Anna in Italy, Ana in Argentina, Rana from Pakistan. Along with everyone in the Facebook groups who are clicking along with me.

Big shout out to my own District 24 Board who have invited me to speak about my blogging experiences at the Area Meetings this year.

Mrs. Banks even scored a comment on the blog this year from ZI President Lynn McKenzie - that was a real highlight!

How did the Wellington sale go this year, Lynn?

My aim stays true:

• Integrate Zonta into the interwebs - have more people in more places find us; and
• Have you come join us in Orlando for the Zonta International Convention 2014 (bookmark the new website?)

To expand these aims, this year I have noticed more Zontians more involved in social media outlets, and I like to imagine that I have made a positive contribution.

Finally, without fail, The Ken Man deserves a huge thank you - the perfect cups of tea keep coming.

my 2013 brew - thank you man

 So - what about you?  Of what are you proud from the past 12 months?

Meet me at the Derby

The art deco period in Hollywood was pretty wild, with important people in important meetings doing important deals. There was lots of money, lots of flappers and lots of luncheon.

And yet in this day and age, we can step back in time and have an immersive experience of just what Hollywood must have been like - thanks to Disney magic.

The infamous Mickey's Sorcorer Hat - the view used to be of Grauman's Chinese Theatre until that monstrosity arrived.

Disney's Hollywood Studios brings back the golden age of the twenties and thirties - when it was all bootlegged liquor and cuban cigars ...... oops - sorry - seems like Disney is thinking of another 1930s Hollywood - one that was all ginger beer and little cakes.

The road to the Tower of Terror! Do you dare?!

Hollywood Studios replicates a special version of art deco Hollywood. And yet the young actresses of the time, like today, were hounded by the paparazzi tracking their every move.

Mobile phone addiction was just as much a problem back then. Except it was confused with crack addiction as young women attempted to get their fix by snorting their phones - and straight off the pavement

And infamous past-it actresses clutching their one and only Oscar got their personal chefs to parade them around town, as they searched for new pool boys to keep their cabanas well stocked.

Dara Vamp, with her driver Ben Appetit, offered a gold lame thong as the uniform for her cabana boys

When needing to do that important deal, the only way to do it was over lunch at The Brown Derby, where everyone who was anyone needed to be seen.

You knew you had made it to the big time if your caricature was hung on the wall.

Hundreds of faces, benevolently smiling down at you. And I was checked in by a young man from Bankstown, Sydney!

The interior of the Hollywood Studios Brown Derby is very similar to the original. In addition to the hundreds of caricatures lining the walls, there are the leather booths and the chandeliers.

I had seating up on the "people watching" raised level that surrounds the main floor. 

I have no idea what the average flapper cum actress ate back then - IF they ate back then. I like to believe it was cigarettes and mint juleps. I bet it was not this menu.

Brown Derby lunch menu - rather YUM!

As it was only lunch time I kept it light. (although my memory fails me I probably had a 32 course dinner the night before and a character breakfast meal).

I just had an entree and a dessert! (and the free bread rolls; and a fruity cocktaily thing - so - really - quite a lot!)

Crispy phyllo napoleon of bleu affinee, wild mushroom duxelles, grilled portobello, golden chanterelles, and a fig reduction

This was fan-freakin-tastic! I should not have been surprised that the blue cheese would blend so well with both the mushies and the fig, however I had not had that combo before, so it blew my tastebuds. I love wild mushrooms and these were technically cooked beautifully. Still some bite and buttery goodness flavour.

Sitting there feeling very pleased with myself, my dessert arrived.

Grapefruit cake with grapefruit cream cheese icing

The famous Brown Derby original! One of my favourite things and it is the only dessert I have whenever here. If citrus is your thing, this is the thing for you. A soft sponge with a hint of grapefruit sandwiched together with rich, creamy, stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth grapefruit flavoured cream cheese and drizzled with grapefruit sugar syrup. And grapefruit segments on the side. What you don't see in this picture is that I already ate the wafer thin, dried grapefruit slice that decorated the top of the cake.

Oh - for the love of all that is citrus! How good is that?!

So feeling extraordinary pleased with securing a wonderful luncheon, I give this meal 2 Mr Creasotes (although 3 Mr Creasotes is very possible at this place). I managed to contain the volume.

However, because I licked the plates clean, this The Brown Derby lunch deserves 3 spoonfuls of sugar.

Then it was back out on the wild mild streets of Hollywood.

Where Officer Percival Peabody has retreated to his garbage can in his touching, and pre-emptive, dedication to Oscar the Grouch.

Pop culture question: What famous salad was accidentally invented at the original Brown Derby as a midnight snack?