"Dinner in a Bottle"

A reader recently sent in this link to an article about MeatWater in which the reporter seems to think that MeatWater is in fact an actual, available product. It's not real, folks.

It is an incredibly creative campaign that forces people to think twice about the culture of "food" around us. Their message is so carefully laced into our modern expectations for new food products that a lot of people seem to believe that Hungarian Gulash water will soon be available at the grocer.

I urge you to read more about the campaign here and then spend some time on the MeatWater website. And I hope that this clever hoax doesn't create an actual... gulp... demand for such a product. Yikes.

2010 Holiday Gift Guide

There are only two more shopping weekends before Christmas and you know what that means: It will be near impossible to find a parking spot at the Columbia Mall. The good news is, you've been to that mall before, know the national chains that have stores there (and a bit more about their respective carbon footprints), and can get those items online in plenty of time if need be. So why not take the stress and uniformity out of this holiday and do a little out-of-the-mall shopping?

The Baltimore Sun has made unique, local shopping and gifting super-easy with their all-encompassing Holiday Gift Guide and Top 100 Baltimore Stores. They also point readers towards one of Just Saying's favorite places to pick up unusual knick-knacks, art, and home decor: Museum Gift Shops.

Speaking of art, if you happen to be out and about in Annapolis this Sunday between 10am and 5pm, stop into the Sheraton Annapolis Hotel for the 8th Annual ALS Artisan Boutique featuring 55 artists selling handcrafted jewelry, pottery, painting, original children's clothing and accessories, woodworking, photography, confections, and luxurious bath and body products to benefit patients and families battling Lou Gehrig's disease. Admission is free and raffle tickets to win an iPad or iPod Touch are $10.00. If you or your children are fond of the Corduroy childrens' book series, toss your fave in your purse because the illustrator, Lisa McCue, will be making an appearance. McCue has illustrated tons of famous childrens' books on your shelves, not just ones about every one's favorite bear, so check out her library for additional titles (Cork & Fuzz, Fuzzytail, Sebastian and so many more) you may be gifting.

In case you haven't seen it...

Check out (at least virtually) Kew Gardens Millennium Seed Bank. Designed by Thomas Heatherwick, the Seed Cathedral is the largest wild plant seed bank in the world. Like all seed banks, its mission is to keep a living archive of the planet's wildly diverse plant life, protecting against worst-case scenario extensions or invasive species disruptions. The scape surrounding the cathedral is meant to represent wrapping paper - like the opening of a gift.

I want, To go. To there.