Hi! I'm M! Feel free to say hi! : )
None of the pictures are mine, unless stated.
Trying to work through my drafts, so I have a queue of 30 up for the whole day.
Mainly art (mainly illustration), followed by cats, followed by birds, followed by foxes/owls/hedgehogs.
So today I figured out that you can sing Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” to Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” if you allow for three things, none of them unusual in music:
1) every third line of each verse in “Jolene,” you have to allow for an unstressed final syllable for the “yah” of “Hallelujah.”
2) The chorus you have to match syllable to syllable, so you only get two “Hallelujah”s to every four “Jolene”s. (”Ha-leh, lu-yah, Ha-le-lu-YAAAAH!”)
3) “I’m beggin of you please don’t take my man” etc is just replaced by the last line of the verse you just sang (“and from your lips she drew a hallelujah,” for example)
I think this also means you can reverse it, and sing Jolene to Hallelujah, so long as you start on the first verse, rather than the chorus that starts the song.
I eagerly await recordings of this to start appearing all over the internet.
ETA: I went and looked and someone has done basically this, but didn’t do the chorus the way it should be done I did it:
You actually can start Jolene right out of the gate if you sing the name really slowly – it fits super well.
I heard there was a secret chord Joleeeeeeeeeene, Joleeeeeene That David played and it pleased the Lord Joleeeeeeeeeene, Joleeeeeeeeeeeene But you don’t really care for music dooo youuu I’m begging of you please don’t take my ma-an
And then after a bit you move into the Hallelujah, where you sing the verse instead:
Hallelujah Your beauty is Hallelujah Beyond compare Hallelujah With flaming locks Hallelujah Of auburn hair
After that it gets dicey because you’ve got an extra line in Jolene that doesn’t exist in Hallelujah (which is why the guy in the above video repeats a line, because he’s not doing it your, which I agree is the more practical and better, way of altering the Hallelujahs), but if you cut a bit of the ode to Jolene’s beauty you can use the third line in the next verse (”And I cannot compete with you Jolene”) to match up to “Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you”. And so forth.
I think it would actually be pretty astounding to slightly rearrange Jolene and sing it as a duet with Hallelujah to Leonard Cohen’s actual melody.
I might give it a try on the ukulele, I know both songs’ chords already.
I feel like I need to talk about the random shit I know about this pose. As they paid a guy a lot of money to come up with a pose that’d make the important tories look POWERFUL and IMPOSING. And they guy came up with this, but it was only meant for photos of the torso up and none of them realised.
I’m impressed with your origami skills! How to fold like that?
And, what cake recipe did you use?
For the omadhouns who suggested making a large cake and cutting it, that will be very different texturally to a proper cube cake as there is a difference between a baked surface and a cut interior.
The paper is parchment paper, the kind you use to line baking sheets with, which is pretty great for origami because it takes a crease really well. The fold I used is the Balloon here.
The recipe was just a standard yellow cake recipe, any normal cake recipe will work really. :D
Happy New Year, Folks! I’m pleased to announce the winners of this (past) year’s McGingerbread Hell Gingerbread House Competition!!
First off, I cannot find the words to say how much joy each and every entry to this competition has brought me. Every single one of the participants put their 100% best McMansion Hell face on and the results were charming, hilarious, and, if we’re being punny here, downright sweet. This may be the best idea this blogger has ever had.
Second, let me say that the when I say the competition was fierce, I mean, it was fierce. So much so that I drafted the fellow judgement of two of my favorite colleagues, my literary agent Caroline Eisenmann, and fellow architecture critic/Editor of Chicago Architect Magazine Anjulie Rao to help me narrow the 43 contestants down to 8.
Just a note: Last names of the winners have been abbreviated for privacy reasons. If you would like your full name to be published instead, please email mcgingerbreadhell@gmail.com with your preferred name.
We’re going to start our line up with the 5 honorable mentions in alphabetical order, after which there will be a break to take those of you scrolling through this on the dashboard to the full article where the top 3 McMansions will be revealed.
Without further ado…
Honorable Mention #5 : Manoir de emporte-pièce by Anya D.
The judges were impressed by the whimsy, creativity and finely detailed execution of Anya’s house. Caroline summed it up best: “what else is a McMansion if not a bunch of smaller houses wrapped into one package?”
Anya writes:
Hi I’m Anya and I’m 12. I made my Gingerbread house from Gingerbread I mixed and baked myself. The house shapes came from a cookie cutter. It’s held together with royal icing frosting I made. The shingles are almonds and the house off to the side is the dog house and has candy dog bones on it. The “lights” on parts of it are candy balls. I hope you like it!
Honorable Mention #4: AMAZING Custom Home with Quality Features by Sydney E.
The judges were impressed by the house’s fine craftsmanship, attention to detail (especially the peppermint columns, the gumdrop crenellations, and the chandelier in the back) and great sense of humor. Anjulie remarked: “Love the inclusion of the nuclear family.” What really had us in stitches was Sydney’s wonderfully rich description, especially this part:
“…You’ll know you’re living in the lap of luxury when you see the ENORMOUS GOLD CHANDELIER in the dining room. But it’s the ROOFTOP PATIO with no discernible purpose or point of entry that will really set you apart from your neighbors. “Hey, how did you get up there?” they’ll ask, but you’re not telling (mysterious!).
The landscaping will make you feel like you’re in the countryside, in a sea of royal icing TURF GRASS (shown here, lightly dusted with coconut snow). The FOUR TREES on the property are either too far from the house to provide any shade (stately!) or extremely close to the house and actively obscuring at least one window (posh!). The entire house, the front walk, and the driveway are all bordered in royal icing ENGLISH IVY, which is definitely never going to be a problem for native plants (colonial!).”
Honorable Mention #3: Suburban Hobbit House by Jennifer K. & Cara M.
The judges were impressed by the difficulty of execution in Jennifer and Cara’s house, especially the dome, the cleverness of using almonds as cladding, and the hilariously barren “asphalt” lawn complete with soul patch. Kate remarked: “Pretty sure I saw this exact house in Bergen County, New Jersey.”
Jennifer and Cara wrote about their house:
Made of solid gingerbread in shape of skulls (had the pans), graham crackers, lots of icing, nuts, chocolate, a candy cane, grape tic-tacs, decorator sprinkles, butter-rum Lifesavers, fondant, Tootsie Rolls, and a loaf of rosemary bread. Round center mass house with back porch nub, two wings, a charming turret. We totally meant for it to look this way.
Honorable Mention #2: European Charme by Núria O.
The judges were very impressed with the fine detailing (such as the columns, balustrades, and front door), the crisp, clean execution of the design, and total commitment to the McMansion Aesthetic™ from front to rear, including the completely barren lawn.
Núria describes the house in finely practice Realtor-ese:
Beautiful gazillion-square-feet chalet featuring lots of personality and European flair. This cozy 4-bedroom, 10-bathroom cottage is made of sturdy construction-grade tan-beige gingerbread from top to bottom. Roof plates are structurally tinted, not painted, ensuring a durable color that will last until the last crumble is eaten. Windows glazing is made of gelatine sheets coated with black-coloured blueberry jam to ensure privacy as you lounge by the bay window or enjoy the views from the beautiful faux-balcony.
All doors are solid gum paste, with royal icing on all window frames as well as the balustrade. This home is ideal for entertaining, with its luxurious two-story entrance featuring genuine Spanish _neula_ columns with doric capitals, ornated pediment and a quaint half-tindered wall that gives true European _charme_. Utilities are housed in a lovely turret next to the service door. The garage accomodates two SUVs or six European sedan cars. The magnificent brown-sugar-paved front yard features icing plants and a signature landscaped crushed-sprinkle turf patch on cookie soil. The same type of grass was used in the large, sunny backyard which also has a patio area.
Honorable Mention #1: Existential Crisis on 34th Street by Caitlin R.
The judges were very impressed by the house’s clever use of different baking materials and attention to detailing, especially in the icing work. Kate was especially excited by the rounded gingerbread turret, and Anjulie loved the “Existential Crisis” detail and monumental marshmallow columns. The description had Caroline especially in stitches.
Caitlin describes the house:
This nine-bedroom mansion is made from the most exquisite of gingerbreads. Lovingly handmade from scratch, and crafted by local artisans, it’s ready for your own sweet family. Grecian inspired columns impose your might on the neighborhood, while a pebble-clad tower with bay windows adds a touch of country charm. Architectural details include a ‘stonework’ wall and chimney, sweet dormer windows, and a luxurious back porch. A myriad of windows let light into this expanded historic house - the original building dates all the way back to 1982! Come by today, and soon you’ll be calling this three-and-a-half story, Greco-Chateauesque Italian Revival Americana, 18,600 square foot mansion - home!
Now on to the TOP 3 PRIZEWINNING HOUSES!
It all comes down to this. It was stiff competition through and through, and the judges deliberated long and hard about who the top 3 spots should go to. Each house showed tremendous ability in craftsmanship, detailing, and McMansion Engineering. Without further ado:
