The Queen of Pin Attire

You know I would trade my left arm for a Madeleine Albright sighting. While my best friends in middle school worshiped N'sync (and their counterparts that they today deny like...Backstreet Boys) I was a FANATIC about Maddie. Hey to a 10 year old - the first female Secretary of State (and most powerful woman in the US) was pretty Bad Ass.

Well she has come out with yet another book - and thus adding another book signing to my to-do list - only this time it's a picture book. As part of her press junket duties - the author was invited to speak at the Newseum last month. I had a chance to interview her late last year, but you bet I was there - with a video camera this time. Despite SnowOMG!2010, 150 of her closest friends - and a few obnoxious media mates managed to pack into the studio. Did I mention I'm a little obsessed? Somethings you just don't outgrow.

Known for her elaborate broaches during her service, she put together a coffee table book called Read My Pins to capture her collection. Her pin attire often served more as subversive political commentary on the international playing field.

Donning a chocolate cashmere sweater during the interview, she appropriately had emblazoned on her lapel, a giant broach. In her 30 minute conversation she covered everything from her snake pin inspiration to how "irritating" she finds the press comments on decision maker's style.

This Just In....

So Tommy and I finally made it over to the relocated, redesigned NEWSeum!

Originally housed at Freedom Park in Roslyn, this homage to the fourth estate has reopened on the mall with it's museum brethren.

Aside from exhibiting history altering headlines and taped first drafts of history, the multi-storied building houses some amazing tangible chunks of time, like a full section of the Berlin Wall. The exhibit that blew me away was the 9-11 display. The museum has one of the radio towers from the trade center's roof.

It sucked the air right out of my lungs as I remember standing next to that same tower while it was posted in its original location. I was in eight grade in New York on our middle school trip to the east coast. My two friends and I had snuck up to the roof to observe the city from it's highest point.

We snapped a couple of 35mm, before hustling back downstairs to blend back into our tour group before our absence was noticed. Now that tower stands indoors, crippled, with a satallite of the worlds headlines posted to the wall from the day it came crashing down.

While I was having my oxygen depleated moment of realization, I looked on as a young teacher tried explaining to her rambunctious field trippers what that tower meant. She was up for the challenge, but the explanation fell hallow on the group, who couldn't have been more than 2 years old at the time.

Fear not, there was fun to be had as well! We both tried our hand at reading the teleprompter too! I reported from the Supreme Court and was just as laughable in April as I was in eighth grade!