Archive for the ‘Big Money No Whammies’ Category

Mamapedia Is Making The Wren’s Nest Look Cheap

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Mamapedia, a Groupon-esque site for family friendly deals, is featuring the Wren’s Nest this week.

$6 will get you admission for two humans, any combination.  This is what we in the biz call “a steal.”

And remember! You’re not just buying your pass to Atlanta history. You’re also visiting a “must-see in Atlanta” as designated by Glamour Magazine’s Sex and Relationships blog. Because of course.

Thanks, Mamapedia!  And thanks for mentioning us to Glamour, Asian Cajuns!

Erin McKeown, The Rascal, and the Briar Patch

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I know we talk about the influence of Brer Rabbit all the time.  And all the time you guys are like, “Okay, crazy.  I’m sure he’s all over the place, just like I’m sure the groundhog’s winter predictions are 100% reliable.  Idiots.”

But!  Today we have (more) proof.  Behold Erin McKeown’s song “The Rascal”–

Lain and I had the privilege of seeing Erin the other night at Eddie’s Attic, and she was absolutely terrific.  When she played “The Rascal” — hey!  That’s similar in meaning to “trickster!” — there was some firm under-the-table kicking.  Yay for references!

Ravinia Club Fundraiser Tomorrow, Proudly Serving Wren’s Nest Libations!

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Way back in February we presented a contest — name a Wren’s Nest themed adult beverage and win a bag of… things. To say the very least, it went well.

And now — well, tomorrow from 5:30pm – 8pm to be exact — the inspiration for this contest is upon us: the Wren’s Nest fundraiser hosted by the Ravinia Club.  All proceeds from the (cash) bar on the evening’s featured specialty drink benefit the Wren’s Nest.  Heard of it?

Now, before I get to the drink-christening, allow me to convince you to join us at the Ravinia Club:

• Everyone is welcome!  What a nice sentiment!
• Usually when you toast the Wren’s Nest, people have no idea what you’re talking about.  Tomorrow you’ll be in knowing company.
• I bet you love prizes.  You’ll find tomorrow’s raffle — fine wines, tickets to sporting events, massage gift certificates and more — so delightful.
• Wren’s Nest Rambler Akbar Imhotep will be spinning yarns throughout the evening.  If you haven’t seen Akbar yet, now is the time to hang your head in shame.
• Complimentary hors d’oeuvres mean you can stuff your face while pretending to be super classy.  At least that’s what I’ll be doing.

Are you sold yet?  I hope so.  You don’t even need to buy tickets; you can just show up and enjoy a…

Marga-Remus!

You may also enjoy 3 – 8 of them.

Yep, it’s a margarita, which our inside sources tell us the club makes deliciously.  It also has “Remus” in the name, which makes it themed and super clever.

So, we’ll see you there, right?  Here’s a map to the Ravinia Club.  Join us at 5:30 – 8 pm.

Any questions?  Leave ‘em in the comments.

Wren’s Nest Conservation Project – Before and After Exterior Photos

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You can stop holding your breath now.

We’ve posted before and after photos of the Wren’s Nest exterior conservation efforts.  There are a whopping 59 in all.

Also, check out Lain’s skills with Photoshop Pixelmator –

It’s like a visual time machine.

There are captions underneath each photo in the album, and remember — you do not need a Facebook account to view the photos.  (However, if your place of work has blocked Facebook, you’ll probably have to wait until you get home to see our progress.  Mom.)

Enjoy!

Previously — Interior Before and After Photos

Disney to Release Song of the South on Blu-ray and DVD in 2009

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Disney has decided to release the film Song of the South to Blu-ray and DVD later this year.  After waiting over twenty years since it’s last theatrical release, this is enormous news.

Not surprisingly, the decision came after the recent Disney shareholder meeting.  Expect the official announcement within the next two weeks or so.

Releasing Song of the South is a topic that is often mentioned, but until now has never been taken seriously by the company.  Two years ago there was promising discussion at the same meeting by CEO Robert Iger, but nothing came of it.

Not so in 2009!

We’re privy to this information now because one of the shareholders (and a friend of the Nest) thought we should know in advance in order to prepare ourselves.  I’m considering buying a phone headset to avoid answering-elbow.

This should be a marketing coup for Disney.  As we’ve mentioned here time and time again, there’s an unquestionable demand for the movie, and absence has made the heart grow fonder for many fans and potential consumers, I’m sure.

Nevertheless, the issues that made Disney hesitant to release the film in the first place still stand.  It will be very, very interesting to see the ensuing marketing campaign.  I’m putting my money on a healthy dose of nostalgia with just a pinch of “Look!  We’ve entered a new (racial) era!  Thanks, President Obama!”  Or, you know, not saying anything while quietly raking in the money.

As for our day-to-day lives at the Wren’s Nest, we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.  Sure, it means I’ll be more helpful to blue hairs who call looking for the movie (one caller recently assured me she “knew the number for eBay”), but as far as royalties go, we can’t expect anything.  Stinks, right?

In fact, I’m a little fearful that the more widespread the movie, the more people might get the priorities of our museum and the movie confused.  Folks are known to do that sort of thing. We do have a history to maintain, after all.

On the other hand, the increased visibility could be HUGE for us.  As far as I’m concerned, people can visit the museum for whatever reason they want.  If they come in because they think we give tours with bluebirds on our shoulders, fine by me!  Though they will be a touch disappointed, methinks.

Either way, we can cross our fingers and hope that, just like its theatrical release in 1946, Song of the South’s marketing will include the Wren’s Nest, and that the Brer Rabbit stories will come to the foreground once again.  We’ll keep you updated!

My oh my what a wonderful day!

Name a Wren’s Nest Drink, Win a Mystery Prize!

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A few months from now we’ll be hosting an event at the Ravinia Club.  It’s a little fundraiser where all proceeds from the house drink will go to the Wren’s Nest.  Generous and great, no?

Even better, we get to name the drink ourselves. Oh, and we get to concoct the libation, too.  But come on, we get to name it!  Score!

Unfortunately, we are not entirely the most creative folks, Lain and I.  Thus, we have come up with the following:

• Brer-tini.  It’s a martini.

Let’s try to top that.

Because you’re so smart, we thought we would pose the challenge to y’all.  The person who comes up with the best name and drink will win a bag of things collected from around our office.  There is truly no telling what this mystery prize will contain.

Here’s what we’re looking for:

1. A drink with broad appeal.
2. A drink that contains alcohol.
3. A drink that people like to order in multiples of at least 3.
4. A name that can be said with a knowing wink.
5. Something that can be easily created and served.  No zests or sprigs here, thanks.

Perhaps it’s the color of tar.  Maybe it uses Brer Rabbit molasses!  Maybe it’s green beer because you think it deserves more than St. Patty’s Day.

The world is your oyster, but it might make sense to stick to the following topics: Brer Rabbit Stories, the Briar Patch (bonus points for a Star Trek reference), Uncle Remus, or Joel Chandler Harris (who didn’t mind a drink or two himself).

Ready?  Set.  Go!

Wren’s Nest Conservation Project — Repairing the Porch

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You’ll be happy to know that Blalock Construction Co, our contractor, started exterior and foundation work on the Wren’s Nest around Thanksgiving.  Workers have been busy banging on the house ever since.

We’ll be spending about $107,000 on this phase of the project.  Curious as to what we’re doing?  Let me show you!

Our carpenter started on the porch, which had been a victim of wood rot.

See where that subtle green arrow is pointing?  That hole is the result of a pinhole leak, clogged leaves, and years of water dripping and dripping and dripping.

We fixed it.  And those leaves are coming down soon, promise

Around back, the beam in the southeast corner had suffered from the same problem.

We took it out completely and replaced it in-kind.

Our carpenter took off the rail and replaced the rotted pieces in-kind too.

Many of the pieces, such as the wood that spans the bottom of the porch railings, had identical pieces underneath the house.  They were left over from our restoration in the late 1980s.

Luckily, most of the porch was in decent shape, so mostly we repaired spots hither and thither.

Like here.

And here.

Finally, you might have noticed that you can now click on the pictures and scroll through larger versions of them.  We aren’t just making changes to the house, folks.

Quasi Famous Visitors and Wacky Phone Calls

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Three items of note from today at the Wren’s Nest–

Dino Brugioni, former senior CIA official and History Channel regular, visited the Wren’s Nest today.

Not only did he have a lot of interesting stuff to say, but he also boasts a more extensive Wikipedia article than Joel Chandler Harris.

…..

Then, I got a weird phone call:

LAIN: Good afternoon, the Wren’s Nest!

GRANDMOTHER: Hi, I’m a grandmother.

LAIN: Okay.

GRANDMOTHER: And I would like you to pay my electric bill.

LAIN: (scrambling for an answer) That’s …not really what we do here.

GRANDMOTHER: (sounding dignified) Yes, but I’m a grandmother.  I’m raising my grandchildren.  I just need some help with my electrical bill.

LAIN:  I’m sorry, but we’re a house museum.  A non-profit house museum, and we’re hurting as well.

GRANDMOTHER:  You don’t understand.  I’m a grandmother.

LAIN: Ma’am?

GRANDMOTHER: (hangs up)

…..

Then, I dialed a wrong number and got this message:

ANSWERING MACHINE: This is about pimpin’!  And that means money!  And if you ain’t got no money, you ain’t got no businesses with this pimp.  So, check your pockets.  Got money?  Get pimpin’.

BEEP.

Wren’s Nest Conservation Update

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Lately I’ve been busy talking with architects and engineers and contractors about fixing up the Wren’s Nest.  Sometimes I even know what they’re talking about.

Other times I just kinda nod my head and smile.

To give you an idea of the repairs we’re making, below are the architectural drawings of the basement and main floors complete with instructions.

Here’s the basement–

(Here’s a legible version)

And here’s the main floor–

(Yet another legible version)

These plans don’t include painting, roof repair, or structural repairs.  If only it were that simple!

Iverson Park Literary Festival: Awesome Birthday Party for a Young Philanthropist

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This weekend Lain and I attended one of the most fun, creative, and altruistic birthday parties ever.  For a nine-year-old we had never met.  Would you like some background?

Several weeks ago, Lain and I received the following email:

Lain and Amelia,

My name is Jeff, long-time blog reader, first time writer, as well as 19th century folk-tale enthusiast (who isn’t?) and fan of house museums.  I write to you with a proposal/request/announcement/heads-up.  My 8, soon to be 9 year-old daughter Matilda has for the last several years hosted birthday parties at our home in which, instead of children bringing gifts for her, she raised money for some worthy cause.  A car wash for the Humane Society at age 5, hit the dads with pies in the face for the Red Cross and Katrina Victims at age 6, a backyard Hawaiian fair for bookshelves for her school at age 7, and last year’s American Shoe-Kicking Association (ASKA) National Championships for the Red Cross.  I’m proud and a little nonplussed to write that this was her own initiative, though I’m sure taken from some TV show.

I write you now to let you know that this year you are on the docket as planned beneficiaries of the first (and perhaps last) Iverson Park Literary Festival!  Mathilda visited the Wren’s Nest with her class this past year and was impressed by he experience and wants to join in the fun.  Possible events include a short-story telling contest and for those less inclined to prose, a book throwing contest.

Within about two minutes we told Jeff we were in.  Playing it cool is not our strong suit.

The Iverson Park Literary Festival wildly exceeded any expectations we could have had.  I mean, they had tote bags.  And a mascot!

(Haiku the bookworm)

There was a lot of literary fun going on.  You could guess the number of pages in the book.

(Waiting has never been so exciting!)

You could throw books at William Shakespeare, Louisa May Alcott, or Edgar Allen Poe.

(This activity made Lain nervous thanks to the children shouting “KILL SHAKESPEARE!”)

You could even tell your own story.  Curtis warmed up the crowd, and then the kids competed to see who was the best storyteller.  Lain and I served as Celebrity Judges.

Unfortunately, we did not get any pictures of the amateur storytellers, as we took our judging jobs VERY seriously.

Jeff, author of the above email, played the part of our host — Dr. Armstrong, PhD, MA, RN, NASA, from Valdosta State Technical Community College and State University A & M.

We even wore our most literary duds.  A Kenyon shirt and tweed for Lain, and my “I’m a Bibliophile” shirt from age 5 for me.  Still “fits”!

Curtis played it cool, as always.

We especially felt at home because some of the kids tried to bribe the Celebrity Judges by wearing their Wren’s Nest t-shirts.

The children really wailed on the authors.  So much so that they broke and had to be fixed with a nail gun.

We would have left the nail gun by the snacks, too.

By the end of the Festival we had totally forgotten about how we benefited monetarily, being too busy making exclamations like “This is the best thing ever!” and “I love tote bags!” and “Too bad I will never produce a child as awesome as Matilda.”

So thanks to Jeff, Marisa, Matilda, and everyone at the first (and possibly last) Iverson Park Literary Festival.  Did we mention we had a great time?