South Park and Broadway

And what exactly does South Park have in common with one of the best Broadway musicals of the decade? Trey Parker and Matt Stone, that’s what.

Trey Parker and Matt Stone partnered with Robert Lopez to write the Book of Mormon, the Broadway Musical, The Book of Mormon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_Mormon_(musical)). This play is spectacular and intelligently hilarious. In true South Park style Parker and Stone don’t shy away from highly controversial subjects framed in side wrenching satire.  

You wouldn’t think it but seeing the South Park humor acted out by actual real life humans, as opposed to round silly drawings in a cartoon, was actually more surreal than the cartoon. The actors did an amazing job of bringing that cartoon animation type element to the live performance—something that added a level of intensity to the characters that is rare in live performances.

The thing that I really loved about the play was how the writers wove so many “stranger than fiction” types of realities into the story. For example, there was one line where according to the Book of Mormon, black people became people that could be saved by Jesus in 1976. This also happened to be the year that the state of Kentucky signed the Proclamation of Emancipation that declared African Americans were not only free, but persons (http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured_documents/emancipation_proclamation/transcript.html).

The actual Book of Mormon really does just ask to be poked fun at because the book itself is so filled with moronic ironies. This made it perfect material for a satire of this sort. After all, their founder got his messages from a hat, which the play didn’t even touch on. Nor did it go anywhere near the special underwear. They also steered clear of the polygamy issues. But really why are all the modern religions about polygamy instead of polyandry. Why?Why?

Mormonism and all of its oddities aside, it was a lovely play and a lovely day. I went with my dear friend Judith Murray. It was performed at the Palace Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio. Just seeing the theatre itself was worth the trip! Built in the 1920’s this theatre really embodies all the glamour of that era. Ms. Murray and I immediately began snapping up the pictures you see here until some nice usher-type person, told us that everything in the theatre was copyrighted and we had to stop. It was really too late by then. 

The drive down was uneventful. The drive back we outran a major storm – not a tornado this time, but a real torrential down pour, which finally caught up with us shortly after we arrived home.  Regardless of the weather, the elegance of the theatre, the engrossing satire and surrealness of the play, all made for a wonderful day. However, I really can’t shake this absence of polyandry in our modern world.

Is It a Warning or a Watch?

Who cares, both are scary situations!

If you are in a watch situation it means that there are severe weather conditions, such as exceptionally strong winds, rains, lightning and thunder, or even hail. Winds that are strong enough to start a tornado, which is incredibly strong.  Watch warnings are issued by the National Weather Services (http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/the-difference-between-tornado/61817).

The really scary situation, however, is the “Warning”. A Warning is a tornado event that is happening NOW! It is accompanied by tornado alarms that sound like train whistles and large buzzing warnings that come over your television set. These override any currently active programming and are followed by, “this is a tornado warning, take cover now!” A warning happens when a tornado is happening in your area.

Last Thursday, when the tornado blew through Perrysburg (incidentally where I live) it wasn’t the train whistle-like sirens that originally woke me around midnight, but rather a text message from my dear friend Ms. Murray that said, “take cover, there is a tornado Warning.” The lightening had woken her and caused her to turn on the television where she heard the warning alert. Being a prudent woman, by the time she texted me, she was already safely ensconced in the inner-most room of her suite (a few apartments over and two floors down from mine), which just so happened to be the bathroom (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/06/13/1215839/-PARTICULARLY-DANGEROUS-SITUATION-Powerful-Derecho-Tearing-into-Ohio-LIVEBLOG#).

Once awakened however, I quickly got out of bed and went to look out of the window—apparently that is something you shouldn’t do during a tornado. I could hear the alarms going off, but I still hadn’t clued in to the fact that they were tornado alarms. The sky was lit up like daylight, and rains were a torrent, Of course, being ignorant of the protocols, I watched the windstorm as it wrapped itself around the apartment complex. The winds were so strong it looked like they could rip the trees right out of the ground.

The internet was still working so I Googled tornado alerts and discovered there was a “watch” and a “warning,” which I have already explained above.  So, I texted Ms. Murray back and asked, “is it a watch or a warning,” to which she replied (still ensconced in her bathroom), “warning.” At that point I will admit that I was becoming somewhat concerned, because a warning means your are either in a tornado or directly in its path.  I went into the bathroom, my innermost room, and sat on the toilet for about five minutes. Then it occurred to me that my apartment happens to be on the third floor of a not that well-built building.  If a tornado was actually coming, being in the bathroom probably wasn’t going to offer me that much protection. So, I went back out to the bedroom and resolved to watch it through the bedroom windows.

It is probably obvious to anyone reading this blog, that I did indeed survive the tornado. It was a little bit scary, but I am no worse for wear. The next morning on my bike ride to work,  I did see a lot of stuff scattered and strewn across roads and in gulley’s and had to get off my bike and lift it over deadfall a couple of times. However, all of the ado aside, what really surprised me was that there wasn’t just one tornado that night, but five tornadoes. Thankfully none were too severe like some of the others that have happened in this area this year (http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2013/06/14/at-least-5-tornadoes-touched-down-in-ohio-during-this-weeks-storms/).

Ode to Rapids that are Grand!

Are these rapids really grand? 

 
Perhaps I am a bit biased. I come from the mountainous region of the Pacific Northwest in British Columbia where rapids are considered dangerous and potentially lethal. Of course these do attract a certain population of folks I like to call adrenalin junkies who embark on crazy adventures such as whitewater rafting (http://interiorwhitewater.com/).

However, here in Ohio there are no mountains, not even any large hills. So I shouldn’t have been surprised when I saw several young people slide down the levy into the relatively calm Maumee River below out at the Grand Rapids Park!

Now all of that said, I would like to go the record as saying that spending the day out at Grand Rapids Ohio is a perfectly delightful way to spend an afternoon as long as you aren’t looking to find any actual grandly sort of rapids. Considered one of Ohio’s best historical villages Grand Rapids (http://www.grandrapidsohio.com/) is a beautiful and quaint little place just outside of Perrysburg located on the scenic River Road along the Maumee River.

I had the good fortune of spending the afternoon there on Sunday with the Murrays/McPhersons. We started with a short walk down the main street to see what the place was about, then quickly settled in to the back patio at La Roes restaurant for lunch (http://laroesrestaurant.com/). The food was amazing and plentiful. I had the signature snapping turtle soup while my travelling companions ate salad and yam fries, both of which were also delicious. The view of the river from the patio was splendid.

We then proceeded to meander our way through the boutiques and antique shops for the next couple of hours. The antique shops were packed to the point of clutter, like good antique shops should be, and filled with some amazing treasures.  One even sported a Salvador Dali print and a Berthold Bogner oil painting. There was also exquisitely hand crafted jewelry and local honey.

The buildings were beautiful with a complex mix of old architectures that reflect the multi-dimensional heritage of the United States. Finally, there was a beautiful park behind the main street and along the river complete with swinging park benches—perfect for a blanket and a bottle of wine.

So, if you are the low-key adventuresome type looking for a nice relaxing way to spend a Saturday or Sunday afternoon, I highly recommend the little village of Grand Rapids Ohio. But, if you are looking for something with a little more kick, you’ll need to venture north to find real rapids of a grandish nature.

Notice anything wrong with this picture?

Now before I go any further with this post, I want to say that this cup was a gift from a person who is very special to me. He probably picked it up at one of the many Icelandic tourist shops in down town Reykjavik or even as a last minute gift from the airport. It’s the thought that counts, right?

Also, I love this cup. I brought it with me to the United States and I use it often. After using this cup for a few years now, I happened to notice something the other day. Can you see it?

I will bet good money that many of my Icelandic friends noticed it right away.

Here take a closer look.

Now you get it. Iceland doesn’t have polar bears. In fact the last polar bear that happened to make his way over to the beautiful island was promptly shot (http://www.grapevine.is/Features/ReadArticle/ICELANDS-POLAR-BEAR-POLICY)!  It is true. In fact, until 2008, it had been decades since a polar bear had shown up on the Icelandic shores  (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1024243/First-polar-bear-swim-Iceland-15-years-shot-dead-police-sightseers.html). This poor beast was shot right in front of a group of tourists.

Now don’t let that put you off of Iceland and that isn’t the point of this post. First, Iceland is a beautiful and amazing country filled with beautiful, brilliant, and strong people. The point is that this cup was a tourist artifact schlepped off onto my unsuspecting friend. I have looked and looked to try and find out where the thing was made, but can find no indications other than “Drifa EHF Original Design.” The EHF denotes a legal business entity of some sort. So the thing was definitely designed in Iceland, if not made there. No doubt the artist had a good laugh as he or she added to polar bear to the cup’s many other significant Icelandic facts. All of which are correct just in case you are wondering. Did I also happen to mention that Icelanders have a great sense of humor?

The polar bear faux pa did get me wondering about how many other tourist trinkets we ignorant pilgrim want-to-be types get hooked for. I know I spent a small fortune on a Gucci bag for my daughter in Venice only to find out a year or so later it was a knock off! I also know that since I have been south of the border here I have done a lot of touristing and am hoping I haven’t been taken advantage of too badly in any of these events. In the end I guess it doesn’t really matter. As long as you enjoy the tourist experience you’ve had who care about the trinkets. Most are pure garbage that do little more than clutter up space anyway. However I will say that even after my little polar bear discovery, I still love my cup and use it almost every day!