Wednesday, September 29, 2010
COLUMBUS GEMS
After having recently visited the newly renovated Grandview Theatre, I was thinking how I should pay homage to some of my favorite places in the greater Columbus area. I could only come up with a few, but here they are in no particular order:
THE GRANDVIEW THEATRE
After having been leased by David and Jennifer Nedrow back in 2008, they've come a long way with major renovations and redecorating. There's still work to do, but the theatre is fully functional and has been showing films during much of the work.
We were just there for the Manhatten Short Film Festival on a rainy Monday. Only about a dozen or so people braved the wet weather for this enjoyable selection. Being a Monday, and a wet one at that, that may be the norm for many theatres depending on the movie. Still, I wish attendance was at least double. I'd like Mr. Nedrow to be able to make a decent living as well as keep the theatre open for many years to come.
JENI'S ICE CREAM
Until I sampled Jeni's unusual flavors, I don't think I had tried anything much more exotic than your usual grocery store fare. The variety excites the taste buds and expands your horizons in ways I never thought possible. Some of the more unusual flavors I've tried (that I can recall) are: lavender, goat's cheese & cherries, carrot cake, stout (which tastes more like coffee), and the signature salty caramel.
My husband and I were recently in Italy and didn't have to be too strongly encouraged to sample the gelato. Having tried the unusual flavors offered by Jeni's, it didn't phase me to continue the adventure in Italy. However, I did also stick to a few tried and true flavors like chocolate mousse and Tiramisu. The most memorable flavor I tried was gorgonzola, which tasted just how I expected, but was delightful nonetheless. That's a sensory memory that will stay with me for awhile!
COLUMBUS METROPOLITAN LIBRARIES
I understand Issue 4 in the upcoming November election is a plea to increase funding to the library system by paying just a little more ($5.24 per month per $100,000 of home value) in property tax every month. Since both my husband and I (though mostly me) use our local library and very much appreciate their vast collection, I have a vested interest in seeing the collection continue to grow. I would also hate to see more people lose their jobs if any branches have to close or hours are cut even further. I know how I'm voting on November 2nd.
COLUMBUS (Dublin) LANDMARKS: "The Dancing Hares," the Cornrows, and Chief Leatherlips
Where else can you have lunch while sitting under a trio of rabbits, beside an oversized concrete ear of corn or in front of/or behind the largest stone face you've seen since Mt. Rushmore? Only right here in Dublin. All three are free for public viewing at almost any time. I've picniced by two out of three, and attended concerts near Chief Leatherlips, as well as photographed all three on many an occasion.
THE GRANDVIEW THEATRE
After having been leased by David and Jennifer Nedrow back in 2008, they've come a long way with major renovations and redecorating. There's still work to do, but the theatre is fully functional and has been showing films during much of the work.
We were just there for the Manhatten Short Film Festival on a rainy Monday. Only about a dozen or so people braved the wet weather for this enjoyable selection. Being a Monday, and a wet one at that, that may be the norm for many theatres depending on the movie. Still, I wish attendance was at least double. I'd like Mr. Nedrow to be able to make a decent living as well as keep the theatre open for many years to come.
JENI'S ICE CREAM
Until I sampled Jeni's unusual flavors, I don't think I had tried anything much more exotic than your usual grocery store fare. The variety excites the taste buds and expands your horizons in ways I never thought possible. Some of the more unusual flavors I've tried (that I can recall) are: lavender, goat's cheese & cherries, carrot cake, stout (which tastes more like coffee), and the signature salty caramel.
My husband and I were recently in Italy and didn't have to be too strongly encouraged to sample the gelato. Having tried the unusual flavors offered by Jeni's, it didn't phase me to continue the adventure in Italy. However, I did also stick to a few tried and true flavors like chocolate mousse and Tiramisu. The most memorable flavor I tried was gorgonzola, which tasted just how I expected, but was delightful nonetheless. That's a sensory memory that will stay with me for awhile!
COLUMBUS METROPOLITAN LIBRARIES
I understand Issue 4 in the upcoming November election is a plea to increase funding to the library system by paying just a little more ($5.24 per month per $100,000 of home value) in property tax every month. Since both my husband and I (though mostly me) use our local library and very much appreciate their vast collection, I have a vested interest in seeing the collection continue to grow. I would also hate to see more people lose their jobs if any branches have to close or hours are cut even further. I know how I'm voting on November 2nd.
COLUMBUS (Dublin) LANDMARKS: "The Dancing Hares," the Cornrows, and Chief Leatherlips
Where else can you have lunch while sitting under a trio of rabbits, beside an oversized concrete ear of corn or in front of/or behind the largest stone face you've seen since Mt. Rushmore? Only right here in Dublin. All three are free for public viewing at almost any time. I've picniced by two out of three, and attended concerts near Chief Leatherlips, as well as photographed all three on many an occasion.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
A Memorable Moment...
Since we all live in the digital age of camera phones and smaller and smaller cameras, it's quite easy to record fleeting moments and then file them away. I sometimes wonder if by recording things this way, we're giving our brains a vacation from actually absorbing the moment in its own way. The reason I bring this up is because I'm sure we've all had times when we wish we had our camera with us to capture something truly amazing. This is fair enough, but I sometimes wonder if in our frenzy to record everything, are we simply cheapening our experiences?
I've recently had a couple experiences where I didn't have my camera with me, or at least wasn't able to get it out in time, but it didn't matter. I trusted my brain to file away the memory just as well as if I had it on film (or a memory card).
The first moment was meeting a national celebrity while he was passing through our local airport. I've learned not to become so star struck that you ask for an autograph or picture unless you're at a book signing and everyone is doing that. Also, the thought simply didn't occur to me. However, I admit if I had seen him from a distance, I might have tried to whip out my camera, but am glad I didn't. Albeit brief, I was able to chat with him before he continued on to his gate. Plus, I felt much cooler about that than being an adoring gushing fan (which I might have been just a little bit like).
The second moment was when walking around Florence one evening with my husband when we came across a huge crowd of people gathered around a busker (a street performer) dressed like Charlie Chaplin. He was using a whistle to get people to comply with his wishes. First thing he did was get people lined up just how he wanted them, which was funny enough.
However, the 'a picture's worth a thousand words' moment came when he pulled a little girl out of the audience. She was one of a pair of twins, with short blond hair cut in a timeless pixie cut with bangs straight across her forehead. She barely came up to his waist and kept a very serious demeanor the entire time she was in front of the audience. 'Charlie' proceeded to dress her up to look like Jackie Coogan's character from the film 'The Kid.' He started out by giving her a pair of black shorts connected to suspenders. The shorts hung just above her ankles. He then gave her an oversized black t-shirt that draped almost to her knees. To top it all off, he placed on her head one of those old-fashioned black hats that old men sometimes wear. To say she looked adorable would be an understatement. No doubt that child got photographed more that night than almost any celebrity might have done. It was even cuter because she maintained the deadpan look the entire time almost teetering on tears at times (she was only 4 and separated from her family after all).
I've recently had a couple experiences where I didn't have my camera with me, or at least wasn't able to get it out in time, but it didn't matter. I trusted my brain to file away the memory just as well as if I had it on film (or a memory card).
The first moment was meeting a national celebrity while he was passing through our local airport. I've learned not to become so star struck that you ask for an autograph or picture unless you're at a book signing and everyone is doing that. Also, the thought simply didn't occur to me. However, I admit if I had seen him from a distance, I might have tried to whip out my camera, but am glad I didn't. Albeit brief, I was able to chat with him before he continued on to his gate. Plus, I felt much cooler about that than being an adoring gushing fan (which I might have been just a little bit like).
The second moment was when walking around Florence one evening with my husband when we came across a huge crowd of people gathered around a busker (a street performer) dressed like Charlie Chaplin. He was using a whistle to get people to comply with his wishes. First thing he did was get people lined up just how he wanted them, which was funny enough.
However, the 'a picture's worth a thousand words' moment came when he pulled a little girl out of the audience. She was one of a pair of twins, with short blond hair cut in a timeless pixie cut with bangs straight across her forehead. She barely came up to his waist and kept a very serious demeanor the entire time she was in front of the audience. 'Charlie' proceeded to dress her up to look like Jackie Coogan's character from the film 'The Kid.' He started out by giving her a pair of black shorts connected to suspenders. The shorts hung just above her ankles. He then gave her an oversized black t-shirt that draped almost to her knees. To top it all off, he placed on her head one of those old-fashioned black hats that old men sometimes wear. To say she looked adorable would be an understatement. No doubt that child got photographed more that night than almost any celebrity might have done. It was even cuter because she maintained the deadpan look the entire time almost teetering on tears at times (she was only 4 and separated from her family after all).
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