Sometime ago, I blogged about the famous and infamous celebrities who have gone through the seemingly revolving casting door of the musical Chicago.  Well, you can add one more: sleaze television king Jerry Springer.  This month, the lawyer-turned Cincinnati mayor-turned talk show host-turned Dancing with the Stars (yes?) contestant wrapped his six week stint on the London West End as ethically elastic lawyer Billy Flynn.  I suppose the acting would not be a far stretch from his days as a real lawyer and questionable politician.  He is well known for his flamboyant, quick talking, flim flam personality.  However, singing?  Never had the pleasure of hearing him so I can’t judge (let me see if he has made the you tube rounds).  Here he is performing “All I Care About” at a performance of selected songs at a Leicester Square park.  You just have to forward past the opening “All That Jazz.” Personally, I would rather watch the first number but that is not what this post is about.

Well at least he and David Hasselhoff have something else in common.  Jer-eee was the host of America’s Got Talent and the Hoff is one of the judges.  And as some will recall, the Burger King aficianado played the roles of Jekyll and Hyde on Broadway.  Wonder if ol’ Dave is going to put on the tux.  Springer says that he is going to be joining the Broadway cast until he returns to the Windy City for the talk show.  However, the producers of the New York show have no knowledge of this.

A few blog posts ago, I made a plea to save Ohio libraries because the governor was proposing a budget plan that included a major cut in library funding.  The vote went through the state legislature, and the budget was re-worked in such a way that the libraries received less than half of the budget cut that was originally proposed, so YAY!  Our voices were heard!  In this economic crisis, it is understandable that funding is going to be cut on certain community resources, so let’s hope that our libraries can figure out a way to continue their many services without changing too much in light of these cuts.  I received an email back from one of the congressmen, so I thought I’d share it below.  Not that the letter was written personally for me, but it’s nice to have my efforts acknowledged.  Hopefully my friends who work for the state can keep their jobs in light of the budget re-working!

Today would have been my wife’s 47th birthday. She never got to celebrate any birthday past her 41st. In the past I’ve bought coffee for everyone that entered our favorite coffee shop. That little place closed many years ago, and that ‘tradition’ has ended.

A new tradition started that first birthday she did not get to celebrate. I took my available daughters to a Mexican restaurant. Mexican food was always her favorite, and would be the request if we went out to dinner on her birthday. So what family I can get together, celebrates the day with a little Mexican cuisine.

Today it was my two youngest daughters and newest son-in-law. It saddens me a bit that the two youngest son-in-laws never met their brides’ mother. From what has been said, my first son-in-law liked her. I’m a bit biased, but I thought she was special.

After lunch today we celebrated the first birthday of a very special young man. Check other Tangents blogs for more information on this.

All in all a very relaxing day.

Apparently, there was some type of gremlin caught up in the works of our happy little site but I see that it has  been irradicated.  The past two has has been a relatively busy one in our small little neck of the woods.  Friday and Saturday was our town wide garage sale in which over 60 homes participated.  Quite remarkable considering the size of the town.  Not only did residents of the community but businesses also came out and put some of their products on display.  The local, weekly newspaper gave out homemade ice cream… well, they accepted a free will donation.  The grocery had a Produce Tent Sale.  It was called Tent Sale but nowhere did I see a tent only a bunch of displays full of watermelon, cantaloupe, peaches, nectarines, lemons, green peppers, and other goodies.  We also had a hot dog, chip, and soda/water for $1.  I was lucky enough to man the sale for an hour Friday afternoon (would have enjoyed spending more but I was only covering for a break).  But, of course, who had to haul in the pallets at the end of the day?

But once again, I had a Saturday to myself so I took my nephew and a “tag-a-long” (his words, not mine) to see Harry Potter.  We left with 15 minutes before show time and thinking ahead decided to go the back route to save time.  However, I had forgotten that the 3 mile bridge (or a small section of 576) is closed for the next week or so.  In any event, we were about 5 minutes late for the movie and had to sit in the next to front row.  Joshua enjoyed the movie… our companion did not think so highly of it although he has assured me that he has read all the books and seen the previous 5 movies.  He thought it was a waste of time and he is going to see it on IMAX next week?!

Before returning home, I needed to stop by my old stomping grounds and pick up a present.  While there, our 18 year-old friend decided that he wanted to buy something that he has always wanted: a cap gun.  He was like a kid in a candy store.  Cap guns have changed since I last had one.  They used to operate on straps of paper.  Today, they use rounds of small plastic pellets.  Nate was occupied quite well on the 12 mile trip back to E-town.

All in all, a pretty fun few days.  Made even more so by a pair of Yankee victories (sorry, justj) and a Red Sox loss.  STILL 2 behind the Stockings!

While in the process of changing from his garb as “Clark Kent, a mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper” the Man of Steel was abducted from a red 1940s London-style phone booth.  Apparently, one of the Last Son of Krypton’s vile enemies discovered his alter ego and tracked him to the town of Steamboat Springs, Colorado.  I take you now to the report filed by The Steamboat Pilot and Today newsman Jack Weinstein:

Steamboat Springs — The Man of Steel is missing.

A mannequin dressed as Superman — complete with blue tights, the familiar “S” logo on the chest and red cape — was reported missing Monday. Superman dutifully greeted customers in front of the My Wireless location at 675 S. Lincoln Ave.

Superman was taken from a locked 1940s London-style red phone booth. It appeared someone had broken the lock with a rock, said Andy Brown, founder of the Steamboat Springs-based Verizon Wireless retailer.

Brown said the Superman mannequin and phone booth were placed outside the store shortly after the company opened its second Steamboat location there, about 1 1/2 years ago. He said it reflects the way My Wireless operates.

“We kind of have a light-hearted approach to everything,” he said. “We want everyone to smile.”

An employee noticed that the 6-foot-tall, 40-pound Super­­man had been taken and reported it missing. Steam­boat Springs Police Depart­ment Capt. Joel Rae said Tuesday that the incident is under investigation.

Aside from some scratched paint to the exterior of the phone booth and a broken light bulb inside, there was no other damage. There was also no damage reported to the store.

Because the store’s first location at 1755 Central Park Drive is open Sundays, the South Lincoln Avenue location is not. Brown said Superman could have been taken anytime after closing Saturday to when the store opened Monday morning.

Brown suspects the incident was just a prank and doesn’t want anyone to get in trouble. But for a prank to be a prank, he said, Superman would have to be returned.

“Hopefully someone will get their jollies in and bring it back,” he said.

My Wireless is offering a $100 store credit, free cell phone upgrade or accessories for the safe return of Superman, Brown said.

Which of Superman’s dastardly villains perpetrated such an act of villainy and who will follow the clues to his whereabouts.  Could it be the evil Metallo, the trickster Mr. Myxyzptlk, the sinister Darkseid, or perhaps the “greatest criminal mind of our age”: Lex Luthor.  Only time will tell.  Curse you evil doers!

Sometimes I can be a real jerk — very stubborn and closed-minded.  I have a “chronic” back ache below my left shoulder and decided it was time to persue some relief.  As my friends know, I am not huge into medicine and doctors…  So, I decided to give Massage Therapy ad try.

A couple of years ago I gave Lisa a gift that included a 1-hour massage session and she seemed to enjoy it and benefit from the experience.  I have never really, until now, decided to give it a try myself.  But yesterday seemed like the right day to give it a go.

My appointment was for 3:45PM and at 2PM or so I started to get a bit anxious about it — strongly considering cancelling but compelled by my pain to follow-through.  So, I told myself to get over my fear of the upcoming experience and “Just Do It” — Nike style.

Lisa and I got the diaper bag ready and headed out to the Chiropractic clinic where the massage theripist works.  When we arrived I was asked to fill out some paperwork — which included asking for my personal info (name, address, etc) along with some “medical” questions…  Was I tired, stressed…  Did I suffer from any diagnosed diseases, etc…  I filled it out and waited (with Lisa and Beeber) for a little bit when the lady came out and said she was ready for me.  Ugh…  I instantly had the feeling of regret.  Now, I know a theraputic massage for most people would be a relaxing experience they would look forward to — but for me, this was the same as being called into the dentists chair.  I was really having strong second (or third) thoughts.

So, I follow the lady back into a dimly lit room.  In the room was a massage table, some candles and oils, and a clock-radio which was playing some “relaxing” music.  There was also what I would call a “Chinese Curtian”…  Nothing Chinese about it really, just a little area to change.  The massuse (is that spelled right?) told me to go behind the curtain and remove my clothing down to my underwear.  umm…

Clearly she saw the expression on my face and added “you can kee your shorts on if you’re more comfortable”.  I took a second and told her “I really prefer leave everything on”.  She seemed a bit thrown by the request (this can’t be the first time someone wanted to leave their shirt on!?) and said that I can do whatever I am comfortable with but that some of the massage uses oils/lotions and that it would be harder for her to feel the muscle strain and work the muscles with my shirt (actually shirts) on.  I said that I would be ok — not a big fan of oily stuff being rubbed into my skin anyhow.

After a little discussion of my pain I laid face-down in the massage table and the massage began.  She started massaging my shoulders and immediately asked “are you wearing another shirt under this shirt?” (which I thought was obvious)…  I told her I was and she expressed that it was going to be very difficult to give a good massage through two shirts because they would keep moving.  Me, getting more anxious, just stated “oh, ok”…  I wasn’t about to remove any shirts — I had intentionally put the 2nd shirt on as it is kind-of a security blanket for me.

Anyway, I glanced at the clock at this time and it was 3:47 – about 1 minute since the start of the massage.  The massuse (seriously — is that right!?) suggested I keep my head down and relax — relax my arms, etc.  She began to massage me again — my shoulders, my upper back…  As this point it seemed like I was in there FOREVER and I started to get worried about Lisa and the Beebs.  Were they ok in the waiting room?  Was he driving mommy crazy — gettting into everything?  I looked at the clock 3:49…  Ugh.  Only two minutes had gone by and I was really ready to get out of there!

She continued…  I was a bit amazed when she finds a point on my back and says “this muscle is really tight” — yes, she was RIGHT on the spot of my pain.  She started massaging the area below my left shoulder and it did feel like the pain was being “worked-out”.  I looked again at the clock… 3:50.  ONE MINUTE!  Time has stopped!

She once again very nicely reminded me that picking up my head to look at the clock is putting stress on my neck and that I should focus on relaxing.  At this point I felt the need to get up and stretch.  She says ok and I get up — ugh, 3:51…  At this point I tell her “I’m good” and she looks a bit puzzled.  I tell her I’ve had enough and am ready to go.  She says she will not charge me for the full 30-minutes because “You only had about 5 minutes of massage”.

I felt badly and told her I didn’t mind paying full since it was my choice — she just gave me a total (much discounted) and we were done.  Yea!

Here is the “I’m a jerk” part…  I didn’t really think about it at the time, but she is a Massage Theripist.  Being her career, I am sure that she, like everyone else, likes to feel/know that they did a good job.  I think I should have at least said something to let her know that it was just my personal issues — I am sure she was a fine MT.

I imagine it was like someone leaving in the middle of your show and that never feels good.  Once again, Lisa was right.  She KNEW I was going to have a problem and not want to take my shirt off and then not be able to relax for a massage.  She pleaded with me before the massage to go with what I was told and not to “act like yourself”.  Like the time the doctor told me to take the stress test and I said “I am NOT drinking a radioactive solution – sorry!”.  Anyhow…  So, I feel a bit badly about the whole thing.  Not to mention that my back still hurts — and, when I thought about it in hindsight (dang hindsight!) the massage was actually helping the pain.  Ugh!   I wish I wasn’t such a jerk some times.

But at least I made another blog post.  That is like 3 in a month — a record for me I am sure.

P.S.  Thank you Lisa for putting up with all my “quirks”.  I love you sooo much!

If you’ve read my first two blog posts about our trip to King’s Island, then you know that I’ve rambled and chronicled, and now I’m blue in the face and ready to move on.  I would like to rate most of their rides though for those who are curious and/or contemplating a visit to the theme park.  Somewhere there is a Discovery Channel show about the 10 Most Extreme Roller Coasters I’d like to see – I hear King’s Island has 3 or more on the list!  Going to hope that it’s on youtube…  If you haven’t read my previous post, here is my ride experience scale: 1♦ = not so good, while 5 ♦ = awesome!

The Racer – 3♦.  A wooden racing roller coaster that doesn’t really race.  According to our guide, people on the different racing trains would trash-talk each other so much that they built a wall to separate the two train colors.  When we rode, the first time the blue train was not operating, and the second time, the trains did not go at the same time.  Still a fun wooden coaster though!

Flight Deck – 1♦.  Formerly called Top Gun, but whatever you call it, we did not like it.  It’s a roller coaster whose car is suspended from the track above the car, which basically amounted to a lot of swinging.  Ok for me, not my favorite, but it made my husband sick.

Vortex – ¼♦ – This one only gets a quarter star to put it on the map –  my map key didn’t exactly contain a zero, so let’s give it a quarter star just because it’s a coaster.  But otherwise, yuck.  Jerky, but without any real thrills.  Reminds me of the Shockwave they used to have at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee Illinois.  Funny how I used to ride that over and over, especially near park closing when it would empty out.  We would just stay on Shockwave until they kicked us off!  But as an adult, the ride type doesn’t work for me.

Invertigo –  3♦.  I need to go back on this one when it isn’t lunch time!  I think the Flight Deck/Invertigo/haven’t had lunch yet combo did me in as I  felt a bit queasy after this one.  Basically, you go up and through a loop, and do the same thing backwards.  The cool thing about this one is that you face other riders, which I actually don’t know if that’s a cool thing or not – our guide recommended we try sitting on either the front or back of this one so we didn’t have to face strangers on the coaster.  I did enjoy how this one whizzed through the station though, and like I said, I will have to try it again on a full stomach.

Sponge Bob 3D Ride – 4½♦.  I really liked this one!  A lot of fun, and much more movement than its counterpart at Universal  Studios, the Jimmy Neutron ride.  It’s a 3D Sponge Bob movie where the seats move as you move about Sponge Bob’s world.  The scenery is great, and not only is it 3D, but the rider actually gets to move along with the movie.  As a bonus, the movie is very funny, and I loved the story!

Whitewater Canyon – 4½♦.  You know the type – a large round boat makes it way down a “river”, complete with rapids, drops, and waterfalls.  I always love this type of ride and much of the fun is riding it with your friends or even  strangers trying to see who is going to get the most wet!  The day we went, it was an unseasonal 70°, and getting wet wasn’t quite as enjoyable as usual.  This is actually one of the smaller versions of this type of ride that I’ve been on, and the boat seated 6 people instead of the usual 8, 10, or 12 as I’ve seen before.  But this version has an added element of fun – friends, family, and people who have ridden the ride can take revenge on riders by putting in a quarter for a chance to launch a water cannon at passing boats.  This part is lots of fun, although they need to get the change machine working so more people can squirt!  We went on with some kids who didn’t get wet enough in their opinion, so they rode again while we kept watch at the water cannons and succeeded in getting them SOAKED!

Backlot Stunt Coaster – 2♦.  Lameness.  But remember, I’m used to Universal Studios since we try to trek to Orlando yearly.  This has nothing on Universal.  But I suppose for younger kids, it could instill a feeling of bravery as they race past exploding police cars.  It goes kind of fast up a winding track, which is kind of different, but other than that, the excitement kind of fizzled, and the ride isn’t all that long.  The brightly colored cars you ride in are super-cute, but does that really matter?

Adventure Express – 1¾♦.  This is also kind of lame, which is alright, not every coaster has to be top thrill.  But this one is like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disney, but that is bigger and faster.  Adventure Express was going alright until the rider finds himself in a climatic tunnel, climbing a lift past moving robots and everything.  Then when you reach the top – nothing.  Nada.  Literally – the ride ends here.  What the ?

Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle – 4½♦.  You ride through scenes of Scooby Doo trying to shoot the bad guys with a laser gun attached to your car – cool!  Even better, I actually beat my husband on this one!  This ride is a lot like Buzz Lightyear at Disney, and I can never even get close to Hubby’s score on that one.  He must have had an off-ride though, cuz the second time we rode he beat me silly again.  Oh well, this ride is awesomely themed.  They remembered quite a few of the bad guys from the old Scooby Doo tv show, and there were sound bites galore.  The castle looks awesome from the outside,  and we even drove a Mystery Machine:

Other fun rides at this park that deserve at least an honorable mention are the railroad (just a standard train ride, but oh-so-relaxing after a huge day of coaster riding!), the Wild Thornberry’s River Adventure (kind of a lame log-flume type ride, but still lots of fun), the Eiffel tower (we didn’t ride it, but it was gorgeous to look at), and Dodgem (plain ole bumper cars, but when is the last time hubby and I got to ride ‘n bump kid-free?  I don’t even remember!).  Because we splurged and got the guided tour, we even had time to catch some shows – an ice show and an 80’s review.  The ice skaters were pretty good; especially one guy who even did a triple axle!  The 80’s show was fun, even though many of the performers were incapable of both singing and dancing at the same time.  There was a special  Michael Jackson tribute, even though he had passed away only a week before our visit.  But there were afros, mullets, big bangs, leg warmers, bright colors, even giant Rubik’s cubes, and it was fun to sing along to the rockin’ 80’s tunes.  One did get the feeling however, that not one member of the show had any idea of what the ’80’s was actually like…

So there you have it.  I’ve reviewed and rated the rides I rode and found worth a mention.  If you are thinking of visiting, you should know that King’s Island also has a huge kids area, and many more rides I didn’t mention.  We tried to stay away from any rides with a lot of spinning or anything that looked too crazy (especially this one called Delirium):

It looked a little too crazy/dizzy for me; maybe if you go to King’s Island, you can try it and let me know what it’s like in the comments!

Last night at around 11:00pm, I took my daughter to see the latest “Harry Potter” movie. No this is not a review (I found I don’t get that much out of 12:00am showings), more a reaction to the early morning movie experience.

This is the third late night movie I’ve seen in the past 5 years. I can’t remember going to any before that time. (Ok, I can remember going to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show late at night, but I was much younger then and it started before midnight.)

I find it interesting that so many people will come out in the wee hours to watch movies. This was in the middle of the week, and our small little theater sold out two of their screens. I’m sure if they had another copy of the film, they would have filled all three screens. Some turnout.

There were people in costumes of course. You had your witches and wizards in their ‘normal’ costumes. Wizards and witches trying to dress like ‘muggles’ (if you don’t know what that is, you are one). And even people in pajamas. They were all out to have a good time.

A little over 2.5 hours after midnight, the movie ended. The crowd made their way to the exit. Some half asleep, some excitedly discussing the show. Why did they do it this way? What were they thinking? Not enough. Too much. All differing opinions, but many excited folks. Me, I was tired. I failed to arrange the day off, so I knew I was going to have to be up and on my way in less than 3 hours. Hmmm, not much sleep. I’m sure there were others in the same boat.

Review when I see it again, and I probably will. I promised the youngest she could take a friend or two to the movies. I have a feeling this is what they will see.
I was just wondering, what kind of show would we have to put on to draw crowds like this? A wonderful thing to completely sell out. I’m not sure there is a stage show that would pull in that type of crowd. Fun to imagine.

I have been eagerly anticipating the premier of the newest Harry Potter film.  It was SUPPOSED  to be released last holiday season but for whatever the reason (most likely Daniel Radcliffe’s Broadway debut in a play about a boy and his horse… anyone for charades 😉 was postponed until today.  Last week when I learned that the movie would be showing at midnight at the nearest cinema I could find, I KNEW I would be there.  Sunday night, I asked Megan if she would like to come…Kwel she said.

So, I headed over and went to see what time the doors opened.  11.30 so we still had 45 minutes to get there.  There were about five young’uns in line so no big deal.  We left Megan’s about 11.20. The doors were open and the two screening rooms were nearly full.  When we found two seats, we were surrounded by some fellow thespians who seemed to be dressed to watch The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Before the movie began, I saw wands brandished with shouts of “Wingardium Leviosa,” “Viewus Potterius,” and other such whimsies.  FINALLY, 10 minutes  after it was supposed to begin, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince rolled.  I will not divulge too much only to say that the movie did not disappoint one bit!  Even the 2.5 hour length flew by.  I happened to glance at my watch and it read 2:15 (NO WAY).  Magical action, lots of humor, teenage angst aided by various love potions,  a few tears (especially if you are only acquainted with the movies and have not yet read the books), and QUIDDITCH (no matter how limited) helped make the young wizard and company’s return to the screen well worth the wait.  I have not read the sixth Potter novel in some time so I was surprised to find myself surprised by a few things I had forgotten… I Like that!  There was one scene in particular in which I knew something exciting was going to happen.  I kept waiting, and waiting.  I whispered to Megan: “Don’t jump.”  I let my guard down for  a millisecond and all of a sudden… “WHAM!”  I JUMPED! I love it when a director plays with his audience and at just the right moment gets you.  The adrenaline was palpable.

Like the book, the movie set up perfectly the climax of the series which will be divided into two films.  I don’t know that any singular book has ever been divided into two movies but I will definitely be there when the first half of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows opens.  I just cannot express the wonder and fun that both the books and movies bring.  Lots of fantasy, excitement, fun, the power of friendship and bravery in the face of mortal danger.  Life’s little lessons found in extraordinary places.  If you have never experienced either media form I HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend doing so.  One minor quibble: on the Hogwart’s Express, Harry used something from Fred and George Weasley’s Joke Shop to turn himself invisible.  Did he not use his cloak in the book?  A minor detail.

Although getting to bed after 3AM and going to work from 12-9 made me a bit worn, it was worth every minute of sleep lost! I’m sure others had to be up earlier 😉

Here is a commercial I had not seen until a friend sent it to me in an email forward.  As I was sitting here chuckling over it, my two oldest daughters became curious and came over for a look.  They loved what they saw, and I had to play it 3 more times!  I don’t think it’s in regular circulation yet, but if it is, I haven’t seen it.  Of course, I never watch tv anymore!  Perhaps it’s waiting to be unveiled until the next round of infamous Superbowl commercials?  Enjoy!