The Dayton Diaries

Posted 01:48 by Rich
Friday night went to regular Kettering haunt El Mason with Dr Matthews (Kettering President) and a group. Very pleasant. evening. Saturday I worked on my theology essay and other work. Later we went to Yellow Springs in the afternoon. After wandering the town centre we went to Amy's for dinner. I was rapt to meet someone who'd been to NZ and someone else who knew NZ from the piano and not just Lord of the Rings. Catalina and i then headed to downtown dayton for some night life. We ended up at Have a nice Day Cafe. Sure have a nice day but going to their night club won't guarentee a nice night out. The only good thing was peeny drinks for ladies

Fairmont Presbyterian on Sunday I did some shopping and headed out to Miamisburg and climbed the Mound at mound park. later i went to Bend it Like Beckham, which has only just made it here and is relegated to the arthouse, foreign film circuit. It is n't doing very well. New Zealand does very well - especially Wellington, despite our arthouse cinemas showing mainstream films as well (thanks Tim ;-) for that analysis). Now preparing for a week in D.C.

Posted 07:48 by Rich
ANZAC Day (April 25) was not forgotten here, although I had to work another NZ holiday. I made ANZAC biscuits for everyone at KF and was clear with everyone here that they are not cookies! I described the day as a time when "New Zealanders (who are in New Zealand and not Dayton) get the day off work to remember war and peace, soldiers and especially our defeat at Gallipoli in Turkey in World War One." I also provided these links:

For more information about ANZAC Day see:
www.nzhistory.net.nz/Gallery/Anzac/Anzac.htm
www.rsa.org.nz/remem/anzac_intro.html
In the news:
www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,2427654a10,00.html
The recipe for ANZAC biscuits:
www.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/cookfly.cgi?recipe.miscell.3

On the 23rd had my first visit to the Dayton Art Institute for an event hosted by the Dayton Council on World Affairs. There was wine and cheese followed by two leactures on the history and art and cculture of the Silk Road. Very interesting stuff. Also interesting is that the USA is playing an increasinf role on the silk road iraq and afganhistin are both on the silk Road. The Black Death also arrived in Europe via these trade Routes - which extended by land and sea as far as Rome, China and India.

Posted 08:35 by Rich
Found this great dictionary online: NZ English to US English. That doesn't, however, help me understand them.

Posted 04:29 by Rich
I worked for the First Good Friday ever. People here asked what plans I had for Easter, just like they do in New Zealand, even though it was treated just like a normal weekend. Friday night I had after work drinks at the Thirsty Dog with co-worker Anne. Sat I went to Cincinnati for the afternoon with Catalina and her mother, who had last visited in the 1970s. Things have changed a lot since then. We headed for Sawyer Point for Earth Day celebrations. There is another earth day too - see EARTH DAY IS NOT APRIL 22. For sports fans things have changed since I last visited in 2001, since there is a new baseball stadium there now. Sunday was rather mundane. Attended Epiphany Lutheran Church and went to work to catch up on things.

Last night went to the Neon to see Blood Simple? as part of their Coen brothers retrosepctive. It was great.

Posted 00:56 by Rich
Just back from a trip to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Cedar Rapids, like many small cities has tried to make a claim to fame. It's motto is the the "City of Five Seasons" - the fifth being "a time to enjoy". It is the only city in the world with their City Offices on an island (in the middle of the Cedar River). They like Dayton and Kitty Hawk also have a Wright Brothers connection. The visitor guide states "The global regonition of the 100th anniversay of powered flight presents an outstanding opportunity to shine a spotlight on Cedar Rapids. We are proud to have had the Wright brothers linving in Cedar Rapids at the time they received from a toy, their inspiration to fly." They are quite serious! Their real claim to fame is that Grant Wood is from Cedar Rapids. He painted the "second most regnoised painting in the world" - American Gothic. This is held in Chiacgo but other of this works are on display in the Museum of Art. Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins) is also from Cedar Rapids. So now we have both visited each others home city. But Cedar Rapids is also the kind of place where if you shot a cannon down the main street and hit anyone, you'd be doing them a favour. The taxis there reflect the size and poverty of the town. The cars were really old, probably 20 or 30 years old. Cos the town is small there aren't the big fares to make any good money.

We visited the Art Museum, which remided me of the Dowse in Lower Hutt. After leaving we noticed several trees in the park opposite with yellow ribbons tied to them - just like in the old song 'Tie a Yellow Ribbon Around the Old Oak Tree'. Apparebtly this yellow ribbon campaign is about lost held prisoner or missing in action, which started during the Iran hostage crisis. it has been revived with the war in Iraq. Check out Operation Just Cause.

Catalina and I were in Cedar Rapids for a Public Policy Institute, learnng how to moderate National Issues Forums. The programme was great and we learnt a lot. The people in Iowa and really nice and friendly. They were also a good left wing group. One guy with a sense of humor, said "i don't hw the government will pay for x if we don't get a tax cut."

Catalina and I had a great dinner at Biaggi's Ristorante Italiano. The food was superb and service among the best I've experienced in the USA.Saturday we completed the workshop and visited the Cedar Rapids libary to check our email before heading to the airport.

While Catalina went directly back to Dayton, I stayed on in Chicago for two nights to meet up with Tina, a friend of mine. That night I was really tired so we just went around the corner to TGI Fridays and had some beers and snacks.

On Sunday we started with the Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues. With 8 locations and a hotel they have the largest collection of folk art in the world. The food was extensive and I was surpised they made us all custom omlettes. The show wasn't that long but it was quite a spectacle. Then we headed on the train out to the Chicago Cubs play the Pittsburgh Pirates game at the historic Wrigley Field baseball ground. The Cubs won 4-3, in a slow game that didn't feature any home runs. Slower than cricket? Maybe. The game also made me reflect on how many baseball metapshors Ameicans use ("out of left field"), while we use Cricket ones ("hit for six"). I was interested that they not only sang the National Anthem before the game but also "God Bless America".

That night went to see Oscar winner The Pianist, the latest in the Holocuast survival genre. While these films remind us off what should NEVER be forgotten, I felt that this one didn't really add anything new to what had gone before. We followed the movie with pizza from Giordanos. While standing on the street corner outside the restaurant. A middle-aged guy came striding across the street and started talking to us. He had been harassed by a kid on the other side. As he left our company he remarked, "I went to Vietnam, but I'm afraid of the big city."

Monday I shopped the magnificant mile. For a while it looked like I would return with books, even though I sought clothes. I bought Fareed Zakaria's The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad. Also picked up some pants at Eddie Bauer and CDs at Virgin. Then I met up with Tina and we headed West to the suburb of Oak Park, to see the former home and studio of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Oak Park contains many of t=his famous work including the Unity Temple. Dropped into a wonderful gift shop The Paper Source. Then was back to downtown on the L (that's 'L' for elevated train) and off to O'Hare for the flight back to Dayton. Witing for me there were 3 women, Natalia, Catalina and her mother, Maria Victoria (just arrived from Colombia), a much more attractive welcome party than the guys from Southern Hills Transportation.

Posted 12:18 by Rich

Research Trip #2

Destination: Las Vegas
Trippers: Me and Catalina
Profound Trip Saying: "This place looks different in the day time"
Preparation: Watching Vegas Vacation
Gambling Losses: $3.25
Vegas Extras: Photos and Movies!

Wednesday

We left Dayton at the end of the working day (16:30) and were taken to the airport by Southern Hills Transportation. A quick trip to Chicago for our connection, which we nearly missed due to leaving Dayton late. Then on to Las Vegas. We picked up our rental car from Dollar Rental, a white Sebring convertible and tried to follow our instructions from the internet to get out of town and head for the desert of Arizona. After a few false starts we finally headed in the right direction and left the dazzling lights of Las Vegas behind for the eeriness of the desert. First stop was the security check point at the Hoover Dam. Security was increased after 9-11 and with the war going on it is tightened still. We were waved down and told that we were the 10th car in their "random" checks - didn't sound too random to me. We had to remove our bags and open them and show them under the bonnet, which isn't easy on a rented car in the dark. Catalina charmed one of the cops by speaking Spanish and we were on our way.

The Hoover Dam is impressive, even at night. We didn't stop and headed southeast into the desert. We found a Motel 6 in Kingman and bedded down for the night. It was great to get some miles behind us on our 24 hours venture to the Grand Canyon.

Thursday

Up too early given the late arrival, but made good time and went to a diner on Route 66 (the classic route from Chicago to Southern California). The diner, DZ's was a classic American diner with all the trimmings, which is to say that is it is classic remake of the classic american diner, which is the new classical representation. Headed along the interstate to the South Rim of the grand canyon. The canyon is very impressive but there is no one way to fully capture the immensity of the experience. To do that one would need to walk in, raft the river, fly over it and stand on the rim. Still, a few views from the side made a good impression. It was a shame there was so much cloud cover as the uniform light rendered the canyon shadow-less for much of our time there. it was too cold to have the roof off the car but we did it anyway.

On the way back from the canyon we saw the film at the Imax. It was a strange film. It was a mix of history, new age spiritualism, and typical Imax self indulgence. If only Saddam had been to the grand canyon and been inspired by the awesome spectacle - there might have been peace. We stopped on in Williams and had a malt at The Route 66 Place .Because of the bad radio reception in the desert I was keen to buy a CD and picked up "The Songs of Route 66: Music from the All-American Highway".
We decided to avoid the interstate in favor of Route 66, this being the longest original stretch of "the mother of all roads" left. it was more fun being on a road like that. We stopped and took photos and tried to find the road to the western rim of the Grand Canyon to see the sun set, but time and lack of knowledge were both against us so we enjoyed the sunset from the car as we drove toward Kingman. Stopped at the Hoover Dam on the way back an defied the signs that said no pedestrians after dark and took several photos of the dam at night.

Before dropping the car back at the airport we decided to drive the strip with the top down, even though the temperatures were really too cold for that. So we filled the car with gas, took the roof off, put extra clothing on, turned up the heat and drove toward Las Vegas Boulevard. It was great fun driving a sports car through there with all the lights and people, we were amazed at the lights and sights and traffic. What a crazy place. Car handed back and with our 24 mission complete we checked into the Sahara and rested.

Friday

Buffet for breakfast at the Sahara. The buffet was $6 for all you eat, and by the time you complete the 15 walk through the hotel, casino and Nascar café one can eat a lot. I quickly worked out (but nonetheless was constantly surprised it was universally true) that you can't go between any point in Vegas without passing a slot machine. We raced off to the convention for the first of many session that day. Lunched at the Hilton buffet and headed back for more convention.

It is impossible to walk the strip without having cards and papers thrust into your hand. These are call girls cards and are hilarious. I treated them like trading cards, and soon had enough to start my own distribution point. They are handed out by poor latin americans. The girls will "Come to your room in 20 mins" but since prostitution is illegal within city limits they will only strip and dance. Yeah Right!!. After wandering the strip we dined atThe Venetian then walked to the Rio to see the show Showgirls. This topless revue traces the history of showgirls over 100 years, providing a good excuse for glamorous costumes and a range of dancing and music. Cab back to base.

Saturday

Up mid morning and took the bus to downtown Las Vegas. We stayed pretty much on Fremont Street. Failing to find anywhere else we had brunch at yet another casino buffet, which was cheap and average food like them all. Then we saw some entertainment and shopped a little for souvenirs before getting the bus back to the strip for a short walk back to the convention.

Snacked at the Rivera and then wandered back to the Sahara for a much needed nap. We caught the trolley, which after taking a very non-direct route, dropped us at the to New York. we had a drink there and then wandered over the road, through the Excalibur. We met a guy offering to put our faces onto better bodies and sell us the resulting photos. He was pure fool. He asked me "So, where in England are you from?" When I said I was from NZ he replied, "Same accent though". Then he said that NZers were sensible to leave Australia and set up a new country. What an idiot. Catalina didn't like how her face looked on a playboy model so we left it there. Then it underground to the Luxor for dinner. This is one amazing place. A black pyramid with all kinds of Egyptian stuff inside with a sphinx guarding the entrance. I wanted to ride the elevator, which goes on an angle - like a cable car, but one needs a hotel key to pass security. The queue for the Ra nightclub was too long so we headed for the queue at Studio 54 instead. We have found the music in American nite clubs to be bad. We can't dance to rap. i wonder if the music isn't a trade-off between black and white music meaning it becomes unappealing to both ethnic groups. A late night combined with the shift to daylight savings meant a 4am finish.

Sunday

Lunched at the Paris and then off to the final sessions of the convention. We picked bundles of literature and jumped into a taxi and headed out to the Liberace museum. On the way the cab driver told us that the night before he had two passengers who had eaten at Planet Hollywood. They were served by the owner, who comes to town occasionally to check on his restaurants and takes part in the running of things when here, including serving guests. The owner? Arnold Schwarzenegger. My guide book was incorrect and we got to the Museum as they were closing. This wasn't a bad thing as it happened as there ain't much to see and they let us whip through for free, since we'd come a long way across town. Catalina said that Liberace was Las Vegas personified - quite right. Then it was back to the hotel to drop off our gear, including far too many publications from the convention. The NAB convention (to which ours was related has 130,000 people). Las Vegas has 35 million visitors a year (around 96,000 a day!).

After the museum we headed back to the hotel and dropped off our stuff. We then bused to the fountains at the Bellagio. Had the most expensive ice-cream ever inside and didn't see the Andy Warhol exhibition. I enjoyed the walk through their pools and gardens, partly cos we weren't meant to be in that part of the resort. As it was nearly dusk we went up the Eiffel Tower at Paris, Las Vegas. The tower is half the size of the one in Paris, and they boast it is a true replica, even down to the paint hue and rivets, shame the staff bastardize the French language so badly. Still it was fab view. Again we went at dusk to see the sunset and the light of the strip below come to life. After descending the tower we saw some live music in the Paris bar. Catalina wanted a tower cocktail, which is served in a plastic tower. Then after we'd started that she decided she preferred the ceramic balloon vessel and so we bought one of those as well. They we too large to finish and we even carried them into the restaurant in the Aladdin for dinner. We then bought some fridge magnets of Vegas. I wondered how many people visit Vegas and don't think up their own theme casino. Here are some I thought of:

1. Lord of the Rings - With a nightclub called Helms Deep
2. The Monster Truck Casino
3. Taj Mahal - with live elephants
4. Mt Fuji - with Godzilla standing guard

We raced along the strip to see the pirate battle at Treasure Island. But the guide book was once again unreliable and we missed the last show. Bugger. Got a taxi back to the Sahara and packed for our departure the next morning.

Monday

Back to Dayton today. Wake up call at 4am for taxi to airport. Had a window seat on the way back, so i got some photos of Las Vegas out of the window. Otherwise it was a boring uneventful flights but great scenery out window, including many mountains and snow along the way. Surely they could put slot machines on the back of airplane seats!

Posted 07:30 by Rich
Got my new cards today - which have so little information on them they'll work until I change my name or email address. They were free from vistaprint. Had a great lunch at Armando's Italian Market.

Posted 03:38 by Rich
I leave today for Las Vegas for the Broadcast Education Association convention. Before that starts I'll be heading for the Grand Canyon in a convertible. Mum sent her diary over, very interesting in that she headed up her entry for 8 November 1990 "President bush to send more troops to Middle East". As I write the invasion of Iraq continues.

Posted 02:22 by Rich
Another busy weekend. Saturday went to the mall and bought some clothes at Lazarus. The afternoon was movies at the arthouse Neon cinema to see El Crimen del Padre Amaro. Dancing plans were cancelled cos Melissa was so slow at packing. Catalina and I went there to watch her and boyfirend Alfredo pack.

Sunday had brunch in Lebanon, just south of Dayton. Then we went to Jungle Jim's International Food Market . I spent too much money but picked such delicacies as Minties, Vegemite, Organic manuka honey, english marmalde, Arnott's mint slices, Bundaberg Ginger beer, Hob nobs and some other great stuff. Wne t bowling. Won two out of three games and manged to break 100 twice - I'm crap at bowling!.