Meet Me on Lake Erie, Dearie!

Magnet #1117 - Cleveland, OH World's Fair

Never been to Cleveland. At least, not when I was old enough to remember it. Which is probably why, until the National Building Museum's Designing Tomorrow world's fair exhibit, I never even knew that they had even had a World's Fair there back in the 1930s.

And yet, here it is, the 135-acre Great Lakes Exhibition of 1936. All that's left is Cleveland's Great Lakes Science Center, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Burke Lakefront Airport. Pretty cool aerial shot, no? At the time Cleveland was the sixth largest city in America (another fact I hadn't a clue about), and the world's fair - like most of the 30s, was an attempt to revitalize cities hard-hit by the Depression.

Wanted to use a Midwest magnet, because I had my first culture clash with the kid from the Midwest a couple of days ago. We were setting up our pavilion for all of our partners, and needed some cleaning supplies. Kansas City dude went out to Target, armed with a list that included paper towels, with a note that said, lots and lots - the big kind.

I've grown to used to New York. To me, that means a three-, maybe four-pack of paper towels. When he came back? He was struggling to carry the fifteen, extra large roll bulk pack! I'm like, dude!

And he goes, you said get the big one! This is big!

Well, can't argue with that, I suppose.

But, what IS it?

Magnet #1103 - Henry Moore's Large Art

I love public art. There's something funny about seeing people in public spaces around town - any town - walking around sculptures or other works of art, and trying to figure out what they're looking at.

More than in an art gallery, people tend to walk around the piece, inspecting it from top to bottom, presumably because it's out of its element, just sitting in whatever public space it's been allotted. It demands attention.

But what is it? Why is it there? Who approved it? Why did they approve this art? I mean, let's face it, when it comes to the public at large, governments, corporations and schools tend to err on the side of conservatism - art that doesn't necessarily challenge anyone to think beyond what they're looking at. In the end, it's the audience that makes that final determination between conservative and controversial. Eye of the beholder, indeed.

Whatever the piece is, or how people feel about it, it sparks conversation, and that's the part I love. Take this Large Arch in Columbus, OH, created by English sculptor Henry Moore. I.M. Pei designed the library it sits in front of - in fact, Pei suggested Moore for the library plaza space.

Moore intended for it to be something that people could walk in and around - he was influenced by nature and Stonehenge. That name Large Arch is no joke, either - it's 20 feet tall and 12 feet wide. He designed it in England, but it was actually built and pieced together in Germany and shipped over as one huge piece that weighs as much as an elephant.

Moore called it an arch. A large one. But what is it? What did he mean? Is it a gateway to the future? It stands between a library and a church, is it the gateway between knowledge and faith? Or is it just a giant opening for people to walk through?

One thing's for sure, in person, it's huge. One might even call it...large. Of course, I saw it only from the slow-moving car, a victim of our family's customary drive-by tourism habits.

Speaking of, in my own customary miss-something-by-thismuch, I missed the first Salisbury Sculpture Show, where they had 13 pieces from 14 artists installed in various places around town. I mean, I missed it by like weeks, man! From what I gather, there were some interesting pieces dotting our landscape.

I'll be around to see the second Salisbury Sculpture Show happening later this month.

When that happens, ya'll can drive by and watch me, walking around each piece...trying to figure out what the heck it is.

Ya gotta love The Nati

Magnet #349 - Cincinnati

Apparently, I have to visit Cincinnati.

Who knew there was a boatload of fun stuff to do there? I mean, the only reason I even have this magnet is because someone did a focus group there!

First, if you visit their superadorable travel site (dudes, just the seasonal icons alone are reason enough to go), you'll see a big pic of The Nati. Ummm, it totally reminds me of Pittsburgh...which is probably why I will love Cincinnati. I think it's the bridges. And speaking of...

Second. They have this thing called the Purple People Bridge! It's a bridge that spans a river connecting two states - it's supposedly the longest one of its kind. On one side you're in Ohio, and the other, you're in Kentucky. Cool! Also, c'mon. It's purple. Hmmm. I wonder if there are any Purple People Eaters on the bridge. I wonder if that song's playing when you walk across it.

Third. You can go to the Hofbrauhaus and pretend you're at Busch Gardens (according to Jenny).

Fourth and also according to Jenny (who really should have just written this post), there's a 62-feet-tall Butter Jesus. OMG. Literally. (BTW, this totally reminds me of when my friend met French chocolatier Jacques Torres, and was a little unnerved when he asked her if she tried his "boddee buuddah.")

Oh, I'm sure I'm missing a million things to do in Cincinnati - I didn't even include the cool train station they converted into a museum, their art museum, the Underground Railroad museum. Good grief.

I guess this just means I need to watch the flight deals out there, cuz it looks like you could probably do a long weekend, and not even hit half the things you'd need to see there!

My problem is trying to spell the darn thing. There's a lot of Ns and Is and Cs in that there city name. No worries, we'll talk about that later.

When I use my other Cincinnati magnet.