Yvette's Inner Geek Blog

Springtime in Seattle

Originally uploaded by innergeek

Ben and I are visiting Seattle for a few days, and I don’t know what people are talking about regarding the cloudy/rainy weather. It was beautiful today! Check out all the photos I took by clicking that link over there on the right.

We arrived Wednesday evening and made our way to the Taphouse Grill downtown for dinner. The food was delicious (I had the coconut curry with rice noodles and tofu; Ben had a salmon burger that didn’t taste “fishy” at all). Unfortunately, we only got to try a few of the 160 beers on tap… Ben liked the Scottish Kilt Lifter beer and I liked the Baron Maibock from my sampler.

We didn’t stay out too late because we had to get up for a 10am Savor Seattle food tour of Pike Place Market.

The food tour was great—we learned a lot about the history of the market as we went through, and were fed lots of yummy samples. Freshly fried mini doughnuts, Market Spice tea, various smoked salmons, chowder (clam and seafood for everyone else, coconut-based vegan for me because of a shellfish allergy), piroshky, muscot grapes, Beecher’s handmade cheese (their gourmet Mac & Cheese is really incredible), chocolate covered cherries, and Etta’s crab cakes (where I had cornbread pudding as an alternate and I think that was my favorite thing on the tour, even though it doesn’t sound like much, ZZOMG it is the best!). The tour guides were fun (normally there would be only one, but Stephanie was training David) and if you visit Seattle in the future, I would recommend starting your trip out with this tour of Pike Place.

As I said before, the day was gorgeous, so we spent a lot of time walking around the market after the tour. The craft stalls had really cool stuff, and we found a small hand-blown blue glass pumpkin that had to come home with us. We mostly made notes of where to go back so that we didn’t spend all of our money at once… though we very easily could have. I fell in love with some sizable forged steel and blown glass lamps by Paul Petersen. They’re a couple hundred dollars each, so I’m not sure we would actually get one at this point. But they are absolutely on my WANT list. I just loved them. The one in the photo here was at least 24 inches tall.

There were (permit-holding) street buskers all over the market and at designated places along the sidewalk who added to the atmosphere of cool. Also, we spotted two women sharing a tender moment on a side street in front of a park. You don’t see that every day in Utah…

After our food tour, there were still several stalls that offered free samples. I really loved the Fireweed Honey at Moon Valley Honey, which Ben thinks would turn into some incredibly yummy handmade meade.  The potato leek soup at La Buona Tavola was good—but even better after an eyedropper of “instant happiness” (aka white truffle oil) was infused into it. We were lured into the store to taste some 12-year-old aged cherry balsamic vinegar, and would have purchased some if it weren’t for the fact that is was $50 a bottle. I was almost ready to become a world-traveling professional balsamic vinegar taster after that. The Savor Seattle tour guide had also told us about one of her favorite wines made from muscot grapes (which, if you’ve never tried them, taste nothing like how you imagine grapes tasting and everything like you imagine ambrosia tasting) that was sold at this shop. The really friendly guy at La Buona Tavola gave us a sample of the award-winning 2008 Tre Donne “Moscato d’Asti” wine imported from Italy, and we couldn’t walk away without taking the bottle with us. Now the question is, will it last long enough to make the trip home with us? We would have to put it in our suitcase, so I’m not sure…..

We also got a free sample of Pappardelle’s Dark Chocolate Linguine and had trouble resisting its chocolatey temptation. Truth is, chocolate is not as dear to me as it is for most women, but this was damn fine tasting pasta—and it wasn’t even cooked yet. The dry samples were definitely good enough to eat in copious quantities. And recipes were included with each package that included ingredients like vanilla ice cream and fresh fruit (on top of PASTA!) so you better believe that a package of this stuff went straight into our suitcase.

The girl who initially offered us the sample—and then schmoozed us with her great sense of humor—let me take this photo of her. I missed her name, but she was fun and I told her about my blog so maybe she’ll stop by and tell us who she is so she can be Internet Famous. Or maybe I’ll walk by the booth again in the next couple days and ask her myself!

Btw, the “lime cilantro linguini” next to the chocolate stuff in the photo? Gross. Cilantro makes me sick. (I have to be very careful when eating Mexican, Thai, etc.)

We rounded out the day with a lovely dinner and lively conversation at my cousins’ house near the University district, where we were served a fresh salmon steak and then savored some mini cheesecakes we picked up at The Confectional at Pike Place. We took a bus to get to their house from downtown, and en route had an engaging conversation with an older guy sitting near us who has lived in Seattle for 40 years. “Everything is an exception here,” he said with fondness.

The guide book that I browsed through before coming to Seattle had said that people in Seattle are “cool,” in that they’re more aloof. I have not had that impression at all here. We really like Seattle. The people seem very laid back and “cool,” if by “cool” you mean fun and friendly.

I’m just doing a quick PSA here to remind you to visit your local comic book store this Saturday to pick up some free comics.

Free Comic Book Day is an annual nationwide event sponsored by  industry representatives in publishing and distributing comics. If you haven’t been in a comic book specialty shop in a while (or *gasp* NEVER!), this is the day to go.

If you’re thinking to yourself that comics are just for kids and for those socially inept guys who live in their moms’ basements, well, you’re partially right. Comics are for them. But there’s a good chance that you’ll like some of them, too. Aside from the forever-ongoing Marvel and DC comics like Spiderman, X-Men, Batman, and Superman, there are a lot of literary and entertaining gems in the comic world.

The FCBD site has some basic information for those new to comics, but if you’re a “mature reader,” i.e you don’t mind the F-bomb or mature themes like sex and violence, I would recommend that you start out with the following Vertigo-imprint series that are now available in (multi-volume) book form: Fables, The Sandman, and Y: The Last Man. Fables is the only one that still has new issues coming out.

Want to start with something a little more tame but still really good? Try the complete collection of Bone comics. I would personally steer you away from ye olde Archie comics, though new ones are still being released on a regular basis.

If you have the opportunity to start some kids out on comics, or even just reading in general, there are lots of kid-friendly options including Pixar movie spin-offs and The Simpsons. I recently nabbed the first issue of The Muppet Show at Dragon’s Keep in Provo. It’s nothing spectacularly literary, but it’s fun and I’m a sucker for anything Muppet-related (even if I end up panning it).

So get thee to a local (participating) comic book store on Saturday and get thine free comics!

It must be love if a wife is delighted by her husband working the phrase “wretched hive of [scum and] villainy” into an anniversary card.

Ben and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary today with dinner at the Chef’s Table in Orem, Utah. It’s a pretty fancy place, though weirdly located on dreary, high-traffic State Street and nestled on a hill between a car dealership and some not-fancy housing. Still, the service was great and the food was amazing. We’d never been there before… but we’d like to go there again.

Ben called ahead for a reservation yesterday and had apparently mentioned that it was our anniversary… so when we arrived we were greeted with “Happy Anniversary” and some pleasant small talk by a chipper, dark-haired woman wearing a bright pink shirt. We were taken to the “reservation room” where we had a nice view of the mountains despite the cloudy, rain-threatening weather. The trees were not yet full enough to block our view of telephone poles and houses below, but it was fun to watch a pair of starlings flitting about the springtime trees all evening.

Ben and I don’t eat out a ton, but when we do it’s usually nothing fancy. You know, the type of place where menus are either already at the table, slapped in a pile in the middle of the table, or handed to you but with sticky stuff all over them. So the Chef’s Table was a lovely change of pace. The menus were opened and handed to us one at a time, and the pink-shirted hostess somehow also managed to lay my napkin over my lap simultaneously.

As soon as she walked away, a waiter’s assistant walked over and placed a stemmed glass dish with a dollop of something in front of each of us. “Lemon sorbet,” he said, and walked away.

“GOURMET!” I believe I whispered to Ben. And then, because I was feeling like I knew what it was for, I said, “To cleanse the palate.” I still think that’s a pretty good guess, and didn’t have a reason to think otherwise.

After some major deliberation, I ordered the “sautéed duck in port reduction sauce” with roasted red pepper potato soup. Ben ordered the “bacon wrapped beef tenderloin with sauce madeira” with French onion soup.

Normally when we try new places or new foods we’ll reach across each other’s plates for samples or trade partial portions. We didn’t feel comfortable doing that there, so I can’t vouch for the taste of Ben’s food, but he reported that is was very, very delicious.

Regarding my soup, I said to “imagine the most amazing potato soup you’ve ever had, then add freshly roasted red pepper to it.” It wasn’t too creamy and the spice levels were perfect. The texture was not entirely smooth, but that didn’t prevent me from finishing the whole mini-tureen that was placed before me. In response to my soup review, Ben said this regarding his: “Imagine the most amazing French onion soup you’ve ever had. (…) Yep.”

(I’m writing this review of food without being a practiced food critic. Suffice it to say that while our meal was more expensive than the norm for us, it was delicious enough to warrant an attempt at food critique.)

I ordered a glass of 2005 Raymond Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon to go with dinner (for my Utah friends: that’s a type of wine). It was advertised as having, among other flavors, overtones of caramel, vanilla, and coffee. I tasted the caramel and vanilla but couldn’t detect the coffee. Guess I still have some work to do before I can become a sommelier! Whether or not it was supposed to go with duck, I can tell you that it was really good wine.

It was also nice to see that I was not the only one enjoying a glass of wine with dinner—a table behind us ordered a couple bottles. It’s still funny to see a table full of grown-ups at a fancy restaurant drinking only water, coke, and lemonade.

Our main courses were beautifully presented on large white plates with sprigs of fresh rosemary and the sauces artfully poured over the meat. My duck was cooked medium rare, as suggested by the waiter, and it was tender, juicy, and not like chicken. I’ve only had duck once before, but this one was better. The large slices of zucchini (which I normally don’t like) and carrots were made gourmet by dipping them lightly in the port reduction sauce. The “crispy house potato gratin” that also came with the duck was one of the best potato dishes I’ve ever tasted, and I’m not a big fan of potatoes so don’t take that statement lightly. The melted cheese on top is what made them “crispy.” I am considering calling the restaurant tomorrow to ask if I can just get a tray of that crispy cheese to go. It was really good cheese.

The dessert menu looked fantastic, but we’d cleared our plates and absolutely could not eat more. I vow to go back for just dessert one day soon.

We took our time eating dinner and really enjoyed ourselves this evening. Perhaps my review would be different had it not been our anniversary—I guess I’ll just have to go again soon to test out that theory.

Lastly, I leave you with a personal accomplishment. At the start of the meal, Ben looked at the wine, then my shirt, and said, “This is going to end badly.” But I wore a new white shirt and didn’t dribble ANY food or wine onto it! New world record!

I have an evening class on Tuesdays, and walked to my car around 9:30 with a classmate last night. It was cold, but we stood around talking for a couple minutes and bonding over irritation for an obnoxious new guy in our class group. Then we both turned our heads at an odd noise in the mostly-empty parking lot: there was a gray-haired man sweeping a long, white cane in front of him and tapping it along the cement curb about 40 feet away from us.

Obviously blind, or at least mostly blind, he was walking at a steady, confident pace, so we continued our conversation. Then the noise changed and we glanced over again; he had turned the other way, then back again, and had a frustrated look on his face.

“Should we see if he needs help?” Becca whispered, echoing my own thoughts. We walked a few steps toward the man and she called out, “Do you need any help finding your car?”

I cringed at her question.

“No,” he said curtly. “I don’t HAVE a car.” His khaki trench coat swayed as he walked on. We stood there awkwardly for a moment, half shrugging our shoulders and not quite knowing what to do next. Was he trying to find the bus stop, or was he heading into the building? Had he accidentally turned off the sidewalk? If that were me, how the hell would I have known what to do without relying on a stranger’s assistance?

We had just turned around to go back to our cars when he called out in an irritated voice, “Where’s the entrance to this parking lot?”

Becca redeemed herself by telling him he was headed in the right direction, it was just a little farther—yep, almost there—and he turned back onto the sidewalk and crossed the street. I made a mental note to adjust my pedestrian vigilance while driving on campus.

I said good night to Becca and we got into our cars. She drove off right away, but I let my car warm up a little first. As I shivered, I watched the man as he continued walking confidently away from campus. He should have turned after crossing the street to reach the bus stop. My car’s thermometer read 30 degrees.

I was faced with the dilemma of wanting to help but not being sure if he needed help or would even accept it if offered. I didn’t want to offend him, but I also didn’t want him to get lost and walk around all night in freezing temperatures.

I finally decided that if it were me, or if it were a stubborn late-middle-aged relative, I would appreciate a stranger showing some polite concern—even at the risk of causing offense. There weren’t any other cars in sight, so I pulled up next to him and rolled down the passenger side window. It crossed my mind that this kind of scenario might stereotypically result in a “Hey baby, need a ride?” with cat call, but instead I said, “Excuse me, sir?”

He paused to listen, and a half smile spread across the left side of his face as I stammered my question.

“I was with the… other girl… back in the parking lot? And I just wanted to… make sure… you, uh… didn’t need any, uh… extra assistance?”

“No,” he said. “I’m fine.” His tone was more calm than it had been before.

“Okay,” I said.

“Thank you,” he added, with a little wave of his free hand.

“You’re welcome.” I rolled up my window and drove off. Yes, I thought, that was the right thing to do. I would not have liked to go home and wonder for the rest of my life if he’d actually needed help but was too proud to ask for it.

So what would you have done in that situation? What lines do you draw when you come across someone who you believe might benefit from the assistance of a stranger? Did I overstep my bounds? Would you have offered him a ride? I’m soliciting your opinions.

How do you ask a blind man if he needs help?

I want to tell you my exciting stories of Sundance and being a college student again, but it’s about all I can do right now to keep my eyes open. So instead, I give you photos I took a couple days ago. There’s this weather “inversion” that’s hanging over Utah Valley and keeping all the pollution trapped inside, sometimes masquerading as fog but more often it’s a haze that’s clearly visible from higher elevations.

On the plus side, it makes early morning drives very pretty because of all the frost that collects on the trees. The frost disappears mid-morning, leaving the trees a drab winter brown—but then the frost reappears again overnight. It’s fabulously magical and makes it easier to get up on cold winter mornings.

I should figure out how to make an automated “Gone Fishing” message appear when I haven’t blogged in a while. Then you would know that an update-vomit* is on its way!

What I did over my Christmas vacation

• Hosted a kickass adults-only Christmas party with kickass white elephant gift exchange and kickass imbibing of beer, cheese balls, and sugary snacks. The being-feverishly-knitted-at-the-time hat was stolen from me at the gift exchange, so I ended up with a Miracle Bread Stamper, Utah-shaped cookie cutters, and three packets of official Mormon orange jello.*
• Had a somewhat crappy pre-Christmas that I was in no mood to blog about.
• Had a good and snowy Christmas Morning at home, failed to go caroling at Senior Centers with friends in the early afternoon, and then Ben and I spent the early evening with a former coworker who is undergoing cancer treatment.
• Played our newly acquired Rock Band 2 (for Xbox 360). A lot.
• Played Killer Bunnies with friends and cursed the impracticality of the rules. It gets a FAIL for intuitive gameplay. Though the ways that bunnies died were amusing (for most of us, anyway).
• Played Rock Band 2 with friends, for which gameplay was more than intuitive; It was AWESOME.
• Met with my government-issued Employment Counselor to discuss taking classes at Utah Valley University—the cost of which would be covered because I was laid off from a company that sent jobs overseas. Signed some papers that were immediately wrapped in 4 rolls of red tape.
• Celebrated New Year’s Eve at home with Ben, with Fuzzy Navels and another new game, this time for the Wii: MySims Kingdom. It started off slow (survivable with a light buzz and sarcastic/inappropriate comments) but actually turned into an enjoyable game for me. Lots of collecting things and some puzzle-solving—a perfect blend for my OCD tendencies. Ben zonked out on the couch for a little while, and for some reason we watched the ball drop on TV. Every year we turn off the TV at 12:01 and wonder why it’s a tradition to watch it, and then make our first official resolution: Not to bother watching NBC’s “Rockin’ New Year’s Eve” next year.
• Saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with Ben on New Year’s Day and most definitely cried in the theater. There were a few small incongruencies that didn’t make sense to me, but other than that it was a great movie. Also, see: Brad Pitt Is Hot.
• Flew to Denver on Jan. 2 where I met up with my mom and we spent a few days visiting my sister and her Norwegian holiday house guest (who happens to be my “little brother” from my year in Norway, whom Monique invited out after they became friends through that magical place called Facebook, and whom she is not dating because that would be some sort of weird incest even though they’re not related).
• Bought an ugly sweater at Monique’s favorite Arc thrift store in Denver.
• Attended an Ugly Sweater Party at Monique’s house and finally met a bunch of her grad school and French Club friends.
• Tried a weirdly delicious spiked blueberry lemonade at Bar Louie in Denver, which accompanied a $1 Tuesday Night Special burger ($3.50 with my desired toppings).
• Saw Marley and Me with Monique and her roommate. It’s a good thing we had some extra restaurant napkins on hand to catch all the chick flick crying that was going on. It’s been a long time since I’ve gone to movies regularly, but I don’t think there’s ever been a time when I’ve seen two tear-jerkers within one week. It’s like if there were a Lifetime Channel movie theater or something. But seriously, Marley and Me was better than I expected.
• Flew home on Wednesday, dropped off my bags at home, and drove up to the Sundance Resort for my training/orientation for the upcoming Sundance Film Festival. I have more to share about that, and won’t diminish its coolness by including it in this update-vomit.
• Met with a UVU adviser and registered for a full courseload of classes that, if completed, would award me with an associates degree in business management. Because I already have my BA, all the general education requirements were waived so I’m free to start taking electives in Digital Media. I’ve already attended a couple classes, but that is also worthy of a separate blog entry.

Next time there might even be some photos of some of the aforementioned events. Hey, it doesn’t take a BA in English/Creative Writing to know that you have to give your readers a reason to come back!

* There actually was a little vomit involved in Denver after eating some presumably shellfish-tainted restaurant chicken. Monique was sick, too, and is also allergic, and the non-allergic person who also ate chicken was not affected. I’m sorry to bring vomit to my blog. It’s a new high for me, to be sure.

** Distributed by the church. Seriously. “You can’t BUY that, you know,” said the giver. (I don’t like jello [brand name Jell-O or generic gelatin] much in the first place, but I certainly won’t touch it if it has shredded carrots mixed in. Is that a vegetable? Dessert? Trans-fat? I haven’t seen it in person, but many Utahns have reported that rumor to be true. I think I’d rather have a stapler in my jello.)

Earlier this week I went to the local post office to mail some letters (haven’t gotten around to Christmas cards yet). There was a small seasonal mailbox inside labeled “Letter’s to Santa.” As I noted in a Twitter update a few days ago, I was happy that someone else had already blacked out the apostrophe because I didn’t have a pen with me.

Improper use of apostrophes makes Santa cry, Post Office employees. Stop making Santa cry.

The crowd wasn’t bad, so I was still in a good mood when I reached the front of the line. The woman behind the counter was friendly and my transaction went smoothly. “Happy Holidays,” I bubbled as I took my receipt and turned to leave. The woman leaned in to me a little before I took off and said in a half whisper, with a little knowing nod, “Merry Christmas.” Then she smiled and called the next person in line.

I walked away a little befuddled. If she had just said, “Merry Christmas” as a normal greeting without the hushed tone or added body language, I would have gone on my merry way without thinking twice.

But she leaned in as if Merry Christmas was our little secret. Perhaps to suggest that I should feel comfortable saying Merry Christmas to her instead of Happy Holidays. Perhaps assuming I’d wanted to say Merry Christmas in the first place.

But I didn’t. I wanted to say Happy Holidays—which includes both Christmas and the New Year for most people, yet doesn’t assume that the recipient celebrates either. It could mean Hannukah or the Winter Solstice or an end-of-year holiday from work or school. It’s typically said with warmth and good intentions, just like Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and Happy Birthday are.

I occasionally say Merry Christmas to people with the same warmth that I say Happy Holidays, and I’m certainly not offended if someone wishes me a Merry Christmas (or Happy Hannukah or Kwanzaa or Chinese New Year or whatever).

Something just rubbed me the wrong way about how the post office employee made me feel like my parting words should have been Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays.

I went to the post office again today, but only to drop off Christmas packages to which I’d already affixed shipping labels. Nobody had a chance to say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays to me. I did note, however, that the same “Letter’s to Santa” sign with the blacked out apostrophe was still there. Bah Humbug to that.

It’s already December. Are you planning your July trip to San Diego for the 2009 Comic Con yet?

If you are, you should check out the new Schmap!! guide to San Diego, where you might come across one of my photos from last year’s con! Go to the Services – Business area, mouse over “San Diego Convention Center” and wait for the magical moment when my name appears below a photo in the loop.

At least is was a little magical for me, okay?

The truth is, I didn’t think it was a really great photo… but I guess it does capture the sheer mass of people who were flooding into the convention center with me from the trolley.

This iPhone mock-up was presented to me by Schmap!! to help me visualize what my photo within their guide would look like to someone who has a much cooler phone than I do. They have guides for a couple hundred cities around the world, clearly designed with the internet-enabled mobile phone user in mind. Old-fashioned PC users like myself can download their little program and view the desktop version of their guide.

Schmap!! found my photo on my Flickr stream and contacted me through Flickr to request permission to use the photo in their guide.

I didn’t see a reason not to comply – I’m not using the photo for anything else, and now I get the return benefit of being Totally Famous. At least in the eyes of my mother, who will always think that I’m the greatest thing since sliced, gluten-free and flax seed fortified bread. (Thanks, Mom.)

I’m going to take a little break from geeky topics to mention something that really pissed me off today when I read it in the local newspaper. It’s an ordinance that is now in the works for in several cities across Utah.

First of all, I’m not a smoker and I abhor secondhand smoke. I used to work at the front desk of a hotel and was forced to inhale smoke drafting in my direction from the hotel restaurant, so I was happy when indoor smoking bans started popping up across the country.

BUT.

PUBLIC NOTICE

The Springville City Council hereby gives Public Notice to the citizens of Springville of the adoption of an ordinance at their regularly scheduled meeting held July 1, 2008. This is: Ordinance #17-2008 amending ¬ß8-4-112 of the Municipal Code to prohibit smoking in public parks, playground areas, recreational areas, cemeteries, and near mass gatherings. The complete text of this ordinance is available in the City Recorder’s Office at 50 South Main Street during regular business hours, or by calling (801) 489-2700.

To ban smoking outdoors in a public park? In my opinion, that’s going too far in violation of the basic rights of an individual. Today’s local editorial column declares that it’s not a religious or moral issue; it’s an issue of public health.  I call bullshit! The harm of secondhand smoke is compounded in an enclosed environment like a restaurant, but in my experience, I’ve rarely had to take more than a couple steps away from a person smoking to be relieved of the smoky air in an outdoor setting.

This ban was made primarily for the people who declare “I shouldn’t be forced to have to inhale secondhand smoke on public property because it can cause lung cancer.”

In that case, here are more declarations of behalf of people with their own just causes, and I expect the city council to listen up and ban accordingly.

• I shouldn’t be forced to smell other people’s burning meat on grills in public parks, playground areas, recreational areas, cemeteries, and near mass gatherings. [The smell of meat can sicken vegetarians]
• I shouldn’t be forced to taste bug spray that other people release into the air in public parks, playground areas, recreational areas, cemeteries, and near mass gatherings. [Deet causes neurological damage]
• I shouldn’t be forced to look at other people’s hairy chests in public parks, playground areas, recreational areas, cemeteries, and near mass gatherings. [Hairy chests are just gross]
• I shouldn’t be forced to hear children laughing in public parks, playground areas, recreational areas, cemeteries, and near mass gatherings. [It causes depression in infertile people]
• I shouldn’t be forced to overhear religious prayer in public parks, playground areas, recreational areas, cemeteries, and near mass gatherings. [Expression of religion doesn't belong in public places]

These declarations all make perfect sense to certain groups of people. Which ones do you think are silly? Which ones do you think should be seriously considered? Anything that anyone does can (and probably is) considered offensive by someone else. The great thing about the United States is that citizens are granted (historically, anyway) civil liberties like Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Expression, which limit the government’s ability to abuse its power and interfere with the lives of its citizens.

In general, Utah has a serious issue with separating church and state.  This stems largely from the fact that a majority of the population is the same faith, including political leaders, and people of the LDS (Mormon) faith are accustomed to obeying rules and strictly adhering guidelines set forth by the church leaders even when they directly oppose personal choice.  It is generally not acceptable among Mormons to smoke or drink, for example.

So it’s not really surprising to me that outdoor public smoking bans would pass legislation in my adopted home state. However, I am a nonsmoker who is absolutely opposed to it.

How much longer until I will be fined by the city for swearing in a public park?

Even though I don’t think my opinion would carry much weight in the local political arena, I think I’ll start working on a petition to ban hairy chests just to see how far it would go.

The Kids in the Hall performance last night was a refreshing change of scenery after living in Utah for almost three years. It was our first time on the University of Utah campus (which is not religiously affiliated) and I giggled with glee when I stepped inside of the Kinsbury Hall Theater…  there was a large screen hanging down with a static collage of images projected upon it, including a box with the phrase "What the fuck were you thinking?"

I giggled because unless I watch a movie or have some very specific friends over to my house, I rarely hear the "F word" anymore. I was definitely treated to some fantastic use of cursing during the course of the 1.5 hour KITH performance. And the crowd in the theater could take it… I don’t think that there were too many conservative, non-swearing audience members. (Interesting note: Ben and I were solidly on the younger end of the audience age spectrum. I wonder what the average demographics are of show attendees?)

Liz doesn’t want spoilers. Stop reading right now, Liz, if you really want to be surprised when you see it in Seattle tomorrow.

The show started out with the KITH theme song as the lights went down, and that was awwwwsome! Then there was a pre-filmed skit shown on the big screen to introduce the tour, including a gag where they blatantly dubbed "Salt Lake City" over some other word that Bruce McCullough mouthed in a generic Your Town reference. They pulled that gag a couple other times during the performance.

The show felt very much like a Kids in the Hall TV episode, but on stage with no censorship and several moments when the guys broke character… which was okay because some of their shit was really funny and seeing them break character made it better (which usually isn’t the case, but I have a feeling that they had to do several takes to get the footage they needed back when they taped their shows).

The set-up was low-key, with bare bones scenery consisting mostly of folding chairs and images projected onto the screen behind the actors. Costumes and familiarity with a lot of the characters (Buddy Cole, Cathy and Kathie, the Chicken Lady, etc.) set the stage for an all-around good show.

Scott Thompson had some blasphemous fun as Buddy Cole, monologuing about how Jesus was clearly gay. He prefaced that with pokes at Mormons, like… "Many of you are probably risking excommunication by coming here tonight, so the least we could do is make it worth your while!" 

Hallelujah! 

Then, in a skit that (I think) followed Buddy Cole’s monologue, Kevin McDonald and Mark McKinney walked onto stage together dressed like this: 

When these guys walked on, the Salt Lake City audience roared because it was probably assumed that Kevin McDonald and Mark McKinney were playing Mormon missionaries. They turned out to be Jehovah’s Witnesses who made the mistake of requesting entrance to the house of Bruce McCullough’s annoying, nerdy kid character (Gavin, I think?).  Still funny.

And then Mark McKinney came out wearing a mini skirt for a scene, except the mini skirt was pulled up around his underwear. Yup, tighty whities in full view! He pulled the skirt down as soon as he realized it was up… but the damage was done and I’m pretty sure that wasn’t a planned gag.

Then, after much hilarity, including a second and not-really-hilarious pre-filmed sketch on the big screen, the show ended with some head crushing. As it should have.

And that’s all I’m saying for now  because I know that Liz is still reading and I don’t want to ruin it completely for her.