Fun Fact(s) Friday: Ohio & Scotland

 

As I am in Scotland today, thought it might be fun to share some quirky Ohio - Scotland connections.  There's strangely quite a few...so this may be the first post of many.

1.  For fellow craft beer drinkers, Brewdog, which originated in Ellon, Scotland, opened its first US brewery in Columbus, Ohio in 2017.

2.  The total area of Scotland is 77,933 sq km, and the total area of Ohio is 116,096 sq km.  So this humourous video is actually correct about Scotland being smaller than Ohio.

3.  The Scottish Highlands and the Appalachian Mountains were once part of the same mountain range. Much of eastern and southeastern Ohio is covered by the Appalachian mountains or foothills.

4.  Scotland and Ohio share a fascination with folklore and effigies of serpents.  Researchers from University of Glasgow and the Ohio state government have even worked together to study Ohio's Serpent Mound.

Happy Hogmanay!

John Denver and a Saturday Night in Toledo, Ohio

Another topic of conversation during Christmas with a friend's family in London was John Denver.  I think he came up because we watched 'The Muppet Christmas Carol' (1992), which I apparently had never seen before, and discussed other Muppet ventures.  It was needling me that there must be some sort of Denver connection with Ohio and a little searching provided confirmation. 

There's a great write-up about Denver's song 'Saturday Night in Toledo, Ohio' in Toledo History Box.

Goosebumps

While staying with a friend's family over Christmas, I was introduced to the charming programme Between the Covers and we had some nice discussions about books that we love and would like to read.  Interestingly, it popped up in discussions that many churches in the UK had raised concerns about the Harry Potter books when they became so popular with young readers.  This was particularly interesting as the parents in this family have worked their entire adult lives with the Salvation Army, which was a church that raised concerns, while their son met his wife through competitive Quidditch.  As we discussed that so many previous children's books and tales have featured witchcraft and fantastical characters, it was mentioned that it was strange that these books were a concern while the series Goosebumps didn't seem to ever be.  This seemed odd to them as they consider the books to be very scary but I honestly don't know myself as I have never read any.  The only thing that I really know about Goosebumps is that their creator/author R.L. Stine is from Ohio and went to The Ohio State University.

History of No-Dig Gardening (a crossover with my other blog 'Canterbury Tails & Herbs')

My first introduction to no-dig gardening was on the first community farm where I worked in east London.  A large patch of the farm where work vehicles had been parked when the trainline was worked upon meant that there was a large disused area of compacted earth.  With the help of permaculture garden designers, a no-dig garden was constructed and is now very productive.  Just as it sounds, it is a process of gardening without reliance on cultivation of the land but rather adding organic matter to the top and allowing nature to take its course.  Today's most wellknown promoter of no-dig gardening is Charles Dowding but the origins of the philosophy or practice, as well as actual technique, are still debatable.  

While trying to learn more to experiment with and start a no-dig patch on my new community farm site in west London, I came across an excellent episode from Empress of Dirt podcast: Empress of Dirt's 'A Brief History of No-Dig Gardening Through the Years'.  According to their research, the first no-dig gardening influencer was Edward H. Faulkner of Elyria, Ohio.  His book Plowman's Folly (1943) was written for farmers and is now considered a milestone.  Faulkner was a county agent in Kentucky and Ohio, a Smith-Hughes teacher of agriculture, and a soil and crop investigator.

"Probably no book on an agricultural subject has ever prompted so much discussion in this country."--Louis Bromfield

Tracy Chapman...I had a feeling I could be someone

Yesterday, walking through the shopping centre between work and my train, I heard 'Fast Car' by Tracy Chapman and tears, as usual, came to my eyes as I heard the refrain: 

And I-I had a feeling that I belonged

I-I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone

Chapman was born in Cleveland, Ohio and like 'Fast Car' has always written music about poverty, human rights, and other social issues.  As a social activitst, she has done significant work for Cleveland City Schools, including an essay contest called 'Crossroads in Black History'.  

AAREG entry for Tracy Chapman:  From Ohio to the World

Unexpected but happy reference

In my mind, science fiction and fantasy have always been the best creative genres to metaphorically explore the truths of the human condition.  This is incredibly true for Wynonna Earp, which not only addresses nearly every familial and interpersonal relationship imaginable with sensitivity, wit, and honesty, but had the guts to make a healthy, endearing, and sexy queer love story front and centre in its imagined world.  The beauty of this inclusive storytelling built a tremendously loyal fan base of Earpers, who provide love and support to one another much like the characters in the show.  #WayHaught

While collectively fighting the good fight against demons, your favourite characters don't always get along; they have arguments, misunderstandings, and sometimes betrayals whereby you think there may be no remedy or turning back.  Yet, they always eventually work through those differences and actually grow through heartfelt but imperfect communication.  It's all a bit messy but obviously full of love.

This may be a shitshow, but its our shitshow. 

- Wynonna Earp

Since the series is set in the American west (think OK Corral), filmed in Canada with a mostly Canadian cast, it simply didn't seem possible that Ohio would ever get a mention and I was okay with that because of all of the amazing elements that the show provides as mentioned above.  You can't have everything, can you?  Yet, to my surprise, when Doc says he has a list of places he wants to visit now that he is leaving Purgatory, moving on, and wants Wynonna to join him, on the top of his list is the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio!  Wynonna queries if they can visit Miracle, Montana on their way to Cleveland to visit their daughter Alice, who was sent away for her safety.  ❤

While I hope the fan effort is successful to #BringWynonnaHome for another season, it is heartwarming to know that Ohio will play some part in her journeys. 

Academic article about Earper fandom by an Ohio State University PhD candidate

Great recap/review of the episode 'Old Souls'  

Wynonna Earp came at a dark time for queer women (LA Times) 

Billy Wilder & the American Image

I have loved Billy Wilder films since childhood and was intrigued how often Ohio is mentioned.  Why does Billy Wilder love the state of Ohio?  Perhaps the Austrian-born screenwriter/director envisaged the state as quintessentially American (right or wrong).  Perhaps, we may never know.

Some of Wilder's interesting references to Ohio in films:

Love is the hardest thing in the world to write about. So simple. You've got to catch it through details, like the early morning sunlight hitting the gray tin of the rain spout in front of her house. The ringing of a telephone that sounds like Beethoven's "Pastoral." A letter scribbled on her office stationery that you carry around in your pocket because it smells of all the lilacs in Ohio.  - Don (Ray Milland), The Lost Weekend

Don (Ray Milland) also deduces that Helen (Jane Wyman) is from Toledo, Ohio by looking through her coat and finding that its maker's mark is from Alfred Spitzer.   Well, and I guess since she's from Ohio, it shouldn't be surprising that one of the presents she gives Don is 'the new Thurber book'.


The character of Sugar, played by Marilyn Monroe in the film Some Like It Hot, hailed from Sandusky, Ohio.


In Stalag 17, the cynical POW Sefton (William Holden) drills the German-speaking Price (Robert Graves) about his self-proclaimed Ohio upbringing since he suspects that he is a Nazi spy planted in the prisoner barracks.     SEFTON

Shut up!
                              (slaps his face)
                         Security Officer, eh? Screening 
                         everybody, only who screened you? 
                         Great American hero. From Cleveland, 
                         Ohio! Enlisted right after Pearl 
                         Harbor! When was Pearl Harbor, Price? 
                         Or, don't you know?

                                     PRICE
                         December seventh, forty-one.

                                     SEFTON
                         What time?

                                     PRICE
                         Six o'clock. I was having dinner.

                                     SEFTON
                         Six o'clock in Berlin. They were 
                         having lunch in Cleveland.
                              (to the others)
                         Am I boring you, boys?

                                     HOFFY
                         Go on.

                                     SEFTON
                         He's a Nazi, Price is. For all I 
                         know, his name is Preismaier or 
                         Preissinger. Sure, he lived in 
                         Cleveland, but when the war broke 
                         out he came back to the Fatherland 
                         like a good little Bundist. He spoke 
                         our lingo so they put him through 
                         spy school, gave him phony dogtags --

My absolute favourite reference:  In the beginning of Sunset Boulevard, Joe Gillis mentions in a voice-over how embarrassing it would be to move back to Dayton and work again for the Dayton Evening Post if he is unable to make it in Hollywood as a screenwriter.


The Fortune Cookie Jack Lemmon and Walter Mattheau their first movie together was filmed at St Vincent Charity Hospital as well as the old Cleveland Stadium.  CBS cameraman Harry Hinkle (Jack Lemmon) gets injured when football player Luther "Boom Boom" Jackson (Ron Rich) runs into him while he is covering a Browns game at Cleveland Stadium.   Saint Mark's Hospital is in reality St. Vincent Charity Hospital. In 1966, the scene was filmed on East 24th Street in an older section. In 1966, St. Vincent Charity had completed a then-ultramodern curved Hospital building.

Terminal Tower was the base for the law firm used. In one image, one can see Erieview Tower and construction of the Federal Building's steel skeleton.  Scenes were filmed at the Cleveland Browns vs Minnesota Vikings game at Cleveland Municipal Stadium on 31 October 1965.

Text originally from 2011.

Throwback Thursday: Ideology of the White House

Originally written and saved as draft in 2016:

Voting for a lesser evil is definitely not a new concept but I don't think it has been more true than in this election cycle.  Sadly, I have to admit that for the first time, I have voted out of fear and not truly my conscience.  Despite this, I stand by my vote as being most true to my ideology while considering strategy in regards to Ohio's electoral vote strength, which is actually diminishing.

To make an informed vote based on your own ideology, check out Vote Smart

How the state of Ohio represents America as a whole has always fascinated me.
Ohio's Status as a Political Bellwether




West Wing actors campaign for Clinton

Martin Sheen and humane letters of University of Dayton

Allison Janney

Dayton.com: Chuck Lowe

Daytonians at the Oscar, Grammy, and Sag Awards

1x6: Mr. Willis of Ohio

Mr. Willis of Ohio (Swiss band)



Finally, how I would prefer hearing politicians speak of women:

Throwback Thursday: Trust Us With Your Life

Originally written and saved as draft in 2011:   

In my relentless quest to obtain tickets for a recording of 'The Graham Norton Show', I've been requesting tickets to various show recordings via SRO Audiences.  The other week, I procured 'priority tickets' due to my American status, for a new show for ABC called 'Trust Us With Your Life'.  

Comedy great Fred Willard from Shaker Heights, Ohio, was the host.

Fred Willard's obituary in The Guardian (2020).

Throwback Thursday: 'Exotic' and 'Ohio' are NOT synonymous

Originally written and saved as draft in October, 2011:

I may be on the other side of the pond but one news story from my home state became widespread this week and could not escape my notice.  As an undergraduate, I volunteered with the Hueston Woods Nature Center and became aware that many animals brought to the center for rehabilitation were wild animals surrendered by owners.  While mountain lions and bobcats are natives to Ohio, they really have no business being kept as domestic companions, which people finally realize when the animal grows up and no longer is able to be re-acclimated to the wild.  While Cougie (cougar) and Eli (bobcat) were still majestic creatures (who liked the odd cuddle), they were sadly sentenced to lives behind bars due to humans that thought it would be cool to have them as pets.

GQ's story on the Zanesville zoo escape in 2012.

Wise Words Wednesday: Toni Morrison

 

Why Toni Morrison Matters

Years ago, I was amazed that my Italian friend mentioned that Toni Morrison was her favourite author.  I simply didn't realise and was pleasantly surprised by the universal influence of her writings and I'm reminded of this by the Southbank Centre hosting 'Why Toni Morrison Matters' later this month. 

Toni Morrison's birthday, February 18th, is now an officially celebrated day in her home state of Ohio.  Perhaps best known for novels such as Song of Solomon and Beloved, Morrison was born and raised in Lorain, and her early novels The Bluest Eye and Sula were both set in Ohio. 

She once told an audience at Oberlin College:  'In my work, no matter where it's set, the imaginative process always starts right here on the lip of Lake Erie.'

Ten facts about the incomparable author

How Ohio shaped Morrison's fiction

Calvin and Hobbes, Eighth Wonder of the World

As with most things in my life, which I feel passionately about, I will procrastinate dealing with it or writing about it (ie dissertation, etc.) if I think I'm unable to do it justice.  This is definitely the case with posting an entry about my all-time favorite comic, Calvin and Hobbes. Or as Calvin once, and so much more eloquently, put it:  I'm learning real skills that I can apply throughout the rest of my life ... Procrastinating and rationalizing.

Bill Watterson looks back with no regrets, Cleveland Plain Dealer article

The Tiger Strikes Again, Washington Post

Ohio's Most Famous Recluse

Why Bill Watterson is our hero
Calvin aged 26 years:  not for the feint of heart

Ironically, a Throwback Thursday entry as it was written ages ago!

No Longer Pretending

While watching 'The Importance of Being Morrissey', I was of course a bit distracted and delighted that one of the interviewees was Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders. 

 

Chrissie is a girl from Ohio
Chrissie's love letter to Ohio:  My City Was Gone

Happy belated birthday!  Born 7th September, 1951.

Started:  5/16/11

Wise Words Wednesday:

“The secret to success is to do the common things uncommonly well.”

― John D. Rockefeller Jr. Forest Hill:  The Rockefeller summer home in Cleveland Heights The Rockefellers on The American Experience