Happy Birthday, Ohio!

Today, March 3, 2003, marks the State of Ohio’s 200th Birthday. Happy Birthday!

I lived in Ohio during the formative years of my life – elementary school and high school – roughly from 1985 to 1997. In 1997 I came up to the Boston area to attend Gordon College, and I officially became a Massachusetts resident in January of 2002. My sister and her husband moved from Ohio to Kentucky, and currently reside there – so now it is just my parents living in Mount Vernon.

In honor of my old Ohio home, I’ll share some Ohio-related links here:

Ohio Bicentennial Celebration
Mount Vernon, Ohio Official Homepage
Mount Vernon City School District — in which my mother teaches, at Dan Emmett Elementary.
East Elementary School — where I spent 1st through 5th grades
Mount Vernon Middle School — where I would have spent 6th through 8th grades if I was several years younger. Instead, I spent that time at the old middle school, which you will not see at the aforementioned site
Mount Vernon High School — where I spent 9th through 12th grades
Mount Vernon Nazarene University — formerly Mount Vernon Nazarene College, my father is a music professor here
Kenyon College — small liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, through which I took some college classes during high school
The Ohio State University — Ohio’s largest university chain, and one of the nation’s largest. Home of the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Ohio State Marching Band (TBDBITL)
Columbus City Center — cool shopping center in Columbus
Cedar Point — amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, the roller coaster capital of the world

Enjoy!

Vows

We’ve been delinquent in getting this up… so now we bring it to you:

Our Wedding Vows

Becky wrote the first draft while she was in class the week of our wedding… I helped make some revisions, and what you see is the final version that we spoke to each other at our wedding.

a wonderful husband

I’m not sure if everyone who reads this knows exactly how wonderful my husband is. Everyday he does something that makes me feel beautiful and loved and special.

As you read two blogs ago, we went to see Russian Ark. It was a fantastic movie, but that’s not the point. The Brattle Theater is a small little theater where the term “stadium seating” just doesn’t apply. I discovered this first hand as a rather tall young man sat down infront of me effectively blocking 75% of the movie screen.

What did my wonderful husband do upon hearing that I couldn’t see? HE SWITCHED SEATS WITH ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and didn’t even complain once. Can you believe that! What a kind, poilite, wonderful person!

ps. neither of us had a decent view anyway…and we missed many of the subtitles, but that’s life in a small theater.

Russian Ark

Wow, what an experience… Russian Ark was an amazing movie. But far from your typical movie. I would actually compare it more closely to a painting than to a movie. There was no plot to speak of, no characters, no action, sparse dialogue, no conflict, no climax or resolution. Instead, we took a leisurely stroll through St. Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum. Our guide was the director of Russian Ark, Alexander Sokurov. He played a modern cinematographer who was transported back in time by some freak accident. We see the Hermitage museum through his first person view. Shortly after arriving at the Museum, the narrator encounters another person who has been transported back in time, an 18th century French Marquis. Together, the two wander through the museum, examining paintings, witnessing events that took place in the halls throughout history. The narrator is completely invisible to everyone except the Marquis, though the Marqius can be seen by everyone.

The movie paints a dazzling portrait of Russian history. It takes the viewer on an emotional and sensual trip through the worlds of Russian art and culture.

There is very little I could say that would accurately describe the movie for you… so you will just have to go see it for yourself!

All boarding the Ark…

In my old blog I had written about the upcoming movie, Russian Ark. It is now being released in limited venues around the country. Tonight, Becky and I are going to see it at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge! Our tickets are secured, and I’m psyched. This film got a four-star review from the Boston Globe, as well as countless other raves and accolades. The movie follows the tale of a contemporary cinematographer who is transported 300 years into Russia’s past. He is able to walk around the Hermitage Museum and observe various events in Russian history. What is supposed to be truly amazing about the movie is that it was shot in one single continuous take. The camera simply wanders around the museum, from one setting to another. 2000 actors, 3 live orchestras, several months of rehearsal… promises to be VERY cool.

We’ll let you know how it turns out. 🙂