A visit to a brutalist structure

After an early morning of soccer action and an Everton win I met my Wife and took her on a surprise field trip to the Ohio History Center. I had not been there for years but have read about budget cuts and other issues that make the place seem like a labor of love to work at and maintain.



The center was holding up well. We particularly enjoyed an exhibit of an actual Lustron house. I thought they were more solid and ceramic, but it was galvanized steel and it seemed flimsy. The structure seems to hold up with no rust though. There were people inside in 1950's outfits who answered questions about the house and stayed in Ozzie and Harriet style character while doing it.

Of course the two headed calf is there. Excuse the flash.



We also ventured outside on a warm day into Ohio Village, a recreation of a pre Civil War Ohio town. There were costumed actors who demonstrated homemaking skills of the time as well as an undertaker. It was a bit more fun than I thought it would be, but a lot of the buildings were empty. It's hard to find volunteers these days.

There were also a few apple trees on the grounds.



Overall it's worth the visit. Ten dollars to get in and I saved a buck with my AAA membership. Very friendly staff, I hope they can get a budget that is worthy of their task to steward and educate Ohio's history.

You're all just hangers on!

On a day in which I witness brand theft, when critiques of a poetry slam go passive/aggressive on Twitter, when imaginary FEMA camps for bad people are still a thing and I call out a local website for being mainstream and no longer underground this song comes to mind.

Taking matters into one's own hands

One thing that I have really noticed from my visits to Glasgow is that the people there root out pretense, and will rip the crap out of it when given the opportunity.

That is one reason that I am always given a reason to smile whenever I've gone by the Wellington Statue in front of the Museum of Modern Art.



The statue has been in the city since 1844, but the traffic cone placement is said to have started in the early 1980's, if not sooner. It's become a rather iconic image of the city and it gives the world a glimpse of the city's humor. It's not a negative image, and far from a depressing one.

Yesterday, the city council tried to obtain funds to make a larger plinth for the statue, that would have made it more difficult to place the cone on the head. The city claims that it costs 100 pounds to take the cones off the head, and that it happens about 100 times a year.

My question why is even do that?

By making it more difficult to put the cone on, you're really encouraging those who put it there. Not the smartest move by the council.

Social media went all a-twitter, the Wellington Cone set up his own account, there were petitions started and #savethecone hashtags spouted up. It reminded me of the Hurricane Bawbag event a couple of years back. Another D.I.Y. and viral protest was happening.



By the end of the day Tuesday, the people had spoken, and they city council plans to withdraw their request to have the plinth raised.