“Bodies” exhibit: a personal experience

by Jamie Rhein on

About two years ago, I saw the “Bodies” exhibit when it was in Cleveland. As I found out when reading Jaunted, there is a problem with the New York City exhibit. Perhaps, some of the people who were turned into plastic sans skin didn’t have a say in the matter.

In the exhibit literature I saw, there were many assurances that the people on display had agreed to be a museum piece before their deaths. There were detailed explanations about how the bodies were preserved. In general, I felt partly fascinated and partly uneasy. I was fascinated because this was a wonderful way to see how the body is put together and how the muscles and skeleton actually work.

The uneasy part came from human bodies being turned into sculptures. It’s not as if there was a check off list where the donor could make a request to be turned into a skateboarder or a ballet dancer. I’ve never been that flexible. It’s odd to think I could be made to look that way down the road and people could walk around me to catch a glimpse at all angles. One body where it looked as if the body had been exploded into hundreds of pieces, the pieces hung from fine threads from a metal frame, also gave me pause. My first thought was, what a nightmare to move. Can you imagine what it’s like to avoid tangles? It was cool for sure, but weird. I have to admit, I did like it.

People do have an interest in weirdness. We like being fascinated and slightly repulsed at the same time. In this case, big money has been made, and the integrity of the exhibits, perhaps, are not as pristine as we would hope. There are nine more besides the one in New York City.

I’m surprised that it’s taken so long for people to get to the bottom of where exactly all these bodies have come from–although it may be one or two tainted bodies have slipped in from China through the cracks in an otherwise well thought out system. Just like some toys and toothpaste from China were found to be dangerous, not all. But, like toothpaste, a body may be questionable. The majority of the bodies, however, may be legitimate, and a chosen few get to look in death as if they could soar over buildings in a single bound.

Drive-thru Easter story (and more about Easter in Ohio)

by Iva Skoch on

So I actually made it to Cleveland for Easter. It was not exactly easy, but I guess Easter is all about suffering so I am not complaining. The flight from Prague to New York was delayed and the flight from New York to Cleveland was three hours more delayed because Ohio got hit with 8 inches of snow. Yes, snow on Easter. Long story short, I made it here in time to find what the Easter bunny left for me (iTunes card, dark chocolates, paddle ball set….it was a cool Easter bunny, I must say.)

It has been three and a half years since I was last in Ohio. Snow was on the ground then, too. The weather here is about as bad as the weather in Prague. What Prague lacks though, is the drive-thru Easter story. Only in America!

A church in Middleburg Heights, Ohio has developed a creative way of telling the Easter story without the inconvenience of having to get out of one’s car. You simply pull your car up to the last supper, and see the story dramatized by live actors. In their church parking lot, the actors stage Easter scenes-like Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, writes wkyc.com.

Pastor Mike Wengerd says “What a wonderful, safe way for people to say-i don’t have to leave my car and do this.”
Members say their drive-thru attracts people who don’t normally come to church, and it also strengthens the faith of those who make it happen.

You gotta ask, what would Jesus say about this?

Greyhound bus line expands its priority boarding system

by Jamie Rhein on

Back in November, Catherine wrote a post about Greyhound’s $5 extra per ticket priority boarding, seat assignment system. After a month of trying it out, the system must be working well because it was expanded in December to include a large portion of Greyhound’s departure cities. (see news release) Not all trips from the departure cities are elibible for priority boarding, however.

The main purpose, I think, from the passenger’s perspective is to help allieviate the stress of wondering if you’ll get a seat on the bus at all, or have to wait for another. Also, you have more likely a chance to get your choice of either an aisle or window seat. Since the system lets you pick your actual seat, say goodbye to the risk of getting stuck next to the bathroom. If traveling with kids, it helps guarantee that you’re not going to need to ask a passenger if he or she would move so you can sit with your child.

Less stress means you’ll be more likely to take the bus which can be a real economic deal. For the bus company, $5 for a passenger isn’t all that much, but put all those $5 together and you have a money boost.

However, as Catherine pointed out, you can’t get the priority boarding over the Internet. It’s only available at the bus station which does mean waiting in line at some point unless you head to the bus station during a non-busy time. If you happen to live in or near a town or city with a Greyhound station, you can go 30 days in advance or less to purchase the priority boarding. If you want to take your chances, you can purchase priority boarding 20 minutes before your trip.

In order for your priority seating to be honored, you need to be at the gate 20 minutes before your departure time.

If the bus station is as packed as it was when my dad attempted to take the bus from Columbus to Cincinnati, having priority boarding would have assured him a seat if I had gone to the bus station a day or so earlier to get it. The day of the trip would have been too late, although he was traveling the day before Thanksgiving so bus travel was at a high. If you’re traveling in the summer, I bet it’s a similar situation.

The thing is, you can’t get priority boarding yet out of Columbus, but all buses out of Cincinnati and Cleveland have the option. Still, if there’s a smoother way out of those two cities, it should translate to an easier time in Columbus. My dad’s bus was delayed for hours in Cleveland which is why he never managed to actually take the bus.

For a list of all the available priority boarding cities, click here.

Cleveland or Panama? Migratory birds reveal all

by Iva Skoch on

Panama City is home to one of the world’s largest rain forests inside city limits. It’s beautiful. Great city and Pacific Ocean views on one side (like my picture the other day, taken from the park) and unbroken jungle-like views on the other side.

What’s strange about the Panama National Metropolitan Park is that it is a sister park to the Cleveland (Ohio) Metroparks system. USAID and the U.S. National Fish and Wildlife Foundation give some assistance to the park in Panama.

Why? It turns out that a few of Cleveland’s home-town birds winter every year right here in Panama City. Birds like the Baltimore Oriole (pictured), the Yellow Warbler, and the Barn Swallow all hang out from May to September in Ohio, then head to Panama for the winter.

Signs throughout the park tell of the parallels between the cities. Both are major cities. Both home to over a million inhabitants. Both are a terminus of an important canal (the Erie and the Panama). Unlike Cleveland, Panama’s park is home to 950 species of birds (227 of which can be found in the park), forty-six of which are migratory birds. Like Clevelend, Panama hasn’t had a winning sports team in approximately 342 years.

Fiji, or Cleveland??

by Iva Skoch on

Cleveland often can’t catch a break, but at least its water is good. While drinking Fiji bottled water last night, I remembered a story that’s worth retelling about an ad campaign they ran last year. The ad, I’m told, talked about how pure the water was, and it ended with the tag line: “The label says Fiji because it’s not bottled in Cleveland.” Another slam.

But Cleveland, where drinking water is drawn from Lake Erie, had the last laugh. Officials there ran Fiji water through chemical analysis and found that it contained more arsenic that was allowable under the laws governing tap water purity in Cleveland (but still within federal health guidelines).

Fiji apologized (but refuted the analysis).

Now that story (and more) is retold in a new book: “Thirst: Fighting the Corporate Theft of Our Water,” by Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman.

[Full photo: Sharkattack Nokia 6630 on flickr.com]