Don't Back Down

The other night we decided to take in a show. Not just any show, mind you, but a musical. That alone should be a bit of a warning to you. It's not every day that we go see something different, and it's an even stranger occurrence that we check out a musical. The last show we saw was Mamma Mia! when it came to town last year (not reviewed, since we had seen it already), but before that it was likely Tryst nearly two years ago. That's not to say that we don't see shows - they just don't bring ones to Charlotte that we'd like to see all that often.

So we decided that we'd see the touring production of Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz. Billed as What Happened Before Dorothy Arrived, that is only partly true - in fact, Dorothy arrives near the end of the show. So if you're expecting a history lesson on Oz, you only get a sampling of that. In reality, you do get a bit of background, and it's well-woven into the tapestry of the earlier tale (which actually takes place after this one), but it's not like it took place years and years before this one. Just be prepared. Other than that, it's not too bad, but make sure you see it at a good venue.

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Last week I mentioned that we had tried out the Redbox DVD Vending Machine, so I figured it was only fair that I review the Netflix DVD rental service as well. While Redbox generally serves the impulse renter, Netflix is more for the serious consumer of videos. The reason being is that Redbox has no commitment. You walk up, choose a movie, swipe your card, and you're done (except for having to return your movie, and even that is optional if you want to pay a hefty price tag for it).

Netflix, meanwhile, requires you to sign up. Now you can try out the service for two weeks - and during that time you can churn through about as many DVDs as you can handle - but you still have to sign up for it, meaning you have a commitment. That isn't an entirely bad thing, however, as Netflix delivers the videos right to your door (well, the mail carrier delivers them, Netflix just sends them), and you can then drop them in the mail when you are done, shipped right back to Netflix. Postage is included in every plan. It's actually a sweet system.

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No, I'm not talking about Tom Petty. Frankly, I didn't even see him. As soon as the first commercial break was over, I flipped the channel to Spike to catch the MLE Championship. You can watch it on Spike's web site, if you dare. I'm still deciding if I'll plug it into this post or not. I think that I probably will, but I'm just not sure. Let me talk for a minute first.

If you have caught the prior MLE Chowdowns, then you have some idea of what to expect. The Turkey Bowl at Thanksgiving was awesome. The Table Enders were actually the best, chowing down tubes of cranberry sauce. But this was the championship, for all the marbles. With the awesome Kobayashi out due to his still-present jaw injury, the question was whether Joey Chestnut would be able to finally conquer Pat Bertoletti on Spike. So far it hadn't happened.

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I understand that the NFL playoffs are in full swing, and this weekend was pretty good, as far as that goes. The Colts lost, as did the Cowboys, and though the Packers and the Patriots won, Brett Favre looked like a kid in the snow. It was a reasonably enjoyable weekend for watching football, all in all. Much better than the mess that was the college football season that finally came to an end. Maybe they will enact a playoff system when the current BCS deals expire.

Nontheless, major league sports are, well, tired. It's a bunch of overpriced athletes who get out there and play a game that, for the most part, they don't seem to be interested in playing. To make matters worse, most of us are so busy sitting on our couches that we can't even pretend to live our lives through them. Where are the dreams of growing up to be Johnny Unitas or some other big-league ball-player? I'm sure there are a few, and I'm sure that more than one kid wants to make it big, but it's to land a rich contract or endorsement deal, not to be the hero on Sunday afternoons (or whenever). Where are the real sports?

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On Tuesday night, we decided to head out for the annual Everitz Consulting Christmas Party. What's that? You think just because I'm a Movable Type Consultant, I can't have a Christmas Party? Think again.

Anyway, we decided that we'd take in a Charlotte Checkers game, which thanks to the North Carolina Zoo was just $49 for a family four-pack of tickets to get into the game, four hot dogs and four sodas. Pretty sweet deal all around, especially when you consider that the dogs and sodas by themselves would cost thirty bucks!

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My parents were in town for the holiday and we decided to go visit The Billy Graham Library. For anyone who doesn't know, the library isn't really a library in the classic sense - it's more like a presidential library, that acts as a memorial. For Ruth Graham (Billy's wife), it really is a memorial - her grave is actually on the grounds, in a prayer garden.

There is a bookstore at the end of the tour, which actually gives a vague unsettling feeling. It's almost like a tourist trap, where you end up in the gift shop once you're done. I understand and all - there isn't an admission fee, and it's really nicely done, but still - you're just dumped there, which just sort of stinks.

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With Halloween approaching, the most difficult of tasks was upon us - deciding what (and if) we would do in regards to a haunted house. The first problem is that admission fees have risen rather steeply in recent years, and the second is that our kids are at an age where they just might be ready to check some out. We've been to some local places where they might be able to deal with the goings-on, but we've also been to some where they most certainly couldn't. So it's a bit iffy.

Ultimately we decided that we'd try out the Nightmare on Independence. We did this for a few reasons. One, because it's close - just a few minutes away. Though there are other places that aren't too far, at least this one is close and we don't have to worry about driving a ways and paying a lot as well. Two, because there just aren't that many other options these days. Some open later and are a bit much, while others (the Jaycees house) seems to have closed entirely. Third, it seems that the Nightmare is on its last go-round, since a Wal-Mart will be opening in that space soon. So we went for it.

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The 25th annual Mint Hill Madness festival was held this weekend, and it was quite an improvement over years past. Held at Mint Hill Park on Fairview, the event has seen dramatic growth recently - as has just about every event in the area. It's hard to imagine that these things can just keep growing and growing like they are, but the Madness actually has room to grow, which is nice.

This area offers a few things that alternatives, such as the recent Festival in the Park, do not. Notably, since the park is just off 485, access is a breeze. Even on Saturday morning right after the parade, which is arguably the busiest time at the event and the traffic the heaviest, it wasn't bad. Contrast this to Saturday afternoon near Freedom Park for the Festival in the Park - not the heaviest time, but it was definitely not a good time, traffic-wise.

Furthermore, the level of traffic overall just isn't as heavy. Perhaps people just don't come to the event, and quite frankly, that's okay by me because it translates to a more enjoyable experience.

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Yesterday we visited the 2007 edition of the Festival in the Park - the 43rd go-round of this annual staple at Freedom Park.

As is usually the case for the event, the streets around the park are absolutely packed - so you'll want to be prepared to walk a bit (not to mention walking within the park itself), however this year some churches were supposed to be offering "satellite" parking so that you didn't have to fight the crowds. Park at the church - which cost $5 - and get a ride right to the festival doorstep.

Or you could fight the crowds, park wherever you find a free spot, and walk yourself in. Depending on what you prefer to do, you have plenty of options. We happened to find a free spot on a lawn, just outside the park gates, so our walk was limited to the length of the parking lot (still perhaps half a mile or so - it's a hefty lot). Even if you chose to park yourself without using the shuttle service, the walk wasn't bad - unlike the Charlotte Dragonboat Festival held earlier this year.

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After we purchased our first GPS, we quickly set out to try to find our first cache. It turns out that the Geocaching web site has quite a few listed in the Charlotte area. It's not a terrible surprise, really, but it's always nice to find something happening here. It's not like Charlotte is a small town, exactly, but we always seem to be just on the outside of things.

I'm sure that there are some places that have thousands of Geocaches in their area, and that's okay, but we were pleasantly surprised to find that there are 850 of them within 50 miles of our zip code (which is within the Charlotte city limits). This is something that could go either way. Someplace like New York City, which has millions of people, may not have many caches, because it may not have as much wilderness - though there are certainly interesting places to hid things all over the city. And a remote place with lots of wilderness may not have the people. So maybe Charlotte is just in the sweet spot.

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On July 14th, 1789, seven prisoners (yes, just seven!) were freed from the French prison called The Bastille. I'm sure it was La Bastille or Le Bastille or something - I'm not trying to offend anyone here. Anyway, this event marked the beginning of the French Revolution, and the prison was a symbol of the power of Louis XVI, so each year on this day, the French celebrate the day, much as Americans celebrate July 4th.

In Charlotte, the French-American Chamber of Commerce puts on a festival celebrating this event. Previously - or at least last year - this event was held in the Wachovia Plaza uptown, which is certainly a nice place, but you have to wonder what happened, as this year's event (the 7th, from what I can find, it moved to a small enclosed space in the North Davidson Arts District. Not a good choice.

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When I was a kid, my dad worked in the airline industry, which meant that we were able to fly for free with some frequency - in reality it meant that at least once a year we flew back to the East Coast (where I now live) to visit family. It also meant that I was one of the early birds when it came to having a frequent flyer number. I think the first was probably in the Delta Sky Miles program. This was so long ago that I actually have a place on my statement where I have miles from the original program that won't expire (not a lot of miles, but miles nonetheless).

These days, it seems like everyone has an affiliation program of some sort. Airlines have had them for years (probably decades), and car rental companies have them, though they usually just award airline miles. Hotels give you airline miles or points towards free stays (some even give you both). One of the more recent entrants into this arena is for frequent movie goers. Some of you might realize that I watch movies, so this holds some interest to me, even if I don't always go to the movies to see them. So which is better - AMC's MovieWatcher or Regal's Crown Club? Let's try to find out!

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