Not Fit For Print

It was crazy wild to attend the da Vinci Days mud bog on Sunday morning and see more than 50 kids squishing around in a mess of muck the size of a basketball court.

And some people thought the Kinetic Challenge was a bizarre idea.

The idea for focusing on the bog, and not race itself, didn’t come from a news release, schedule or official source. Photographer Andy Cripe had been to the event a couple times, and mentioned how the kids would get muddy as can be, and that the bog was kind of an event within the event. Yep, sometimes it’s smart to listen to those shutter roaches.

I talked to a lot of kids there, and, of course, I probably disappointed more than a few because their quotes didn’t make the paper. They all gave nice quotes, it’s just that, man, the ones that we used for the article were stellar.

Jack Bowker (that’s him on the left) might as well have been the king of the mud people. He was covered from head to toe, and so muddy that he was actually shivering, despite it being about 90 degrees outside. Mud, after all, cools people down, and some of the kids mentioned that it was a neat way to beat the heat.

Anyway, as Jack walked to get sprayed off, people in the crowd laughed and oooohed and aaaaahed at this strange creature walking past them. Funny stuff, especially how he had to hold is shorts up to keep them from falling off. Mud was weighing them down too much. Other interesting note was that with the suction the mud created, kids couldn’t run. They had to kind of stomp around.

The sculptures, of course, were neat to see, but I think my favorite was the Hippypotamus, a psychedelic zoo animal that was crazy as can be. The “Alice in Wonderland” inspired Mad Katter also was a great theme.

Talked with the people of “Plan-B” — a giant bee. Last year, they had the “Meta-Moth-Isis.” They use the same platform every year, but then come up with interesting embellishments to create a new creature/vehicle. Wonder if it will be an insect next year, as well.

POWWOW WOW — I know I’m not the only one who felt the powwow-style drumming and singing in Central Park on Friday was amazing. So I gotta tell you, if you want the real deal, not just Fish and Darin and some local kids (though didn’t they sound great, yeah?)  head to the rez Aug. 7-9.

That’s when the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians will hold its annual Nesika Illahee Pow-Wow. It’s in the town of Siletz, of course, is a bit north of Highway 20, the road that goes to Newport.

STAR TREK — Saw it this weekend. Better than Harry Potter, which I also caught. Harry Potter was solid, a nice dark but funny mix. But it wasn’t great like Star Trek. Still, on my ranking scale, Kirk and Spock fall just below “The Hangover,” which is my heavyweight champ for 2009 summer movies. At least, the champ so far.

MIGHTY APHRODITE — Okay, so I have to say it loud and clear. My new favorite pizza in Corvallis comes from Big River, and is further proof why this establishment is the current champ of local restaurants. The Aphrodite pizza, a veggie variety they served me up this weekend, was darn near perfection, crisp crust, gooey cheese, kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, nom nom nom. And fittingly enough, given the name, it was food love.

I like American Dream. Nay, I heart the Dream. I dig Woodstock’s, though they might not be so fond of some of the stories I’ve covered. But the Aphrodite was “ohmigod-this-is-good” good. Highly choice. Highly recommended. Go out and get one NOW! Oh wait. This is Sunday. Get one tomorrow.

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