Thoughts on Seattle

I recently took a long weekend trip to Seattle to visit a couple friends that live out there. I don't know what it is, but Seattle has always appealed to me, even before I ever stepped foot in the city. Maybe it's the eclectic nature of it, the way it's secludedly tucked away in the top left hand corner of the map. Maybe it's just that it's far away...and everything far away is always better than what's here. And since I've been there a couple times, I've developed a sort of love-hate relationship with it.

The weather in Seattle, 60% of the time is horrible. Rainy, chilly, rainy, soggy, gray, cloudy, rainy. Day in and day out. From October through April: Rain. While the rain isn't the type of gale force thunderstorms we get in the Midwest, it's almost worse because it's constantly moist. I'm sure you're saying to yourself..."Phil, why don't you just go there in the summer. It's 75 and sunny for 4 months straight." And to you I would say, I don't know, but that's a great idea. But I didn't do that, and no one really asked you, just shut up and read, will ya!

Anyway, back to what I was saying. I feel like I understand Seattle, because (at least weather-wise) Chicago is pretty similar. The winter is brutal, and if someone was to only visit in the winter, I'm sure they'd hate it here. But living in Chicago during the summer makes it worth having to put up with the harsh winter. I'm sure the people of Seattle will say the same thing.

I think the real reason I pine for Seattle is because two of the things I love in life, food and music, are prominent there. The musical history that has poured out of Seattle over the years makes it any music lovers dream. For people in their late 20s, in particular, Seattle influenced the way we listen to music, since during our formative years, Pearl Jam and Nirvana, emerged from that area. We spent a rainy Saturday afternoon at the Experience Music Project, and interactive music museum. Recommended.

And there are several gastronomic wonders located along the sloped streets of Seattle. There's no better place to get fresh seafood pulled right out of the Pacific. One recommendation I can make is Purple, a wine bar and restaurant that is continually rated as one of the top in the city. I had an amazing Filet Mignon with garlic & porchini mushroom butter, and my friend had a Lobster Macaroni and Cheese that melted in your mouth. The great thing about Seattle, is that these great quality restaurants are scattered all over the city. Plus, if you like to cook, there's no better place to pick out fresh ingredients than the famed Pike Place Market, home of the flying fish!

If you're looking for a nice long weekend, Seattle is a good bet, especially in the summer.

The 3 most dreadful words in the English Language

If you have been a faithful reader to the blogs of Philthy Laundry, Inc. you know that I have a love/hate relationship with the state of Ohio. Scratch that, I just have a hate relationship with Ohio. In fact the only thing I love about Ohio is that I love to hate it. Hate. Hate. Hate.

So you could imagine the size of the chill that went through my body on Thursday evening as my flight attendant announced those 3 dreadful words "Welcome to Cleveland."

I'm sure you're asking yourself, "Why Philthy, if you hate Ohio so much, would you choose to spend 4 consecutive days there over Labor Day?" Good question. The thing is that I do have one friend who lives outside Cleveland that I enjoy seeing. When Labor Day started to roll around, I started to attempt to make plans. It seemed that everyone I knew in Chicago was going to be out of town. Everyone I knew outside of Chicago didn't want to come visit. I also tried to get several people to take a long weekend getaway to somewhere fun that was within a couple hour flight, Nashville, Austin, Minneapolis. No takers. It was at that point that I thought 'Why not take a little trip to Cleveland to see my friend. I mean, how bad can it be?' And while I wouldn't classify the weekend as "good," truthfully, it wasn't that bad. Granted I had extremely low expectations and the only objective for the weekend was to relax and get away for a few days. So sleeping in until 11, spending a little time outside, having a few beers, and generally being lazy was just what the doctor ordered, and Ohio sort of delivered.

However, since it came up, I think it's time that I tell you exactly where this disdain for Ohio comes from:

1) Ohio is one giant suburb. With several major small cities like Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo, & Akron in such a small state, you're pretty much constantly in some sort of suburb. While the suburbs do have their good qualities (such as nice houses, good school districts, the ability to raise young kiddies in a relatively safe environment, etc) they also have huge downsides (strip malls all over the place, lack of diversity, breeding ground for wealthy teenage douchebags who think they're entitled to the world because Mommy & Daddy told the nanny to tell them they were special when they were growing up)

2) Miami University. This is where the elitist of the yuppie d-bags from the suburbs end up to continue their so-called entitlement in the form of an over-hyped and expensive college education. Subsequently, this is also where they further develop their cocaine habits. I've met only 2 people that graduated from Miami University that I haven't wanted to punch in the face.

3) THE Ohio State University. Yes they have a great tradition of good sports teams. Yes the current students and graduates of OSU have a lot of be proud of and should cheer on their teams with vigor. However, I think Ohio State has some of the worst, most over dramatic, pompous, and overall ridiculous sports fans I have ever witnessed. And why do they feel the need to stress the word "THE" so much? I also want to punch them in the face.

4) While the major market cities Cleveland & Cincinnati do have a couple of up-sides (The Rock & Roll Hall of fame being one,) they are, in general, complete and total crap holes.

5) Finally, and I couldn't make this up if I tried, when I was conversing with some local Ohioans, the subject of movies came up. And literally this was the first thing I heard in response: "Have you seen that 'Wild Hogs?' I loved it!" As if that wasn't enough, the second thing I heard was "Yeah we rented that 'Norbit' the other night. It wasn't as good as I expected." Really another Eddie Murphy film where he dresses up as a fat woman didn't deliver? Sounded like a classic to me.

Perhaps I'm being a little harsh and judgemental. I completely acknowledge that living in a top-notch city like Chicago has spoiled me a bit, and when compared with Chicago, few places can measure up. But if I never set foot in Ohio again, I won't be complaining.