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Me and My Rutabaga
Last weekend, I attended and participated in the International Rutabaga Curling Championship in Ithaca. The Rutabaga Curling Championship officially began at the Ithaca Farmers Market in 1998, although the start of vegetable hurling dates back to 1996. For a complete history of the event, visit the official website, or read the Wikipedia entry.
Rachel and I arrived at the farmers market at 11am, in 20 degree weather. I paid my $5 registration fee and was handed a fresh Rutabaga. The first step in the competition is to carve the Rutabaga to your strategic liking. Or to leave your Rutabaga “Untrimmed”. From there, you’re read an overview of the rules, by the Chief Rutabaga Toss Organizer and Official Announcer. The aim of the game is to roll your Rutabaga down the wooden course aiming for a cone 79 feet away. You’re trying to get the rutabaga as close to the cone as possible…just like in olympic ice curling. There are three semifinal rounds with 20-30 curlers per round. The top 5 curlers from each round move on to the championship.
After the rules are announced, you are greeted by the Rutabaga Torch King and Rutabaga Goddess. From there, the participants assemble into a “Torchlight Parade of Athletes”, complete with olympic music and singing from the “Rutabaga Choir” (see video). I’m not making this up. See the pictures and video below for proof. Following the opening ceremonies, the children come forward for the Turnip Toss. The same rules apply to the turnip toss, but the children stand much closer…and toss a turnip instead of a giant rutabaga. Hats off to Zeke, champion of the Turnip Toss. He was amazing. And you can see his victory speech below.
As for the main competition, my own toss rolled to within 20 inches of the cone. Second best toss of the first round! Not bad for a rookie. Unfortunately, I had a bit too much adrenaline pumping in the championship round and rolled my rutabaga past the target and out of bounds. Disqualified. I’ll be back next year though. And I highly recommend the event to any international curlers, athletes or vegetable root fans.
Rutabaga Curling Championship Gallery
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- Rutabaga Curl Registration
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- Inspiration
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- Trimming the Rutabaga
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- Me and My Rutabaga
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- Curling Course
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- The Announcements
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- Refs
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- Head Judge
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- Master of Ceremonies
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- Opening Remarks
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- Torch Bearer (Not Jerry Garcia)
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- Rutabaga Torch
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- King and Queen
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- Parade of Nations
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- Rutabaga Choir
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- Turnip Toss
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- Another Turnip Toss
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- Zeke’s Turnip Toss
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- Champion Turnip Tosser
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- Turnip Toss Ceremony
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- My Rutabaga Curl
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- Measuring My Toss
Videos from the Event:
Zeke’s Speech – Winner of the Turnip Toss
Rutabaga Choir – Singing “Rutabaga Chorus” to the tune of Handel’s Messiah #44
Slumdog
Slumdog
We saw the much hyped Slumdog tonight…and it was worth the buzz. It would be hard not to like the movie. With one exception…the suspense music from “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire,” which unfortunately plays a central role in the film. Couldn’t they have picked another game show? Outside of that, the movie had a great story, acting and cinematography. I wouldn’t be surprised if it takes best picture at the Golden Globes.
There was a toilet scene in the movie that left most people in the theatre groaning. When I got home and looked up the director, it all made sense. The director is Danny Boyle, the man behind Trainspotting, and ‘The Worst Toilet In Scotland’ (see image below). What’s with Boyle and toilets? Read for yourself.
Worst Toilet in Scotland
Snowdog
Today was also the second big snow storm of the year. Russert must be picking up on my own love of weather. He sat by the window watching the snow all day until we finally took him out…
Snowdog
Snowdog 2
Snowdog 3
This weekend, my fantasy football team made it to our league championship game. To those that play the game, and spend 15 or more weeks analyzing player stats, injuries, waiver wires and game notes, you understand that this is a significant lifetime achievement. Not quite a marathon, but close. To those of you who don’t play the game, or are married to, dating, or an innocent observer of someone who plays the game…. I know it’s a lot to put up with. Thanks for your patience. It really means a lot. Anyway, I’m in the championship game. And I beat 9 of my closest friends and family members to get here. So today I gloat. And on Sunday, I bring home the trophy. Clear a spot on the shelf.
UPDATE: I won, and I now have one of those beautiful bobblehead trophies sitting proudly on my desk….much to the chagrin of Rachel
Actual fantasy football trophy. (Not mine. I've never won)
First major winter storm of the season, and the first snow day for Russert. Enjoy the pics.
Ithaca Commons
One of the reasons for moving back to Ithaca was to get involved with a community that’s close to both of our hearts. With the gorges, the lake, the parks and two Universities, Ithaca has a lot to offer. But like many towns across America, one of the major issues is the struggle of local businesses to stay relevant despite the growth of big box stores. Stores like Walmart and Target have brought much needed sales tax revenues to struggling communities, but at the cost of locally-owned businesses. For an interesting documentary on this subject, check out Independent America. The movie does a good job of highlighting the effect of these stores on town culture as well as the limited fix the sales tax has on the economy.
Ithaca was an early adopter of a downtown pedestrian mall, paving over two blocks of a central downtown street and turning it into the Ithaca Commons. Since its development in the mid 70′s, The Commons has seen ups and downs, with several proposals to turn it back into a two-way street. However, the last few years have seen a slight resurgence and there is hope that Ithaca’s downtown can be a successful story. I’ll be writing about several of these developments as I see them from my apartment located in the newest building downtown. We’re living in the Cayuga Place apartments, a new “green” building with storefronts, riverside walk and a yet to be developed neighboring condominium. The Commons will also see the development of a new home for Cinemapolis, the local art theater, and there is a proposal being debated by town counsel to redesign the entire Commons in 2010. We’ll see how all of this plays out, but there’s plenty of reason to hope and to get involved. We need to bring the same kind of energy and focus we saw in this national election to our local communities if we want to see real change in the country.
Cayuga Place Apartments
New Seneca Place Building
Cinemapolis Theatre Construction
Some sad local news for any Cornell grad or Ithaca native. Bob Petrillose, founder of the Hot Truck and infamous PMP (Poor Man’s Pizza) passed away last night after a battle with Parkinson’s disease. As a freshman at Cornell, I spent many nights waiting in line for french bread pizza. And Petrillose’s Truck is a landmark in Ithaca as well known as Cornell’s clock tower or Ithaca’s gorges. For more information check out the slice pizza blog.
His french bread pizza will live on through sales at the downtown Shortstop Deli.
Country Music Marathon Course Map
In 2005, I ran in the NYC Marathon. I trained with Fred’s Team, an organization that’s affiliated with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The experience was amazing, but I considered it a check mark, off the “things you do before you die” list. No need to go through that again. But a few events have combined to motivate me for another run.
1) Time- Moving to Ithaca, and removing two hours of commuting time from my daily schedule
2) A good friend- Brendan is attempting to run 50 marathons in 50 states, and his mission is coming to Nashville in April. He’ll be traveling with his new baby, Karina (and our god-daughter!) and wife, Kazumi. So it’s a marathon and a reunion all-in-one.
3) Food- I spoke to someone from Nashville while eating BBQ at Fette Sau in Brooklyn. His boasting of Nashville BBQ solidified my interest in visiting Nashville. For the record, those restaurants were: Sweats Soul Food, Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack, Whitts BBQ, and Monell’s. According to a friend of ours who filmed Hamburger America I also have to taste the burgers at Brown’s Diner and Rotier’s. My favorite thing about the first marathon was filling the raging appetite that came with all the running. What better place to celebrate after 26 miles than a town famous for its burgers, spicy chicken and BBQ.
4) Country Music- The only music I wouldn’t listen to growing up, is now a favorite. I still haven’t acquired a taste for Big and Rich style country, but Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, George Jones and Johnny Paycheck have all become favorites. Thanks to Cousin Tim for introducing me to classic country. If you live in the Boston area, look up Tim Obetz on the steel guitar with one of his many bands, including Dave Aaronoff and the Protagonist.
5) Team in Training- Similar to the NYC marathon, I’ll be running the Country Music Marathon for a cause. For this race, I’ll be running with Team in Training, part of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. An estimated 150,000 people will be diagnosed with Leukemia or Lymphoma this year and it’s the cancer that causes the greatest death to children (under the age of 20). The Leukemia & Lymphoma society spends $61 Million per year on research, financial assistance for patients and education about the disease. Please visit my personal fundraising page if you would like to make a donation. Ethan’s Team in Training Fundraising Page
I will post on this blog about my training from now until race day. So check back for updates on what it feels like to run a 20 mile training run in an upstate NY winter. Or to run a half marathon on a treadmill when it’s sub-zero outside. Or come meet us in Nashville for some hot chicken, cold beer and Johnny Paycheck.
Russert & Rachel Visiting Prospect Park for the Last Time
After over 7 years living in Brooklyn, Rachel, Russert and I decided it was time to leave the city and head for the country. Ithaca is where I grew up, and where Rachel spent all of her undergraduate and graduate school time. If you’ve never been, it’s worth a visit. Especially in the summer. It’s 25 degrees outside right now, and the weather is doing something locals describe as “Ithacating.” Ithaca is best known for Cornell University, the Alma Mater of Andy Bernard of The Office. Ithaca is a dual college-town with Cornell on one hill and Ithaca college on the other. Cayuga Lake, the middle finger of the Finger Lakes, cuts down the middle. Ithaca was voted one of the Best Towns, 2008 by Outside magazine, Most Enlightened Town in America by the Utne Reader and is home to the Namgyal Monastery, North American seat for the 14th Dalai Llama. Ithaca was also the first town in America to convert their downtown business district into a car-free common area, popularized by towns like Burlington, VT and Santa Monica, California. Unfortunately, today, those commons need some love and attention in order to restore the luster and draw to downtown, locally-owned businesses.
So Ithaca is where we’ll plant ourselves for the near future. Rachel will be working for Cornell University, I’ll be handling Business Development and Marketing for Vertical Health, an online medical education company based in Montclair NJ, and Russert will be enjoying the upstate NY parks, squirrels and Canadian Geese.
Downtown Ithaca from our Apartment
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