Downtown July 4 coolness

You’re not an official Cedar Rapidian until you’ve stood on the sidewalk waiting for a massive train that keeps stopping

... and going ... and stopping ... and going ... and stopping ... and going ... and stopping ... and stopping ... and stopping ...

Downtown Cedar Rapids Coolness

CedaRound: Greene Square Holiday Coolness!

CedaRound: Glowing Skywalk Edition

The skywalk over 3rd Street SE looks like it extends forever when its blue-indigo-violet lighting spectrum reflects into the windows of the Town Centre Building at night.

If a super-jazzy, super-jingly, super-challenging musical score about elves doesn't make your holidays brighter ...

if hearing a chorus of otherwise super-manly basses squeak out repeated high A's doesn't dog-whistle you ... if watching my freakishly talented friend D.J. totally ROCK IT as the charming, guileless, fearlessly ridiculous Buddy the Elf doesn't elicit even a wan smile from your stony comportment ... if your cold, dead heart prevents you from understanding my subtly nuanced performance of Doug the Christmas Cop breaking up a sweaty Santa fight ... you AT LEAST owe it to yourself to come see Elf the Musical just to hear the 90-year-old Barton organ fill Theatre Cedar Rapids with glorious Christmas carols before each Friday and Saturday performance.

The organ is a hidden gem in the heart of the city, and it is truly a treat to get to hear it on the occasions that it gets played. And just look at the organ console: IT'S BLACK VELVET! WITH RHINESTONES!

THERE. IS. NOTHING. GAYER.

Don't make me call you out as a cotton-headed ninny-muggins. Get your tickets at https://www.theatrecr.org/event/elf-the-musical/2018-11-16/

The kick-ass new color-changing light posts on the Third Avenue bridge and the kick-ass new Breast Cancer Awareness pink uplighting on the Alliant Energy building are totally kick-ass. I swear.

They just look kind of yawn-ass in this iPhone photo.

Fun fact: I wasn’t the only person who found the sight so kick-ass that I stopped my car to try to capture it in a yawn-ass iPhone photo just now.

I walked by this kick-assery last night as it was being painted while I explored NewBo to kill time before my rehearsal:

It's no doubt a part of the neighborhood's preparations for this weekend's NewBo Evolve event, and it's now my favorite new thing in all of Cedar Rapids.

Six miles! Gorgeous day!

And I’ve decided I’m on a mission to photograph every lion sculpture in Cedar Rapids. (I’m discovering there are A LOT. But I’ve taken pictures of a pretty good purrcent of them.)

Since our long weekend runs start and end in the Czech Village Concrete Lion Reserve, I’ve wandered around the area and pawsed this morning to add to my lion collection.

Naturally, the boys have no lives so they tagged along with me on my prowl.

Our adventure has taken us to the center of Cedar Rapids’ iconic Lion Bridge, where we sit right meow as I compose this Pulitzer narrative:

Rob, as usual, has been a paragon of pride and restraint. Scott, as usual, is making a damn fool of himself in our tail.

CedaRound: NewBo coolness

The Renaissance of our historic NewBo neighborhood has uncovered so much architectural coolness for me:

There are adorable little lion heads at the top of the Village Bank & Trust building:

I am fascinated lately by detailing in old brick walls:

I love when delicate things like flowers are rendered in durable materials like iron:

There are so many awesome little details above your head in old neighborhoods:

The right is a modern addition to an old brick theater, but the tuckpointing on the old theater looks like it was a little TOO good because both walls here look like they were built at the same time:

Cool old things:

Cool new public art:

Cool stuff embedded in the sidewalk under your feet:

Cool stuff shining right above your head: