Friday Snippets and Soundbites

Ah, hello, Friday! We're happy to see you!

It's been a long week for us here in the ec offices. If you're suffering from the same malady, then we think today's edition of "Snippets and Soundbites" will be the perfect way to start the weekend. And if all this craziness isn't enough for you, be sure to check out "Snippets and Soundbites" on page 38 of this month's (and every month's) issue of ec.

Ready? Here. We. Go.

Where for art thou?
So you're probably familiar with a notable English playwright and poet named William Shakespeare, right? While the exact date of his birth is not known (he was baptized on April 26), it is generally celebrated today, April 23. And because of that, Shakespeare fans all over the place have interesting plans to celebrate the Bard's birth. At Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare's birthplace and the location of several houses he lived in, the city has a big birthday party in the works. It's actually a traditional event they've been putting on for more than two centuries. There will be three days of celebration, complete with celebrations, tours of the Shakespeare historic houses, literary and musical events, and, of course, theater productions. And here in Nashville, Shakespeare fans are celebrating in a little more, well, quirky way. They'll be celebrating Shakespeare's 446 birthday in Centennial Park in Nashville by staging a huge balcony scene from "Romeo and Juliet." Residents have been invited to arrive at the park at 6 p.m. in costume, with or without partners, to portray the beloved scene. They'll get a little coaching, then perform the scene in unison. Our favorite part of the paragraph describing the event? This sentence: Prizes will be given for “Most Creative Costume,” “Best Star-Crossed Lovers Costume” and even “Best Dog Costume.” Read all about the Nashville event here.

It's hard to be mayor. 

In other Tennessee news, there's also an interesting news report out of southeast Tennessee. Carl Robin Geary is the newly elected mayor of Tracy City, Tenn. There's just one problem: he's dead. Geary was a candidate for the position, but passed away suddenly a few weeks ago. His death was widely reported in the area, but Geary still won the election for mayor last Tuesday, beating out incumbent Barbara Brock. The city council will now have to appoint a mayor to serve a four-year term. To read more, go here.

Class is canceled!
In general, not much causes a college class to be canceled. . . but students often find reasons to skip class. On Wednesday at Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio, students had an interesting choice: go to class or watch police and university officials try to capture two cows that had gotten loose on the campus. Many chose the cow recovery effort. The cows got away from their owner on Wednesday afternoon when he had taken them to campus to have their hooves trimmed at the university's veterinary medical center. They found their way to the soccer field, where one of the runaways was lassoed. The other ran across traffic into a grove of trees, but was eventually caught and both were taken home. Thankfully, only one police officer had to be treated for injuries related to the event. We figure there are now new rules in place about transporting livestock onto the Ohio State campus! Read all about the roundup here.