AGELESS NORTH SHORE » Events

Solid Gold No More: Secrets of The Pyramid House

Don — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:35:07 +0000

On March 20, 2010, over 4,000 obscura-philes took part in 80 events in 40 countries International Obscura Day. Ageless drove up highway 41 on the blustery, cold snowy first day of spring to see Jim Onan’s Gold Pyramid House

The Pyramids of Wadworth (house and three car garage)

Let me tell you…it ain’t gold anymore!

Jim Onan opened the locked metal gates as we waited in our cars. I pulled down the window and asked where to park.

“We’ve all got to be crazy to be out today,” said Onan.

We drove a on stone path which ran across a long, wide field of gravel. To our left a burial mound which recreates the tomb of Tutankhamun and to our right a giant statue of Ramesses II (larger than the original in Egypt).

Ramesess II

The driveway to the pyramid house is flanked by a couple of dozen Sphinxes sitting uncomfortably in the snow. The water in the moat and the lake which surround the house washed up against the snow covered ground. A chill wind did not give us much time to enjoy the view. Although it is one thing to see a pyramid in the midst of a development of large, suburban homes – it is another to see the pyramid covered in snow.

The tour begins in the basement of the 5 story, 17,000 square foot pyramid. The walls are adorned with hand painted hieroglyphs. There is an odd mechanical device named “Mr Mummy.” There are about 100 chairs laid out on the carpet and behind the stage hang gold metallic strips that run from the ceiling to the floor.

Jim Onan, an energetic 72, takes the stage and assures us that he is not an Arab but a patriotic American who loves his country. Onan took questions from the 40 or so visitors drawn the pyramid house by the Atlas Obscura website, an article in Make Magazine, an interest in all things Egyptian, or the general weirdness of the proposition. A pyramid in Wadsworth, Illinois.

Onan shared the following:

Onan is fascinated by the power of the pyramid and once had a cardboard pyramid on his dining room. Onan says that whenever anyone put their hands under the pyramid they received an electrical shock. But this phenomenon occured only when Onan was in the house. He concluded that the power surge came from the concentrated power of the mind.

The Onan family lives in the pyramid house. The basement was supposed to be a swimming pool but there were water table problems and it is now the “theater” where Onan greets tour groups. The upper floors (bedrooms and an observation room at the “point” of the pyramid) are not open to the public.

"Drink like an Egyptian"

Besides an online Egyptian gift shop run by his wife Linda, Onan brews Pharoah’s Gold II. Onan along with a partner company brews this beer using a recipe he claims is over 4,000 years old, discovered by analysing dried sediment found in an ante-chamber of an ancient temple.

Online it’s a $250 a bottle but Onan has taken it off the market until the economy improves.

And why isn’t the Pyramid gold? It will be revealed in the video.

Obscura Day: A Solid Gold Pyramid in Wadsworth

Don — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:00:38 +0000

Our friend Chloris, a bohemian, hippie freak of long-standing, sent us an e-mail about “Obscura Day an international celebration of wondrous, curious, and esoteric places.” We clicked on the link.

Jim Onan and Pyramid

And saw a list of about 70 locales in the United States and 20 other countries that offered tours and events on March 20. Naturally, we clicked on Chicago. Behold, Jim Onan’s Gold Pyramid House.

Home builder Jim Onan built his 24-karat-gold-plated, 17,000-square-foot house in 1977. He sort of was into Egyptology. Onan lived in the pyramid house with his family for a time, eventually added enormous statues to the pyramid’s lot (including a 50-foot likeness of King Tut) and lined his driveway with 80 stone sphinxes.

The Pyramid house was opened to paying visitors from 1978 to 1981. And then reopened for a tour in 2009 as a fundraiser to help complete the Heroes of Freedom Memorial in Gurnee. (Click here for some controversial back story about the Memorial.)

The Chicago Obscura event is sold out, but never fear. Ageless will be there and will act as your guide to what is certainly the strangest house in Wadwsorth. Or almost anywhere.

Who are these Atlas Obscura People?

Atlas Obscura is an online community with the “goal of cataloging all of the singular, eccentric, bizarre, fantastical, and strange out-of-the-way places that get left out of traditional travel guidebooks and are ignored by the average tourist.”

Obscura Day is their way of opening the curiosities to the off-line and off-beat world.

Here are some other Obscura Day Destinations:

Havana, Cuba: John Lennon Park and the Old Havana Perfume Museu

He's just "sitting and watching the wheels go round and round" on 50's era American cars

Obscura-niks will sit next to a bronze status of John Lennon and celebrate the Beatles controversial legacy in Communist Cuba. That is to say, the Beatles were banned in Cuba in the 60s and 70s. Lennon never visited Cuba. However, Fidel himself unveiled the statue in December 2000. There is an inscription which reads, “Dirás que soy un soñador pero no soy el único.” You say that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.

Alnwick Poison Gardens, UK
Part of a proper British garden, the Poison Gardens sit behind a locked gate. Don’t pick, touch or even smell some of these nasty flora. Potential trouble spots include belladonna, mandrake and ricin (the castor oil plant). Ricin is best known as the substance which killed Russian dissident Georgi Markov. Well, probably Russian agents killed Markov…

But only if you touch, taste, or smell them.

The Alnwick Garden also Home Office licence to grow some very special plants; cannabis, coca and poppies which are found behind bars in giant cages. But they also do “drug awareness” programs to balance out the sexy plants.

The Cathedral of Junk, Austin, Texas

"The Throne" of junk

Do you aspire to be the bane of your neighborhood? How about adding 60 tons of junk to your backyard. That’s what Vince Hannemann did. “The Cathedral is a hollow framework of improvised trusses, around and within which Vince has wired and packed all manner of mass-production cast-offs: lawnmower wheels, car bumpers, kitchen utensils, ladders, cables, bottles, circuit boards, bicycle parts, brick-a-brack, and a lot of stuff that is frankly unidentifiable.”

“People ask me all the time, ‘What made you want to do this?’ Like it had some sort of profound meaning. I just did it because I liked it. And when I stop liking it I’ll take it down.”

Arborsmith Studios, Williams, Oregon
Have you been looking for Joni Mitchell’s, “Tree Museum?” Well, Obscura-ites can enjoy the wonders of Arborsculpture at the studios of Richard Reames. Reames coined the word Arborsculpture and it refers to creating gazebos, tables, chairs, spiral staircases, benches, entrance arches, bridges and fences from live trees by approach grafting parts of the tree together.

Ok, I don’t have a clue how he does this but look:

Iceland Phallological Museum

They may be short of cash but Iceland is long on…penises. Like 204 specimens from 45 different species of animals. But wait there’s more. For the plallologists lucky enough to be on the tour there are three hundred artistic oddments and other practical utensils related to the museum´s chosen theme. And yes, they have the whale appendages… fifty five specimens belonging to sixteen different kinds of whale.

There were no photos that could adequately describe this attraction. Well, there is one. But you have click on it yourself.

An Ageless interview: Andrea McArdle on the road since 1977

Don — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:00:07 +0000

Novelist Amy Shearn authored today’s post.

(UPDATE: This show has been postponed until Sunday, May 16th at 2:30 PM)
At the Wilmette Theatre, North Shore residents and beyond will have an opportunity that would make seven-year-old me shriek with joy. No, it’s not a pet unicorn or a canopy bed: it’s a performance by the talented show business veteran Andrea McArdle, who created the role of Annie in the Broadway musical Annie in 1977.

Andrea McArdle

Andrea was kind enough to chat with me recently about her upcoming performance, her illustrious career in show business, and a certain spunky orphan named Annie.

AS: Okay, I’m sorry, you’re probably tired of talking about “Annie”…

AM: (laughing) I’ve made my peace with it. During the whole thing I was not that fun to deal with. It’s just so different when you’re in it.

AS: I was obsessed with “Annie” as a kid.

AM: I always meet gay guys who are like, “The red album! The red album!” [The original Broadway cast recording]

"The Red Album"

AS: Exactly. I read that you were pulled from the chorus of orphans to play Annie on Broadway.

AM: I was the toughest orphan. The only reason they never considered me for Annie was that I wasn’t a redhead. I was on the soap opera “Search for Tomorrow” and I was contracted with long brown hair. Then they realized not to look for what’s outside — you could dye hair or wear a wig, not that my mother would have let me dye my hair — but to look for the soul of the character, and I got the role.

AS: What was it like to be cast as Annie?

Reid Shelton, Andrea McArdle and Sandy

AM: The show wasn’t a hit then. To me, I treated it the same way I treated the school play — I didn’t really see the difference between that and Broadway. I had no idea what a Tony award was. When I was nominated for one I was like, “Oh, cool.” It was just another gig.

I have great parents. I was always the daughter before a commodity. I was a gymnast before theatre and it was just like that — being part of a team. Afterwards, it became a hit. When it hit we knew we were the toast of the town. It could have been terrible, but like I said, I had great parents.

AS: What was it like being a child star?

AM: I’m lucky that it wasn’t television, which uses you up and spits you out. You know, sometimes I’m still waiting for my “Norma Rae” role and think it just hasn’t happened yet. (laughs.) After “Annie,” I had offers to go on sitcoms but they were all terrible and luckily we knew better. It would have had a horrible outcome, just trashed my reputation. They didn’t know what do with kids when I was hot.

Today they have the Disney channel, I would have had my own show, a whole franchise. But then, American Broadway was dying — it was the beginning of the British Invasion and all major producers were on their last legs. There were really no projects around, so we just didn’t get to ride the momentum. That’s why it’s nice to also be a singer. It was hard to cast me — I looked like an eight-year-old boy until I was eighteen and then suddenly grew up one summer — so no one knew what to do with me.

AS: You appeared on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and performed with Liberace. What was that like?

Liberace (photo from liberace.org)

AM: It was amazing. I wasn’t phased. I did the Carson show three times. I played Judy Garland in the movie Rainbow on NBC and Liberace saw it. I was in school writing a paper on JFK and got a call to go to Las Vegas. Liberace gave me my sweet 16 party, which was wrong on so many levels, but great.

AS: What do you think of contemporary child stars?

AM: Ugh, so many of them are puppets for sick parents. It’s so different from getting into business because a child has talent. I feel horrible for them; I would never want to grouped into the child star group.

AS: Do you ever get tired of being Annie?

AM: Well, sometimes I think the Annie thing has held me back. If I had arrived on scene at 18 or 19 it would been better — you can’t be an adolescent girl in mary janes and a red dress forever. But I wouldn’t change a thing.

AS: What were some of your favorite roles?

AM:I got to play Belle in “Beauty and the Beast.” I was 37, and I was surprised they were calling me. I thought they were calling me for Mrs. Potts and I was like, Mmm, I don’t know if I’m ready to play a teapot. But I loved playing Belle. My daughter was 12, and it was great to be in something she was so in to. I think that’s the best Disney story, too. It’s not just for kids. It has universal appeal.

I loved played Sally Bowles — it’s really fun to play a bad girl.

AS: Many Ageless North Shore readers are redefining or reevaluating their lives and careers at midlife. How have you managed to maintain such an active career in a field notoriously interested in youth?

Andrea at New York's Metropolitan Room. (photo by Richard Termine )

AM: Well, you know, I’m in a period of crossroads. I’ve been mature enough to play mothers for almost a quarter of a century. This business owes us nothing. Who wants to wait two years to sing two great songs in a show? That’s why cabaret is so incredibly appealing. No one wants to see, you know, a “seasoned” 17-year-old sing cabaret. It took me years to feel comfortable with cabaret; it’s easier to sing for 6000 people than for 60. You have to deal with the people and their energy…but once you face it, it’s liberating.

Now I have so many great stories and I can chat with the audience. It’s a live version of what a book would be, but it’s all off the top my head. I’ve had a lot of funny experiences! Who else performs for the queen at 13? I mean, Catherine Zeta Jones was my Molly in London. No one could pronounce her name — we called her Zeetie. It’s just interesting to see where everybody ends up.

My story is a success story — theater is what I love. I was lucky. Now you have to go and do tv just to get the roles you want. Since Broadway went corporate it’s just such a machine. It changed everything. It’s all marketing. I mean, when you see reality tv show stars getting roles…it’s tough. But in theater,you do it for the love of it. And I love what I do.

For tickets to an “Evening of Song, ANDREA MCARDLE with Doug Peck on the piano”, Monday March 15 at 7:30 click here.

__________________
Amy Shearn is the author of How Far Is the Ocean from Here. Her work has appeared in Jane, West Branch, Salt Hill, and elsewhere. She lives in Brooklyn with a husband, a baby and a dog. Visit her online at amyshearn.com.

OUTSTANDING TALENTS, OUTRAGEOUS LIVES! Fred Astaire and Vincent Minnelli @The Wilmette Theatre

Don — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 11:00:16 +0000

The other day at the Highland Park Poetry Open MIC, we were discussing the importance of meter and rhyme. One gentleman suggested, “that popular music is all about meter and rhyme. Like Cole Porter.”

Fred Astaire stars and Vincente Minnelli directed this 1953 classic

Some believe the Porter’s productive years of 1934 through 1956 were the golden age of popular music and popular culture. If you were around to enjoy this era, or just want to learn what it was all about, Susan Benjamin presents programs on two giants of the time: Fred Astaire and Vincent Minnelli. Both programs will take place at the Wilmette Theatre.

Benjamin, after a distinquished career as a public high school teacher and school administrator – including English Department Chair at Highland Park High School and Assistant Superintendent at Deerfield and Highland Park High Schools, now presents “musical biographies” in a series called, “Shout Hallelujah Come On Get Happy: Musical Theatre Legends.”

Through the use of video clips, recordings, and Benjamin’s very engaging style (as a teenager, Benjamin began her performing career at Tenthouse Theater in Highland Park), Benjamin provides her unique and entertaining take into the works and lives of these well-known stars.

Fred Astaire: Top Hat, Top Dancer

Fred Astaire defined the outstanding American dancer for much of the 20th century. Charming and debonair on screen, he was the ultimate workhorse behind the scenes. With several film clips, this two-part program explores the star’s motivations as he created the model of the suave, sophisticated dancer and singer.

Benjamin is also an expert on Gene Kelly, so let the Astaire-Kelly debate continue!

Wednesday, January 13th @ 10:30am
Wednesday, February 3rd @ 10:30am

Vincente Minnelli: Dreaming in Color

An innovative film director, Vincente Minnelli turned the Hollywood musical into a colorful

Vincente, Liza and Judy (1948)

extravaganza. Using his knowledge and passion for visual art, he lit and costumed his actors to bring out their best qualities. His ability to accentuate the finest in characters was especially true with his star and wife, Judy Garland. This two-part program contains examples of several of his best works including Cabin in the Sky, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Band Wagon, An American in Paris and Gigi.

Not just Liza’s father!

Wednesday, March 3rd @ 10:30am
Wednesday, April 7th @ 10:30am

GENERAL ADMISSION: $12
GROUP RATE:
(10 or more tickets) $10 each
(20 or more) $8 each
SERIES TICKET: $40
Tickets available online at www.wilmettetheatre.com or call Box Office at 847-251-7424

Here’s a great scene from The Band Wagon:

“We’ve all gone to look for America” Sunday programs at Evanston’s MIC

Don — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:10:08 +0000

Young dancers from the American Indian Center

Cabin fever comes early when the temperature nears single digits. So on Sunday, January 3, Ageless went to the Nichols Concert Hall in Evanston for the first of four free Music Institute of Chicago programs in the series, “Paving the Way to America’s Cultural Identity.”

We were not alone. More than 250 people shared the conversation, photography, music, drumming, dancing and film that made up the event called At the Core of Discovery: Lewis, Clark, and the Native American Encounter

In the lobby, Chris Walker, Chicago Tribune photographer exhibited photographs from his series On the Trail of Lewis and Clark. Walker retraced the journey of Lewis and Clark and captioned each photograph with an entry from their journals .

The effect can be moving, beautiful, chilling and ironic. A McDonald’s sign glows in the pre-dawn light at the town of Hood River, Oregon, on the Columbia river.

The caption from Clark’s journal, “Sent two men on a head with directions to proceed near the Sea Coast and kill something for brackfast.” November 19, 1805
Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune senior writer, WGN host and author, led a discussion with John Low and Chris Walker about the immediate and lasting impact of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Low, Visiting Assistant Professor of American Indian Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is an enrolled member of the Pokagon Band of Potawatami Indians and has served on the tribal council.

Chris Walker and John Low

Low contends that Lewis and Clark could not have imagined the loss of the indigenous populations that followed their expedition. Low believes that the purpose of the expedition was exploration and not exploitation. President Jefferson stressed to Lewis and Clark that they should avoid confrontation with the native peoples.

On the other hand, Low said Andrew Jackson who made a career of Indian removal from tribal lands is despised by many in Low’s tribe. So much so that tribal members are loathe to handle a $20 bill because Jackson’s picture is on it. And they never name their children Andrew or Jackson.

Walker’s journey has taken him to forest and wildlife management programs. These attempts to recover from our past mistakes, miscalculations, and ignorance, fills Walker with hope. He quoted one of Meriwether Lewis’ oft-used phrases “We proceeded on.”

Following the discussion, there were three inspired musical performances.

Kay Kim played the short piano solo piece, Navajo War Dance No.2 by Arthur Farwell (1872-1952). This composition is associated with the “Indianist” movement of the 19th century. Using the rhythms and musical intervals of the Indian chant, this movement’s goal was to create an authentically American voice by blending the cultural heritage of the New World into European musical styles.

Meret Fon-Revutzky plays Native American Flute

The Piano Concerto No.2 “After Lewis and Clark” Sacagawea by Phillip Glass features the minimalism, repetition and brooding style of the composer. A traditional Shoshone musical theme is traded between the Native American Flute and piano. As the movement ends the percussionist recreates the sounds of distant thunder on his kettle drum.

Big Sky Singers

The four “Big Sky Singers” surrounded their drum and sang traditional songs from the region of Montana. Although from different tribes, they are united in the belief that “the drum is the heart beat of mother earth and singers put voice and beauty to the beat so the people can dance and celebrate.”

That feeling became reality when members of the audience joined dancers from the American Indian Center for a concluding friendship dance. The two young Indian dancers and Cindy Star from American Indian Center lead children and adults (including John Low) in a joyous, circle dance.

At 6:30, Summer Sun Winter Moon was screened.

The documentary followed Composer Rob Kapilow and Blackfoot poet, Darrell Robes Kipp as they composed a symphony from the American Indian perspective of Lewis and Clark’s legendary “Corps of Discovery” mission.

*Made possible by Illume Productions

Future events will have a similar format. An interview/discussion led by Rich Kogan, a musical program and a film all exploring the same themes and threads of history.

As Chris Walker said during the program, “History is not what happened. History is what we remember and what we forget.”

January 10, 2010, 4:00 PM
From the Oregon Trail to Route 66: The Lure of the American West

January 17, 2010, 4:00 PM
In Tune with the African-American Experience

January 24, 2010, 4:00 PM
Making Tracks: From the Far East to the American West

Nichols Concert Hall, 1490 Chicago Avenue, Evanston: The events are free and no tickets are required.