In the Belly of the Beast

It has arrived: the official first day of the Fringe Festival. Supposedly there's a parade, but I haven't laid eyes on it yet. Preview days have been busy ones for this member of the Cow Crew. A brief but complete rundown of what I've seen so far:

Glenn Wool - American comedian, the kind of material where you can't believe you find it funny. Jokes about divorce, pot and Schindler's list, and not-being-a-pedophile.
Sword of Maximum Damage - a play about one really intense game of Castles and Kings. Cute, but I have certain siblings who with their wit and expertise could write a much better version of the same play.
Umbrage Swain - Indiana Jones/The Mummy type plot, but set in the eighties with a lot of music cues.
The Absurdity of Vanilla - Absurdly bad play about... what? Exploring kink? Kind of. Sexual stereotypes? Kind of. All I know is that the characters were 2 male gynecologists, 1 female gyn student, and a boy in drag who narrated the whole thing.
Stoning Mary - About a girl sentenced to death for killing a boy who killed her parents. Interesting but incomplete.
Lough/Rain - Intense. Wife deals with her husband going semi-vegetable after a car accident.
Eco-Friendly Jihad - Irish comedian talking about climate change, Sept. 11, and his ex-girlfriend. Really clever, hilarious, my first wholehearted recommendation.

All for free! Yay Underbelly staff pass.
I have my second night shift tonight, which truly exemplifies the Fringe lifestyle: get up 10ish, see shows all day, work 6PM-2AM and get in an hour and change of drinks and chat before bed.

I think the only other tidbit of interest is that outside the bar adjacent to Baby Belly there is a life size fiberglass cow. She now sports a sign that says Please Respect the Cow by Not Mounting It.