Random Soapbox for Saturday 3/31/12

I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but ...

... I think it's time to turn the bullying conversation to a different direction if it is going to survive as a true movement. And don't get it twisted -- I think it is exactly the type of thing that needs attention drawn to it -- I just think that it is more realistic to reflect and to take action a little more inwardly. After all, taking on the bullies too strongly actually turns you into a bully in a way.

Example -- the MPAA ruling that the new documentary "Bully" has to keep its R rating because of six or seven references of "for unlawful carnal knowledge" -- thus robbing today's youth who need to see this most. But here are my problems with this -- Weinstein (an alleged industry bully of epic proportions) is producing the film, and the kerfuffle portrays MPAA as a bully for not caving in to his demands ... but the creative team had the option of bleeping the offending words and chose not to. So who's bullying whom? And isn't the real message at risk of getting lost?

So what am I saying exactly? More that I think, as hard as we try, bullying will not be eradicated. Kids will be kids and they will exhibit the basest behavior as they develop personalities. Looking back at that sentence, I have to immediately follow up with a note that this is NOT an excuse for that behavior -- but is instead a call to action for those adults who observe or who come to learn of the situation. Kids being kids tend to mimic what they pick up from those in authority that they are all always watching -- and sometimes the things that get imprinted the most in their minds are the things that are NOT said.

In addition, I think that we all owe the world a little more embracing of individuality and encouraging for all to explore their unique paths in life. If we could find the sweet spot of not caring about what others think (without losing the truth that we should still care about others) -- I'd think we'd all be in a better place.

Admittedly, I do not come from a background of having been overtly bullied (I can remember two distinct instances -- one on the elementary school playground and one on the dance floor of my first college dance). Having always been an unusual child (and still being an unusual adult, if truth be told) ... I recognize that I may have been shielded from the brunt of this kind of activity because my socialization was delayed (I was just trying to survive the stepmother after all) ... but I also think that I had the support system to get me actualized and comfortable with myself.

In closing, and I apologize in advance for getting all Michael Jackson up in here ... but, with this too, I think it starts more with the person in the mirror (I went gender neutral there to not leave out any groups). Stop bullying ... but do so by making sure that you stand up in situations and that you strive to put this world into a more accepting mindset. And if you don't, I'm going to keep on picking on you until you do. [Wait a minute ...]

RESOURCES:

http://www.stopbullying.gov/

WHO's BULLYING WHOM?:

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-03-30/is-the-mpaa-a-film-ratings-bully

HELP SOMEONE ON THEIR PATH TO ACTUALIZATION TODAY:

http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/why-you-shouldnt-care-what-others-think-about-you/

Random Flashback for Friday 3/30/12

So long as Mark Zuckerberg, the Mayan apocalypse and my little heart cooperate (Mark Z in the affirmative, the Mayan apocalypse in the negatory and my heart in the sense that it needs to not stop beating), in 2032, I'll be flashing back on Facebook on Fridays to my current vacation in the sunny Mojave Desert. [Although I will hedge my bets and get my vacation photos up to Facebook by the middle of next week.]

But since it is currently 2012, I'm focused on 1992 -- and this picture that serves as a teaser for the set of photos I'll be posting over the next few weeks. So what does an abandoned run down hotel on rte 15 on the way to Gettysburg PA have to do with my activities around this time twenty years ago? You'll have to wait seven days to find out -- same blog time, same blog channel. [Or you can get all creative and float your own ideas ... (although that might be borrowing trouble as I might not want to know what you might guess ...)]

Random Thought for Thursday 3/29/12

Favorite things about this vacation so far ... I got to finally meet Joshua, and, all things considered, he seems nice enough for a tree ... While in the national park today, I got to see two actual road runners, and I "met" them when they literally ran in front of me on the road as I was driving (sorry, no pics of the road runners -- as they (and I) were both going too fast to stop to pose) ... and, while crisping my skin by the pool, I got to catch up on my old newspapers.

In particular, I enjoy seeing how my home state has been featured in the national news (and although I've been in Chicago for a third of my life so far, it's Pennsylvania and not Illinois to which I am referring). And the stories that were featured have been all over the map (warning -- I said I'm catching up on news whist poolside, so these items may be up to a few months old):

Indiana PA was featured as the place where the November White House shooter was arrested,
Harrisburg PA had the headline of the Liquor Control Board defeating a $1 per bottle price increase,
Reading PA was where the story came from that should have been the plot to a horror movie and not real life (the lady who hid her affair fetuses in her closet),
Philly PA was portrayed as considering a soda tax (lesson -- alcohol is good, soda is bad), was cracking down on bicyclists who were running red lights and riding against traffic (would that they brought that attitude to Chicago) and was being named the top city where people lost cell phones ...

... but the most unexpected story took place at my alma mater Lebanon Valley College in Annville PA where Camp Hill high school students attending football camp last summer took the emmy award winning J. Timberlake sketch to a new level and hazed their underclassmen with a round of "d*#k in a PIZZA box".

It all makes Chicago seem a little tame ...

WOULD THAT IT HAD BEEN A FICTIONAL HORROR STORY:
http://www.theweeklyvice.com/2011/07/michelle-kalina-woman-charged-with.html

MAYBE TAX THE COCAINE TRADE INSTEAD OF THE COCA COLA TRADE?:
http://www.consumerfreedom.com/2011/06/4459-philly-mayors-new-soda-tax-proposal-is-plain-nuts/

I HOPE THEY WERE AT LEAST CLEVER ENOUGH TO REFER TO IT AS SAUSAGE PIZZA:
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/11/3_charged_in_trinity_high_scho.html

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 3/28/12

Build Profiler.

Used in a sentence: "It turns out I may be a bit of a nervous flier -- which now manifests itself as I find myself almost subconsciously becoming a build profiler as I survey the passengers before we launch."

Meaning ... I scope out all those on the plane to determine on whom we will collectively rely if something goes wrong. Like today, for instance, that giant man that spent most of the flight pacing the aisles because he didn't seem to comfortably fit in the seat -- he gets to sit on the person until the authorities arrive. And that young-un who was seated next to me and was apparently separated from the rest of his college soccer team, you (and your crew) have to make the first move (it's the price you pay for being young and athletic and impetuous). I don't know that you can count on me for much of anything now that I've aged -- but I do have a world class stubborn streak in case that becomes relevant to our plans.

Oh -- and hipster boy -- first, I do believe those are ladies' jeans, and second, could you do me a favor and document any potential incident with your instagrams? Thanks!

Mind you, I do have some humanity. I haven't advanced this behavior to do any profiling for any bad guys (you know, like those who wear hoodies) -- although based on all of the recent stories, it seems like the "bad guys" might be pilots and other over-stressed airline staff.

By the way -- these comments aside -- I've arrived without incident and my spring break has commenced!

SO THERE'S THIS GUY:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/27/travel/jet-blue-flight-diverted/index.html

AND THERE'S THIS LADY:
http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/09/10623880-ranting-flight-attendant-reportedly-subdued-by-passengers

BUT NOT THIS IT PROJECT:
http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/java/library/j-jip/

Random Tune for Tuesday 3/27/12

Spring Break starts with an early morning flight out of Chicago to California!

In addition to the sunning and the drinking and the pooling and the resting and the relaxationing and the bar-crawling that is always part of vacation, I'm looking forward to two additional things on this, my third annual trip to the Palm Desert on or around Palm Sunday ...

First, the in-n-out burger that I will eat at some point on the trip (the theme song is one of today's two tunes) -- and thanks to work friends, I now know I can order things the secret way to get a 2x4 with cheese fries well done and a root beer shake (even though none of those items are on the menu)!

Second, the Joshua Tree National Park (this year's non-alcohol related tourist type trip) -- and so there's a little U2 sampler for some inspiration for me.

WARM UP THE GRILL, I'M ON MY WAY:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOpTv-d8Vfw

I'M GONNA FIND WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR (WITH THE HELP OF GPS ON MY PHONE):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LMxmtTkXgs

Random Memorial for Monday 3/26/12

Gone but not forgotten: All the pets I've loved before ...

[Did you hear a little Julio Iglesias in that opening, 'cause that happened to me after I typed it.]

I've spent the last two Mondays remembering two pets of mine who recently passed on (2008 and 2010 respectively) -- which, in turn, led me to this -- the last of my more morbid memories -- all of the other pets along the way.

Although my biological family isn't structured in such a way that I've had stories from my early years repeated enough when I was growing up to force the memory -- I do have pictures. Which means I've found me when I was 4 years old with a cat named "Silver" (my momma was good at writing on the back of the pics), with dogs named Wendy and Sandy when I was 6 (oh yeah -- and a few more relatives are in that shot), and then one super blurry photo of me with one of Sandy's puppies. [And if you can get past the cute animals, take a look at me -- how cute was I?]

Although I don't have photos at the ready, I also do remember the dog named Tippy from our place in Lebanon, and the cat named Tuppy from the Woodwards, and little Smokey (pics coming in a year or two to the Friday Flashbacks, as she was the kitten that lived in our dorm at LVC), and DJ's dog Shelby that I often walked and Little One the turtle (I snagged from Mt. Gretna) and Little One the ferret (I inherited from my brother Ben and his girlfriend).

In retrospect, it's just more proof that, in general, I seem to have always enjoyed the company of animals (maybe more than people?) ... and those that are all gone ... you are all missed.

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 3/25/12

What Chicago is talking about this week:

Some of us are still reacting to the "surprise" move of the G8 summit to Camp David, depriving Chicagoans of part of our big international weekend (although we do still get the NATO summit on May 20th and 21st, so there's that). Leadership-types have gone out of their way to dismiss the suggestion, but if it smells, walks and talks like a credible security threat -- it was probably a credible security threat. [Note to self -- visit family in Indiana on May 20th and 21st, and consider taking the cats on the trip.]

Regardless -- what I am talking about this week (I am in Chicago until spring break starts on Wednesday, but I might be alone in my conversation about this) ... is the woodpecker that I swear I heard here in Wrigleyville when I opened up the windows this morning. And I'm not in anyway attempting euphemistic cleverness here, but I'm literally 95% sure that it was an Illinois woodpecker (like the one pictured in this stock photo) that was going to town on some trees on my street!

ILLINOIS GOTS WILDLIFE, YO!:

http://web.extension.illinois.edu/wildlife/directory_show.cfm?species=woodpecker

SURPRISE! NO G-8 FOR YOU!:

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/03/05/g8-summit-moved-to-camp-david/

SURPRISE, SURPRISE!! NO PARADE PERMIT DURING THE NATO SUMMIT FOR YOU!:

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/03/05/g8-summit-moved-to-camp-david/

Random Soapbox for Saturday 3/24/12

I don't mean to go off on a rave here, but ...

... although it's been eight weeks since I first saw it, the Chrysler Halftime in America ad that premiered at the Super Bowl still chokes me up when I hear it. Clint probably doesn't want my eyes to tear up, but it really did resonate (and it continues to do so) -- and hey, in the modified words of LMFAO -- "I'm sensitive and I know it".


[And a quick mini-rant within a rave (you can take the boy out of the rant, but you can't take the rant out of the boy) ... those who immediately dismissed it as pro-one-party or a veiled campaign message or a piece worthy of frame by frame analysis for hidden messaging, can I just say to you -- "Good Grief"! I remember when politics was more than just propaganda, and when it was a process to choose our leaders -- now it's just a machine that feeds on itself.]


I'll provide links to the ad and to the transcript to avoid any copyright concerns, but this passage just gets at the mindset of those of us who are looking forward to a better life in this country ... "It seems like we’ve lost our heart at times. When the fog of division, discord, and blame made it hard to see what lies ahead. But after those trials, we all rallied around what was right, and acted as one. Because that’s what we do. We find a way through tough times, and if we can’t find a way, then we’ll make one."


Amen ... Clint and Chrysler ... Amen.


THE AFOREMENTIONED AD:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PE5V4Uzobc


THE NEWS RELEASE INCLUDING THE TRANSCRIPT OF THE AFOREMENTIONED AD:
http://www.media.chrysler.com/newsrelease.do;jsessionid=05575D5107F04B06A0FC1C983EC3E14E?&id=11963&mid=2


THE PEOPLE WHO TAKE THINGS TOO FAR:
http://www.bagnewsnotes.com/2012/02/the-clint-eastwood-chrysler-commercial-controversy-and-the-doctored-wisconsin-footage/

Random Posting for Penn State 3/24/12

Why am I posting for Penn State during the off-season?

Is it because Facebook on my phone sent me a notice that spring practice starts Monday?

Or is it because all of the hoopla over Ohio U advancing through the NCAA tournament has me hearing too too much about the Bobcats (they are our opening game on Sep 1 this year -- I mean, the football team is, not the basketball team -- but I don't need any halo effect making it any harder to kick things off)?

Or is it because the season opens in 161 days or so, in the aforementioned battle of the big cats?

Maybe a little of all three -- but it's probably just that I'm a contrarian and want to post about football to counterbalance all the Madness out there ...

IT WILL BE SEPTEMBER 1st BEFORE YOU KNOW IT!:
http://www.happyvalley.com/penn-state/psu-football/2012-penn-state-football-schedule

WELCOME BACK TO PRACTICE FERA AND REDD:
http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/032112aaa.html

ENJOY YOUR TIME IN THE SPOTLIGHT NOW, BOBCATS ...:
http://www.cleveland.com/sports/college/index.ssf/2012/03/former_bobcats_enjoying_ohio_u.html

Random Flashback for Friday 3/23/12

Here's me trying to be a rakish rogue - a regular ruffian if you will (and if you enjoy a bit of alliteration) ... a Sinatra lite (and speaking of lights, it's that darn flash that's making this a less than optimal picture).

Location -- the basement of the Little Theatre at LVC. Time -- as per usual, it's from twenty years ago in 1992. And that makes this the last photo from the Barefoot in the Park days.

I was not involved in the spring musical that year ... and I was soon on my academic sabbatical from LVC and off to Uniontown PA ... so this is one of the last times I set foot in this theatre space until the fall play in 1993 -- which, assuming we all survive the Mayan Apocalypse (276 days remain!), I'll have pics of all that in a short 18 months (as time sure does fly).

Hats off (or I guess hats on in this case) to skinny me!

Random Thought for Thursday 3/22/12

Dear little boy on the red line that was eyeing my peeps that I had gotten for free while walking outside of Marshall Fields the other day (note: I may only have been a Chicagoan since fall 2001, but even I know it will always be Marshall Fields and the Sears Tower), my heart said "go on -- give him one of these packs" ... but then my brain said "saying 'hey little boy, want some of my candy?' just doesn't work in today's s world".

Sorry kid -- but you have to learn the lesson sometime, and I guess at the age of 3 years old or so is young enough -- our world's a little screwed up!

Peeps out!

YES, THIS PEEPS MOBILE WAS PARKED OUTSIDE:

http://danwin.com/2011/04/peeps-mobile-converted-vw-bug-in-the-east-village/

NEW THIS YEAR --> MOUSSE FLAVORED PEEPS AND PEEPS POPS:

http://www.marshmallowpeeps.com/

SOME PEOPLE REALLY REALLY LOVE M. FIELDS:

http://fieldsfanschicago.org/blog/

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 3/21/12

Tree-hugging 2.0.

Used in a sentence, but only after a disclaimer:

DISCLAIMER: I recognize that tree-hugging has gone the way of college-attending, birth-control-taking and book-reading in the current election lexicon as things associated with "elitists", so please note that I am not directly commenting on this development [although, by even referencing this disclaimer, I am clearly commenting indirectly -- which makes sense, as I love to read and always have (even doing so as I walked to and fro my school), as I attended college for a long time (until they wouldn't let me do so any more because I had maxed out my student loans) and, as I have found myself stopped in my tracks at the beauty of nature (although I guess I never hugged up on a tree ...)]

SENTENCE: While walking home from the dentist office today during the seventh day of record breaking 80+ degree temps in Chicago in March, I did find myself suddenly concerned that all of the trees might have been tricked into blooming and budding too early, and that they would be in for a cruel fate once the weather turned cold again -- so I just briefly entertained the notion that I should walk up to each of them and warn them -- but since I didn't want to be committed, I declined what would have been my foray into Tree-hugging 2.0.

HERE'S HOW SOMEONE TURNED A SIMILAR CONCERN INTO A DAILY DEVOTIONAL:

http://www.denisonforum.org/etcetera/294-when-trees-bud-too-soon

HERE'S HOW SOMEONE EXPLAINED THAT IT'S GROUND TEMP SO ... NO WORRIES:

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865551477/Gardening-experts-Early-spring-buds-are-not-a-concern.html

HERE'S HOW SOMEONE EXPLAINED IT FOR TOBACCO (MAYBE THE WACKY KIND?):

http://www.caes.uga.edu/commodities/fieldcrops/tobacco/guide/documents/10%20PrematureFloweringManagement.pdf

Random Tune for Tuesday 3/20/12

I love me some fun on the interwebs. Take, for instance, the song that popped into my head the other day without prompting -- "Shattered Dreams" from Johnny Hates Jazz. Actually, at the time that it popped into my head, it was just "Shattered Dreams" from ... someone ... as I had no recollection of the name of the group that sang the song. But thanks to the somewhat accurate Wikipedia, I learned that it was ... Johnny Hates Jazz. And, more interestingly, I learned that Sergey Lazarev, a Russian pop star, released his version in 2006 and that French "fitness model" (you draw your own conclusion, but from the one pic in the clip, I'm pretty sure that "fitness model" is a euphemism for adult entertainer) Quentin Elias did so in 2009. And, all of them are available on the youtube, at the links below ...

CIRCA US 1987 (BUT WHY OH WHY DOES HE HATE JAZZ)?:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctwqa3QCwMw&ob=av2e

CIRCA RUSSIA 2006 BY SERGEY (EURO-POP REDUX?):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bglJ5FESws

CIRCA FRANCE 2009 BY "FITNESS MODEL" QUENTIN ELIAS (FOR THE CLUB KIDS?):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjdjIxsoMpM

Purposeful Memorial for Monday 3/19/12

Gone but not forgotten: Demon James.

It was four years ago this month that Demon passed on (I don't know what it is about this month and my pets ... with Mauler sick, I'm just hoping that she breaks this morbid trend the same way Reagan broke Tecumseh's curse!) ...

But of course I still think of you fondly, and it makes it easier since you have a habit of showing up in my dreams. [Funny how the mind deals with loss -- Demon's showed up multiple times, but as a twin -- in my dreams, there's two of them; one sick and one healthy like when he was younger.] But I can easily remember the real life things too.

Like how you used to jump up and drink out of the public water fountains along the RiverWalk in Harrisburg ... or how you slobbered all over my shoulder when we would stop at Hardees on the way from Chicago to South Bend to visit family ... or how you treed Robert when you decide to protect the pig ear you had been given. Truth be told, I still wince a little when I consider a doggie bag eating out at a restaurant (but I recover quickly when I recall how much you did enjoy the feast of leftover bones from those frequent Golden Sheaf wine dinners).

Plus there is our "meet cute" story -- me going to claim you from the friend of the girl I worked with at Cable AdCom to give to DJ. When I arrived the kids in the family were feeding you stones by throwing pebbles your way (which you promptly swallowed, as everything went into your mouth by default) and I pulled them aside and told them that I would feed them stones if I saw another one get tossed your way. Then we went home and you sat on one end of the couch while I watched TV and slowly ate one leg of my jeans, ripping a piece of denim off every fifteen or twenty minutes or so. We were bonded, so when DJ couldn't keep you, you were mine for the next dozen years.

Demon, I only wish that I had had you from the beginning, but in the time I had, you were always loved ... and now you are most certainly missed.

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 3/18/12

What Chicago is talking about this week:

... the fact that we are now a 2012 Spring Break destination! I've already lost count of how many days we've set a record in the 80's for mid-March, but I did spy the overall US weather map and I'm pretty sure we're having nicer weather than Florida and California. To be honest, 85% of me is just fine with this turn of meteorological events -- leaving 5% apprehensive about the summer (if it's in the 80's in March, will be in the 110's in July?), 5% I-told-you-so-ing about the upcoming end of the world prophecies (the magnetic poles are switching as we speak/type/read) and 5% upset that my own personal spring break in 10 days (my third annual trip to the Palm Desert area) might result in me being in a cooler place than I'm leaving!

REWRITING THE RECORD BOOKS:
http://blog.chicagoweathercenter.com/2012/03/chicagos-all-time-top-5-warmest-temperatures-through-march-17th.html

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO REALLY GET INTO THIS END OF THE WORLD STUFF:
http://www.survivalcenter.com/Planetx.html

AVG TEMPS IN MARCH/APRIL RANGE FROM 48-87:
http://www.palm-desert.org/visiting-palm-desert/weather

Random Soapbox for Saturday 3/17/12

I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but ...

... after walking three miles around my neighborhood today (most of it was on my way back from the Chicago History Museum [yep, I'm a square -- or I would be if it were still the 50's]) and seeing lots and lots of drunk young people covered in green, I can state affirmatively that the only thing I saw that was authentically Irish was the poor setter that was being walked a block away.

Don't get me wrong -- far be it from me to begrudge anyone their fun. I mean -- I did the same thing when I was younger (circa Feb 2012). And I fully support all the money that will flow into local businesses to help us get out of the recession (if you're still going hours later and can go all night -- may I recommend TRACE in Wrigley ... til 5AM on Saturdays! ...), but here are some of the problems I'm having:

1.) I feel certain that the good name of Guinness is going to be besmirched by many who think they have to drink it because it's St. Patrick's Day instead of because it's the most amazing drink in the world that provides more-buzz-per-unit and has restorative powers. If you order it, you best drink it to the last drop. I don't want to hear of any waste!

2.) I think it is a crutch to start drinking before noon "in honor" of the celebration. I have the same feeling about this as I do about drinking games in general. I don't need anyone to tell me when I'm supposed to drink. I will drink as much as I want too and as quickly (or slowly) as I want to and at the time I damn well choose. As for me, even when on vacation (with the exception of my trips to Mexico in 07 and 08), it must be noon:01 before I start imbibing. [To be clear, that holier than thou statement needs to be put in the context that I've been known to still be drinking at 6am on occasion, so my blackout period (pun half-intended) is just that 25% of the day between 6 in the morning and noon -- but everyone needs some rules to live by.]

3.) I tried to stop myself from doing so, but I just couldn't resist judging those green-wearing hussies stumbling around the hood as if I were a candidate for president in the Republican party. And all things Rush aside, I HOPE you're the kind that are taking birth control, because I am not convinced that you are completely in control of your faculties. [Please note: the underlying misogyny in this bullet point is intended to be (wink-wink) and not a part of the "war on women" of Election 2012.]

4.) And boys -- your extreme alcohol intake that's on display might not get you pregnant (although stumble too close to the lake, and you might end up having an unexpected sexual experience all the same) but it sure does seem to lead to a few fights as you play bumper people with other drunks on the sidewalk. If you're going to perpetuate the Irish stereotypes on this holiday, how about you consider the one about the Irish being quick to resort to fisticuffs. To be clear, I'm not endorsing the kind of fisticuffs that result in one person hitting the sidewalk too hard and the other person being hauled off to jail -- or the kind that Chris Brown and Rihanna engage in (the domestic violence, not the post-abuse duet-ing) -- but the kind that doesn't involve knives or guns. A hit, a punch, a slap, a tickle -- just some good old fashioned (and safer, relatively speaking) pugilism and nothing that gets too drastic please.

5.) I'm sure this will be news to those of you who think fortune cookies come from China, but the true color of Ireland tradition is blue -- and not green. So there. That's why I think you look so silly.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you and yours!

DON'T YOU WASTE A DROP OF MY PRECIOUS GUINNESS:
http://appletonhub.postcrescent.com/ic/beerman/beer_9575486.shtml

THE TOP 10 IRISH FIGHTERS OF ALL TIME:
http://www.northtexasfisticuffs.com/2010-articles/march/qeire-go-brawl-the-top-10-irish-boxers-of-all-time.html

NOT TO RAIN ON YOUR PARADE, BUT THE TRADITIONAL IRISH COLOUR IS BLUE:
http://www.bloggernews.net/120122

Random Flashback for Friday 3/16/12

Let me clarify the following:

1.) My being in makeup for this shot was related to a stage show -- I was not going through some goth or kabuki phase.

2.) This picture was from rehearsal (and not the actual performance) of Barefoot in the Park, the LVC winter play in 1992 (twenty years ago), and so the giant neon McDonald's cup is not an anachronistic error.

3.) Although it may seem otherwise, I was not only doing this show that semester long ago. Apparently, if I reconstruct my life from my files and notes of that time, I was also doing a horrible job at academics (I stopped going to three of my classes, and settled for B minuses in the other three), balancing four jobs (in the LVC library, working at the College Center desk -- which was really just watching drunk college kids hook up at the Underground each weekend, doing the occasional theatre thing with my cousin's company -- taking me to the Columbus area where I did my one and only audition for a McDonalds commercial, and making most of my money by biking back and forth to Hills Department Store -- well, making my money by working there not by biking there), and weighing 165 lbs.

I do keep the oddest records of things, don't I.

Random Thought for Thursday 3/15/12

Just looking out for those of you who might be like me and who sometimes struggle to engage in small talk.

Just looking out for those of you who might be like me and who sometimes are expected to know the most random of facts.

Now available should you find yourself with strangers who expect you to say something OR in your next round of trivia OR if you find yourself playing trivia with strangers.

1.) Water boatmen river bugs (who are 1/10 of an inch in length) make noises up to eight times louder than a human (relative to its body size) and are therefore now considered one of Earth's loudest creatures.

2.) The number of member nations of the UN now stands at 193, after South Sudan recently joined.

Good luck in your conversations/at your games of trivia!

SOUND MADE BY STRIDULATION (like a cricket):
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-07-05/news/ct-talk-loudest-animal-0705-20110705_1_windmill-insect-body-parts

OR, AS THE BRITISH SAY, IT'S HIS MUSICAL WILLY THAT MAKES THE NOISE:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3669816/Bugs-musical-willy-breaks-noise-record.html

BUT DID YOU KNOW THE 54 THAT AREN'T MEMBERS?:
http://www.worldometers.info/united-nations/

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 3/14/12

The Running Dead.

Used in a sentence: "The creative side of me loves the recent growth of fund-raising runs that include a zombie aspect (runners run from zombies -- apparently, you sign up as one of the living or as one of 'The Running Dead') ... but the anxious side of me thinks that there is bound to sometime soon be a race where someone gets shot directly in the head (or pick-axed, or screwdrivered, or rock-bashed, or arrowed, or any of the other 'fun' ways that zombies die on AMC's Walking Dead)."

Hopefully they screen participants for those who might be mentally unstable, or under the influence, or fond of apocalyptic stories -- basically those who might get caught up in the moment and panic and take down someone chasing them in a manner from which they could never return.

Oh -- and the season finale of one of the classiest end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it shows currently on television is this Sunday night! Many will die (some multiple times)!

ONLY HOURS REMAIN UNTIL THE SEASON 2 FINALE:

http://www.amctv.com/shows/the-walking-dead

AS THEY SAY ... ZOMBIES, ZOMBIES EVERYWHERE:

http://www.stridenation.com/2012/2/21/2813374/the-running-dead-zombies-zombies-everywhere

ZOMBIES WHILE ON VACATION (CAN YOU VACATION IN HAITI YET?):

http://markhall.hubpages.com/hub/livingdead

Random Tune for Tuesday 3/13/12

One year ago this month on consecutive Fridays, I was flashing back to my role in "The Pajama Game", supplying multiple pics from the time when I was Sid Sorokin on stage at LVC. It was one of the rare times I've ever sung publicly, but one of the songs often pops back into memory -- and at the strangest moments. A co-worker of mine "pinged" me on Skype the other day with the words ... "Hey There" ... to which I replied ... "You with the stars in your eyes". She was understandably confused. Anyway, here's the Harry Connick Jr version of that song from the recent Broadway revival.

... LOVE NEVER MADE A FOOL OF YOU ... YOU USED TO BE TOO WISE ...:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgt-pqlIC6I

Purposeful Memorial for Monday 3/12/12

Gone but not forgotten: Mystery Josephine.

It was two years ago this month that little Mystery suffered her strokes and was put to sleep.

She was the litter mate of Murder (and they were so named because they came along right around the time I stopped doing my murder mysteries back in the late 90's) -- and she grew into her name. The one who was most scared most quickly, she often disappeared and visitors sometimes didn't even know she existed, as she had her favorite hiding places (including the Logan Square apartment, where she found a way to use the top of the TV to jump to the storage space above the closet to find a basket of old stuffed animals with whom she set up house).

But she did so loved to be combed, and she did so enjoy sleeping right next to Mauler (who shared her markings), and she perfected the stare from afar, looking like she wanted so much to say something but she just couldn't find the way to do so -- which she would often do after she came out at meal time to perch above my shoulder on the couch looking for a small piece of that night's dinner.

My favorite Mystery story was how she was chosen -- she was a rescue kitten at the local PetSmart, one of three that were in the cage on the first day. When we returned to pick one out from that group a day later, one had already been sent back to the vet to die. Although I didn't want any at all (the ferret had just died, and I didn't want to "replace" it) -- we picked Murder first (as she was the gregarious one), but, as we walked away, Mystery got up for the first time in two days and started calling out. And so, it was two cats we took home that day.

Mystery, you most certainly went too soon, and you are missed.

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 3/11/12

What Chicago is talking about this week:

The international home and housewares show is at the convention center!

Although several sections were marked "no photography" to protect the hottest items, I think I am allowed to report on what I discovered on the floor of the exhibits as my brain was not wiped out a la Men in Black upon departure:

1.) Someone is still making and marketing and selling Krazy Straws!

2.) When Paula Deen gets confused (she was a guest presenter at one of the sections) and is given the wrong recipe, and says over and over again "where's my celery", she sounds unexpectedly like Harry Caray.

3.) Innovative products I saw -- the two tiered cereal bowl that allows you to pour milk in the bottom section and keep the cereal in the top, so that you can drop it in the liquid one spoonful at a time to avoid the dreaded cereal sogginess, the meatball griller that allows you to make meatballs in a cupcake like tin, the hot dog slicer to help your kids eat more hot dogs, and the specially formatted spoon that lets you dip your Oreo into your milk without touching it.

4.) As you can tell from the above, the overall theme of the kitchen area seemed to be the ongoing lazification of America.

5.) Other interesting items on display -- a toothbrush that sings Justin Bieber to you as you brush (an innovation we probably could have done without), a toilet seat with a lighted nightlight on the lid (for better aiming) and a toilet seat with a UV light under the lid to kill the creepy crawlies that might be on your seat.

6.) Tangerine Tango was declared 2012's hot color.

7.) Mr. Clean really exists. He's not just a cartoon. I saw him today at the convention. (And how's that for a temp job for muscle bound bald men? I now have a part time job to which I can aspire.)

So ... you heard it here first!

THE DIPr (for germophobes who want their cookies cradles while they are dipped):
http://www.thedipr.com/

TANGERINE TANGO (or just plan orange for those of us who aren't so fancy):
http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/12/09/tangerine-tango-the-bright-encouraging-color-of-2012/

NEVER EAT SOGGY CEREAL AGAIN (or how to get to world peace, one problem at a time):
http://www.obol.co/

Random Soapbox for Saturday 3/10/12

I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but ...

... not cool, American Education Services ... not cool!

It was a one page piece of paper that arrived in the mail with the heading "THIS LETTER IS FOR YOUR INFORMATION ONLY", with very little other print than this summary sentence at the end: "WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU: The loan(s) listed on the reverse side of this letter have been paid in full as a result of this payment."

My first thought -- I have a benefactor, and he or she just took care of my substantial student loan debt. My second thought -- I wonder if said benefactor will have a back story as rich as Miss Havisham's (I am a strange child). My third thought -- the latest stimulus package had been announced, and they chose to start with me, and this was how they were notifying me. My fourth thought -- someone back home works at the agency and found a way to hit a button and erase my situation. My fifth thought -- I should probably take a closer look at this letter.

Which brings me to my "not cool" part of the story -- for this one page letter arriving in winter of 2011/2012 was notification that, in May 2007 when I consolidated, all of my existing loans were "paid off" in order to create the massive one that was still owed. Why the sent this notification some five years after the paperwork went through -- I have no idea!

So again, I say ... not cool, American Education Services, not cool.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS CLIFF NOTES TYPE SITE FOR OTHER MISS HAVISHAM FANS:

http://www.bookrags.com/notes/gex/CHR.html

THE BUBBLE WILL BURST AND ECONOMY WILL BE CRIPPLED:

http://www.ktsm.com/local/is-student-loan-debt-the-next-bubble-to-cripple-americas-economy

WITHOUT A BENEFACTOR, IBR IS MY BEST BET:

http://www.ibrinfo.org/what.vp.html

Random Flashback for Friday 3/9/12

[Bear with me ... I'm midway through my flashback to LVC's Barefoot in the Park from 1992 -- here's pic 3 of 5 (with credit to the Lebanon Daily News photographer visible).]

This photo was accompanied by the official local review, which said nice things about my "ease of delivery ... with just the right touch of self assuredness", about co-star Brigette C's "bouncy ... and completely convincing portrayal" of the new wife and about how Shawn W and Sarah T (who joins me in the picture) "[rose] to the challenge of playing roles by actors who are less than half the age of their characters".

As I recall, this was one of my two favorite scenes -- returning from a night out, drunk on uzu. (The other was a fight scene shortly after this where I got to clear the coffee table of its contents, at one performance flinging pieces into the front row as if it were a Gallagher show.)

Good times ... good times. And a foreshadowing of sorts, as I was to actually make my return to the same stage (albeit one that was remodeled thanks to the goodness and the dollars of the Leedy family during the interim) in just a few years in another lawyer role (everyone remember what they were doing on the night of January 16th?)! But that's another flashback for another set of Fridays in another few years ...

Random Thought(s) for Thursday 3/8/12

[It's a double-feature. Not because I only have two random thoughts a day. I have more like a googol of them. And that's not pandering to the folks who make my smart phone work -- that's the way it feels some days inside my head.]

First thought: To the 7-11 employee (for whom English is clearly not your first language) that stopped mid-transaction this morning when I was buying the paper to stare at the picture in the corner, with flabbergasted-ness clearly communicated regardless of the language barrier, and to say so sadly, "Oh ... they let him go" ... please know that I am not your sports authority. I feel like many more words have been provided on this subject and hours of commentary can be sought out on the right channels, but at least we could connect on the thought that Manning's departure was sad. And I wasn't wrong to say he hurt his neck and couldn't heal -- and you weren't wrong to say that he was the one who played in ... "that championship".

Second thought: To the lady who was raised Catholic, but even so still thinks that those men running for President are just taking it too far, and who finally confronted the person who thought you were mean based on that incident from three years ago but whom you told that you weren't mean at all, and that, if anything, you were guilty of the sin of omission (providing you another chance to mention that you were raised Catholic) because it was more about what you didn't say than what you said -- the reason I startled you and said "good luck" as I left with my Bacon Mac-n-Cheeseburger from Noodles and Company is because I thought that, even though you were embracing your modern technology, maybe you shouldn't have been so loud in that restaurant as I could really care less.

ONE FOLLOWED BY ONE HUNDRED ZEROS OF RANDOM THOUGHTS:
http://planetmath.org/encyclopedia/Googol.html

IN INDY, THEY HAD A "PEYTON's PLACE" BLOG:
http://www.theindychannel.com/sports/30410253/detail.html

MMM ... DELICIOUS!:
http://noodlesandcompany.wordpress.com/2011/03/10/mac-cheese-isn%E2%80%99t-just-for-kids-anymore/

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 3/7/12

Home for Old Pugs.

Used in a sentence: "The elderly lady at the end of my block clearly is running a Home for Old Pugs."

Actually, I guess I am putting a lot of faith in the sweetness of said elderly lady (who is now so old that she has a healthcare worker that takes care of the animals). After all, with at least seven or eight that I've counted as they walk through the 'hood or are let out to do their business in the front yard, this could just as easily be a Pug hoarding situation ...

Mostly it's a sweet scene. With many of them, you can't even tell their original coloring as they've just gone gray everywhere. A few are able to amble about -- and there is one who plays the role of Thug Pug, young enough to run the length of the fenced-in area and to bark as ferociously as his 5 lbs will allow.

Hey -- who am I to judge. More Pug-Power to her!

EVERYONE WANTS TO BLOG -- EVEN THIS PUG:

http://lifeofapug.blogspot.com/

ADOPT A SR DOG:

http://www.srdogs.com/Pages/adopt.html

OF COURSE, DON'T YOU DARE GO OVERBOARD:

http://www.animalhoarding.com/

Random Tune for Tuesday 3/6/12

I'm pleased to have pulled the trigger tonight on another month of my "Facebook birthday project", with a donation (in honor of my 42 FB connections who publicized their birthday in the month of February) to the local Ronald McDonald house -- currently under construction as the world's largest, and next to the brand new Lurie Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago which will open this summer.

Somehow in my barely 40 years, I've yet to stay over in the hospital a night (as a patient) [which probably speaks more to my relatively risk-averse sedentary lifestyle than anything else] -- but I'm pretty sure that the House back home near the (Penn State) Hershey Med Center has had a Neidermyer or two stay there over the years. And, to be clear, McDonalds was a huge part of my youth, so this was an easy pick of a charity for me.

It was one of my first real jobs in high school, and I met a lot of quality people there -- including those that would help me when I struck out on my own and ran away from home and friends that helped shape me from "little Troy boy" to "older boy with some responsibilities" [I was still just 17 and 18 after all.] Looking back, the only times I've ever been to the ski slopes or white water rafting was with other McFolk -- and my best friends and I all met by working the grill and the drive through at the East Lebanon McDonalds.

I still have a McNugget buddy. I can remember eating a McDLT. I made the double quarter pounder with cheese before it was a menu item. I greeted most of the population of late eighties Lebanon and worked on my speaking voice by having many many shifts at the Drive-Thru. I distributed game pieces, made biscuits, ran the clam grill, double-folded take out bags, changed the fry grease, built salads in the back, cleaned the ice cream machine, ate "just-expired" food at the end of the night as we closed (and blasted music through the empty dining room).

And I worked there in 1989 when they ill-advisedly tried to have this commercial's "McDonalds Menu song" catch on:

MCDLT FEATURED RIGHT UP FRONT:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqXTAXjMHvg

Random Memorial for Monday 3/5/12

Gone but not forgotten: JoePa's image, a wrestler's testicle and "loose" talk about March M@dne$$ (I don't want to get sued ...)

[Two things -- this has ended up as a bonus entry to that "My Kind of Sports Center" Theme Week I did in Feb 2011 and, with that list in the opening sentence, I would almost rather that Carnac the Magnificent take it from here ...]

This past November, Penn State mandated that the clothing shops along E College Avenue are no longer allowed to sell Penn State licensed products featuring Paterno's name, likeness, and/or image, in what may be an ill placed attempt to welcome Coach O'Brien.

A few days ago, John Levi Miller, a pro wrestler, is suing the bout's promoter over an aggressive opponent who went rogue, kicked him in the groin, and ruptured one of his testicles -- that then had to be removed.

And last year around this time, it was announced that the NCAA paid $17 million dollars to protect the term "March Madness" (TM) from being used by a local company who was including it in programming for mobile devices. Some may be focused on the "loose" language about Israel bombing Iran any time soon -- others are just protecting their money making efforts.

Days of reading the sports pages for only local team scores, you are missed.

WHAT'S NEXT -- BANNING THE ICE CREAM?:
http://www.centredaily.com/2012/02/21/3097941/paterno-products-leave-store-shelves.html

NOT SAYING ANYTHING IN PARTICULAR, BUT IT MAY HAVE HAPPENED IN KY:
http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/offbeat/story/2012/02/29/wrestler-unscripted-kick-lawsuit.html

HOW TO GET 17 MILLION FROM YOUR MARCH MADNESS ACTIVITIES:
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/colleges/5321086-419/ncaa-paid-17-million-to-protect-march-madness.html

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 3/4/12

What Chicago is talking about this week:

... more and more big box stores are proving that there's a way to do it in the big city (despite initial concerns over a working wage and annihilating mom-n-pop stores).

Latest to the party ... the "Clybourn Corridor" near Goose Island will get a brand new PetSmart and a BuyBuyBaby (ooh -- pets and babies for sale in a young professional 'hood -- perfect match). Target was the first big box to make its imprint in the area (and now I can walk to one), and Walmart found a way in despite lots of opposition (and now I can walk to a Walmart express and soon I can walk to a full blown one in the space near where I used to work in the office before taking this remote workforce role).

Final thought: to that lady in the faux fur lined coat at the Walmart Express check out line yesterday who was bragging about how it was the "first time you stepped foot inside a Walmart", I call bullsh!t. You looked just as plebeian as the rest of us ...

PETS AND BABIES FOR SALE (coming soon to the Clybourn Corridor):
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/02/03/new-big-box-shopping-center-coming-near-goose-island/

THE 2010 VERSION OF THE STORY:
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2010/12/10/controversy-erupts-over-east-lakeview-wal-mart-plan/

JUST ONE YEAR LATER, IT'S A DIFFERENT TALE:
http://progressillinois.com/posts/content/2011/10/28/walmart-quietly-gaining-chicago-faces-neighborhood-resistance

Random Soapbox for Saturday 3/3/12

I don't mean to go off on a rant here, but ...

... there's a time and a place when the spirit of the law needs to be honored instead of the letter of the law.

Want an example? How about the Omaha Burke High School girls basketball team, who recently played their rivals Columbus High and wore pink in support of a Make-A-Wish Fundraiser -- and who were then called for a technical foul after the Columbus Athletic Director raised the issue to the officials. Why? Because state rules say that home teams must wear white.

Look -- I can already hear the arguments of the need for bright line rules and the slippery slope of how one exception would lead to a destruction of the integrity of the game. But with the strains of "No Good Deed Goes Unpunished" as background music slowly building to a crescendo to accompany my thoughts ... surely there can be exceptions made when youth are being taught to give back to the community -- to think of others instead of themselves -- to exhibit charitable behavior.

And I know that not everyone manages to escape Plato's cave to learn the difference between the "reality" of the shadows vs. the "reality" of the blinding sun of truth -- but once presented to the refs (and I blame the AD for even bringing it up), couldn't they have somehow found a Solomonesque solution that could honor the spirit of what the Burkian girls were attempting to do?

Shame on you, Columbus High AD and coaches! Fie on you, game officials for your foul behavior! Kudos, Burke High girls bball team, for standing up for recognizing reputable worthwhile charities!

[By the way, I'm doing something different this year, and celebrating FB birthdays by donating $1.00 for each one that is publicly posted to one of my favorite charities. The calendar is set for each month for the rest of the year, and here's the upcoming line-up (referenced in case someone wants to move their 100 pennies to a different organization than the calendar dictates):

MAR -- PAWS
APR -- Lustgarten Foundation
MAY -- National MS Society
JUN -- Vital Bridges
JUL -- Save the Children
AUG -- Muscular Dystrophy Association
SEP -- Autism Speaks
OCT -- Susan G Komen for the Cure
NOV -- Greater Chicago Food Depository
DEC -- Trevor Project.]

HECK, I'VE TURNED WHITES TO PINK JUST BY LAUNDERING THINGS WRONG:
http://www.omaha.com/article/20120208/NEWS01/702079815

THE CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION INDIRECTLY AFFECTED IN NEBRASKA:
http://nebraska.wish.org/

NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9D7y0omnN4

Random Flashback for Friday 3/2/12

Here's the second of five shots from 1992's 'Barefoot in the Park' at LVC's Little Theatre twenty years. Let's see if I can list the things you see here that you just don't see any more nowadays:

1) me with my long-ish curly hair (I mean, I could probably grow the front this long again -- but not all of my follicles are team players anymore, if you know what I'm sayin') ...

2) me on stage (don't get me wrong, I can still turn on the shtick from my performance days in my modern routine -- it's more that I haven't memorized lines to perform in front of others since the century started a dozen years ago) ...

3) the tie without a collared shirt look (sorry about that -- I think I was just posing during rehearsals for a "play prep in progress" photo) ...

4) a corded phone (clearly almost another character in this shot -- but the play did premier in the sixties [not our version, the original], so it's way before bag phones, and smart phones and all the i-cult products).

My oh my ... how twenty years have gone by so quickly!

Random Thought for Thursday 3/1/12

My name is Troy, and I'm a part of the next economic bubble burst.

[I'm thinking about starting a chapter of student loaners anonymous, but then I guess I shouldn't publicly announce those plans on this blog or on Facebook.]

News is that total outstanding student loan debt will hit $1 trillion this year, and will burden our economy far into the future, much like the other bubbles a-bursting that led us to the recent Great Recession.

To be certain, my contribution is apparently 1/4 millionth of that overall situation, so I don't need any villagers to come busting down my door with pitchforks and torches. But I will admit to a life as a professional student with mild hoarding tendencies who only stopped collecting degrees when he maxed out of loan money eligibility.

In summary, I plan to refer to myself from now on as "Troy -- I'm one in a trillion."

FORGIVING STUDENT LOANS AS A PART OF A STIMULUS:
http://www.forgivemystudentloans.com/is-forgiving-1-trillion-dollars-in-student-loan-debt-the-right-plan/

DEBT GROWS BY $2853.88 PER SECOND, SAY SOME:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/campus-overload/post/one-trillion-dollars-student-loan-debt-builds-toward-yet-another-record/2011/10/19/gIQAbUoJyL_blog.html

SAYS CNBC, WE'VE JUST SURVIVED THE BUBBLE DECADE:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/33972968