Random Memorial for Monday 9/30/13

Gone but not forgotten:  the federal government.

You know what, screw it.  I want a redo.  I can't stomach any more of this gamesmanship, and I'm not going to devote a whole post to attempting to settle on some kind of personal truth when no side is blameless in the situation, and when "playing chicken" has risen through the ranks of leadership styles to be preferred by those elected by us (which, in a way, makes "us" the fools).  Play on, government playas, especially now that you've assured that my nephews in the military are "essential" and will get paid despite a shutdown.

So let's start again ...

Gone but not forgotten:  Walt and Jesse.

I promise not to provide any spoilers, for any of you Breaking-Bad-come-latelys who are still busy netflixing the series and who weren't part of the 10.1 million people who watched the finale last night when it aired (although, I can say that there's certainly a body count, and that can't possibly surprise any real fan of the show), but I can say I'm going to miss my "fix" of this show.  Wonderfully written, amazingly acted, fantastically filmed ... it was an exquisite experience from Pilot to Felina.  It best not leave the Emmy voters conscience in the lull between now and the 2014 Emmy process, because every single damn performer deserves a nomination/win (every single damn one, I say -- even baby Holly, who was in some of the most dramatic scenes of the final season, and who emoted with the best of this cast).

That which the 2013 Guinness World Records called the highest-rated TV series of all time, citing a Metacritic score of 99/100 (see below) ... you will be sorely missed, yo!

MILITARY ARE ESSENTIAL:
http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/government-shutdown-senate-sends-obama-military-pay-bill-97582.html

GUINNESS BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS, YO!:
http://www.avclub.com/articles/breaking-bad-earns-world-record-for-highestrated-s,102509/

GET YOUR HEISENBERG ON WITH A LITTLE QUANTUM PHYSICS:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/science-questions/quantum-suicide2.htm

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 9/29/13

What Chicago is talking about this week:

Human nature, really.

Are any of us really surprised, courtesy of news in the post Snowden disclosure informational age, that NSA agents, when given access to databases and equipment with which to monitor others, instinctually gravitated toward checking in on lost loves and exes?

Let he or she who hasn't been exposed to a national database at your place of employment and who didn't then "practice" by searching on names from his or her past cast the first virtual stone here, am I right?  [Not that I did anything with that information -- I mean, not that the "he or she" I'm referencing would have ever hypothetically done anything with that information ...]

[Hmmm ... I should probably stop now whilst I'm ahead, and before anyone reviews my resume and starts guessing as to the databases to which I've been exposed over the years.]

NOT SURPRISED:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/27/us-usa-surveillance-watchdog-idUSBRE98Q14G20130927

OF COURSE THEY DID:
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/09/loveint-given-immense-powers-nsa-employees-super-cyber-stalked-their-crushes/

NOT THAT YOU SHOULD FOLLOW THEIR LEAD OR ANYTHING:
http://blogs.findlaw.com/blotter/2013/09/legal-to-secretly-spy-on-your-spouse.html

Random Posting for Penn State 9/28/13

Here are 9 Nittany Nuggets from today's game!

[Wait ... that can't be right.  It's a BYE WEEK (the first of two this year, but not as bad as next year, where we only play 2 games in the whole month of Oct 2014).  So let's try this again ...]

Here are 9 Nittany Nuggets from coverage of this week's announcement that sanctions are being lightened!

1.)  Nathan Hatch (president of the NCAA board of directors):  "This action [restoring scholarships] provides an opportunity to recognize Penn State's significant momentum while also providing opportunities for student-athletes."
2.)  Jay Paterno (via tweet):  "NCAA gives back SOME PSU scholarships?  Why not ALL?  ANY football sanctions are still an affront to the truth."
3.)  Paterno family (in a statement):  "Over the last 14 months it has become clear to open minded people that the Freeh report is deeply flawed and the actions by the NCAA were precipitous and unjust."
4.)  George Mitchell (independent athletics integrity monitor):  "I made my recommendation based upon my view that having acted with courage and fortitude in implementing the changes required by the agreement, that should be recognized and the sanctions modified in particular with respect to student-athletes ..."
5.)  BONUS George Mitchell quote:  "And I recommend that the NCAA hold out the prospect of future mitigation in postseason eligibility to create an incentive to stay the course."
6.)  Mark Emmert (NCAA president):  "This action is a recognition that the university has in fact begun the process in a very serious way and has worked very hard at it ... it's in fact a reward for and recognition of the responsiveness of the university."
7.)  Christine Brennan (USAToday columnist):  "Moving on should be extremely difficulty.  The punishment was right the first time."
8.)  Gene Marsh (Penn State attorney):  "So many people ... have worked so hard to try to not only meet the Freeh Report's recommendations, but to go way beyond that."
9.)  Troy Neidermyer (author of this series of random posts for Penn State):  "Since the news of Sandusky broke, I've been counting down the number of games until the 2016 post-season opportunity -- but it sounds like that now needs to be qualified?"

In closing, thanks for the recommendation Senator George ... and the countdown to our next post-season game that may or may not be as late as 2016 stands at no more than 44 more games (but may be a bit less)!

FIRST OF TWO BYE WEEKS THIS YEAR:
http://www.happyvalley.com/penn-state/psu-football/2013-penn-state-football-schedule-schedule

NEXT YEAR, WE BARELY PLAY IN OCTOBER:
http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa-14/big-ten/2014-penn-state-nittany-lions-football-schedule.php

COVERAGE OF THE DEVELOPMENT (AND SOURCE OF MOST QUOTES ABOVE):
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2013/09/24/ncaa-executive-committee-to-gradually-restore-penn-state-scholarships/2860989/

Random Soapbox for Saturday 9/28/13

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

... *this* is the mailbox at the end of my block (at Wilton and Grace in the heart of the Wrigleyville 'hood), and it offends me.

Digging a little deeper, I recognize that it offends me because it confuses me.  I have learned to associate that the green color on boxes like these scattered throughout the neighborhood are a sign that the receptacles are "relay boxes", for postal service use only.  And that the blue color on boxes are ones into which I'm supposed to deposit my outgoing mail (yes, I'm of the age to still occasionally make use of the services that USPS has to offer).

Which is why this box with its dissociative identity disorder throws me for a loop every damn time.

In light of this situation, I'd like to strike a deal with the USPS.  I understand that you'd like to increase the cost of postage stamps by 3 cents.  Well,  here's my 3 cents as to how I'd like you to use that 3 cent increase -- 1 penny to keep on keepin' on with Saturday delivery, 1 penny into properly funding your employee retirement plans (I have family of friends that count on those promises) and 1 penny toward the purchase of blue paint (or green paint) to solve this box's identity crisis with some sense of finality.

MORE INCENTIVE TO DO EMAIL AND ENGAGE IN ONLINE BILL PAY:
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/09/25/chart-even-with-3-cent-hike-postage-still-cheap-by-historical-standards

SOMEHOW I MISSED THAT THE DO NOTHING CONGRESS DID THIS:
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/04/10/usps-saturday-mail-delivery-stays-for-now

REFLECTIONS ON THOSE RELAY BOXES:
http://thepositivepage.com/2012/06/13/relay-mail-boxes-us-postal-history-found-on-a-walk-in-town/

Random Flashback for Friday 9/27/13

Ok ... one more family photo from just over 20 years ago in late summer 1993.

This is me and my Aunt Bea (my mom's sister), at that same Trate Reunion at which last week's picture was taken.  [Of course, you'd know that if you had the ability to zoom in to the name tags, assuming, that is, that you had to because you didn't recognize me since I was so skinny and had all that hair (although the wife beater, backwards ball cap and theatre masks gold chain is a bit of a giveaway when it comes to "early nineties Troy".]

My younger life being what it was, I wasn't as tuned in to my mother's side of the family (we were all pawns in my dad's fourth wife's jealousy games), but Aunt Bea stepped up when I did finally run away from home a few years earlier, and she helped me recreate that genealogy by sharing information and family photos and the like for me to put it all in the computer.

Of course, that was twenty years ago, so the computer is long gone, as is the floppy disk on which the files were saved, but luckily I have the paper copies somewhere in my "file room" (that's the name for the hoarding space in the apartment).  There's a generation's worth of updates to make it to it, so I *must* make it a winter priority to get that space in order, so that it's ready for my grandkids.  [Note to self:  perhaps acquiring grandkids should also be a winter priority ...]

Random Thought for Thursday 9/26/13

I'm not sure if this speaks more to the mild OCD that I've developing in mid-life to stay interesting, or to the apprentice hoarding skills I'm developing in mid-life because things = memories and "things don't leave", or to the fact that I'm a bit "touched", but here's how loose change is processed where I live ...

If you are a penny, then you are checked to see if you are a "special" penny (i.e.  Lincoln designs, Wheat, US shield, etc).  If you are a "special penny", then you go in the "special change" jar.  If you are not a "special penny", then you go to the Whitman water bottle (which I keep in honor of DJ Whitman, who has passed on, but who always had loose change in his room that he gave to the youngest in the family -- I collect the pennies and give them to the youngest Whitman every 10-15 years when the water bottle gets full).

If you are a nickle, then you are checked to see if you are a "special" nickle (i.e.  Louis and Clark, Buffalo, etc.).  If you are a "special nickle", then you go in the "special change" jar.  If you are not a "special nickle", then you go to the thingy on the bar for change to be used to buy the paper each day.

If you are a dime, then you are automatically deemed to be boring, and you go straight to the thingy on the bar for change to be used to buy the paper each day.

If you are a quarter, then you are checked to see if you are a "special" quarter (i.e.  50 States Series 1, 50 States Series 2, Bicentennial, etc.).  If you are a "special quarter", then you go in the holding box for "special quarters".  If you are not a "special quarter" then you go in the Princess House candy dish, where you will be used for laundry in the machines in the basement of the apartment building.  Once every other month, the holding box is emptied out to check its contents against the "special quarter" collector's books that I have.  If you are needed, you go into a book.  If you are not needed, then you go to the Princess House candy dish, where you will be used for laundry in the machines in the basement of the apartment building.  Every so often, a few of you quarters will escape the confines of the apartment, and will end up in the car's CD holder, to be used for parking meters, but that's a rare occurrence.

If you are any other coin (i.e.  Half Dollar, Presidential Dollar, Sacajawea Dollar, Susan B Anthony Dollar, etc.), then you head immediately to the "special change" jar.

[NOTE -- In the case of an apocalypse (brought on by Armageddon or zombies or any other kind), the "special change" jar may be melted down and used to barter for supplies.]

Do you mean to tell me that everybody doesn't have a similar thought pattern/flow chart when it comes to loose change?  I mean it may look like I have a half dozen different landing places for my coinage, but trust me folks, there's a process at play here, so do NOT send the little white men in coats for me please (well, at least not yet -- not until you gather more proof)!

AS IN, THIS LITTLE WHITE MEN IN COATS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnzHtm1jhL4

PERHAPS I'LL STUMBLE ON ONE OF THESE PENNIES:
http://cointrackers.com/blog/13/most-valuable-pennies/

THE LATEST PROGRAM FOR SUCKERS LIKE ME:
http://www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/atb/

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 9/25/13

Finger Flippin' Frenzy.

Used in a sentence:  "I should probably apologize for my Finger Flippin' Frenzy on my walk today on my lunch break, but I was in a hurry and you both deserved it."

To whit, dear Mountain Biker in front of whom I stepped today, 'tis true that you had the right of way, but 'tis also true that I evaluated the risks and specifically increased my gait to cross the street and not be in your way.  Therefore, when you decided to yell "You tryin' to get run over by a bike" as you passed me (key word -- "passed"), you shouldn't really have been surprised when my response was to flip you the bird (do kids still use that phrase?) ...

And to an additional whit, dear Whole Foods Hipster, you clearly misread the situation that unfolded in front of you in that you misinterpreted it to be some scenario where I was seeking your feedback.  I wasn't interested in your input.  So when you decided to audibly judge me as "rude", you really couldn't have been as shocked as you seemed to be that my response was to say, "Hey, I got one on my other hand just for you, son." as I executed finger flip #2.

[In a perfect world filled with balance, I'm secretly hoping that Whole Foods Hipster also has a blog and is commenting on the incredibly dickish person he ran into today who almost got run into by a Mountain Biker.  I'm in no rush to apologize for my actions, I just want both perspectives to be memorialized on the interwebs, yin/yang wise.]

I LIKE THAT THEY ARE CALLED DEMOTIVATIONAL POSTERS:
http://www.demotivationalposters.org/middle-finger-baby-demotivational-posters-10685.html

FROM WHENCE THE MIDDLE FINGER SALUTE (MAYBE) CAME:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1279/whats-the-origin-of-the-finger

CHATTING ABOUT BICYCLE/PEDESTRIAN ETIQUETTE:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/543116-cycling-etiquette

Random Tune for Tuesday 9/24/13

Seven weeks into my P Jam Jam countdown, and that means I'm up to the seventh studio album -- "Riot Act".

Choosing a tune to feature tonight was a harder task for me than I expected -- and not for the usual reason in that I often have strong connections to every track.  It turns out this may be the full length album that I've listened to the least, just as a factor of the timing of its release and my life in Chicago, which is where I was in 2002 when album came out.

Sure I know the post 9/11 Dixie Chicks moment that sometimes gets the band in trouble for speaking out (illustrated by the powerful indictment of "born on third, thinks he got a triple" featured in "Bu$hleaguer"), and the pure musicality of "1/2 Full" puts the jam back in Pearl Jam ... but when it comes down to it, the song I know the most is the song released from the album that charted the highest:  "I Am Mine".

Melancholy but yet triumphant, (attributed to be referencing the fact that people can survive tragedy, as in the Roskilde Festival deaths of nine at one of their concerts), it includes these words that have become an empowerment creed for many:

"I know I was born and I know that I'll die
The in between is mine
I am mine"

AND this poetic description for survivors of any kind:

"The ocean is full 'cause everyone's crying
The full moon is looking for friends at hightide
The sorrow grows bigger when the sorrow's denied
I only know my mind
I am mine"

LIGHTNING BOLT ARRIVES in JUST 3 WEEKS!

ARE YOU YOURS?:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nkgv3LoQY2o

Random Memorial for Monday 9/23/13

Gone but not forgotten:  the food pyramid I learned when I was younger.

Actually, I guess I could say that any and all food pyramids are gone now, since research for tonight's post shows that the rainbow contraption in the accompanying image only existed from 2005 -2011 and has since been simplified as a plate (see link below).

Nothing makes me feel older than having to re-learn things I learned in school that seemed too basic to ever be replaced.  For instance, Pluto's status as a planet, the fact that I had just four kinds of taste buds (well hello there, umami), and the guidance to mirror my food intake to a simple basic pyramid including just four categories.

I've only just begun my personal weigh-loss journey (baby steps ... right now just changing routines more than anything), and I'm not yet prepared to give up bacon, but the idea that I could rely on pyramids of my youth to get my nutritional needs more aligned with the plan for the weeks (and months) ahead of me through use of simple images, I can state that those simple images (sorry, the plate doesn't work for me) are sorely missed.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF FOOD GUIDES:
http://www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/downloads/MyPlate/ABriefHistoryOfUSDAFoodGuides.pdf

THE LATEST VERSION TO REPLACE THE PYRAMIDS:
http://www.choosemyplate.gov/

IN CASE YOU DON'T WATCH FOOD BASED COMPETITION REALITY AS I DO:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15819485

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 9/22/13

What me and mine are talking about this week:

Admittedly, something that only me and mine might fully understand, but hey ... all in good time.

[9.22.98 to 9.22.99 to 9.22.00 to 9.22.01 to 9.22.02 to 9.22.03 to 9.22.04 to 9.22.05 to 9.22.06 to 9.22.07 to 9.22.08 to 9.22.09 to 9.22.10 to 9.22.11 to 9.22.12 to 9.22.13]  times 12 = 180.

So that means I served 180 months of a life sentence, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

:)

Random Posting for Penn State 9/21/13

Here are 9 Nittany Nuggets from today's game!

1.)  That sign over there -- that's for you announcermen.  Please understand that some of your viewers are now twice as old as those players on the field and may be experiencing some hard-of-hearing symptoms, so when Kent State plays Penn State and you attempt to add your two cents over the sounds of the game and the crowd, I need to hear those team names enunciated so as not to get confused.
2.)  What's a little rain for?  How's about a shut-out!  Admittedly, not as much of a shut-out as The Ohio State had today, but let's face it, JoePa would never run the score up *that* high (to 76?!?).  Wait a minute ... that statement is anachronistic and a little sad.
3.)  Atta boy FICKEN!  (At halftime, I thought I might not get to give my weekly "atta boy" to my favorite player, but then he got his career longest FG, and so all is right with my world.)
4.)  Although if I had an "atta boy" to spare, I'd most certainly be sending it ZWINAK's way.
5.)  One of the announcermen described HACKENBERG's run to the sidelines as a scamper.  Is that pejorative or just descriptive?  Discuss.
6.)  Far be it from me to be an armchair quarterback, as I don't have an armchair and I've never been a quarterback, but I will say that I sometimes wonder to whom it is you're throwing, young HACKENBERG.
7.)  I love that the referee sign for "ineligible receiver downfield" is to pat your head a few times.  I cannot lie -- my immediate next thought was whether there was one that required a ref to pat his head and rub his belly at the same time -- and my thought after that, was, if so, I bet you that's part of the standardized referee graduation test.
8.)  It's a rare man that looks good with long hair (and that's not just hair envy from this balding beauty), but I have to think it's a hazard on the field.  Can't you guys tuck it in or put a side pony under the helmet or something?
9.)  So it's a Sophie's choice of sorts, eh?  Spare the head, spoil the knee?  To avoid concussions, tackle low -- which may result in more knee injuries.  I get it, kind of, but I think we're headed down a slippery slope toward tackling only via a foot grab (which I did see many times today) ... or ... well ... you know ... flag football!

In closing, thanks boys for the display of dueling interceptions in that I'd rather see my banjos or pianos dueling, but if it's going to happen, at least it's mostly a net zero effect in the game ... and the countdown to our next post-season game in 2016 stands at just 44 more games!

THE RECAP, INCLUDING THE MENTION OF THE FICKEN RECORD:
http://www.pennlive.com/pennstatefootball/index.ssf/2013/09/penn_state_vs_kent_state_updat.html

OK BOYS ... TAPE UP THOSE KNEES:
http://ajs.sagepub.com/content/14/4/262.abstract

SPEAKING OF SCAMPER:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEJSFPaHZTU&list=FLRgPK9vSjjsGdjqs0Awk9uA&index=4

Random Soapbox for Saturday 9/21/13

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

... with the new TV season this week officially kicking off post Emmys (if you missed it before when I've said it ... my name is Troy, and I'm a television addict ... and yes, that makes me more Emmy than Oscar), I feel obligated to weigh in on two disturbing trends in reality television.  [Note -- this will not be a dig at Honey Boo Boo as they've officially won me over; admittedly not for their level of sophistication, but due to the underlying familial love that is the undercurrent of any and all of what they display and ... um ... overshare.]

Instead, I'm speaking to the reality TV overlords.  First up -- EDITORS, please cease and desist the transparent "first interview/confessional comment showed in the episode is from the contestant who's leaving that night".  I want to watch all of your show, and I want to have at least a little bit of surprise in who leaves at the end of it.  So I'm sick and tired of being able to predict (with high 90% probability) who's leaving when you start the show with person X saying "I feel really good about my chances" or "I'm glad I survived last week" or "I'm going to win it all", as it's all too clear that person X will be going home.  Please take a class on red herring placement, stat!

Also - PROGRAMMERS, please be aware that modern viewers will likely catch your episode at a time other than when it airs firsthand.  So if I'm watching a late night re-airing of The Ultimate Fighter, let's say (which, btdubs, is testing my comfortability boundaries when it comes to watching that type of girl on girl action this season), I don't want to see a commercial for the next episode during that airing that discloses what happened on the show I've not yet finished watching.  Food Network -- you're even more culpable to this "crime", and it's as if I have to cable block your channel until I've had a chance to catch up on whatever Sunday night show you've got me watching at the moment.  I get that maybe it's punishment for not watching the first-run episodes as they air, but that's legacy thinking about old viewership models and it's upsetting your customer, so STOP it.

Hugs and kisses from your number one consumer ...

OTHER REALITY SHOW TROPES (I.E.  I'M NOT HERE TO MAKE FRIENDS):
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ImNotHereToMakeFriends

REALITY TV SHOW EDITORS, TAKE HEED OF THE HERRING!:
http://killzoneauthors.blogspot.com/2009/08/planting-red-herrings.html#.Uj2u1tK-rts

ON THE CUTTING EDGE OF GENDER EQUALITY:
http://msn.foxsports.com/watch/the-ultimate-fighter

Random Flashback for Friday 9/20/13

Just over twenty years ago, in the late summer of 1993, I was here with these people.

To be honest, I'm not quite sure I know for certain where "here" was -- I think it was a public park in or around Birdsboro PA ... or it might have been my late Aunt Dorothy Trate's property.

But I do for sure know "these people" (well, many of them), as they are a bunch of folks in attendance at a family reunion on my mother's side.

I expected more people to be in the photo (who knows ... maybe they were there but not "there" [in the picture]), but I do see my Mom in the middle, and that's me on the end with my nephew Nicolas on my shoulders (and, see, my sartorial choices haven't changed in two decades -- wifebeaters and Sambas even back then).  So to summarize what I know for sure -- it's me and a mom, a sister, a nephew, a niece and a whole mess of cousins ("mess" being a unit of measurement, not a judgment of any kind [I wanted to insert an emoti-wink, but it would have bumped into my close parenthesis]), and as it relates to cousins, that's firsts, seconds, some removed, and any other kind of designation that cousins can have (like, you know, "blocked on Facebook").

I'm not sure if these types of gatherings still happen, but I'm glad I went to this one!  [Relatives, feel free to download and zoom in and tag any other folks you recognize!]

Random Thought for Thursday 9/18/13

At approximately 5:00 am this morning, my 'hood lost power due to something -- I'm guessing something related to the violent thunderstorms in the area in the last 24 hours.

At approximately 5:10 am this morning, the power was restored.

Upon reflection, I learned in those 10 minutes that I may watch too much TV, particularly of the apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic flavor.  (To be fair, I actually have previously embraced my addiction, so maybe I "re"learned that fact.)

Evidence -- when the power went off and I was awakened (probably because both the air conditioner [yep, it's hot again here] and the fan [what can I say, I need white noise to sleep] stopped running), I could hear a plane going by overhead.  My first groggy thought was to make sure that the plane noise demonstrated that it kept on moving and did not fall out of the sky, as if the power outage was so severe that all electronics stopped working (as in NBC's "Revolution", which premiers its second season next Wednesday).

Further evidence -- after the plane did not, thankfully, fall out of the early morning sky, my next thought was to strategize as to the perfect vantage point from within the apartment to guard against both front and back doors should looting break out (as in the infamous "Clear" episode of "The Walking Dead", without the craziness of Lennie James' character and all the writing on the walls, and substituting hooligans for zombies ... AND also, sadly, as in the news footage of current events regarding the aftermath of the flooding in Acapulco, Mexico).

Luckily, before I could execute on the action plan I was formulating, the power was restored, and the fan and the ac came back on, and I was lulled back to sleep.

HAVEN'T HEARD OF REVOLUTION?:
http://www.nbc.com/revolution/

LENNIE ADDS QUALITY TO ANY SHOW HE'S ON:
http://walkingdead.wikia.com/wiki/Lennie_James

OK ... OK ... MAYBE THESE ARE SOME MORE REAL WORLD SUGGESTIONS:
http://igetready.com/oh-what-do-you-do-when-the-powers-out/

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 9/18/13

Divvy of Shame.

Used in a prediction:  "The Divvys are here!  The Divvys are here!  And I predict it will be just a short time until they are utilized in this particular 'hood for transportation home the morning after the night after the young 'uns are at the bar (and then are at the after hours, or at the new found friend's apartment, or at some alley nearby), thus creating opportunities for the older 'uns to capture those engaged in a Divvy of Shame."

[Note -- not everyone can be so lucky as to have breakfast made for them that next morning {even if it includes the confusingly paired "pepper bacon"}]

It's only a matter of time ... I'm thinking of setting my alarm for early Saturday morning just to capture the first sighting ...

THEY'RE HEEEEERE:
http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/cdot/provdrs/conservation_outreachgreenprograms/news/2013/aug/lakeview_neighborscelebratenewdivvystationatwrigleyfieldandpeopl.html

ENTREPRENEURS THINK OF EVERYTHING:
http://www.walkofshamekit.com/

SO YOU CAN MAP YOUR JOURNEY (FOR WHATEVER REASON):
http://divvybikes.com/stations

Random Tune for Tuesday 9/17/13

We've reached the tipping point, in that I've been doing this P Jam Jam now for more weeks than remain in this countdown.

Six weeks in, and I'm picking from "Binaural" for tonight's tune.  [To be clear, the date in the accompanying photo is from 2000 when this was released, and is therefore not October 15th, which is the 2013 date that the new new album will be in stores.]

As per usual, I'm not going to select one of the two more well known officially released tracks.  It's not that I have anything against "Nothing As It Seems" nor "Light Years", and especially since I've been known to tear up when I'm in the car singing along and this phrase comes on ...

And wherever you've gone
And wherever we might to
It don't seem fair ...
Today just disappeared ...

After all, anyone who's lost anyone can mourn via Eddie and the boys with that kind of sentiment.

Same car ride -- and the tears dry up to an all knowing wry chuckle with the opening line of "Rivals" ("All my rivals will see what I have in store!') ... and then I'm just all smiles when the ukulele comes out for "Soon Forget" (more about that in a few weeks) ... but all that said, the tune chosen for tonight is the album's double barrel close of "Parting Ways"/"Writer's Block".  [Happily, the youtube video I found has the full 7:18 version so that you can hear the typewriter music if you stick around, all loyal and patient like.]

In my opinion, there's nothing like a little haunting ditty about people once close who are realizing that they are growing apart that sticks with you ... drifting away ... drifting away ... drifting away ...

LIGHTING BOLT ARRIVES in JUST 4 WEEKS!

BE SURE TO STAY FOR THE SPECIAL ENDING:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ij8RBIs4jx8

Random Memorial for Monday 9/16/13

Gone but not forgotten:  14 year old Dajae Coleman.

On a day when random shooting sprees are once again in the news, I'm reminded that, in my posts, I'm sometimes a bit snarky about the state of affairs in the Chicago area when it comes to our murder rate.  Sure, part of that is out of a desperation that I don't have anything specific to add to the "solution conversation" (which makes me just like every other leader in this community, it sadly seems).

Well -- almost every other leader.  Coming up next weekend, is an example of a community that really does rally around making sure that a lifetime cut too short is remembered.  Dajae Coleman, a freshman in high school who was gunned down one year ago after leaving a party in a case of mistaken identity by a gangbanger looking to "retaliate", is now honored via the Dajae Coleman Foundation, which has its premier event this upcoming weekend to commemorate his life.  The mission of the organization -- to uplift, encourage, empower and reward our youth -- and that's something to be celebrated.

Although I only learned of your story via family friend Sid Campbell, looking ahead to this weekend and beyond, I can say for certain that Dajae Coleman will be missed.

THE FOUNDATION:
http://dc3f.org/

THE WEEKEND AHEAD:
http://dc3f.org/daedaeworld-weekend/

THE SENSELESS ACT OF VIOLENCE:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-09-28/news/chi-evanston-cops-person-of-interest-in-custody-in-teens-slaying-20120927_1_first-degree-murder-weapons-charge-drug-charges

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 9/15/13

What Chicago is NOT talking about this week:

Ummm ... is it still baseball season?

I guess there's a chance that some people are still watching games (or maybe they've taken the new trend of hate-watching and applied it to the Cubs or Sox), but living a spit and a holler from Wrigley as I do (that's literally how far it is from my back door to the bleachers -- I've measured it), I haven't had a problem lately trying to find a parking spot or dealing with the usual excess of drunkards as I have in years past.

They return on Friday for the last six home games of the season (and, uh, the post-season wasn't in play since June, right?) ... but it's kind of like they are already gone.  Oh well, there's always the adult version of the little creatures (I'm not talking naked baseball -- I mean da Bears!) to occupy our conversations now (and when does hockey season start up again)?

YEP, THAT'S BOTH CHICAGO TEAMS IN THE SAME PLACE ...:
http://espn.go.com/mlb/standings

RIP CHRIS FARLEY:
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/38858/

WHO KNEW?  NAKED BASEBALL WAS A THING IT SEEMS:
http://www.fangraphs.com/not/great-moments-in-naked-baseball-1/

Random Soapbox for Saturday 9/14/13

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

... this one goes out to all of you hashtag haters.

Oh yeah, I've seen your side conversations and I've gotten the reports of your eye-rolls (perhaps you didn't hear -- that's the latest Facebook facial recognition technology ... it can monitor how you instinctively respond to what people say in their statuses [or is that statii?] and then it reports it back to the original author [by the time 2016 rolls around, it will be enhanced to also detect rage, which is how Facebookers will be flagged for some NSA oversight of their profiles]).  Sure ... until the Supreme Court rules that hashtaggers are a protected class, then I guess we'll just have to join the other categories of human identification and classification where it's deemed socially OK to mock them openly (I'm looking at you, hipsters).

But I don't have to take your ridicule without responding.  In my defense, I am slightly addicted, and my hashtagging behavior has been fueled by the mild case of OCD that I'm developing as a mid-age malady (in my free-standing Facebook posts, I have to do it in threes in order to get a sense of closure).  Even more in my defense, it's not like I'm #yellingfireinacrowdedtheatre.  And even most in my defense, I choose to do so as just another tool in my self-expression toolbox.

I know part of the derision I've felt is that hashtagging was supposed to be just for Twitter, which I can't join.  (It's not that anyone has barred me, per se ... but it is because there is absolutely no way I can accept the tyranny of character limitation in that which I have to say.)  As a matter of fact, I started experimenting with hashtagging before it was allowed on Facebook, and then I did it *ironically*, to mock the younger generation that is so plugged in electronically (and so often exclusively so such that they have isolated themselves and are seeking some kind of social validation in the aggregation of their social network status comments as a "hey - look at me -- I do belong to a group of people, as evidenced by my shared #kimye connections").

Then the great Mark Zuckerberg caved, and brought it to the Facebook in an official capacity, and I decided to embrace it -- but still to do so in my own unique style.  As a matter of fact, it is rare that I would ever offer up a hashtag that might be used by another -- I prefer to use it to bring subtext forward, or to offer up my comic commentary (I know, I know ... "comic" is in the cranium of the beholder), or to have a dialogue with myself (I do hashtag in triplicate) or, lately, to even represent the rim shot (#nottherimjob).

So, on the Facebook, I'm a gonna keep on being me.  If you get too easily confused by my choice to #runawholesentencetogetherasifitisoneword, well then, move along, as there's #nothingforyoutoseehere.  And may I suggest that you turn your hatred elsewhere, maybe, for example against #hipsterswearingskinnyjeans.

THE OFFICIAL WORD ON FACEBOOK HASHTAGGING:
https://www.facebook.com/help/587836257914341

NOW *THIS* (& NOT ME) IS A LEGITIMATE OUTLET FOR YOUR HASHTAG HATING:
http://forward.com/articles/173479/twitter-faces-m-suit-over-hashtag-haters/

HEAR HEAR ...:
http://bigthink.com/the-proverbial-skeptic/in-defense-of-hashtags

Random Posting for Penn State 9/14/13

Here are 9 Nittany Nuggets from today's game!

1.)  Well, that wasn't as nearly as much fun as last week ... but a valiant effort all the same.  Let's learn from our mistakes and apply them with an eye toward Kent State next week.
2.)  Somebody at UCF, please please confirm for me that Storm Johnson is majoring in meteorology.
3.)  I know this can't be true, but I feel a little like I might be the only Chicagoan NOT watching the college football game at Soldier Field tonight.
4.)  I'll admit that I am not *that* guy who will second guess the refs, or spot violations before flags are thrown, or know all of the rules and regs as if it were my dream to coach ... but I will interact with the TV pretty regularly with the one thing I clearly observe and for which I know I'm right to cheer ... and that's me saying "Run! Run!! Run!!!"  (It's kind of all I've got to bring to the table ...)
5.)  Oh -- except I'll also say "Oooo ... that's a big throw ..." as the ball hangs in the air, which, with HACKENBERG, it appears I might just be saying a lot this season.
6.)  Search for Sasquatch?  Really?  That's creative marketing now?
7.)  Atta boy FICKEN!  One more to add to your record before that first half gaffe set you up for a nearly impossible attempt.  But not before first succeeding with #15 in a row -- and the longest at that (and at least a more reasonable request, I might add).
8.)  Oh well ... we shall meet again, and in just a few months.  In Ireland!  For an O'Leary vs. O'Brien battle!  (And please tell me ZWINAK is only a junior, because I don't know if he's Irish, but he sure is a made-for-the-island ginger!)
9.)  And you heard it here first -- were I to win the MegaMillions or PowerBall this weekend (they are both over triple digits, so I'm a-playing), in addition to all the other things I'd do with the cash, watching the game in Dublin drinking a pint or four of Guinness next year on August 30th would immediately make the list!

In closing, sarcastic thanks to the ref for not seeing that UCF guy was out of bounds on the last drive  ... and the countdown to our next post-season game in 2016 stands at just 45 more games!

ATTA BOY FICKEN,ALL THE SAME:
http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/sam_ficken_770193.html

DULY NOTED, NOW I JUST NEED TO WIN THE LOTTERY:
http://www.cntraveller.com/recommended/food/best-places-to-drink-guinness-in-dublin

BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE GAELIC ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION:
http://btn.com/2013/07/14/penn-state-to-open-2014-vs-ucf-in-ireland/

Random Flashback for Friday 9/13/13

Ok ... to be fair, I try to adhere to a rule that the photos are twenty years old when it comes to my flashbacks every Friday, and this photo *almost* adheres to that construct.

Yes, it is from 1993, but it's actually from August of that year, which makes it twenty years PLUS a few weeks (and, heads up, so will be the next three photos in the weeks ahead, and then and only then will I finally get to some LVC fall '93 pictures, representing my second of three go-rounds at my undergrad alma mater [I loved college so much I decided to stay there for almost a decade!]).

All that said, I couldn't resist a shot of my biological mother with 62.5% of her grandkids (the other 37.5% weren't born yet [I was going to do the math for what percentage of my nephews and nieces this represents, but things start to get a little fuzzy what with definitions and half-siblings I've rarely met and therefore it's unclear as to their progeny]).  It's so rare that the different sides of my family are all gathered in one spot at one time that this image takes on almost mythical proportions.  Looking at it more closely, I have the distinct feeling that the freeze pops may have been a bribe to get every one to sit still for this almost mythical moment -- that's just a hunch!

Anyway -- here's to good memories and smiles all around and days when eating a freeze pop was the highlight and choosing which flavor was the only worry.

Random Thought for Thursday 9/12/13

So ... you who are of the eight track generation ... how did you create the equivalent of a mix-tape?

I know me and mine would "scratch this itch" by creating a mixtape, and the generation after me would burn a CD, and then the next group would fill up an MP3 player, and nowadays kids will build a playlist ... but what did you all do when you wanted to commemorate an event or to spread the word about under-the-radar music to which you were listening or to memorialize someone who has passed or to woo a potential partner (all themes of mixtapes in my massive cassette collection [thanks again Columbia House/BMG and your 13 cassettes for a penny deals of my college years!], many of which I'm considering featuring as part of my weekly random tunes for Tuesday [after the P Jam Jam has ended, of course])?

To be clear, I don't have any eight tracks ... and I've no motivation to make a mixtape right now ... I'm really just curious.

8 TRACK MYTHS DEBUNKED BY A SERIOUS FAN OF THEM:
http://www.8-track-shack.com/blog/2012/01/if-buying-8-tracks-on-ebay-isnt-bad-enough/

SOUNDS LIKE BOOTLEG COPIES WERE THE NORM, MIXTAPES OF A SORT I GUESS:
[warning -- NSFW images at this site]
http://historysdumpster.blogspot.com/2012/07/8-track-tape-head-warning-some-images.html

ANY WAY YOU WANT THEM -- MIXTAPES FOR THE MAKING:
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Mixtape

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 9/11/13

McSuicide.

Used in a sentence:  "McSuicide -- You may have done one kind, but I did another secret kind -- and no one should have done the latest kind."

The one you most likely did -- mixing your own drink at the soda fountain by doing a shot of each of whatever was available.  Of course, you might have done that at *any* fast food restaurant, but I chose McDonalds because that's where I worked when I was younger (ah ... the late eighties/early nineties).

That employment history of mine is also why I feel like the other secret kind was something that, quite possibly, only I did.  You see, I used to make a dessert McSuicide -- make an ice cream cone, dump in upside down into a large soda cup, throw away the cone part, push a hot cherry pie deep into the center of the pile of ice cream, and sprinkle it with chocolate chip cookies (the old kind which were small and came twenty or so to a box).  It was delicious (and maybe the precursor to the McFlurry -- I should have copyrighted it [as I also should have done the double quarter pounder, as I was half pounding my McMeat regularly back then {apologies for what may be a poor choice of phrasing}])!

As for the McSuicide that no one should have done?  Well that would be the recent ad in Boston that mocked suicide prevention hotlines as seen above.  The concern, of course, being that someone who was actually hurting would call the number provided in the poster, which was actually an unmanned hotline on which one could leave feedback about how wonderful Big Macs are.  Of course, I'm torn as to whether the absurdity of that outcome would have snapped said depressed person out of their funk or pushed them over the edge -- but why risk it, eh?

PROVING YET AGAIN THAT THERE'S A FACEBOOK PAGE FOR *EVERYTHING*:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/creating-suicide-drinks-at-the-soda-machine-in-fast-food-places/125640927448726

THE COMPANY DID END UP APOLOGIZING FOR THE AD:
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2013/04/mcdonalds-apologizes-for-sad-big-mac-ad/

TO BE CLEAR, SUICIDE PREVENTION IS NOT A JOKING MATTER:
http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

Random Tune for Tuesday 9/10/13

Five weeks in ... and five weeks to go ... which makes this the midway point of my PJam Jam counting down until the band's next release on Oct 15th ... and that also means I'm choosing tonight's random tune from the fifth studio album "Yield".

It's still the reason I'll sometimes quickly say 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4 (so as not to appear too crazy, I'll try to only do it when I notice the clock says 12:34) ... or why I want to just scream out "Like Pilate, I have a dog!" just for the heck of it ... or to announce that "I'm the first mammal to make plans, yeah"!

Those more random non-sequiturs aside, there's poetry on display (and I'm not just talking about the kind that finds a way to rhyme static with attic and sciatic nerve) ... but the kind that explores heaven and hell and the core of existentialism before giving in to it all and "like a cloud dropping rain ... discarding all thought".  And as a reward to kids who buy full albums and not just selective tracks electronically, there's also the bonus song that comes off like some kind of cossack harem party (go ahead, listen to it again and try not to picture such a scene).

Although I'm tempted to pick "In Hiding" or "All Those Yesterdays" as they represented that time in my life (I was working the overnight shift at the Quality Inn in Lebanon PA, and "In Hiding" summarized the ways I was spending all my daylight hours [3rd shift can do a number on your body and your brain] ... and "All Those Yesterdays" gave me permission to just shut everything out and escape as I went through some rougher times), instead, the tune for tonight that speaks (and spoke) the most to me is "Wishlist".  To me, it captures the beauty (and melancholy) of the fact that humans will always disappoint each other.  The subtext -- I wish to be what I can never be -- but so wistfully and eloquently communicated in phrases like the ones below ...

I wish I was a sentimental ornament you hung on the Christmas tree ...
I wish I was a messenger and all the news was good ...
I wish I was the pedal brake that you depended on ...
I wish I was the verb "to trust" and never let you down ...

LIGHTING BOLT ARRIVES in JUST FIVE WEEKS!

I WISH ... I WISH ... I WISH ... :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THnabGK7mPs

Random Memorial for Monday 9/9/13

[Soon to be] gone but not forgotten:  baths in bathrooms.

Although I didn't see it first hand this past weekend spending each night in a different hotel room, it appears that the hotel bathroom that actually has a bath in it are likely to become a thing of the past.  Customers don't have time to soak ... showers look more spacious ... and baths take up too much room.

Who knows ... maybe bathless bathrooms will finally put to rest what to call these types of rooms (particularly in public settings).  I grew up with bathrooms and restrooms, and then moved to the midwest where they were called washrooms ... but I've settled on a non-descriptive "facilities" when communicating to others how to find a place to eliminate liquid or solid waste (although, let's be honest, I also strive to avoid those kinds of conversations with folks as much as possible).

Come to think of it, and not counting a hot tub experience (of whatever kind comes to mind when I say "hot tub experience"), I don't think I've taken a bath since living in the house on Walnut St in Lebanon in the late nineties -- which didn't have a shower as an option.  Disclaimer:  I have showered since then -- a few times, but probably not as often as I should have.

Should that day come when rooms with baths are simply a relic of the past (and, for me, they kind of are already in function if not in form)... you will be missed.

BYE BYE BATHS!:
http://travel.usatoday.com/hotels/story/2011/05/Many-hotels-take-bath-out-of-hotel-bathrooms/47361954/1

SPEAKING OF HOTEL BATHROOMS ... :
http://www.babble.com/travel/25-best-hotel-bathrooms/

BREAKING DOWN THE NAME OF THE PLACE WHERE ONE ELIMINATES WASTE:
http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/8281/washroom-restroom-bathroom-lavatory-toilet-or-toilet-room

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 9/8/13

What Chicago & Grand Rapids & Mackinaw City & Munising & Green Bay & Milwaukee & Chicago is/are talking about this week:

Seeing as how I was in each of those spots in the time frame from last Thursday afternoon to Sunday afternoon (I was on a Quest to get my feet in two more Great Lakes), I feel like I'm especially qualified to say that *these* things were discussed on that road trip ...

1.)  I knew I was in the most geographically northern point of my life to date when I spotted my first Elk Crossing sign (although, sadly, I did not see any Elks ... nor Masons ... nor Shriners ...)

2.)  I did see, and have to stop for, a collection of what turned out to be wild turkeys who wanted the road to themselves up there in the UP.  I wasn't sure what the collective noun was for said group, and, after googling it, I am sad to discover that it is not called a "jive" of turkeys, but is instead called a "rafter" of turkeys.

3.)  I'll repeat what I said on the old Facebook:  What with all the signs for "pasties" all over the U.P. of Mich, I now assume that the whole place is filled with strippers.

4.)  I now consider billboards to be a form of pollution, after spending so much time in the car and not being able to escape them.

5.)  Alternatively, I kind of came to appreciate the unique graffiti that I saw along the drive.  Gone was gangland tagging ... no murals were to be seen ... instead, graffiti was reserved for expressing the sentiments of "love" or "welcome home" to random people who must drive those roads regularly.  And, since the population was so much smaller, I kind of got the impression that the majority of the people living nearby probably knew the Sam or Maria that were part of the messages.  Quaint -- and unexpected.

Now ... on to Lake Ontario at some point in the future to close out this Quest ... with comments to be provided at that later time (assuming the interwebs are still working when that trip is made ...)

I HAD TO CHECK TO MAKE SURE BOSTON WASN'T MORE NORTHERN:
http://www.realestate3d.com/gps/latlong.htm

I SO WANTED IT TO BE CALLED A "JIVE" OF TURKEYS:
http://www.birdwatchersgeneralstore.com/TurkeyRafter.htm

THEY'RE LIKE GIANT WHITE PEOPLE EMPANADAS:
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/upper-peninsula-pasties

Random Soapbox for Saturday 9/7/13

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

Three cheers and a huzzah to the HighFiveTour, something about which I learned whilst getting a haircut (as SportsClips is a partner).

After completing my own Quest this weekend driving through four states and hitting three cities and dipping my toes in two Great Lakes (more about that in tomorrow's post), I thought I'd highlight *another* road trip currently underway that has much less selfish motives behind it.

Specifically ... "The Wounded Warriors Family Support High Five Tour is a 48 state road trip covering 60 cities and 21,000 miles to show appreciation for our country's military and to raise funds to build two 'smart homes' for deserving wounded warriors and their families."

And since this week we're headed into decision making mode that could potentially involve increasing the number of Wounded Warriors (should the Armageddon Pre-Show kick off as planned, let's hope, at the very least, there will be no "boots on the ground"), now's a good a time as any to remind us all of the consequences of the business of war.

To find out more, to see the map to know when the trip hits your state city, and to donate to these efforts, see the link below ... and "hip hip hip huzzah" to the worthy cause!

GET ALL THE DETAILS HERE:
http://www.highfivetour.com/

FOR OTHER WOUNDED WARRIOR NEWS, SEE HERE:
http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/

LIEUTENANT DAN'S IN THE SMART HOME BUILDING BUSINESS TOO!:
http://www.garysinisefoundation.org/about/programs_detail/557/

Random Posting for Penn State 9/7/13

Here are 9 Nittany Nuggets from the Sep 7 game!

1.)  First, a point of clarification.  If you're reading this on the blog, the entry has been post-dated.  If you're reading this on the Facebook, it's being posted on the date *after* I actually watched the game (thanks to my travels last weekend and my making space for it on the DVR and my having time last night to finally see the game).
2.)  Because of point #1, I watched the game even knowing the score, and I have to say, it could have been much worse, had those Eagles only taken advantage of all the opportunities they had.
3.)  Although, come to think of it, it also could have been a lot better, since the Eagles' only score was on that fumble.
4.)  Okay HACKENBERG, things look good and freshman records are being set, but can I just say ... relax a little, huh?  I don't know what that means about your game day traditions -- whether it means relations the night before, or a massage the day of, or some deep breathing exercises between Nascar plays -- but when you are good, you are very very good, and when you are bad, it could get costly.
5.)  And speaking of records, how does one overcome obstacles and persevere through pressure?  That would be by setting a consecutive-successful-field-goals record.  Atta boy, FICKEN!
6.)  Nothing hammers home the point that we have a young young team than that statistic showing the year by year breakdown, eh?
7.)  I'm nothing but a casual fan, but I did chuckle when the announcer said that HACKENBERG has great sliding technique.  I mean, how hard is it really to run and sit down before you get sacked?
8.)  Being in Chicago, the broadcast made me feel very welcome.  Between the Eagles player who was from Chitown to the reference to the upcoming Illinois game at Soldier Field to the studio for the post game report being here in town to the band playing Chicago's 1973 song "Feelin' Stronger Every Day" at halftime, I felt the Chi-love.
9.)  Heads Up Football.  That's all I've got to say (partly because it's such a new concept that I don't know much about it, except it sounds "healthy").

In closing, thanks to the '73 team and especially to John Cappelletti, whose 22 was retired (and who's pictured in the above photo with JoePa) ... and the countdown to our next post-season game in 2016 stands at just 46 more games!

HACKENBERG SETS A RECORD:
http://www.pennlive.com/pennstatefootball/index.ssf/2013/09/the_newbie_qb_penn_states_chri.html

FICKEN SETS A RECORD:
http://pennstate.247sports.com/Article/Sam-Ficken-kicks-his-way-into-the-Penn-State-record-book-148372

CAPPELLETTI SETS A RECORD:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/01/22/1798602/tudor-remembering-joe-paterno.html

Random Flashback for Friday 9/6/13

Twenty years ago around this time (maybe a few weeks earlier), I was saying goodbye to my 18 months in Uniontown (I didn't mean for that to sound like it was the name of a prison and I was doing time) ... and I headed back to PA and to LVC in 1993 to engage in more of my undergrad studies.  (I can't say "to finish", because I would kind of do the same thing in a different way in 1998 ... but that's a story to tell in 2018 ... and I'm digressing ...)

What better way to do so (to say goodbye, that is) than to head off to Cedar Point with a bunch of folks from the Cherry Tree (the restaurant where I was working (we "accidentally" funded the trip selling candy bars, but that's another story for another time -- and, in case you didn't know, my time in Uniontown was all about a theatre internship -- and being an actor is all about being a waiter, right?) ... which brings me to this photo on the shores of Lake Erie with Fred/Mike, Barb, ?Barb's sister and Yvonne (who was taking the picture).  Note -- also not pictured was the giant stuffed teddy bear (won at Cedar Point), who was left in the car.

Although not seen here, I did climb off the rocks and put my feet in that lake twenty years ago.  And then I did the same thing in Lake Michigan in September 1996, when I first vacationed in Chicago with Joanna.  And you know what -- I'm on a quest this weekend (in real time -- I don't always live my life looking back, just on Fridays) -- and before today is done, I will have dipped my toes into BOTH Huron and Superior.  (Ontario will have to wait ...)

And that's how you do a Quest, son!

Random Thought for Thursday 9/5/13

So ... there I was ... late at night ... or early in the morning ... after some rounds of Michigan Rummy and alcohol ... and sitting around a table with family ... and the subject of "which branch is the most powerful now that it's been 224 and a half years since old 'We the People' went into effect" became the main topic of conversation.

I argued for the Executive Branch and used this analogy, which kind of mostly worked (admittedly partially because of the late hour and the alcohol-blood content of me and those engaged in the conversation with me):  the President is the Coach and the Legislature is the NFL and the Supreme Court are the referees.  Except in the government example, the Coach picks the referees -- and sure, they may not take the Coach's side in every game, but over the course of a season, and especially aggregated over multiple seasons to which they contribute ... to me, *that's* where the real power is.

It's not today's gridlock or tomorrow's hearings-to-nowhere that matter in the overall scheme of things ... it's the long term end game that matters the most.

Trust me -- late at night or early in the morning after some rounds of Michigan Rummy and alcohol and sitting around a table with family ... that sounded much pithier.

So ... raise a glass and cheers to all and, if nothing else, happy NFL kickoff to you and yours.

EXTENDING THE ANALOGY, IT'S ACTUALLY JUST ALL ABOUT THE MONEY:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/monteburke/2013/09/05/nfl-2013-season-kickoff-the-state-of-the-league/

MAYBE IT'S THE SUPREMES BECAUSE THEY CAN'T BE OVERRIDDEN ANY MORE?:
http://www.businessinsider.com/us-supreme-court-becoming-more-powerful-2012-8

LOOKING LONG TERM, THIS IS THE TRUE KEY TO POWER (IMHO):
http://people.howstuffworks.com/supreme-court-appointment.htm

 

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 9/4/13

Flipped Classroom.

Used in a sentence:  "The latest innovation in education ... something called a flipped classroom -- and it's not chairs being affixed to the ceilings as the accompanying image provided by google suggests."

[Disclaimer -- "latest" may be relative, as anyone who knows me well, knows that sometimes I read my news late, and sometimes I see something on which I want to comment on a more timely basis, but which gets on a list for a later time -- which, upon reflection, is my own wordplay on the concept of "latest", I guess, in a strange way.]

During this back-to-school season did seem like a perfect moment to comment, even if educational innovations remind me of my early high school "mod" schedule, which was that every class was 2 or 3 mods of 18 minutes apiece, with the bell ringing at the end of each of them.  I *think* the thought was that kids couldn't pay attention any longer than 18 minutes, and the bell was supposed to tell the teacher to change topics (a little like Pavlov's dogs ... but whatever).  That 70's innovation leftover didn't last, and we switched back to periods by the time of graduation (and can you imagine if it was applied to today's kids who would need a topic change every 90 seconds [feel free to picture old man shaking fist and blaming MTV and video games here]).

The new idea -- have the kids watch the lectures at home (via streaming video or whatever the kids call it nowadays), and spend the time in the classroom with the teacher actually working through the problems and answering any questions that were being asked.  In theory, this theory sounds good to me.  After all, I *loved* school, and I was the independent thinker, and I had teachers who often let me work at my own pace on my own  things (special thanks again to you Mrs. Jones!)  In my opinion, that stems from the fact that, as an odd child, I would go to the place where the toys are (that's my obligatory once-every-so-often shout out to Hills), and would bug my Mom to buy me the math and reading workbooks to do instead of the "normal" toys.

[Tangent -- that's a memory I recently recaptured.  Not via hypnosis or anything like that -- but just because my biological mother has taken ill, and, according to latest updates, hasn't yet had a diagnosis or a treatment plan.  In a year that started with me losing my biological father, I've been thinking about things, and spending some time recalling connections I had with my mother, as limited as they may have been.]

Anyway, I say "shake it up" every so often and see what happens.  Or maybe I should say, "flip it, smack it, rub it down, oh noooo", except that just seems like it might be inappropriate ... unless the flipped classroom teacher was of the sexy kind ... and I should probably stop now ...

HOW TO FLIP YOUR CLASSROOM SUCCESSFULLY:
http://thejournal.com/articles/2013/06/18/report-the-4-pillars-of-the-flipped-classroom.aspx

MAYBE MODS WERE FROM THE 60's ... AND MILITARY INSPIRED ... WHO KNEW?:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSuHJ5EQRfM

OH MY --  A BELL BIV DEVOE "DO ME" REMIX!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jw7wNjeeIrQ

Random Tune for Tuesday 9/3/13

Four weeks into my countdown and this P Jam Jam of mine leading up to the much anticipated Oct 15th release date of their next masterpiece brings me to 1996's "No Code" as the source for today's random tuneage.  As has been the trend since I started this, it's an embarrassment of riches from which I can choose.

I'm certainly quite fond of "In My Tree", because it immediately makes me remember the PJam concert in Sep 1996 at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland -- where one of the kids in our group quite literally ended up back on the hillside watching part of that show (and listening to that exact song in a very meta-moment) ... from ... up in a tree.

Then there's "Present Tense", with which I would posit one can save any money one is tempted to pour down the therapy drain by just listening and learning and bending like the tree to catch the sunlight ... or, as it's so eloquently stated ...

"You can spend your time alone redigesting past regrets, oh
Or you can come to terms and realize
You're the only one who cannot forgive yourself, oh
Makes much more sense to live in the present tense."

However, all that said, I'm dedicating the *actual* song I'm choosing to those that appear in this photo that may or may not have been taken in Washington DC in Jan 1995 when the group of us (I'm taking the picture) may or may not have been trying to crash the Pearl Jam concert that year in that location.  It's one of my favorite shots because, as one of the group correctly predicted, it was the last time all of us were together in the same carefree not-quite-fully-adults-yet way.  And the song to accompany the photo?  "Off He Goes", because, as my life has taken me to various locations for various reasons, I can still make it home to many of these fine folks, and pick up exactly where we left off  "laughing, like we always did ... my same old, same old friend(s)" ... but only for the short time I'm back in town (and I haven't been in way too long, hence the tinge of homesickness in this post).

And then ... off I go again ...

LIGHTNING BOLT ARRIVES in JUST 6 WEEKS!

NOTHING'S CHANGED, BUT THE SURROUNDING BULLSH*T, THAT HAS GROWN:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hthj9KZrgpo

Random Memorial for Monday 9/2/13

Gone but not forgotten:  Eating liverwurst on the bus on the way to (or, more likely) from school (after all, who eats liverwurst for breakfast?) ...

As the holiday weekend comes to a close, this is when I start thinking about the old school days of mine of yore, as back in central PA in the 70's and 80's, kids returned *this* week instead of getting the head start that so many schools seem to get nowadays (based on the proliferation of "first day of school" shots I saw plastered all over the facebook in the prior fortnight).

For most of my K12 education, I *walked* to school (in Fredericksburg, going home afterwards was just going over to the chicken plant my dad managed which was just beyond the playground [although in Fredericksburg, it's safe to say that there was a chicken plant of some kind around just about every corner]... in Schuylkill Haven, where it was just over the hill from where I was living with my mom for a short time ... in Jonestown, even despite being bitten by a dog on my way one day [on both hips, because I turned around to walk home after the first bite -- and then he bit me again, so I did I full 360 and just finished my trip and went to the school nurse for comfort and to clean up the blood {note -- I don't blame the dog, I blame that shiny 70's style fluffy silver astronaut coat I was wearing that clearly was acting like a toreador's red cape}] ... in Lebanon, following the Quittie as a shortcut to the junior high school, and perfecting the "read-and-walk" to and from the high school).

But to get to my first school in Elverson (or maybe it was my second, I don't know if I went to school in Bethel without digging out the old files -- and, due to some apprentice hoarding skills that I'm developing, that's "digging" ... literally), I got to ride the bus.  And I got to ride it with the little red-haired girl (whose name I think was Margot, but, just like Charlie Brown, I'll simply call her "the little red-haired girl").  And what do I remember about her?  She was the only one who didn't move away from me on the bus when I pulled out my liverwurst sandwich and started eating it.  (Which either means that she was worldly as I was OR that she had anosmia!)

Liverwurst sandwiches, bus rides and little red-haired girls ... in this back to school season ... you are all missed.

NOW I CAN RECAPTURE MY YOUTH:
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/liverwurst_sandwich/

SPEAKING OF PLAYGROUNDS, HERE'S MY POST FROM LAST YEAR THIS TIME:
http://capcognition.blogspot.com/2012/09/random-memorial-for-monday-9312.html

ALL THINGS LITTLE RED HAIRED GIRL:
http://peanuts.wikia.com/wiki/Little_Red-Haired_Girl

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 9/1/13

What Chicago is talking about this week:

Now that the Armageddon Pre-Show has been postponed until after Recess, and since the Hannah-Montana-has-a-vagina-and-she's-not-afraid-to-use-it conversation is finally dying off, talk around town is really focused on something local.

And I'm not going to sugar-coat it or obfuscate it as I am often wont to do.  I'll just flat out say it:

The purple hotel is being torn down .

 I can't say I've ever been there for a function (I've only been in Chitown since 2001, and I'm not sure when it stopped being used), but I do know that it's been a part of my Chicago life just in the sense that it's a directional landmark (as in ... you know, out by that purple hotel).  And now all those who drive out in Lincolnwood will no longer have the calming effects of lavender in their life.

Let this be a cautionary tale to the city's citizenry.  I hear the Leaning Tower of Niles might be next to go!

WHO KNEW?  IT WAS ONCE A HYATT!  OWNED BY THE PRITZKERS!!:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-08-27/news/chi-the-pur:
ple-hotel-is-history-20130827_1_purple-hotel-new-hotel-lincolnwood

WHO KNEW?  LEANING BUILDINGS MIGHT BE BAD STRUCTURALLY!
http://www.suntimes.com/news/22266240-418/leaning-tower-of-niles-walls-crumbling-village-ponders-fix.html

PRIORITIES, PEOPLE, PRIORITIES!  RECESS COMES FIRST!:
http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/08/31/republicans-promise-to-take-a-shot-on-syria-after-the-recess/