Random Memorial for Monday 11/30/15

Gone but not forgotten:  the Sesame Street I used to know.

Over the weekend, more was revealed about the plans for Sesame Street now that it's moving to HBO.  I haven't had a chance to read the whole article yet, but I'm predicting the following:

Full frontal nudity will now prove how Big Bird got his nickname!

Bert and Ernie will finally be able to push their twin beds together and truly show their love (might a same-muppet marriage be a seasonal plot line?)!

Cookie Monster will go all Michael-Douglas-'Falling Down' when denied more cookies, reducing the number of the staff, saving money on the budget and ensuring viewers will watch week to week because "NOBODY is safe on the street"!

Elmo's tickling fetish will be fully explored as he tours various after-hours and swingers' clubs across the land!

And everyone will learn how ridiculously adorable it is to see lovable puppet creatures learn (and teach) enough swear words to fill up a Mamet play!

The non-premium channel version of the show that helped teach me a few things (back when that phrase meant "reading, writing and 'rithmetic"), you will be missed!

FOLLOW THE MONEY TRAIL:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/b-is-broke-why-sesame-816105

THE ACTUAL ANNOUNCED CHANGES:
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_and_entertainment/2015/11/28/1-sesame-street-revised-for-hbo.html

SESAME STREET HAS BEEN PORNED UP BEFORE:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/242009/sesame_street_hacked_porn_posted.html

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 11/29/15

What southern Florida is talking about this week ...

... the arrival of the latest Guinness product.

Full disclosure, this six pack was purchased *before* the recent blackout Wednesday bar crawl, so I haven't actually yet cracked one open, but I'm sure the occasion will arise soon enough.

For now, this follow up to what most recently came before (Guinness Red, Guinness Black and Guinness Blond) is staying cold in the refrigerator, but, being a brand loyalist as I am, I'm sure I'm going to appreciate the "hop-forward" drink with the "qualities of a classic Guinness pint" ... PLUS the nitrogen that comes from the patented widget found in regular draught cans.  (When I get really buzzed, I've been known to rip a can open with my bare hands to prove the existence of the tiny ball of magic [after which, I've then been known to pester the bartender for a band-aid or two to address my hand wounds].)

On a final note ... I've still not had the Guinness Red (released in Britain in the late aughts), so if anyone has it in their backstock, help a fella out and send one my way.  Until then ... nitro IPA it is!

WITH ALL MY LOYALTY, I SOMEHOW FORGOT TO SIGN UP FOR THE FAN CLUB!:
http://www.guinness.com/

A REVIEW OF THE NITRO:
https://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/is-the-new-guinness-nitro-ipa-any-good

THE ELUSIVE GUINNESS RED (NOW RETIRED):
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/209/98289/

Random Posting for Penn State 11/28/15

Here are 9 Nittany Nuggets from today's game:

1.)  Um ... ugh.
2.)  Um ... sorry Columbus.  Believe me, we're upset that we couldn't "upset".
3.)  This isn't sour grapes, but the *only* time that opposing coach cracked a smile is when he let that fat kid senior run in that touchdown.
4.)  This *also* isn't sour grapes, and I don't think I've ever been to East Lansing, but that Spartan statue better put on some weight if it's going to survive the winter.
5.)  I do not like the "scoop and score".  Just sayin'.
6.)  Despite today's outcome, congrats HACKENBERG on securing that last record (most TD passes) from MCGLOIN in today's game.
7.)  And if my hashmarks are correct, I do believe you kept the sacks *under* last year's total (just by a few).
8.)  Atta boy BARKLEY!  Can't wait until next year!
9.)  Hey announcerman Brock ... that Hasselback guy is married, so you can stop crushing on him so creepily.

In closing, thanks to everyone who supported the team this year ... and here's to our bowl game, whether in Nashville or California (or elsewhere)!

THE BOWL SCHEDULE:
http://www.fbschedules.com/ncaa/college-football-bowl-schedule.php

THE LATEST PREDICTIONS:
http://www.pennlive.com/pennstatefootball/index.ssf/2015/11/could_penn_state_get_more_2017.html

HAPPY THANKSGIVING WEEKEND!:
http://www.pennlive.com/sports/index.ssf/2015/11/watch_the_ultimate_penn_state.html

Random Soapbox for Saturday 11/28/15

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

... here's my FULL list of this year's season of gratitude (which I organized as a alphabetical listing, what with Thanksgiving being on the 26th this year):

ASBACH-URALT, the German brandy that I *first* had as a regular digestif at my host home for my semester abroad (1990), that I *next* had in the little brandy filled chocolate candies that I could only get at the Christkindlmarkt each year in downtown Chicago (2003-2013), and that I *finally* picked up again at the local liquor store in Ft. Lauderdale just last month (2015). I can't drink it and not be instantly transported back to a semester full of amazing people and activities from a quarter century ago ...

BACON, because it makes *everything* better, as evidenced by my frequent posts of how it's being used in my household from meal to meal (i.e the ‪#‎baconshallbe‬ and ‪#‎baconlesson‬ series). Stay tuned this upcoming Friday, when I'll be attending the second annual BACON BASH here in town that promises "unlimited, delicious, bacon-infused food tastings" from over 15 restaurants and food trucks. (I'm expecting it to be a preview of what heaven is like [for those religions for whom bacon is not banned, of course].)

CASANOVA JAMES, the American staffordshire pit bull puppy (mixed with American bulldog, so he's doubly American and bull-squared). One of the perks of the move from small apartment Chicago life to what I've called ye olde (new) households in Florida was being able to have the space to have dogs again (after all those cats), and Casanova was rescued from puppy-death-row and nursed back to health by a dedicated foster mother before his arrival, and he has brought his amazing playful and loving personality to the whole family -- including his patience and dedication to his "brother" Ozzie (another letter for another day).

 DUMBBELLS -- and I don't mean those of you who fill my Facebook feed [you know who you are], as that wouldn't be polite. I'm talking about the actual set of interchangeable weights I got one year for Christmas back in the early-nineties from my surrogate grandmother JoAnn. In the twenty years I've owned them, I've not always used them all the time, but they've been the basis for my exercise those times when I rally around that concept (as I've been doing for the last few months on my current weight-loss journey).

 ELECTIONS -- in all their modern day messiness. It may be that I'm obligated to say that, what with a Political Science degree (which, as you may know, doesn't necessarily lead to a career in the field ... but *does* ensure that you are always right in discussions of politics). Once upon a time, I thought I might run in one one day, but then I had a little too much fun in my 20's and 30's and now too many people know where the bodies are buried (that's a metaphor [or is it?]) so I can't pursue public office. Fast forward to today and that makes me just an armchair electioneer ... but it does give me joy to follow along on what really is America's secret to success (all cynicism aside).

FACEBOOK. True, it can be challenging ... and you have to learn to, like the Frozen kids say, "Let it go ..." for a majority of what you see on your feed, but when the Facebook glass is half full, it's a great way to follow along with those characters from the stories of your past to see where life is taking them in the present. Oh -- and to see what everyone's eating. That too.

GUINNESS. Why? Because, as its old timey advertising slogan once said, "It has restorative powers!" Or, as *I've* said multiple times, "It provides more buzz per unit!" Admittedly, before I found my Guinness (drinking at the old Eli's at the old Lebanon Plaza back in the old days), I sampled a few other favorites (Icehouse, followed by Red Dog, and then the old standby of Yuengling Lager), but it's the chocolatey goodness of my Guinness that really gets me going, and I'm especially thankful for any bar along the usual crawl that carries it!

HEALTH. Lookit, I'm at the age where my knees creak more than they should, and I'm suddenly able to read better up close *without* glasses (which makes me oddly incapable of reading with my current contacts), but those problems are easily managed (could bifocals be in my near future?), and each day on my current long term weight loss path makes me feel generally healthier -- AND I have the recent stats from my doctor to prove that it's working!

IMAGINATION. Agreed, it may be a little twisted (the tale is that I was writing short stories in 2nd grade on a mimeograph machine that included a cliffhanger with a garage that got blown up ... which concerned a few adults), but I keep feeding it and it keeps surprising me. I don't mind waking up in the middle of the night to go scribble ideas on an index card because my creative brain forgot to go to sleep ... or having the randomest of thoughts whilst in the shower or on a walk or during a drive. It's who I am ... and I like me as I am (although I do wonder whether I'm going to be the craziest of old men once I reach the age where I can't control it any more -- but that's not this year ...)

JOANN, my "surrogate" grandmother. She's no longer with us, but that doesn't mean I can't still be thankful for the time we did have together ... from when we first met during my stint in Uniontown early on in college, to the very end when I was a few states away but always made a point to visit every so often and talk on the phone weekly, and all the stops in between, including when she made the rare trip in to Amish country (she just loved her some Amish country). Just in case I didn't thank her enough for all she did for me while she was alive, she's my J for today AND she's a part of something special I'll be starting up *next* year (to be continued ...)

KAPLAN, my employer since 2004 (give or take a few months here and there). In my youth, I was a "job cobbler", in that I always cobbled together multiple part time jobs (as many as five at one time) in order to put myself through school and pay my bills once I started living on my own. After wrapping up my studies (and a diversion in a bank for two years in the post 9/11 job market), I finally landed at my career, found in an ad in the back of the Sunday paper (see how *old* I am!). It can be a struggle at times to be a "company man", but I wouldn't have it any other way ...

LISTS, my go-to task when it comes to organizing all my random thoughts. I think I've always been a bit of a list maker, but that behavior was endorsed once I got to see Judy Woodward's clipboard back in '89. For the longest time, my lists were kept in my little black book (not *that* little black book, although I think I do have that list somewhere locked up should I ever need to make money via blackmail) ... and only within the last few months did I migrate them to the notes on my somewhat-smart phone, where I now keep track of anything from my exercise plans ... to my vacation itineraries ... to where I need to go on vacation next ... to my random daily post ideas ... to my tasks ... to my ... well, you get the point ... you don't need to see a list of my lists ... you just need to know I'm thankful for being able to make so many of them!

MURDER ... a statement I should probably quickly clarify, since Murder is the name of the last surviving kitty from the cat years (aka ... the apartments-in-Chicago-are-too-small-to-have-dogs years). She joined the family with a littermate (Mystery), at around the time when the murder mysteries I wrote and performed throughout college were wrapping up. And she's still around, despite all her feline companions (Mauler, Baby and Mystery) having passed, waiting for the juice of tuna cans to be opened, luxuriating on her bed in the guest room (which has a gate to keep her brothers out that she can traverse at night when she runs the house), and marveling at her long life (and the places she's been).

NEIDERMYER. Oh sure ... my paternal line can blame Ellis Island officials for swapping the E and the I (it's pronounced *contrary* to the actual German rules of how to say EI versus IE), but the name has been associated with the best chicken for years (and celery and horseradish for the uncle who just had to be different and buck the family trend). And now that it was featured on 'The Walking Dead', a whole generation of folks will associate it with the desire for a post-apocalyptic pasta maker instead of thinking about the asshole from 'Animal House'. I still haven't given up completely on being a one name celebrity (you know, like Troy ... just Troy ...), but .. until then ...

OZZIE (more formally known as OCTAVIUS JULIUS), the second American staffordshire pit bull puppy to join the family down here in Florida. He was rescued by an agency because he was being given away for free on Craig's List since he was born with an all but missing front right leg (he has a single toe on the end of what we affectionately call his "wing") and the fear was that he might be used as a bait dog. He's a snuggler who is super fond of his brother CASANOVA, has a touch of extra anxiety about unexpected sounds and movements, and is committed to living his life without letting his condition be an obstacle. You can see and follow him and his brother at this link: https://www.facebook.com/thecasanovajames/?ref=hl

PENN STATE. Truth be told, I was officially a flying dutchmen and not a nittany lion when it comes to the origination of many of my student loans for my decade in education after high school, and the total of my trips to campus in State College may be less than double digits (most of them to attend concerts), and I may have only ever been to but ONE football game ... but as I've moved around the country in my adult life, it's been a way for me to feel connected with my central PA roots, by being able to root for the team on fall weekends. And *that* helps make a person feel grounded.

QUESTS of mine. Not that there's anything wrong with impossible dreams or unreachable stars, but I do try to keep my searches as unquixotic as possible ... so I've managed to get my feet into all of the Great Lakes but one (maybe Lake Ontario in Toronto next year?) ... and I'm almost halfway through having each of the 25 burgers in the country as listed in the Zagat guide of 2013 (when that particular quest started) ... and I've been to as many remaining Kaplan centers as I can during my travels ... and, when it's time, I'll launch a plan to get to all of the presidential libraries. It's all about the seeking to give a person a purpose ...

RACE, AMAZING. (Yes, I know I'm going old school library style with my alphabetizing, but if the 'R' fits ...) It is true that I haven't watched the race from the very beginning, but once the inimitable Bonnie Hunt promoted it on her eponymous talk show, I knew it was something that I'd like. And like it I have, season after season, partially because it lets me travel the amazing world vicariously through others, but also because it is an amazing study of relationships and because, on the aggregate, it appears to be documented proof with regards to the amazing power of the karma AND because it has taught me that I will have better luck dealing with cabs in foreign countries rather than cabs here in America -- a fact I find amazing (uber anyone?) ...

SUN. Not in some ancient Egyptian "all hail 'Ra'" kind of way ... and not in some irresponsible way (I recently resumed my annual check-up at a dermatologist in light of how mole-y my people are) ... but in a "like Kal-El, I get energized" by living in a land of near constant sun as I now do, and besides, I look better with a bit of color (and also confuse more people then who think I've an ethnicity...)

TRAVEL, because, in my middle age, it's really what excites me -- new towns to see, new places to go, new people to meet. Or, as the case may be, returning to locations with new itineraries to more fully explore them. Assuming all goes well, just in the next year, there are plans to get to New Orleans in December, Phoenix and Vegas next February, Chicago next May, Toronto next August and up the eastern coast all the way to central PA next October -- each trip with a growing list of "must-sees" and "must-dos".

UNKNOWNS in my life. Fond as I am of my routines ... and of the simple day to day things in my life ... it is a life of past pleasant surprises that have helped me understand that change brings about new opportunities to go down new paths and to meet new people. Here's to being able to embrace what's coming around the bend, whenever it may arrive and whatever it may be.

VISITORS who make the trek down here to paradise to stop in and say hello -- whether it be former college classmates or family -- it's always nice to get together, hang out with the puppies, head out to eat on the town and seek out fun things to do in the area. Just be sure to give a heads up before you arrive because there's only one guest bed (which you have to share with the cat)!

WOODWARDS and the WHITMANS. Some people get stuck with just one family ... but the circumstances of my life were that I got to have extra people looking out for me over the years (including, but not limited to) my two bonus W families. Within the last year, there have been weddings and births and celebrations of folks nearly turning 100 between the two sets of them, and even I don't get to see them as often, I couldn't be more grateful that my family tree has a most unique appearance!

XFINITY. To be clear, I'm not celebrating them for their excellent customer service (as that they don't have), but I am a television addict ... and, between their DVR and their on-demand, they do allow me to manage my addiction *so* much more efficiently than the old days of hundreds of VCR tapes ... and multiple VCRs ... so here's to innovation for TV junkies like me!

YOU ... yes, YOU ... YOU who might be reading this. YOU who might just be scrolling by and saying "oh another one of those posts from Troy". YOU who might have already muted me because you don't get me. But most importantly, YOU who are my connection on the Facebook because YOU appeared in the story of my life, be it for a sentence or a page or a chapter or a multi-chapter arc. Thank YOU for being YOU. And happy Thanksgiving eve to YOU and yours from me and mine!

ZZZZs. Maybe it's taking inspiration from the puppies and the kitty ... or perhaps it's about the tryptophan ... or likely it's related to the bar crawl from last night, but I do so like me a nap on holiday afternoons!

WHO DOESN'T LIKE A COUNTDOWN/RANKING?:
http://www.movemequotes.com/top-50-be-thankful-quotes/

WHO DOESN'T LIKE A LIST?:
http://www.popsugar.com/latina/Mindful-Ways-Give-Thanks-39189891

WHO DOESN'T WANT THANKSGIVING TO LAST ALL YEAR?:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephanie-sarkis-phd/being-thankful-tips_b_1104194.html

Random Flashback for Friday 11/27/15

This picture is NOT from 1995 (which is the usual shtick for my flashbacks each Friday ... to look back twenty years to [re]tell my story with the benefit of a touch of retrospection).

In sad news (for the bird), I fear that this may very well have been the last photo of this particular Tom taken.

It's just one of the many random things I found in the photos I inherited from my bio-dad a few years ago, which I'm going to start sharing in sets on every other Friday in the new year.

Other than it being legitimately black and white (there was no cell phone filtering back then), there are no clues with this pic ... no people ... no writing on the back ... no date stamp captured by the film processing of the day ... and seeing as how my family was known for it's affinity for the chicken, it feels a little bit like maybe someone was cheating on the family business.

However, perhaps there is a story waiting to be told?  Or maybe it was just a holiday tradition ... the President pardons 'em ... and the Neidermyers sentence 'em (and execute 'em ... and enjoy 'em for dinner)!

Random Thought for Thursday 11/26/15

It's not really Thanksgiving unless the parade gets watched!

Sure, some people have their football ... or their dog shows ... but for me, it's the awkward banter and non stop promotion (every balloon and float and snippet of conversation any more seems to either be branded OR a push for an NBC show) of the Macy's extravaganza.  I even watch the first hour to see how well Broadway stars can lip sync (although, let's face it ... *everybody* lip syncs at this event).

Of course, I can't watch all the giant balloons without thinking of the scene from the classic Batman movie when the Joker has filled them with poisonous gas (the Keaton-Nicholson edition, not the Bale-Ledger or West-Romero versions).  And I was shocked to learn today that the KoolAid Man is the antichrist (Savannah casually mentioned that he has sixes for eyes and a nose ... aka 666).

But those things aside, thank you Macy's Day Parade 2015 for giving us the 610 Stompers and the Mipso, in addition to the standards like the Snoopy balloon and the Santa Claus.   And let the holiday season begin!

IF HE BRINGS ABOUT PEACE IN THE MIDEAST, THEN WATCH OUT:
http://mediaexposed.tumblr.com/post/7519957519/kool-aid-666

IN CASE YOU MISSED THE 610 STOMPERS:
http://www.wwltv.com/story/news/local/orleans/2015/11/26/610-stompers-steal-show-macys-parade/76414646/

HE STOLE MY BALLOONS!:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF8yxerAtZM 

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 11/25/15

Whipple Scrumpets.

Used in a sentence:  "Before the Oompa-Loompas were Oompa-Loompas, they were Whipple Scrumpets ... and they were also little African pygmies."

Turns out that the little buggers who were such happy workers in the Wonka chocolate factory (and so quick to sing about manners and such as little kiddies around them met horrendous fates) went through a name change, as documented in some released drafts of the classic story by the famous author Roald Dahl.

They ALSO went through a bit of change to satisfy the politically correct police, seeing as how they were "a tribe of 3,000 amiable black pygmies who have been imported by Mr. Willy Wonka from 'the very deepest and darkest part of the African jungle where no white man had been before'" ... a far cry from the overly spray tanned long haired hippie little people imprinted into our memories from the classic movie.

And don't get me started on how there were once 10! golden ticket winners in original drafts ...

SECRETS IN THE DRAFTS:
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-28980257

10! GOLDEN TICKET WINNERS:
http://pettywitter.blogspot.com/2014/09/whipple-scrumpets.html

AND LET'S TALK ABOUT THOSE PYGMIES:
http://www.roalddahlfans.com/books/charoompa.php

Random Tune for Tuesday 11/24/15

Working from home as I do means I get to control the background music that gets played in "the office".

To provide a little variety, I mix it up with different xfinity music channels on different days, including "classic country" on Thursdays ... which is all the long way to explain how it was that I recently heard this tune from 1982, and I found myself singing along as I recognized it from my youth.

Of course, in my youth, I didn't fully understand that it was a song about the lady whose husband was overseas in the military and so she deflowered the narrator -- who was the boy delivering groceries.  Years later, Mr. Yearwood (aka Garth) would have a hit with a similar theme (although his teenage boy was deflowered by a voracious farmer widow [see 'That Summer']) ... but TG Sheppard broached the subject first with this song.

Only in the world of story-song country music could you get away with not one, but TWO hits about the sexual exploitation of the male youth of America by cougars.

I CAN'T FIGHT THIS FIRE ALONE ... STAY WITH ME UNTIL IT'S GONE:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3smZTEeQ1k

Random Memorial for Monday 11/23/15

Gone but not forgotten:  the zucchini that were once in the front row of the raised garden box.  Or, more accurately said, the raised garden box *experiment*.  Absolutely no thumbs in this household are naturally green.

Although the tomato trees are growing tall, it looks like the thought of home grown zucchinis for the new year was just that -- only a thought.  We watched their struggle each day, uncertain as to whether they needed more water ... or less sun ... or deeper soil ... or fewer ants (over time, they seemed to attack the few blossoms that were there on planting day).  Whatever the reason for their demise, they are now completely dead.

Unless things get all pilgrim-and-indian-y in the next few days (in case any Seminoles or Miccosukees are reading this post) ... three little zucchini plants and the vegetable dishes that you would have inspired (although, come to think of it, one can pick up a zucchini or two at the local Publix) ... until something else takes your place to erase your memory, you will be missed.

DEAR NATIVE AMERICANS ... BRING ME ZUCCHINI FOR THURSDAY?:
http://www.pbchistoryonline.org/page/seminoles-and-miccosukees

IT APPEARS THAT THE ANTS ARE *NOT* TO BLAME:
http://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/mavis-garden-blog-help-there-are-ants-on-my-zucchini-blossoms/

BE STILL MY HEART - A LIST OF LISTS TO ASSIST THE GARDENING EXPERIMENT:
http://solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu/lawn_and_garden/calendar/

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 11/22/15

What southern Florida is talking about this week:

How not *everyone* has a feast to eat this Thanksgiving season.

Locally, there's a great outreach program that helps make it easy to give and really translates the donation into something tangible.  And I should explain, these complete dinners for $2.10 are not because the agency sends the needy to the dollar menu at a fast food establishment ... but because they buy in bulk based on the funds they collect, and can therefore maximize the benefit of their holiday meals.

Since the big move to Florida, me and mine don't get to gather around the table back in Indiana for the family meal any longer, and so tonight we awarded one meal for each of those whom we used to sit amongst ... at a table that was always almost embarrassingly full of multiple kinds of meat, nearly a dozen side dishes, and a couple of desserts (plus the rolls -- can't forget the rolls!).  To pay tribute to those days of old, a dozen complete Thanksgiving dinners were donated to honor Dolly and Walt, Shirly and Ed, Midge, Lisa and Bill, Teddy and Heather, Jac, Robert and Wally.

Now .. the challenge ... we encourage all of our friends and family to seek out a program in their local area to accomplish something similar.  And we wish everyone the happiest of Thanksgivings!

THE LOCAL PROGRAM:
http://www.browardoutreachcenter.org/

THE FOOD BANK BACK HOME IN CHITOWN:
http://www.chicagosfoodbank.org/site/PageServer

FIND A FOOD BANK NEAR YOU:
http://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank/?referrer=https://www.google.com/

Random Soapbox for Saturday 11/21/15

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

... these knees, though.

(And yes, these are actually *my* knees, courtesy of a recent X-ray at the doctor's office.)

In case you haven't been following along, I'm on a weight loss journey that included taking a walk every day for an hour on my lunch break (six days a week).  That worked so well, that I decided to incrementalize and start jogging, but very slowly ... adding in one block each week over the course of two months until I was up to eight blocks a day (not always consecutively ... more like two on and one off on repeat until I hit my daily goal).

However, eight blocks ended up being a breaking point (of some kind) for my knees.  When taking a few days off didn't return things to normal, I ended up in said doctor's office.  Although the x-rays didn't highlight any issues, I was sent for an MRI this past week, and I'll have my follow up visit on Monday.  (By the way, it was my first ever MRI ... and I can't believe that such a giant machine hasn't been innovated to get rid of all that ridiculousness noise [that I secretly hope someone has turned into an EDM song at the club].)

Sadly, all signs point to the fact that I may have been too fat to jog ... or, in more polite language, as the doctor said into his little tape recorder at the end of the visit, I was "well-nourished".  (He also said I was "well-developed", which I took to mean he noticed I'd been lifting weights of late.)  Unless there's something lurking in the MRI results, chances are I need to perform a lower-impact exercise in order to lose more weight so that I can consider a return to jogging to lose weight.  Ironic, no?  And the benefit is that for every pound lost, it will be 4.5 pounds of pressure off my jankety knees.

Proving to be a challenge, though, is that the alternative exercises suggested are swimming (I've never learned) and biking (but not on an actual bike on the road, as every doctor in southern Florida has commented that it is too risky to bike on the streets down here [bike riders die!], so stationary bikes are the only recommendation).

In the end ... this is really a post to be continued ... but please tell me I'm not going to be weak in the knees for the rest of my life (I'm too darn young)!

WHY HASN'T ANYONE REMIXED THIS YET?:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Aj2QspPf7s

HMMM ... AM I THIS GIRL?:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2695867/Overweight-woman-launches-website-prove-fat-run.html

ONE POUND AT A TIME TO HELP SAVE THE KNEES:
http://www.webmd.com/osteoarthritis/news/20050629/small-weight-loss-takes-pressure-off-knee

Random Posting for Penn State 11/21/15

Here are 9 Nittany Nuggets from today's game:

1.)  This isn't sour grapes ... but the first thing I thought of when they showed the few yellow jerseys in today's white out was ... DON'T EAT THE YELLOW SNOW!
2.)  Oh HACKENBERG, they did kind of throw you around a bit today, didn't they?
3.)  But, as a consolation, congrats on tying McGloin on TD passes (after already taking most of the other firsts from him earlier this season).
4.)  We've come so far from the days when a penalty for "illegal touching" would have caused a snicker or two from the crowd.
5.)  Speaking of the past, that was a great ZETTEL story at the top of the broadcast regarding how he turned around from his road trip headed to a new school after that scandal broke to come back to Penn State.
6.)  Speaking of ZETTEL, thanks refs for keeping him in the game on senior day after reversing that incorrect penalty for targeting.
7.)  Speaking of the refs, SNODGRASS sounds like someone from the Harry Potter series.
8.)  Hey announcermen ... feel free to retire the phrases "recovered the muff" and "gang tackled" from your quiver of quotes.
9.) I can't post and not say ... atta boy BARKLEY!

In closing, thanks to Fruit of the Loom for your "stay-tucked" commercial that made me smile when the game started to make sad ... and here's to the late afternoon final game of this season next Saturday over the holiday weekend!

A COMPARISON FROM 2013:
http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7QNa/fruit-of-the-loom-stay-tucked-crew-test

A NOTE ON THE LEGACY AS OF 2015:
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/psu/2015/11/20/Christian-Hackenberg-s-legacy-unlike-any-other-at-Penn-State/stories/201511200165

TEE HEE .. MADE ME SMILE TODAY:
http://www.ispot.tv/ad/7QNa/fruit-of-the-loom-stay-tucked-crew-test

Random Flashback for Friday 11/20/15

What follows is a direct reprint of a few paragraphs from the letter I included in my 1995 Christmas cards ... about the night I met the kid in this photo, twenty years ago this month:

"But, generally, we tried to keep the townhouse as the place to be again this year.  My roommate Jarrod moved out in June to get a place with his girlfriend and I spent the summer by myself -- but I found a new roommate, DJ Whitman, who moved in in November, which was a financial blessing, if nothing else.  And -- true to my tradition -- I found more than a roommate. I've been adopted by the whole family -- including the dogs -- and I'm now the honorary fifth Whitman brother.  We have an agreement that I'll do whatever I can to keep them out of trouble -- and they can make one or two suggestions about how I run my life.  It's one of the odd things to describe, but I seem to belong to them ... and they to me.  One of the most rewarding things about my experiences since I've run away is that -- for coming from a "family" that didn't seem to want me -- I've been blessed with families tenfold.  And this connection keep[s] me busy.  In just three weeks time, we dealt with attempted used-car salesman fraud, stolen/misplaced Porsches and clearing people of [...] accusations.  Of course, I should have known that life would always be exciting by the circumstances surrounding the time I met my new roommate.

We were at a gathering in Cornwall and I went with my girlfriend.  DJ was my girlfriend's friend's boyfriend's best friend (got that?) and so he was at the party too -- as were a bunch of other people who were connected to the clan in one way or another.  Everyone was having a great time, and we were playing cards until the early, early morning.  At four in the morning, I recommended going to the rockpile, and so we piled into my car and four of us went up.  Once we got to the top, we found another group already there, which was very unusual.  They were drunk, one girl from their group was passed out on the rocks and someone casually mentioned, "If you see the fire, it wasn't us."  This comment didn't make any sense, so we ignored it.  It turned out that DJ knew the girl who was passed out and started talking to her boyfriend.  I didn't know anyone so I wandered off by myself to the other side of the rockpile.  And when I came over the hill, I saw the blaze.  There was a *huge* fire, in a perfect circle, engulfing a small stand of pine trees.  My first thought was that there was a third group at the top with us and that I might become what they were to sacrifice next!  I stumbled back across the rocks and pulled DJ to the side, muttering about the fire and getting his opinion on what to do next.

The original group started packing up their things as DJ, the boyfriend of the girl on the rocks and myself raced back over to the fire.  I climbed down and started to try to stomp the fire out, which I later found out looked exceptionally comical, since the circle of fire was on dry dead pine needles and it just followed behind me as I stomped along.  The other guy convinced us that we should all leave before the cops came and so we all scrambled back down the pile, got into my car and headed back to the place we were ... and my car ran out of gas just a little distance from the house.  DJ and company got out, pushed the car to the house and we went in to update everybody.  After DJ and I spilled the dog food in a handshake battle, I drove to Mrs. Woodwards to get the gas that we kept for the lawnmower, came back and filled up my tank, drove home and went to the Turkey Hill to call in an anonymous 911.  It was only halfway through the phone call that I realized I was calling in an arson -- and I had an empty gas container in my car and smelled like gasoline!  Luckily, they didn't trace the call and they did contain the fire.  And -- that adventure somehow marked the beginning of the 'new season' at the townhouse.

[...]

As I come to a close, finally, I'm reminded of the Winston Churchill quote said after the Battle of El Alamein.  'Now is not the end.  It is not even the beginning of the end.  It is, *perhaps*, the end of the beginning.'  Who knows what lies ahead -- what trials, what blessings.  My wish for you this Christmas is that you discover the strength, courage, confidence, character, humor and freedom that lies within each of us to face whatever each moment brings.  And may you find the wisdom to appreciate the battles you've won, the battles you've lost, and the peace that lies in between ..."

Note:  This is but the beginning of that story.  Up on the rockpile that night, we had no way of knowing that DJ would leave us just under six years later ... but there's a lot of story to tell in such a tight time frame ... on another flashback Friday ...

Random Thought for Thursday 11/19/15

All the "sturm und drang" on my Facebook feed of late does make me wonder ... what if the famed social media outlet had existed back in the 70's?

And I don't mean as a medium for making the feathered Farrah Fawcett poster go more viral faster than it did back then on the bedroom walls of little boys ... but for how it would have been used in the student protests of the day against Vietnam.

I was born at the tail end of those battles (both overseas and here domestically), but I've seen a number of documentaries hearkening back to those troubled times, and I'd have to think that Facebook would have damn near exploded.  Unless, of course, the protesters of the 70's would have been like the protesters of today and would have been satisfied with a status update as opposed to taking it to the physical streets.

And, in this alternate world, I'd bet there'd have been a lot of Jane Fonda memes.  Just sayin' ...

A MORE FUN TAKE ON FACEBOOK AND HISTORY:
http://coolmaterial.com/roundup/if-historical-events-had-facebook-statuses/

A MORE FUN TAKE (PART 2) ON FACEBOOK AND HISTORY:
http://coolmaterial.com/roundup/if-historical-events-had-facebook-statuses-part-2/

AND NOW WORLD WAR II AND THE FACEBOOK:
http://www.collegehumor.com/post/6650094/facebook-news-feed-history-of-the-world-world-war-i-to-world-war-ii

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 11/18/15

And NOW I want to eat a nun.

Used in a sentence:  "Here I am, half my life likely over, and I'm only NOW learning about La Religieuse ... a puff pastry similar to an eclair that stands upright as shown in the accompanying photo ... and NOW I want to eat a nun."

In case those dots aren't being connected, 'La Religieuse' = nun in French ... and apparently these sweet treats made someone sometime somewhere think of a nun (or a nun's habit), hence the name.  As for me, I only found out about them because they were part of the challenge in a recent episode of the Great British Baking Show on the PBS on demand.

Here's hoping that I can find them in New Orleans next month during the (new?) holiday tradition of visiting the Crescent City for Christmas ... Fingers crossed!

MORE MOUTH WATERING PICTURES:
http://jeparleamericain.com/la-religieuse-%E2%80%94-the-nun/

WILL THEY LET ME EAT A NUN AT ONE OF THESE SPOTS?:
https://foursquare.com/top-places/french-quarter-new-orleans/best-places-pastries

OR WILL I HAVE TO GO ALL THE WAY TO PARIS?:
http://www.parispatisseries.com/2010/10/22/laduree-religieuse-rose/

Random Tune for Tuesday 11/17/15

More discarded cassettes for my ongoing series ... and the start of a string of ones from the same band (because, once upon a time, I think I thought I'd start replacing my cassettes with CDs and I must have started at the beginning of the alphabet).

Or in other words, it's an Aerosmith album (well, album on cassette), that hits the trash can today seeing as how I also have the CD version of the classic 'Pump' with its "trucks-getting-frisky" cover art.  Released in the fall of 1989, it makes sense that it's part of my personal collection seeing how I was also "released" in the spring of that year.

As for the tune chosen to feature off this album for tonight's post ... I'm going to bypass some of the more obvious choices and the videos I remember watching on the MTV back when the MTV played videos ... and go for the song that starts in such a way that I always pictured some old wise man sitting out on a porch in the summertime in a rocking chair (pun pretty much intended) passing on his words of wisdom to the youths:  'Don't Get Mad, Get Even'!

SLEEPIN' WITH THE DOGS AND YOU WAKE UP WITH THE FLEAS:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrezMzVC6MI

Random Memorial for Monday 11/16/15

[Soon to be] gone but not forgotten:  Cedar Lanes.

That's Cedar Lanes ... which is also known as ... the bowling alley in my hometown of Lebanon PA ... and it's "[soon to be] gone" because it will still be operating fully until next May.

But after that, it will be replaced by a shopping center to "include a fast food restaurant without a drive-thru window and a fast-casual restaurant with a drive-thru window."  (I would imagine that hometown folks are parsing that language to figure out what food options will actually be available next summer.)  Seeing as how I'm not going to be home again until the *fall* of 2016, that means this image I found on the google will be my last view of the place where I used to take Jakey to the attached arcade back in the day ... (and where I probably bowled a few times).

Hometown "historic" site of my youth ... like the Key DriveIn and the Casino Roller Rink before you ... soon enough, you will be missed.

THE BREAKING NEWS:
http://www.ldnews.com/story/news/local/2015/11/13/mall-replace-cedar-lanes-lebanon/75661634/

BUT YOU CAN STILL THROW BALLS UNTIL NEXT MAY:
http://cedarlanes.com/

OR YOU CAN GO TO CEDAR LANES WEED (IN WEED, CA):
http://cedarlanesweed.com/

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 11/15/15

What southern Florida is talking about this week:

The beginning of Manatee season (so be careful out there ... for their sake)!

Back where I grew up (in PA) and where I used to live for a dozen years (Chicago), we had winter, spring, summer and fall.

But one of the first things I learned since making the big move to this part of the world is that there really isn't much of a distinction between those four cycles of the calendar.  Instead, there's turtle nesting season, which overlaps with hurricane season, which are both followed by manatee migration season.

And apparently new this season ... the friendly power company has created a free location to view these creatures.  In other news, the list of activities for when family comes to visit at the end of January just got a new item added to it.

NOW WITH POWER COMPANY SPONSORED VIEWING STATIONS:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/fl-manatee-season-starts-20151113-story.html

MANATEE SEASON FOLLOWS TURTLE NESTING SEASON:
http://myfwc.com/news/news-releases/2015/march/03/nesting-turtles/

A FEW MORE FLORIDIAN SEASONS:
http://www.floridasmart.com/sciencenature/weather/seasons.htm

Random Soapbox for Saturday 11/14/15

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

... I hate to burst your bubble and wreck whatever you remember from your World Studies classes in junior high school.  But it turns out that the Crusades ain't over.  And as much as I'd rather that the holy pissing contest about whose God is the best God would be settled, it's not ... and there doesn't even seem to be a light at the end of this divine tunnel toward what is starting to seem like the dark end of days.

Before I say another word, I should disclaim that I'm not necessarily anti-religion.  However, I am somewhat anti-religious-institutions (whether they be the tainted-by-money ridiculousness of the multinational corporation known as the Catholic church with its CEO-Pope, or an extremist power-hungry killing machine caliphate attempting to bully nations into taking the fight to their holy lands, where they likely plan to suicide-nuclear-bomb everyone into absolute annihilation).  It may be that I've seen too many hours of television on OWN, but I believe that we've a personal calling into a relationship with a higher power, and that it can be celebrated and practiced on an individual basis, and that there is a fine line that gets crossed more often than not when religion gets organized beyond a local level.

I've said it before and I'll say it again ... I tend to think that there is a societal sickness, now seen globally, that fears "the other", and that serves as the spreading agent for the hatred.  And the twisted takes on religion ... they soak it up and magnify the evil and spew it forth for maximum harm.  Or, in another word ... Paris.

But let's be clear about something.  There are radical extremists that pervert religions to advance their own agenda in all corners of the world.  As is all too horrifically clear, the jihadists' tools include destruction of innocents in soft targets via random acts of violence ... but don't think for a minute that if the folks at the Westboro church could figure out a way to bypass the mental illness clauses that must be keeping them AK47-less, they wouldn't do the same thing.  (For historical perspective on more death and destruction in the name of institutionalized religion ... see "inquisition", or just about anything else related to war in the last few centuries.)

Another quick tangent ... why is it that the *leaders* of these consecrated cults never volunteer to be the suicide bombers?  If they all got together and sacrificed themselves for their cause, sure we'd have another terrorist event with which to deal ... but the snake would kind of cut off its head itself.

Back to Paris.  I've never been.  I don't even think I've known a person who spent any substantial amount of time there (other than this one guy-linered kid from work who was a touch too fond of les liaisons dangereuses).  The most French I've heard in one setting is someone I know well who is fond of reciting the pledge of allegiance translated to that tongue once he gets a buzz on.  I'm not saying that I was one of the haters who renamed his fries back in the day when it was actually PC to rename all things that started with the word "French".  However, I'm a sensitive person (after all, I am the child who was mercilessly mocked by the stepmother for tearing up when all the sheep got sick and died on a classic 'Little House on the Prairie' episode) ... one who can grasp the hurt in the world, so even if my only French connection is that I once saw parts of the Gene Hackman movie of the same name on late night television, I can still participate in the prayers for Paris being offered up to the heavens.

Speaking of prayers for Paris, I've seen the backlash against that suggestion as well ... stating, as I did, that it's religion that got us into this mess.  Except, there's the nuance that I offer about how it is the *institutions* of religion that created this crisis, so I reject that the hashtag, or the meme, or the status update that includes that phrase is misplaced.

What I think IS misplaced ... the extensive attempts to place the blame, particularly by those advancing a political agenda stateside ... and the reactive knee-jerk response to round people up (America's been there, done that [see "Japanese internment camps"] ... and come to think of it, Europe's been there, done that as well [and I don't want to be a cliche and invoke Godwin's Law, so I'll just leave it at that]) ... and the pervasive paradoxical cries to simultaneously fortify the walls toward a new century isolationism whilst also returning to fill in the void in foreign lands where we have no business (or is it that we have too much business, in our insatiable need for the natural resource of the region).

Plus it wouldn't be a rant of mine if I didn't take to task the twenty-four hour news cycle, and it's ongoing overwrought response to the events.  The need for talking heads to bloviate led to *this* most cringe worthy moment of the last two days, when one of them asked a child that survived the concert massacre whether it was the first time he had seen a dead body.  Facts -- sure, after they've been checked ... summaries -- yes, when there is new news to report ... but constant yammering that gets dangerously close to glorifying the gory activities in the coverage -- please please stop.

What are the forward looking next steps, knowing full that well that evil will not ever be totally eradicated?

First ... let's respectfully mourn.  There are nearly ten dozen stories to be told of those who perished -- at a minimum -- and they deserve to be heard.

Second ... let's respond.  But let's revive the so-called coalition of the willing.  This is a battle in which all should participate ... including Arab countries so as not to feed the west vs them mindset that permits whole civilizations to become targets.

Third ... let's remain vigilant.  It is naive to think that the same thing couldn't happen here.  The *only* thing that *might* save us is that we're already numb to mass killings by lone wolves.  We have yet to come up with an effective way to respond when elementary school kiddies are killed or when participants at a constituents' meeting are gunned down or when multiple midnight moviegoers are murdered.  These crazy terrorists are going to have to do something much more shocking to pierce our hardened hearts when it comes to senseless violence. as our culture is apparently all too comfortable in grasping that a certain percentage of our population is expendable.

Fourth ... let's also remain global citizens.  It's not the olden days ... we live in a global economy and we have an obligation as the last surviving superpower to engage with the world's response ... and yes, that includes a plan for refugees.  Fully vetted refugees ... and a call to caution for sure ... but we can't close up shop and expect this problem to just go away.  [Full disclosure ... since switching divisions within my company earlier this year, my livelihood depends on the international community, so I have a vested interest in this bullet point.]

Fifth ... let's remember the words of G.W. Bush the younger after 9.11:  "The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace. They represent evil and war.  [America] counts millions of Muslims amongst our citizens, and Muslims make an incredibly valuable contribution to our country. Muslims are doctors, lawyers, law professors, members of the military, entrepreneurs, shopkeepers, moms and dads."  Despite my opening reference to the Crusades, we are NOT at war with Islam.

Finally ... let's recognize that a world already full of loathing feeds off of the hate in each of our hearts, whether hidden or shouted from the social media.  Let's stop fearing "the others" ... let's get connected ... let's learn the *stories* of those not like us.  I'll repeat my sincere belief ... humanity withers or thrives based on whether we keep our connections one to another.  Please consider reaching out and connecting with your loved ones, and then expand your circle and grow your compassion and understanding.  It's how I believe each of us can save the world ... by saving humanity.

If you made it to the end of my time on the soapbox, I have one summarizing statement for all that has come before.  At the risk of incurring a personal fatwa, I just want to deliver my own sermon on the mount, the text of which is straightforwardly this:  "Hey Jesus ... hey Mohammed.  You're both pretty.  Now can we *please* stop your followers' slaughter of each other in your names?"

IMHO, THE TIMELINE NEEDS TO BE UPDATED TO REFLECT MODERNITY:
http://www.usna.edu/Users/history/abels/hh315/crusades_timeline.htm

TO CHECK THE HOLIER THAN THOU FOLKS REGARDING ATROCITIES FOR GOD:
http://www.truthbeknown.com/victims.htm

THE SOURCE FOR THE BUSH QUOTE CONTAINED HEREIN:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/09/13/zelizer.bush.muslims/

Random Posting for Penn State 11/14/15

Here are NO Nittany Nuggets from today's game:

Because, FINALLY, we've a bye week!

So I will use it to make an announcement.  All season, I've been waiting to determine who's going to inherit my most deserving commentary now that FICKEN has graduated.  As much as I thought it *might* have been JO-EY ... it looks like I can't deny the facts any longer.

Moving forward, as appropriate (with the understanding that it's almost *always* going to be appropriate), my ATTA BOYs are going to highlight the amazing talent of SAQUON BARKLEY.  (Even though one of his secrets [the use of a trampoline to help him with his awesome hurdling] was recently disclosed, as this image from the shut-out against Illinois.)

Here's to our (rested) return next week (at a time still be to be determined ...)

JO-EY CAN STILL COME BACK:
http://cumberlink.com/sports/penn-state-fb/college-football-julius-s-errors-could-cost-him-starting-job/article_afc0a320-eae8-5763-ad18-b554ba2cf1a3.html

ATTA BOY BARKLEY:
http://saturdaytradition.com/penn-state-football/barkley-pff-frosh/

THE BOYS ARE STILL BUSY DURING THE BYE WEEK:
http://www.pennlive.com/pennstatefootball/index.ssf/2015/11/penn_state_wally_triplett_james_franklin.html

Random Flashback for Friday 11/13/15

So ... a quick break from my normal construct in that this photo is NOT actually from twenty years ago in 1995.

But since today is World Pancreatic Cancer Day, it seemed on point to post this picture again in honor of JoAnn Dearth, my surrogate grandmother, who died of this disease ... but only after living for many years after she was supposed to, courtesy of a special modified Whipple surgery (and a quality of life that included taking dozens of enzyme pills during that time).

In her memory, here is the link for today's event:  http://www.worldpancreaticcancerday.org/

Besides, for my own purposes, I want to keep her memory front and center as she's part of something special I have planned to launch in 2016 (to be continued ...)

Random Thought for Thursday 11/12/15

It would be silly for me not to support today's million student march, seeing as one of their goals is the elimination of student debt.

I've been monitoring the movement, especially since the student loan bubble was supposed to burst immediately following the banking, mortgage and tech bubbles collapsed spectacularly ... because I've got some skin in the game.  Or, more specifically, I happen to own .00000021 of the 1.2 trillion debt piled up out there.

Disclaimer ... I wouldn't trade one minute of the nearly dozen years I spent collecting my assorted degrees, and, in my opinion, I can't put a price on what I learned and experienced and lived back then (even if the government reminds me every so often that said price is a quarter of a million dollars).

So, selfishly, here's hoping the kiddies get some traction on their demands OR that 1 out of 4 of the million marching take a collection and send me a dollar each to retire my debt.  Either resolution works for me!

THE STUDENT LOAN DEBT CLOCK:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/every-second-americans-get-buried-under-another-3055-in-student-loan-debt-2015-06-10

INFORMATION ABOUT TODAY'S PROTEST:
http://thinkprogress.org/education/2015/11/12/3721211/million-student-march/

WAS YOUR LOCAL COLLEGE INVOLVED:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/11/12/million-student-march-fights-for-debt-free-college/

Random Wordplay for Wednesday 11/11/15

Greenlight a vet

Used in a sentence:  "In case you're not familiar with a relatively new initiative, the country is being called on to greenlight a vet -- especially this veteran's holiday, but also year round, as the bullet points in the accompanying image show."

At a minimum, folks are asked to turn a porch light (or other outside light) green to show support.  It was my full attention to swap out the bug light that is outside the front door at ye olde/new homestead with something green, but the reality is that, despite living here the length of a human gestation period, that light is still a bit of a mystery as to how to turn it on.  (A timer, a sensor and a switch have all been ruled out ... yet somehow it must be subject to some kind of control, because sometimes it's on and sometimes it's off ...)

Regardless ... if the minimum is shining a green light ... then close behind it is another newer initiative about checking in with veterans you know in light of the all too high rate of suicide amongst vets (see the crisis hotline link below/to follow).

Of course, and despite my affinity toward Brecht's 'Mother Courage and her Children' when it comes to my view of war ... a shout out of thanks to all who served.

IN CASE YOU'RE NOT AWARE:
http://www.greenlightavet.com/

AS SPONSORED BY THE WALMART:
http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/2015/11/05/walmart-pumps-20-million-into-greenlight-vet-advocacy-campaign/75215418/

HELP COMBAT THE HIGH SUICIDE RATE:
https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/

Random Tune for Tuesday 11/10/15

A few weeks ago, I watched the PBS on demand specials on the building of the bomb, where this tune was featured.

It was such a catchy ditty, about how nuclear annihilation is equal opportunity, that I knew I wanted to post it as a random tune some day soon.

Then, yesterday, whilst poking fun at the nuclear disaster awaiting St. Louis (with an underground fire headed towards a nuclear waste dump), my nephew posted *it* as a reply to my comments, and I thought ... more people in these apocalypse-adjacent times NEED to be aware of this song, so that, just in case the nuclear option is the choice to initiate the end of days, we can at least all be cheerfully singing along when we char.

Please people ... teach your children ... teach your family ... teach your friends.  Let's face certain doom with a smile on our face, like they did in the fifties.

All together now ...

When the air becomes uranious,
And we will all go simultaneous.
Yes we all will go together
When we all go together,
Yes we all will go together when we go.

THIS IS HOW ONE SURVIVES LIVING IN APOCALYPSE ADJACENT TIMES:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frAEmhqdLFs

Random Memorial for Monday 11/9/15

Gone but not forgotten:  the thought that Centralia was special.

Growing up in central PA as I did, *everybody* knew about the abandoned city with the fire underneath it ... and I assumed that it was uniquely situated.

UNTIL, that is, I learned that a part of St. Louis is ALSO on fire.  And, since it's now apparently a competition, St. Louis has raised the bar by having *their* fire rapidly approach a nuclear waste site.  To which I say ... my relatives have already left the area before they started glowing in the dark (although, some of these relatives were also in central PA back in '79 when TMI meant something completely different, so they may glow in the dark after all) AND to those friends left behind ... you will soon be able to say that "it smells like fall out" for reals!

Cities burning from underneath (and any people that still live there), when the fire hits the nuclear fan, so to speak ... you will (all) be missed!

IS IT TIME TO SAY GOODBYE TO ST LOUIS (UH-OH)?:
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread1087709/pg1

WARNING ... IT MAY SOON SMELL LIKE FALL OUT (FOR REALS)!:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/midwest/ct-st-louis-underground-fire-20151010-story.html

CENTRALIA ... A ROADSIDE ATTRACTION (FROM A DISTANCE):
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2196

Random Scandal Sheet for Sunday 11/8/15

What southern Florida is talking about this week:

The 2015 edition of the BACON BASH here in Ft. Lauderdale.

Held this past Friday night as a fundraiser for the Riverwalk nonprofit (responsible for "the programming, beautification and activation of Riverwalk Park and the Downtown community") and the Covenant House (a "residential crisis shelter for homeless, at-risk and runaway youth"), attendees got unlimited access to bacon dishes of all kinds.

And, yes, what with my ongoing love affair with the bacon ... it was a no-brainer for me and mine to attend.  There were two competing main courses, the first pictured burger (with toppings of blackberry jam, a banana slice, bourbon bbq sauce, pepperjack cheese, an onion ring, and bacon) and the second/third pictured item, a bacon breakfast bomb burger (served on bacon infused waffles, topped with bacon bourbon syrup and a smoked maple cheddar and bacon jam).  [By the way, that was the item that got my vote for best use of bacon at the event.]

Additionally, there were some appetizers (some uninspired [guac topped with bacon bits, cheese fries topped with bacon bits, a bacon biscuit with spicy chocolate sauce, bacon corn bread] and some inspired [a pork purse wrapped in pepper bacon {fourth photo below}, porkbelly on pickled zucchini toast with bacon, deviled eggs sprinkled with smoked bacon]) and some desserts (butter pecan cupcake with a bacon cream cheese frosting [fifth photo below], shot glass versions of key lime pie and dolce de leche [that seemed to not have *any* bacon in them {sixth photo below}], a peanut butter hot fudge sundae sprinkled with bacon [seventh photo below] and candied-bacon-to-go [eighth photo below]).

By the way, the final photo below?  Those were the protesters at the event, fighting to shame those who eat pigs and encouraging individuals to consider a meatless lifestyle.  I wanted to pose for a picture with them, but the shirt I was wearing would have contradicted their message.

[PS .. the fact that I gained a pound when I had my fortnightly weigh-in today may or may not have been related to this bacon feast.  Just sayin' ...]

[PPS ... what with all these photos of deliciousness, they will take the place of the usual companion-links-in-triplicate that traditionally accompany these posts.]

Random Soapbox for Saturday 11/7/15

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

... kiddies today are too damn spoiled.

Last week's Sunday paper (a giveaway that I'm old, seeing as how I still *read* a weekly paper) included the Target holiday toy catalog, and I decided to see what was inside.

I was shocked to see this monstrosity ... a hot wheels multi level garage for the display of one's collection of little cars.

To which I say ... back when I was little, my matchbox vehicles were lucky to be in a tiny plastic carrying case, with trays that fit a dozen or so at a time ... and that was perfectly fine.  Furthermore, those matchbox cars had to drive around the tree roots in my back yard because that was all that was available and that required imagination in play ... and *that* was also perfectly fine.  And one other thing ... my matchbox cars were made of METAL and not plastic ... and they were covered in lead based paint ... and *THAT* was perfectly fine (maybe ... lead based paint can warp a mind I hear).

[Also ... if you haven't guessed, I had to walk to school ... uphill both ways ... but you probably could have predicted that.]

Despite what Ms. Whitney said before she forgot how to take a bath (what?  too soon?), I don't know how we expect the children to be our future when we hand them everything instead of making them engage the imagination parts of their little brains.  How boring must play be nowadays when it's all pre-scripted?

*THIS* ... THIS IS TOO MUCH!:
http://www.target.com/p/hot-wheels-ultimate-garage-playset/-/A-17295356

*THIS* ... THIS WORKED FINE FOR ME:
http://www.vintagebritishdiecasts.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1496

*THIS* ... THIS IS FUNNY:
http://thingsoldpeoplesay.tumblr.com/

Random Posting for Penn State 11/7/15

Here are 9 Nittany Nuggets from today's game:

1.)  Well *that* was a fourth quarter from which you couldn't look away.
2.)  In a match up of "well-rested" versus "*still* hasn't had a bye week", it looks like "well-rested" wins out.
3.)  On the bright side, that's another first quarter in the record books where we didn't let the opponent score.
4.)  On the not so bright side, sorry for that interception, HACKENBERG ... that was a really good run though.
5.)  I saw the temp was 50 degrees and windy ... which made me homesick for Chitown a bit, seeing as how 50 degrees was the trigger point as to whether the windows were opened or not.
6.)  Speaking of which ... if nothing else, the game provided a lot of photos of places I've been (hey ... I know that lighthouse!  and that giant lake!) ...
7.)  Dear announcermen, you said "thread the needle" so much today that I almost thought I was watching Project Runway.
8.)  Call me old-fashioned, but I think there should be a rule that if your hair is so long that it covers the name on your jersey (for those teams that print names on jerseys, that is), then you should be disqualified from the football.
9.)  Although, I can't lie, Northwestern's VITALE could probably get a hair shampoo/conditioner commercial if he wanted to.

And in closing, thanks to Coplay PA for giving us SAQUON (admittedly, I grew up in central PA and had to go google it to find out where it was) ... and here's to a week off to recover and recuperate and recharge so that we can be well-rested before the last two back to back Michigan games of the season.

THAT STRETCH WITHOUT AN INTERCEPTION *WAS* A GREAT RUN:
http://www.mcall.com/sports/college/psu/mc-penn-state-football-northwestern-preview-2-20151105-story.html

CALL ME OLD FASHIONED, BUT THESE BOYS SHOULD GET THEIR HAIR DONE:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dc-sports-bog/wp/2015/10/08/redskins-matt-jones-explains-what-it-feels-like-to-be-tackled-by-your-hair/

THE TOWN THAT GAVE US SAQUON (I HAD TO GOOGLE WHERE IT WAS IN PA):
http://www.coplayborough.org/

Random Flashback for Friday 11/6/15

And so ends an era.

Or ... so *ended* an era, twenty years ago, in the fall of 1995.

After many many many black and white photos shared on Fridays over the last few years, *this* will be the final one from the Mysterious Murder Quests at LVC to be featured.

Although the murder mysteries continued in some format until the late nineties, those were special arrangements (at church camps, for corporate functions, etc), and didn't get the same photographic coverage as the ones on campus did.

I leave you with skinny twenty-three year old me, preparing for a fight (for plot reasons only ... skinny twenty-three year old me was a peaceful chap, really) ... and with the thought that there's a germ of an idea to try to get people together next October during LVC's 150th birthday celebration for an MMQ reunion ... stay tuned.