Music to My Ears
Americans have very few opportunities these days to band together with one singular purpose. A couple of weeks ago, however, that happened when NBC aired a live production of “The…
Shelf the Elf
One of the guiding principles for writers is the “rule of three.” Basically, using three examples for something tends to work better, especially in comedy. But as Mike, my oldest…
How I Pulled One Over on Lands End
Well, not really, but I made out nicely. Some of the details will be scarce since it involves Christmas gifts for my wife, but the gist will be clear. I…
Looking for a Small Victory
As with many things I do, it seemed like a good idea at the time.
On a grocery store trip a long time ago, my wife brought home an apple-flavored trail mix, granola sort of thing from the bulk food aisle. Since I always think I have the discipline to improve myself, I took a liking to the mixture.
I never completely got hooked, however, so only had the mix periodically. From time to time, I would buy a bag of it for my snack drawer at work, only to get disappointed when I ran out.
When I remembered to get some of this treat sometime last spring, I made sure I wouldn’t run out too soon and bought a large amount. When I got home, I chose a container which could keep all of it so I could simply get small amounts to take to work in order to better ration my supply.
This is probably where I should mention that I don’t always do well with the follow through on things, especially when I don’t have a constant reminder. Since I bought a large bag of the snack on my own and put it in a container that usually sat inside a cupboard, I should have known things would end badly.
That did happen, but I found a silver lining in messing this up. I got a chance to make my wife to ever-so-briefly see my side of things on another issue.
Parking Lot Problems
I had to travel for work recently. I don’t have to do this often so it still has some novelty involved.
I have a few traditions for these trips. I try to sample as many local beers as I can. I have at least one room service dinner. And I always take good notes on where I parked my car at the airport.
I have good reason to worry about this issue. For this, like most things, I blame my brothers.
Jell-O Confession
When I made my confession, I figured I would end up as the bad guy in the scenario. It turns out that I had completely misjudged the situation.
My daughter made a special request for one of my wife’s recent trips to the grocery store. Bridget wanted Jell-O, like any good American kid does. So a four-pack of Jell-O cups ended up in our refrigerator.
As things sometimes happen, they sat there for a few days. She asked for them and got them, but had moved on to other snacks in the house. I totally get it. My brain works that way sometimes too.
When I needed a snack for my lunch at work one day, I spied the fruity treat and decided to open the pack. I knew I might suffer the wrath of an angry teenager, but figured I stood on solid ground here. She had her chance for the first crack at them and passed. Besides, she could easily claim the other three once I had my fix.
A Plan Coming Together
As a kid, I loved the show, “The A Team.” The program fell right into my wheelhouse – great action, a token female character to run around, Mr. T and…
What I Watched, 9/25
The real winner in the trio of watchable Tuesday comedies on Fox was the list of guest stars. Between “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” “New Girl” and “The Mindy Project,” we had a cavalcade of stars joining the regular cast members.
What I Watched, 9/24/13
I tweeted yesterday that I was excited for the premiere of the final season of “How I Met Your Mother” against my better judgment. The show, which I have been with since it premiered, had really started to get on my nerves. I’m not the only one bugged by the constant fakeouts, unnecessary tangents and downright bad writing from creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas. (And I’m not even getting into the recent Daily Beast video which showed that Ted was basically telling his kids what a slut he was.)
What I Watched, 9/18/13
This is a new and hopefully regular kind of post about what I watched on TV the previous night. There will be spoilers so don’t complain.
The new TV season kicked off for me last night when Fox premiered its Tuesday night comedy block. I already had “New Girl” and “The Mindy Project” written in ink on my schedule and wanted to give “Brooklyn 9-9” a try. I had no interest in “Dads.”
I managed to stay awake until 10 p.m. (not always the easiest feat) so had a clear view of all three shows. I’ll touch on them in the order of how I thought they landed things which, coincidentally, is the reverse order of how they aired.