Loud Clothes and Bad Jokes

Posted inColumns, Theater

I have spent much of the past few weeks on stage at the Hanover Little Theatre. Actually, my participation in “The Fox on the Fairway” took much more time than that, but I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining.

I don’t know why because that’s what I will end up doing anyway.

The whole experience thrilled me. I once again got to work with an incredible group of people while putting on a very funny play and providing lots of people with affordable local entertainment.

But I have a bone to pick with some of those in the audience.

A ‘Hunk’ of Nostalgia

Posted inColumns, TV

Because I grew up with seven older siblings, I developed a great appreciation for classic television.

I have great memories of the shows I grew up with – “ChiPs,” “Three’s Company,” and the Saturday night tandem of “Love Boat” and “Fantasy Island” – but I also cut my comedy teeth on the “Dick Van Dyke Show,” “Gomer Pyle, USMC,” and “Leave it to Beaver.”

Thanks to the magic of Netflix and other streaming services, shows like those continue to have a life. Since I have greater productivity with background noise, I have spent some time recently listening to the antics of Wally and the Beav as I get stuff done at work.

More often than not, I bristle when I hear people long for the good old days. I love nostalgia, but I think we need to find a way to balance that feeling with the understanding that we cannot stop things from changing.

That said, I have learned some lessons from the folks in Mayfield that I think we can apply to our lives today.

Turn TV Good Again

Posted inAmerica, Columns, TV

We have a problem, people. A problem with our television sets.

Actually, I feel no animosity toward the sets themselves. The developments in television technology never fail to astound me, and I can’t wait to see what comes next.

But the things that appear on my screen have started to bum me out more and more. I have always kind of felt this way, but the whole thing turned very clear when I saw a promo for a new show starring Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte.

Those unfamiliar with Mr. Lochte’s work might have trouble telling the difference between clips of his show and a Saturday Night Live skit. The whole thing looks incredibly awkward and painful, mainly because Lochte is about as smart and engaging as the goggles he wears in competition.

But for some reason, folks have decided that we need to see a show following him around as he tries to market himself, meet women and create absurd catch phrases. And to make things worse, some folks have decided they want to watch this.

I’m a Girl Scout

Posted inColumns

Over the summer, I made a decision I never would have predicted for myself.

Some peer pressure played a role. I had already done some things which made the final step a lot easier, but that didn’t make me less nervous as I reached the point of no return.

I joined the Girl Scouts.

The whole thing started last winter when my daughter’s troop needed parent volunteers for an event. I said I could help, but ran afoul of the rules which say chaperones need to be registered Girl Scouts.

I didn’t blame the troop leader or the organization as a whole. People have to be vigilant these days, and I didn’t expect an exemption even though most of the parents in the troop know me.

My wife had registered with Girl Scouts exactly for these kinds of situations, but we found she had more and more conflicts with the times they needed chaperones. Because of volunteering at school and officiating wrestling, I had all the necessary clearances. I just needed to register.

Post Office Memories

Posted inCollege, Columns

I loved my college years for many reasons. I didn’t have a lot of responsibility, I learned a ton of things, plus I made some of the best friends you could ever imagine.

But one benefit of those four years at Allegheny College which I don’t always appreciate is my familiarity. This came back to me recently when the alumni office reached out to people like me.

The building which housed the campus post office underwent renovations in recent years to become a new alumni center. We recently received an e-mail giving us the opportunity to win the door to the post office box we had in college.

Mmmmmm, Pi

Posted inColumns, Computers

As a kid, I didn’t really eat pie very often. When we had dessert, I most often went for cake or ice cream. Or brownies. Or some combination of those. Or all of them.

Regardless, I have developed an appreciation for pie later in life. I will never turn down some warm apple pie or a decadent slice of key lime pie.

I have found a new kind of pie I want to try recently: raspberry. But you can’t eat this kind of pie. I have bought a Raspberry Pi, a mini-computer designed to teach students how to code and explore the world of technology.

Time for The Brians

Posted inColumns, Movies, The Brians

Each year, people analyze the quality of the field vying for movie awards. They proclaim whether it’s a “good year” for The Oscars.

I think 2012 will go down as one of those years which people will say that the field for The Brians – my yearly awards for the movies I see in the theater – didn’t have a lot of depth, but it had plenty of quality.

Seven movies have qualified for the 2012 edition of the awards, five fewer than last year. The nominees are “Argo,” “Skyfall,” “21 Jump Street,” “The Lorax,” “Wreck It Ralph,” “Fun Size” and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days.”

As you can tell, the majority of my movie attendance came with my daughter, not my wife, in 2012. I don’t really know why. I guess we just had a busy year and never found huge motivation to see the many movies we considered, but didn’t seem worthy of a night out.

Looking back at the 2012 releases, I think “Lincoln” really ranks as the only regret. Probably “Ted” as well, but everything else we considered didn’t push my buttons. Far too often, we simply figured we could watch the latest romantic or stupid comedy on Netflix.

I guess that makes this year’s winners even more special. They had that quality which convinced my lazy and cheap self to actually go outside and interact with other people.

Popcorn Time Machine

Posted inColumns, Family, Food

The topic of older technology comes up in our house once in a while. That usually leads to my daughter laughing.

But one thing from a bygone era which does not result in chuckling is the many ways you can make popcorn.

One of our family traditions revolves around making popcorn when we settle in to watch a movie. These nights have increased in frequency lately as we have decided to introduce our tween to some classic films from the 1980s.

Usually, the snack preparation for movie night involved my daughter tossing a bag of popcorn into the microwave, filling up a few baskets, and then taking the one with the most popcorn for herself.

Things changed one night recently when I had other plans on movie night. For some reason, they decided to eschew modern popping technology and make popcorn on the stove. I guess the possibility of tastier popcorn overrode the desire to mock the past.

That led to a discussion about making popcorn when my wife and I were growing up. I said I didn’t really remember stovetop popcorn that much, but I did remember the magic of the air popper. Before I knew it, my wife went down to the basement and brought up the air popper she took to college.