Going Through The Bones
I’ve been doing some closet and attic cleaning this week. Digging through old boxes of stuff, looking for things that can/need to be thrown away, or items that can be sent to my sister-in-law for her up-coming garage sale. I dug through a huge pile of Far Side books that I’ll be flipping through in the next few weeks. Those…
More George Lucas Slamming
Early George Lucas collaborator Gary Kurtz finally talks about why he parted ways with Lucas after The Empire Strikes Back. Did ‘Star Wars’ become a toy story? “I could see where things were headed,” Kurtz said. “The toy business began to drive the [Lucasfilm] empire. It’s a shame. They make three times as much on toys as they do on…
I Trust This Won’t Affect My Grade
I have a longer Required Reading post in the works, but this link deserves its own entry. Professors: Hot at Their Own Risk examines the challenges that attractive academics face. The idea of appealing educators being harassed by their students seems a little gross as I approach 40. When I was in college, though, there was always that hope at the…
Famous Sports Achievements
One of my (many) sisters-in-law completed her first half-marathon last weekend, running the Indianapolis Mini Marathon in atrocious conditions. Her accomplishment got me reminiscing about my own running milestones over the years. Completing the Chicago Marathon in 2001, a half-marathon in 2000, and my first triathlon in 1999. But my favorite was much further back than that. In the spring…
First Times
I recently discovered the site How I Met Your Motherboard, which features stories of first computer experiences. Interestingly, one of the stories mirrors my own. Seems like perfect fodder for my own blog post, no? People occasionally ask me why I’m so nutty for Apple products. I think part of it is because of when I got my first Mac:…
Fake Baseball
The latest installment in ESPN’s 30 for 30 documentaries is a funny look at the origins of fantasy sports: Rotisserie Baseball. I enjoyed it for many of the same reasons the AV Club reviewer enjoyed it: while the idea of fantasy sports appealed to me, I must admit I was more in love with the books that explained the game.…
The End
Well, the girls and I survived three days without their mother. S. arrived home from her trip to visit her new nephew this afternoon and found a house that was remarkably clean,* three daughters that were still alive and happy to see her, and a slightly tired husband. (In my opinion.) And suddenly it’s the final day of the year. And…
Nicknames
One day recently I heard The Spinners’ “The Rubberband Man” while running errands. That was a song I grew up on, since my parents were very much into the early 1970s soul sound. But I recall it most fondly because of former NBA player Paul Pressey. While Pressey played his college ball at Tulsa, he earned the nickname “Rubberband Man”…
1979 Stolen Base Leaders
Thank goodness the World Series is over. I watched a total of five minutes of the six games. Just couldn’t take A-Rod and the Yanks winning. It made me sad that Pedro couldn’t get it done last night. It’s always disappointing when a guy who was as good as he was loses it. I was hoping for one last classic…
Way Back Machine
When I hear about people staying up all night to play video games these days, it kind of makes sense, since modern games offer so much depth and possibilities for play. Looking back, why the hell would we play Atari all day? Those games sucked. Need proof? Check out Atari’s 1978 catalog. Things only got slightly better before the 2600…