I found my soul mate in 1985. We both were attending Boston University. I graduated and was accepted into the graduate program at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Yikes! How was this going to work? About 1500 miles and 2 to 3 time zones (depending on DST which AZ doesn't follow). This was before the internet, before email became common (there was intra-school email, but only top researchers had across the arpanet email), and there was no real alternative way to communicate excep... Read Full Story
I am a member of the interesting site called LibraryThing (http://www.librarything.com/). There you can list all the books in your personal library and compare and contrast your library with others. You can also talk books and find out what is good and not so good, all in all a book-lovers dream world. They have an "Early Reviewers Program" that publishers use to get some books out to booklovers to have them review it and talk it up.The latest batch of books have been delivered and ... Read Full Story
It was during our first year of marriage, late at night. My wife is the night-owl, I'm the early riser. Cable hadn't expanded to it's 500 channels yet, programming was either off the air or reruns of really old shows. Something new came around, half-hour long commercials! The birth of the info-mercial. We hopped on board early. Bubble Wok by oskay Our first infomercial purchase, even before QVC and the internet, was a hand-hammered wok. An energetic Scotsman (or someone wi... Read Full Story
The American classic The Blues Brothers contains many many famous quotes from "We're on a mission from God." to "It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses." But there is one line that always gets me going and ready for a good time. "Use of unnecessary violence in the apprehension of the Blues Brothers HAS been approved." - Police Dispatcher (Ralph Foody)A throwaway... Read Full Story
I am originally from the Central Susquehanna Valley region of Pennsylvania. I have not been back for many a year and feel as if I am far away from the tastes that I grew up with and love. With the nationalization of Snyder's of Hannover pretzels, regionalization of Utz potato chips I do have some links to the past, but there are a few elusive tastes that I can't get locally. If anyone wants to send me a package of these items, email me for my address (he he he). Middleswarth SourIm... Read Full Story
Wow, I have been following commercials and I especially like the ones that are in a series. (ie. freecreditreport.com, Jimmy Dean breakfast, the Verizon guy, Howie Long for Chevy Trucks) I also revel in bad commercials. I love local car commercials, monster truck show ads and the like. But I am also annoyed by some commercials as being so bad that they have no potential for humor. I had been considering the new Dial cup ads that feature their new at-home coffee cups that are like ones you ... Read Full Story
This is one of those local places that people never seem to go to, but once you do you find it fascinating and wonder why you never went earlier. Their website is full of information if you want to visit:http://www.stonehengeusa.com/ From their website (I couldn't say it any better):What is America's Stonehenge?Built by a Native American Culture or a migrant European population? No one knows for sure. A maze of man-made chambers, walls and ceremonial meeting places, America's S... Read Full Story
The Place: A 4th floor room Karaoke in the Shibuya district in ToykoThe Time: 2:00 amThe Condition of Singer: Stupid DrunkAhhhh must be time for some singing! Saturday Night by Elton John With it's hard driving beat and loud lyrics, Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting is a great song you can sing even when a bit tipsy. Lots of "alrights," and "oohs" are easy to sing and great to listen to if you miss the note progression. This song and ... Read Full Story
Wow, just got off of Facebook, reading a post by a friend who lives in my hometown of Sunbury PA. She said that the Peppermint Lounge (700 Market St.) was on fire and it wasn't looking good. A flood of memories hit me like a ton of bricks. The Peppermint Lounge used to be Johnny's Spaghetti Bar. (See the current story at : http://www.dailyitem.com/0100_news/local_story_051171000.html)Johnny's was a special place for me. My godparents owned and operated it. John and Verna Bzd... Read Full Story
The joys of magazines. I love them alot. Here are two of my favorites. Maybe I'll add more. Let me know of your favorites."Bon Appetit"It started as a fun Christmas gift, a food magazine for the newlyweds. Learn how to cook, son or new daughter-in-law. And the magazine is fun. Not stuffy, pretentious or demeaning. Almost 20 years later, I have made many a recipe, planned many a gathering and have the last 12 November issues to plan the big turkey day meals. Just finishe... Read Full Story
