Paperboy Karaoke
My mom had the records of many of the original soundtrack musicals. When the movie Oliver! came out I listened to that record over and over.
I was also a paperboy at that time – the Milwaukee Journal, Sunday mornings and every weekday in the afternoon. I was doing my Wednesday route, singing (in my signature off-key) “You’ve got to pick a pocket or two,” when I turned the corner and there was a family having a picnic in the back yard. Just pretended it was all part of the service, handed them the paper and was on my way. Can’t imagine it helped my tip.
Here’s a quick video of the various alternative language singers singing “Let it go” from Frozen. Worth the two minutes:
My kingdom for a 3/8th inch ratchet!
I’m not handy, I’m much more of a throw-money-at-it person. But, given enough time, enough YouTube, and enough trips to the hardware store I can usually figure out how to fix something. The byproduct of this approach is I have a weird menagerie of tools cluttering my junk drawer and my garage – many of which I’m not even sure what purpose they solve any more.
But then I stumbled onto a better way. It started innocently enough, I just needed a bike stand for some minor maintenance on my bicycle. I walked down to the tool lending library in my neighborhood. They had a bike stand and the guy suggested just bringing my bike down and working on it there. So I did. And not only did I straighten the brakes (my original intent) but the guy helped me to true the wheels, grease the ball bearings and tighten up the derailleur.
Almost the very same week the high school kid from down the block knocked on my door. He had just bought a dirt bike and needed metric wrenches to work on it. We trudged down to the tool lending library and borrowed a set. We also left with an oil pan and a rubber mallet.
Long story short (or is it too late?) – great idea! There is a modest membership fee but it pales in comparison to a collection of once-used tools. And you can’t ask questions to a YouTube video!
Here’s a nice testimonial on my lending library in northeast Seattle: Seattle Tool Lending Library.
New York City Marathon
I’ve run several marathon. I’m always nervous at the starting line. I have to use the facilities until moments before the starting gun, which raises logistical challenges best not discussed here. My favorite marathon was the Amsterdam marathon where we were able to corral a hotel room about a hundred yards from the starting line. Didn’t leave the hotel until nanoseconds before the start.
It’s for that reason, and others, that I never considered the New York City Marathon. The thought of schlepping out to Staten Island and then killing two hours at the Verrazano Bridge just wouldn’t work for me – unless they initiated some type of adopt-a-porta-potty program. But this blog by Brendan Leonard sure captures the magic that is the NYC marathon: We interrupt your expectations to bring you your actual marathon. Almost makes me reconsider!
Springsteen in St. Louis
I’m not particularly celebrity-obsessed. I have some autographs but they were all obtained organically – by crossing paths accidentally. I have had some encounters though. I once ate dinner at a restaurant with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar sitting at the next table (alone, for some reason it felt sad); once on a plane I sat across from Jeff Beck (in coach! and he just put his guitar in the overhead bin!); and once I bought a CD at Tower records just in line ahead of Tom Cruise (boy that story dates me and Tom Cruise both!).
Here’s a cute story of a fan interaction with Bruce Springsteen, from both perspectives. Springsteen’s version and the fan’s version.
Tweets that pique
Twitter is slowly fading, like the family picture in Back to the Future:
Unfortunately the part I enjoy most, the humorous self-effacing posts, were the first to leave. So here is a(quite possibly) a last tribute to the Twitter that once was:
