Chris Rodell's Blog, page 74
August 27, 2015
Oskar Schindler & my persistent feelings of failure
(659 words)
I always feel as summer winds down an odd kinship with Oskar Schindler.
Remember him?
He was the German industrialist who cleverly — and at grave risk to his own life — saved more than 1,200 doomed Jews from the Holocaust.
The connection seems pretty thin, I admit.
He did so much and was justifiably memorialized in what you could argue was Stephen Spielberg’s finest film, “
I always feel as summer winds down an odd kinship with Oskar Schindler.
Remember him?
He was the German industrialist who cleverly — and at grave risk to his own life — saved more than 1,200 doomed Jews from the Holocaust.
The connection seems pretty thin, I admit.
He did so much and was justifiably memorialized in what you could argue was Stephen Spielberg’s finest film, “
August 26, 2015
I'm now a (sort of) Emmy nominated voiceover artist
(650 words)
My girls didn’t believe me when I told them they were now the offspring of an Emmy nominated voiceover artist.
In fact, I think the 14-year-old was already looking forward to her paternity test.
Why would I lie about the august credential?
Gee, anyone care to start a list?
Let me.
First, it’d be very cool; second, it sounds like the kind of thing that might lead to a
My girls didn’t believe me when I told them they were now the offspring of an Emmy nominated voiceover artist.
In fact, I think the 14-year-old was already looking forward to her paternity test.
Why would I lie about the august credential?
Gee, anyone care to start a list?
Let me.
First, it’d be very cool; second, it sounds like the kind of thing that might lead to a
August 24, 2015
Animal annoyances? Let's blame Noah
(670 words)
I wonder how different the world would be today if on Noah’s ark someone had thought to bring along a fly swatter.
It’d probably be a lot less annoying.
They drive me nuts.
Bees do, too, of course. But bees provide tangible benefits. They pollinate and make delicious honey.
What do common houseflys do?
Well, I looked it up. The answer doesn’t bolster their case for ark
I wonder how different the world would be today if on Noah’s ark someone had thought to bring along a fly swatter.
It’d probably be a lot less annoying.
They drive me nuts.
Bees do, too, of course. But bees provide tangible benefits. They pollinate and make delicious honey.
What do common houseflys do?
Well, I looked it up. The answer doesn’t bolster their case for ark
August 23, 2015
Sunday re-run: It was a very zombie Thanksgiving
Interested in zombies? You’ll like this post. Not interested in zombies? You’ll like this post. This ran after Thanksgiving weekend when I was feeling a zombie bloat. I thought this evening’s debut of AMC’s “Walking Dead” made re-running this one a good idea. Plus, I think it’s just funny.
(693 words)
Do zombies ever feel a Thanksgiving bloat like the one I felt?
“I can’t take one
(693 words)
Do zombies ever feel a Thanksgiving bloat like the one I felt?
“I can’t take one
August 21, 2015
My unending failures to get Pittsburgh a Gene Kelly statue
(729 words)
There was a homeless guy playing a battered old saxophone smack dab in the middle of Pittsburgh’s Market Square Wednesday when I strolled through.
And I’m making the stereotypical assumption he was homeless. He may just have been an eccentric who likes to dress in shabby clothes to bum money.
No matter. I tossed two bills into his case and shambled on wondering about whether
There was a homeless guy playing a battered old saxophone smack dab in the middle of Pittsburgh’s Market Square Wednesday when I strolled through.
And I’m making the stereotypical assumption he was homeless. He may just have been an eccentric who likes to dress in shabby clothes to bum money.
No matter. I tossed two bills into his case and shambled on wondering about whether
August 20, 2015
Catching up on the Ashley Madison scandal
(628 words)
I want to preempt exposure on Ashley Madison hack lists by announcing my eagerness to cheat.
The randy initiative burst through just last night when I saw hundreds of men and women — kids, too! — doing it right there in the grass.
They were having a ball.
Actually, they had about 50 balls.
Shame-free orgy?
No, they were playing catch on the PNC Park outfield after the Bucs
I want to preempt exposure on Ashley Madison hack lists by announcing my eagerness to cheat.
The randy initiative burst through just last night when I saw hundreds of men and women — kids, too! — doing it right there in the grass.
They were having a ball.
Actually, they had about 50 balls.
Shame-free orgy?
No, they were playing catch on the PNC Park outfield after the Bucs
August 18, 2015
Jaffre's opens today at Tin Lizzy!
(703 words)
Breaking news: Jaffre’s is open again at the Tin Lizzy! This is great news. They’re open for lunch and dinner starting today (closed Sundays).
The three-bar, four-story building had been without an anchor restaurant for about two months, which means the only thing it’d been without longer was a resident writer.
And what respectable tavern can do without one of those?
Mike
Breaking news: Jaffre’s is open again at the Tin Lizzy! This is great news. They’re open for lunch and dinner starting today (closed Sundays).
The three-bar, four-story building had been without an anchor restaurant for about two months, which means the only thing it’d been without longer was a resident writer.
And what respectable tavern can do without one of those?
Mike
August 17, 2015
The #hashtag/tic-tac-toe rivalry
(658 words)
I’m so old school I always feel like shouting “Paul Lynde to block!” every time I see a hashtag.
I wonder if devotees of tic-tac-toe resent how hashtags have stolen the thunder of one of the world’s oldest games.
Archeologists have unearthed evidence an early version of tic-tac-toe was played in the Roman Empire as far back as 100 B.C.
So it’s certainly conceivable Jesus
I’m so old school I always feel like shouting “Paul Lynde to block!” every time I see a hashtag.
I wonder if devotees of tic-tac-toe resent how hashtags have stolen the thunder of one of the world’s oldest games.
Archeologists have unearthed evidence an early version of tic-tac-toe was played in the Roman Empire as far back as 100 B.C.
So it’s certainly conceivable Jesus
August 16, 2015
RRS: "Oh, Man(dy)! My night with Manilow"
(857 words)
I once took a Mexican girl who barely spoke any English to see U2, an Irish band, in the Dixie town of Nashville.
It was a diversity extravaganza.
It was 1987. I remember meeting her at a party where the music was loud enough to mask our difficulties communicating. I remember doing a lot of smiling and nodding. She was very pretty.
Eager to spend more intimate time in
I once took a Mexican girl who barely spoke any English to see U2, an Irish band, in the Dixie town of Nashville.
It was a diversity extravaganza.
It was 1987. I remember meeting her at a party where the music was loud enough to mask our difficulties communicating. I remember doing a lot of smiling and nodding. She was very pretty.
Eager to spend more intimate time in
August 14, 2015
My new favorite word: Abbey-lubber
(654 words)
My $295 on-line subscription to the Oxford English Dictionary is maybe my favorite indulgence. I revel in word origins, obscure definitions and saucy quotes from heroes like Twain, Churchill and Dorothy Parker.
And I love having the OED’s word of the day zipped straight to my in-box.
It is through that feature I’ve stumbled upon words like cwtch, honeyfuggle, ballyhooly and
My $295 on-line subscription to the Oxford English Dictionary is maybe my favorite indulgence. I revel in word origins, obscure definitions and saucy quotes from heroes like Twain, Churchill and Dorothy Parker.
And I love having the OED’s word of the day zipped straight to my in-box.
It is through that feature I’ve stumbled upon words like cwtch, honeyfuggle, ballyhooly and
