This storm of all storms, ironically, named after my ex-Mother-in-Law, has caused a whirlwind of introspection. Beyond the obvious of forcing many of us to take a step backwards and analyze what's truly important in our lives, it's also caused us all to take a genuine look at what we can truly live without.
Just for starters, power isn't one of them. I never realized how much I loved power until I walked around in the dark holding a flashlight while looking for candles. Not having hot water made cold showers seem like water torture, and I didn't think I fell in love with wi-fi, but when it returns, I think I'm going to marry it.
However, in those hours of sitting in the dark and reading by iPad light I came to realize what I really didn't find essential.
Television
It's a shame to admit this, especially because I work in the business. However, didn't miss it. Baseball is over, hockey is in the middle of yet another lock out, and with the exception of just a few shows I like, the rest can be tossed off a cliff. I couldn't care less about what's happening with The New Girl, Gossip Girl, or Girls. I wouldn't miss the endless shows about vampires and zombies. For that matter, you can also strike any show with an alcoholic cop or a lawyer that bends the rules.
Ice Cream
I'm one of those who don't need a warm day to crave ice cream or frozen yogurt. Either way, when the power goes out, you're left with nothing more than defrosted sugar soup. One look at that mess and I realized that a cookie would be just fine. And much drier.
Newspaper
With an eye on full disclosure, I must admit that I did manage to get 4G service throughout the storm. Simulataneously, I missed delivery of all of my highly coveted Wall Street Journals during a similar period of time. And although I still enjoy reading a newspaper, I managed to receive all the pertient information regarding power outages, sports, business news, and more simply by perusing different news oriented websites on my iPad. It's a sad day when I can forsee a time when the printing press becomes a relic like the typewriter, but the end is near.
Mircrowave
By the time I arrive home from work, the last thing on my mind is to pretend that I'm a contestant on a Food Network show. So, I take what I have in the fridge and nuke it. I'm not proud of it. I know that these microwaves can't be good for me or frankly, for the food. But I eat it any way. Having a few days without it, forced me to improvise and get by with the stovetop. And not only does it give you a break, it also gives you more options.
Lights
This one is a little more radical. But follow it through. For half the day, you can live with natural light. By the time you're back at night, it's only a few more hours before you hit the pillow. Now think of every device that you use - cell phone, computer, laptop, iPad, Kindle, Nook, and television. Each one has a screen that lights up. With the exception of finding the toiliet, you could literarally do seveal different activities in the house with only the light from your electronics.
Those are my top 5. And as this blackout continues, I may encounter a few more for the list.
What can you live without?
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Monday, October 29, 2012
Whistle While You Work
I don't know if you've noticed, but lately, there's a whole lot of whistling going on. Not the kind that's ripping outside your window right now. I'm speaking of the traditional kind. Now this isn't exactly a negative. Whistling has always been thought of as activity you engage in when you're relaxed, and most of the time when you're happy.
And because whistling is also known as the "poor man's singing," it's had a tendency to also show up in many popular songs over the years. One of the best, of course, is Otis Redding's "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" which used whistling just as much for imagery as it did for the tune itself. Many years later, Bobby Mcpherrin soared to popularity in the late 80's with the reggae inspired laid back hit, "Don't Worry, Be Happy," which held a steady, I don't give a sh$t whistle throughout.
Now there's another song that I've been hearing far too often by a group named, Flo Rida, simply called "Whistle." It pounds in my head at the gym, at the pharmacy, in a few elevators, and most notably on my kids' iPad. When I first heard this song in a public place, I had no idea there was whistling in the song. I thought the guy on line behind me was whistling to it. Which just goes to show you that when it comes to whistling, you really can't tell the difference between professional and amateur.
But don't think for a second that it ends with music. It's now moved into advertising. Especially on the radio. 1-800-GOT-JUNK's ad has two men offering to clean up your mess, and all along do it while whistling. The new Honda Accord commercial is a conversation between husband and wife arguing about whether the husband should have spent so much money for extras like Bluetooth, Pandora, and a back up camera. We eventually find out that all these features are standard. All along, we hear someone whistling in the background. Toyota quickly followed suit with it's own ad reminding drivers to bring their vehicles in for regular maintenance, also with a narrator and a whistler.
So just what's going on here? Are these ad agencies trying to save money on musicians? Does buying the rights to a popular rock song no longer fit into the media plan? There aren't even any background singers anymore. Just whistlers. I'm sure they come cheaper.
When it comes to the popular history of whistling, the country's first mass introduction was the theme of "The Andy Griffith Show." That video of Andy walking a country road with little Ron Howard, both carrying fishing poles just epitomized the laid back lifestyle of that sleepy Mayberry town in North Carolina.
And if you want to travel back even further, long before there was Facebook, some of you may have seen Bing Crosby whistle to White Christmas. I don't think you saw it live, but hey, isn't that what You Tube is for?
The one conclusion that can be drawn about the whistle is that somehow it reflects a feeling of a more peaceful time gone by. It conjures a father-son activity like fishing, a family holiday like Christmas, or a casual, carefree attitude of a life driven by a lack of worry. Why wouldn't musicians and advertisers take advantage of using it?
Maybe you should too. It may just get you through a hurricane.
And because whistling is also known as the "poor man's singing," it's had a tendency to also show up in many popular songs over the years. One of the best, of course, is Otis Redding's "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" which used whistling just as much for imagery as it did for the tune itself. Many years later, Bobby Mcpherrin soared to popularity in the late 80's with the reggae inspired laid back hit, "Don't Worry, Be Happy," which held a steady, I don't give a sh$t whistle throughout.
Now there's another song that I've been hearing far too often by a group named, Flo Rida, simply called "Whistle." It pounds in my head at the gym, at the pharmacy, in a few elevators, and most notably on my kids' iPad. When I first heard this song in a public place, I had no idea there was whistling in the song. I thought the guy on line behind me was whistling to it. Which just goes to show you that when it comes to whistling, you really can't tell the difference between professional and amateur.
But don't think for a second that it ends with music. It's now moved into advertising. Especially on the radio. 1-800-GOT-JUNK's ad has two men offering to clean up your mess, and all along do it while whistling. The new Honda Accord commercial is a conversation between husband and wife arguing about whether the husband should have spent so much money for extras like Bluetooth, Pandora, and a back up camera. We eventually find out that all these features are standard. All along, we hear someone whistling in the background. Toyota quickly followed suit with it's own ad reminding drivers to bring their vehicles in for regular maintenance, also with a narrator and a whistler.
So just what's going on here? Are these ad agencies trying to save money on musicians? Does buying the rights to a popular rock song no longer fit into the media plan? There aren't even any background singers anymore. Just whistlers. I'm sure they come cheaper.
When it comes to the popular history of whistling, the country's first mass introduction was the theme of "The Andy Griffith Show." That video of Andy walking a country road with little Ron Howard, both carrying fishing poles just epitomized the laid back lifestyle of that sleepy Mayberry town in North Carolina.
And if you want to travel back even further, long before there was Facebook, some of you may have seen Bing Crosby whistle to White Christmas. I don't think you saw it live, but hey, isn't that what You Tube is for?
The one conclusion that can be drawn about the whistle is that somehow it reflects a feeling of a more peaceful time gone by. It conjures a father-son activity like fishing, a family holiday like Christmas, or a casual, carefree attitude of a life driven by a lack of worry. Why wouldn't musicians and advertisers take advantage of using it?
Maybe you should too. It may just get you through a hurricane.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Mixed Doubles
After watching three Presidential Debates in their entirety, and listening to endless hours of the talking head pundits on both the liberal and coservative networks, I've come to a conclusion.
Our system needs an overhaul. I know I'm not alone here. Many have suggested doing away with the electoral college. Although I'm more of a popular vote fan, I elect to keep it. Others have discussed the need for a true independent party. I'm in favor, but the problem is finding a candidate with the necessary funding to make a legitimate run at the Presidency. Last week, a friend suggested a radical approach where the Commander in Chief be granted a 6-year term. This way, he won't be burdened with the campaign trail after just a short 24 months. I like this idea in concept, but if you truly dislike your President, six years is an enternity to wait for a changing of the guard.
Suffice it to say that no idea is perfect. However, I've come up with a way for us to satisfy our need for the balance of power without extended terms, voter changes, or even an an additional political party. This is something even Elephants and the Donkeys haven't thought of yet.
From now on, our political tickets should play a game of mixed doubles. One from column A and one from column B. You want a fair and balanced system? You got it.
One Repulican and one Democrat on each side. You want someone that can reach across the aisle? How about reaching across the table, because that's how close they'll be. They can share a bagel or a knish. When they work on domestic and foreign policy issues, they won't have to worry about whether it will appeal more to the Senate or the House, or whether it will lean too far to the left or right. Now, these bipartisan doctrines will go in fully vetted while reducing the likelihood of being thrown out.
The debates would be more interesting too. Can you imagine? I'd pit the Democrat against the Democrat and the Republican against the Republican. Just out of the abject fear of agreeing with an adversary in the same party, they would be forced to bring original ideas forward. That's someting politicians aren't accustomed to. Currently, they're trained to repeat the same old mantras of their party. But the same party battling against each other? Now you'd have a horserace.
There was a recent article on Yahoo that uncovered an electroral vote permuatation that showed how Obama and Romney could actually finish with 269 votes each. According to the aformentioned article, Constitutional law states that in the event of a draw, the incumbent President loses to the challenger, however, the current Vice President chooses the new one. So conceivably, Romney and Biden would be in power. It's a crazy thought, but it would make for some great ratings on election night....and beyond.
It could also set a precedent for a new democratic election system that becomes more the norm, and one that we could all live with.
A man can dream, can't he?
Our system needs an overhaul. I know I'm not alone here. Many have suggested doing away with the electoral college. Although I'm more of a popular vote fan, I elect to keep it. Others have discussed the need for a true independent party. I'm in favor, but the problem is finding a candidate with the necessary funding to make a legitimate run at the Presidency. Last week, a friend suggested a radical approach where the Commander in Chief be granted a 6-year term. This way, he won't be burdened with the campaign trail after just a short 24 months. I like this idea in concept, but if you truly dislike your President, six years is an enternity to wait for a changing of the guard.
Suffice it to say that no idea is perfect. However, I've come up with a way for us to satisfy our need for the balance of power without extended terms, voter changes, or even an an additional political party. This is something even Elephants and the Donkeys haven't thought of yet.
From now on, our political tickets should play a game of mixed doubles. One from column A and one from column B. You want a fair and balanced system? You got it.
One Repulican and one Democrat on each side. You want someone that can reach across the aisle? How about reaching across the table, because that's how close they'll be. They can share a bagel or a knish. When they work on domestic and foreign policy issues, they won't have to worry about whether it will appeal more to the Senate or the House, or whether it will lean too far to the left or right. Now, these bipartisan doctrines will go in fully vetted while reducing the likelihood of being thrown out.
The debates would be more interesting too. Can you imagine? I'd pit the Democrat against the Democrat and the Republican against the Republican. Just out of the abject fear of agreeing with an adversary in the same party, they would be forced to bring original ideas forward. That's someting politicians aren't accustomed to. Currently, they're trained to repeat the same old mantras of their party. But the same party battling against each other? Now you'd have a horserace.
There was a recent article on Yahoo that uncovered an electroral vote permuatation that showed how Obama and Romney could actually finish with 269 votes each. According to the aformentioned article, Constitutional law states that in the event of a draw, the incumbent President loses to the challenger, however, the current Vice President chooses the new one. So conceivably, Romney and Biden would be in power. It's a crazy thought, but it would make for some great ratings on election night....and beyond.
It could also set a precedent for a new democratic election system that becomes more the norm, and one that we could all live with.
A man can dream, can't he?
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Dave and Busters, Craps and Blackjack
I've found that one of the easiest ways to entertain the kids is to venture over to Dave and Busters. And that's exactly what I did last weekend at the cavernous Palisades Center Mall in Rockland County.
Fueling up monetarily for the heavenly game room used to require quarters. But that was a different era. Many years later, tokens became in vogue. Now, technology has dictated that the most efficient way to quickly run through your money is by using declining balance swipe cards. This system is ingenious. Instead of visibly counting coins or tokens, you're blind to how much you actually have left, so before long, you're back to buy another card. No surprises here when I report that I easily blew through 4 cards before I could blink.
But I didn't mind. The games were great. They had horse races, dance contests, basketball, soccer, skeeball, and even a version of Fruit Ninja. I almost bought a game card for myself, but will power won over. So, the kids got busy in a hurry, running from station to station, more excited by each one.
This gave me a chance to sit back and watch the dynamic in the room. Hundreds of kids, carrying plastic buckets, and collecting tickets. I took a closer look at the games. There was one that resembled a slot machine. Another "game of chance" involved a ball that spun around endlessly until finally landing on a number that you hopefully pre-selected. In other words, roulette. The horse race game looked like a real race track with individual horses.
After each game, tickets spewed out of a small slot. I never understood the algorithm of how many you actually win, but my kids were tearing them off like paper towels. So, I watched all of this collective ticket collecting, with the volume getting so high that many spilled over the buckets and onto the floor.
It wasn't until they were finished and time to cash in those tickets that I realized that they were nothing more than mere substitutes for casino chips. Holy crap. This is gambling!
I don't remember exactly how old I was when I first became exposed to gambling. Although, I do have some vague recollection of going with my grandfather to pick my uncle up at an OTB. My grandfather used to call him "Uncle Nearly", instead of Larry. When I asked why, he said, "because your uncle always says he "nearly" won. This didn't exactly entice me to gamble.
Many years later, my father took me to Atlantic City where I got my first taste of a real casino. But my exposures to gambling were few and far between, and to this day I rarely go to Vegas or Atlantic City to throw my money away. I stay close to home and do that on iTunes.
But back to Dave and Busters. These bastards have actually set up a casino for children. This isn't my old arcade. This isn't Chucky Cheese either. This is gambling. And it's perfectly legal. More importantly, my kids love it. So this will be hard task to wean them off.
Fortunately, there is one saving grace. The prize counter. It doesn't matter how long you stay at Dave and Busters or how many tickets you accumulate. By the time you get to the prizes, you realize that you've won a sticker and rubber ball. OK, maybe it's not that bad. You may also get a skin tattoo.
Inevitably, you walk away disappointed. A lot like how you feel leaving a casino. Maybe this place does have some redeeming value after all.
Fueling up monetarily for the heavenly game room used to require quarters. But that was a different era. Many years later, tokens became in vogue. Now, technology has dictated that the most efficient way to quickly run through your money is by using declining balance swipe cards. This system is ingenious. Instead of visibly counting coins or tokens, you're blind to how much you actually have left, so before long, you're back to buy another card. No surprises here when I report that I easily blew through 4 cards before I could blink.
But I didn't mind. The games were great. They had horse races, dance contests, basketball, soccer, skeeball, and even a version of Fruit Ninja. I almost bought a game card for myself, but will power won over. So, the kids got busy in a hurry, running from station to station, more excited by each one.
This gave me a chance to sit back and watch the dynamic in the room. Hundreds of kids, carrying plastic buckets, and collecting tickets. I took a closer look at the games. There was one that resembled a slot machine. Another "game of chance" involved a ball that spun around endlessly until finally landing on a number that you hopefully pre-selected. In other words, roulette. The horse race game looked like a real race track with individual horses.
After each game, tickets spewed out of a small slot. I never understood the algorithm of how many you actually win, but my kids were tearing them off like paper towels. So, I watched all of this collective ticket collecting, with the volume getting so high that many spilled over the buckets and onto the floor.
It wasn't until they were finished and time to cash in those tickets that I realized that they were nothing more than mere substitutes for casino chips. Holy crap. This is gambling!
I don't remember exactly how old I was when I first became exposed to gambling. Although, I do have some vague recollection of going with my grandfather to pick my uncle up at an OTB. My grandfather used to call him "Uncle Nearly", instead of Larry. When I asked why, he said, "because your uncle always says he "nearly" won. This didn't exactly entice me to gamble.
Many years later, my father took me to Atlantic City where I got my first taste of a real casino. But my exposures to gambling were few and far between, and to this day I rarely go to Vegas or Atlantic City to throw my money away. I stay close to home and do that on iTunes.
But back to Dave and Busters. These bastards have actually set up a casino for children. This isn't my old arcade. This isn't Chucky Cheese either. This is gambling. And it's perfectly legal. More importantly, my kids love it. So this will be hard task to wean them off.
Fortunately, there is one saving grace. The prize counter. It doesn't matter how long you stay at Dave and Busters or how many tickets you accumulate. By the time you get to the prizes, you realize that you've won a sticker and rubber ball. OK, maybe it's not that bad. You may also get a skin tattoo.
Inevitably, you walk away disappointed. A lot like how you feel leaving a casino. Maybe this place does have some redeeming value after all.
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