August 2010
2 posts
9 tags
Here's the Pitch...
I don’t own a TV so I get my baseball fix the old fashioned way by listening to it on the radio. I’ve noticed that these broadcasts have found some interesting spots during the game where they incorporate advertisers right into the play of the game. This is not new of course but increasingly more creative. One example is, “the 15th out of the game was brought to you by Geico”. As if that...
The Battle For The Sun
Same Names for the Same Thing
Post and Kellogg’s have a competing product with a very striking similarity: they both call it Raisin Bran.
Second Lead In ‘Cause the First Was Too Short
Only Kellogg’s has Special K and only Post has Grape Nuts. So the precedent for nonsensical cereal names is well established and suggests that at least one of these companies could have easily come up...
July 2010
4 posts
10 tags
The Furniture of Music
Digital music is great for keeping landfills a little less cluttered, and for the same reasons it has brought about the beginning of an end of an era: the living room as a museum for music related furnishings of a bygone era. Curator—you. These are the relics that remind us of how we once listened to music, and for better or for worse, have retained their inhabitation in our homes.
The...
7 tags
Find Me in the Hallway
For years I felt compelled to tell my friends never to hang out too close to the trashcan during parties. It’s a frequently visited place and eventually people might associate you with the refuse. Since then, I’ve tried to take notice of where people stand in a room during social situations, mainly parties. It doesn’t mean anything about people necessarily. There is really nothing to read into...
8 tags
From Grounds to Glory
Coffee Has Feelings Too
The human relationship with coffee is a tumultuous one. Few things are more celebrated and vilified among us. It has been both praised and condemned by health authorities. It is legal in every state and has zero regulations attached to it concerning its biological effects or addictive properties. It has been the sludgy stimulant of frontiersman and the drinkable...
5 tags
To and Fro
H.G. Not Orson
H.G. Wells said, “When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the human race.” I’m not sure if he sees some potential in bicycles that the rest of us don’t see that would make them effective vehicles for waging war against invading space aliens, or that an adult on a bike is simply an outward expression of an inward humility and willingness to trade convenience for...
June 2010
7 posts
We're Mass Communicating!
Priorities Before The World Ends
Hollywood has made a lot of suggestions on what will become of us humans in the near future. Weather patterns, bacteria and mass consumption have all taken their turn as villain on the stage. But before we all get swept away by a giant wave that comes out of a volcano from outer space on the date 12/12/2012 at 12:12:12 in the afternoon (just a guess) I think...
4 tags
NEW: weekly featured "classic" story
This is a new feature to TTGL along with 2 other new pages: about me and contact. Those still need some work. HOWEVER! The weekly feature is legit. It allows readers to revisit their favorite stories without having to go look for it and all. It’s like me bringing you breakfast in bed. You’re welcome! So go ahead…look at the top of the page and see what awaits you. I...
8 tags
America's Finest
THE VORTEX
San Diego has a peculiar way of putting you at ease. Sunshine/nice beaches + #1 craft beer city in the country + chronic tardiness = it’s relaxing. Obviously this is one reason why at certain times of the year it can become a whirlwind of tourists. Oftentimes that whirlwind becomes a vortex. Normal, well-intentioned vacationers are at one moment admiring Shamu’s water displacement...
Turning the Green Light has theme music now! The...
4 tags
PEANUT (see previous post for audio version)
Because of his tireless efforts, millions of airplane passengers have staved off the pangs of hunger, mountaineers have summoned unnatural energy in order to summit peaks, and overzealous sports fans have had something to throw at the television in their frustration. Born for the spotlight, Mr. Peanut has been delivering the goods for decades while maintaining an unpretentious air of high...
PEANUT
4 tags
So Fresh and So Clean
When history assesses what impact we have made on oral hygiene, bactericidals or the overall picture of public health I hope they don’t look at MRSA or C-Diff or any of the other so called “super bugs” plaguing our communities. And I really hope they don’t look at the psychomotor skill of gargling.
THE ORIGINS
Contrary to what we may think, gargling isn’t some instinctual reflex...
May 2010
4 posts
7 tags
CHOLULA AND TAPATIO
Stamp collecting, metal detectors, and what YOU...
I am the person who has sold off all of my music equipment a total of 3 times and 3 times I have repurchased almost identical gear. I am the failed hobbyist.
CRACK THE SKULL
The failed hobbyist is the person who thinks they would love to “take up” photography, guitar, motorcycles, etc. and commits by purchasing not only the necessary equipment but also all imaginable/superfluous accessories....
3 tags
SWEATPANTS!
NORMAL KIDS
I don’t have kids but from time to time I get a chance to observe kids in the comfort of their native environs. It seems that a child’s awareness of a visitor’s presence puts them in a mood for entertaining. It’s a little like being at a zoo: there are a lot of people standing around watching every gesture made by these creatures, listening to every errant sound made purposefully...
4 tags
Try this at home
Silly terms and wordage are rampant in hospitals. The paradoxical (blank) is an overused explanation and a generally unwelcome event. Examples include paradoxical breathing: the chest moves in when the person is breathing in. That’s not normal. Paradoxical reactions to sedatives: people get “lively” instead of sleepy. That’s inconvenient for all parties involved. The...
April 2010
3 posts
1 tag
Some movie reviews I wrote...and a good place to... →
