Archive for 'memories' Category
2008.09.04
Free Range Kids
Quite a long time ago I lamented the fact that children today seem so protected from the world (of mostly imagined danger) that they are losing all sense of adventure. They don’t get to play outside as much (and they’re getting fat because of it). They seem to live in parentally controlled environments… Safe, clean, and somewhat sterile.
When I was a kid we didn’t have bicycle helmets. Heck, we only wore shin guards playing soccer because we were told we had to have them. We walked to school, and not the cliche “two miles uphill both ways in the snow” but seriously at least half a mile. We walked to and from our friends houses alone and sometimes after dark. We played in the woods. We made treehouses out of found (and sometimes stolen) planks of wood and nails, and swung from ropes over creeks. We never had to sneak out of the house because it was expected that we’d go out and play. We didn’t have arranged “play dates” at proscribed hours, we were simply told to go out and play after we did our homework and to be home by dinner time.
I can’t imagine what it must be like to grow up as a kid today. I don’t know when young parents got so protective of their children that they started to stifle them. Maybe it was when a few kids died falling off a bike (a helmet could have saved them!) or maybe when some pervert kidnapped a kid when they were at the playground (the parent should have never let them out of their sight!). Maybe when the newspapers and newscasters tried to garner every ounce of interest out of some murderer blaming his problems on his childhood when he got lost and was oh so scared or maybe some stupid marketer making parents paranoid that the little scrape on their child’s knee would lead to infection and eventual amputation of the leg.
I don’t know but I sincerely hope that if/when I have kids I raise them differently. And it’s refreshing to see that other people, people with kids themselves, see this issue in the same way. If you’re curious about their stories I suggest going to Free Range Kids. Start here and then dig into some of the entries, especially the comments. I miss my childhood adventures. I wouldn’t want my kids to not have the opportunity to miss their own.
1 Comment | Catergorized: memories thoughts2008.05.28
Kickin’ It in Geumchon
One of the greatest boosters for Seoul American High School is our old art teacher, Mr. Michael F. O’Brien. He’s kept an alumni contact page maintained, kept in touch with loads of people and recently sent me (and probably a ton of other people) this video that I have to say brings back a lot of memories. I was far more familiar with his wife, Mrs. O’Brien, who was my English teacher. I could probably still break down and diagram a sentence based on her lessons!
One of my few regrets is losing touch with my friends from back then, especially Scott Yustas, John Schafer (spelling on the last name?), Sean Stracinsky (spelling on the last name?) and Robert Reynolds. I also wish I had a yearbook from back then. Someday I’ll have to scan the few pictures I have and put them online… That’ll get Mr. O’Brien excited, I’m sure!
Anyways, if you’ve ever lived in Korea, especially as a foreign resident, I highly recommend watching the video. Kickin’ it in Geumchon, indeed!
4 Comments | Catergorized: friends korea memories2008.05.09
Red Rover, British Bulldog and Smear the Queer
Yesterday when walking to lunch, Banana Boy and I passed Washington Square where a group of kids was out with supervision playing Red Rover. Two ragged lines of kids facing each other, arms interlocked, yelling:
Red rover red rover
Let (kid’s name) run over!
I remember playing this as a kid, too, and I also remember a few other games that were a little rougher.
Anyone remember British Bulldog? Everyone except one kid, the bulldog, lines up at one side of the yard. When the kid yells, “Bulldog!” all the kids run and try to make it to the other side. Meanwhile, the bulldog tries to catch (read: tackle) as many as they can. Whoever is caught becomes a bulldog in the yard, too. It’s the bulldog’s job to catch as many kids running across the yard as possible. It’s the kid’s job not to get caught. Let me tell you, it was hard being one of the last kids facing a yard of bulldogs!
Anyone remember Smear the Queer? Not the most politically correct name for a game anymore, but a fun game none-the-less. Get a bunch of kids together with one ball. We always played with a football. One kid (the queer) takes the ball and all the rest try to tackle (smear) the queer. Once they get him a struggle ensues to get the ball and escape getting smeared yourself. The only goal in this game was to avoid being smeared and to brag that you were the queer the longest.
All of the games were a lot of fun at different ages. Somehow I don’t think British Bulldog and Smear the Queer would be allowed in too many neighborhoods and schools in this over-safe world of ours. It’s a shame; I miss them!
1 Comment | Catergorized: games memories2008.03.20
Gran Torino
I don’t care what this movie is about… When it comes out I’m going to see it. Clint Eastwood is going to direct and star in a movie called Gran Torino.
We had a 1976 Ford Gran Torino when I was a kid. Four doors, silver, and built like a tank. When I could finally drive in high school that was the car my parents let me use. My friends dubbed it The Beast and the name stuck. We had all kinds of adventures in The Beast, from Jolt dropping to road trips to simply driving to and from school, which was never a direct route… There were always detours and visits along the way. I had The Beast in college, too, and put thousands upon thousands of miles on him. I wonder if my parents had any idea at the time just how far I’d gone.
The Beast was indestructible. We had it in Korea when we lived there the first time. A bus tried to cut into our lane and hit us instead. The bus was a wreck but The Beast had a little ding and paint scratches. The Beast would fix himself, too. Once he had a hole in his radiator and I’d have to fill it up after every trip. Then one day me and some friends were on a road trip to some obscure Ohio town and I was told to make a left turn LONG after it was safe to make a left turn. I slid in the gravel in the median and right into the pole holding up the “No U Turn” sign and flattened it. Afterwards the radiator never leaked again.
I loved The Beast but after college I was off to Prague. I left him in my parent’s care and, while I was on another continent and couldn’t do much about it, they donated The Beast to an auto repair school. Probably a fitting end though I think an escape like any of the chase scenes from Blues Brothers. My sister always complained that I destroyed him and he wouldn’t run (I think she wanted it once she was old enough) but I know he was running perfectly well -or at least well enough- when I left.
I miss that car. Every once in a while I see a Gran Torino on the road and get wistful and nostalgic. I’ve always liked the movie The Highlander and there is one scene, after the fight in the garage at Madison Square Garden and MacLeod is getting the guy’s power, where you can see the front of a Gran Torino in the background. Yes, the car affected me so much that I notice them in movies, even.
No word on what the movie is about, but it had best feature some shots of one of The Beast’s cousins or I’m gonna be pissed!
5 Comments | Catergorized: college family friends korea life memories movies2008.02.17
Fun at Mookee’s Expense
This is in answer to Mookee’s post about skiing this past weekend. We went up for a day trip with my friend and neighbor, Shawn, to Sugar Bowl. Shawn is new to snowboarding so I spent the first part of the day with him, teaching him the basics. Then in the afternoon Mookee and I hit some of the more difficult slopes. Since he called me out in his post to give my perspective on his two stories, here they are. Make sure to read his (link above) first, and then come back here.
4 Comments | Catergorized: friends memories tahoe2008.02.10
Being Emo Phillips
Sounds like a movie title, but really that’s how it feels as an audience member when Emo Phillips speaks. You get a feeling, watching and listening, of what a strange world he occupies, hilarious and twisted and yet innocent in the way little kids sometimes say something inadvertently dirty.
I went to see Emo last night with Mookee and his girlfriend at Punchline. In a certain sense Mookee and I have Emo to thank for our long friendship. When we first met I though Mookee was the biggest jerk in the world. Then one summer there was no one else to hang out with. Mookee would just stand there reciting Emo Phillips jokes he’d memorized and somehow it made him just tolerable enough that I could stand him for more than a minute at a time.
So thank you, Emo! You were awesome last night.
4 Comments | Catergorized: friends life memories san francisco2008.01.21
Absinthe Again (or Not)
Last summer on my trip to Europe (part business, part pleasure) I picked up a bottle of absinthe in Prague. I also picked up four brilliant antique glasses in Paris to drink it in. Alas, I can’t seem to get my varied friends together to sample the “green fairy.”
Absinthe WritingIt’s funny because I noticed Jordan (who seems to lack permalinks?) recently posted his story quest for absinthe. Reading his story got me thinking about the absinthe again. My first experience with it was when I lived in Prague. My friend Richmond and I were sitting in Bunkr. I was writing and drawing in my journal when the first shot arrived, Bohemian style. My writing is pretty clear and coherent if a bit depressing. A musing about my love life. The drawing I made was pretty good, though. By the time I had the second shot my handwriting is straying and pretty messy. Clearly my thoughts are wandering, too.
After the third shot… Well, I don’t know what the heck I was writing about, and it’s barely legible anyways! Well, that’s not true… Obviously I was thinking naughty thoughts in a vampiric way. Even reading it now my eyebrows are crinkling and I’m thinking, “What the heck was I thinking?!?”
Anyways, the point is that absinthe is an interesting drink and it would be fun for me to see how my friends react to it. How to convince them?
8 Comments | Catergorized: food-drink friends memories prague2008.01.14
Stardust
StardustI just recently picked up Stardust on DVD. Brilliant.
Back in my high school days my friends and I watched a few movies probably far too much. The Princess Bride was one of those films. It appealed to our romantic sense of adventure. Plus girls liked it, too, so our female friends could hang out with us stinky boys while we guzzled Jolt and ate Oreo cookies. Highlander was another but I think that was more for the boys; it had blades and boobies both of which, as a teenager, were immensely more interesting than the girls who weren’t sharing their boobies and didn’t have swords.
That’s neither here nor there, though. If I were in high school today Stardust would be one of the movies we would watch again and again. It has adventure, romance, magic, and great humor. I’d heard that it was marketed horribly (stupid marketers) and that’s a shame because this really is a great film. I have a feeling that despite the fact I’m not in high school anymore I’ll see this many more times.
3 Comments | Catergorized: memories movies2007.09.06
World Beer Hunter: RIP
In what seems like ages ago, I worked at Discovery Channel in their now defunct interactive media department. Looking at the titles at the last link I realize I worked on most of them. Two of the titles were called The Beer Hunter and World Beer Hunter. Both of these titles were created with British writer Michael Jackson (I know, an unfortunately similar name to some pop star). This man knew more about beer than almost anyone else on Earth, and had a great sense of humor. There’s no one I would have loved to have a pint and talk about beer with than Mr. Jackson.
Sadly, I just learned that he passed away. My thoughts go out to his family, friends and mates at his favourite pub. The world of beer has lost a great proponent. Tonight I will have a pint of Boddingtons in his honor.
2 Comments | Catergorized: food-drink games life memories2007.08.20
How To Fix An Unlighting Zippo
A long time ago, about 14 years ago now, I was given a brass Zippo lighter from my coworker Zoka. Zoka was from Bosnia and had fled the warzone there when Yugoslavia was butchering itself. He and that Zippo had seen more than their fill of negativity and he wanted to give it a new life. So he gave it to me. I’ve been carrying it ever since and I hope I’ve given it a better life.
I thought I lost it once, and almost had it confiscated another time, but I still have it and it still works. Except it wasn’t. Somewhere in the past few months it seems the Zippo decided it didn’t want to light anymore. Strange given that Zippos are one of the most reliable devices of the modern age.
I was lamenting this fact to a current coworker, Zionvlad, and he recommended shortening the wick. Really? Something so simple? Sure enough I shortened the wick tonight and the damn thing seems to be working again. So if you ever find that your Zippo isn’t lighting when it should, try shortening the wick; you just might find that with simple devices, the simple tricks work best.
No Comments | Catergorized: life memories technology
