The other night I was watching a show on VH1 where Phil Collins was bloviating about how Genesis was the first band to use stage lights that changed color! Yep, Genesis pioneered the use of colored stage lights. What a bunch of geniuses. I hear they also invented fire, the wheel, the internet and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

Jun

15

Father’s Day

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On the local sports radio station, hosts were inviting people to call in and share their father’s day sports memories on the air. I’m not inclined to call a radio show but it got me thinking about my dad and our sports relationship.

My dad isn’t really a stick-and-ball kind of guy. He coached my Little League team but he was never much into mainstream sports. He took us hunting and fishing and occasionally to the races. Yep, we had a dirt track in town - still do - and it was a real treat to go to the Selinsgrove Speedway on a Saturday night and watch the slew of late-model and sprint cars circle that clay bull ring. The sensations of speed and noise, the danger and the dirt combined to blow the minds of the kids in the crowd, myself included.

Dad also took us to Pocono to see the big boys like Foyt, Andretti, Rutherford and the Unsers. I remember being overwhelmed by the size of the track and impressed with how close we could get to the cars, mechanics and drivers.

We also used to listen to the Indy 500 live on the radio every Memorial Day weekend. At that time, the race was always tape delayed on television. ABC would show it in the evening and even though I always knew who won, it never, ever diminished the show. I developed a passion for open-wheel racing.

Dad had old films and slides that he took during a couple of mid-1960s visits to the Brickyard and I’m still blown away watching them. I have been to Indy twice - once for qualifying in 1993 and once on a business trip when the track was dark. I have never seen the Indy 500 and I’m jealous of the people who grew up going there. I must make it a priority.

On one trip to Pocono my Dad took a picture of my brother and me standing in front of a display car that Mario Andretti had competed in a year or two earlier. I couldn’t have been more than 10 years old. I still have the photo.

Fast forward thirty years and I’m working as a freelance television videographer. Mario Andretti has just had a huge crash at Indy after coming out of retirement to test a car for Michael Andretti’s new IRL team. I got a call from the Today show on NBC asking if I wanted to shoot a live shot the next morning from Mario’s home in Nazareth, PA. What an opportunity.

I can’t express how impressive Mario’s collection of memorabilia is. It has to be seen to be believed. The enormous foyer is absolutely packed with every kind of trophy you can imagine. His basement is a museum of auto racing history. And the best part of the entire experience was meeting a childhood hero who wasn’t arrogant, smug, cold or uncaring. The man actually engaged us in conversation, showed us around the place and treated us like we were friends. Today’s athlete isn’t like that.

I showed Mario the old photo that my Dad took at Pocono and I told him how my Dad used to take me to the races. He knew everything about the car in the picture and I think it made him think about his family relationships in the sport that made him immortal.

None of this would have meant a thing to me if my Dad hadn’t shared his racing interest when I was knee-high to a sprint car. Thanks, Pop.

Jun

15

Rush in Philly (Again!)

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I wasn’t going to pay a hundred bucks to see these guys again but a good friend in a high place comped me a couple of suite-level seats for the show so my wife and I jumped on the subway and headed for the Wachovia Center.

Rush was as good as ever. They were full of energy and played a couple of great sets. The highlights…Red Barchetta, Ghost of a Chance, The Trees and the new stuff. They (mercifully) cut down 2112 and sadly didn’t play Earthshine.

As much as I wish they’d get in the studio and crank out a new record, I can’t knock them for continuing to tour. They’re probably making more than a million bucks a week on tour.

Jun

13

Earthlink Will Soon Go Bye-bye

Filed Under bitching, tech | Leave a Comment

Earthlink was once a very hip, forward-thinking company. Now they just blow. How insulting is it to call a customer service line and get that tired old locution about how they’re experiencing ungodly high call volume and you’ll have to wait on hold for a month before someone in India picks up the phone?

I first became an Earthlink customer when dialup was king - you know, way back in the 1990s. I’m well into my secod decade with these clowns and boy have I witnessed some changes.

These days I use Earthlink for DSL and it’s just ok. The customer service is tough. I just spoke with a nice lady in India who popped out a major Freudian slip. She asked if she could put me on hold for two months instead of two minutes. Oops!

When I told her that I need to have a lower monthly bill, she offered a free month of service as well as a revised monthly fee of $29.95. When I agreed, she changed the offer to $4 off for the next 5 months as well as the $29.95 monthly service fee. When I explained that her new offer would cost me $10 more, she offered to take $4 off for the next 8 months. Jeezus, she was all over the place.

I’m sot sure if it’s a linguistic thing or what but talking to these people can be a really strange experience. I give Earthlnk about another two years and I think they’ll be gone.

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Jun

28

Pic of the Day - iron fence

Jun

27

Pic of the Day

Jun

15

Rock Stars Are Often Full of Shit

Jun

15

Father’s Day

Jun

15

Rush in Philly (Again!)

Jun

13

Earthlink Will Soon Go Bye-bye

Jun

11

Quotes From the Wife

Jun

11

Quotes From the Wife