Personal
Take a deep breath
Take a deep breath, originally uploaded by cynthiacloskey.
My father turns 70 today. In our family, that means pyrotechnics.
We traditionally get our birthday cakes from Robert’s Bakery, in downtown Butler. My brother loaded up the cake with 70 candles, and Dad managed to get them all extinguished before the cake caught fire.
The icing did melt a bit though.
Happy birthday, Dad!
Hard To Recycle Event, Sat, 7/26, Mall At Robinson
KDKA TV Weather Staff Changes
Last Friday, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette first reported that KDKA TV had fired meteorologist Valerie Abati and hired freelance, veteran meteorologist Dennis Bowman to replace her. I check my blog stats from time to time with Statcounter, and I was amazed to see the number of page loads on my blog was well over 100 last Friday and yesterday, Monday. My normal daily page load is somewhere between 25 and 35. The most visited post on those 100 plus page load days was a post from last October when KDKA first hired Abati. I did not realize how much Pittsburghers were interested in who presents the local TV weather forecast. The article in the Post Gazette does not state a specific reason why Abati was fired, but it does mention that viewers were critical of her coverage of thunderstorms on the 11:00PM June 29 newscast. Also, some viewers on a local TV chat board complained about her voice. Pittsburgh is a tough media market for TV personalities. When KDKA TV announced the hiring of Abati in October, I always wondered why they did not hire Dennis Bowman instead. Bowman has a lot of experience, is well respected, and his voice is clear and crisp.
Practically like going to Disney World
“So, Susan, now that you’ve jumped out of an airplane, what are you going to do next?”
“Hmmm. Good question. I guess I should tell you I’m going to visit Mickey Mouse, but that’s so cliche. Why don’t we say I’m going to bust my ass at work, then take a few days off to hang with my sister and her brood, who are in from out of town, which means complete and utter family love and chaos, and then that I’ll go out of town on business for two days, all while fretting that I’m making little headway on my manuscript edits (or this blog, for that matter) — speaking of which, while I’ve gotten rejections to my query letter, I did get another request for a partial! And remember that column I’m writing? That’s due next week! No problem! No pressure, Susan, no pressure! Oh, and did I tell you I’m starting to get feeling back in my ass after 2 1/2 hours of watching The Dark Knight on Saturday? Really, it’s like Disney World, right?…” [insert Joker-like laughter] “Right?!”
“Uh, well, sure. Okay, thanks for the interview. I’m going to go –”
“Waaaaaaaaaait! Can you help me pack my suitcase?”
Mmm. I guess it’s looking to be another one of those “when it rains it pours” kind of weeks. I hope you have a good one!
PS. Thank you for your great comments on my last post and the skydiving videos. The video was made by my big strapping tandem master, who was wearing a small video camera on his left wrist in this kind of glove. Once we were back on the ground the skydiving gurus burned the video to DVD and added the songs, which I chose from a list of about 15 options, all in about 20-30 minutes. (The wait wasn’t a problem; Fly-Boy and I were practically passed out in our chairs after coming down from the adrenaline rush.) It’s a great keepsake, and I’m really pleased that I got it.
4 Year Mugshot
Yesterday I went and got my new 4 year mugshot - my new Pennsylvania Photo ID Drivers License. I took a late lunch and strolled into the Driver License Center around 1:00PM. A greeter met me and asked me what service was I there for. He then gave me a numbered ticket - it was like I was at the deli in Giant Eagle. There was no waiting at all and my number was called almost instantly. The signature capture pad device which captures your John Hancock was pretty bad, I opted not to try it again. The photographer then took one head shot. He asked if I wanted to try again and I said not really, but he insisted, so I took another one. The photog even encouraged me to flash my pearly whites. The second photo looked better than the first one, so I went with the second one. Compared to my previous license, the older license had more of my upper body in the pic. My new photo license is more of a head shot. My signature is so small, I am not sure why it is on there. Can I live with this for the next 4 years? Yeah, it is not too bad, not too good.
The Return of Mark Madden ?
The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported yesterday that former ESPN 1250 sports talk host Mark Madden may join WXDX FM. Madden was fired from ESPN 1250 after making derogatory remarks about Senator Edward M. Kennedy.
If Madden returns to WXDX, he would most likely be on the afternoon drive time slot from 3PM to 6/7 PM. The format of the show would probably be a mixture of music, talk, and sports.
What about the time slot that was vacated on ESPN 1250 when Madden was fired? No decision has been made yet, but it seems like ESPN 1250 would like to have a permanent solution for their afternoon drive time slot near the opening of Steelers training camp.
Even though Madden was let go in late May, I still listen to ESPN 1250 on my way home from work. To me the content of the afternoon sports talk show is more important than the host of the show. Since Madden was released, ESPN 1250 has used a variety of hosts. It has actually been refreshing listening to different opinions and analyses.
Take a flying leap (or watch me take one)
Ok, here’s the low-down on my skydiving adventure. I’ll try not to bore you with the details. Or maybe I will. Hey, I did a tandem jump and you didn’t (presumably), so I can do what I want!
The Back Story
I met a woman, Georgia, through a women’s networking lunch group a few years ago and we really hit it off. I was in her office one day shortly after we met and noticed photos of her in skydiving gear. It turns out that Georgia’s son was a jump master/skydiver dude and that she had done her first jump in her 40’s. Cool!
Flashing forward to about 2 months ago, Georgia and I were emailing each other about getting together one of these days, and I mentioned I was interested in going skydiving (cuckoo) and could she recommend a place. She mentioned that a group of friends was going to a place in Canton, OH for a day of jumping on July 13th and would I like to come along? Voila! My idea had now crossed over into reality (or insanity).
You should also know about a month ago I started dating someone, who for purposes of this post I will call Fly-Boy because, well, he came along with me skydiving. It wasn’t a prerequisite to date me or anything like that, but when I casually inquired whether he had ever done a jump before (trust me, this came up naturally in conversation…at least I think it did), he said, “No, but it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”
Hmmm. (Are the gods o’ wacky ideas testing me?)
I mentioned my July plans to Fly-Boy and half-jokingly asked him if he wanted to come along. Turns out he did and a week and a $30 refundable deposit later, he was signed up, too.
By the way, when he said he wanted to go I warned him there were no guarantees about how I might act under duress, that I might do something horrible like vomit on him. He said it wouldn’t be the first time.
How sweet is that?
The Big Day
On Sunday morning we drove the 90 minutes in the rain watching the gray, dismal, cloudy skies the whole way. We arrived, met everyone and then waited. And waited. And waited for a good 2 and a half hours, praying that the skies would clear so we could do this STUPID SKYDIVING BEFORE I CHICKEN OUT. And you know what? The skies cleared for us; you can see in the photos just how blue the sky was, but let me tell you it looked quite stormy in the morning.
So the place came alive and they started prepping us and our fellow tandem jumpers. We went through a short training with Mike, who claimed to be the perfect instructor and ended up being my tandem master. (To be honest, I would have called him God as long as he got me down in one piece.)
A little later, after the first 4 people went up (they could take 2 in a plane at a time), I went to the bathroom about 15 times and then we got suited up:
We looked very top gun-ish, don’t you think? And dorky. Fly-Boy looks quite serious about the whole thing, but he apparently has a policy of not smiling in photos. Especially those before he is going to jump out of an airplane.
Then our boys helped us into our S&M/Lifesaving harnesses.
We were ready.
An Overview of the Experience
The bottom line: it takes 20 minutes for the plane to get up to altitude at 10K feet. About halfway through your ride up in the comfy (cough-cough) cabin, which is the size of the terribly small closet you can only use to store your underwear, you turn around and kneel in front of the person responsible for your life so he/she can hook you up to him/her. Then, when the time is right, the tandem master going first opens the door and looks out to find the right locale and conditions for the jump, or something like that. All I know is that you are going 80 mph, the wind is blowing and HELLO! the door is open.
When it’s good to go, you are instructed to place your right foot on a wee-little step next to the professional’s (this entails you looking to see that your leg is now outside of the plane), hang your left knee over the edge of the door, cross your arms — and, after your jump buddy pushes off, buh-bye. After jumping you have to kick your legs back, hold your head up, pray a lot and off you go. Fall. Whatever. A few seconds and a tap on the shoulder later, you can open your arms for the rest of the free-fall, which only takes about 30 seconds. The parachute ride is about 6 minutes. You can help steer, which is cool.
Live Vicariously, If You Dare
I think converting the video to the right format and uploading it was even more harrowing than doing the jump itself. But if you want to experience a lot of dorky, nervous giggling before, during and after I throw myself out of a perfectly good aircraft, you can watch it here. The second video clip is the free fall in real time — about 30 seconds. You know, at a rate of 120 mph from 10,000 feet.
A few notes:
1. My apologies to all of Ohio for previously saying your topography is boring. Up in a plane on a clear day, it is actually quite picturesque and lovely. During the free-fall I couldn’t really comment.
2. Despite the silly giggling, I swear to you I really wasn’t “nervous-nervous,” even when the door opened or stepping my foot out on the little step, which freaked out some of the other jumpers. That said, I experienced sheer terror when we did the nosedive out of the plane and somersaulted until righting ourselves. For some reason I wasn’t expecting that. Sheer. Terror. for 2 seconds.
3. The video is proof that I am a) a dork, which we’ve established; and b) need to lose some weight to avoid having a double chin recorded in future videos. Oh, and my teeth appear much bigger than normal (which means big!) when my gums are literally flapping in the breeze. Ah, well. What can I say? I jumped out of a plane and you (presumably) didn’t, so there.
4. The only part that upset my stomach was doing a spiral. One of those “seemed like a good idea at the time” moments. Kind of screwed with me for a good hour afterwards. Fly-Boy got carried away and did 3 spirals! That really caught up with him after he landed.
All right, so here they are, if you care to watch:
In real time:
Did I hear someone say kuh-ray-zee?
PS. Georgia asked what Fly-Boy and I were going to do for our next date. We both agreed the movies might be a good idea!
What did you do today?
So about a year ago I had this idea.
An idea that I have NO idea why it came to me and then wouldn’t go away. I get ideas in my head at times, as I’ve alluded to, but certainly nothing like this.
It might be because I turn 40 next month.
It might be another example of me trying to expand my horizons and enjoy life — barreling or bumbling through it, depending on the day.
It might be that, as Drama Girl told me this evening after all was said and done:
You’re the craziest mom ever!Yep, that might be it.
I told my mom about this a few weeks ago because I needed her to baby-sit for the day. Her eyes got wide and she said, “Oh, Susan!” A few of my friends and my boss responded the same exact way when I told them about my plans for the weekend.
But, crazy or not, today I did something I wanted to do.
Did you?
PS. I’ll write and post more photos tomorrow. I’m also trying to upload video, but it’s not working out at the moment. Or I’m not patient enough. Either way, I’m headed to bed because the day’s experience has wiped me out… fortunately, without me wiping out.
Let me tell ya, there’s nothing else like it!Tweet? Pownce? Plurk? Plurk.
I’ve fallen off the Twitter bandwagon. At first I stopped twittering in righteous indignation at the amount of time that the site goes down, or shuts down services because it’s overloaded. If I’m using something to stay in touch with people, I want it to work reliably. Otherwise, what’s the point?
I have an account on Pownce, and I thought I might use that as my Twitter alternative: a place to post short things that aren’t quite ready-for-blog-time, and to see what my friends are up to. It’s fine for that, except there’s not a critical mass of my curent friends there. Using Pownce felt like being the first one at a party, standing around holding a drink and waiting for everyone else to show up — and feeling sure that everyone has decided to go instead to another party across town (or stay at the party (Twitter) that they were already at).
So I didn’t use anything for a while. This turned out to be a lonely but brilliant idea. Lonely, because I was disconnected from the on-going conversations that everyone is continuing to have, doing perfectly fine without my interjections. Brilliant, because not being part of these conversations freed up oodles of time during the work day, time that I used to get real, paying work done.
And it turned out that, while those missed conversations were fun, I was still able to keep in enough touch with people to maintain friendships and feel sufficiently connected.
Still and all, I missed having an outlet for small observations, and I wished for a way to keep a little bit in the loop. I tried just dipping into Twitter and jumping back out, but the glitches and outages still seem to be going on. And the conversations are addictive; I don’t think my willpower is strong enough for small sips at the firehose.
I noticed a few people talking about Plurk. Yet another social networking site? Yes. I like its interface, especially how easy it is to see a thread of conversations (a big problem in Twitter). Plurk also doesn’t promise to be instantaneous, so it feels different from Twitter and instant messaging. The odd cartoony graphics are intriguing.
I’m especially interested in how they’ve integrated a concept of karma. The more you do with Plurk, the more karma you build; you ca also lose karma in various ways. The more karma you have, the more features you have access to. This matches one of the important principles for building a good social network (one which I first heard about from Brad King): No free rides. If you want to play, you have to contribute.
(Now that I think about it, Plurk karma is kind of like one of the rules of Fight Club: If this is your first time at Fight Club, you have to fight. Interesting.)
Anyway, one big way to build Plurk karma is to invite others to join. So…
Festival seeking multi-media self-portraits
This looks interesting:
A Transom Special Feature with Art Outlet’s SELF Program & FLIK International Movie Festival
What is SELF?
SELF is a forum created by Art Outlet where artists explore self-portraiture in traditional and non-traditional media. It can be a memory, a vignette from life, an interesting dream that affected you, an experience of moving to a new culture, a story your mother once told you, an event that changed your notion of identity, a meditation on a certain theme in your life…
Transom, in association with Art Outlet and the FLIK International Movie Festival, is seeking multi-media self-portraits to be featured at the festival and on the site. We’ll offer honoraria to those we put on Transom. All stories must be non-fiction, under five minutes, and include both audio and visual components. The visual can literally reflect the story, or complement it – your choice. Along with your soundtrack, you can use photo slideshows, cut up old films and videos, animation, footage of locations or related imagery, or even a series of hand drawings. Whatever works for the story. (By the way, Transom is pleased to be working on this project with our original Web Director, Josh Barlow).
The video embedded above is a submission for the project, from Renee Shaw. It’s titled “My Best Friend Mark.”
Quantum Theatre’s “Cymbeline” — Deus ex Machina with real machinas
Special announcement, with a deal for Pittsburgh-area bloggers:
Area bloggers are invited free of charge to Quantum Theatre’s performance of Shakepeare’s Cymbeline:
Preview Performance (they will be testing the techie workings of the production)
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Mellon Park (Point Breeze/Shadyside neighborhood)
8PM (no late seating, gates lock at 8 sharp)
Quantum Theatre’s upcoming production is Shakespeare’s Cymbeline, which runs in Mellon Park from July 31-Aug 24. It is truly innovative in that Karla Boos — the director and Quantum founder — is collaborating with Illah Nourbakhsh at the Robotics Institute at CMU to integrate interactive technology into the production.
We can’t spill any more secrets than that, except to say that this event is sure to be a wonder.
Find out about Quantum Theatre at their website: www.quantumtheatre.com.
RSVP required; cancellations appreciated. Please RSVP to Rene Conrad at rconrad@quantumtheatre.com or 412.697.2929.
Love Hate
I am in a Love/Hate relationship right now - with summer insects. I was mowing the lawn Tuesday evening later than normal because of the humid weather and the bugs were out in force. There must be something about my body chemistry, bugs love to bite me. I prefer the quick bites where the bug just bites you quickly and gets it over with. I particularly dislike the long, drawn out bites, where you feel the bug penetrate your skin but it does not want to let go. My insect repellent of choice is Off Family Care Unscented. It is unscented and not as powerful as some of Off's other products, so it works well enough for me to finish mowing the lawn.
Rust Belt Bloggers Summit
Crusty Rusty Bolts originally uploaded by mikeyexists
Friday evening and Saturday, bloggers from Pittsburgh, Erie, Youngstown, Cleveland, Buffalo, and other cities in this region will be meeting for the first Rust Belt Bloggers Summit.
Our primary goal — or at least, my view of our goal — is to meet and learn about each other and our common interests, with the hope of finding ways to work together. We share the desire to use social media to support and improve our communities; since the cities in the Rust Belt share history and characteristics, we should be able to find a lot in common.
City Paper previewed the event in an article today ("Bloggers to unite under common threads at conference"), with quotes from me and Doug Derda, as well as other thoughtful bloggers in other cities.
If you’re interested in attending, visit the Rust Belt Bloggers website to get details, and come join us. No registration needed; just show up.
Let’s shake off some of this rust, shall we?
Feel the burn
I spoke too soon when I said that AMC was the only cable network I needed. I forgot the USA Network.
Burn Notice, my favorite television guilty pleasure, returns Thursday for its second season.
Burn Notice combines the spy techniques and intra-agency backstabbing of the Jason Bourne movies with MacGuyver do-it-yourself surveillance tips, then it adds some Ferris Bueller-type tongue-in-cheek voiceovers, and finally it throws the whole thing on the beaches of Miami. There’s more than enough eye candy for viewers of any gender, and just the right amount of intrigue to keep things interesting.
And the co-stars include Bruce “The Chin” Campbell (of the Evil Dead series) and Sharon Gless (Cagney of the detective series Cagney & Lacey). An abundance of riches.
For a taste of the sensibility of the show, watch this longer, more explanatory promo. Or check out the “Ask a Spy” feature on the show’s website. The show’s lead, Michael Westen (played by the strangely compelling Jeffrey Donovan) answers questions you didn’t know you had. Like, how can I break out of a prison in Turkmenistan? and how can I avoid embarrassing myself when playing sports at a company retreat? Great stuff.
And did you notice the soundtrack of that promo I pasted in above? Yes, that’s Billy Squier singing. Oh yeah.
Best health advice yet
Luckily there’s music to get me through
I wanted to show you a video of Ballboy performing “Something’s Going to Happen.” I envisioned that the title of my post would be “And no one will ever love you as much as I do.” It’s a perfect song for this evening.
Also: It’s true, you know. No one will ever love you as much as I do.
But YouTube doesn’t have a video of the band performing that song. They do have this lovely ditty though. The title is “I Lost You, But I Found Country Music,” and I think you’ll enjoy it.
You might also like this next song, especially the opening narrative. The song is “Avant Garde Music,” again by Ballboy.
Then and Now: A letter from me to you
Dear Peeps,
May I borrow the term “peeps” from my kids and call you that? Do I even have any peeps - or even a single peep - left after not blogging for a week?!
Then
Well, the last week kind of got away from me, so thanks to those of you for continuing to check in since my last post and return from Chicago. I got back from my trip last Sunday night, spent Monday trying to get organized (and squeezed in a date, too), and then launched into a short-but-crazy work week. (To quote a co-worker on Tuesday morning: “welcome back to the shit storm.” Oy.) I also got a call from the painter I talked to a few weeks earlier and surprise! he was ready to begin painting pratically my whole living space on Thursday! So, I spent Wednesday night taking stuff down and rearranging things, and spent Thursday and part of Friday in a complete mess that looked something like this:
(Note, however, that although we had no seating I had to hook up the TV right away so Drama Girl and T-Rex could go on living. )
The weekend was filled with lots of clean-up, fireworks, picnics, kids stuff, more clean-up, etc., etc.
Now
But that was then and this is now.
But Wait!
I never told you about Chicago, which was way, way back then, so let me recap my trip. In summary, it went like this:
Way Back Then
It was a blast, full of good food and company!
I flew in Thursday the 26th and spent the day with my cousin. We lunched downtown, drove around a bit sight-seeing, then headed to Andersonville, a great artsy neighborhood where he lives. After breakfast the next morning at a place that serves ooey, scrumptious cinnamon buns, he dropped me off at my hotel. I checked my bag and spent a few hours walking around Michigan Avenue.
Before my trip a lot of people asked me if I was going to shop, but I’m not a huge shopper so between visits I instead walked to Millennium Park. What’s in Millennium Park, you ask? Well, all sorts of interesting things…like the cool fountains with the faces of famous Chicagoans on them. Or at least I hear they’re famous.
They spit water out every five minutes or so.
And then there is the bean sculpture-thingamajig.
And the ampitheater and walkway to Lake Michigan.
After tooling around on my own, I took a break in the A/C to do some manuscript editing while I waited for the girls to arrive later that afternoon. They finally made it in after an unexpected 2 hour shuttle ride from O’Hare (note to first-time travelers: take the train instead!) We headed over to Taste of Chicago, a gastronomic feast for native Chicagoans and visitors alike. We sampled all sorts of things Friday night and again on Saturday. I’ll try just about anything (just about), so I was thrilled to partake in a little Sautéed Goat with Plantains from an African restaurant. (I told my one friend, “I have a blog. Of course I have to try the goat so I have something to write about!”) Very tasty, although the teenagers serving it to me were kind of laughing when I asked for it. I don’t know what that was all about. I ate it anyway. It was delish, similar to lamb.
At the festival we caught a bit of Chakka Khan’s and Stevie Wonder’s concerts, although the mix of sun, packed crowds, scavenging seagulls, and food (including the ice cream spilled on my back and hot sauce accidentally dumped on my friend’s shoes) was not for the fainthearted.
On Saturday we went to see the matinee performance of Wicked (wonderful - and I have tix to see it again when it comes here in the fall!) and then over to Navy Pier for dinner and fireworks. All in all, it was a great time catching up with everyone in a great city.
Now (Again)
I still feel like I’m in catch-up mode, especially with this whole manuscript business. I have some interesting things planned later this week, which I promise to blog about (I really will), but in the meantime…
Signed, sealed and delivered, I’m yours,
Susan
Be seeing you
I’ve just learned that AMC is remaking The Prisoner, the rather spooky and incomprehensible but wildly engrossing Cold War series that the BBC made in the late 60s.
The original version of The Prisoner starts out like a James Bond story, but then gets very weird. The hero, played by Patrick McGoohan with a constant smirk and raised eyebrow, is a man known only as Number Six. The titles show us that he has resigned from some spy agency, then was kidnapped. He awakens in an isolated seashore community called the Village, from which he can’t escape. Why is he there? Who are these other people in the Village? Why can’t he leave? Who is Number One? It’s all mysterious, and it’s also surreal — the colors, the images, the giant white bubble that captures and returns anyone who tries to escape.
“Be seeing you” is the main catchphrase from the show. It’s how the characters say “goodbye”; there’s no escape, so of course they’ll be seeing you, but also the community is full of spies and security cameras, so at any time someone is seeing you.
The uneasy sensibility of The Prisoner fit the Cold War period perfectly. It also suits our current day, with the erosion of personal liberties by government as well as the loss of privacy via our lives on the Web and the constant sharing of personal data. (Giant Eagle Advantage Card, anyone?)
AMC is already my new favorite cable network, what with the classic movies and novel programming like Mad Men. Soon I won’t need any other channels. Be seeing you, indeed.
“Dare I say, hip”
The New York Times spends 36 hours in Pittsburgh, and likes what it finds:
…old stereotypes die hard, and Pittsburgh probably doesn’t make many
people’s short list for a cosmopolitan getaway. Too bad, because this
city of 89 distinct neighborhoods is a cool and — dare I say, hip—city.
There are great restaurants, excellent shopping,
breakthrough galleries and prestigious museums. The convergence of
three rivers and surrounding green hills also make it a surprisingly
pretty urban setting.
Brillobox, The City Theatre, La Prima, and the Heinz History Center all are featured, along with standbys like the Incline, The Mattress Factory, and the Warhol Museum.
Let's Fat Finger The Dog Kennel
When I got home from work today I had a message on my answering machine inquiring about making a reservation for a dog at a dog kennel. I have received messages in the past about dogs, maybe twice a year max and never thought about it. My curiosity got the best of me, so I looked up dog kennels near my zip code on Yahoo's Yellow Pages. The results showed a dog kennel near me with a telephone number only one digit different than my home telephone number. My home telephone number has a "9" in it while the dog kennel has a "3" in it. If you look at a telephone keypad, you will see that there is one entire row of keys between the 9 and the 3. Someone must have really fat fingered it. As I said, I only get maybe 2 calls a year like this, so it is no big deal to me.
