Nice Memorial

I don't know who already knows of this, but this is the first I've heard of it. Thank you, Sarah K., for letting me know. Sen. Deanna Demuzio graciously introduced a bill to mourn the loss of Grampa A., which was accepted as a resolution by the IL General Assembly. There should be a formal certificate issued soon, if it has not been sent already, but in any case, here is the text of the bill on the GA Web site. Very thoughtful.

Miracle Worker

Here's a really cool story I luckily got the chance to put together for JMU. A rather impressive alum elevated himself from successful and well-connected businessman to instant and inspiring hero. Sure, I spent a decent amount of time filling my lines with dramatic and uplifting language (aka fluff), but the story itself needs no massaging. It is a great inspiration, straight up. It's on our new Public Affairs page. BTW, take some time to click around the new site. It's much better than our old one, and somewhere on there, you can find a pic and bio of me:

http://www.jmu.edu/jmuweb/general/news/general10493.shtml

Unwelcome Overtures

Starting on the day two weeks ago when JMU was closed due to inclement weather, I have sporadically been receiving...unwelcome overtures...from a strange source.

As I sat comfortably on my couch at about 10 o'clock that morning, watching the snow fall and the car-tires of my neighbors fail to grasp the slick slope of my parking lot, I received the first. I was reading a particularly strange and excellent story, "Game," by Donald Barthelme, in my silent apartment. Then, BAM!

With my mind near-perpetually halfway in another world, thanks to my LOST obsession and previously mentioned reading, the noise came as a particularly disturbing surprise. The sound was a sudden, loud, garbled explosion of a man/men's voices, quite like a completely incomprehensible conversation over out-of-range CB radios. The source was even more frightening.

After my initial start and reassurance that nothing had exploded and that my apartment was not being invaded by a ship of evil mercenaries, I followed the sound to its origin, my bathroom. I was awestruck.

The noise wasn't emanating from bursting water pipes or a malfunctioning vent fan, but rather, my up-until-that-very-moment-believed-to-be-busted shower clock-radio-mirror. It's the same shower clock-radio-mirror mom and dad had picked up for me ?two? Christmases ago. It had worked all through my senior year of college and this past summer,until a few weeks after I arrived here in Virginia.

Due (I can only hypothesize) to my hanging it on/under the shower head, the shower clock-radio-mirror absorbed an inordinate amount of water during my frequent showers, and eventually its electronic innards just flooded out. It'd been a solid three or four months since it had made a peep, so my surprise, I feel, was justified.

Being that the power button (an impotent little rubber nib) also had failed, my only recourse to silence it was to remove the batteries. I did so. Last week, during a Saturday morning shower, I thought I might give the ol' music box another chance, this time hanging safely on the outside of my shower curtain, and, to a lesser level of surprise, it did work...decently.

Since then, I have not tried to extract any type of noise from it again. But tonight, while reading through some LOST message boards, it happened again. This time it was, at least, tuned to a clear, classical-music station. It actually did create a nice, unexpected buildup as I neared the end of the theory post I was reading.

For the sound of music, the hills may not be alive, but my household electronics sure appear to be.

Nice story

Here's a link to a nice piece in the Springfield State Journal Register that provides a brief look into my, Jeff and Greg's former high school and college colleague, John Link. This is reposted from his blog, the J-Link.

http://www.sj-r.com/homepage/x1708115283/Dave-Bakke-Disabled-man-s-strength-lies-in-his-mind

FOUND!

Oliver Muirhead, from filmdope.com

After a few more searches, I was able to track down the real Tombstone Pizza star. His name is Oliver Muirhead. An English actor, his other credits include small roles in various Disney shows, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, MVP: Most Vertical Primate, LOST and numerous voice roles in video games, including Zork: Grand Inquisitor.

I updated his wikipedia page to highlight his work in culinary marketing.

Have you seen this man?

I'm not sure how my mind boarded its current train of thought, so don't ask. But in the past, I recall it has gotten on at each of the following stations: thinking about the classic Oregon Trail video game, deciding on a frozen pizza for dinner and seeing random glimpses of faces on TV.

Confused?

Let me explain. I've been on a search for the name of an actor. You may be wondering how those three seemingly unconnected instances all lead to my trying to figure out who this guy is?

The answer is simple--Tombstone Pizza.

We all remember those classic Tombstone pizza commercials from the early 90's, where a guy is about to be executed in some way, and when asked what he would like on his tombstone, swiftly and snarkily replies something like "pepperoni and cheese."

The Oregon Trail connection, of course, comes in when a member of your travel party succumbs to typhus, cholera, broken leg, snakebite or some other incurable illness, and you are forced to bury them beside the trail. Stupidly, in at least one version of the game, the game designers inserted a feature where one could add an epitaph to the grave marker. Needless to say, many mourners later stopped to view memorials etched with such touching remembrances as "Here lies Pepperoni," "Sausage," or my personal favorite, "The Ox We Were Forced to Slaughter Due to Starvation."

Here is where I need your help. View this circa 1995 commercial, and tell me who the heck the mustached man sinking into quicksand is. I remember him appearing in other commercials, including one for Schnuck's or some other grocery store, as well as in bit parts in many TV shows. For a while, I was almost convinced it was acclaimed Northern-Irish theatrical actor/director Kenneth Branagh, but highly doubt that now after googling many variants of "Kenneth Branagh Tombstone Pizza Commercial" and finding nothing of value.

On a side note, I did discover this gem, a 1992 installment of the commercial series featuring a very young Don Stark as the imperiled aficionado of frozen pizza-like item.

And the Oscar for Best Picture goes to...

The big-award buzz this year has been all about Benjamin Button, Frost/Nixon, and other epic features. It was a bit of a surprise, then, when little-known Slumdog Millionaire took the top prize at the Golden Globes.

But it appears another darkhorse has entered the picture. Combining crisp editing with hand-held styling gives a real sense of authenticity to this short journo-docu-drama from a rookie director. Guess we'll just have to wait and see...