I miss Mr. Rogers

/ Shane / 1 Comment

If you haven’t seen this popping up everywhere already (including my own Facebook and G+ streams), you will soon.

Somehow, in addition to making an awesome song, these quick clips totally captured the essence of Fred Rogers. It only takes about five seconds of video to see his absolute love of children, his absolute love of his job. He wasn’t delivering lines, he was saying something he absolutely believed in, all the way down to his toes (which were no doubt stuffed in some comfortable yet tasteful indoor shoes).

A friend on Facebook said, “Wow, maybe it’s because I’m a child of the early 80’s, but I really loved this. It makes me feel like I can be an astronaut, or the queen, or the president, or a ballerina!”

It’s true. Seeing this video not only brought back my memories of the show, but it specifically brought back my memories of how the show made me feel. Not like I was being entertained, but like anything was possible. Like the world was right outside my door, waiting for me to come out and claim it. Like Mr. Rogers believed in me. Like imagination and a love of learning were all anyone needed.

“Did you ever grow anything in the garden of your mind? You can grow ideas.” – Mr. Rogers.

Sara’s Masterpiece Theater

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Every time I have to do anything slightly different knitting-wise, I am reminded at how terribly awful I am at knitting. Every five minutes I have to whine to Sara, “Saraaaa! What did I do wrong??” And she always has the answer, because, unlike me, she is awesome at knitting.

So here’s a smattering of her various products, a rogue’s gallery of the best she’s made over the past few years. Enjoy.

Here’s hoping I will have a masterpiece theater post of my own someday!

Fort Wayne, a rapper’s delight

/ Shane / 5 Comments

Fort Wayne does not have a very good track record lately, being named one of the dumbest, fattest, and most artery clogged, cities in the United States, to say nothing of the infamous “Harry Baals” incident. However, there are some in the city who feel like perhaps they haven’t been portrayed fairly, or at least that being dumb, fat, and unhealthy aren’t all the city has to offer. For instance, there’s also rap.

I am reluctant to admit, it’s not actually that bad. Believe me, I was all set to hate on it.

I don’t know if it made me feel civic pride, per say, but it wasn’t as ridiculous, cheesy, and laughable as most of these things tend to be (I will refer you to “We Built Sioux City“). The music wasn’t even half bad.

My only problem is that I don’t recognize most of the “recognizable” places of Fort Wayne. Maybe I’m not the foremost expert on Fort Wayne, or maybe Fort Wayne just isn’t really that recognizable. I do appreciate the Tin Caps apparel and stadium, the downtown rooftop shots, and Coney Island, but the rest of the neighborhoods in the video just kind of look like neighborhoods. Granted, it has been a long time since I lived in Fort Wayne, but I was expecting something more iconic.

Hmm, what are the iconic places of Fort Wayne though? You have the fort, of course,

 and the Roller Dome,

maybe the zoo? But I guess none of that stuff is going to play very well in a rap video. I still think there are a few things that are maybe a little more urban, but would make a good background.

The “Endless Bread” sign,

Cindy’s Diner,

Or Headwaters Park.

Fort Wayne people, did you like the video? Were the landmarks recognizable to you? What other landmarks did they miss?

Link via Nathan.

What kind of hat can I wear?

/ Shane / 5 Comments

One day, as we were descending into the subway in New York City, we saw an older gentleman coming up the stairs. With our view from above, we could see an absolutely horrifying splotch of skin cancer right in the middle of his big bald head. It was quite memorable, and somewhat terrifying. Since that time, Sara has insisted that I keep my own big bald head covered whenever I go anywhere near the sun.

It certainly beats rubbing sunscreen into your hair. However, sometimes I feel kind of dumb wearing a ball cap.

When I was in college, I wore a ball cap practically every day. Maybe that’s why I feel like maybe I’m a little old to be wearing a ball cap. Or sometimes I feel like I’m dressed up a little fancy to be wearing a ball cap (and by fancy, I mean a button down shirt or something, I’m not exactly walking around in a tuxedo here). I don’t know, maybe it’s true, maybe it’s not, but in any case what are my other options? I’ve tried on a few other kinds of hats here and there, but none of them seem quite right. Is there an accepted “adult” style of hat? What kind of hat fits my personality?

I could go with the hiking hat, but that’s pretty much as casual as a ball cap, and I don’t want to imply I’m an outdoorsman.

What about a bahama hat? Still pretty informal, but more suitable for relaxing in a cafe in Havana, which is more my speed.

Or perhaps a panama hat? A little more formal, and it sort of looks like the kind of hat I could grow into, like a gangster, or Wilford Brimley.

I don’t know. They’re all a little casual without being too casual, which I like, but maybe we need to expand our search a little bit. Consider some alternatives.

I don’t think I could do a cowboy hat. I’m not exactly country, and I’m not sure it would really fit in in my neighborhood.

On the other hand, maybe a newsboy hat. Oliver looks pretty damn good in his, why not me?

Not too bad, but maybe we need to think outside the box a little bit…

Barbershop hat?

Okay, but if I’m going to go barbershop, why not do it right and go porkpie?

I think the best looking one has to be the fedora. Great color, feather in the brim, jaunty angle? Check, check and check.

As long as we’re going old school, maybe I should go bowler hat. A little old fashioned perhaps, but also a little cool, steampunk style.

Now we’re talking! Or maybe something like:

Hey, if it’s good enough for Indiana Jones, it’s good enough for me!

Or, of course, there’s always the ever popular…

So, gentle reader, what say you?

Quote Monday has tasted better

/ Shane / 1 Comment

::Evie, trying some melon::
Me: “Did you like it?”
Evie, making a face: “It tasted like Rice Krispies on the back of a sheep. Like regular Rice Krispies, but instead of in a bowl, they’re on a sheep’s back.”

That’s…very specific. And admittedly unappealing.

Oliver: “EE loves dada, I love mama and EE.”
Me: “What about me, do you love me too?”
Oliver: “No, EE loves dada. I love mama and EE.”
Evie: “What about Nala?”
Oliver: “I love mama and EE and Nala.”

Remember last week when I said you had to appreciate the nice quotes when they come around? Yeah, this is the other kind.

Me: “Okay Ollie, there’s no towel, so dry your hands on my pants.”
::Oliver drying his hands on my pants::
Me: “Make sure you dry the backs too.”
::Oliver walks around behind me and drys the fronts of his hands on the back of my pants::