-
The Heat
Today belonged to the heat. Once the temperature reached the mid-nineties, it preoccupied my northern brain, so thoroughly inured to cold and snow and wind, but unready for this. At a certain point, the heat becomes The Heat. It was one of those days where walking out of an air-conditioned building onto the sidewalk slowed Continue reading
-
Orange Byways
Every summer, around this time, rural roadsides in CNY see a mass blooming of orange lilies. I’ve always referred to them as tiger lilies, but upon doing some quick online research, I discovered that not all of these orange lilies are necessarily of the tiger variety. Whatever they are called, they grow in ditches along Continue reading
-
1776
I wrapped up Independence Day by watching 1776 on TCM. For those who are unfamiliar, 1776 is a 1972 musical comedy about the writing and signing of Declaration of Independence, adapted from the Broadway show of the same name. Viewing that movie on the Fourth is something I started back when I was a kid, Continue reading
-
Independence Day Challenge
Today is America’s birthday. People across the country will celebrate by attending parades, shooting off fireworks, cooking out in the back yard, or maybe going to a baseball game. Regardless of the specific activities one chooses, the general focus of the holiday is on patriotism. Of course, patriotism is an abstract concept that is difficult Continue reading
-
Dunkirk
There is an episode of M*A*S*H in which Hawkeye is tending to a patient and talking about that man’s hometown. Hawkeye describes a number of the town’s landmarks including an American Legion Hall, a restaurant that serves “the world’s greasiest French fries,” and a Studebaker dealership that heralded the arrival of new models with searchlights. Continue reading
-
National Comedy Center
Jen and I traveled to the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, New York yesterday. I’ll probably have some thoughts about the attraction and the overall trip in a later post, but for now, here are some photos we took during the visit. I’m not including any captions or context for these shots. These exhibits are Continue reading
-
Frost
I go down some unexpected YouTube rabbit holes. A couple weeks ago, I stumbled across a video of Robert Frost reading his poetry. I’ve never been drawn to poetry, but I watched the video and a funny thing happened: All those famous poems that I was supposed to read for high school English classes but Continue reading
-
Lake Neatahwanta
A weird habit that I’ve adopted in the smartphone age is that pretty much any time I come across a nice-looking lake, I’ll take a picture of it. That keeps my camera busy since Upstate New York is very much a target-rich environment for nice-looking lakes. Ironically, one lake I don’t pay a lot of Continue reading
-
Canadian Wildfires Redux
Smoke from the wildfires returned to CNY today. So far, it isn’t nearly as bad as it was a few weeks ago, but the unmistakable campfire-like smell was in the air in Syracuse late this afternoon. It’s odd how much a natural disaster can evoke childhood memories of toasting marshmallows. Driving home on 690, I Continue reading
-
I Got a Dear John Letter from My Podcast App
One of the concepts I’ve taught in my consumer behavior course over the years is “cognitive lock-in.” That refers to a type of customer loyalty that can exist with technology products, wherein the user gets comfortable with the particulars of an interface over time and is reluctant to switch to a competitor simply because they Continue reading
About Me
Researcher. Marketer. Teacher. Father of adult children and dogs. 20th Century holdover. Central New York native. Long-suffering Buffalo Bills fan. History nerd. Traveler. Vintage advertising enthusiast. Hat wearer.
a.k.a. V.J. 