I’ve been following the Packers off and on for about 13 years. While the Super Bowl XLV has yet to be played, the past couple of weeks have been the most exciting for me Packers-wise as Chico celebrates native Aaron Rodgers’ success as Green Bay’s quarterback.
My first big experience with the Packers came in 1998 when they faced off against the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXII in San Diego. The team was training at my college, UC San Diego. As the co-news editor of the college paper, I wanted to make sure we covered this fairly significant event.
The only hurdle and it was a doozy — the NFL didn’t particularly want to give a college newspaper access to the facility (especially since we were asking for permission during the week of the game). To be fair, the league didn’t want to give anyone access without permission. Crews had wrapped the chainlink fence around the track-and-field facility with black tarp.
To make a long story short, the paper staff launched “Operation Packer Tracker.” What was envisioned as a James Bond-esque plan to successfully take the photo and make a getaway, was resolved simply when the photo editor walked to an elevated position on public property and shot into the leased facility. The photo was a nondescript shot of the team on the field with a cherrypicker cart in the air. I was excited that we were able to get it.
My first professional gig was working at a small newspaper in Upper Michigan. One of the odd quirks of where I lived is that we had access to both Packers and Detroit Lions games on TV. If you had to choose, the Packers were usually the better choice considering how the Lions have been mired in mediocrity for a decade.
For those four years, I watched a decent amount of Packers games. I didn’t really become a fan, although my boss for most of those years was a diehard cheesehead.
Despite my lukewarm feelings towards the Pack, it was still a huge honor to take the tour of Lambeau Field in Green Bay in 2004 (it was just a little down the road on U.S. Highway 41). It was pretty cold and I could get an idea of how the frozen tundra moniker came about. I still have the 2004 Media Guide as a momento of the experience (the Brett Farve section was 25 pages long).
Less than a year later, I was on my way to Chico while Aaron Rodgers was on his way to the NFL after being selected in the 2005 draft. I’ve been impressed how Chico has embraced its hometown hero with his alma maters holding spirit days and Packers displays throughout the city. Everything, including media coverage, been a little overwhelming at times, but it’s hard to deny the mounting excitement. Being in this mini-maelstrom has been far more exciting than watching in Michigan or even trying to get that photo in San Diego.
Despite the outpouring of Packers backing, Chico’s not totally in the bag for Green Bay. There are still a lot of Raiders jerseys (even someone wearing a Seattle Seahawks sweatshirt). Some people are rooting for the Steelers or freely express less-than-favorable opinions of Rodgers. This easygoing and mostly welcoming nature is one of my favorite things about fandom in the United States.
Although I’m not ready to doff a foam block of cheese, I’ve enjoyed watching the Packers over the years, especially this run to the Super Bowl. Win or lose, Aaron Rodgers has forged a connection between cities and fans 2,200 miles apart.
Category: World at large
Quick! We must name the other shopping days of Thanksgiving weekend
The creation of Small Business Saturday on Nov. 27 has made it painfully aware to me that America must name the remaining days of Thanksgiving weekend. It’s no longer enough that we have Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday or the granddaddy Black Friday — all seven days starting this Wednesday must have names.
Although I’m still working on my front-of-the-napkin notes, here’s my initial proposal.
(By the way, why do people always use the back of the napkin? The front works perfectly well.)
Why Not Wednesday? – You’re on the road, trying to get to grandma’s house while avoiding suffering a flat tire or being felt up by security agents. The stress is starting to mount. Some retail therapy is just the palliative. One little cookie, McRib or small appliance won’t hurt much (in the short term). Why not?
Try-to-Forget Thursday – OK, so Wednesday shopping didn’t help that much. You’re now at grandma’s house and remember why you only visit once a year. The blaring volume from the game on the HDTV in the family room rivals that of the screaming kids in the living room trying to re-enact the “Clash of the Titans” in a blanket fort. Shopping to the rescue once more as you sequester yourself in the guest room, hunched over a laptop perched precariously on a toy chest, trying to get good-sounding deals.
Apparently, this is actually becoming a strong online shopping day as many retailers start their Friday sales early on their websites, according to The Record in New Jersey.
Black Friday
Small Business Saturday
Still Shopping Sunday – You’re a marathoner and the race isn’t done. Get your second wind and get back out there. There’s got to be a second cousin out there that needs a knick-knack or commemorative candle that smells like crushed glass.
Cyber Monday
Tired Tuesday – You’ve been shopping non-stop for seven days. Perhaps it’s time to give you and your credit card a break? If you can’t resist, maybe you could buy some organizers or storage units to manage all of the things you bought on your week-long orgy of consumerism.
Of course, all of these named days are gimmicks. Black Friday was popularized by retailers as the busiest shopping day of the year (although it’s usually the days around Christmas). Cyber Monday was conjured up by online retailers to juice their Web sales.
Small Business Saturday is no different. As far as I can tell, it was devised by American Express as a promotion for its OPEN small business services.
Perhaps there is enough room for three big shopping days during the Thanksgiving weekend. Maybe if we work hard enough, we can push it to seven glorious celebrations of shopping.
So those are my ideas for the shopping days of Thanksgiving. What would you call them?
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Take the ‘virtual’ out of ‘virtual strip search’ this travel season
I’ve been concerned about the new Transportation Security Administration screening procedures and many passengers’ reactions. I’m disheartened by the negativity of some of the responses. “Don’t touch my junk” has become this year’s “Don’t tase me, bro.” What has become of America’s can-do attitude?
Instead of dwelling on the negatives (and I readily admit there are many), it might be more productive to focus on solutions. First and foremost, the TSA should drop the “virtual” from what opponents are calling “virtual strip searches” and make them real.
Under this scheme, all passengers should remove their clothing and place them in bins before heading through the screening gate.
It’s a natural progression from older screening procedures. We already remove our shoes, why not remove everything else?
There are many upsides, including the fact that it would eliminate the electronic scanners that some fear exposes passengers to potentially harmful levels of radiation. It would also ax the heavy frisking is currently the alternative for those scanners.
In addition to making it harder (but not impossible) to conceal harmful objects, perhaps terrorists with nudity taboos would be deterred by the large number of naked people in the terminal. I think that my presence alone would deter at least some people.
After the screening, passengers would get their clothes back (just like their shoes today). I would rather that the TSA issue pocket-less sweatsuits for passengers to wear during the flight, but that may be too difficult to enact.
I can understand the concerns that people would have about being seen nude, but it would eliminate any direct physical contact from either electronic radiation or TSA agents.
Of course, I make my modest proposal in jest, but some are apparently planning to go through security checkpoints while wearing kilts … in the traditional fashion.
The TSA was unlikely to make everyone happy, but it should have done a better job of justifying and explaining why its new procedures are vital to the nation’s security and why any intrusion on passengers’ rights was necessary and minimized. Not only is that a good idea, it’s the law.
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In defense of the vuvuzelas — aka those annoying World Cup horns
When I lived in Georgia in the ’90s, we would joke that everyone who visited the state was given a copy of “Gone With the Wind” because the film was a frequent, yet incomplete, base of reference for Southern culture and history.
For the 2010 FIFA World Cup, it seems like everyone in South Africa and their brother were given vuvuzelas, those cheap plastic horns that can deafen stadia and spark a global outcry. Across the globe, there have been stories decrying the constant use of the horns during games. Broadcasters have tried to filter out the buzzing horns and clever software programmers have started pitching apps geared to minimize the vuvuzelas’ droning din.
The whole thing is a hoot to me because I’ve owned a similar plastic horn for more than 15 years, way before I knew they were called vuvuzelas and before they became a controversy. (Interestingly enough, the vuvuzelas were an issue during the lead up to the event exactly a year ago.)
I bought my plastic instrument (pictured at top) as a souvenir during the 1995 Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena. I had finished marching with the Poway High Emerald Brigade and I wanted something to help commemorate the event. If memory serves me, I purchased the trinket from a vendor’s cart for $4 or $5.
During my years with the UC San Diego Pep Band, I dubbed the instrument the “Horn of Victory” and brought it to many sporting events. The horn’s blue color was a good match for UCSD’s blue and gold.
While World Cup vuvuzela performers appear willing to toot their horns for the entire duration of a 90-minute match, I’ve tried to be more discreet. I tried to sound the horn only in moments of triumph — including scores and ultimate victory. I avoided the horn during gameplay (done in part because the NCAA had rules against “artificial noisemakers” while there is action on the field).
Despite my relative constraint, I’ve had to cope with accusations that the horn is annoying even as a lone performer. It has “disappeared” from time to time when a colleague hid it during a game. This week, someone wanted to actually use the horn as a beer bong — an idea I strongly discouraged for health reasons.
For whatever downsides the vuvuzela has, it has a remarkable power. Its sonorous notes can reverberate through arenas. Critics have decried the horns’ overwhelming use in South Africa, but the vuvuzela can be a powerful accompanist during celebrations. As the clock turned midnight on Jan. 1, 2000, I sounded the horn and joined the clatter of banging pots and pans in my neighborhood to greet the start of a new century.
The vuvuzela also causes a sincere ruckus, especially compared to airhorns and their artificial wails. The noise from the horn is drawn from the core of the performer, not from a can of compressed air or some electronic gizmo.
The vuvuzela is egalitarian — anyone who can purse their lips and forcefully exhale can use one. This openness has thrown me off a couple of times — during one of UC Davis’ Picnic Day parades, I was thrown off by what I thought was a blaring trombone only to realize it was a child along the route joyously playing along with the music on his vuvuzela.
While acknowledging that some teams have said that vuvuzela performances have led to on-field communication confusion, I don’t think their use should be discouraged. Fans should be allowed to express themselves as long as it doesn’t
cause physical harm to others or prevent others from witnessing the
game.
Football has a rich and mostly proud tradition of fan participation. The vuvuzela is merely one of the latest in a long line of customs. Long may the vuvuzela buzz.
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The snacks of our grandparents
While walking down the snack aisle of a local discount drug store today, I passed by tall, pink tins of Almond Roca. Thinking of those toffee candies wrapped in chopped almonds took me on a journey back to my grandparents’ house so many years ago.
Those memories reminded me of other treats that my family would snack on, dredging up recollections of gatherings of years ago. It brought forth of flashes of people who have since passed on and houses that have since changed hands.
Maybe I can get a little nostalgic at times, but is there a snack or food item that reminds you of your family?
For me, Almond Roca was a treat that my grandma would indulge in just occasionally. I seem to recall that she would snack on hard, ovoid discs of sugar-free candy more often. She would also drink diet cola, switching over the years from Tab to caffeine-free Diet Coke.
Her house during the holidays would also include dishes of hard candy (but not sugar free). There were also nuts in their shells, and cracking them was an annual challenge for me.
On the other side of my family, my great-grandparents would have dishes or jars of hard coffee candy, twisted in a distinctive black-and-gold checkered wrappers. I think it was the only candy offered, because I remember eating them although I wasn’t the world’s biggest coffee fan at age 5.
More pleasant were the jars of macadamia nuts. The strong, dry and nutty scent from a freshly opened jar was a strong memory that I gleefully remember whenever I can get a jar of my own.
Out of respect for today’s increasing insistence that we focus on healthy eating, I would note candy wasn’t the only food that sparks fond memories. My grandparents and great-grandparents often kept small gardens that would take up varying portions of their backyards.
I can’t remember everything that was grown, but I remember fresh strawberries and green beans as well as cherries and tomatoes. One set of great-grandparents would jar and pickle nearly everything under the sun.
To my grown-up regret, those pickled veggies were prepared in a Japanese style that I didn’t find tasty as a kid with a predominately Western palate. I would hope that my tastes have matured over the years, but I’m a little sad that I won’t get to enjoy those veggies.
Now that I’m grown, I wonder what food memories I’ll create on my own. Like many of us, I over-rely on processed foods. While I generally enjoy it at the time, they generally fail to satisfy in the long term (for example, the idea of a McRib always sounds better than the actual product).
While the initial time investment will likely be great, I think my fondest recollections will come from what I can make myself, instead of from a box. Hopefully, I can create a meal that will remain on the table of my mind, like all of those treats from the past.
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Seasons greetings with the 2009 Christmas card
Another Christmas is upon us. To celebrate 2009, I created a new card for friends and family.
I sent most of the cards on Monday, and I hope they were received by today. If not, I’m sharing the card with everyone here.
From the bottom of my heart, I wish everyone the merriest of Christmases.
Sharing was this year’s theme. Last year, I tried to combine something uniquely Chico with the holidays and came up with the yo-yo card.
I thought about revisiting the Chico themes for 2009, but I didn’t feel I could pull anything off in time.
I still liked the Sierra Nevada Santa idea, but I grew a little reticent. After all, it seemed a little less than wholesome, but it could be pulled off if it was done tastefully. I worried about my ability to do so.
It’s still an idea I may do in future years.
I settled on “spreading a little holiday cheer” because I wanted to do something active beyond the traditional holiday photo. I settled on the tree because I thought it was an unlikely object one would give, but it’s also an icon that embodies the spirit of the season.
So with many, many test shots in my apartment’s small hallway and some Photoshop magic, here is this year’s card. Merry Christmas.
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Cold snap may turn City Plaza fountain into skating rink
With overnight temperatures in Chico dropping into the low-20s, the fountain in City Plaza may be turning into an accidental skating rink after the sun sets. During the summer, the fountain is a ground-level delight for children and adults to splash in, but it may be a potential safety hazard when the thermometer drops below 32º.
By its very nature, the fountain creates a wet surface that doesn’t drain completely when it is shut off at night. The remaining water freezes in the evening’s chill.
It’s hard to say how big of deal it is. When I walked across City Plaza to head home after an early Tuesday meal, there were only a few patches of ice over the fountain. I stepped on a few patches to glide along on the friction-reduced ice, but they ended quickly.
One element that may reduce the patches is the roughened surface caused by what appears to be pebbles and textured concrete.
It’s fun to shuffle along and pretend I’m ice skating, but I am concerned some reckless person may slip and injure themselves. It’s possible people may not notice that the fountain has frozen — at night, the plaza is often illuminated solely by street lights (and during December by the Community Tree).
I noticed this issue a couple of years ago. I called the police to let them know about the safety concern. They indifferently brushed the matter off, suggesting that I call the city’s blandly-named General Services Department the following morning. I never did pursue the matter.
This seems to be an issue that comes up just once or twice a year, but the early cold snap has piqued my curiosity.
Speaking of skating rinks, seeing the ice in the center of City Plaza reminded me of all the cities that have outdoor rinks in the winter. I’ve seen setups in colder cities, like Salt Lake City, Chicago and New York City, but they’ve also cropped up in warmer places like Sacramento and San Diego.
It might be cool to put a small rink in the center of Chico City Plaza for a few weeks every year. By my eye, an oval stretching about a half-block might be possible in the shadow of the Community Tree.
It’s unlikely for a number of reasons — including cost and the generally warm temperatures — but it would definitely add a strong touch of winter fun to our city (especially because we don’t currently have any ice rinks at all).
Photo: Chico City Plaza’s fountain is depicted in part of a photomontage I created over the summer. I find it funny how subjects show up multiple times.
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Get ready for 09-09-09
Remember how people made a huge deal out of 07-07-07? And then, a year, a month and a day later, when 08-08-08 was a hullabaloo?
Today is the next day in the sequence, and I wonder if people will mark the day for any particular reason.
Since the millennium started, I’ve been getting e-mails to mark days like 01/02/03. I was also forewarned about problems on 06/06/06, although nothing much happened.
That fateful date in 2006 was the first time I recall that we marked the repeating single-digit phenomenon. I don’t recall a lot of people marking 05/05/05. Who would celebrate it, aside from someone who plays slots too much?
Apparently, some people are marking 09/09/09. Depending on who you ask, the number 9 is either lucky and evil.
While no one is saying it, I think 09/09/09 is an evil date. After all, “999” is just “666” turned upside down. On the other hand, maybe upending that number might negate its effects.
Although this type of numerology can be fun, it’s a little silly to me. It’s possible some external factors in play, I believe we assign our own beliefs and myths to the greater world.
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The disharmony of Feng Shui wasabi peanuts
Alternative title: Consumer Culture Confusion
I was browsing the snack section at a 7-Eleven in Colorado Springs when my eyes fell upon a product called Feng Shui wasabi peanuts.
There’s something a little … off about this product, and it took me a second to realize what it was. I asked my Twitter and Facebook friends if they knew what was wrong, but didn’t get any responses.
The problem I have with this product is that feng shui and wasabi come from two distinct cultures. Feng shui is an aesthetics system originally developed by the Chinese while wasabi is a traditional condiment of Japanese cuisine (often seen as the hot green paste served with sushi).
I’m trying to think of other products that have so marred the lines between different cultures, like Euclidean crepes or Kaiser’s Own Bangers and Mash.
I suppose Feng Shui wasabi peanuts could be an intentional blending of Japanese and Chinese elements. I was talking with a colleague last week about fusions of food and other aspects of diverse cultures.
On the other hand, this could be a product of pure laziness or lame branding where the product’s creators at the American Roland Food Corp. just threw some names up on the wall and decided the name feng shui sounded all right next to a product about wasabi-flavored peanuts.
Apparently Roland thought highly enough of feng shui to slap the name on all of its Asian food products, including rice crackers and wasabi peas. The rice cracker products include strong Japanese references to nori (Japanese seaweed), Maki rolls (a type of sushi) and wasabi.
I passed on buying the peanuts so I have no idea if the combination of wasabi and peanuts (and “Rice Flour, Sugar, Salt, Wheat Flour, Palm Oil, Corn
Starch, Salt”) are “a perfect balance” as the bag touts.
I’m also curious what actual feng shui practitioners might think about the product and its packaging. Does a product touting feng shui actually follow its tenets?
Somehow, I doubt it.
Photo: The aforementioned Feng Shui-brand wasabi peanuts at a 7-Eleven on Academy Boulevard in Colorado Springs.
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For want of spite, Twitter was lost
Less than a day after the microblogging Web site Twitter was briefly knocked offline and social Web site Facebook was hampered, a picture of what happened began to develop and who was targeted. Instead of some sort of corporate or international intrigue, it appeared like the attacks were a massively misguided effort to silence one individual.
It was pretty clear that Twitter, Facebook and others were hampered because of a Denial of Service attack — where a Web site is hit with so many requests or Web traffic that it buckles under the pressure. According to BBC News, the target was believed to be one blogger, named Georgy, who has criticized Russia’s role in last year’s war against the country of Georgia, the BBC reported.
Facebook officials said the attack was directed at the blogger’s page, but it impacted the rest of the service as well.
Talk about overkill. In this effort to target one individual, the people responsible attacked several networks affecting hundreds of millions of people. It would be like nuking a large city in an effort to kill one man, or burning the haystack to get at that needle.
If the intent was to silence one person’s opinion — it will probably backfire. More people will now probably be more interested in what this one person has to say because of this effort.
Additionally, cyberterrorism is not likely to engender the hackers to the general public. Personally speaking, I feel a little bit of animus toward whoever would be willing to launch such a foolhardy and unsophisticated attack.
While the target was apparently Georgy, also known as Cyxymu, it’s not known who launched the attack. The blogger apparently blames Russia although some experts said there is no evidence that this is the case.
I definitely hope that we find the parties responsible. It’s also a reminder to Web sites that they need to develop more defenses against these types of attacks.
