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November is Growing on Me
Throughout the month of November, men from all over the world voluntarily dedicate their facial appearances for a genuinely worthy cause that is bigger than a simple 5 o’clock shadow. The 30-day month (which includes the American holiday and audience-conducive Thanksgiving) will test the courage and sheer facial will of the men who dare to believe in helping their fellow XY-chromosome bros in a completely strange, yet entertaining fashion.
The event is called “Movember,” which takes place during November. In fact, there is an official “Movember” website that details the precise reasoning for encouraging men to join this growing movement that began down under in Melbourne ten years ago with each November day represented in the form of a mustache.
Globally, the funds raised by our Mo Bros and Mo Sistas support world-class men’s health programs that combat prostate and testicular cancer and mental health challenges. These programs, directed by the Movember Foundation, are focused on awareness and education, living with and beyond cancer, staying mentally healthy, living with and beyond mental illness and research to achieve our vision of an everlasting impact on the face of men’s health.
According to the Movember Foundation, there are nearly 4 million growers worldwide that sport their individual style in more than 20 countries. For those who have been willing their facial hair to grow for the past three weeks, there are a few icons whose trimming methods they can follow.
There is:
- The Mr. Feeny (“Boy Meets World”)
- The Albert Einstein (Genius)
- The Ron Burgundy and Brian Fantana (“Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy”)
- The Captain Jack Sparrow (“Pirates of the Caribbean”)
- The Alex Trebek (“What is Jeopardy?”)
- The Gene Shalit (Former Movie and Book Critic for the Today Show)
- The Hulk Hogan (Wrestler)
- The Civil War General (Self-Explanatory)
This Guy:
(Zimbio, “Famous Mustaches,” 2012)
- The Captain Edward James Smith and Bruce Ismay (“Titanic”)
- The Lt. Murtaugh (“Lethal Weapon”)
- The Manliest Dr. Pepper Guy (Television Commercial)
- The Bob Ross (America’s Art Teacher)
- The Neville Sinclair (“The Rocketeer”)
and last, but absolutely not least…
- THE Tom Selleck/Magnum P.I. (Again, Self-Explanatory)
(mannythemovieguy.com, 2009)
For the men who have refrained from using a razor and shaving cream, the finished product will take varying amounts of time and will look different from others as well.
Sometimes, the disparity can be humorously staggering:
“Movember” isn’t for everyone…
Four Score and Seven Outbursts Ago…
Is there a better way to go into the weekend than on a high note? And what specific note is that, you may be asking?
That high note can be summed up into a short comedic equation:
Simon Helberg + Nicolas Cage + “Lincoln” audition = Daniel Day-Lewis’ obvious understudy
“I’m one of the greatest freaking presidents…of all-time!! Ahhh!”
Trying to Hold onto Something
What do “The Goldbergs,” a CD player with headphones and telephone poles have in common?
They’re all connected: 20th century style.
Oddly enough, being connected used to be construed as a bad, complicated mess. Wires would hang from everywhere…and then pop up somewhere else. Recall the triumphant house lighting scene from “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” when Ellen has to navigate her fingers through a clutter of over-plugged outlets? This maze of confusion led innovators and inventors to draw a blueprint, but without a pencil or pen.
In a single word: wireless.
This reality was new, cleaner and more efficient. Consequently, we discovered space in our lives we never knew existed or thought was even possible. Along this evolutionary track came cell phones that increasingly functioned as handheld computers with surreal power. Included in the capability to make phone calls internationally while situated in virtually any location (as long as Sprint is not your provider) is the capacity to share random events, thoughts, pictures and videos through a myriad of social media platforms.
The range of practicality ranges from necessary to fun, as most aspects in life should. But will this ultimately be a good conversion for society? While wireless technology certainly has its benefits, there are drawbacks as well. For instance, what if a satellite is down (“Gravity”) or what if there is too much signal traffic that prevents the completion of a simple phone call or necessary internet search? What if there is an emergency, but every phone or communication device is formatted to the digital grid and the grid is temporarily malfunctioning or is broken?
Think Time Warner Cable…or Sprint. But with a wider reach and dependability.
Marco Santana of the Des Moines Register wrote an article about wireless and landline phones that was printed in USA Today on March 31st of this year. “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which twice a year tracks the percentage of households that still use landlines, reported in December that 35.8% of U.S. households have gone wireless-only, a 77.2% bump over late 2008.”
Landline phones and landline technologies seem and feel ancient, uncool and not applicable to 21st century endeavors. Except that, in emergencies or situations when a person wants to actually feel connected to something, he or she would probably find assurance in holding an off-white receiver with a stretchy cord dangling around like a cosine wave.
It feels as if we are all entering the digital era of no return. However, like most things, balance is a good thing. Will the future be purely digital or will it develop into a hybrid of the past and present/future? Will analog become a legitimate backup system?
Point of consideration: Retro is considered cool for a variety of reasons and can even be viewed as a pausing mechanism to modern practices. This goes for clothes, lingo, general behavior, music, movies, toys, communication devices, etc.
It’s strange: the more connected we get by transitioning to digital technologies actually makes us less connected in the literal sense. More of our lives continues to float upwards into the ever-expansive and mysterious cloud.
What’s next? Fishing without a pole and worm?
ABC Has Dialed Up a Winner
“Two phone lines. What is this? The White House?”
Through the combination of preplanned, intentional and serendipitous circumstances and choices in life, ranging from picking a college to asking our future loved one on a date one Friday night to pausing on a page that featured a particular style of house seen in an issue of Midwestern Living, we find ourselves living where we do for a myriad of reasons. It really is fascinating to ponder at just how mysterious life can be sometimes.
That is, until you meet the neighbors.
On last night’s episode of “The Goldbergs,” Adam’s Tron bike (looked legit) lured the new neighbor Chad Kremp (aka-his new best friend) over to the side of the street that takes a more direct tone to dealing with your everyday events, like trying to talk down your moron son who is holding on for dear life while he sits stuck in a tree he voluntarily climbed.
You may be asking yourself “what the hell?”
Excuse me, “what the h-word?”
The Kremp family was proper, soft spoken and not akin to the Goldbergs style of parenting and general living practices. The dynamic of the Goldbergs and the Kremps represented the complete opposite sides of any spectrum, humorously of course. From sibling rumblings to different styles of clothes to the audible distinction between shouting and whispering, the road in between their houses might as well have been the Amazon River (Don’t go in the water…).
In the midst of a completely casual/”non forced” indoor BBQ, Beverly could not restrain herself with polite whispers after Barry and Erica were wrestling on the floor in front of their guests (and relentlessly hopeful BFF’s) because of a disclosed voice recording telling all of Erica’s crush on a certain Kremp who heard it to his surprise. In the heat of the moment, Beverly let loose “the” word.
Yes, that word.
And, in a word (literally), the BBQ was over. The families retreated to their corners…well, houses.
At this point, any form of reconciliation seemed nearly impossible. Not even Beverly’s walking/stalking in an absolutely glowing florescent track/speed walking suit could bring the Goldbergs and the Kremps back together. What could possibly bring these two polar opposites together?
When Virginia (Mrs. Kremp) was at the bakery counter in the local grocery store, who was allowing herself to be taken by the baker (the real Mr. Kremp by the way!) for an awful tasting pastry, Beverly popped in to save the day with a very public recount of the infamous “birthday cake fiasco.”
Not only did Mrs. Kremp get a fresh pastry as a result, but she also took a deep breath after this surprisingly helpful and friendly encounter with her more boisterous neighbor. But it seems like everyone on both sides of the street took a much needed deep breath.
Best friends reunited to continue filming their very own “Tron” and “Star Wars” sagas, siblings decided to take 5-minutes off from fighting to help each other out and Murray and Charles Kremp finally committed to doing something they liked together sans wives.
It was one of those rare, special family moments we’ve all shared where everything seems to click.
Despite the fact that crossing the Amazon River (or neighborhood street) can be treacherous, it’s important to remember that nothing worthwhile is easy. The good things is life take time and effort. Plus, it always helps to look at things from the other person’s perspective. In other words, it’s beneficial to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes.
Just ask Beverly, she walker-stalked Mrs. Kremp for two hours before she caught up to her!
“Nothing’s Gonna Stop us Now” by Jefferson Starship played at the end of the show. For those of us who grew up during some part of the ’80s, the following video was likely the first thing that popped into our heads (real and plastic)…
So, for a great time, just dial 976-
Just kidding! I meant tune into “The Goldbergs” at 9:00 p.m. on ABC Tuesday nights to travel back to the ’80s for a totally rad time!
P.S. Who else remembers the one phone line in the house? It was a simpler time…
Jimmy's Daily Planet 