When I was a kid, battles between celebrities didn’t take place on Twitter — they happened on the charts. And so it was, between the Gloved One and the Purple One. Michael Jackson’s Thriller, released in November of 1983, was literally everywhere, commandeering radio and television waves and boombox speakers across the country. It was the biggest album in the world. And then, six months later, Prince released Purple Rain in the summer of 1984. Similar musicians are frequently compared and contrasted, and “suddenly” in the mid-80s we had two megastars. Both sang, both danced, and both tore up the… (read more)

“We’re meeting for dinner after class tomorrow at Tarahumara’s. Do you know where that is?” The look on my face informed them I did not. “It’s down by Benvenuti’s,” one of them offered. Again, they are met by my glassy-eyed stare. “Is that over by the Mazzio’s with the Spy Hunter machine?” They return a confused look. “What’s a spy hunter?” They act as if I’ve never been to Norman, Oklahoma, but the truth is I’ve been there many, many times. One of my best friends, Justin, grew up in Norman. The two of us met in the mid-80s, and… (read more)

I was recently discussing old technology with a classmate when the subject of radio scanners came up. I purchased my first scanner from Best Buy in the mid-90s, and my second one, from Canada, in the early 00s. My classmate asked me if it was worth purchasing one today, so I decided to dust mine off before giving him an answer. The results were pretty depressing. Radio scanners, like the ones I own, allow people to listen to radio transmissions. All sorts of things are being transmitted all the time. Unfortunately, advances in technology have all but made my old… (read more)

I saw the band Smash Mouth was trending early this morning. I’m not sure why that was. I only have one Smash Mouth story, and here it is. In the fall 2001, when Susan was six months pregnant with Mason, I decided what I really needed to own was a Geo Tracker. My goal was to install a hard top, lower it, and add a crazy stereo system. I eventually did all of those things. It wasn’t the best timing, but it was fun. When I drove the Tracker home I discovered a rattle coming from the glove box. I… (read more)

While driving down the turnpike the other day, I heard a sound — 20 simultaneous “whaps.” It sounded like someone had thrown a cup full of ice at my windshield while I was driving 70 miles per hour, except there was nobody around — no bridges overhead, no people on the side of the road, and no cars directly in front of me. It didn’t take long to notice the two dozen tiny piles of bug guts displayed in front of me. I wasn’t sure what I had hit, but I had hit a bunch of them, and whatever they… (read more)