Damn, that’s a clever term.
Even though the Glazer Children’s Museum isn’t open on Sunday morning (it opens at noon), I was there with Anitra this morning to record a video where we read Maurice Sendak’s children’s classic, Where the Wild Things Are…
…to this young gentleman: Daniel Tiger…
star of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, which is based on the Neighborhood of Make-Believe from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.
Anitra’s on the Museum’s board, which is how we got the opportunity to sit with Daniel and read a book to him. The video of us reading Where the Wild Things Are will eventually end up under “Storytime with Daniel Tiger” in the GCM @ Home section of the Glazer Children’s Museum site. Here’s an example of one of these storytimes:
I’ll let you know when our video gets posted!
Categories
Florida Fan
The Tampa Bay Lightning are a Florida Team, and as such, they have Florida Fans. I knew I could count on them to uphold the Sunshine State’s reputation for its locals making questionable choices, and the fan with the “Show me that butthole” cap didn’t let me down.
Better still, not only did he impress me with his choice of cap, but also the decision to leave the sticker on the brim — that’s the biggest power move since leaving the tag on your suit jacket sleeve!
Every time I write a post like this, someone (actually, it’s usually half a dozen or so someones) ends up asking me where they can get one. REPCPS.com is your go-to for the “Show me that butthole” cap (which is sold out at the time of writing):
They also sell this wonderful slogan in koozie form.
Some fans were a little more subtle in their butt appreciation, such as the gentleman below, resplendent in his “Butt snorkeler” cap:
Again, before you ask: It’s available at ButtSnorkeler.com. That’s right, that’s an actual domain name and full-on e-commerce business:
Congrats to the Tampa Bay Lightning on their second Stanley Cup win in a row!
Between making it to the World Series, winning the Super Bowl and back-to-back Stanley Cup victories, our teams have earned the area the title of “Champa Bay”.
I’ll close this post with my favorite meme from the playoffs. Congrats to Andrei Vasilevskiy on winning the Conn Smythe Trophy!
Although the concept of the superhero is as old as the Epic of Gilgamesh, superheroes as we know them today are a product of American history. DC’s Superman and Wonder Woman fought in World War II, as did Marvel’s Captain America, Bucky, the original Human Torch, and Namor, a.k.a. the Sub-Mariner.
(Don’t worry if you’re not familiar with Namor just yet. Once upon a time, most people outside the world of comic book fandom would never have recognized the characters from Avengers: Endgame. I’m still blown away by the fact that Groot and Rocket Raccoon are pretty much household names these days.)
I think that superheroes represent the best of American ideals, and that one of the best representations of superheroes is this little essay that’s been around the internet for a number of years. I’m posting it here as my way of celebrating Independence Day. Enjoy!
A common leftist critique of superhero comics is that they are inherently anti-collectivist, being about small groups of individuals who hold all the power, and the wisdom to wield that power.
I don’t disagree with this reading. I don’t think it’s inaccurate. Superheroes are their own ruling class, the concept of the übermensch writ large.
But it’s a sterile reading. It examines superhero comics as a cold text, and ignores something that I believe in fundamental, especially to superhero storytelling: the way people engage with text. Not what it says, but how it is read.
The average comic reader doesn’t fantasize about being a civilian in a world of superheroes, they fantasize about being a superhero. One could charitably chalk this up to a lust for power, except for one fact…
The fantasy is almost always the act of helping people. Helping the vulnerable, with no reward promised in return.
Being a century into the genre, we’ve seen countless subversions and deconstructions of the story.
But at its core, the superhero myth is about using the gifts you’ve been given to enrich the people around you, never asking for payment, never advancing an ulterior motive.
We should (and do) spend time nitpicking these fantasies, examining their unintended consequences, their hypocrisies.
But it’s worth acknowledging that the most eduring childhood fantasy of the last hundred years hasn’t been to become rich. Superheroes come from every class (don’t let the MCU fool you).
The most enduring fantasy is to become powerful enough to take the weak under your own wing. To give, without needing to take.
So yes, the superhero myth, as a text, isn’t collectivist. But that’s not why we keep coming back to it.
That’s not why children read it.
We keep coming back to it to learn one simple lesson…
The best thing we can do with power IS GIVE IT AWAY.
Last Saturday, while running an errand for a family friend at the Oldsmar Flea Market, I noticed an accordion in one of the swap shops that seemed to be in unusually good shape. Its striking blue color caught my eye and it was surprisingly not dusty, in contrast to just about everything else in the shop, which could easy be summed up by this graphic:
Taking a closer look at the medallion, I got a sense of deja vu. I remember seeing the slogan “The jewel of the good music” before, but where?
I checked my phone and in a few seconds, the answer came up — I’d seen the same make and model of accordion while idly Googling a year or so ago., and it’s the junior version of this model. It was a Valanti, which was confirmed by the marking “G. E. & figli” (figli means sons in Italian).
I gave it some basic tests:
- The carrying case: An old suitcase-like affair made out of that cardboard-like material that mid-20th-century suitcases all seemed to be made of. I was surprised that it didn’t have a musty smell, which is the first sign that the accordion has been sitting in a damp place for a long time. Long-term storage in a moist environment will damage the wood and leather parts in the accordion’s innards, and can lead to mold.
- The body: No structural damage, chipped corners, cracks, or scratches beyond what you’d expect from regular use. There was no missing or broken hardware.
- Keys and buttons: I tried every one, using every register. They all worked, and none of them were sticky. The keys and buttons were all level, too.
- Bellows. This is usually the dealbreaker. An accordion’s bellows are essentially a big bag that you squeeze to force air through tiny holes that are plugged up until you press one of its keys or buttons. Many accordions that you find in pawn shops have very leaky bellows from age or poor maintenance. You test bellows by pulling on them gently without playing anything — if you encounter strong resistance and don’t hear the hissing sounds of escaping air, it means the bellows are good. This accordion passed the test.
- Registers: The accordion had two treble registers and two bass registers. I tried both, starting with the lowest-frequency ones and working my way up. They sounded decent!
My final test was to play a couple of quick tunes — Plush by Stone Temple Pilots and Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy — and decided it was time to check out the price tag. It was marked $200. I make more than that every year in free beer as a result of playing “Happy birthday” on accordion for random strangers in bars.
I looked around for the “Jerry”, and when I found him, said “If I give you cash, will you take $150?”
“Sure!” he said without any hesitation. I’m now the owner of a new, more portable accordion that fits more easily in most airlines’ overhead compartments or under many exit row seats.
I took it home, and with 20 minutes’ work with some Windex and a soft cloth, I had a very shiny, ready-for-public-performance new accordion!
The old leather straps, while serviceable, were on their last legs. Luckily, Amazon carries some very nice padded “pleather” straps (pictured above) that I find very comfortable, and they arrived the day after I ordered them. They probably had another pair sitting at the local fulfillment center from my last order!