Like any good American, I have too much clutter. My mother often said, “A place for everything and everything in its place,” but I have not mastered that skill.
My office has piles of stuff that need to be weeded methodically. Not long ago, I had a stack of paid medical bills for which I could get reimbursed if only I did the tedious task of filling out the paperwork. Now, it’s a haze of chaos that needs to be reordered.
The second-floor landing at our house has become a repository for everything that eventually needs to go somewhere else, to the office (but where?), our bedroom (ditto), or the attic. Meanwhile, the cats jump onto the pile and knock over loose items that end up on the floor.
Our sofa is a sectional, so naturally, more items that one could think would be humanly possible reside there.
When I’m on the laptop, I have so many tabs open that I don’t always remember what I’m working on when I’m interrupted by a phone call or something more pressing.
e-pollution
But the greatest clutter might be my email. A lot of it is things I purportedly will take some action on, though they become so numerous that I occasionally fail to do so promptly.
In the middle of the month, I spent over an hour deleting items I didn’t want anymore. Some are receipts I wanted until I received the item. I might use some news feed articles for the blog, but I decided against them. Vendors who I used one time keep trying to sell me stuff.
But by far, the bulk are solicitations from political campaigns seeking my contributions. I did not ask for the vast majority of them; my information was passed on from someone else’s political action committee. Even though I unsubscribe regularly, the spambots are more efficient than I am.
You’d think that being retired would make this easier to deal with. You would be wrong.
Let it be known that the last movie my wife and I saw at the Spectrum 8 Theatre under its agreement with Landmark Theaters was Bob Marley: One Love on Thursday, February 22, at 4 pm. The theater was crowded, including a woman with five children in our row.
I had heard a lot about the making of the film. Kingsley Ben-Adir was on CBS Mornings; the show and the movie are under the Paramount Global umbrella. The six-foot British actor explained his surprise to be cast to play the musician who was six inches shorter. He had to learn how to play guitar, but most importantly, approximate the patois of the Jamaican legend.
Unfortunately, the movie was a largely by-the-numbers biopic. The review at RogerEbert.com is a fair representation. For instance, the script is described as “a horrendous, unshaped stream of events rendered with the subtlety of bullet points.”
Less of an issue was that I couldn’t understand the dialogue occasionally. It could have used subtitles in places.
Family ties
One hoped for more. Bob’s son Ziggy promised us at the beginning of the film an “authentic depiction.” Bob’s widow, Rita, is an executive producer. Another of Bob’s sons, Stephen, was involved musically.
And yet…
The music resonated more than any recent film I’ve attended. Many of the tunes I knew. I particularly loved hearing War and the early hit Simmer Down. Also, if you were unfamiliar with Bob Marley, this would be a basic primer.
This may explain why the Rotten Tomatoes score was 43% positive with the critics but 92% positive with fans. As critic Neal Pollack noted: “This movie isn’t great, but it’s just enough. When you have a built-in audience willing to forgive a multitude of cinematic sins, every little thing about it is gonna be all right.”
For the record
My wife gave me a $100 Landmark gift card for Valentine’s Day. But she bought me TWO, one of which she was going to give me for my birthday in March.
There are a relatively small number of Landmark Theatres; AZ-1, CA-9, CO-4, DC-2, FL-1, GA-1, IL-2, IN-2, MD-2, MA-1, MN-1, MO-1, NJ -1, PA-1, TX-1, WA-1.. Spectrum 8 was the ONLY one in all of New York State. We will unlikely see a film in Cambridge, MA, or Philadelphia.
The films playing at the Spectrum 8 on its last day of being a Landmark Theatre were:
2024 Oscar Nominated Short Films – Animation, one showing. I saw it at the theater.
2024 Oscar Nominated Short Films – Live-action, one showing. I probably would have seen it, given more time.
Bob Marley: One Love, Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green. Two showings. I saw it at the theater.
Madame Web, Directed by S.J. Clarkson. Two showings. As this article suggests, audiences, including me, suffer from superhero fatigue.
Lisa Frankenstein, Directed by Zelda Williams. Two showings. I saw the trailer; I’m not interested.
Argylle, Directed by Matthew Vaughn. Two showings. I saw the trailer; I’m not interested.
The Teachers’ Lounge, Directed by İlker Çatak. One showing. I saw it at the theater.
American Fiction, Directed by Cord Jefferson. Two showings. I saw it at the theater.
The Zone Of Interest, Directed by Jonathan Glazer. Two showings. I saw it at the theater.
Origin, Directed by Ava DuVernay. One showing. I probably would have seen it, given more time.
A background of colored pencils, paints. Workplace designer, artist, concept art
The current Sunday Stealing is about being crafty. If it meant being clever and mysterious, then MAYBE I could pull it off. But I think they’re talking about origami and macrame.
1. What (if anything) are you doing to celebrate St Patrick’s Day?
I always play music by the Chieftains, Clannad, and the Corrs. Unfortunately, I’ve made no progress in identifying my mother’s father’s mother’s parents, so I brood over that. I know that Margaret Collins was born in 1866 and died in August 1931 in upstate New York. But her parents’ names are not listed on the death certificate. I suspect they are from County Cork, Ireland, but Collins is too common a surname.
2. What is your least favorite color (to wear, to craft with, or to decorate with)?
Yellow. Specifically, when people make signs with yellow on white or vice versa, the lettering is very difficult to read.
3. At a yellow light – do you speed up or slow down??
Stop because I’d be on a bicycle, and I’m likely to get myself killed otherwise.
4. How many pairs of scissors are in your craft room?
I can never find scissors. They’re never where I want them.
Gift ideas!
5. What are the first three items you have ‘saved for later’ on Amazon?
6. Did you plant any springs bulbs in your garden and if so, have any of them come up yet?
The last time I helped plant anything was tulips over 15 years ago. Not my thing.
7. What book, if any, are you reading right now?
60 Songs That Explain the ’90s by Rob Harvilla. Actually, I organized my office, and I can’t presently locate it.
8. Do you prefer ball point pens, gel pens, or thin tip markers to write with?
Ballpoint. Preferably blue or black.
It is to laugh
9. What is your favorite crafting item – the craft item thing you use the most or can’t live without? (Exclude basic items like scissors and glue).
I don’t craft. I suck at crafts. In the 1990s, I was in a book group with about a dozen women at my church. One month, the book was about origami, and the person reporting on the book decided we should all partake in that activity. Did I mention that I suck at crafts. Very few things irritate me more than when people say, about something I am apparently constitutionally incapable of doing, “Oh, it’s EASY!”
10. What are the first three items on your grocery list, and what is your favorite grocery store?
Bananas, blueberries, low-fat cottage cheese. The Price Chopper/Market 32 is in walking distance so I go there. My wife tends to drive to the Hannaford on Central Avenue. Incidentally, in the past three months I’ve seen armed security guards at both venues, which does NOT make me feel more safe.
11. What unfinished craft projects are you working on (or not) at the moment?
[Doubles over laughing.]
IG
12. What was the last item you pinned on Pinterest? Or hearted on Instagram?
I have accounts for both of them but don’t use them. Recently, my daughter tried selling me on IG because it’s “fun.” It may be, but it’s not me.
13. What is the biggest tourist attraction where you live?
Here’s a list. I’ve been to the first 12, 15, 17, and 19. I practically live on Route 20. I do not consider Crossgates Mall a tourist attraction.
14. What color is your favorite sweater?
Green, like me.
15. How does your family react when you get a big pile of mail??
It must be time for me to pick new Medicare providers or keep the old ones, which happens between October 15 and December 7. This is why God invented the shredding bag.
Here are the #1 hits of 1924 for all you centenarians out there.
From A Century of Pop Music by Joel Whitburn: “The record industry was on a roller coaster throughout the decade. Sales were booming in 1920-21 with postwar enthusiasm, but by 1924 had plunged alarmingly. Consumers were buying radios – offering far better sound quality than any acoustic phonograph – instead of phonographs and records… The roaring national good times at mid-decade reversed the downturn…”
It Ain’t Gonna Rain No Mo’ – Wendell Hall (Victor), six weeks at #1, gold record. “Comedian with ukulele.”
California, Here I Come – Al Jolson (Brunswick), the gold record was six weeks at #1. I know that song! At least one video features Jolson in blackface, which I declined to use.
Memory Lane -Fred Waring featuring Tom Waring (Victor), five weeks at #1. Fred Waring arranged a lot of the music I sang as part of the Glee club in high school.
Somebody Stole My Gal – Ted Weems (Victor), five weeks at #1, gold record. Instrumental, including banjo. Leo Wood wrote it.
It Had To Be You – Isham Jones (Brunswick), five weeks at #1. Instrumental. It’s a well-known tune written by Jones. The lyrics, which do not appear in this version, were by Gus Kahn.
Born Israel Beilin
What I’ll Do – Paul Whiteman (Victor), five weeks at #1. The instrumental is a familiar waltz written by Irving Berlin.
Spain – Isham Jones (Brunswick), two weeks at #1. Instrumental.
Charleston – Arthur Gibbs (Victor), one week at #1. Instrumental. From the musical Running Wild. Do you have your dancing shoes on?
Incidentally, Columbia, which had only five of the top 40 singles that year, “went into receivership before reorganization in 1924” because it was “burdened by a large inventory of unsold phonographs.” However, it “re-established itself as second only to mighty Victor among the major labels.”
I have been watching Ron Howard since I was seven when he played Opie Taylor (1960-1968) on The Andy Griffith Show. Sheriff Andy Taylor seemed like a pretty cool dad. Andy’s show was a spinoff of The Danny Thomas Show, and Opie appeared in that backdoor pilot.
Maybe I saw him earlier than that. Ron had a small part in the Walking Distance episode of The Twilight Zone (1959) inspired by Recreation Park in Binghamton, NY.
He appeared as a guest star in various programs I watched, including Dr. Kildare, I Spy, and The Fugitive. You likely do not remember The Smith Family (1971-1972) series, even though it starred Henry Fonda. Ron Howard was in 39 episodes of that, and I watched.
In 1973, Ron starred in the movie American Graffiti, directed by George Lucas, the springboard for several actors. I still recall his appearance in MASH the same year, which was a strong performance.
Of course, he starred in Happy Days (1974-1984). I watched it until shortly after Fonzie jumped the shark.
One performance I missed until I saw it on television in the 21st century was in his role of Winthrop Paroo, the younger brother of Marion (Shirley Jones), in the 1962 movie The Music Man. Here’s the Wells Fargo Wagon.
Director
In the late 1970s, he started stepping away from in front of the camera. These are movies he’s directed that I’ve seen, all in the cinema: Night Shift (1982), Splash (1983), Cocoon (1985), and Apollo 13 (1995). I’ve greatly admired Apollo 13, for which one feels real tension, even though one knows how the real story ended.
Ron also directed and produced these films I saw: Parenthood (1989), Cinderella Man (2005), Frost/Nixon (2008), and A Beautiful Mind (2001), for which he won two Academy Awards.
He was the executive producer of TV shows such as Sports Night (1998-2000), Parenthood (1990-1991, 2010-2015), and Arrested Development (2003-2019), serving as the announcer for the latter.
Ron has been married to Cheryl Allen since 1975. They have four children, including actor Bryce Dallas Howard. Ron has a brother, Clint Howard, who I’ve also seen perform since his debut on The Andy Griffith Show at age 2.
Beverly Gray wrote a 2003 bio, Ron Howard: From Mayberry to the Moon…and Beyond, which I have not read, but it’s a great title. It feels as though Ronny Howard, or Ron Howard, has been in my life forever on television and movie screens.
Like any good American, I have too much clutter. My mother often said, “A place for everything and everything in its place,” but I have not mastered that skill. 
Let it be known that the last 
Here are the #1 hits of 1924 for all you centenarians out there.
I have been