The Chronicle, The Chronicle, Tradition!
The Mercury, The Mercury, Tradition!

For some reason, after about 12 events/shows in the last 14 days I find myself going, as Ed Grimley would say, “slightly mental… I must say!” Humming Fiddler songs is a great way to keep myself grounded. Still, I enjoy every second. Well, almost. The part when I was pouring Prestone coolant into Loni’s little put-put at midnight on the way home down 880 from Berkeley, not so much. Sipping espresso, relaxing here in San Jose… priceless.

Did he see a different show?

I don’t often (actually, never) comment on other reviews. But Robert Hurwitt of the San Francisco Chronicle has either: (1) over-fermented; (2) become so jaded he’s unable to laugh as easily;  or (3) has been to far more shows, and thus knows far more, than any other mere mortal, including the thousands on hand to see the opening of Fiddler on the Roof in San Francisco. I wager a combination of all of the above.

His ax was grinding, dancing, and singing in a scathing review (“…Fiddler that keeps falling off its roof” … okay). Then again, touring Broadway probably deserves a ball buster every now and then. Merchandising? Tradition! Still, I thought it was a fantastic show. Variety of opinion is the spice of theater life, and the more the better—at least in my humble 2.0 view. My Tweet, for what it’s worth, is with Karen on this one.

Gadget hype

It’s not even Super Bowl Sunday, and I find myself somewhat disappointed with the world of tech. It was over-promise, under deliver. First with the Google Nexus One, and then the underwhelming Apple iPad, a rare lemon of a launch from my favorite design company of all time. No doubt, both are fine innovations. The Google Nexus One is an excellent smartphone actually. It just was a bit anti-climactic after the stellar Motorola Droid launch.

And iPad? Well, we’ve seen this movie before, as the saying goes. It was called Newton. Ronald Regan was president. Genesis was hip. And Michael J. Fox was killer (and still is).

Wayne Gretzky

Like a lot of star-struck hockey-playing kids growing up in Canada, I wanted to be like The Great One. Wayne Gretzky. The 80’s mullet was easy (bonus: it matched Bono and Duran Duran). So was the hockey stick: I would get the exact same make model. Ditto the skates. But, the big mystery was the on-ice sonar. Did he really have eyes in the back of his head?

One of my favorite things he said in a post game interview on Hockey Night in Canada (and he did countless interviews… I saw every single one, captivated), was about anticipation. He said something to the effect about going where the puck would be. Not where it was. Anticipation. He’s said that on numerous occasions.

It’s interesting. All of us guys at Logitech Ice tend to flock, from time-to-time to the puck. We really should be envisioning where the puck will be… where will it bounce, ricochet? That is what only The Great One knows.

Clinton shoots videos for Stark Insider. San Francisco Bay Area arts, Ingmar Bergman and French New Wave, and chasing the perfect home espresso shot 25 seconds at a time (and failing). Peloton: ClintTheMint. Camera: Video Gear