Mike O'Connell

I’ve been a fan of Seth Rogen’s work for many years. Weird that I would look up to someone who’s my own age (well, he’s two months older than I am), but let’s face it, Seth was basically child actor when he was on Freaks and Geeks (he was 16 when filming began), and had already been doing standup comedy for several years. Yeah, he was like, a real professional standup comedian when he was 12. Sort of. “Professional.”

I learned these things (and others) reading Seth’s new book, Yearbook. I say new book, but really it’s his only one. “Only” one. He’s been writing about 10 movies and TV shows a year since 1999 so I hesitate to say only. He’s one of the more prolific writers of our time.

Yearbook is part memoir, part behind-the-scenes tour, and part just plain funny. A philosophical word in there from time to time as well, which I appreciate in Rogen’s movies too. He shares some backstories about a few of said movies’ plotlines, as in, here’s this thing that happened to me in real life and here’s how I worked it into a movie script. Love reading stuff like that. Though there’s always a little damn I wish I’d though of that first.

Short version: read this book. You’ll laugh.

Now make another movie, Seth! It’s been like 10 minutes since I’ve seen your last one and I need my fix!

In 1948 Bernhardt Stahmer unveiled a crinkle-cut potato chip design that would later become synonymous with the name he trademarked: Ruffles.

Ridges in the chip = more chip. Genius.

Fast-forward 73 years and 173 flavors later. (Ruffles has gone the way of every snack item this century, offering its wares in dozens of bizarre flavors of which young Mike O’Connell could only dream.)

Double crunch.

Seriously. Make the ridges taller. Like 100% taller.

Boom. Better potato chip.

My son and I visit one of our local groceries every Friday afternoon and survey strange and unusual food items, picking up one or two to sample, of course. Last week? Double crunch Ruffles, honey mustard style.

Whoa.

This is intense. This is what you want at your Memorial Day barbecue.

Heck, this is what you want for breakfast.

And another reason to keep on livin’!

Nats… last place. Capitals… out. Football team? Lost arguably its best player and now looks to a QB on his ninth team. That’s when we stop talking about how much everyone hates the owner and his hostile work environment.

Carrying the D.C. sports banner? The Washington Wizards, who have a sort-of make-or-break game tonight against top-seeded Philadelphia. (I’m sorry but I just don’t see them coming back from down 0-2.)

I was going to look up when the last time the Wizards were still playing after the Caps had bowed out of the playoffs. Unfortunately not too rare. The Wiz haven’t won a playoff series since 2017, but the Caps haven’t either since they won it all in ’18!

It’s okay, guys. Football Team hasn’t won a playoff game since January ’06.

And I swear the whole game Tuesday night I was thinking… this is it, this is the season.

(It was only at the end did I realize that this was basically a double-elimination tournament for my hometown team.)

With their blowout win last night against Indiana, the Washington Wizards have entered the real playoffs for the first time since 2018. They’ve got their work cut out for them, running up against top seed Philadelphia, but I suppose stranger things have happened.

May those stranger things commence Sunday at one!

May 16, 2001, was a momentous day in the life of Mike O’Connell Jr. This was that day I moved into my new apartment, my first apartment as a matter of fact, and, as went the procedure at the time, the day I received a new phone number. (Remember landlines? You move to a new place and take the telephone number that was there before? Whoa.)

The phone number I received that I received that day?

(Pause for effect…)

I still have it.

Whoa.

Saying you’ve had the same phone number for the past 20 years? That’s good. Not many people can do that. I’ve moved several times during that period but always kept the same number. In December 2003 I moved that landline number to my new address, then in 2004 I ditched it and made it my cellphone number. Even after moving to another state I kept the same number because really, what difference does it make? So my number comes up on your phone as “upstate New York.” I can live with that. Way easier than the pain of changing your number.

And we’d all better keep our numbers now, right? Because who actually knows anyone’s phone number any more?