Mike O'Connell

Like Santa Claus showing up in summer, musical idols of my youth, Weezer, dropped a surprise (to me, anyway) single on Friday, this after two full-length albums so far this year. (Yeah, that’s like Santa in January, May, and June.) OK Human, Van Weezer, and now “Tell Me What You Want” have all made me smile, and yes, made me feel 11 years old again.

Is it 1993? Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo says the band is “back to big guitars,” and that their new work is “Blue Album-ish, but a little more riffy.” Yes, riffy is what I want. Their music is popping up everywhere again… movies, TV shows, and soon the band will be back on the road (God willing) for its long-delayed Hella Mega Tour with fellow ’90s/’00s mega-bands Green Day and Fall Out Boy.

Somebody pinch me.

And new music?

“Got four folders going in Dropbox,” says Cuomo.

Heaven can wait.

You heard it here first: The island is the place to be.

With the Brooklyn Nets rolling, the Islanders poised to win their series, and the Mets (the Mets!) leading the NL East, more than ever “the island” is the place to be. They’ve always been the “other” New York sports teams… now they’re the vanguard of Big Apple sports.

Can a Jets Super Bowl be far behind?

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.