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Right Angle: Backstage 06/27/23

It’s a Scott Ott Birthdaypalooza this week on Right Angle: Backstage!

It’s a Scott Ott Birthdaypalooza this week on Backstage, including the anniversary of the remarkable short story called ‘The Lottery,’ a complete history of the flashcube, a salute to the inventor who made the modern world possible, the joys of being ‘fame-ish,’ belief in Piggly Wiggly and Quickie Lickie… all this and so much less on this edition of Right Angle: Backstage.

42 replies on “Right Angle: Backstage 06/27/23”

  1. It’s been just over a half century since I read that Lottery, but my flawed memory is that the kid rode some carnival ride and, by design, got rocketed out of the gondola to his death. As he’s flying through the air, he’s repeating to himself how the odds were so much in his favor, and how could this have happened to him? Maybe my school just gave us an adulterated version of the story… or, more likely, I’m just remembering it incorrectly. 🙂
  2. In 1982, I went onmy first deployment and took 288 photos over 191 days. Out of that, I got 66 wonderful images of my fingers, and another 30 partial images of my fingers. LOL
  3. Some rich guy was once asked how much is enough? He said, “A little bit more.”

“Life is pain, highness. Anyone who says otherwise is selling something” – Dread Pirate Roberts.

We still have Piggly Wiggly grocery stores in Wisconsin. We tend to call them The Pig now.

I wouldn’t say they are that clean, but the Kwik Trips are getting popular in Wisconsin, and they do sell apparel, though I haven’t seen anyone wearing their stuff.

My birthday is really in January, if I tried to walk several miles on my birthday I might be doing it in 4 inches of snow and 20 degrees.

Yes, I am also watching this later on July 1. Happy birthday to Scott. I had my 72nd birthday 2 days after you did. I just got back into walking a couple of months ago and have been doing 4 miles every morning but I try to get mine done before the sun comes up as in North Georgia, we have some similar weather conditions to Dallas. I am trying to be inspired by Dean Karnazes who is a 60+ ultramarathoner. He is quoted “Run when you can, walk when you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up”. I think those are good words to encourage.

Re: Gatorade. I just happened to see a show on History on that last night. Coaches and nutritionists at U of Florida invented Gatorade and offered it to the university. The university turned it down so the went independent with it and it took off. Then the university decided they deserved a cut when it became very lucrative. It ended up in court and the university was able to get a percentage of the profit even though they threw them out in the beginning.

They did but it got lost in the cross chat a bit. It was Shirley Jackson.

Your discussion of “The Lottery” reminded me of one of my favorites. “The Long Walk”, a short story written by Stephen King in his youth. Originally published under his pseudonym, long before he went bat-guano crazy. Every year this town would hold an event where young people would volunteer to take a walk where they had to keep up a 4 mph pace. If you fell behind, you’d get three warnings to keep up. Fall behind again (within a time period) and they would shoot you. (You got your “ticket” punched.) The walk continues until there is only one person left — the winner. His prize is that he can have anything he wants.
It’s a story about the relationships that form and break up during the walk. Help your buddy who’s having trouble, and you’re possibly helping him with your life.
Anyway, it was a story that really kept me reading.

I remember that one well. The only thing I’d point out is I think it was a national event as the last two kids walked several hundred miles.
Was it Richard Bachman that he used? I think that’s right.
I remember reading several including Rage which was about a HS kid who kills several teachers and hold his class hostage.
The novel The Running Man was one and Thinner actually was really creepy.

It very well could have been national — It’s been a long time since I’ve read it.

One comment on the story where the innocent girl suffers for everyone else to be happy and healthy… It’s not a new story. Jesus died, taking the punishment we all deserve, so that we could live without that punishment hanging over our heads… so that we could learn to live as God would have us live… in freedom, prosperity, and joy! The only real difference is that in the story you mentioned, the girl (I am assuming) did not volunteer. Jesus did… and we who have found this joy, are very happy that He did.

I have never been to a Buc-ee’s. Only cause, on my drives through TX, every one of them had a line to get into the PARKING LOT. Much like, for the 25yrs I lived in LA, I never once went to an In ‘N Out and there wasn’t a line.

I made that mistake the first time I went to NYC. Having grown up in Houston and living in LA, those canyons of skyscrapers was a new a different expericence. Some NY lady saw this newbie staring up and asked to help, pointed me in the right direction. Complete antithesis to the cliched NY’r.

Haven’t been to a Whataburger, but years ago I was on the east coast and saw my first Fudruckers….that was a cool burger joint with half a beef hanging in the window near the front door.

Robert Stack removing multiple sunglasses walking through the airport in Airplane……no words, no set up, just funny. That…and the slow pan from right to left of everyone lining up to slap the hysterical woman on the plane. …and the pre teen girl telling the pre teen boy that she liked her coffee black….like her men. All deadpanned, every scene.

Comedian Ron White did an interview on that Ayahuasca Experience. Very interesting interview. It’s not for everyone….the experience, not the interview!

One of John Goodenough’s first ‘give away’ patents (he was part of a team) was for RAM memory. One of his last give aways, again as part of a team was for a good solid state battery at UT Austin. The man literally changed all of our lives.

Your envelope of pictures was in a big bin of envelopes in alphabetical order with everyone else’s envelopes, and no one stole anyone else’s stuff.

Bill, since you’re dropping names, it would be best to note that Michael J. Fox — not Michael Keaton — starred in The Secret of My Success..

Scott, I’m glad you stopped walking but you would have been one of those cemetery oddities of people who came and went on the same day. I notice things like that.

12 year old inner me really likes this comment.
Sorry, not sorry!

My brother had a movie camera with two big lights attached, wherever those films are there are reels of people squinting, shielding their eyes and yelling at him to stop.

My son is 40 and he, like us, has Airplane memorized but I had to explain to him the significance of Barbara Billingsly as being the epitome of the straight laced suburban housewife and mother which adds to the humor.

When I started taking photos at 12, my dad got me Pentax K1000. adjusting f-stop etc. That was a huge deal. That is one hobby I wish I had kept up with.

Wow – I was surprised when Bill and Steve at first said that they hadn’t read “the Lottery”. I read it in Jr HS as well and gut punch is a great description.
Just from memory I think it ends with a woman handing a small stone to the “winner’s” daughter and saying something to the effect of – Here you go honey, here’s a nice stone to throw at your mother.

You could also do Christmas shopping in Buc-ee’s. Amazing gift section! We have a gorgeous lazy susan on our dining room table that our son got for us at that lovely store.

When our son went to grad school in South Carolina, he saw Piggly Wiggly for the first time. But he refused to shop there because he did not ever want anyone to see that name on his checks.

I’ll say it again:
Happy Birthday to a true asset to the team and a man with interesting perspectives as a key commentator!!! All the best to you GOOD SIR!!!

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