Why I Oughta...

Here's #26 in the [ Coaster Collection ].  It is a Newcastle Brown Ale coaster that I picked up almost twenty years ago.  Yeah.  Seriously.  It was in a pile of stuff that I just went through that was from my post-graduation Europe trip.  For some reason, I brought this coaster home.  I'm using it on my desk at home right now, but as with most of these disposable coasters, they don't last long.   Hence, the chronicling of them here on the blog. 

A few weekends back, we found ourselves up in the Madison Wisconsin area and decided to take a trip to campus.  And, after drinking a Spotted Cow up on the Memorial Union Terrace, I had to ask myself:  Who know that Madison was so great? I think it was the limited view of the collegiate world that Lincoln-Way gave me:  after all....if you were able to think about moving on from LWHS and think about a big, land-grant, state university, why wouldn't you go to the University of Illinois?  And if not there, it seemed like the other choice was Iowa.  Or...maybe Indiana?    But Wisconsin at Madison?  Nope.  Not on my radar.  Don't actually know anyone who went there from my high school days. Subsequently, have come across some folks who graduated there.  There's a bunch of guys in our neighborhood in Elmhurst who are Badgers.  And, now?  I kinda get it.  Beautiful place.  So alive, too.  Between the campus and the Capitol, and the lakes.  My god...the lakes.  There's a

Yesterday, I posted a few vintage Purdue and Notre Dame football covers from the 1960's , and today comes another photo from the very same estate sale.  This stuff is just pretty amazing to me.  It is all associated with the 1967 Rose Bowl game that Purdue played against USC.  There's two different kind of bumper stickers.  The "Pasadena-a-do-do" ones are pretty rad if you ask me.  Then there's the various/different Rose Bowl pins.  And...that thing on the right says "Purdue University Rose Bowl 1966-7". It is from Conlin-Dodds Travel Service in the Memorial Union Building in West Lafayette, Indiana.  Says it is the 'Official Student Tour'. I didn't get my hands on it (it was kind of in this display case), so no idea what was in there, but guessing it was a full set of docs that included things like bus tickets, game tickets, hotel arrangements, etc. I didn't buy this stuff, but I'm sure hoping *someone* did.  This deserves a

Nat's alma mater got a plug recently from the King of All Media.  I paused the live stream, whipped out my phone and captured the audio.  I gleefully sent it to Natalie.  She wasn't that impressed.  Hrumph. As heard on his morning show:  " If you said Wash U in St. Louis, then I'd be impressed ."

My buddy Neil found himself down in Champaign recently and he stopped by our old Fraternity House.  In the Library, he found this photo that we had taken back in the Spring of 1998.  We were sophomores and I *think* this was taken on the day of a party called "Miami Triad".  There were a few of these photos that were hung in the library that were vintage - from the 1950's and 1960's, so we had the idea to get one done in sepia tone to make it look vintage.  We even stuck the retro Sigma Chi Cross in there like they did in the old photos. That's me crouching just to the right of the big cross.  I *think* I have a cigar in my mouth.  Neat to see some of these guys that I haven't seen in years.  We had more fun that we should have in that house.  Nat and I are heading down to Champaign soon ourselves.  If there's time, I'm sure we'll stop by the house and poke around a bit.