Commentary

The Truth about Marriage, Family and Work/Life Balance

The Truth about Marriage, Family and Work/Life Balance

I remember my future father-in-law looking at us and saying, "You two are getting married? You have no idea what you are getting into." Considering he did not talk to us for several months after my (now) wife and I moved in together before we were married, I figured that at least he was talking to us. Those words were spoken to us more than 14 years ago. A lot has changed since then--some good, some sad.

I now have two children, I've more white/gray hair than I'd like to admit and I can never tell my father-in-law that he was right since he unexpectedly passed away a decade ago. I look around me and hear millennials talk about their QLC and feel old. I am now at the age that I can look back and remember how I was at 25 and realize that I had no clue. But the truth of the matter is, though I'm over 40, I still do not have a clue. Life is hard. A lot harder than I had expected it would ever be.

Happy 50th Doctor Who

by Ron Vitale

Whoevent_badge_1985 I mentioned this in yesterday's blog, but I'll talk about it again: I had listened to the Podshock Doctor Who podcast and I started thinking about all the Doctor Who memorabilia I've collected over the years.  I decided to go through my books, pictures, and autographs, posting some of the materials here.  What really started me down this path is a picture of Peter Davison (the Fifth Doctor) that I saw. I couldn't believe that the picture was from a Creation convention in Philadelphia back around 1985.  What made the picture more interesting is that I was at that convention (I don't know if the picture was taken Saturday or Sunday, but still I have reason to believe that I was in the audience when the picture was taken).  I went through my pictures (that had been stuffed in a bag from just moving) and dug my picture out.  As I started going through the pictures, I found my picture of Peter Davison and laughed: I recalled how the convention staff had misspelled Peter's name and how the audience sang "Happy Birthday" to him (he had just turned 34 years old).  Ah, what great memories!

So listening to the Doctor Who podcasts and watching the new  show just got me thinking about all my memories from 20 years old when I was  really into watching the program. I must  admit that I've never lost my interest in Doctor Who--it's just that American TV  stations stopped showing it.  And the  release of episodes on DVD has been extremely show. The good thing is that I just added a bunch  of shows to my Netflix queue. My wife  will hate me (she's not a big fan of Doctor Who because of how bad the specials  are and of the cheesy acting), but I really liked those shows.

I put together a quick Doctor Who memory page, scanning in  some of the pictures I have from conventions, autographs from some of the  actresses, and some other goodies. Be  sure to check this page out. Seeing those old pictures really got me to smiling  and on remembering when I was 15 years old, watching hours of Doctor Who on a  Saturday afternoon on PBS. I'd love to  see some of those old episodes (Invasion of Time,  Castrovalva  and a whole list of the older shows).

I'd rent them on Netflix in a heartbeat. Heck, I'd even purchase them on iTunes for  $1.99 so I could watch them again. It's  been nearly 15-20 years since I last saw these shows. And that gets me to my current point of  today: There isn't (that I'm aware of) a legal way for me to watch the new  Doctor Who episodes (BBC America doesn't view them). I know that they're  coming out on DVD in February but they aired last year. And industries wonder why people turn to Bit  Torrent--it must tell you something about what customers want.

But I have faith that the technology of today will catch up  with the TV stations. Being able to buy  episodes of Battlestar Galactica on iTunes (or Lost, Desperate Housewives,  etc.) is extremely nice. Maybe you  missed one episode and want to catch up on it.  Heck, I had heard how funny the Christmas episode was of the American  version of "The Office" was and I purchased that on iTunes a few days ago. (I still love the British version much  better, but the Christmas episode for here in America  was damn funny.)

With Doctor Who podcasts, websites, and much more out there, I’m encouraged that Doctor Who will be around for a long time to come. Happy birthday, Doctor. It's been one heck of a ride!

Alex Lemonade Stand Foundation's Team Lemon and the 2013 Philadelphia Marathon

by Ron Vitale

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On November 17 I'm running the 2013 Philadelphia marathon and have decided to help raise money for Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation whose mission is to fund research to promote new treatments for childhood cancers.

What has always inspired me with ALSF is that one little girl who was dying of cancer put so much effort into helping others. If Alex could work so hard before she died to help others, why couldn't I help as well?

This will be my second time running the Philadelphia marathon. For this year, I wanted to continue to support ALSF by raising $1,000 to support pediatric cancer research. I ask that you please make a donation to the ALSF. And if you are unable to make a donation, then please tweet, put on Facebook or email my official ALSF donation page to your friends and family. Thank you for your support!

 

Why I'm a Romantic

I'll let you in on a little secret: I'm a romantic. I decided a long, long time ago to embrace life and to live it to the fullest. But on seeing Richard Linklater's most recent film, Before Midnight, I have come face to face with the delusional yearnings of my youth and the hard, cold reality of the present. Bills, arguments, lack of sleep, screaming kids, work upon work, and a whole list of stresses, make me ask: Am I still a romantic and would I recommend others to be the same?

The Secret to Finding True Love

Sleeping beauty, Snow White and Cinderella are all characters who are saved by men and then find true happiness. That makes me sick. As a father of two children, I do not wish for my kids to grow up thinking that someone else can save you and that if you only find the right person you'll then find happiness.

The good news is that I not only have some personal experience to share with them as they get older, but I'm hoping that my Cinderella's Secret Diaries series will be examples for not only them but others as well. The secret to finding happiness is pretty straightforward: You need to love yourself.