A look back to 2016 when Wal Ozello crafted this great playlist for the broken hearted!
Read MoreWhat I Learned at Chris Collaros' Funeral - by Scott Goldberg
I know for many, attending a funeral is difficult—knowing what to say to family or being around grief can be uncomfortable. For me, there is a closure that occurs at funerals that I find helpful. What I have invariably learned at funerals is the things we often view as frivolous are actually the things that resonate with people. They are things that connect us to each other and specifically to the person we have lost and come together to honor.
This past week I attended the funeral of Chris Collaros. Chris was the principal at Wickliffe, the elementary school my kids attended. My youngest is now a freshman in high school, so it’s been awhile since we have been active members of the Wickliffe community.
Nevertheless, the evening before the funeral my daughter (now a junior in high school) and I paid our respects at the funeral home. We weren’t alone. We arrived around 6 pm and wound our way through a line that took about an hour and a half to reach the family. Apparently, it had been this way the entire calling hours which began at 3 pm. Throughout the funeral home were mementos of Chris’ life. Most poignant were the notes, cards and pictures from Wickliffe students some with encouraging messages, and others just reporting on the current happenings at school and letting him know he was missed. One wall was decorated with some of the colorful ties Chris wore including his beloved Pittsburgh Steelers—as a Browns fan it reminded me even Chris Collaros had his flaws. We saw alumni families like ours, younger families with kids still attending Wickliffe, and we hugged past teachers that nurtured my kids and taught them about things like compassion and empathy that come in so handy at moments like these.
When we reached the family, I recounted to one of Chris’ daughters how our family was nervous when Chris became principal at Wickliffe. We had gotten to know the previous principal, Dr. Fred Burton and loved the community he had created at Wickliffe. But it didn’t take long for us to realize what Dr. Burton already knew--that Wickliffe was in good hands.
The next day at the funeral, I learned a lot I didn’t know about my kids’ principal. Back in the day, Chris Collaros was a football star in blue collar Steubenville. Mellancamp’s Jack and Diane running through my head—for Chris was Jackie—he was “a football star”. Good enough (and smart enough) to earn a scholarship to Princeton.
I learned Chris took the work he did quite serious, but I never felt like Chris took himself too seriously. Promoting progressive education in Upper Arlington is probably not as easy as Chris made it look. It wasn’t always clear to me what progressive education meant. But I knew it involved experiential learning, celebrating all kids, and respecting and tolerating all their differences. The result of which created a special community that our family is proud and grateful to be a part of.
I did know Chris played the guitar. Chris played in a band along with Fred Burton and a few other school administrators and they called themselves Principally Speaking. The band was a staple at the annual Wickliffe fundraising event. Chris brought his guitar to Wickliffe Town Meetings, Golden Star Choir performances, and occasionally on his visits to classrooms. The funeral was filled with music. Beautiful, uplifting music performed in part by the Upper Arlington High School choir.
The funeral was poignant and sad (I’ll admit I cried) for we had lost a great man who provided a wonderful learning environment for our kids, but I also left grateful to have known him. And even more grateful for the impact he has had on my children, my family, all the kids that graced the halls of Wickliffe, all the kids that then are affected by the spirit of Wickliffe when those kids move on to middle school and high school, well the impact is immeasurable.
Often what is written in pencilstorm can seem frivolous or beside the point. Somebody’s top five concerts, the Buckeyes prospects this season, or which Cleveland team is about to break my heart. But music and sports have a way of connecting and uniting people. It’s often how we explain our connections to our close friends and loved ones. That’s the exact opposite of frivolous—it’s vital and makes life worth living.
I wish Chris was still around to greet kids as they enter Wickliffe with that gapped-tooth infectious smile of his. Frankly, I wish he was around for next football season so he could witness the pounding the Browns are about to inflict on the Steelers and get a small taste of what it’s like to be a Browns fan for say the last 40 or so years. Thinking about Chris the song Forever Young keeps running through my head—not the Rod Stewart song, but the one by Alphaville (I had to look that up). I guess a job that requires you to be around kids all day can do that for you. He was a lucky man.
So next time someone who has touched your life passes, take the time to attend their funeral. You will be reminded of why they meant so much to you and you may learn something new about them. It will likely give you a chance to reflect on them, perhaps laugh about some anecdote, and cry a little too. I did all that at Chris’ funeral. And as the wise coach Jimmy Valvano said if you do all those things you’ve had a full day, you’ve had a heck of a day. - Scott Goldberg
A Recap of TV Party Tonight! Season One: January - March 2017, Episodes 1-10
Congratulations! If you are looking to kill about 300 hours of time watching music videos, you have come to the right place. Each TV Party Tonight! episode is designed to be a launching point for your own never-ending rabbit hole. We set 'em up and you knock 'em down. Below is a summary of Season One, which is sure to keep you up past your bedtime and leave you bleary-eyed the next day. They also make for fine conversation starters with people you disagree with on Facebook. Enjoy!!! - Colin G.
TV Party Tonight Part One: A George Martin Rehearsal with Queen by Colin Gawel
Part Two : Friday's by Scott Carr. (featuring The Clash, Devo, Stray Cats, KISS and more)
Part Three: My Inauguration Rabbit Hole. Colin goes on a post-election bender and takes you along for the ride. (Featuring RATM, Dylan, Prince, 3 Doors Down, Buddy Miller, The Hives and many more. Seriously, he was on a bender.
Part Four: The Dictators and The Neighborhoods by Ricki C.
Part Five : Mark Linkous of The Dancing Hoods and Sparkle Horse by JCE
Part Six: Random Stuff from Great Rock Docs by Colin Gawel
Part Seven: Powerful Political Music for President's Day (featuring Staple Singers, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and more) by Anne Marie
Part Eight: Generation Axe (featuring Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson and more) by Wal Ozello
Part Nine: Gulity Pleasures (featuring Gwen Stefani, Britney Spears, Aerosmith, Van Halen, The Bangles and more) by Jeremy Porter
Part Ten: Bands I've gotten mail from. (featuring The Dictators, The Pop, The Atlantics and more) by Ricki C.
Pencilstorm U.A. Council Summary: All The Interviews and Question Rationale
As promised, here is a compilation of all the Pencilstorm interviews with Upper Arlington City Council candidates, as well as an interview with Superintendent Paul Imhoff about Issue 43. As a reminder, we published responses unedited.
In addition, it's come to our attention that Pencilstorm was recently quoted in attack ads circulating in Upper Arlington. Pencilstorm had no involvement with these ads, nor were we aware of them before distribution. We disapprove of these negative attack ads.
Pencilstorm is an independent new source. We do not endorse any individual city council candidate and we wish all of them good luck on November 7.
ISSUE 43
Interview with Superintendent Paul Imhoff about Issue 43.
UA CITY COUNCIL INTERVIEWS - WHY PENCILSTORM ASKED THESE QUESTIONS
Our intent was to ask questions more specific to Upper Arlington. We had some discussions with other voters and reviewed various posts on Facebook. We also wanted to keep it short and simple. Here’s why we settled on the questions we did.
If the election were today, would you vote for or against the school levy and why?
While the city council has no jurisdiction over the schools or school board, this levy could have an impact on city finances. If the levy doesn’t pass and the school system makes job cuts, this will mean less income tax collected by the city since the Schools are the number one employer in Upper Arlington. If the levy does pass, residents will incur a large tax increase which may impact the Council’s ability to generate new taxes in the future, not to mention the infrastructure, traffic and construction that the city will need to deal with. Both the Schools and City pull from the same tax base. In the 2017 Community Survey conducted by the city, 21% of the respondents cited “School Infrastructure and Facilities are Aging” as the most important problem facing Upper Arlington and 14% responded with “High Taxes.” This question was asked to see how the candidate view the importance of the school system to the City of Upper Arlington both fiscally and as an attractor to new citizens.
What qualifies you to be on Upper Arlington City Council?
Just like a job interview, we wanted to know what life and professional experiences the candidate has so they can make the tough decisions they’ll face in the upcoming years.
If you had a magic wand and an unlimited budget, what infrastructure project you would implement?
There’s a finite city budget and we can’t pay for everything everyone wants. We can have endless debate about what’s the best way to spend our money. Instead, this question was intended to understand what infrastructure project the candidate is most passionate about.
Looking around Central Ohio, give an example of a community you think is doing it right and one that’s doing it wrong. What could Upper Arlington could learn from both?
You grow and improve by learning from others. This question was designed to see if the candidate was looking at other communities in Central Ohio to understand if there were things we could implement here or pitfalls to avoid.
At Pencilstorm, we all have a love of music. In that vein, what's your favorite album and why?
Music is a great way to make an emotional and human connection. This question was designed to get to know the candidate beyond the issues and if any of them had a passion for a particular album, artist, genre of music, etc.
Below are links of each of the Upper Arlington City Council Candidates to their individual blog:
Pencilstorm also encourages you to watch the Livestream of Leadership UA's October 19 event with all eight city council candidates and school board candidates, as well as Google the candidate names and visit their websites.
Thanks to the community for their interest in our blog. Local UA Politics coverage provided by Wal Ozello. You can email him at Pencilstormstory@gmail.com or try to catch him at Colin's Coffee.
Pencilstorm Interview: Columbus' Armada
Columbus' Armada will play one of its final shows this Saturday, Sept. 30 at King Avenue 5 rock and sports bar at 9:00pm. The Buckeyes will be on the TVs with a killer soundtrack provided by Armada. Pencilstorm sat down with Armada's lead singer, Wal Ozello, to find out more about the show and the band.
Tell me about how Armada met and your first gig?
Steve and Ted met in high school at Worthington and played in a band called Signals, inspired by their love of Rush. Steve and I met at a bar called Jousters on North Campus where BW3s is now and hit it off when he found out I was a singer. Ted and Dave knew each other from church of all places, but Ted knew Dave played a killer guitar. We all had a love of complex and rocking music like Rush, Journey, Triumph and Tesla. We clicked from day one. Our first gig was opening up for Zaza at the Alrosa Villa on a Sunday night. Sundays were commonly known as employee nights since that’s really all who were in the audience. But it was our first show and a ton of people came out to see us. We had this eclectic group of fans. Dave was well known at the Alrosa so many of the regulars came out to see him. Ted and Steve had their followers from the Signal days and were in a Fraternity on campus. I knew a bunch of people from OSU that drove out for the show, plus a few friends came down from Cleveland. We asked all of our fans to leave the stage after the show and head up to the bar area so Rick would know how many of our fans showed up. Needless to say, after we played our set the floor was empty but the bar was packed. Rick seemed to love us so it was off to the races after that.
Eventually you guys were headlining weekends at the Alrosa Villa which is no small feat. How did you get to that point? What did those fans dig about you guys?
After the first opening gig with Zaza we played a Friday/Saturday opening with a band called Sgt. Roxx from Chicago. After two opening gigs, Rick started us as headliners. Rumor has it that Armada was the quickest band to go from openers to headliners in the history of the Alrosa. I think it was because we were doing stuff no one else was. People came out to see us play Rush, note for note, followed by Journey and Tesla along with originals that were a mix of all three styles. We brought in such different fans that it was crazy. I’d look out in the audience to see some long-hair leather jacket wearing Alrosa regular rocking out next to a campus sorority girl in an ΑΧΩ shirt dancing to Any Way You Want It. It was insane. We really fed off the crowd and it became about making sure they were having a good time and forgetting about the bullshit of life for two hours. That’s what a real rock show should be about – forgetting about your troubles and enjoying life. That’s what I think people dug the most.
Unlike many bands from that scene, you guys also played originals and cut some records. Did Armada ever have any labels sniffing around considering signing the band?
We released our first album, Don’t Give Up The Ship, in 1992. It was a mix of our best originals. Some leaned more towards Progressive Rock, some leaned more towards Mtv Hard Rock. The guys from Dream Theater loved our sound when we opened for them during their Images and Words tour. We were able to get Don’t Give Up The Ship in front of a few A&R guys but never got any traction. The reality was that a year earlier Nirvana had released Nevermind and Smells Like Teen Spirit was huge. In shuffled the Seattle sound and everything remotely connected with Hard Rock went in the trash. It was the only era in rock history where no one was looking for that high tenor voice like Geddy Lee, Rik Emmett or Steve Perry. Five years earlier or later, we might have had our chance but in 1992 is was not meant to be.
Did you ever imagine standing onstage at the Alrosa Villa in 1992 you would be taking the stage with the same band in 2017?
Yes. I did. I knew we had magic going on. It was more than the music. We were four guys that wanted to make the best music while making sure our fans had a blast during our shows. Plus, we had each other’s backs. Always. It’s great we can make some awesome music that fans love and come out to see us over and over again. Eventually, Armada became very much like a family. We’re all brothers. One of the songs on Don’t Give Up The Ship is called Blood Brothers which we wrote about us. The chorus ends, “Blood Brothers… and friends to the end.” There will always be an Armada to me. I can’t imagine life without it.
Armada will be playing a mix of their originals and covers by Rush, Journey, Guns N Roses, Motley Crue, Whitesnake, Ozzy Osbourne and more this Saturday, September 30 at 9:00pm at King Avenue 5 in Grandview Hts. Check out the details here.
The Winter Olympics Are Coming In Less Than 150 Days - by Wal Ozello
The 2018 Winter Olympics are less than 150 days away. Pencilstorm Contributor Wal Ozello will be providing on-going coverage leading up to the Olympics helping you prepare for what to watch for.
The Winter Olympics is coming in 2018 and while it seems far on the horizon there are stories playing out today that will have a bigger impact than who are Jon Snow’s real parents. Here are the Top Three stories to pay attention to today.
Location, Location, Location…
The 2018 Winter Olympics are in Pyeongchang. When you search for that on Google Maps you’ll find it in South Korea with the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium about 55 miles from North Korea. The Opening and Closing Ceremonies will be as closer to North Korea than Mansfield is to Columbus. For those of you living under a rock for the past year, the relationship between North and South Korea, let alone the rest of the world, has been less than ideal. Earlier this year, South Korea reached out to its northern neighbor for some Olympic partnership that only sports can create. They proposed a joint North-South Korea women’s hockey team and offered to host some of the ski competition at a new North Korean ski resort. North Korea declined both offers. Since then, North Korea has been testing several intercontinental ballistic missiles and the U.S. and South Korea just finished joint bombing drills… in Gangwon Providence - which Pyeongchang County resides in. Then at the UN on Tuesday, President Trump declared that, “If it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea.” Whoa. Khrushchev must be have looked down on that and said, "I just banged my shoe on that table, you sir, just drove head first into the deep end of the crazy pool." All-in-all, this is much deeper argument than new Metallica vs. old Metallica. Keep an eye out folks, this story isn’t over, yet.
Falling Down The Mountain
Lindsey Vonn and potentially Bode Miller will be returning to compete in the Olympics. Lindsey is the one of the most successful women American skiers with Olympic medals, World Championship medals and World Cup titles. She’ll be 33 in South Korea and this Olympics could be her last. While most thought Sochi would be Bode’s last Olympics, rumor is that he’s planning to compete in Pyeongchang at age 40. He’s the most decorated Olympic Athlete in alpine history and chances are he’s looking to solidify that position. But those aren’t the name to look for… watch for Mikaela Shiffrin. She’s reigning Overall World Cup champion and the reigning Olympic and World Champion in slalom. Back in 2011 she became the U.S. Champion in Slalom… at age 16. Mikaela won her first World Cup event at age 17. The following year she won Gold in Sochi, becoming the youngest slalom champion in Olympic History. Since then, she’s won two World Championship gold medals, three World Cup slalom titles, and 24 career wins. Mikaela will do for the Olympic Alpine Skiing what Wonder Woman did for the Summer Blockbuster Movies… kick everyone else’s ass. Here’s an impressive run for the 2017 World Championship where she beats her closest competitor by 1.64 seconds.
That "Other Team" Up North
Forget men's ice hockey during the Olympics. It's a glorified all star game that lasts two weeks too long. The real competition is in Women's Ice Hockey. They leave it all on the ice because they are competing at the highest level in their game and it's full contact guts and glory. The competition between the U.S. team and the Canadian team is fiercer than OSU vs. Michigan. While the U.S. team has won the World Championships the past four times and eight out of the last ten meetings, they haven't won Gold in the Olympics since 1998. Who's beat them each time? Canada. They won gold in 2014, 2010, 2006 and 2002. The last time the Canada held silver was the year U.S. got the gold - 1998. The two teams will face each other at least four times before Pyeongchang, starting on October 25. Keep a close eye on these showdowns. While the U.S. has a great winning streak, I'm sure Canada's montra is going to be "The North Remembers."
And for those of you that don't think these girls can play, I can personally attest they can play hard. A few years ago, I had the privileged of producing a profile of a High School Senior Goalie up in Duluth, Minnesota. I stood on the ice as these girls skated a whirlwind around me. It was just mind-blowing. They want to prove they kick ass stronger than the Runaways wanted to prove they could rock with the best. Want to see some tough hits and and killer goals? Check out this video below.
That's enough of a download for this week. It's going to be a long winter ahead and I'll have more updates in the weeks to come.
Wal Ozello is a science fiction techno-thriller novelist and the author of Assignment 1989 , Revolution 1990, and Sacrifice 2086. When he's not writing or singing with the Columbus hairband, Armada, he can be found at the regulars table at Colin's Coffee.