Jump to content

Local Writers

Giddy Up America

A blog by Ryan O'Connell

Sign in to follow this

Followers 0

entries
47
comments
32
views
1,980

About this blog

Popular culture. Music. Sports. Television. Good Times

Entries in this blog

Sort By

Let's Be Honest With Ourselves About Corn Mazes

Let's Be Honest With Ourselves About Corn Mazes

Corn mazes. They have become an integral part of any good old-fashioned festive fall weekend, right up there with pumpkin and apple picking, hayrides (both traditional and haunted), and devouring anything pumpkin-spiced. If you’ve embarked on a day trip to a local farm during the pleasant, but flawed fall season then there’s a good chance that the farm has some sort of corn maze. And with that most likely being the case, there’s an even better chance you’ve either dove right in and attempte

October 22, 2021

3

Lessons Learned After One Year Of Fatherhood

Lessons Learned After One Year Of Fatherhood

Editor's note: This article was originally published in 2016 As hard as it is to believe and as cliched as it is to say, I can’t believe I have been a father for almost a year now. Pretty much everything that has been said, everything written in parenting books, everything used anecdotally by celebrities in regards to fatherhood is spot on. It’s a trip, a never-ending logistical operation filled with highs, lows, exhaustion, delirium, more highs, fewer lows and much more. It’s easy to

July 17, 2022

0

I’ll Be Here With The Pigeons: A Parking Garage, A Pandemic & A Pregnancy

I’ll Be Here With The Pigeons: A Parking Garage, A Pandemic & A Pregnancy

Our flight from Philadelphia was at around 11 in the morning on Saturday. My wife and I said goodbye to our daughter and to our dog and also to my sister and our niece. They had come up the night before to watch over our daughter and pup. Then we hit the road, knots in both of our stomachs. This was not a normal trip. This was not a vacation and this was not for a wedding. This was a mission; a mission to get our daughter, who was currently resting comfortably in the womb of our surrogate,

February 14, 2021

1

I Know It's The Christmas Season Because i saw That Corona Commercial

I Know It's The Christmas Season Because i saw That Corona Commercial

It’s the Christmas season. I know this because of the amount of emails I’ve received in the past few days from stores and businesses I shopped at once four years ago. And I know this because we have lights up outside of our house (first house on the street you lazy chumps!) I know Christmas is coming in hot because Thanksgiving is behind us, the looming threat of endless Christmas movies has emerged on radar screens and nearly every weekend in December is already full of some sort of Christ

November 28, 2021

1

I Can Admit That I Was ( Mostly ) Wrong About The Snyder Cut

I Can Admit That I Was ( Mostly ) Wrong About The Snyder Cut

You need to be able to admit when you’re wrong in this life of ours. Own your mistakes, kid. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people don’t do this, when they duck, dodge, and dive the things they’ve done and the statements they’ve made. Come on now. That’s bush league. I am, therefore, here to admit that after watching Zack Synder’s Justice League, I was wrong. In a BroBible piece that went up before the release of the movie, I said that essentially, fans should prepare for the worst. T

March 30, 2021

1

How Is There Not A Quint Origin Story Out There?

How Is There Not A Quint Origin Story Out There?

Recently I watched Jaws. I love Jaws and rarely need an excuse to watch it. It might be one of my favorite movies and for the most part, I don’t really care about sharks. Jaws is fun to watch in the summer because it’s essentially a summer movie and you know, when in Rome. But it’s great to watch any other time of year also because if nothing else, it makes you think about summer, and studies have shown that thinking about summer is never a bad thing. For the record, I have never seen any o

September 15, 2021

0

Holy Rankings, Batman!

Holy Rankings, Batman!

Batman entered our lives all the way back in May of 1939, created in response to the overwhelming popularity of Superman, who came around a year earlier. Since then, we’ve born witness to several different versions of the Caped Crusader, whether it’s in print, on the small screen either in live-action or as a cartoon, and on the big screen. The first Batman movie came out in 1943 with a plot that revolved around Batman acting as a government agent, helping to stop World War II. Twenty-odd y

April 10, 2021

0

Hey! Let's Focus On Some Of The Good Things That Happened In 2020

Hey! Let's Focus On Some Of The Good Things That Happened In 2020

2020 has been a pretty massive bummer. Yes, it’s true. However, saying it over and over again isn’t going to make it any worse or any better, nor is continuing to focus on all of the reasons (all 5,479 of them) why 2020 has been so bad. We need to focus on the positives, kid and yes, even in this God-awful flaming pile of dog feces that has been 2020 there are positives. Here are 20 good things that happened this year. 1. We Took So Many Walks Around Our Neighborhood So many walks

December 29, 2020

0

Hey, Maroon 5's First Album Was Really Good

Hey, Maroon 5's First Album Was Really Good

Maroon 5 are set to release their seventh album on Friday. It’s called Jordi. The album features Megan Thee Stallion, the late Nipsey Hustle, Stevie Nicks, and a couple other people. Wonderful. I couldn't care less. However, there was a time, a long, long time ago, back when George W. Bush was president, the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry was must-see TV, and CD books were a thing when I actually cared quite a bit about Maroon 5. It seems borderline nuts now, but the passage of time is n

June 12, 2021

1

Here Are Eight Songs To Check Out From Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real

Here Are Eight Songs To Check Out From Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real

Did you know that Lukas Nelson is Willie Nelson’s kid? Yeah, you probably did. Did you know that Nelson worked with Bradley Cooper on songs for A Star Is Born and Nelson and his band Promise Of The Real played Cooper’s backing band in the film? You might have known that. Or you didn’t know either of those things and in all honesty, hadn’t really heard of Nelson and his band. And that’s fine. There’s a lot of music out there. An act or 500 are bound to slip through the cracks. You are not al

June 19, 2021

0

Ghost Tours And Ghost Hunts? You Can't Go Wrong With Either One

Ghost Tours And Ghost Hunts? You Can't Go Wrong With Either One

If asked, I would generally recommend both a ghost tour and a ghost hunt. They are the same, but different. In the end, it comes down to what you want to get out of it. You want an experience, you want some history, you want a little bit of both, possibly with a drink in hand? Now, I’m able to speak with some semblance of authority on this matter because I’ve been fortunate enough to have participated in both a ghost hunt and a ghost tour. What can I say? I’m down for such things once October ro

October 31, 2021

0

Five Takeaways From The First Leg Of Phish's Summer 2021 Tour

Five Takeaways From The First Leg Of Phish's Summer 2021 Tour

Well, friends, it’s been almost two weeks since Phish wrapped up the first little jaunt of their summer tour. We’ve had some time to decompress, reflect, possibly decompress some more, do some homework, and when all is said and done, report back our findings to, I don’t know, Twitter. The bottom line is that hey, Phish is back! That’s pretty sweet. But beyond the sweet, sweet pleasure of the boys getting back out there are some tasty little nuggets of Phish-related wisdom we took from the s

August 28, 2021

0

Five New Rules For Biopics Of Musicians

Five New Rules For Biopics Of Musicians

Last week I watched Elvis. No, let me rephrase that. Last week I tried to watch Elvis but had to bail after the first fifteen minutes, which is a long fifteen minutes. It’s an exhausting stretch that ping pongs around a handful of key moments in Presley’s life with wild, reckless abandon, complete with swirling visual flourishes and jolting musical ques. I was on a plane. I was tired. It was frankly, too much to handle. And I felt compelled to leave it at that. I had tried and that felt lik

March 27, 2023

1

Eight Major Issues With The "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" Movie That Continue To Bug Me To This Day

Eight Major Issues With The "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer" Movie That Continue To Bug Me To This Day

With another Christmas season very suddenly upon us, we’re met with the return of the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer television special once again. Now, I’ve seen the 1964 movie countless times, but in recent years, I’ve found myself more and more baffled and perplexed by the beloved holiday classic. Simply put, Rudolph has just not aged well. Watching it now, it’s obvious that it has some issues and that it has enough of those issues for the special to now be seen as both problematic and

December 18, 2022

5

Don't Think About That Snow, Think About This Snow

Don't Think About That Snow, Think About This Snow

It’s going to snow, kids! Well, maybe. Reports as of Thursday afternoon are a little scattered if you will. For instance, I look at AccuWeather and it says we’ll either get one to three inches or at least a foot. Middle ground? There is no middle ground. This storm, Winter Storm Kenan, is as divided as our gosh darn political system in this country, am I right? But yes, Winter Storm Kenan. It could be a doozy. If there weren’t more pressing matters right now like Joe Rogan explaining w

January 30, 2022

1

Don't Expect To See A Rock Band Play The Super Bowl Half Time Show Anytime Soon

Don't Expect To See A Rock Band Play The Super Bowl Half Time Show Anytime Soon

The halftime show of the 2022 Super Bowl is not messing around. In the first Super Bowl held at the brand spanking new SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, hometown boy Dr. Dre is taking the helm, captaining a ship that includes Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, and Mary J. Blige. You could make an argument that two of those performers (Kendrick and Eminem) could probably headline the show on their own. But Dre has assembled them like Infinity Stones and much like Thanos is set to do some damage.

February 13, 2022

0

Banana Bread Dreams & Egg Nog With Rum Wishes: Looking Back At Christmas Memories

Banana Bread Dreams & Egg Nog With Rum Wishes: Looking Back At Christmas Memories

Christmas memories are like episodes of Madmen– face it, they’re all awesome, just in their own unique ways. There was one lovely Christmas in Maine when I was working at Bay Lines and pulled the Downbay PM shift, which in the days leading up to Christmas looked like one of the more desire able shifts, given its 13:45 report time. It left you plenty of time to do presents and then lunch before throwing on the steel toes and heading out. Working on Christmas sucks, no matter how you slice it

December 17, 2021

0

A Ranking Of All Things Dave Grohl

A Ranking Of All Things Dave Grohl

Dave Grohl has always been a busy man; a whirling dervish of hard rock and loud noises. Since the age of 17 when he was hired to play drums in Scream, Grohl’s life has had him ping-ponging from one gig to the next, sometimes with multiple gigs at a time. And while he’s gone from rock solid, heavy-hitting drummer to rock steady, arena-entertaining, frontman, the fact that he is such a great drummer has helped keep him busy whenever the Foo Fighters have had some downtime. The world will always ne

February 13, 2023

0

A List Of Band Names That Are Actually Good

A List Of Band Names That Are Actually Good

Band names are a slippery slope. Coming up with a quality band name is damn near impossible. Few have done it, thousands have tried. You want to sound cool, which is a tall task. But you don’t want to sound like you’re trying to be cool. Ultimately, you want something that will look good on a club’s marque, looks dope as a sticker and isn’t super regrettable down the road. Well, if you’re band makes it that far, which is also damn near impossible. My cousin was in a band once that was calle

October 23, 2022

0

A Baltimore Story: Cinco De Mayo, Chris Cornell's Father, & A College Band Making Moves

A Baltimore Story: Cinco De Mayo, Chris Cornell's Father, & A College Band Making Moves

When it comes to the late Chris Cornell, the voice of Soundgarden and Audioslave, there are two things I know about him that most people might not. I know he had a brother named Peter and I know that Chris and Peter’s father passed away on May 5, 2000. Now the only reason I know these two particular facts is because the passing of the Cornells’ father led to Peter, who is also a musician, having to cancel a show he had scheduled for that night at the 8×10 club in Baltimore. Peter Cornell’

May 15, 2022

0

25 Questions About "Christmas With The Kranks"

25 Questions About "Christmas With The Kranks"

We’ll start here. Christmas With the Kranks is a terrible movie. It’s bad, really bad. As a movie, it should be relieved that it’s a Christmas movie because that’s the only reason why it still gets play. Well, unless you’re a hardcore Tim Allen head or gear your movie-watching towards those that only include a scene in which Jamie Lee Curtis barely has any clothes on. I mean if that’s the case, you’re basically watching Christmas With the Kranks and True Lies on a loop. That’s a weird way to liv

December 11, 2020

1

25 Questions About "Christmas With The Kranks"

25 Questions About "Christmas With The Kranks"

We’ll start here: Christmas With the Kranks is a terrible movie. It’s bad, really bad. As a movie, it should be relieved that it’s a Christmas movie because that’s the only reason why people continue to watch it. Well, unless you’re a hardcore Tim Allen head or you gear your movie-watching towards those that only include a scene in which Jamie Lee Curtis barely has any clothes on. I mean if that’s the case, you’re basically watching Christmas With the Kranks and True Lies on a loop. That’s

December 12, 2021

1

Sign in to follow this

Followers 0

×

×

Create New...