Author Archives: Kevin Walsh

About Kevin Walsh

Kevin began MyMediaDiary.com in 2013 as an experiment that was as simple as "What's a blog?" and ended up becoming a forum for fellow writers. He's been a high school teacher for 28 years and worked as an administrator and instructor in colleges for 10 years since then. Contact him at: kevin@mymediadiary.com He is also the producer of the web-series and blog, www.DiggingDetroit, founder and producer for MMD Productions at www.mmdphotovideo.com which offers quick, professional photography, video and multimedia solutions for individuals, organizations and businesses. His high school media production text, "Video Direct," has been used in 40 states--and he occasionally still sells a few. He is the current president of the non-profit DAFT (Digital Arts Film and Television) which sponsors the Michigan Student Film Festival. He lives in Royal Oak, Michigan, is married to Patrice and is tolerated by his two kids Aidan and Abby who have all graciously allowed him to write about them on occasion.

Attack of the Teenage Snow-Day Zombies: Resuscitating the Watching Dead

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We heard its slow steps trudging up from the cellar—one foot was obviously dragging.  I swear we could hear the drool splashing on the floorboards.  It snarled.  It hated the daylight—even cloud-covered sunshine deflected off the snow.  We stood in its way and we were going to pay for it…

“I was in the middle of an episode!” it roared.

You may have seen the snow-day zombies in your own home.  They’re easy to spot.  They still look a bit like those pictures on the wall

—but they’re meaner and generally have distinct characteristics.

  • Bloodshot eyes
  • Dirty, standing-in-weird-places hair
  • Hunger so severe they don’t know they’re hungry anymore
  • Aggressive, attack-first tendencies
  • Extremely protective of their turf—namely, their remotes

It’s not quite the parking … Read More… →

Converting Home Videos – From Basement to YouTube: The Cheapest Invaluable Gift You’ll Ever Give

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Two questions guaranteed to get you the polite Umm..okay… instead of the actual Hell No!…

  • Would you like to see the videos from our two-week trip?
  • Want to hear about a dream I had last night?

    • Unless you’re bed-ridden or Sigmund Freud, you could well be stuck for at least an hour getting far too much information on what should have been a five minute conversation under the category, “You really should have been there.”

    But with the magic of a $35 do-dad, YouTube and Facebook, I’ve managed to release my captives.

    In all of our basements and attics, there are boxes of videotapes, photographs, slides and 8mm movies.  I’ve lived in constant fear of losing those treasures to fire, flooding, mold or accidental bouts … Read More… →

    Support the Next Spielberg: The Michigan Student Film Festival and Joining DAFT

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    Support the Michigan Student Film Festival by December 31st to be eligible for a 2013 deduction by clicking here.

    Not a bad vibe.  A room full of students who had just been honored at the 45th Michigan Student Film Festival talking with a past winner, soon to be premiering Pixar’s latest hit, Monsters University.

    In May, Dan Scanlon, of Clawson High School, flew in from Hollywood  carrying with him a special showing of Monsters University–nearly a month before its release.  Pixar allows its directors to select a charity for a special screening benefit and Dan selected three non-profits:  the Assistance League, Friends of Detroit Film Theatre and Digital Arts – Film & Television (DAFT).

    Mr. Scanlon was only nine when DAFT first recognized … Read More… →

    Mad Magazine’s 1976 Christmas Issue: Still Relevant, Still Memorized–Years Later

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    It was a Christmas party when my wife first called me “The King of Useless Information.” I fell into the trap and correctly answered the question, probably too quickly, “Who played Gopher on Love Boat?” Fred Grandy. Who didn’t know that??

    But the title really had its roots in 1976, the year I began collecting Mad magazines as a fifth grader while waiting for my mom in the checkout at the A&P. Like my son’s favorite episodes of South Park, Family Guy and The Simpsons, each issue is a time capsule of current events and a cross-section of American culture and attitudes.

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    … Read More… →

    Christmas Carol Demolition Squad: Revisiting a 3 and 5 Year-Old’s Medley, Thirteen Years Later

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    It’s just six minutes of random videotape from thirteen years ago as the kids decorate a Christmas tree.  It’s funny what passes for nothing at the time but turns into family legend.  Thanks to my kids for letting me post these brief video clips and for not minding an interview on-location a couple days ago (final clip).

    The 2000 model of Abby (3) and Aidan (5) had decided it was time to add the candy canes to the tree.  As a kindergartener, it was very clear to my son what the pecking order would be–and not just for tree-trimming .  My daughter, in a calm “no,” simply vetoes the maneuver and moves to the front of the line when dad asks for a song.

    She … Read More… →

    All I Want for Christmas is Bronchitis: A Scrooge and Healthcare

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    I’m sure that Hell is a waiting room.  And I suspect that “Kelly and Michael” is on the TV there as well.

    I’d been hedging my bets, waiting for the really nasty cold from ten days ago to fade away.  Two days off work, leaving me just three in my sick-bank (after 17 months on the new job) combined with 17 hours sleep per day and I thought I had it licked.

    But the cough persisted through Day 6 and brought me to the real answer why Victorian homes had separate bedrooms for the husband and wife.  Antibiotics weren’t invented yet and the snoring/wheezing/coughing of one spouse would end in either exhaustion for the other–or murder charges.  So I moved down to our guest room … Read More… →

    The Facebook Birthday Fix: Evidence for Defending Your Life

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    Today is my wife’s birthday and, like a true Facebook lurker, I can’t help but drift into her page and see the many greetings coming from all walks of her life. Patrice is one of those rare people whose default setting is funny, matter-of-fact, wise, generous, caring and, somehow, so modest she thinks she isn’t really any of these. Small wonder that she’s had the same girls in her scout troop for over ten years. Reading the posts of all the lives she’s touched, I’ve am impressed by how many agree with her wise husband.

    Facebook has made it incredibly easy for me to be considerate. It sends me nudges about my friends’ birthdays and has moved their big days to the top-right of my … Read More… →

    Newsflash! Michigan Company Moves to Michigan – “Right-to-Work” Righteousness by Gov. Snyder

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    I received an email today from the governor.  Rick Snyder proudly announced that a Michigan-based company has decided to move to–Michigan, of all paces.  There it was, right there in my in-box, under the double-meaning title:  “This is what it’s all about.” subject heading…

    This is what it’s all about.  Yesterday was the one-year anniversary of the Michigan’s governor signing into law “Right to Work” under the promises that it would make Michigan more competitive, attract new companies and give employees more options.

    Despite all the evidence to the contrary, that all of the RTW states’ employees have a lower standard of living without unions, despite the governor himself stating that the issue was divisive, despite the doors being locked from the public during the … Read More… →

    Kid Rock, Costco and Paying Dues: Keeping First-Class Without Sacrificing Coach

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    An American buying a Lotto ticket seems a bit redundant. After all, in the millions of years of evolution (or few thousand years–depending on which Texas schoolbook you’ve got approved) what are the odds that you’ll be born in a century with indoor plumbing, electricity and fabric softener?

    Then factor in that you’ll most likely not be born somewhere between the Atlantic and Pacific, north of the Rio Grande.  Instead you’ll land where 50% of the world is born–a place where you survive on $2.50 per day or less–or nearly three scratch-and-wins. (source)

    So as you tsk-tsk high gas prices and the lawn-service guy who’s ripping you off (causing you to get so upset you nearly spill that $4 mocha) remember the cost of … Read More… →

    Divorce Court for Your Cable Provider: The Art of the Steal

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    Wouldn’t it be great if we could negotiate everything like a cable bill?  Try it the next time you’re in your doctor’s waiting room.

    “That will be $148, Mr. Walsh,” says the cranky person behind the glass slidey-door.

    “Hmmm…I’m not sure about that.”

    “Hmmm?” she glances up from her computer.

    “That’s right.  Hmmm.  You know, I think you might be overcharging me.”

    “Sir, would you like me to sick a collection agency on you?”

    “But $148 to have my kids’ acne examined?  And we had to wait an extra hour for that privilege.  Can you knock off twenty bucks because of the wait?”

    “Sir, the doctor is very busy.”

    “I’m sure he is.  Anyway, the zit-doc down the hall told me he’d look at my … Read More… →

    “Gobble Gobble!” Thanksgiving, Northern Michigan and Family

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    Perhaps Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it’s front-loaded.  All the work is done on the first day and the rest of the weekend is comprised of football, avoiding the mall and general digestion.

    TVWatchers

    Throughout the late 1970s and into the early 1990s,when the above couch wasn’t full of random cousins it served as my bed.  In 1984, I was a college sophomore, stressed out completely, and couldn’t wait to drive with my family five hours north to my Aunt Joan and Uncle Bill’s cottage on Oden Island, just north of Petoskey, Michigan.

    We’d load up the station wagon, pray … Read More… →

    Why Not a Charter Government–If 80% Raises for Everyone Doesn’t Make Sense?

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    Click here to read... Click here to read… 80-90% Pay Raises! Come and Get 'Em! 80-90% Pay Raises! Come and Get ‘Em!

    On a quiet Sunday, the Detroit Free Press has reported that the State of Michigan, under Governor Snyder, has decided it’s time to start paying people what they’re worth.

    “The State of Michigan quietly increased the salaries of its top investment officials in the Treasury Department by more than 80% this year, saying it was too difficult to attract and keep qualified people under the former pay rates.”  (Source:  Detroit Free Press)

    This is the same governor who agreed … Read More… →

    Corinthian Leather: A Fond, Gas-Guzzling Reminiscence of Shag-Luxury

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    It’s funny what passes for luxury when you’re a kid.

    Laura with JimBob kids in pool 1972

    In 1973, we visited my Uncle Bob and his family in Winter Haven, Florida and I couldn’t believe they had a fountain in their backyard.  Along with so many in-ground pools, lizards running all over the yards was added the magic of my grandma’s mobile home park three miles away where they actually had adult bikes with three wheels!

    Moving into our new house that same summer, I was amazed to see that each of the kids’ rooms had its own color scheme of shag carpeting—pink, … Read More… →

    Rating People Like Movies? Using a Metascore for Your Neighbor and Spouse

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    In the land of The Newsroom‘s Aaron Sorkin, everything ends up as it should be–Karma works and Yins and Yangs co-exist happily.  (For example, the Obamacare websites would be working on day one.)  In Sorkin’s final scene in The Social Network he portrays the Facebook founder as a miserable billionaire with no friends, cyber stalking his ex-girlfriend who started the whole ball a-rollin’–all to the Beatle’s tune, “Baby You’re a Rich Man.”

    But unfortunately for us, Zuckerberg’s not really that sad and Martin Sheen isn’t in charge of the Affordable Health Care Act.  Hollywood isn’t real–but maybe a piece of Hollywood could be real–the Metascore.

    Bloodsuckers in Washington?  Who Knew?

    I’d finally caved and started a Netflix viewing of the … Read More… →

    Harry Potter & Social Responsibility: Eternal Life–No Horcrux Necessary

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    Imagine getting a royalty check every time someone is called a “Good Samaritan” or “Prodigal Son.”  Go to an RV park and you’ll see one of these stickers…

    GoodSamClub

    I remember camping for quite a while until I realized it was a nod to Jesus’ famous story.  Imagine inventing a character that is part of our vocabulary–2,000 years later.

    In Joe Jackson’s  “The Man Who Wrote Danny Boy,” the narrator debates selling his soul to live forever in music or stay in the moment, loved by one person calling from the next room…

    When Harry Potter was first banned in school districts, the “children’s … Read More… →

    Former Students, Facebook Afterlife and Heartwarming Gore with “Deadheads”

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    It’s not every zombie film that you can share with a12 year-old daughter and 80 year-old mother in-law and have them exclaim they loved it. 

    Until Facebook, every June was like a funeral.  The likelihood that I would ever see or hear from the 300 or so graduating seniors was small–aside from an occasional homecoming game or trip to the mall.  But I finally dropped down the Facebook rabbit-hole and discovered what these folks had done with their lives.  Some might even meet up for a beer–if it wasn’t too awkward for the  41 year-old father of four to meet with his 46 year-old … Read More… →

    Like Razor Blades and Apples: The Top 5 Halloween Sours that Soon Become Sweet

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    Some enterprising psychopath, according to my childhood’s urban legend, decided to bury a razor blade into an apple for the ultimate Halloween trick.  They were the carefree days long before candy-inspections were rivaled only by airport shoe-screenings.  It was a time of unlocked doors, keys in ignitions and Baby Jesuses safe in city hall nativity scenes.

    And, faster than you can say tetanus shot, one hungry kid reaches into his pillow case, pulls out the booby-trapped apple and gets an instant cleft-palate. … Read More… →

    The Prince and Us Paupers: Being Stingy with Others’ Money

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    I was at the cider mill today and a billionaire walked by me with a bag of donuts and a half-gallon of cider.  I could have yelled, “Hey, Mr. Karmanos!  Thanks a lot for hiking Fedorov’s salary so the Wings had to outbid your Hurricanes in order to win the Stanley Cup!”

    But I didn’t.  First of all, it would have been tacky.  Secondly, to quote Sonny Corleone, “It’s strictly business.”

    A week ago, one millionaire was celebrated in town.  Today, the same guy’s probably the real reason that Congress can’t get along.  And if it snows this winter, it’s his fault, too.

    Detroit now has four sports stations.  Dodging commercials and jumping from 1130 to 1270 AM, from 97.1 to 105.1 FM you … Read More… →

    Detroit Sports Masochism: Big Papi, Crazy Uncle Jim Leyland and Neanderthal Man

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    I learned long ago that my garage is never more organized than it is on autumn Sunday afternoons.  When the Lions are on, something positive has to happen by 4 PM.  So, to the embarrassment of my wife, I buried a coaxial cable under the ground and ran it to the garage so I could keep half an eye on my latest garbage-picked 32″ television  while I fold paint tarps, sort screws, clean bike chains or set mousetraps.

    I have been a Lions fan since the mid 1970’s.  I have seen the Dallas Cowboys and 49ers go from bad, to great, to bad again, … Read More… →

    Killing Kids’ Questions: Critical Thinking OR Critical of Thinking?

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    Bad parent!  I could read it in the old woman’s eyes as my eight year-old son let the door shut in front of her. 

    “Why do I have to hold the door open for her?” he pleaded to my embarrassed scolding. “She wasn’t carrying anything.”

    “Because it’s polite.”

    “Why?”

    “Why what?”

    “Why is it polite?”

    “Because that way she won’t have to open the door.”

    “But why can’t she do it herself?”

    It was bad enough to get the old lady’s glare, now I … Read More… →