Category: Uncategorized

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Ernest John Cubbon, Part II – Ernie Helped Everyone

by copperwriteLeave a Comment on Ernest John Cubbon, Part II – Ernie Helped Everyone

He married my mother. She’s a God-fearing woman who has kept the gutsy farm girl in her for her entire life. She’s not one to shy away from anything… and apparently neither was Ernest John Cubbon.

Ernie and my mother met at church. She was the hottie with 2 young kids in tow in a failing marriage and he was the pastor/minister/reverend – I’ll stick with pastor purely for the alliteration. Being a Presbyterian pastor was his vocation for most of his working life after he finished his stint in the Air Force. He was the pastor at five different churches in his lifetime. Helping people became commonplace. Never mattered why or what they needed assistance for, or if they were monied or poor, Ernie was there.

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Uncategorized

Monkeys (plural) in the Suburban Illinois Hardware Stores (again, plural)

by Matt DrufkeLeave a Comment on Monkeys (plural) in the Suburban Illinois Hardware Stores (again, plural)
Monkeys (plural) in the Suburban Illinois Hardware Stores (again, plural)

Sometimes, a story is better than what actually happened. Here’s the start of my story…

On Friday, I was driving with my family to get a copy of our house key. My toddler was sleeping in his car seat after a fun morning at the zoo, and my wife and I were listening to the 90’s alternative playlist she had made for our vacation which had gotten cut short earlier in the week (full disclosure: this playlist also had on “The Hand That Feeds”, a song recorded in 2005 for Nine Inch Nails’ brilliant With Teeth; I was willing to let this transgression pass as the song is an absolute banger). As we drove to the Buikema’s Ace Hardware on 75th Street in Naperville, my wife (who grew up in the area) said, very non-chalantly, “I can’t remember if it is this Ace or the one on Washington St. that used to have the monkey.”

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Sports, Uncategorized

Heartbreak Cancelled due to Victory

by copperwrite1 Comment on Heartbreak Cancelled due to Victory

In 1976, I was a teenager and got my heart broken. Was it a girl? No. It was the Denver Nuggets. 1976 was the final year for the ABA. The NBA was going to take a few teams, the ABA was folding, the NBA was taking 4 teams from it and we all knew it before the season was even over. And yet here we were in the final ABA finals, Denver Nuggets vs. The New York Nets. David Thompson vs. Julius ‘Dr. J’ Erving.

But my love affair with the team and with basketball started way before 1976. I remember as a child going to the Denver Coliseum to watch the Rockets. Coach Stan Albeck had Byron Beck, Ralph Simpson, Julian Hammond and Larry Brown among others. They were fun to watch but didn’t go anywhere in the playoffs.

The Rockets had no choice but to change to a different name. The NBA had informed the ABA that if they were to absorb a few teams one of them would be the one on Denver. But the NBA said ‘ahem… Denver, we already have a Rockets team in Houston. Pick another name… and you won’t be shooting with that red, white and blue striped ball anymore either when you get here.” As such, the Nuggets were born in 1974, two years before the “merger” which wasn’t so much a merger than it was a takeover. The NBA absorbed the Nuggets, Nets, Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs.

But that was the way it was for the Rockets, then the Nuggets… until 1976. No respect, but they didn’t earn it either. And here I was in 1976, a 14-year-old glued to the radio listening to Game 6 of the ABA final (it was not on TV until a delayed telecast much later). The Nuggets had them, they had Dr. J on the ropes. They were down 3 games to 2 and it was back at Nassau Coliseum for Game 6 and they were up. Starting the 4th quarter the Thompson-led Nuggets had the Nets by 14 points, so I went to sleep. Woke up to find out they lost 112 to 106. Series ended and just crushed me as the Nets won 4 games to 2.

They never got back to the finals. Oh, they made the Western Conference Finals.

One of the worst logos in the history of sports, crazy-ass Yosemite Sam in the ABA days.
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Music/Movies, Pop Culture, Uncategorized

Fancy Boys Go To The Movies: Fast X

by Matt DrufkeLeave a Comment on Fancy Boys Go To The Movies: Fast X
Fancy Boys Go To The Movies: Fast X

(Author’s note: Per usual, I have kept to my principal of having this review be as spoiler-free as possible. For the most part, if it isn’t in the trailer, I won’t talk about any specifics in the review.)

With the 11th film in The Fast & Furious franchise (ten stand-alone films plus Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw), it would be easy for director Louis Leterrier’s debut in this series to be very paint by numbers. All he would have to do is let Vin Diesel be the ultimate driving and fighting machine (and family man) that he is and let the other supporting players support him. But Leterrier, replacing Justin Lin (who left the film citing creative differences) shows us that he has a few tricks up his sleeve. His Fast X features four Oscar-winning actors, a ton of new characters (for better or worse), and the most fun and exciting new addition that Fast & Furious have given us since their best film (more on that later).

But perhaps the most impressive thing Leterrier has done was to realize that the last film, F9, was severely flawed. And you can see him making the effort in Fast X to fix those problems. Which is not to say that this film doesn’t have issues: it’s bloated (while, somehow, not giving most characters enough to do), too absurd, and has some moments that are laughable, and not in a good way.

It’s also a whole ton of fucking fun.

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March Music Madness, Music/Movies, Uncategorized

Fancy Boys Club March Music Madness 2023: The very special Birdsell (1986-1988) Region

by The Fancy BoysLeave a Comment on Fancy Boys Club March Music Madness 2023: The very special Birdsell (1986-1988) Region
Fancy Boys Club March Music Madness 2023: The very special Birdsell (1986-1988) Region

In doing March Music Madness, our four contributing authors had to reflect on what important to them in their early high school years. We were unable to predict how many people would enjoy these polls. One of them decided he would publish his own list of songs that meant everything to him and we loved reading it so much, we asked if we could print it and he gladly agreed.

So, from special Fancy Boys contributor Bill Birdsell, these were the songs that made his freshman and sophomore years…

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March Music Madness, Music/Movies, Uncategorized

Fancy Boys March Music Madness 2023: The Andreasen Region (1998-2000), Round 1

by The Fancy BoysLeave a Comment on Fancy Boys March Music Madness 2023: The Andreasen Region (1998-2000), Round 1
Fancy Boys March Music Madness 2023: The Andreasen Region (1998-2000), Round 1

Four Fancy Boys Club writers- Matt Drufke, Brandon Andreasen, Michael Grace and Jake Drummond- each chose 16 songs from their first two years of high school that had a profound impact on them. From there, the March Music Madness bracket was born.

From now through Friday, we’ll reveal the songs that made the cut by region and doing our first round. You can vote at our Facebook or our Twitter or at the polls at the bottom of this page.

We wish the best of luck to all the challengers.

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