Pencilstorm Hall of Fame Nominee: Mean Mr. Mustard's AC/DC - Cult Night

By Pencilstorm contributor Wal Ozello

Mr. Mustard’s AC/DC – Cult Night was the most amazing OSU College Campus Experience and I dutifully submit it as a first ballot Pencilstorm Hall of Fame nominee.

For those of you who have been to Mean Mr. Mustard’s AC/DC – Cult Night, you are sure to agree with me. If you haven’t, here are the facts:

1)      It’s AC/DC – Cult Night, not AC/DC Cult night. Every other song they played that night was by AC/DC or The Cult. The other songs were filled in with metal or hard rock. Imagine an evening of Thunderstruck, For Those About to Rock, Fire Woman and She Sells Sanctuary, mixed with Master of Puppets, Dr. Feelgood, or Mr. Brownstone. If you remember the Campus Bars sound systems like I do, those speakers were LOUD.  Imagine metal played over them instead of club music. Piercing distorted guitars and double bass drums never sounded better. 

2)      Buckets of beer. Well… every OSU bar sold buckets of beer. But if you’ve never been to an OSU campus bar, understand they had 2.5 gallon buckets which were completely filled with beer from the tap... for $5. That’s about five and half pitchers. We'd put three people on a bucket and get sloshed.

3)      It was every Sunday night. The last ditch effort of the weekend to party your ass off. What better way to do it then with metal and buckets of beer. Sometime I looked at it as the end of a great weekend, other times I thought of it as the beginning of an awesome week. Either way, it rocked. Finished it off with a trip to BW3's wings or the Greek place to get a gyro.

4)      Mean Mr. Mustard’s was known as the alternative bar. It was usually filled with pre-goths types listening to sad stuff like Morrissey, Depeche Mode, and R.E.M.  – but on Sunday night the metal heads took over. Everyone there was for the rock music. Lots of hair, leather, tattoos and jeans.  

5)      It was truly balls to the wall music. You had metal heads, college kids, and locals all getting together to listen to music that really rocked. Imagine Headbanger’s Ball but live. Every song, one after the other, was an awesome surprise of “in your face” metal.

I have amazing memories from AC/DC – Cult Night and many more experiences that I don’t remember (note… buckets of beer). If I got my hands onto a time machine, this would be one of my first stops. 

AC/DC - Cult Night deserves an honored spot in Pencilstorm's Hall of Fame. It represents everything we stand for hear at Pencilstorm. 

Wal Ozello is a science fiction techno-thriller novelist and the author of Assignment 1989 ,  Revolution 1990, and Sacrifice 2086. He's a resident of Upper Arlington, Ohio and a frequent customer at Colin's Coffee.

Pencilstorm's Most Popular Stories - February 2016

Valentine's Day Playlist For The Broken Hearted

By Pencilstorm Contributor Wal Ozello

It's Valentine's Day. The day you snuggle up to the one you love, make romantic love, and create lasting blissful memories. You softly turn up the stereo and listen to Journey’s Faithfully, Zeppelin’s Thank You, Eagles' Peaceful Easy Feeling, or Firehouse’s Love of a Lifetime – all depending on your flavor of rock.

But if there’s one thing that rock teaches us is that love is complicated. It’s messy, at times disappointing, and even a lifetime full of love can be littered with a rocky journey. So with that said, I'd like propose an alternate Valentine's Day rock playlist - one for the brokenhearted and one that's more reflective of reality.

For those of you who are longing for more out of your relationship, may I suggest this song from Cheap Trick.

Looking for something a little more physical? Maybe a bit celebratory about last night’s adventure?  Look no further than this classic by AC/DC.

 

Maybe it's been a little long since your ex left you but you still can't get over her. You seem to be going out of your way to run into her. Others claim you're stalking her. She's put out a restraining order on you. This is probably your theme song.

Pining over your ex? Even though they've moved on? How about some Scorps.

Maybe you’ve finally come to terms that your relationship wasn’t supposed to be? You were living one big lie.

This rock classic captures the pains and heartbreaks of love in a way no other does.

Here’s the ultimate Valentine’s Day Rock Anthem. Whether you’re alone today or in a long lasting relationship, I’m sure you’ll at some point in your life you've agreed with this song.

 

Finally - how about a laugh this Valentine's Day? Here's special version of a hit from the 80's made famous by Bonnie Tyler. Trust me - watch it all the way through. 

Wal Ozello is a science fiction techno-thriller novelist and the author of Assignment 1989 ,  Revolution 1990, and Sacrifice 2086. He's a resident of Upper Arlington, Ohio and a frequent customer at Colin's Coffee.

 

 

 

 

Coming Soon: The Pencilstorm Hall of Fame - Colin G.

Do you know what everybody loves? A good Hall of Fame. Actually, some people hate a good Hall of Fame. Ironically, some people love a lame hall of fame, but hate a cool hall of fame. Either way, out staff at Pencilstorm couldn't help but notice that every time we hang around the "water cooler" (Natty Keg) at work, some sort of debate about some sort of Hall of Fame breaks out. 

Cheap Trick this.. Dave Concepcion that... and Ricki C... always with the Mott the Hoople. And don't get Wal started on Journey. Or Big $ about Bernie Kosar.

So after one particularly loooooong night around the "water cooler," we decided to start our own Hall of Fame. The rules are simple: It can be any person, record, place, anything or whatever makes this world cooler. Not like global warming cooler, but just cooler in the Fonz definition of the word. You know, things that make life better.

We welcome your feedback on what/who YOU  think should be nominated for the Pencilstorm Hall of Fame. Our secret committee will promise to seriously consider your suggestion before totally ignoring it.  

 

Snow - Then vs. Now by Andra Gillum

Snow - Then vs. Now      

By:  Andra Gillum

I know I’m getting older when I repeatedly tell my kids how much harder things were back in “my day.”  Take snow for example…..

How about snow days at school?  Although I’m sure it’s not true, I remember getting like one day off per year…and that includes the blizzard of ’78.

When I was in school, we had to wake up and switch on the clock radio to find out if school was closed.  They read school closings in alphabetical order, and I would always tune in about 30 seconds too late.  I went to Dublin schools, for example, but usually turned on my radio just as they were reading Eastmoor.  

These days, we get an automated call by 5:00 AM.  It’s great…until the home phone rings, then my cell phone rings, then my husband’s cell phone rings, then the voice mail alerts start to ring…on so on.  Really, one alert would be fine.

We never called them calamity days either.  Even when school is cancelled, they’re working to expand the kids’ vocabulary.  These common core standards have really raised the bar.  

My kids still love sledding, just like we did.  But, think of how much better the sleds are these days.  Remember those super heavy all-wood toboggans?  My sister and I would always fight to see who would have to lug that beast back up the hill!

These days the plastic sleds are ultra-lightweight and aerodynamic.  Somehow my kids still want me to haul them up the hill... while they sit on the sled!

Kids still like to build snowmen, but the accessories have all changed.  They searched our fridge for a carrot nose, but all they could find were peeled baby carrots.  Not quite the same.  And where would you even find a corn cob pipe these days?  In 2016, Frosty is more likely to smoke a vapor pen.

Back in the day, we never really knew when the snow was coming.  My parents tried to catch the news at 6:00 or 11:00 to get the weather forecast, but the meteorologists weren’t even sure.

These days, you can check your phone, TV or computer 24 hours a day to get the up to the minute forecast.  Standing in front of their Super Doppler Weather Tracker Storm Spotter, today’s meteorologists are like rock stars.  Their fans like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

Remember snow tires? We would have to sit in the boring lobby of the tire shop every fall while they installed ours. My kids don’t know how lucky they are to have all-season radials.

Even the snow gear is much better these days.  Remember the big rubber boots that buckled over your shoes?  The kid from Fat Albert wore his year round.  The advantage was that they were big enough to buckle over any size shoe, so they lasted forever.  These days, we crazy parents buy new snow boots every year!

We also had those mittens on a string that wrapped behind our neck until someone discovered that we could strangle ourselves.

And what about the one-piece snowsuits that snapped all the way up?  Not the bib overalls, but the all-in-one coat and pants.  Girls today don’t know what tough is until they try to go to the bathroom in one of those things without dipping their sleeve in the toilet.

Things have certainly changed over the years even when it comes to snow.  I can only imagine what things will be like when my kids are parents.  I am picturing some sort of self-propelled, hovercraft sled that won’t even require a hill…or snow.  But where’s the fun in that?  Here’s to the good old days!

Andra Gillum is a free-lance writer and author.  She lives in Upper Arlington with her husband, two kids and two dogs.  Andra’s columns periodically appear in the Columbus Dispatch.  She is also the author of the children’s book Doggy Drama, and its sequel, Puppy Drama, to be released in late 2016.  Learn more at www.doggydrama.com or contact Andra at andra@doggydrama.com.

Pencilstorm's Most Popular Stories - January 2016