Catch Phrase Fever

TV is a form of entertainment that lends itself to catch phrases.  How many TV characters can you think of who defined themselves, at least in part, through catch phrases?  Whether it is Gomer Pyle or Fonzie or Bart Simpson, there are countless personalities who came to prominence because, for a brief instant in time, their catch phrase caught the country’s fancy — and then a year or two later was tossed into the dustbin of TV memories gone by.

A good example was Jimmy Walker’s “Dy-no-mite!” as he played the smart-aleck beanpole character of J.J. on the ’70s sitcom Good Times.  Why was it funny and popular for a few months?  It’s hard to know just why — but it just was.

Death Throes Of The BlackBerry

My aging BlackBerry is giving up the ghost, and dealing with its slow-motion expiration has been painful.

I’ve liked the BlackBerry.  I don’t use it for much other than phone calls, e-mail checks, random textings, and the occasional foray onto the internet.  I haven’t loaded it down with apps because I don’t care to make my phone the center of my very existence.

It has been easy to operate and reliable through years of regular daily use.  But the key word in the last sentence is “been,” because the BlackBerry has now become as temperamental and unpredictable as a spoiled feline.  The battery has run down to the point where only a few minutes of use will drain the charge, and then all bets are off.  Sometimes the BlackBerry screen will just go black, other times error messages will occur.  And nothing says “professionalism” like a randomly cut off business call and a later, fumbling explanation that your handheld device is on the fritz.

It particularly sucks when I am on the road.  In airports I relentlessly prowl the gate areas for plug-in points, eyes glued at ankle level, looking like a dog roaming the house and sniffing for food that may have fallen the ground.  In older airports, you’ll find me standing at the few, odd areas, always located far from any seating, where you find electrical outlets.  As soon as I unplug and head to a chair, the power bars start to flicker and the power draining begins.

It’s time for a new BlackBerry.