Monday, November 28, 2011
Nunzsense: Different D.C. in the dark
Offbeat: It's how you play the game
I'm going to start posting some old columns from the Page News and Courier as time permits. These are a little tougher to do since I have to type them in. I will not make any changes so these are a bit unvarnished. I think I was better about getting in a few laugh lines since these were supposed to be funny. This one was published sometime in 1989.
The way someone plays a game can tell you just about everything you need to know about him or her.
As some of you may not be aware, I have a degree in game psychology from the H. Ed Shrinker Correspondence School and Deli. I think it’s a degree — it says 37 Celsius on it.
The way you behave during a game says a lot about you as a person. Or maybe it doesn’t. I don’t know. The only thing Mr. Shrinker taught me was how to make a good club sandwich.
Monopoly has probably started more fights than Philadelphia Flyers goalie Ron Hextall. Okay, maybe not.
You might note at this point that I am being quite ambivalent as of late. It’s a characteristic they say the post-Baby Boom generation (1965-1973) seems to be exhibiting. But I don’t think that’s true. Or maybe it is.
Back to Monopoly. The game can give you a good indication about which of your friends you can go to for a loan. The people who end up making you mortgage everything you own on the board to pay off a hotel bill on Boardwalk are louts. I always prefer to bleed my prey dry by forcing them to surrender choice properties to me one by one.
These days, Trivial Pursuit is in vogue. Whoops, I’m sorry, that was 1986. Gee, time flies.
But I recall an evening last fall when a number of us were playing Trivial Pursuit. Personally, I like one-on-one Trivial Pursuit because it is the ultimate test. At the very least, each person playing should have a piece. I don’t go for this team business.
Anyway, it was four-on-four and my team was facing a stern challenge from two former staff writers and the general manager of this esteemed publication. Every time my team finally got to roll, we kept hitting “Arts and Literature,” which should be subtitled, “We knew you didn’t study in 11th grade English and now you will pay for it.”
We’d get about five seconds to answer and then certain impatient people would start moaning about what was taking so long. Meanwhile, I think I was able to read about half of “War and Peace” before the other team decided that there were three “commonwealths” in the United States. There are actually four.
During a later question, the same general manager and Robert Woodrum began doing impressions of the “Swedish Chef” while the other former staff writer was pondering a geography question about Sweden. He wasn’t too impressed.
It might be added that this general manager also likes to ring in early when he plays “Jeopardy!” on the Nintendo, but don’t quote me on this. He is a good “Password” player, by the way. We once had three correct answers in a row.
Most games only get irritating when someone is not playing fair. But there is a game out there which has irritation written all over it. That game is “Pit.”
Okay, I’ll admit it. I have been an aficionado of this game every since we played it on a field trip to Washington when I was a freshman in high school. We brought it along to irritate people, but by the time we got to Springfield, a bunch of us were hooked.
“Pit” is intended to resemble the Chicago Commodities Exchange. It is played by three to seven people, and the more players, the more obnoxious it can get. For each player, a set of nine cards such as “Wheat 100,” “Corn 75” and “Flax 40” are put into play. Two more cards, “Bull” and “Bear,” are also used.
And let’s not forget the most irritating thing about this game — the bell. It is the same type they have at many business establishments and usually no one comes to help until you’ve rung it eight or 10 times. The bell, by the way, is painted an ugly orange shade.
After the dealer hands out the cards, he rings the bell and says, “Trading is open,” or “Duck and cover.” Immediately, people begin shouting “three, three” or “two, two” as they trade cards until someone has all nine of one type. The he hits the bell about 20 times to tick the other players off. Not to mention parents who aren’t impressed at 2 a.m.
Fights can erupt over such things as knocking the bell out of someone else’s way while trying to get rid of the “bear” and two people going for it at the same time.
There are rules for “silent trading,” but they still require the bell. After all, it wouldn’t be fun otherwise.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
DN-R: Valley Town Councils Taking Roll-Call Votes
Here's a longish article from 12 years ago but an interesting take on the inside baseball town councils face.
Valley Town Councils Taking Roll-Call Votes
Daily News-Record (Harrisonburg, VA) - Saturday, February 27, 1999
Ruling By Court Puts Ordinances At Risk
By CHARLES PANNUNZIO News-Record Staff Writer When Dana Marie Conover was stopped by Strasburg Police and charged with driving under the influence last October, nobody could have known the legality of the town's DUI ordinance would come into question.
While Conover's attorney, Jerry Talton, and James Allamong, who handles criminal cases for the town, have come to an agreement that will see Conover charged with improper driving and pay a $100 fine, the issue raised in the case is one area towns have been dealing with for about a year.
Conover, 49, Winchester, was charged with violating the town's ordinance, rather than the state law against driving under the influence. In a motion to dismiss the case, Talton argued Strasburg's ordinance was null and void, because it wasn't approved on a roll- call vote by the Strasburg Town Council, as required by the 1971 Virginia Constitution. Instead, minutes from several meetings where the DUI ordinance was updated simply note it passed "unanimously."
According to Article VII, Section 7, of the Virginia Constitution, "on final vote on any ordinance or resolution, the name of each member voting and how he voted shall be recorded." This was the basis for a February 1998 Virginia Supreme Court decision in the case of Madison vs. Ford. In that case, the town of Madison's zoning ordinance was found to be null and void because the minutes of the Oct. 25, 1972, town council meeting do not indicate who voted for its passage, stating only that it passed unanimously.
"Because we cannot tell from the minutes which of the members actually voted for the adoption of the zoning ordinance, whether any member abstained, or if any member was absent when the vote was taken, we conclude that the minutes simply do not comply with the constitutional requirement . . ." Justice Henry H. Whiting wrote in the majority opinion of the 4-3 decision.
The Madison vs. Ford case was cited in an unpublished opinion by the Virginia Court of Appeals in May, when convictions against Simon Philip Pound and Arnold Karl Zinnecker were overturned because Front Royal's DUI ordinance was found to have been improperly adopted. Talton also noted the Pound and Zinnecker cases in his motion.
Allamong said Madison vs. Ford was applied differently in the two Front Royal cases.
"I cannot believe that the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court of Virginia would say that criminal ordinances are null and void retroactive, because what a can of worms that would open up," Allamong said. "They said it was prospective in nature, which means all ordinances after they handed down Madison vs. Ford."
Since the question came up, Allamong said Strasburg has passed its DUI ordinance by roll-call vote.
"I suppose I could see this as a problem for any jurisdiction that doesn't pass their ordinances by roll-call vote," he said. "I don't think there's any excuse for any community not to do that now."
Others have taken such steps since the decision last February. Bridgewater Town Superintendent Bob Holton said the town was advised by Town Attorney Don Litten to take roll-call votes on all items.
"Since that ruling, we don't do anything except adjourn by voice vote," Holton said. "We've even said it seems so tedious sometimes that you're always having a roll- call vote on every little thing, but these little things, if they add up to something big, you can really be in bad shape."
New Market has been taking roll-call votes for at least seven or eight years, according to the town clerk. Minutes from Broadway and Mount Jackson also include a breakdown of the voting. Dayton Town Attorney Jay Litten said the council is still polled by voice vote, but the names of each member and their votes are noted in the minutes.
Eventually, several attorneys said, the question of retroactivity is expected to make its way to the Virginia Supreme Court.
"(Talton) was saying if that's the case in Front Royal, then it certainly applies in Strasburg," Allamong said. "Frankly, I think I might have been able to argue otherwise, but rather than open up Pandora's box, I'm just going to let this one slip through."
Valley Town Councils Taking Roll-Call Votes
Daily News-Record (Harrisonburg, VA) - Saturday, February 27, 1999
Ruling By Court Puts Ordinances At Risk
By CHARLES PANNUNZIO News-Record Staff Writer When Dana Marie Conover was stopped by Strasburg Police and charged with driving under the influence last October, nobody could have known the legality of the town's DUI ordinance would come into question.
While Conover's attorney, Jerry Talton, and James Allamong, who handles criminal cases for the town, have come to an agreement that will see Conover charged with improper driving and pay a $100 fine, the issue raised in the case is one area towns have been dealing with for about a year.Conover, 49, Winchester, was charged with violating the town's ordinance, rather than the state law against driving under the influence. In a motion to dismiss the case, Talton argued Strasburg's ordinance was null and void, because it wasn't approved on a roll- call vote by the Strasburg Town Council, as required by the 1971 Virginia Constitution. Instead, minutes from several meetings where the DUI ordinance was updated simply note it passed "unanimously."
According to Article VII, Section 7, of the Virginia Constitution, "on final vote on any ordinance or resolution, the name of each member voting and how he voted shall be recorded." This was the basis for a February 1998 Virginia Supreme Court decision in the case of Madison vs. Ford. In that case, the town of Madison's zoning ordinance was found to be null and void because the minutes of the Oct. 25, 1972, town council meeting do not indicate who voted for its passage, stating only that it passed unanimously.
"Because we cannot tell from the minutes which of the members actually voted for the adoption of the zoning ordinance, whether any member abstained, or if any member was absent when the vote was taken, we conclude that the minutes simply do not comply with the constitutional requirement . . ." Justice Henry H. Whiting wrote in the majority opinion of the 4-3 decision.
The Madison vs. Ford case was cited in an unpublished opinion by the Virginia Court of Appeals in May, when convictions against Simon Philip Pound and Arnold Karl Zinnecker were overturned because Front Royal's DUI ordinance was found to have been improperly adopted. Talton also noted the Pound and Zinnecker cases in his motion.
Allamong said Madison vs. Ford was applied differently in the two Front Royal cases.
"I cannot believe that the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court of Virginia would say that criminal ordinances are null and void retroactive, because what a can of worms that would open up," Allamong said. "They said it was prospective in nature, which means all ordinances after they handed down Madison vs. Ford."
Since the question came up, Allamong said Strasburg has passed its DUI ordinance by roll-call vote.
"I suppose I could see this as a problem for any jurisdiction that doesn't pass their ordinances by roll-call vote," he said. "I don't think there's any excuse for any community not to do that now."
Others have taken such steps since the decision last February. Bridgewater Town Superintendent Bob Holton said the town was advised by Town Attorney Don Litten to take roll-call votes on all items.
"Since that ruling, we don't do anything except adjourn by voice vote," Holton said. "We've even said it seems so tedious sometimes that you're always having a roll- call vote on every little thing, but these little things, if they add up to something big, you can really be in bad shape."
New Market has been taking roll-call votes for at least seven or eight years, according to the town clerk. Minutes from Broadway and Mount Jackson also include a breakdown of the voting. Dayton Town Attorney Jay Litten said the council is still polled by voice vote, but the names of each member and their votes are noted in the minutes.
Eventually, several attorneys said, the question of retroactivity is expected to make its way to the Virginia Supreme Court.
"(Talton) was saying if that's the case in Front Royal, then it certainly applies in Strasburg," Allamong said. "Frankly, I think I might have been able to argue otherwise, but rather than open up Pandora's box, I'm just going to let this one slip through."
Nunzsense: Ice puts motorists in scrape
Here's a Nunzsense column from November 2011 in which I praise ice scrapers. I know, I know...
http://www.nvdaily.com/news/2011/11/ice-puts-motorists-in-scrape/
http://www.nvdaily.com/news/2011/11/ice-puts-motorists-in-scrape/
Nunzsense: Power of lost time
This ended up being a recitation of an afternoon where a power outage and computer follies made things interesting. Apparently not interesting enough for anyone to share this column. Maybe I need to write about the Strasburg siren again.
http://www.nvdaily.com/news/2011/11/pannunzio-power-of-lost-time.php
http://www.nvdaily.com/news/2011/11/pannunzio-power-of-lost-time.php
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
DN-R: Collector's `Stuff' On The Block
I'm going to start posting some of my favorite stories that I have written over the past 25 years so I can build an online portfolio. When I decided to do this, this story about two months into my tenure at the Daily News-Record was at the top of the list. Enjoy!
Collector's `Stuff' On The Block
Daily News-Record (Harrisonburg, VA) - Friday, May 2, 1997
Tuttle & Spice Items
Up For Auction Today
By CHARLES PANNUNZIO News-Record Staff Writer
MOUNT CRAWFORD -- What shopkeepers in the Midwest once believed to be junk was treasure to the late Ed Heberlein .
Heberlein put together a vast collection of, well, stuff, during his days as a traveling salesman. In fact, he accumulated so much stuff that he was able to fill an eight-room museum adjacent to his Tuttle & Spice General Store near Shenandoah Caverns, between Mount Jackson and New Market.
Filled with items found in general stores, soda fountains, barber shops and other businesses from the turn of the century, the museum proved to be a popular draw for years. Heberlein sold the land and the store several years ago while hoping to find a buyer for the vast collection. Last November, with his lease at the museum running out, Heberlein arranged to sell everything at an auction.
That auction starts today at Green Valley Auctions.
"The word got out on it before we even got the stuff out [of the store]," said auctioneer Jeff Evans. "Somebody who knew the stuff and knew the sale was coming up showed up there [in November] when we were taking the stuff out."
Evans expects the eclectic array of items to draw a similarly wide variety of people to the three-day auction.
"We'll probably get some people, and I know there will be some dealers, who are setting up restaurants, because that's a big thing now that they can take it off an expense," he said. "Also, people just decorating their den. And there are people who only collect coffee-related items or cigar items. That's another group of collectors that will be coming. And then there's general public, people who have been through the museum and want to get something to remember it by." Items from the museum's general store, soda shop and tobacco store will be on sale today, starting at 10 a.m. Evans said that portion of the collection has a number of rare items, including an 1869 J.W. Tufts "The Arctic" marble soda fountain that is shaped like a cottage, and includes spigots for a variety of extracts.
There's also an oversized oak icebox that includes a water faucet in its door. For that, Heberlein once turned down an offer of $10,000 from Lee Majors, Evans said.
Then, there's a rare porcelain Munsing Wear sign, which could fetch $5,000-$10,000, Evans said.
"Those are the pieces that it's just hard to figure what [they will cost]," Evans said. "If somebody has been looking for that era of a soda fountain, and that's the type of shop they are setting up, they may not have a chance in the next 10 years to get another one."
Other unique items include a pair of cheese "cranes," that have glass domes suspended over the boards through the use of weights, and an oak "post office" similar to the one Sam Drucker operated on "Green Acres." The collection also contains six long oak shelves, hundreds of tins, glass jars, signs and thermometers.
The focus will shift to items from the clothing and music store, the barber shop, the doctor's office and the clock shop on Saturday, also starting at 10 a.m. Included are barbers' chairs, a coin-operated Regina disc music box, a crank-operated mahogany piano, more oak showcases, a pair of kerosene chandeliers and 35 clocks.
Items from the toy and doll shop, as well as a private collection of toys and comics, will be on the auction block Sunday, starting at 12:30 p.m. Evans said a three-day sale of additional items stored at Heberlein 's home is planned this fall.
The collection grew out of Heberlein 's travels in the 1940s and 1950s, Evans said.
"He bought a lot of this stuff back when it wasn't worth much," Evans said. "He knew all the old general stores and he knew people, and he knew this store had an old sign in the attic or something.
"He knew that, when they went out of business, they would have to get rid of all the old stock and he would buy that stuff. He had said numerous times one of the saddest parts of collecting was that there weren't any more old general stores around, and there was no new stock coming on the market."
Heberlein , who lived in Broadway, was still making preliminary plans for the sale when he died last Christmas Eve.
"He loved to collect and he didn't want to get rid of stuff," said Evans. "Collections like this do not come on the market that often."
Collector's `Stuff' On The Block
Daily News-Record (Harrisonburg, VA) - Friday, May 2, 1997
Tuttle & Spice Items
Up For Auction Today
By CHARLES PANNUNZIO News-Record Staff Writer
MOUNT CRAWFORD -- What shopkeepers in the Midwest once believed to be junk was treasure to the late Ed Heberlein .
Heberlein put together a vast collection of, well, stuff, during his days as a traveling salesman. In fact, he accumulated so much stuff that he was able to fill an eight-room museum adjacent to his Tuttle & Spice General Store near Shenandoah Caverns, between Mount Jackson and New Market.
Filled with items found in general stores, soda fountains, barber shops and other businesses from the turn of the century, the museum proved to be a popular draw for years. Heberlein sold the land and the store several years ago while hoping to find a buyer for the vast collection. Last November, with his lease at the museum running out, Heberlein arranged to sell everything at an auction. That auction starts today at Green Valley Auctions.
"The word got out on it before we even got the stuff out [of the store]," said auctioneer Jeff Evans. "Somebody who knew the stuff and knew the sale was coming up showed up there [in November] when we were taking the stuff out."
Evans expects the eclectic array of items to draw a similarly wide variety of people to the three-day auction.
"We'll probably get some people, and I know there will be some dealers, who are setting up restaurants, because that's a big thing now that they can take it off an expense," he said. "Also, people just decorating their den. And there are people who only collect coffee-related items or cigar items. That's another group of collectors that will be coming. And then there's general public, people who have been through the museum and want to get something to remember it by." Items from the museum's general store, soda shop and tobacco store will be on sale today, starting at 10 a.m. Evans said that portion of the collection has a number of rare items, including an 1869 J.W. Tufts "The Arctic" marble soda fountain that is shaped like a cottage, and includes spigots for a variety of extracts.
There's also an oversized oak icebox that includes a water faucet in its door. For that, Heberlein once turned down an offer of $10,000 from Lee Majors, Evans said.
Then, there's a rare porcelain Munsing Wear sign, which could fetch $5,000-$10,000, Evans said.
"Those are the pieces that it's just hard to figure what [they will cost]," Evans said. "If somebody has been looking for that era of a soda fountain, and that's the type of shop they are setting up, they may not have a chance in the next 10 years to get another one."
Other unique items include a pair of cheese "cranes," that have glass domes suspended over the boards through the use of weights, and an oak "post office" similar to the one Sam Drucker operated on "Green Acres." The collection also contains six long oak shelves, hundreds of tins, glass jars, signs and thermometers.
The focus will shift to items from the clothing and music store, the barber shop, the doctor's office and the clock shop on Saturday, also starting at 10 a.m. Included are barbers' chairs, a coin-operated Regina disc music box, a crank-operated mahogany piano, more oak showcases, a pair of kerosene chandeliers and 35 clocks.
Items from the toy and doll shop, as well as a private collection of toys and comics, will be on the auction block Sunday, starting at 12:30 p.m. Evans said a three-day sale of additional items stored at Heberlein 's home is planned this fall.
The collection grew out of Heberlein 's travels in the 1940s and 1950s, Evans said.
"He bought a lot of this stuff back when it wasn't worth much," Evans said. "He knew all the old general stores and he knew people, and he knew this store had an old sign in the attic or something.
"He knew that, when they went out of business, they would have to get rid of all the old stock and he would buy that stuff. He had said numerous times one of the saddest parts of collecting was that there weren't any more old general stores around, and there was no new stock coming on the market."
Heberlein , who lived in Broadway, was still making preliminary plans for the sale when he died last Christmas Eve.
"He loved to collect and he didn't want to get rid of stuff," said Evans. "Collections like this do not come on the market that often."
Monday, November 7, 2011
Nunzsense: Election coverage aided by technology
Catching up on the last few weeks of columns, this one concerns how much easier election night has become thanks to the Internet. Although I do miss filling out the chart.
http://www.nvdaily.com/news/2011/11/charles-pannunzio-election-coverage-aided-by-technology.php
http://www.nvdaily.com/news/2011/11/charles-pannunzio-election-coverage-aided-by-technology.php
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)