Top Ten Lessons I Learned The Hard Way

BeardCon: The Cutting Edge Of A Hairy Subject

October 1, 2012 by J.T. Ryder

BeardCon Is Growing “He that hath a beard is more than a youth, and he that hath no beard is less than a man.” ~ William Shakespeare A beard. It is an enigma that is constantly being defined and redefined. At times throughout man’s history, it was viewed as a badge of sexual virility, a symbol of wisdom and then, paradoxically, as a follicle folly ascribed to the slovenly and the shiftless. Biologically, it is described as a secondary sexual characteristic brought upon by an influx of dihydrotestosterone during puberty and is defined as a signal that a man is ready to sire … [Read more...]

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Filed Under: Arts & Entertainment, Dear You, The Featured Articles Tagged With: Beard-Con, BeardCon, beards, Central Ohio Men Against Prostate Cancer, growing, J.T. Ryder, moustache, The Gem City Fake Mustache Society, The Gem City Gentlemen of the Gilded Beard

Fail Or Slop – The Unfortunate Fate Of The Sinclair Library

April 1, 2012 by J.T. Ryder

The Unfortunate Fate Of The Sinclair Library Sinclair Community College, whose sprawling campus takes up much of the Western portion of Downtown Dayton, began as a two roomed bookkeeping and mechanical drawing class located at the local YMCA in 1887. Many in the region have grown up with the legacy of Sinclair Community College and are well versed in its history and influence within the area, but few are aware of the bizarre feat of engineering that had to be undertaken shortly before the original seven buildings were set to be opened to students in September of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Dayton History, Dear You Tagged With: April Fools, J.T. Ryder, sinclair community college

The Power And Light Of Dow Thomas

January 19, 2012 by J.T. Ryder

Dow Thomas At Dirty Little Secret Sanitarium Show

Dayton And The World Loses A Comedy Icon Sifting through scattered memories, most of which are second hand recollections that occurred before my time, I find myself overwhelmed by a life lived with a manic exuberance. I found out about comedian Dow Thomas’ passing from a friend and regular customer of Wiley’s Comedy Niteclub who called to inform me of the news. I stayed up until around 2:00am poring over the condolences that poured out from all over the country, cascading down from Dow’s Facebook page and other social media outlets. I looked through pictures that I had of … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Comedy, Dear You, The Featured Articles Tagged With: Clancy's Bogie's, comedian, Comedy, comic, Dan Lafferty, Dayton Music, death, Dow Thomas, Dr. Creep, guitar, Iron Boar, Jodi Lafferty, Jokers, obituary, passing, Rob Haney, Sailcats, Shock Theater, trolley stop, Wiley's Comedy Niteclub

Turn Of The Fraze

March 26, 2011 by J.T. Ryder

The History Of A Dream The Australian Aborigines believe in two interconnected worlds. One is the world in which they live in; a world of the physical. The other is the world of Dreamtime, where their reality is created. In essence, the Dreamtime follows no linear rules of time; all times exists at once and folds in on one another. The Dreamtime is where creation takes place and, when one comes back to reality, the thoughts become a tangible reality. There are rare occasions where everything aligns and certain groups of people gather together, envisioning a concept or a direction and their … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Dear You Tagged With: concert, Fraze Pavilion, groundbreaking, history, J.T. Ryder, Karen Durham, Kettering, performance

The Ice Of Wrath

February 3, 2011 by J.T. Ryder

Premise of column…the abridged version: The theory behind this column is that, unlike most advice columns, I will not be dispensing advice. I have more issues than a magazine stand, so I feel that it would be rather disingenuous (as well as mildly dangerous) for me to offer anyone advice. So what I am doing is offering up my problems to you, the constant reader, so that you may share with me, and the world at large, your sage advice and wisdom. Who knows? You may even actually help me with one of my problems or even become the next Dr. Phil, which would entail an outpatient surgical … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Dear You Tagged With: advice column, anti-advice column, cabin fever, Dayton, Dear You, ice storm, J.T. Ryder, ohio

Dear You – Preamble, Procrastination And A Puppy

January 26, 2011 by J.T. Ryder

The premise of this column is rather simple: while most advice columns have readers submit their most convoluted personal tragedies, some of which I find to be nothing more than the apocryphal rants of desperate attention-mongers, and then the advice columnist gushes with humanity and proceeds to tell this perfect stranger how to live their life. This column, however, takes a rather dynamic approach to meting out advice which is, simply put, that I don’t. I have more problems before 8:00 am than the average person has in a whole lifetime, so I feel that a.) I am not in the position to give … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Dear You, The Featured Articles Tagged With: advice column, anti-advice column, Dear You, pomeranian, procrastination, rant

The Adventures Of Vaccinium Person From Finland

January 19, 2011 by J.T. Ryder

Might As Well Rewrite The Title As Well… To understand my position on this debate, I must first tell you a story. When my middle son was in 5th grade, he was harassed mercilessly by several black students in his class. Among those, there was one in particular that would constantly bother him, poking him with a pencil in the back, pulling his hair and calling him things like beaner, spic, camel jockey, sand nigger and towel-head. I had spoken with the teacher on many occasions and, while sympathetic, he was overrun by his classroom and, after taking up the matter with … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Dear You Tagged With: debate, J.T. Ryder, racism, racist, the "n" word

The Theater Of The Strange

December 15, 2010 by J.T. Ryder

Comedian Dow Thomas Reminisces About The Dayton Comedy Scene 12/15/10 It’s very rare for someone to be able to meet any of the people that were instrumental in warping the needle on their moral compass. For example, in the future, the odds are astronomically against my kids ever meeting up with Snooki, the creator of Grand Theft Auto or any or the Real Housewives of Poughkeepsie. I, however, was able to talk with one of the people who were instrumental in changing my vision and giving me the ability to see the world through laughing eyes: Dow Thomas. Dow is a … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Dear You Tagged With: comedian, Comedy, comic, Dayton, Dayton Music, Dow Thomas, funny, guitar, humor, humorous, J.T. Ryder, memorial, musician, ohio, Sailcats, song, songwriter, Tribute, Wiley's Comedy Niteclub

True Man Group

September 29, 2010 by J.T. Ryder

The Blue Man Group Set To Perform At Schuster Center September 29th, 2010 I somehow became fascinated with the Blue Man Group quite some time ago. It is an easy thing to do, what with the level of musicianship, production values and sheer creativity of the troupe. What fascinated me most, however, is that the basic premise of the Blue Man being the perfect empty vessel, the perfect blank screen on which countless elemental dreams could be projected upon. The music seems to serve as an insistent accompaniment for the journey. I had heard that the Blue Man Group were … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Dear You Tagged With: Artist, Blue Man Group, BMG, Chris Wink, Dayton Music, J.T. Ryder, Mark Frankel, musicians, performance, pipes, pvc, Schuster Performance Center, tubes