Archive for August, 2009
August 18, 2009 Birthday Celebrations
Never underestimate the ability of Play On to rise to whatever the occasion demands. After spending 45 minutes discussing weighty issues like MYMM, the ARTbox derby, trashcan art, and even personal matters, we all trooped outside to free a car belonging to one of the birthday girls. Unbeknownst to anyone and through a mind of its own, it had somehow managed to get hung up on the curb. Even though the Kingston Garage was right around the corner, six Play On members freed the car in less than 10 minutes.
Men take note: not one ounce of testosterone was involved!
Afterwards, the seeded watermelon that eluded us several weeks ago at Lake Carnegie made a special appearance as a sugar-free birthday dessert, replete with burning candles. Were it not for one tiny duck sitting on top, and a round vase supporting it from below filled with floating zinnia blossoms and lambs ear, one might have mistaken it for a land mine about to explode. It was accompanied by the biggest piece of halvah your reporter has ever seen.
A rousing chorus sang “Happy Birthday,” the obligatory group photo taken, wishes were made (to be granted soon we hope), candles blown out, and gifts exchanged. The afternoon ended with two rounds of the game that’s now taking America by storm (and has already surpassed Scrabble, Guitar Hero and Grand Theft Auto combined, in popularity) — Pas Ta Question.
August 5, 2009 Play Date
Atypical of our regular get-togethers, seven of us signed up for a one-day Elder Hostel program on the Princeton University campus. The schedule was jam-packed with activities to nourish and expand our minds — a deep immersion in serious seriousity that was a welcome respite from all our fun and games.
Here we are arriving for our first event of the day:
The morning was devoted to seminars led by the world’s leading authorities on subjects dear to our hearts (e.g., masonry, double entendres, federal/state relations, and facial hair.) Of all the experts who spoke, Dr. Opus looked the most professorial as she expounded on construction techniques used in the Tower of Babel:
Dr. Clearwoman explains that the bisexual nature of relations between the states and federal government is enshrined in the Fourteenth Amendment:
Dr. Goldsmythe guided us through history’s changing attitudes about facial hair beginning with Cro-Magnon man. Two hours into his talk, his appearance suddenly changed:
(Whether this reflected embarrassment at having croissant crumbs in his mustache or was demonstrating the latest trend in facial decor, we couldn’t tell.)
After lunch we were bussed to the Sarnoff Labs where we got to experiment with the newest technology in social networking:
From there, it was only a hop, skip, and a jump to the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab, one of only two sites on the planet with a black hole that is open to the public (but only for a few minutes, as one can well imagine, because of the danger):
Sharon, one of our newest members, operates one of the atomic yo-yos on display deep inside the black hole:
By late afternoon, our minds were fried and our bodies cried out for exercise. In keeping with the spirit of the day, we were introduced to an exciting new sport that combines elements of soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, baseball, and basketball with the most advanced technological materials. This video, which is approximately 4 seconds long, shows the game in its entirety: anything longer would test the bounds of human endurance.
Making sure both legs are still functional after the final whistle:
Play On’s Official Song
We’ve been inundated with requests for the lyrics and music to the Play On song, AFFAFFA, so here they are:
Verse:
AFFA FFAAFFAFF AAFF AF FA,
A-FFAFFA AFF AFF AAFFA,
FFA AFF FFAFFA AFF AF FA,
AF FA FFAA FFAFFAAFFA.
Chorus:
FFAAFFA FFAAFFAFF AAFF AF FA,
AFFA FFAAFFA FFAAFFA,
FFA AF FAFFA AFF AF FA,
AF FA FFA AFF AFF AAFFA.
(Sung to the tune of Yankee Doodle Dandy)
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