John Hook
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Penn State Board’s Change to Alumni Trustee Elections Odd, to Say the Least
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Did you ever feel as if there was a nameless, faceless group of people somewhere making odd rules just to see if we will all go along with them? Or, sometimes we even know the names and faces of the people making the odd rules, which at least allows us to personalize the irony of…
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Meaningful Arts Fest Find, New Traffic Light, More PSU Students: A State College Summer Potpourri
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Diane: We’re not 18 anymore.Carol: No. We’re sure not spring flowers.Vivian: No. More like potpourri. My wife and I were looking for some family-oriented entertainment over the weekend and she came across the movie “Book Club,” which was released in 2018 and stars Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen. The synopsis is…
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Don’t Believe Everything You See: Media Literacy Is as Critical as Ever
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Happy anniversary, dear reader. My first column on these pages was published 10 years ago on July 1, 2014, and in the decade since then, I’ve covered many different topics, offered up a little of my personal for-what-its-worth wisdom, and opened up a can of proverbial worms on more than one occasion. An every-other-Tuesday reading…
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Acquired Tastes
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My wife’s sister was in town for a visit this past week and stayed at their mother’s apartment. We all got together as family a few times during that week, and occasionally my sister-in-law and I would sip on a little single-malt scotch as family conversations ensued. I mean, Queen Elizabeth II lived to the…
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Hook: These Fast-Food Joints Should Open (or Expand) in Happy Valley
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One of the top local news headlines this past week was the possibility of Happy Valley getting an Arby’s fast-food restaurant again. It’s been almost 13 years since the Arby’s in downtown State College closed, and this addition would mean we denizens of the Valley would once again “Have The Meats.” (Is anyone else shocked…
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Hook: Questions Remain About Penn State’s Beaver Stadium Renovation Decision
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“I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!” Actor Peter Finch’s character Howard Beale speaks that line in the movie “Network,” as he exhorts his television viewers to “get up out of your chairs, open the window, stick your head out, and yell” that famous line. It’s one of the…
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A Belated Convert to Robot Vacuums Enjoys the Fruits of Automated Labor
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Automation. The automatically controlled operation of an apparatus, process or system by mechanical or electronic devices that take the place of human labor. As humans we wake up every morning and many of us labor through our days in some sort of similar fashion. Clean ourselves, dress ourselves, feed ourselves, travel somewhere, engage in an…
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Trash Talk: Centre Region Should Continue Current Bulk Waste Collection System
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One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. That popular saying has been around in one form or another for a hundred years or more. The idea behind it is that what is useless, of no value and only good for discarding to one person could be useful, valuable and worth keeping to another. One of…
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How to Bring the Noise to Rec Hall Next Wrestling Season
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In three days the 2024 U.S. Team Trials for wrestling will be hosted by Penn State at the Bryce Jordan Center. These trials will determine the United States’ wrestlers for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, and there are 19 wrestlers with ties to Happy Valley who have qualified to take part. Two days of amazing…
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Penn State Trustees Should Disclose How Much They Donate to University
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We are now two weeks into spring and at the beginning of April, when, as the saying goes, April showers bring May flowers. Which is probably why my online weather forecast is showing rain in nine of the next 14 days. Spring is, literally speaking, the season between winter and summer. But it is also…