John Hook
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Ted Lasso Joins the List of All-Time TV Greats
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As humans we enjoy our entertainment. What the people who study human behavior tell us – that would be the sociologists, psychologists, anthropologists, etc. – is that our ability to enjoy our entertainment is likely hardwired into our brains. Understanding what other people are doing and the cognitive ability to grasp another’s viewpoint allows us…
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Celebrating Critical Thinking While Pondering Population
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It’s that time of year again in Happy Valley: Penn State graduation! This upcoming weekend more than 14,000 diplomas will be awarded to students university-wide, adding to the more than 750,000 Penn Staters worldwide. And then, they, and many of the other 48,700 or so students enrolled here at the University Park campus, will pack…
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Condiment Commentary
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Let’s talk about condiments. My wife and I were out to dinner last week with a few friends at a local restaurant and the food was wonderful. The conversation was fun, the service was great, the drinks were ample and the music was fantastic. All in all, a great evening out on the town. There…
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Opinion: School Board Candidate Cross-Filing Creates Political Confusion
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All politics is local. This saying has been around for many years but is most associated with and attributed to legendary Speaker of the House Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill, Jr. So much so that he used it as the title for a book he co-wrote back in the 1990s, “All Politics Is Local: And Other…
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‘Paper Ceiling’ Campaign Gives Much Needed Attention to Workers Without College Degrees
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Penn State’s spring break is over and the students are back in Happy Valley. Penn State’s wrestling season is over – with another national team title, two individual titles and eight All-Americans. (All hail Cael!) Penn State’s basketball season is over – with their first NCAA tournament victory since 2001. Penn State’s men’s hockey team…
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Observations from 139 Hours and 152,086 Steps Inside the Most Magical Place on Earth
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The Walt Disney Company had total revenues of more than $82.7 billion at the end of their last fiscal year, an increase of 22% from $67.4 billion the year before. This was enough to rank them 53rd on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies in the United States by revenue. I’ve written about Disney…
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Opinion: Why Penn State Should Build a New Football Stadium
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Feb. 8, 2023 was a red-letter day for tens of thousands of Penn State football fans. That was the last day to renew your season tickets for the upcoming slate of home games in Beaver Stadium this fall – the marquee matchup of the season being on Nov. 11 against Michigan. And the season also…
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Misadventures in Flying
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During December our family spent a few days enjoying the warm weather and sunshine in Florida, something we certainly missed the last few days as temperatures plummeted here in Happy Valley. Our flights to and from Orlando were uneventful – the way you like plane flights to be – but we did have a minor…
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10 Things Your Young Adult Should Know About Auto and Home Maintenance and Upkeep
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Adulting. According to Merriam-Webster it means “to behave like an adult: to attend to the ordinary tasks required of a responsible adult” or “to become an adult.” In the years that I’ve written a column on this website I’ve used the term once before, when our daughter made a comment to us about her life…
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An Open Letter to the State College Area School District Board of Directors on Appointing a New Member
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Dear State College Area School Board members, You’ll soon be selecting and appointing a new board member to fill a vacancy. The person you choose will sit with you on the board for a little less than a year, before a duly-elected member takes over the seat. Because this temporary board member will be appointed…