My Personal Blog

This morning's Talking Points memo asks, who in the hell is Neeli Bendapudi anyhows? Just a couple of years ago, Neeli Bendapudi was selected as the new president of Penn State University, succeeding Eric Barron upon his retirement. Back in February, Talking Points learned that Bendapudi was planning to shutter a bunch of branch campuses, mostly in the western portion of Pennsylvania.  This announcement was met with harsh criticism from the populace, who started petitions to stop the impending closures, reached out to various local and state officials, and went on their local newscasts to take shots at Bendapudi.  A state representative from Fayette County has even introduced legislation that would forbid universities from closing branch campuses without legislative oversight and public input. The announcement on the closures was originally supposed to be made last Friday, but that got pushed back to mid-May so that the students could focus on their upcoming final exams. ...

Through the magic of the Internet Archive, I came across a May 2003 edition of Primetime Thursday that I had not seen since its original broadcast on ABC.  It is about the infamous Who Wants to be a Millionaire Major Fraud.  For the purposes of this entry, I am talking about the original version in Great Britain.  The players are a couple named Charles and Diana - no, not that Charles and Diana - I am talking about a major in the British Royal Army and his wife, plus a business and economics professor named Tecwen.  Other minor players include host Chris Tarrant, and a series of staff members with the show and detectives from Scotland Yard. Now before I retell the story, let me point out that this is about the first scandal that had occurred on a game show since the infamous big money quiz show scandals of the 1950s, when Herbert Stempel and Charles Van Doren were fed answers to questions that they would be asked prior to the show, leading to Congress to make it ille...

In my last entry I posted about the fact that no television station in Pennsylvania and Ohio has something other local television stations have called the Surprise Squad in partnership with local businesses such as car dealerships and banks or credit unions. If WKBN in Youngstown had an extension of its long running Caring for Our Community campaign with a Surprise Squad that invites viewers to submit nominations, one of the people involved with the Hermitage Arts Festival could nominate me for a visit from the Surprise Squad.  They would write: To the MyValley Surprise Squad: I am nominating Michael T. Mondak for a visit from you.  He has been handing out helium balloons to the children at the Hermitage Arts Festival every year since 2009 and is always the first person to commit once we announce the dates.  In 2023 this Penn State fan and graduate was the grand marshal of our city’s Holiday Light Parade.  This year’s festival is on July 26 and 27, just after his 40t...

I have seen videos on YouTube where some local television stations have what is called a Surprise Squad on their local newscasts.  These efforts are done in partnership with local businesses (e.g., car dealerships, banks or credit unions).  These Surprise Squads honor individuals (e.g., military veterans, first responders, loyal volunteers or young children) who have freely given of themselves to assist others or are in need of things to make their lives easier or to boost their morale.  The Squad could also help people pay for gas or groceries during the holiday season or pay tribute to a military veteran who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. However, in Pennsylvania and Ohio, there has been no attempt to establish such a Surprise Squad, not even in Pittsburgh or in Cleveland or in Youngstown.  If one of the local television stations in Youngstown formed a Surprise Squad, then it might be done in partnership with Dunkin’ Donuts, Diane Sauer Chevrolet, Hun...

Last night while I was sitting up in bed, I shared an article from StateCollege.com about this Devin Christian who runs a business in Centre County called Nittany Balloons, and I used it to take a shot at him saying that he cannot hold my jockstrap.  The reasons as to why: I have been The Balloon Man longer than his business has been in existence It’s similar to my shot at Soledad O’Brien claiming she couldn’t hold Alex Trebek’s jockstrap when it came to the National Geographic Bee So let’s compare me, The Balloon Man, to Devin Christian: Start dates I have been The Balloon Man since my first event at the Hermitage Arts Festival in July 2009, and Nittany Balloons has been in business since the spring of 2010.  For some, slight edge to me, but for others, they call this one even. Certifications While we both have clearances that allow us to work around young children, Devin Christian is one of only 3000 people to be a certified balloon artist.  Nittany Balloons gets the ed...