Photo taken: May 18, 2011
When I take my camera to the ballpark, you can bet I’m going to get way more photos of what’s being put up on the giant video board than is really necessary. I have literally hundreds of these photos in my archive, and there are a few that actually captured something that amuses me. With a hefty dose of restraint while compiling my list, this is the only one that appears in this entire countdown. It is (then) Kansas City Royals pitcher and all around jokester Bruce Chen, appearing in some between-innings PSA or promotion or some garbage I’ve long since forgotten the actual content of. In the moment I captured, he’s pointing to his cellphone with something of a stern look on his face. Why do I love this seemingly irreverent photo? Because Bruce Chen is perfectly summing up my feelings about the smartphone takeover that was just starting at the time I snapped this seven years ago, and has since more than left me behind in the virtual dust. I can’t stop you from viewing The Nest on your phone rather than a computer as Dog intended, but if you start checking your texts or Facebook feed while visiting my humble blog, you’ll have to deal with Bruce’s evil eye…
Evil Squirrel's Nest 
I wouldn’t DREAM of risking Bruce’s EVIL EYE by straying from viewing the EVIL SQUIRREL’s NEST post….and in fact only owning a PC and laptop AND no “smart” phone or pad, pod, device other than those two, no danger of it ANYWAY. My husband and I are proud owners of “dumb” phones…..and intend to keep it that way.
Pam
YAY! Bruce and I applaud your commitment to dumbphones and thank you for checking out The Nest exclusively on last decade’s technology!
Smartphones do have a place in these modern times, but sheesh…people need to not think they are the ONLY thing worth focusing on. And I sure as heck don’t want to hear them yammering about stupid nonsense while they’re walking along not paying attention to the world around them. 😈
The people talking into the bluetooth devices really aggravate me… especially at work where we need to pay attention to what customers are saying. And some people even have the nerve to give you an annoyed look if you make the incorrect assumption that they were talking to you rather than to an invisible earpiece…
I hear ya. And then there are those people who put those stupid things on before they even brush their teeth. Gah!
I should have this photo blown up and framed and hang it on the dining room wall across from where my youngest sits so I don’t have to give him the evil eye myself for texting all through dinner. But then Bruce could give me the evil eye on the occasions when I feel like reading weather blogs on my tablet during dinner, so maybe not….
LOL! And like any good poster, Bruce’s evil eyes will follow you no matter where you are in the room. It won’t be safe to ever be on your smartphone again!
Maybe Bruce’s poster should be installed on the dashboard of cars! I’ve seen so many people driving down the road with their face buried in their phones lately.
Garry just shoots away in the park. He doesn’t care what it is, he shoots it. All of it. The scoreboard, the screen, the honor guard, the fans, the hot dogs. It’s baseball. That’s all that matters.
I get a lot of strange looks from the other fans when I aim the camera at so many weird things. Then again, at least while the game’s going on I’m not buried in my phone like most of them are…
He’s pretty much the most un-threatening person I’ve ever seen so I’m going to ignore him and take my chances…
It’s the un-threatening ones you have to watch out for. He’s probably a master at the Vulcan neck pinch…