Here's the Scoop by Brian Sweeney

Mail Supermodel
It’s not often that I get to do a follow-up column, but I think it’s justified in this case. For anyone who may have missed last week’s Scoop (I can e-mail copies to one for $1 each. Pre-paid), let me bring you up to speed. Supermodel Elle McPherson recently spent a day at the Delaware & Ulster Railroad in Arkville for a photo shoot. Despite my vast journalistic experience, I was unable to cover this bit of breaking news. I detailed my efforts in this space.
As it turns out, the column was just the start of something. Big.

Supermodel sighting
When I heard the news, there was no hesitation. More than a quarter-century of news reporting had honed my instincts to become highly sensitive to “breaking news.” Therefore, when I was told that “Elle McPherson is shooting a commercial at the Delaware & Ulster Railroad,” I instinctively grabbed my camera. This was newsworthy.

That’s easy to remember
Simple. In an ideal world, life would be easy. We all know that’s not the case.
Sometimes things are just plain hard. Of course, there are things that are tough by nature (for example, geometry, for most of us) and other areas that are made much more difficult by — people.

The next big thing
My new theory is that the Internet and e-mail will soon be going the way of the 8-track tape player. Surprisingly, when I tell people this, they often look at me like I possess some privileged information about the technology revolution. And, frankly, many people seem a tad embarrassed that they are not hip enough to be aware of “the next big thing.”

 

Keep those letters coming

Mellow tuning
I’m not sure when this change happened, but I really have come to enjoy listening to National Public Radio (NPR) stations. Some might say it’s an age thing. They’d be right, in a way. If I never hear another screaming disc jockey that will be OK with me. Really.

Tim...ber!
Did you ever feel like you’re the only person around who is not aware of a new trend or phenomenon? I recently had that experience when some people started chatting about “Ax Men.”

Common misery
This has to be the weirdest time of year to live in the Catskills. Weather.com shows us that the average high temperature for March in these hills is only 37 degrees. Yet we crave more. A lot more.

Taking the test
We tried to come up with an appropriate title and finally settled on the obvious: The Boyfriend Test.
There would be no need for pencil and paper. No 45-minute time limit. No cheat sheets. Nope, The Boyfriend would pass — or fail — on his own terms. For those of us who like to make snap judgments, the test would not take long.

A tangled web
Soon, probably in a few months, the Catskill Mountain News will be entering a new era. We’re going to have a thing called a website or is it web site? Doesn’t matter, we’re getting one.