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Because it's there

Posted at 8:00 AM on July 9, 2008 by Bob Collins (10 Comments)
Filed under: Surveys and trivia

The News Cut editorial board (me and the dog) is split over whether it's a good idea to spend even one minute of your life doing relatively pointless things. Take Jim "Mouth" Purol, who is trying to set a world record (kept somewhere) by sitting in all 92,542 seats at the Pasadena Rose Bowl.

As of 3 p.m. Tuesday, MSNBC reported, the 56-year-old Anaheim resident had sat on at least 30,000 seats after starting his mission Monday morning.

"I've been wanting to sit in the Rose Bowl's seats for over 20 years, but I kept getting turned down by the city of Pasadena," Purol said. "They thought it was dumb."

It's not all dumb. Purol is raising money for Outward Bound.

He's got an assistant keeping him hydrated and "facilitating the continuous interviews with the media."

Comments (10)

Hi Bob,

Your RSS feed is (technical term here) hosed.

Posted by fasolamatt | July 9, 2008 8:51 AM

Yeah, we're aware of it. Folks smarter than me are on it. I'll probably just take the day off since the blog is pretty much invisible.

Posted by Bob Collins | July 9, 2008 9:25 AM

But your fans know how to find you. Regardless of seeming invisible, please don't take the day off - how else could I get through the day if I didn't have useful knowledge like Smurfs in politics and Rose Bowl antics to keep me on top of the news? (I read for the more serious analysis and commentary, too...)

Posted by Anna | July 9, 2008 9:32 AM

Huzzah! Huzzah! RSS is back! Three cheers for smart people!

Posted by fasolamatt | July 9, 2008 9:46 AM

totally awesome that this guy is doing this for outward bound-the article does not do any justice for what outward bound is all about so I have included the mission statement. I think Mr Purol is doing this specificallly for youths at risk.

About Outward Bound
Our mission is to inspire character development and self-discovery in people of all ages and walks of life through challenge and adventure, and to impel them to achieve more than they ever thought possible, to show compassion for others and to actively engage in creating a better world.
"The aim of education is to impel young people into value forming experiences."

- Kurt Hahn, Founder
Outward Bound is a non-profit educational organization with five core programs that change lives, build teams, and transform schools. These programs are Outward Bound Wilderness, Expeditionary Learning Schools Outward Bound, Outward Bound Professional, Outward Bound Urban Centers and Outward Bound Discovery.

We deliver adventure in the wilderness, urban centers, workrooms, and classrooms to help others achieve their possibilities and to inspire them to serve others and the world around them.

Outward Bound depends on donations to ensure our continued ability to provide students with financial need, employ highly-trained teachers and instructors and maintain safe equipment. Our donor’s loyalty and support has helped build Outward Bound to what it is today, and what it is becoming.

so after reading WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT doesn't it make it more less dumb?

Posted by c | July 9, 2008 9:50 AM

1) This fella's nickname is "Mouth". I'd be surprised if it didn't morph into "Tush" after this stunt.

2) I think News Cut needs a new category: "Whacky things whose impact on informing us about ourselves is highly unclear".

:-)

Posted by JohnnyZoom | July 9, 2008 11:13 AM

So who thinks it's a good idea to spend even one minute of your life doing relatively pointless things? You or the dog?

Posted by Alison | July 9, 2008 11:13 AM

As you said: relatively pointless. So the value of that task is relavent to the degree as perceived by the one doing the task. Now keeping record of such an act...

Posted by Tyler Suter | July 9, 2008 12:35 PM

And very funny stuff JohnnyZoom; gave me a good chuckle

Posted by Tyler Suter | July 9, 2008 12:38 PM

//Whacky things whose impact on informing us about ourselves is highly unclear.

That could be just about everything.

Posted by Bob Collins | July 9, 2008 1:18 PM

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