Travis Monty-Bromer
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travismobro.bsky.social
Travis Monty-Bromer
@travismobro.bsky.social
97 followers 96 following 250 posts
Dad, husband #LetsGoPens #HereWeGo
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travismobro.bsky.social
Happy Giving Tuesday! Akron Children's Museum is about 75% of the way toward our fundraising goal for a new water table.

I would love for you to make a donation today to this new exhibit. We want to continue using the museum to inspire play and curiosity.

secure.qgiv.com/event/making...
Making Waves for the Canal Corner
secure.qgiv.com
December 2, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Reposted by Travis Monty-Bromer
nedraggett.bsky.social
Hell with it, I'm just going to post the whole thing here via screencap and alt text. It's Kaleb Horton, man, his writing always deserves the second read, especially since it could have just easily been lost forever like so much else. Read it, share it.
A look at forgotten Hollywood landmarks By Kaleb Horton Let's say you come in from down south, and you're looking for an unsung movie landmark. So you fly in to LAX, rent a car, blow right past Hollywood, leave Los Angeles county heading north, go over the Grapevine, gape at the monumental hills and, wow, there really is a Smokey Bear Road, then you turn off the air conditioner when the sign tells you. Once you come down the grade too fast and see the world's loneliest Denny's, you're well on your way to what you're looking for – the middle of nowhere. You're going to Kern County to find the spot where Alfred Hitchcock filmed one of the greatest scenes in movie history, the crop duster sequence from "North by Northwest." It takes place in Indiana, of course, but the Indiana road sign and the imported corn field can't deceive this Bakersfield native. The parched and desolate heat of the scene feels too much like Kern County. The scene people know off-hand — Cary Grant running from an airplane — isn't why "North by Northwest" is a classic. The film's greatness, as was often the case for Hitchcock, lies in its build-up, its suspense, its mood. The plane moment is almost anticlimax. It is those five minutes before Grant's desperate escape that constitute a mathematically perfect suspense scene. So expert is Hitchcock's hand that he creates suspense, a slow burning dread, with no camera tricks and no music in broad daylight. Grant's character is a prototypical James Bond. His perfect suit, fast wit, high-alcohol tolerance and effortless charisma have got him out of every predicament so far. In the city, among people, he has powers. Take him away from people, put him nowhere, and he's just like us — totally helpless. He has no powers: His suit is no good out here; his million-dollar tailoring and perfect haircut is just vanity now. No amount of pretending can provide escape. Here, is the one place where he can die, and he gets by on the grace of God. All he can do is wait for what's coming. So when you seek the lost landmark of this scene, you're looking for an idea as much as a place. You're on Highway 99 now, going 30 miles north of Bakersfield, looking for an unassuming patch of dirt that carries spiritual weight. The scene was filmed neart Garces Highway to the west of Delano. You'll think there's a handy exit for it. There's not. You'll probably get lost in Delano, counting on a connection. You're at once a million miles from Hollywood and a hundred miles away. It's lonely. The horizon sprawls forever like there's nothing past it. There are broken down trucks on the side of the road, plumes of smoke from faraway fires. You'll find Garces eventually. You'll pass a bar called Rosy's Place, abandoned houses, an oil field, a prison, a cemetery, a sign that says "we clean headstones," and a whole lot of gold-on-brown punctuated by an occasional trailer or car going faster than you. You're looking for where Garces meets Corcoran Road. That's where this "North by Northwest" scene was filmed. You'll get a vague idea where it is but you'll never be exactly sure, since there's little impetus for clear signage 10 miles from a prison. Maybe Corcoran Road is unlabeled. Besides, that Indiana sign and the prop cornfield haven't been there in 56 years. If you're anything like me, you'll lose the light and call it a day, unsatisfied with the route you took. You return to I-5 northbound. From the 5, you'll meet Route 46, and go through a place called Lost Hills, then back in to the location from Corcoran Road instead. That's how Hitchcock probably did it. More intuitive. Still in the middle of nowhere, but on your way to Corcoran Road, you're right next to another Hollywood landmark: Blackwells Corner, James Dean's last stop. It's a glorified Texaco, and gas is 50 cents a gallon more than it should be. They sell Jelly Bellys and '50s kitsch artifacts — plates with Marilyn Monroe's face on them, and so forth. They really figured out how to cash in on death. You don't want to stop here. But I stopped. I asked the kid at the Blackwells Corner counter how to get to Corcoran Road. He gave me a look that said "there's no reason to go there," and then wearily told me where to go anyway. I was about 8 miles from the destination. Going there is a meditative experience. You're not just going to the middle of nowhere. You're going to the perfect nowhere. Going alone, in the hypnotic heat of the Central Calfiornia Valley, you might even forget what year it is. There is no reason to believe the road would be so well preserved for half a century, intimately tied to the career of an actor born in Bristol 111 years ago, but it has been. There's an abandoned house. A barn with a cross on it. But almost nothing has changed in 56 years. At some point new lines were added on the road. There's overgrowth where there didn't used to be overgrowth. A couple discarded Budweiser cans from who knows when, but mostly it's identical. This is the same sleepy loneliness that Alfred Hitchcock used to make great art in 1959. And that may sound dull, but tranquility is the point. You stand on that dirt and there's no distraction from what's in your soul. It's an inner destination, not an outer one. I told my grandma about it when I got back to Bakersfield. She told me her Uncle Harold thought it was the prettiest road in America. And she showed me a picture of a Corcoran grade school class posing in the dirt with Grant and Hitchcock. It's just a field trip picture. The kids are fidgeting, many with arms folded, some shielding their eyes from the sun, all with obedient smiles. They'd all be in their sixties now, but they'd remember where this road is. It emphasized the ugliness of James Dean's last stop becoming a place to sell T-shirts. It's about what we preserve, and what we don't, and what we remember, and what we don't. It's easy to find shrines to morbidity and hard to find meaningful places. For those, you have to go looking.
November 26, 2025 at 9:52 PM
travismobro.bsky.social
Why can’t I watch a multiview of the Pens and Pitt games on ESPN+? Seems like a huge benefit miss on my paid subscription @espn.com
November 23, 2025 at 1:50 AM
travismobro.bsky.social
BengaLOLs hahaha
November 2, 2025 at 9:32 PM
travismobro.bsky.social
Daniel Jones
a poster for pumpkin season with a bunch of pumpkins in the background
ALT: a poster for pumpkin season with a bunch of pumpkins in the background
media.tenor.com
November 2, 2025 at 8:46 PM
travismobro.bsky.social
How are we feeling about a Scrubs reboot being official @sheaserrano.bsky.social ? Are we gonna get another Scrubs PDF?
October 28, 2025 at 11:36 PM
Reposted by Travis Monty-Bromer
xoxogossipgita.bsky.social
rest in peace kaleb horton. this is my husband's eulogy for our friend. davesplace.substack.com/p/my-eulogy-...
My Eulogy for Kaleb Horton
A few notes:
davesplace.substack.com
October 15, 2025 at 7:33 PM
travismobro.bsky.social
We may have just witnessed the best @penguinsnhl.bsky.social game of the season. Better enjoy it. #LetsGoPens
October 8, 2025 at 2:28 AM
Reposted by Travis Monty-Bromer
mrgeorgewallace.bsky.social
I saw this racist bullshit coming the second our classrooms switched from blackboards to whiteboards.
October 7, 2025 at 7:04 PM
travismobro.bsky.social
Hey @sheaserrano.bsky.social I thought this subscription was called Good Movie, not All Time Great Movies. #ThereGoesCollegeSoccer
October 3, 2025 at 11:10 AM
travismobro.bsky.social
Go Guards!!
two men are standing next to each other on a baseball field . one of the men is wearing a baseball uniform .
ALT: two men are standing next to each other on a baseball field . one of the men is wearing a baseball uniform .
media.tenor.com
September 28, 2025 at 1:59 AM
travismobro.bsky.social
Patriots red zone offense today is perfect 👌🏼 #HereWeGo
September 21, 2025 at 6:45 PM
travismobro.bsky.social
I would alternate between Cotton Eye Joe and Smells Like Teen Spirit depending on the mood. Every once in awhile throw in Billie Jean and moonwalk onto the mound. (I am at best a double A closer)
dirtbagqueer.rocks victoria zeller (buy ONE OF THE BOYS) @dirtbagqueer.rocks · Aug 2
if you were a closer in major league baseball what would your entrance music be
August 2, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Reposted by Travis Monty-Bromer
drewunga.bsky.social
My 11-year-old daughter, unhappy with the snacks and the long lines at camp, decided to start her own business with a couple of her campmates. I found this document on my computer.
July 19, 2025 at 10:38 PM
travismobro.bsky.social
Bob McKenzie deserves to enjoy retirement. An icon and class act in the world of hockey. He made the game enjoyable and accessible for many. Cheers Bob!

nitter.poast.org/TSNBobMcKenz...
nitter.poast.org
July 2, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Reposted by Travis Monty-Bromer
ryanwilson.bsky.social
Happy 10th anniversary
July 1, 2025 at 5:06 PM
travismobro.bsky.social
#LetsGoPens stacking picks #Rebuild
June 28, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Reposted by Travis Monty-Bromer
mollyknight.bsky.social
If you were too young in 2003 here is what Bush told the American people:

1) The Iraq War won’t cost a lot of money
3) We won’t need a lot of troops
4) We’ll bring peace and freedom to Iraq
5) We’ll find WMDs
6) We’ll be welcomed as liberators
7) It will be easy
8) It won’t take long

All lies.
June 22, 2025 at 2:47 AM
Reposted by Travis Monty-Bromer
brendelbored.bsky.social
It’s tough because I largely agree with people saying we should have a better balance on here between politics and other things but then the President declares war or a bunch of people get kidnapped and it feels a little silly to finish typing out “what’s your favorite Futurama episode”
June 22, 2025 at 12:51 AM
travismobro.bsky.social
It’s a Trending Search on Disney+ ??? @sheaserrano.bsky.social what has Good Movie become?
June 20, 2025 at 12:19 AM
travismobro.bsky.social
This is the most likeable Brad Marchand has ever been. Then again I’m pretty sure I’d like anyone that walks around during their Stanley Cup celebration with a coffe, cigar and beer at the same time #BreakfastOfChampions
June 19, 2025 at 11:51 AM
travismobro.bsky.social
Playing goalie when the worst player on the other team scores on you (hockey)
mikegolicjr.bsky.social Mike Golic Jr @mikegolicjr.bsky.social · Jun 16
what's the thing that's most uncomfortable/feels worst when playing sports?

I would say playing in soaking wet cleats/shoes is up there.
June 16, 2025 at 12:24 AM
Reposted by Travis Monty-Bromer
mrgeorgewallace.bsky.social
Shout out to the top 5 ings in the world, onion r, happy end, Peter Jenn, Cool Runn and NO K.
June 15, 2025 at 12:00 AM
travismobro.bsky.social
Oilers in 7. Rooting for McDavid to get his first Stanley Cup, but as always mainly rooting for great hockey games.
June 5, 2025 at 12:21 AM
travismobro.bsky.social
Every year is a new peak. #NeverStopClimbing 💩
zachweinersmith.bsky.social Zach Weinersmith @zachweinersmith.bsky.social · Jun 3
Joking aside, what year of your life did you reach your absolute peak of being an insufferable shithead?
June 4, 2025 at 2:23 AM