Lately, Kyle has been on me to host a PowerPoint Party.  What’s a PowerPoint Party? you’re probably not asking.  In the early 2000s, two zesty architects invented a zesty PowerPoint presentation style called Pecha Kucha, which gives a person 20 slides, at 20 seconds per slide, to git it done.  As someone who has worked in the architecture industry for two decades, I can tell you with extreme confidence that Pecha Kucha was created because if there’s one thing architects like…well, if there’s ONE thing they like it’s grey furniture…but if there’s another thing architects like it’s PowerPoint presentations.  And what’s the one thing that could make a zesty PowerPoint-based endorphin rush even zestier?  Alcohol.  Hence, PowerPoint Parties were born.

Back in mid-2020 when we were all pumped up by Zoom, Kyle decided he HAD TO HAVE a PowerPoint Party.  When Kyle HAS TO HAVE something, nothing stands in his way.  I’m not sure what comes to your mind when you hear a person is a “nothing stands in his way”-er, but I personally envision a dark Victorian mansion atop a hill, thunder and lightning crashing about, as our protagonist rubs his hands together and glares down at the village below.  Now imagine the opposite, and that is Kyle.  When Kyle gets excited about something, the sun shines and birds sing, and he repeats his wish over and over until it comes true – like a character in a Disney movie, but with flannel and Old Fashions.  Fortunately for Kyle, we were regularly Zooming with a couple of architects and so it only took him five or six (hundred) asks for a PowerPoint Party to make it come true.

Since our party also included non-architects, Kyle simplified the rules: three minutes, any subject, followed by two minutes of questions – because nothing says “Zig-a-zig-ah” like a Q&A.  Here is a sampling of the topics that were covered: A Brief Look at the Start of World War I, Khloe Kardashian Through the Ages, and Why Comic Sans is Actually a Good Font.  The last one was mine; here’s a fact: Comic Sans is the best font for dyslexics because every one of the characters is distinct.  Wha-BAM.

With such hotsy-totsy information at our literal fingertips, you will be surprised to hear that our PowerPoint Party was very little PowerPointing and a very lot of screwing around.  I’m not sure we made it through a single presentation without one (or all) of us interrupting with important items of note, such as, “I need to get chips” and “Is a taco a sandwich?”  I’m not even sure everyone had a chance to present.  No matter; Kyle was happy, Microsoft was happy, and those people are still our friends so I guess it was a success.

For the past three years, Kyle has told all our other friends about the fun that can be had with a 36-year-old business software package.  Incidentally, he’s told so many friends that if we ever were to have another PowerPoint Party, we’d need to rent an auditorium and schedule the entire day…like a TEDx, but with flannel and Old Fashions.

What would you, Amanda, present if you were to host another PowerPoint Party? you’re probably not asking.  I’ve narrowed it down to one of two topics:

• The Railroad is Out to Get Me: A Photo Montage.  I’ve become keenly aware that the railroad and its employees are targeting me on a personal level which is why I am always, ALWAYS stuck at a train.  Always.  The other day I pulled up behind another vehicle at a rail crossing, the arms went down, a train slowly rolled through, stopped, backed up, then went forward again; and when the arms finally went up, the car in front of me had just enough time to cross when the arms went back down and ANOTHER train went through and I got stuck AGAIN, and if that doesn’t sound like collusion I don’t know what does.  Every time I get stuck at a train I take a photo because I want Big Rail to know I’m onto them, and so I will highlight both the injustice and my excellent photography skillz in this presentation.
  
• We Need to Do Away with All Ranch Except Good Ranch.  I attended a conference in New York last week, and went through the lunch buffet line with another Midwesterner.  She was dismayed that ranch dressing was not available to go with the salad.
  
  “Ranch dressing is awful,” one of our East Coast buddies reprimanded her.
  “East Coach ranch is awful,” I said.  “Midwestern ranch is liquid magic.”
  “I’ve never had Midwestern ranch,” our compadre said.
  “Well, if you did, you’d pick that all day every day,” my fellow Midwesterner said.
  Anyways, that’s the presentation.

Thanks to Kyle and his “nothing stands in his way”-ness, I’m sure one of these parties is on the horizon.  Maybe this time someone will be the definitive voice on tacos and Khloe Kardashian, or maybe someone will go against the grain and simply tell us their feelings on a subject without the use of visuals – like, you know, a regular conversation.  Wha-BAM.

The photo above is Kyle power pointing at YET ANOTHER TRAIN.

This week on North Dakota Today we talked about Kitty City and a wonderful woman named Janae Roush.  Check it out!  (Valley News Live)

Happy 106th birthday to Mandan’s Maxie Helbling! (KFYR TV)

The Minot Quilts of Valor honored several of North Dakota’s veterans in Mohall. (KX Net)

If you check out the movie, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” keep an eye out for New Town’s Chance Rush. (KFYR TV)

If you can’t beat’em, join’em. (Hot 975 FM)

Bismarck’s Ben Ness is on year five of showing his Bison Pride. (Valley News Live)

Wahpeton’s Aurora Allison is in the third grade and already an old hat – or old dog – at entrepreneurship. (Valley News Live)

Fargo’s Mike and Krista Andrews were featured on a recent episode of House Hunters International after packing up and moving to Scotland to take part in their daughter’s college adventure. (Fargo Forum)

Bismarck’s Legacy High School newspaper is a national award winner. (KFYR TV)

A Dickinson woman had a sackful of surprises – 150,000 of them – when she went to turn in her lottery ticket. (KX Net)

As a reminder, I’ll be appearing on North Dakota Today on Monday mornings. Tune in, and send me the people and stories that are nice.  Thank you in advance!

ALSO as a reminder, Kyle now has a North Dakota hockey podcast on Pulltab Sports. It’s called “North Dakota After Dark” and he hosts it with our friends Kelly and Corey. Episode 12 with Jamie Sperle is now up. Click here to listen.