July 2010 - Page 3 of 7 - Ramblin' with Roger

30-Day Challenge: Day 13- Favorite Memory

The food was great, the atmosphere casual, the vista beautiful, the price was right.

Do they mean my FAVORITE memory, or ONE favorite memory? If it’s the former, there are too many contenders, including getting lost in the Adironacks with my father when I was 10, taking a free Christmas tree on a bus, being on JEOPARDY!, all of which I’ve written about. I probably wrote about my daughter’s birth too, and if not, I’ll rectify that soon enough.

Here’s a story about going to an inn in Poland Spring, ME. Yes, it’s the town where the water is bottled. The inn isn’t directly related to the bottling plant, though plenty of the beverage was on hand.

We first heard of the Poland Spring Inns when we had gone to a wedding reception in August of 2003. It sounded great, a lovely getaway without a lot of hassle.

The timing probably made it special. Carol was pregnant with Lydia, and we had told no one at that point; it was our conspiratorial little secret.

We got there on Sunday night, barely in time for dinner. The rush was that the room was transformed every evening for some sort of entertainment, whether it be BINGO or a talent show. You could go to it, or not.

During the week, we walked, read, played shuffleboard, did tai chi. The food was great, the atmosphere casual, the vista beautiful, the price was right. And I loved the attitude. From the website:

To become a Great Vacation Value, we have done away with many of the costly services that most people do not miss. Please take the time to read our website and decide if Poland Spring is right for you.

Poland Spring went “green” before it was the chic thing to do…. One way we help the environment is by conserving water…. Please bring your own towels, soap and room glasses. We do provide sheets, blankets, bedspreads, and one pillow per person. If you would like facial tissue or an extra pillow, bring it along.

Don’t pay for things you don’t want …There are no phones in the rooms, but we do have public phones in the lobbies or if you must, bring your cell phone. There is a message board for incoming calls that you are free to ignore. The Maine Inn lobby has wireless internet access and a public computer to check your e-mail. No clanging ice machine in every hall, need ice? Buy it at the gift shop. Bring your own shampoo, we don’t give you little bottles that adds to the room cost. No doormen or bellboys.

Based on our five-day stay seven years ago, highly recommended.

A is for Animal Adjectives

Why does a quite provocative Paula Abdul video suddenly come to mind?

I’m in a bit of an animal ~~rut~~ groove the last couple weeks. I found this neat link to animal adjectives, most of which I never heard of. But it’s the familiar ones that got me thinking about how some of them get applied to people, sort of a reverse anthropomorphism.

These definitions come from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. They are in addition to “having the characteristics of” said animal.

aquiline – curving like an eagle’s beak (an aquiline nose)

elephantine – having enormous size or strength: massive; clumsy, ponderous (elephantine verse)

feline (cat) – sleekly graceful; sly, treacherous; stealthy

porcine – overweight to the extent of resembling a pig

Don’t you think ALBERT Einstein (hey, an A word) looks rather leonine in this photograph? (Or is it that the noble lion is looking Einsteinesque?)

bovine – having qualities (as placidity or dullness) characteristic of oxen or cows

ursine (bear) – (a lumbering ursine gait)

serpentine – subtly wily or tempting; winding or turning one way and another (a serpentine road); having a compound curve whose central curve is convex

reptilian – cold-bloodedly treacherous (a reptilian villain — Theodore Dreiser)

(Why does a quite provocative Paula ABDUL video – yet another A – suddenly come to mind?)

canine (dog) – a conical pointed tooth; especially one situated between the lateral incisor and the first premolar [OK, that was a cheat]

I discovered that some of the words on the adjective list don’t show up in Merriam-Webster at all, such as troglodytine. Words such as hircine and limacine generate a message such as this:
Limacine, it turns out, isn’t in the free Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, where you just searched.
However, it is available in our premium Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary. To see that definition in the Unabridged Dictionary, start your FREE trial now.

Fortunately, there is Wordnik, which has all of these words:
troglodytine -Resembling or having the characters of wrens, or Troglodytinæ (doesn’t this sound prehistoric?)
hircine – Of or characteristic of a goat, especially in strong odor.
limacine – Of, relating to, or resembling a slug.

The Wordnix definitions tend to be more complete, in large part because it pulls from multiple sources, including something called the Century Dictionary. While M-W says of asinine, “extremely or utterly foolish (an asinine excuse)”, Wordnik says, “stupid; obstinate; obtrusively silly; offensively awkward.”

Many of the prefixes match the animal’s scientific names, such as “a slug of the subfamily Limacinæ or family Limacidæ.”

I KNEW I should have studied Latin or Greek.

(Confidential to Lisa: THIS post.)

ABC Wednesday – Round 7

The ever smaller meme

There were these couple Sunday Stealing posts, where 80 questions were whittled down to 44; here’s Part 1 and here’s Part 2. I’ve eliminated questions I’ve either answered recently or plan to answer soon.

1. Do you own an iPod?
No, and I feel as though I’m supposed to.

2. What person do you talk to on the phone the most?
Probably my sister Leslie, if only because I’ve memorized her number. If I had an iPod, I could just program it in, or something.

3. Do you still remember the first person you kissed?
Yes, I was 13 and her name was Mary.

4. Has anyone ever called you lazy?
Ever? Probably. And I probably was to his or her mind. And they probably didn’t know how to relax, to my mind.

5. Do you ever take medication to help you fall asleep?
Not in a while. Actually, falling asleep is seldom an issue. STAYING asleep; that’s another matter. The mind goes, “Chit-chat, chit-chat.” Shut up, mind, I need my sleep.

6. Has anyone told you a secret this week?
Not that I can recall.

7. What is the first thing you notice about the opposite sex?
Depends on thir most striking feature. It could be hair or eyes or legs…

8. What are you looking forward to?
I’m really not a “looking forward to” kind of guy. I’ve worked hard to take it as it comes.

9. Do you own any band t-shirts?
Beatles. Possibly others.

10. What will you be doing in one hour?
Showering.

11. Is anyone in love with you?
Hope so.

12. Last time you cried?
Theses surveys love this question. Actually, it was a children’s cartoon that I found surprisingly touching.

13. Are you on a desktop computer or a laptop?
Library desktop.

14. When is the last time you slept on the floor?
It was when the daughter was about two, sleeping on the sofa because her room was too warm, and I sleep on the floor beside the sofa. (BTW, she now has an a.c. in her room.)

15. How many hours of sleep do you need to function?
Define “function”; I’ve gone with three, but six is better. Then every once in a while, I’ll sleep for nine or ten hours.

16. Do you eat breakfast daily?
Yes.

17. Are your days fast-paced?
No.

18. What did you do last night?
Work on this blog.

19. Do you use sarcasm?
Not well. It comes off too strident.

20. How old will you be turning on your next birthday?
58.

21. Are you picky about spelling and grammar?
This has changed a LOT since I started blogging. There are perfectly good bloggers, people I follow, who simply cannot spell. They always muff its and it’s. They use apostrophes excessively. Their plural structure is totally off. These are NOT typos, these are errors. And I find myself more forgiving over time for blogs.
Conversely, I can be a real PITA for newspapers. Just this month, I wrote a correction request to the writer of a newspaper article online, where the sentence made no sense.

22. Do you get along better with the same sex or the opposite sex?
Opposite. Always have.

23. Do you watch the news?
Yes.

24. How did you get one of your scars?
Two of them from falls from bicycles, though, in fact, one is obliterated by the vitiligo.

25. Who was the last person to make you mad?
If I got angry every time I had cause to be angry, I’d be in a constant state of rage. I’ve done that; doesn’t work for me, and never did.

26. What is the last big thing you purchased?
Some books.

27. Who would you want to be tied to for 24 hours?
Would I know it was just for 24 hours? I’ll pick Warren Buffett; he’d be an interesting guy, and someone would be looking to rescue him.

28. What is a rumour someone has spread about you?
That I’m a nice guy.

29. What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator?
Sit down and read a magazine that I hope I had stashed in my backpack. Well, after trying the emergency phone and yelling.

30. T or F: All’s fair in love and war?
False.

31. Do you know how to use some words correctly, but not know the meaning?
Indubitably.

32. Do you know which US states don’t use Daylight Savings Time?
I’m guessing Arizona and Hawaii. I think Indiana finally capitulated.

33. Do you want a bright yellow ‘06 mustang?
No.

34. What’s something you’ve always wanted?
Daily massage.

35. Would you rather swim in the ocean or a lake?
Lake.

36. Do you wear a lot of black?
Pants yes, shirt no.

37. Describe your hair:
Receding, gray.

38. Where is/are your best friend(s)?
NYC, New Paltz, Austin, Albany.

Summertime Blues

I seriously thought Paul Giamatti was going to be nominated for an Oscar for American Splendor.

It’s very warm on the second floor of my house. It was hot for several days last week, then it cooled off somewhat, only to have the heat return. The only place it isn’t hot is in the daughter’s room; she has a room air conditioner. The bedrooms have ceiling fans, which circulate but do not cool, the warm air.

The attic is comparable to doing the Bataan death march, after about 10 a.m.

The very good news, so far, is that we have not seen a bat in the living quarters. They seem to usually come in on the second or third day of a run of hot weather. Given the fact that we’ve had bats in 2002-2007 and 2009, I’m guessing that the insulation of the attic had an added effect.

Mowed the lawn Friday night with the reel mower, because weeds that look like miniature pine trees – what ARE those, anyway? – grow faster than the grass. BIG mistake. Even at 7:30 p.m., it was extremely humid. I did not have to worry too much about getting sunburn, but it was still so muggy, I needed to take a shower afterward.

A relative sent me one of those forwarded Very Important!!!! notices:
My car book says to roll down the windows to let out all the hot air before turning on A/C. WHY ???????????
Please do NOT turn on A/C as soon as you enter the car.
Open the windows after you enter your car and then turn ON the AC after a couple of minutes. It goes on to talk about cancer-causing benzene, in great detail. The Snopes report does not entirely negate the e-mail, though it does challenge some of the specific cause-and-effect mentioned in the e-mail. We’ve been rolling down our windows for years before turning on the a/c, mostly to try to dissipate that OMG hot air.

Speaking of air conditioners, Parade magazine’s Ask Marilyn says running the ceiling fans 24 hours a day will NOT help the air conditioning so that the electric bills will not go down.

I was watching the Yankees’ tribute to Bob Sheppard and George Steinbrenner Friday night and was moved. Sheppard, the voice of the Yankees, who Reggie Jackson dubbed “The voice of God” has been so distinctive in the period he announced for the Yankees (1951-2007), plus the New York Giants for a couple of decades, that Yankee captain Derek Jeter had requested Sheppard’s voice be used to introduce him when he comes to bat. Lots of nice articles on ESPN, including this one. The Friday night game had no announcer in his honor.

George Steinbrenner, the man who purchased the Yankees in 1973, in the midst of a fallow period for the team – hadn’t won the World Series since 1962, hadn’t even gotten to the Series since 1964 – was a polarizing character who, I thought, contributed to the zooiness of the Bronx Zoo. Without looking it up, I recall him hiring and firing Billy Martin five different times, and firing Bob Lemon, not for the first time after his team had won 103 regular-season games. He was suspended by baseball twice. I was no fan of George’s, yet felt badly at the passing of such a distinctive character. The Yankees’ 5-4 comeback win over Tampa Bay Friday night seemed somehow appropriate.

Harvey Pekar’s death at the age of 70 did make me sad. The comic book writer who wrote a lot about Harvey Pekar could be self-involved and acerbic, but from the first time I read his material back in the 1980s, I related to his honesty and his struggle to try to figure it all out. I loved the movie American Splendor, and I seriously thought Paul Giamatti – son of the late baseball commissioner Bart Giamatti, BTW – was going to be nominated for an Oscar for playing Harvey. I did NOT enjoy seeing Harvey the one time I saw him on Letterman; seems that Dave treated him like a caricature for its entertainment value. Here’s an appreciation from the LA Times.

The only Jay Leno joke I’ve ever remembered: “It’s so hot [how hot is it?] that even in Cleveland, they can feel the Miami Heat.” I watched The Decision (11.2 million viewers, more than some NBC shows, and came to pretty much agree with what Jaquandor said on the LeBron James issue, though I’d argue that the Cavaliers weren’t going to win an NBA championship any time soon, even if James had stayed. The problem with The Decision – an issue even my wife, who cares nothing about basketball or most sports, tired of the spectacle – is that LJ apparently grossly misunderstood his own press clippings. The only way he could have gotten away with that staged event is if he had stayed in Cleveland.

Wow, this blogpost has a Cleveland feel: LeBron, Pekar, city native Steinbrenner. Makes me want to listen to music from The Band.

Finally, Summer Breeze by the Isley Brothers, a cover of the Seals & Crofts hit.

Top 25 albums of last 20 years QUESTION

Also: some recent albums that might be on the list in the future, had I had time enough to listen more often.

Inspired by Johnny Bacardi, here are my favorite albums of the last two decades. Not necessarily the best.

Rules: Create a non-objective list of your favorite albums of the last 20 years (anything released between 1990 and now), remember, this is your FAVORITES so, if Maroon 5’s Songs about Jane was your favorite album, that should be number 1, even if you feel Nevermind was a more influential album.

As JB says: “I have no doubt that I will forget several. Also, for no good reason, I’m naming one album per artist.” Actually, I do have a good reason: it would be heavily influenced by John R. Cash.

The quiz did not pick a number of albums, but JB picked 25, so I did as well. The first ten are pretty solid, not necessarily in that order; the next 15 are as I thought of them, and I may be missing something. I actively avoided the compilations of music I already have such as Psychedelic Soul by the Temptations or even LOVE by the Beatles.

Oh Brother, Where Are Thou soundtrack
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road – Lucinda Williams
Love and Theft – Bob Dylan
The Road to Ensenada – Lyle Lovett
Ingenue – k.d. lang
Unchained (American II) – Johnny Cash
The Seeger Sessions – Bruce Springsteen
Red, Hot + Blue: A Tribute to Cole Porter
Come On Come On – Mary Chapin Carpenter
Harvest Moon – Neil Young
Achtung Baby – U2
Winter Light – Linda Ronstadt
Concert for George (Harrison)
Home – Dixie Chicks
Night Train to Nashville: Music City Rhythm and Blues, 1945-1970
Van Lear Rose – Loretta Lynn
Black Cadillac – Rosanne Cash
Other People’s Lives – Ray Davies
We’ll Never Turn Back – Mavis Staples
American Idiot – Green Day
Nevermind – Nirvana
Dirt Farmer – Levon Helm
The Rhythm of the Saints – Paul Simon
Out of Time – R.E.M.
Wildflowers – Tom Petty

Some recent albums that might be on the list in the future had I had time enough to listen more often:
Good Evening, New York City – Paul McCartney
INTERPRETATIONS: The British Rock Songbook – Bettye LaVette
The Sea – Corinne Bailey Rae

Now I’m picking YOU to select your five or fifty FAVORITE albums in the last 20 years, NOT necessarily the BEST.
***
Also, tell me if this ever happens to you: I was listening to the Rolling Stones’ Sticky Fingers album this week, one of my two favorite Stones’ collections. I had the headphones on at work and wasn’t specifically paying attention when I Got the Blues came on. At about 2:30 in, suddenly I got very sad, listening to the organ of the late Billy Preston. I’m sure I’ve listened to the album at least a few times since Billy died (on 06/06/2006), yet it really got to me this time. Did you ever hear a song that you’ve heard many times before, then, for some reason, you hear it with new ears?