R is for

Memes are useful when you’re running out of time, because life gets in the way or if you suffered from food poisoning a few days back and are still in a low energy mode. Besides, if it’s good enough for Evanier it’s good enough for me.

The way this works is that each answer you give has to start with the same letter as your first name. You’re not allowed to repeat an answer and if you’re “tagged” by someone whose name starts with the same first letter, you can’t repeat any of their answers, either. Here’s what I came up with…

1. What is your name: Roger
2. A four letter word: Rote
3. A boy’s name: Raymond
4. A girl’s name: Roberta
5. An occupation: Receptionist
6. A color: Red
7. Something you wear: Raincoat
8. A food: Rutabaga
9. Something found in the bathroom: Rubbing alcohol
10. A place: Racine, WI
11. A reason for being late: Ripped
12. Something you shout: “Raid!”
13. A movie title: Real Life
14. Something you drink: Rum
15. A musical group: Rascals, who used to be Young
16. An animal: Raccoon
17. A street name: Remsen Street (there’s one in Brooklyn, but I was thinking of Cohoes and Troy, around Albany)
18. A type of car: Rolls Royce
19. A song title: “Raggmopp” (Mills Brothers, Treniers, Ames Brothers, and Beany and Cecil)
20. A verb: Rinse

I tag anyone named Quentin or Zelda. Question to those outside the U.S. – can you get to the Beany and Cecil video? (You don’t have to watch it, just open it).
ROG

Beatlemania


The 45th anniversary of the Beatles’ appearance on Ed Sullivan cannot go unmentioned here. Still working on my comprehensive list of songs, but in the meanwhist, as they in “Life of Brian” (George Harrison was a big Monty Python fan):

On episode #5602 of JEOPARDY!, which aired 6 January 2009, there was a whole category of BEATLES LYRICS
$200: “Sont les mots gui vont tres bien ensemble tres bien ensemble”
$400: “Waits at the window, wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door, who is it for?”
$600: “You say yes I say no you say stop and I say go go go”
$800: “Beep beep mm, beep beep, yeh!”
$1000: “I once had a girl, or should I say she once had me”
Answers below.
***
One of those music memes that was circulating a few years ago:
Artist/Band: The Beatles
Are you male or female: Rocky Raccoon; Mr. Moonlight
Describe yourself: Fixing a Hole; Fool on a Hill
How do some people feel about you: Come Together; Day Tripper
How do you feel about yourself: Long and Winding Road; Getting Better
Describe what you want to be: Something; Bad Boy
Describe how you live: Twist and Shout; Searchin’
Describe how you love: Ain’t She Sweet; A Taste of Honey; All My Loving; All You Need Is Love
Share a few words of wisdom: Tomorrow Never Knows; Wait; Get Back
***
The Beatles (1963-70)

***
Cryptoquip:
Beatles hit about a street on which people congregate and create plays on words: Punny Lane
***
Any Time At All “a unique musical blend of The Beatles and Traditional Irish and American Flatpicking tunes”
***
JEOPARDY responses: “Michelle”, “Eleanor Rigby”, “Hello Goodbye”, “Drive My Car”, “Norwegian Wood”; all ultimately answered correctly, though “hello Goodbye” was muffed by two contestants before the third got it right.
ROG

My 20 Favorite Actresses

Everyone who has done this meme, Tom the Dog and SamauraiFrog and the person who tagged him and the person who tagged that person has explained what they mean by “favorite” actress differently, or not at all. So I’ll define it for me. These are actresses that I’ve seen large numbers of their movies; not necessarily the best actresses, but ones who, for whatever reason, I end up seeing, and for the most part, enjoying.

Since I don’t know how to do that clever little box of photos, instead I’ll be listing the first, most recent, and favorite movie I saw them in. I’m only considering theatrical movies, not TV.

Joan Allen – Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), Upside of Anger (2005), Nixon (1995)
Cate Blanchett – Oscar and Lucinda (1997), Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), Elizabeth (1998). She’s been in so many movies I’ve seen, I thought she’d been around even longer.
Ellen Burstyn (pictured) – The Last Picture Show (1971), Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002), Requiem for a Dream (2000). She should have won the Oscar for Requiem, which she lost to Julia Roberts.
Hope Davis – Flatliners (1990), Synecdoche, New York (2008), American Splendor (2003). I don’t remember her in Flatliners, TTTT, but I’ve seen the first and last movie listed for her in IMDB.
Judi Dench – Mrs. Brown (1997), Notes on a Scandal (2006), Iris (2001). I would have thought I had seen her in films earlier.

Jane Fonda (pictured) – Barefoot in the Park (1967), Stanley & Iris (1990), They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969). An actress who I saw a lot in the day, but not much recently. But then she hasn’t done much recently.
Jodie Foster – Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974), Contact (1997), The Accused (1988). Also haven’t seen her much lately, but saw her quite often in the day.
Katharine Hepburn – Bringing Up Baby (1938), Love Affair (1994), The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Barbara Hershey – Last Summer (1969), Lantana (2001), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
Holly Hunter – Raising Arizona (1987) The Incredibles (2004), Broadcast News (1987)
Diane Keaton – The Godfather (1972), Something’s Gotta Give (2003), Annie Hall (1977). At least 5 Woody Allen movies on the list.
Laura Linney – Dave (1993) The Savages (2007), You Can Count on Me (2000). When I decided to do the list, one of the two automatic choices.
Shirley MacLaine – Around the World in Eighty Days (1956), Mrs. Winterbourne (1996), Being There (1979)
Julianne Moore – Benny & Joon (1993), The Hours (2002), Boogie Nights (1997)
Helen Mirren – O Lucky Man! (1973), The Queen (2006), Gosford Park (2001)
Susan Sarandon – The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), Enchanted (2007), Dead Man Walking (1995)

Mary Steenburgen – Time After Time (1979), Sunshine State (2002), Philadelphia (1993). Early in her career, it seemed as though every other movie I saw, she was in. Remember when Jude Law seemed to be in every other film a couple years ago? Well, it was like that.
Meryl Streep – Julia (1977) The Devil Wears Prada (2006) Sophie’s Choice (1982). The other automatic choice.
Emma Thompson – Dead Again (1991), Stranger Than Fiction (2006), Sense and Sensibility (1995)
Sigourney Weaver – Annie Hall (1977), Holes (2003), Working Girl (1988)

As everyone mentioned, this was tougher than it seemed. I tried Minnie Driver, Glenn Close, Anne Hathaway, Keira Knightley, Sissy Spacek, and Kate Winslet, but they didn’t quite meet the criteria I set, though I suspect if I get back into movie-watching mode Hathaway and Knightley might make the list.

ROG

Last year’s blog

I think it was Gordon Dymowski – or was it Shecky Greene? – who first informed me of a meme where you randomly select a line from your blog – one post per month for the past year – and then post the lines (and links) publicly. So let’s review what’s happened on the blog over the past month, and please enjoy this small sampling of the blog.

(Not only did I steal the idea from Gordon, I stole the entire paragraph above, save for two words.)

January: Anthony makes the correct theological point that Christmas is not over. And he is still right.

February: A look at the women–some celebrated, some forgotten–who influenced the lives of the Fab Four and were often the muses behind some of the Beatles’ greatest songs. No, I didn’t buy Patti Boyd’s book.

March: We do not know what we want and yet we are responsible for what we are – that is the fact. – Jean-Paul Sartre (1905 – 1980) Philosophy at no charge.

April: I ended up picking Joan Baez, who my father admired as far back as 1959, when he brought home the oddly-named The Best of Joan Baez; and John Mellencamp, probably in part because of the love Tosy had given him after his recent induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Tunes!

May: If you were to tell me I’d be blogging for nearly 1100 straight days 1200 days ago, I’d say you were nuts. And add another 240 to that.

June: OK, so there are one hundred things that annoy me. But I really, really had to work at it.

July: I noticed that one child of about eight whacked her head on a wooden crossbeam of the slide/climbing contraption. Did you ever wince in pain when someone else gets hurt? I do.

August: Who does Obama pick to be his Vice-Presidential running mate? How did I do? Oh, and a mention of Sarah Palin BEFORE the GOP convention; just sayin’.

September: I am certain life’s questions can be answered by sleeping on hard things and chanting. As though you had any doubt.

October: With the Mets eliminated, I still need to come up with a priority list of teams to root for. And I came up with them?!

November: Finally, I wrote: “To quote Sylvester Stewart: ‘Different strokes for different folks And so on, and so on and scooby-dooby-doo.'” Quoting Sly Stone is almost always appropriate.

December: Listening to boring debates about how “they” have taken the Christ out of Christmas. Didn’t hear it as much this year, or maybe I was in the wrong places.

"Things you’ve done" quiz

Jacquandor – he’s back! – augmented by an e-mail from friend Lori

Gone on a blind date. – No. There was a period where a friend of mine was trying to set me up with a woman in her office I didn’t know, but nothing ever came of it.

Skipped school. Senior year to go to an antiwar protest.

Watched someone die. No. At least on two occasions (my great uncle Ed, my father), got there moments later.

Been to Canada. Yes. first time was to Niagara Falls, Ontario when I was about 10.

Been to Mexico. Yes, down the coast south of San Diego in 1987.

Been to Florida – at least twice. In Orlando -OK. Miami – muggy and oppressive.

Been to Africa – no.

Been on a plane – last time was my trip to Chicago. I do it infrequently enough that I forget the rules about the shoes, etc.

Been lost – when I as 4, my parents THOUGHT I was lost. In fact, i knew exactly how to get back. they just didn’t know where I as.

Been on the opposite side the country – yes, California.

Gone to Washington, DC – went there LOTS of times, the first several at antiwar demonstrations, the last time n 1998 when I tried out for JEOPARDY!

Swam in the ocean – the Atlantic for sure; don’t remember swimming in the Pacific.

Broken a bone – a rib in June 2008

Been in a traffic accident – several, actually. The first serious one was when I was 19, spent only a day and a half in the hospital, but six weeks of physical therapy to strengthen my right shoulder.

Cried yourself to sleep – oh, yeah.

Been on TV – my grandfather was a janitor for a local TV station in Binghamton, and I ended up on a kids’ show at least thrice. My church choir used to sing on telethons every year. I was at some taping of some CNN talk show and asked some question. Oh, yeah, and JEOPARDY!

Stole traffic signs – no, actually.

Played cops and robbers – undoubtedly.

Recently colored with crayons – I have a four-year old. Yes.

Paid for a meal with coins only – yes, but it was mostly quarters and it was for under $10.

Done something you told yourself you wouldn’t – are you KIDDING me? A lot, though not so much of late.

Made prank phone calls – no. It never seemed like fun. I have called people I know, though, using funny accents, but that was years ago.

Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose & elsewhere. Yes, in the high school cafeteria.

Caught a snowflake on your tongue – of course.

Danced in the rain – yes.

Written a letter to Santa Claus – and got a reply.

Been kissed under the mistletoe – more than once. The first time, I was 13. Her name was Mary.

Watched the sunrise with someone – yes, but not in a while. More likely to do it while traveling to different timezones. I specifically recall doing so on a pier in Galveston, TX in the mid-1990s.

Blown bubbles – I have, in my desk at work, a bottler of bubbles which I blow if I get upset. It’s really difficult to be upset while you’re blowing bubbles.

Gone ice-skating – I sucked at it as a child. Did it once 11 years ago to woo my now-wife; still sucked at it.

Been skinny dipping outdoors – yes.

Gone to the movies – more often in the past than currently.

Have a nickname – none I respond to.

Body piercings – nope.

Tattoos? no

Other Questions:

1. Favorite drink?

Alcoholic? Well, Long Island iced tea, but I don’t actually drink it any more. Rum and coke. Almost any drink with rum, or tequila. Actually, I don’t drink much of ANYTHING any more. I had one amaretto and eggnog this month.

Non-alcoholic? Mix of orange juice and cranberry juice

2. How much do you love your job?

The thing about my job is that it’s seldom boring. Occasionally quite challenging, but there’s fun in that.

3. Birthplace?

Binghamton, NY.

4. Favorite vacation spot?

Our honeymoon in Barbados. Got to swim in the Caribbean.

5. Ever eaten just cookies for dinner?

No, but I did eat graham crackers.

6. Favorite pie?

Apple with ice cream. Cherry, blueberry, also with ice cream. Key lime. Oh and here’s an article in defense of pie that I’m totally down with.

Favorite dessert? Cheesecake

Favorite number? 37

7. Favorite holiday? Maundy Thursday/Good Friday. Good melancholy music.

Favorite day of the week? Sunday

8. Favorite food?

Chicken, cooked any number of ways.

9 Favorite smell?

Sausage, bacon, which actually smell better than they taste.

10. How do you relax? Optimally, a massage. Failing that, using my rain stick, rocking it back and forth.

11. How do you see yourself in 10 years?

The mortgage will be paid off. I expect to travel more.

ROG

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