meme Archives - Page 28 of 28 - Ramblin' with Roger

Arts Meme

I no longer know who I stole this meme from!

Name a book that you want to share so much that you keep giving away copies:

It’s such a cliche: The Prophet by Gibran. It was a Christmas present I gave again this year. Also, The World Almanac. Beyond that, there are some expensive music reference books from Joel Whitburn about the Billboard charts. I never throw away the old copy when I buy the new copy, I just pass it on.

Name a piece of music that changed the way you listen to music:

Besides “Quintet” from West Side Story, which I’ve previously mentioned – “The Jets are gonna have their way tonight” against, “Tonight, tonight won’t be just any night”? Or the Huntley-Brinkley theme, which I discovered was Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, 2nd movement, thus making classical music accessible? It’d have to be “In the Mood” by Henhouse Five Plus Two, which has led me to the revelation that almost all music can be done as through chickens were squawking. Or maybe the Beatles’ “Tomorrow Never Knows”, which is technically all one chord.

Name a film you can watch again and again without fatigue:

There are several. But to name a few; “Field of Dreams”, “Annie Hall”, the first “Back to the Future” movie, the original (Episode 4) “Star Wars”. I saw “Annie Hall” four times in the theater, which is tied for the record.

Name a performer for whom you suspend all disbelief:

Meryl Streep, Judi Dench, Hilary Swank, Donald Sutherland, Tommy Lee Jones, Ellen Burstyn. I’m sure there are others.

Name a work of art you’d like to live with:

The Scream. There are several copies, and they seem to get stolen a lot, so that could be interesting.

Name a work of fiction which has penetrated your real life:

Don’t read that much fiction, but I’ll pick The Handmaid’s Tale; it felt very real.

Name a punch line that always makes you laugh:

Not so much a punchline, as that whole riff in “The Life of Brian” about the ever-lengthening list of what the Romans had done for the Jews, found here:
REG:
They’ve taken everything we had, and not just from us, from our fathers, and from our fathers’ fathers.
LORETTA:
And from our fathers’ fathers’ fathers.
REG:
Yeah.
LORETTA:
And from our fathers’ fathers’ fathers’ fathers.
REG:
Yeah. All right, Stan. Don’t labour the point. And what have they ever given us in return?!
XERXES:
The aqueduct?
REG:
What?
XERXES:
The aqueduct.
REG:
Oh. Yeah, yeah. They did give us that. Uh, that’s true. Yeah.
COMMANDO #3:
And the sanitation.
LORETTA:
Oh, yeah, the sanitation, Reg. Remember what the city used to be like?
REG:
Yeah. All right. I’ll grant you the aqueduct and the sanitation are two things that the Romans have done.
MATTHIAS:
And the roads.
REG:
Well, yeah. Obviously the roads. I mean, the roads go without saying, don’t they? But apart from the sanitation, the aqueduct, and the roads–
COMMANDO:
Irrigation.
XERXES:
Medicine.
COMMANDOS:
Huh? Heh? Huh…
COMMANDO #2:
Education.
COMMANDOS:
Ohh…
REG:
Yeah, yeah. All right. Fair enough.
COMMANDO #1:
And the wine.
COMMANDOS:
Oh, yes. Yeah…
FRANCIS:
Yeah. Yeah, that’s something we’d really miss, Reg, if the Romans left. Huh.
COMMANDO:
Public baths.
LORETTA:
And it’s safe to walk in the streets at night now, Reg.
FRANCIS:
Yeah, they certainly know how to keep order. Let’s face it. They’re the only ones who could in a place like this.
COMMANDOS:
Hehh, heh. Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh.
REG:
All right, but apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system, and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?
XERXES:
Brought peace.
REG:
Oh. Peace? Shut up!

Tagging:

Not into tagging. Go tag yourself, if you’d like.

The Lydster, Part 34: The Curse of the Purple Dinosaur

I think my in-laws hate me.

First, one set of them bought this singing rabbit and chick for Lydia’s last birthday (singing “Easter Goodies” to the tune of Rockin’ Robin”), then the spinning, singing snowman doing the Springsteenesque “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, which Lydia played over and over and over…
…and over and over and over…
but now another set of them has provided the Barney DVD, which Lydia is fully entranced by. I don’t remember the name of the disc, and I’m too lazy to check it, but it’s a game between those smaller characters, Baby Bop and BJ. BJ wants to be a rock ‘n’ roll star, Miss Muffet only PRETENDS to fear the spider, and blah, blah, blah. Lydia is enthralled, and I am appalled.

Actually, my Barney emnity really predates Lydia. My niece Alex, when she was 3-5, was Barney crazy. I asked my folks what to get her for Christmas, and they said, “Something with Barney”. But Alex had Barney bedding, Barney lights, Barney EVERYTHING. What could I get her that she didn’t already have? So I declined, and felt some disappointment, not from Alex, but from my parents. Feh.

Anyway, the irony is that Lydia’s disc is not tracking correctly, and I may have to get her a replacement copy. Instant karma IS gonna get you.

Lydia’s going to have her adenoidectomy in the next week. She’s passed her pre-surgery physical. We’ve gotten her books about the hospital, a doctor’s kit that has a stethoscope, thermometer, and whatnot, to try to prepare her. Wish us all the best.

Happy 2 5/6, Lydia! Love from daddy.
***
Oh, I went here and realized I needed another title. Since Lydia has had earaches, this one seems to fit.

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is:
The Very Reverend Roger the Free of Lardle St. Earache
Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

97 random questions

Go, Indianapolis Colts! I almost gave up on you yesterday. I was going to do a joke about everybody rooting for the team with the black head coach, except that not everyone would know that BOTH teams, the Colts and the Bears, have black head coaches.

101 RANDOM QUESTIONS, cut down for some reason:

0) The Junior Senator from Illinois, who’s black, announced he’s running for President last week. The Junior Senator from New York, who’s female, announced that “I’m in. I’m in to win.” The Governor of New Mexico, who’s Hispanic, throws in his hat today. What’s the chances that none of them will be on the national ticket in November 2008? Pretty poor, though I thought over a year ago that Richardson should be VP, a position he says he does not want.
1) Do you have a crush on somebody?: Thousands, all the time
2) Do you hate more than 3 people?: No
3) How many houses have you lived in?: greater than 20
4) Favorite candy bar?: Mounds
6) Have you ever tripped someone?: Not intentionally, except in play.
7) Least favorite school subject?: calculus
8) How many pairs of shoes do you own?: 4
9)Do you own a Britney Spears CD? No
10) Have you ever thrown up in public?: yeah, a long time ago
11) Name one thing that is always on your mind: music
12) Favorite genre of music?: 1960s Motown
13) What’s your sign?: Pisces
14) What time were you born?: 3:15 pm EST
15) Do you like beer?: no
16) Have you ever made a prank phone call?: no
18) Are you sarcastic?: occasionally
19) What are your favorite colors?: blue, green
20) How many watches do you own?: one, which I got from my parents’ house in Charlotte in late December
21) Summer or winter? Summer
22) Is anyone in love with you?: hope so
23) Favorite color to wear?: wine
24) Pepsi or Sprite?: Pepsi
25) What color is your cell phone?: none
26) Where is your second home?: work
27) Have you ever slapped someone?: no
28) Have you ever had a cavity? More than one
29) How many lamps are in your bedroom?: 2
30) How many video games do you own?: one
31) What was your first pet?: Peter the cat
32) Ever had braces?: nope, never
33) Do looks matter?: more to others than to me
34) Do you use chapstick?: rarely
35) Name 3 teachers from high school: Helen Foley, Joe Maughan, Mrs. Greene
36) American Eagle or Abercrombie?: neither
37) Are you too forgiving?: can one be?
38) How many children do you want?: 1
39) Do you own something from Hot Topic?: apparently not
40) Favorite breakfast meal: a mix of Cheerios and spoon-sized shredded wheat
41) Do you own a gun?: no
42) Ever thought you were in love?: more than once
43) When was the last time you cried?: this week
44) What did you do 3 nights ago?: choir
45) Olive Garden?: very rarely
46) Have you ever called your teacher mommy?: no
47) Have you ever been in a castle?: no
48) Nicknames?: not really
49) Do you know anyone named Bertha?: yes
50) Ever been to Kentucky?: yes, in 1993
51) Do you own something from Banana Republic?: no
52) Are you thinking about somebody right now? Define
53) Ever called somebody Boo?: no
54) Do you smoke?:no way
55) Do you own a diamond ring?: no
56) Are you happy with your life right now?: some days
57) Do you dye your hair?: obviously not
58) Does anyone have a crush on you?: maybe
59) Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts? Probably DD
60) What were you doing in May of 1994?: probably having a big fight with my estranged wife
62) McDonald’s or Wendy’s?: Wendy’s, definitely
63) Do you like yourself?: most days
64) Are you closer to your mother or father?: even when my father was alive, I’d say my mother
65) Favorite physical feature of the preferred sex?: the mind
66) Are you afraid of the dark?: depends
67) Have you ever eaten paste?: don’t think so
68) Do you own a webcam?: no
69) Have you ever stripped?: not in that way
70) Ever broke a bone?: no
71) Are you religious?: “being religious” has such a bad connotation of “religiosity” – I’m a person of faith
72) Do you chat on AIM often?: never
73) Pringles or Lays?: neither
74) Have you ever broken someone’s heart?: undoubtedly
75) Rugrats or Doug?: neither
76) Full House or The Brady Bunch?: neither
77) Do you like your high school guidance counselor?: he’s deceased, but yeah, he was OK
78) Has anyone ever called you fat?: yeah
79) Do you have a birth mark? No
80) Do you own a car?: well, if my wife’s car counts
81) Can you cook?: minimally
82) 5 things that annoy you: 1.) drivers who ignore emergency vehicles and keep on coming through the intersection 2.) drivers that park their cars so that one can’t access sidewalk cutouts and other accessibility locations 3.) lying politicians 4.) people who never stop talking 5.) litter
83) Do you text message often?: no
84) Money or love?: peace
85) Do you have any scars?: yes, from two bicycle accidents
86) What do you want more than anything right now?: sleep
87) Do you enjoy scary movies?: not so much
88) Relationships or one night stands?: relationships
90) Do you enjoy greasy food?: much less than I used to
91) Have you seen all the Rocky movies?: no, 1, 2 and I think 4
92) Do you own a box of crayons?:yes!
93) Who was the last person that said they loved you?: possibly my daughter
94) Who was the last person that made you cry?: probably my daughter
95) Who was the last person that made you laugh?: probably my daughter
96) Who was the last person that instant messaged you?: it’s been months, but Carla in Oregon
97) Who was the last person that called you? My wife.

Fave rave tunes

I stole this from Tosy, who stole it from someone named Jaquandor. I got into a holiday mode, so subsequently at least three others have done it. Ah, well.

“My favorite songs by these artists (I’ve left blanks for artists I know pretty much nothing of).”

Favorite Beatles song: “Drive My Car” – An extraordinary chord progression.

Favorite solo song by a former Beatle: “Maybe I’m Amazed” by Macca, from that very first solo album.

Favorite Bob Dylan song: You mean today? “Like a Rolling Stone.”

Favorite Pixies song: I’ll have to pull out my Doolittle album sometime.

Favorite Prince song: “I Would Die for You/Baby I’m a Star” – they’re segued, so I cheated. If I can’t cheat, “Delirious”.

Favorite Michael Jackson song: “Wanna Be Startin’ Something” – like the groove.

Favorite Metallica song: “One” – Tosy’s choice.

Favorite Public Enemy song: “Welcome to the Terrordome” – I’ve used it on a mixed CD.

Favorite Depeche Mode song: “Route 66/Behind the Wheel” – I have a remix of this on one of those Just Say Yes compilations that Sire Records put out a dozen years ago or so

Favorite Cure song: “Hot! Hot Hot!” – the remix

Favorite song that most of your friends haven’t heard: “Cellar Door” by Laura Cantrell on Hello Records, countryish tune.

Favorite Beastie Boys song: ? (I mean, I could say “Fight for Your Right”, but that would be too easy)

Favorite Police song: “Roxanne”, a song of redemption.
Tosy likes “Synchronicity II”, which does have one of my favorite lyrics ever, about the evil boss I used to have, and who I mentioned yesterday: “Every single meeting with his so-called superior is a humiliating kick in the crotch.”

Favorite Sex Pistols song: ? Don’t really know except “Anarchy in the U.K.” and a live “U.S.A.” variation

Favorite song from a movie: “Ma ‘Til Fille” by Buckwheat Zydeco. A six-minute groove. (But I agree with Tosy that “Philadelphia” is “Neil Young’s so-superior-to-the-Springsteen-Oscar-winner contribution.” I think Bruce might even agree, if I discerned the subtext of his acceptance speech correctly.)

Favorite Blondie song: “Tide is High”, for the fun of the vocals in the last verse

Favorite Genesis song: “The Lamb Dies Down on Broadway”- Tosy’s choice. A Q-104 song.

Favorite Led Zeppelin song: “How Many More Times” from the first album. The album said this song was 3:30, when it was more like 8:30. The day I heard the first LZ deserves its own post. Maybe in 2009, for the fortieth anniversary (or sooner).

Favorite INXS song: “Never Tear Us Apart” – again, Tosy’s choice.

Favorite Weird Al song: “I Lost on JEOPARDY!” -it’s the Don Pardo middle section.

Favorite Pink Floyd song: “Another Brick in the Wall” – when I worked at FantaCo, Mark McGovern came up with new lyrics: “We don’t need sex education, we don’t need no birth control.” It gets worse.

Favorite cover song: Way too tough a question. The answer is NOT anything done by Pat Boone. I could give you an album’s worth of Beatle covers alone. “Hurt” – John R. Cash’s cover of NIN. When I saw the video again after Johnny died, I wept.

Favorite dance song: Without looking something up, “Dancing Machine” by the Jackson 5.

Favorite U2 song: “When Love Comes to Town”, with B.B. King.

Favorite disco song: “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor.

Favorite The Who song: “My Generation” – even though some of them got old before they died.

Favorite Elton John song: It varies so. “Burn Down the Mission” today.

Favorite Clash song: “Police on My Back”- screaming siren guitar line.

Favorite David Bowie song: “Panic in Detroit” -“sounds a lot like Che Guevara” song.

Favorite Nirvana song: “In Bloom”.

Favorite Snoop Dogg song: ?

Favorite Ice Cube song: ?

Favorite Johnny Cash song: “The Mercy Seat”, from the third American album. The piano by Benmont Tench, I believe. (And if it’s not, I’m sure SOMEONE will tell me.)

Favorite R.E.M. song: “Drive”, don’t know why.

Favorite Elvis song: “Little Sister”, the first one I heard, I believe.

Favorite cheesy-ass country song: ?

Favorite Billy Joel song: “Lullabye”, for his daughter

Favorite Bruce Springsteen song: “Darkness on the Edge of Town”

Favorite Big Audio Dynamite song: ? I have the BAD II album The Globe; I’ll have listen again

Favorite New Order song: ? I have some early vinyl I’ll need to pull out.

Favorite Neil Diamond song: “Thank the Lord for the Nightime”

Favorite Squeeze song: “Tempted”

Favorite Smiths song: ?

Favorite Tragically Hip Song: ? One album I play every July 1, Canada Day

Tosy added:

Favorite Beach Boys song: “God Only Knows”, Tosy’s choice

Favorite Dave Matthews Band song” ?

Favorite Dire Straits song: “Industrial Disease” – “two men say they’re Jesus”

Favorite Elvis Costello song: “What’s So Funny? (About Peace, Love, and Understanding)” -Tosy’s choice. I also hear this song as an a cappella doo wop. Yes, really.

Favorite Guns ‘N Roses song: “Civil War”, if only for the Cool Hand Luke dialogue.

Favorite Jimi Hendrix song: “Voodoo Chile Blues”- anyone chastising Hendrix for doing that rock and/or roll didn’t hear this or “Red House”

Favorite John Mellencamp song: “Jack and Diane” – my wife’s cousin’s named Diane and she married a guy named Jack.

Favorite Living Colour song: “Information Overload” – the bane of a librarian’s life.

Favorite Neil Young song: “Harvest Moon” or “When You Dance”, both about lost loves.

Favorite Paul Simon song: Oh, so many. “Boy in the Bubble” – there is a 12″ version that’s never appeared on a CD, as far as I can tell.

Favorite Simon & Garfunkel song: “The Boxer”. I know this song by heart, except for the verse Paul added later on a live show, which doesn’t enhance the song, so I never learned it.

Favorite Queen song: “Another One Bites the Dust”

Favorite Radiohead song: ?

Favorite Sting song: “I Hung My Head”, though John R. Cash’s version is better.

Favorite Tracy Chapman song: “Fast Car”

Favorite Van Morrison song: “Wild Night”

Favorite XTC song: “Generals and Majors” -loopy

ADDED BY Lefty

Favorite Allman Brothers song: “Elizabeth Reed”

Favorite Grateful Dead song: “Friend of the Devil”

Favorite Green Day song: “American Idiot” (Lefty’s choice); thanks, ADD

Favorite The Band song: “Jemima Surrender”

Favorite White Stripes song: ?

Favorite Willie Nelson song: “Graceland”

Favorite Indigo Girls song: “Closer to Fine”

Favorite They Might Be Giants Song: “They Might Be Giants” (from Flood)

And now my THREE additions:

Favorite Frank Sinatra song: “That’s Life”

Favorite Supremes song: “Love Is Like an Itchin’ in My Heart”

Favorite Temptations song: “I Can’t Get Next to You”

Any other masochists out there?