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Sunday Stealing, crafty

origami

A background of colored pencils, paints. Workplace designer, artist, concept art

The current Sunday Stealing is about being crafty. If it meant being clever and mysterious, then MAYBE I could pull it off. But I think they’re talking about origami and macrame.

1. What (if anything) are you doing to celebrate St Patrick’s Day?

I always play music by the Chieftains, Clannad, and the Corrs. Unfortunately, I’ve made no progress in identifying my mother’s father’s mother’s parents, so I brood over that. I know that Margaret Collins was born in 1866 and died in August 1931 in upstate New York. But her parents’ names are not listed on the death certificate. I suspect they are from County Cork, Ireland, but Collins is too common a surname.

2. What is your least favorite color (to wear, to craft with, or to decorate with)?

Yellow. Specifically, when people make signs with yellow on white or vice versa, the lettering is very difficult to read.

3. At a yellow light – do you speed up or slow down??

Stop because I’d be on a bicycle, and I’m likely to get myself killed otherwise.

4. How many pairs of scissors are in your craft room?

I can never find scissors. They’re never where I want them.

Gift ideas!

5. What are the first three items you have ‘saved for later’ on Amazon?

If you mean the oldest: Vince Guaraldi at the Piano by Derrick Bang (Paperback) from 2012, The Art of the Simon and Kirby Studio by Mark Evanier, Jim Simon (Hardcover) from 2014, and Cahoots by The Band (Audio CD) from 2016. If you mean the ones on the top, i.e., the most recent: Exodus 40 by Bob Marley & The Wailers (Audio CD) from 2024, Moulin Rouge! The Musical Original Broadway Cast Recording (Audio CD) from 2022, and Six: The Musical Studio Cast Recording (Audio CD) also from 2022, which I hope to get for my birthday since we’re going to see the touring show at Proctors in Schenectady in May.

6. Did you plant any springs bulbs in your garden and if so, have any of them come up yet?

The last time I helped plant anything was tulips over 15 years ago. Not my thing.

7. What book, if any, are you reading right now?

60 Songs That Explain the ’90s by Rob Harvilla. Actually, I organized my office, and I can’t presently locate it.

8. Do you prefer ball point pens, gel pens, or thin tip markers to write with?

Ballpoint. Preferably blue or black.

It is to laugh

9. What is your favorite crafting item – the craft item thing you use the most or can’t live without? (Exclude basic items like scissors and glue).

I don’t craft. I suck at crafts. In the 1990s, I was in a book group with about a dozen women at my church. One month, the book was about origami, and the person reporting on the book decided we should all partake in that activity. Did I mention that I suck at crafts. Very few things irritate me more than when people say, about something I am apparently constitutionally incapable of doing, “Oh, it’s EASY!”

10. What are the first three items on your grocery list, and what is your favorite grocery store?

Bananas, blueberries, low-fat cottage cheese. The Price Chopper/Market 32 is in walking distance so I go there. My wife tends to drive to the Hannaford on Central Avenue. Incidentally, in the past three months I’ve seen armed security guards at both venues, which does NOT make me feel more safe.

11. What unfinished craft projects are you working on (or not) at the moment?

[Doubles over laughing.]

IG

12. What was the last item you pinned on Pinterest? Or hearted on Instagram?

I have accounts for both of them but don’t use them. Recently, my daughter tried selling me on IG because it’s “fun.” It may be, but it’s not me.

13. What is the biggest tourist attraction where you live?

Here’s a list. I’ve been to the first 12, 15, 17, and 19. I practically live on Route 20. I do not consider Crossgates Mall a tourist attraction.

14. What color is your favorite sweater?

Green, like me.

15. How does your family react when you get a big pile of mail??

It must be time for me to pick new Medicare providers or keep the old ones, which happens between October 15 and December 7. This is why God invented the shredding bag.

The #1 hits of 1924

instrumentals

Here are the #1 hits of 1924 for all you centenarians out there.

From A Century of Pop Music by Joel Whitburn: “The record industry was on a roller coaster throughout the decade. Sales were booming in 1920-21 with postwar enthusiasm, but by 1924 had plunged alarmingly. Consumers were buying radios – offering far better sound quality than any acoustic phonograph – instead of phonographs and records… The roaring national good times at mid-decade reversed the downturn…”

It Ain’t Gonna Rain No Mo’ – Wendell Hall (Victor), six weeks at #1, gold record. “Comedian with ukulele.”

California, Here I Come – Al Jolson (Brunswick), the gold record was six weeks at #1. I know that song! At least one video features Jolson in blackface, which I declined to use.

Memory Lane -Fred Waring featuring Tom Waring (Victor), five weeks at #1. Fred Waring arranged a lot of the music I sang as part of the Glee club in high school.

Somebody Stole My Gal – Ted Weems (Victor), five weeks at #1, gold record. Instrumental, including banjo. Leo Wood wrote it.

It Had To Be You – Isham Jones (Brunswick), five weeks at #1. Instrumental. It’s a well-known tune written by Jones. The lyrics, which do not appear in this version, were by Gus Kahn.

Born Israel Beilin

What I’ll Do – Paul Whiteman (Victor), five weeks at #1. The instrumental is a familiar waltz written by Irving Berlin.

Somebody Loves Me – Paul Whiteman (Victor), five weeks at #1. Instrumental. The music is from George White’s Scandals.

Sleep – Waring’s Pennsylvanians. (Victor), five weeks at #1.

Linger Awhile – Paul Whiteman (Victor), four weeks at #1. Instrumental.

I Wonder What’s Become Of Sally – Al Jolson with Carl Fenton’s Orchestra (Brunswick), three weeks at #1.

Spain – Isham Jones (Brunswick), two weeks at #1. Instrumental.

Charleston – Arthur Gibbs (Victor), one week at #1. Instrumental. From the musical Running Wild. Do you have your dancing shoes on?

Incidentally, Columbia, which had only five of the top 40 singles that year, “went into receivership before reorganization in 1924” because it was “burdened by a large inventory of unsold phonographs.” However, it “re-established itself as second only to mighty Victor among the major labels.”

Ron Howard Is 70

From Mayberry To The Moon

I have been watching Ron Howard since I was seven when he played Opie Taylor (1960-1968) on The Andy Griffith Show. Sheriff Andy Taylor seemed like a pretty cool dad. Andy’s show was a spinoff of The Danny Thomas Show, and Opie appeared in that backdoor pilot.

Maybe I saw him earlier than that. Ron had a small part in the Walking Distance episode of The Twilight Zone (1959) inspired by Recreation Park in Binghamton, NY.

He appeared as a guest star in various programs I watched, including Dr. Kildare, I Spy, and The Fugitive. You likely do not remember The Smith Family (1971-1972) series, even though it starred Henry Fonda. Ron Howard was in 39 episodes of that, and I watched.

In 1973, Ron starred in the movie American Graffiti, directed by George Lucas, the springboard for several actors. I still recall his appearance in MASH the same year, which was a strong performance.

Of course, he starred in Happy Days (1974-1984). I watched it until shortly after Fonzie jumped the shark.

One performance I missed until I saw it on television in the 21st century was in his role of Winthrop Paroo, the younger brother of Marion (Shirley Jones), in the 1962 movie The Music Man. Here’s the Wells Fargo Wagon.

Director

In the late 1970s, he started stepping away from in front of the camera. These are movies he’s directed that I’ve seen, all in the cinema: Night Shift (1982), Splash (1983), Cocoon (1985), and Apollo 13 (1995). I’ve greatly admired Apollo 13, for which one feels real tension, even though one knows how the real story ended.

Ron also directed and produced these films I saw: Parenthood (1989), Cinderella Man (2005), Frost/Nixon (2008), and A Beautiful Mind (2001), for which he won two Academy Awards.

He was the executive producer of TV shows such as Sports Night (1998-2000), Parenthood (1990-1991, 2010-2015), and Arrested Development (2003-2019), serving as the announcer for the latter.

Ron has been married to Cheryl Allen since 1975. They have four children, including actor Bryce Dallas Howard. Ron has a brother, Clint Howard, who I’ve also seen perform since his debut on The Andy Griffith Show at age 2.

Beverly Gray wrote a 2003 bio, Ron Howard: From Mayberry to the Moon…and Beyond, which I have not read, but it’s a great title. It feels as though Ronny Howard, or Ron Howard, has been in my life forever on television and movie screens.

February rambling: extrauterine children

Alexei Navalny, RIP

Alabama hospital puts a pause on IVF in the wake of ruling saying frozen embryos are children. Conservative groups have long revered Chief Justice Tom Parker as an architect for the overturning of Roe v. Wade. “The majority, in its opinion, cited an 1872 statute that allows parents to sue over the wrongful death of a child and found that ‘unborn children,’ including ‘extrauterine children,’ were included in that.” SMH at the faux Christian “logic.”

‘Unconscionable’ criminal justice bills could fuel soaring incarceration in Louisiana. Reform advocates condemn raft of measures expected to pass under the new far-right governor, Jeff Landry.

Mitch McConnell to Step Down as Senate Minority Leader

Capital One to Acquire Discover, Creating a Consumer Lending Colossus. “The all-stock deal, valued at $35.3 billion, will combine two of the largest credit card companies in the United States.” As a long-time satisfied Discover cardholder, I am extremely wary.

Ecological Overreach: Ignorance, Hubris, and Stupidity

To purchase The Black Woods: Pursuing Racial Justice on the Adirondack Frontier by Amy Godine at Cornell Press, input discount promo code 09FLYER at check out for 30% off the list price.

A Big Week in the Trump Trials; He Says Indictments and His Mug Shot Are Helping Him With Black Voters

Parent’s Guide to Fentanyl

Sleeping Pills & Addiction

The myth of men’s full-time employment

I’m a Digital Nomad. It’s Not as Fun As It Looks. Remote workers find that the challenges of globetrotting with a laptop can sometimes outweigh the benefits.

One Swedish zoo, seven escaped chimpanzees

Library staff reunites cat family

Bicentennial Minutes

Richard Lewis, “Neurotic” Comic, Dies at 76

RIP, artist Ramona Fradon, and stories about her

Dan Wilcox, Writer and Producer on ‘M*A*S*H,’ Dies at 82

Sam Waterston on His ‘Law & Order’ Goodbye and Getting to “Kill the Bull” One Last Time

Overtime rules for postseason NFL games

How Actor Kevin Miles Became “Jake from State Farm”

Why Doesn’t Look Like a Heart?

Now I Know

The Ghost That Was Too Quiet and The Rules of the Roadkill, Smart Phone-Version and The Problem With Dark Blue and Yellow License Plates, and The Lion King and the Secret (But Not Actually R-Rated) Message

The Russians Are Coming

Alexei Navalny, the Fiercest Foe of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Dies at 47. With every story, I become more sad and angry.

Fox Promoted Informant’s Dubious Tale To Bolster Right-Wing Lies About Ukraine

Jon Stewart on Tucker Carlson’s Putin Interview & Trip to Russia | The Daily Show

What Is The Deal With Republicans And All These Russian Spies?

FFAPL book reviews/author talks

Tuesdays at 2 pm at 161 Washington Avenue branch of the Albany Public Library, 161 Washington Avenue

March 5 | Book Review | The Path to Paradise: A Francis Ford Coppola Story by Sam Wasson. Reviewer: John McGuire, PhD, attorney.

March 12 | Author Talk | Author, Spiritual Director, and Book Coach Diane Cameron will discuss her book, Looking for Signs, and talk about writing memoirs.

March 19 | Book Review | The Exceptions: Nancy Hopkins, MIT, and the Fight for Women in Science by Kate Zernike. Reviewer: Elaine Garrett, BFA, MA, STEM Outreach and Workforce Development, SUNY Research Foundation at NY Creates and the NYS Center of Excellence in Nanoelectronics and Nanotechnology, UAlbany.

March 26 | Author Interview | Ian Ross Singleton, MFA, of the Writing & Critical Inquiry Program, U at Albany, SUNY, is interviewed by Geri Walsh, MS (special education), employment specialist, about his novel The Two Differences.

Music

Gotta Have You – Peter Sprague, featuring Leonard Patton and Rebecca Jade

boygenius – $20

J. Eric Smith: Yes and Good Rats

Farewell, Seiji Ozawa

Maggie Rose – Underestimate Me

Coverville 1476: Tribute to Melanie and Norah Jones Cover Story and 1477: The Robbie Williams Cover Story II

I Don’t Mind – MonaLisa Twins

Overture to Candide, conducted by composer Leonard Bernstein

Sam Cooke – A Change Is Gonna Come

Jump – Van Halen

Texas Hold’Em – Beyoncé

A film music suite from the movie Miracle

Toots Thielemans – Bluesette

Sam Mendes will direct four movies about each Beatle, slated for release in 2027 with an “innovative and groundbreaking” release schedule

One of those things, again

mostly about money

If you have ever had something go wrong, you might have put a neutral spin on it and said to yourself, “Well, it’s one of those things.” I’ve been saying it a few times recently.

ITEM: I have been feeling off with a head cold for much of the month. Since I’m not “sick” – no temperature, two negative COVID tests – I’ve taken various anti-allergy meds. Could I be having seasonal allergies? It WAS 60F (15.6C) on 10 February, breaking the record for the date in Albany by 7F. Absurd. I was looking forward to a big snowstorm forecast for 13 Feb, but it was a bust as the weather pattern shifted to the south.

ITEM: I was supposed to pay our city taxes by the end of January. To avoid writing a check because checks are expensive, I arranged for our credit union to send them a bank draft, which cost us nothing. But I could not find the bill, so I went to the city’s website and got an amount.

We got a letter from the city in early February with the bank draft returned. I must have picked up the amount from the PREVIOUS year’s taxes. Now we need to pay a couple hundred dollars more, about half of it being interest, by 29 February. So I must either resend the bank draft and write a check for the difference or go to City Hall with the bank draft and cash. This process was supposed to make the process easier and cheaper. I muffed it, though, and it is neither.

ITEM: Likewise, my wife missed the payment date to pay the Spring tuition for our daughter’s college tuition. This involves two-step authorization, which is too boring to detail. But it was more money out of pocket.

Less money

ITEM: At the beginning of the month, I pay specific bills just after my Social Security check hits my bank account, notably my Discover card. But this fiscal dance was getting a bit treacherous. I had less money than I counted on and had to go to our credit union to take out money to put in my checking account.

As it turns out, I had authorized payment for my MasterCard, which I seldom use, but I needed to do so after losing my wallet. On 9 January, the amount due was paid in full. Twice. I didn’t notice this until I got the next MasterCard bill, which showed a CREDIT. I don’t know how that happened, but I’m using that card for everything until the credit is gone.

ITEM: I saw that I got a letter in the mail from the Albany Police Department. Maybe they had a breakthrough in discovering who took possession of my wallet’s contents.

No such luck. I received the contents of a letter from someone surnamed Rogers, who had mailed to the Albany police chief, disputing a traffic ticket in precise detail of alleged misconduct by the APD. “I require proof that I did what you are accusing me of. You have until Friday 12/22/23 @ 5:00 pm to get it to me. If nothing is received… this ticket will be null and void.”

I note that the street number is the same as mine, but the street name, while starting with the same letter as mine, is not mine. The ZIP Code is different. I took it to my local police station.

ITEM: In good news, I’m getting a free week of the Boston Globe online due to some class action suit I probably signed onto. Even better, my payment in Ambrose v. Boston Globe Media Partners LLC, Case No. 1:22-cv-10195-RGS, was approved, and I received a payment of $158.03.