Sunday Stealing Archives - Page 26 of 27

Blogging meme about blogging is a Cardinal Sin

Any number of TMI moments.

The late Cardinal Jaime Sin of the Philippines.

From Sunday Stealing back in November.

1. Why did you sign up for writing your blog?

An existential crisis of powerlessness.

2. Why did you choose your blog’s name? What does it mean?

Ramblin’ with (John) Gambling, a radio show.

3. Did you ever had another blog?

Not before this blog; a few since.

4. What do you do online when you’re not on your blog?

Limited Facebook and Twitter.

5. How about when you’re not on the computer?

Mostly tend to the Daughter.

6. What do you wish people who read your blog knew about you?

I think people who read my blog know just what I want them to know about me.

7. What is your favorite community in the blogosphere?

ABC Wednesday.

8. What is your philosophy on your blog layout?

I have none – philosophy or a particular layout.

9. Tell me about the picture you use to represent you on your blog.

It’s a caricature of me that the late Raoul Vezina drew for a friend of mine.

10. Pick 3 random blogs from your blogroll and tell us about them.

Byzantium Shores – well-read, and an extremely handy guy from Buffalo named Jaquandor who knows music.

Shores of Orion – a blog by Chris Honeywell, who’s a Christian Scientist. No, that’s not right. She’s a scientist (mathematical biogeochemist) and a Christian, among other things.

Mike Sterling’s Progressive Ruin -a comic-book-related blog I’ve been reading since before I started blogging.

11. What features do you think your blog should have that it doesn’t currently?

Big explosions.

12. What do you consider the 10 most “telling” interests that we would infer from your blog persona?

Music, religion, politics, civil rights, family, English language, movies, books, libraries, data

13. Do you have any unique interests that you have never shared before? What are they?

Yes, and I will when I get good and ready to.

14. The best thing about blogging is all of the friends that you make. Besides those folks, do you think your blog has fans?

Apparently.

15. What’s your current obsession? What about it captures your imagination?

Everything. Politics, I suppose.

16. What are you glad you did but haven’t really had a chance to post about?

I will, eventually. Or not.

17. How many people that first became a blog friend, have you met face to face?

One – Gordon.

18. What don’t you talk about here, either because it’s too personal or because you don’t have the energy?

Any number of TMI moments.

19. What’s a question that you’d love to answer?

I’m going to make you guess at that.

20. Have you ever lost a blogging friendship and regretted it?

No. I think, like other friends, people come and go in your life.

21. Have you ever lost a blogging friendship and thought, “Was that overdue!”

No.
***
Most of the references to the death of the BeeGees’ Robin Gibb notes the brothers’ disco period, and especially the Saturday Night Fever, understandable given its sales and popularity. But the first song of theirs I heard was New York Mining Disaster 1941, and I for one was listening to them before Stayin’ Alive.

The Fifteen Movie Questions Meme

Seems that “dream casting” often goes awry.

From here:

1. Movie you love with a passion.
West Side Story. I know it’s only a good, not great movie. But I love the music, dancing. I saw it when I was young, so it had a huge impression on me.

2. Movie you vow to never watch.
Saw 1 to infinity.

3. Movie that literally left you speechless.
Young Frankenstein, during which I laughed so hard, I couldn’t speak. Or Mel Brooks’ History of the World, Part 1, that was so bad from a major director that I was slackjawed. Or Schindler’s List, which is probably the best answer.

4. Movie you always recommend.
I never “always recommend” anything. But if someone said, “I never like any of X (type or actor’s) movie,” I would see what has been seen and recommend something else. People who don’t like Woody Allen, e.g., I probably wouldn’t say, “Annie Hall”, which I love; I might pick Zelig. I’m likely to suggest Unforgiven for those who hate Westerns.

5. Actor/actress you always watch, no matter how crappy the movie.
Meryl Streep. I wouldn’t say I ALWAYS see her films, but she is the film performer whose body of work I’ve probably seen the most of, percentage-wise.

6. Actor/actress you don’t get the appeal for.
Oh, there are so many. The first person who came to mind was Megan Fox, whose acting lack of acting ability, even in the movie trailers, is evident.

7. Actor/actress, living or dead, you’d love to meet.
Denzel Washington. Seems like an interesting guy.

8. Sexiest actor/actress you’ve seen. (Picture required!)
Well, by the nature of the biz, a lot of performers are “sexy.” Not trying to overthink these things, the first person I thought of was Rose Byrne.

9. Dream cast.
I suppose it would depend on the project. I saw The Dirty Dozen when it was brand new, and it was perfect. Seems that “dream casting” often goes awry.

10. Favorite actor pairing.
Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau.

11. Favorite movie setting.
Paris. I love Paris, though I’ve never been there.

12. Favorite decade for movies.
The 1990s. Probably saw more movies from that decade, too.

13. Chick flick or action movie?
Ignoring the argument over the nomenclature, chick flick.

14. Hero, villain, or anti-hero?
I’m not sure what antihero really means. So I’ll pick that.

15. Black and white or color?
Obviously, it depends on the film. But I’ll say b&w.

These are a few of my favorite things

In the living room, with my feet up, reading the newspaper. This almost never actually happens.

Cherry-picking through Sunday Stealing, again. This one is from July 3:

1. Last movie you saw in a theater?
The Muppets.

2. What book are you reading?
I’m slogging through a book written by a colleague, which I may soon abandon altogether.

3. Favorite board game?
I’d say SCRABBLE. But don’t you actually have to PLAY it occasionally for it to be your favorite? Backgammon and SORRY.

4. Favorite magazine?
I start reading a magazine, then the next one comes before I finish the first, and I end up with a pile of half-read, quickly dated periodicals. I don’t really read them anymore.

I find Newsweek’s new “hip” style annoying and journalistically thin. I usually switch back and forth between it and TIME.
I suppose, by default, Entertainment Weekly, which I skim more than read.

5. Favorite smells?
Freshly baked bread, or pastries generally. Lilac bushes, which remind me of the one adjacent to my home of 18 years in Binghamton, NY.

6. Favorite sounds?
Depends on the need. It can be white noise, to sleep. I love water, generally, from brooks to waterfalls. And, of course, there are all sorts of music.

7. Worst feeling in the world?
The realization that you have really messed up something that was very important to someone else. This tends to be at the personal, not work, level.

8. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up?
What time is it? Can I roll over and go back to sleep?

9. Favorite fast food place?
Wendy’s, maybe because it’s less ubiquitous around here than Mickey D’s or BK.

10. What’s under your bed?
My slippers, and clothes my wife stores.

11. Finish this statement. “If I had a lot of money I’d….?
Have to pull out the list. It depends on the definition of “a lot”. There are so many charities: food pantries, the Red Cross – the demand for their services is only going to increase. But also the arts.

12. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?
Well, not sleep WITH.

13. Storms – cool or scary?
Depends on whether I’m safely indoors or not.

14. Favorite drink?
I like mixed drinks; orange and cranberry juice, milk and Kaluaha…

15. Finish this statement, “If I had the time I would….”?
Actually watch all the shows I DVR, rather than record and eventually delete.

16. If you had to dye your hair another color, what would be your choice?
Green, of course.

17. Favorite place to relax?
In the living room, with my feet up, reading the newspaper. This almost never actually happens.

18. Name all the different cities/towns you’ve lived in?
Binghamton, Kingston, New Paltz, Jackson Heights (Queens), Schenectady, Albany, NY. Charlotte, NC.

19. Favorite sports to watch?
I can always watch baseball because I can read or do other things at the same time.

20. Would you like to be born as yourself again?
Well, only if I could remember the mistakes, so I could go make new ones!

Of Anger, Polyester and other things

There was a movie in the 1980s by John Waters called Polyester which a bunch of us went to.

This is a combination of two Sunday Stealing posts from here and here, but I decided to answer only the questions I felt like answering. Besides, I don’t HAVE a favorite mall store.

1. What has been your longest love relationship?

Actually, my current one. We started going out -again – in late 1998. And I’m not even counting the 1.5 years we went out earlier in the 1990s.

4. If you could live anywhere would you live?

I seem to be fine where I am. I fantasize that Madison, WI or Portland, OR might be a mecca for me, and I did like Madison the one time I was there in 1987 or 1988, but I’m unmotivated to change at this time.

7. What’s the longest job that you’ve had?

That would be the current one, where I started October 19, 1992, three work addresses ago. The second-longest was FantaCo (8.5 years). The third place was 13 months.

8. If you won the lottery, who’d you call first?

My wife.

9. If you won, how would you spend your money after investments?

An ever-expanding list of social and cultural programs. Surely the Red Cross would be one.

10. When was the last time you went to church (or a religious house)?

That would be yesterday.

14. What food do you hate?

Canned beets.

16. What’s the longest shift that you worked at a job?

11.2 hours in a factory job after high school, 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. But I regularly worked 10 hours, 5:12 p.m-4 a.m., then worked Saturday from noon to 6 p.m.

17. What was the last concert that you attended?

This one. Well, unless you mean classical concert, which was in the spring of 2011.

21. Do you ever sleep in the nude?

Seldom. I want to be able to leave quickly in case of a fire or whatever.

22. Have you ever had a long-distance relationship?

Yes, and it was not good.

24. What’s you’re favorite lyric quote from a song?

“Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream.” Which I don’t do nearly enough.

25. Tell us something random about yourself.

I used to have some anger issues, I suppose. Occasionally, it still flares up. It was after church a few weeks ago, and a few of us were in the kitchen. I noted that one of the songs we had sung that morning had a different arrangement from I had sung it previously several times, specifically, a harmony line in the original that was unison in the newer version; inferior, from my point of view, BTW. Apparently, someone else in the choir had made the same observation. So another singer declared that our observation was “stupid,” that we read music and should sing what was there, rather than assuming what was on the page.

I yelled at her that I didn’t appreciate her crap, I didn’t need her crap (and I didn’t; my tooth was still hurting at the time.) I realized later that I got so enraged because I dislike the fact that she, who has also been a school teacher, didn’t understand the fact that we all learn differently.

When I was in the high school choir, we couldn’t even use the score for our twice-yearly concerts. I’ve long tried to get out of the music, keeping in front of me mostly for lyrics and pauses.

And, though I’ve been in choirs for decades, I only read music in relative terms. If note A is this, then a third up must sound like that; I don’t think, “Oh, that’s a C.”

But I suppose the yelling was unnecessary. Though I disliked being called “stupid.”

26. Have ever attended a theme party? If yes, do tell.

There was a movie in the 1980s by John Waters called Polyester which a bunch of us went to. Afterward, we all went to someone’s house, and we had to bring polyester (unreal) food, however we defined it. Marshmallow Fluff, Cheez Whiz, TANG beverage…I don’t remember what else.

27. What is your favorite thing about winter?

Its demise.

28. What was the name of your first pet?

Peter. He was a cat we had for about six years.

30. Has your humor ever been called “sick”?

No. Corny. Obtuse. Situational. Unfunny. But not sick.

Firsts

I essentially inherited both jobs from a guy named Walter Jones, who was the godson of my parents; his grandparents were my godparents.

I used to do these things called Sunday Stealing, but I stopped mostly because the questions started getting a bit repetitive. I found that to be somewhat true with this iteration as well -Have I sung karaoke? – no; have I kissed in the rain? -yes.

But there was a section of firsts that was fresher, so I decided I’d do that, and JUST that.

1.Who was your first prom (or homecoming) date?
Cecily. It was her prom, BTW, though she also went to my prom a few months later.

2. Who was your first roommate?
Ron Fields, a graduate student. His most obsessive habit was writing down EVERY SINGLE thing he spent money on, in these little spiral notepads. Coffee – 25 cents, candy bar – 10 cents. One day, he bought a used car ($1000).

3. What alcoholic beverage did you drink when you got drunk the first time? The first time I drank, I got a little tipsy. It was at a bar on Clinton Street in Binghamton, NY, which, according to legend, had more bars per mile at the time than any other street in the United States. My sister was singing there with a band, so my drinks were free. I was 18 and it was legal for me to drink. I had a Tom Collins, and it was so tasty, I had another. I WAS able to walk home.

4. What was your first job?
My FIRST first job was delivering the Evening and Sunday Press in Binghamton, NY. My next job was as a page at the Binghamton Public Library. I essentially inherited both jobs from a guy named Walter Jones, who was a couple of years older than I was. He was the godson of my parents; his grandparents were my godparents.

5. What was your first car?
I don’t remember the make, because it was really the Okie’s car. I know it was red and had a push-button transmission. I knocked a Dumpster over with it once.

6. When did you go to your first funeral and viewing?
Oh, it was so long ago that I can’t remember. Someone from my church, no doubt. The first one that I can remember was Agatha Green, my grandma.

7. Who was your first-grade teacher?
I had two because I had started school in February, and by September the teacher I had left; maybe she got pregnant, which happened a few times in later grades. Anyway, one was Mrs. Goodrich. BTW, I also had 2 teachers each in second, third, AND fourth grade.

8. Where did you go on your first ride on an airplane?
From Binghamton to Albany, when I was about 16. I was going to something called the Governor’s Conference on Children and Youth, and I was one of seven representatives from the Southern Tier. We flew in a plane with about a dozen seats, in a thunderstorm; I was terrified.

9. When you snuck out of your house for the first time?
Undoubtedly to see my HS girlfriend.

10. Who was your first best friend?
Possibly Ray Lia, with whom I was in Cub Scouts.

11. Who was your first Best Friend in high school?
Hard to say. Probably Karen and Carol, who I’d known since kindergarten, and saw just this summer.

12. Where was your first sleepover?
Don’t know that I ever did growing up. People slept over at our house, though.

13. Who is the first person you call when you have a bad day?
Probably Norman.

14. Who’s wedding were you in the first time you were a Bridesmaid or groomsman?
Trying to remember. I was in two weddings on successive weekends, for Ray and Pam, and for Uthaclena and she who shall not be named, in October 1976.

15. What is the first thing you did when you got up this morning?
Check my e-mail.

16. First time you tied your shoelaces?
I was REALLY late at this. I had loafers until I was nine, I think.

17. Are you Facebook friends with your first crush?
No, and I have no idea where my first crush is.

18. Who was the first person you met from the blogosphere?
Gordon from Blog This, Pal! who I met when I went to Chicago for a conference in 2008. Well, there may have been some local bloggers from the Times Union site before that; I don’t remember the chronology.

19. What was the first music album that you bought?
Beatles VI.

20. Who was your first celebrity crush?
Annette Funicello.