Sunday Stealing Archives - Page 6 of 26

Sunday Stealing: earthquake!

Statue of Liberty was struck by lightning

Before I get into Sunday Stealing, here are some headlines. The U.S. Geological Survey noted an earthquake at about 10:23 a.m. Friday, with a preliminary magnitude of 4.8, centered near Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, about 45 miles west of New York City and 50 miles north of Philadelphia. Sitting at my desk at home in Albany, NY, I suddenly felt queasy. Then the window began to rattle, off and on, for about 30 seconds. My wife didn’t feel it at work, but her coworker did.

On August 23, 2011, I was at my work desk at Corporate (frickin’) Woods. I also felt nauseous when the 5.8 earthquake hit Virginia. As a map on the page notes, “East Coast earthquakes travel much farther than West Coast earthquakes of similar magnitude.”

The Statue of Liberty was struck by lightning on Wednesday, and a photographer caught the image.

There will be a total eclipse over a big chunk of the United States tomorrow (Monday). Here are two reasons why this eclipse is so dangerous. Answering your eclipse questions.

Some folks believe the convergence of the earthquake and eclipse is an apocalyptic sign, even though the eclipse was forecast decades ago.

1. Name a TV series show or shows in which you have seen every episode at least twice:

The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-1966), I Love Lucy (1951-1957), and The Twilight Zone (1959-1964), all of which I have on DVD. Two have connections to my hometown of Binghamton, NY.

2. Name a show or shows you can’t or would not miss:

CBS Sunday Morning, a magazine of the air. I’ve been watching it regularly since 1979. This is why I had a VCR and now have a DVR.

TV actors

3. Name an actor or actors that would make you more inclined to watch a show:

I don’t think that is a primary criterion. If the story is interesting, then I’ll try to see it. That said, I saw Bob Newhart on three different series. I’ve also seen Mary Tyler Moore, Ed Asner, James Garner, Dick Van Dyke, Andy Griffith, Raymond Burr, June Lockhart, and William Shatner in at least two different series.

4. Name an actor or actors who would make you less likely to watch a show:

There’s a whole crop of 21st-century actors I don’t know well enough to ascertain whether I like them. Television has become so diffused with streaming and other platforms.

5. You’re having a lovely dinner party for friends and family. What will you serve for appetizers, main course, and dessert?

I’m having it catered because I don’t have “lovely dinner parties.” The rules are that I need to find foods for people who are vegans, vegetarians, have allergies to nuts, peanuts, dairy, gluten, and/or eat kosher or halal. My daughter falls into three of those categories.

6. Snowstorm! You’ve got house guests, and you’re all stuck inside for the night. What do you prepare for dinner? Will you watch a movie? Which one?

All things being equal, it should involve eggs. If we have a movie, the choice will be by consensus. That said, I have a bunch of Mel Brooks movies. Maybe Young Frankenstein (1974). “Pardon me, boy, is this the Transylvania station?” “Ya ya.”

7. We are going to New York City for the weekend. Where do you want to go?

I’d see a Broadway play. BTW, I highly recommend the Museum Of Broadway.

Night school

8. You are going to night school. They offer courses in writing short stories, painting, piano or guitar lessons, simple home repairs, baking, and gardening. Which do you pick (or make up one of your own) and why?

Simple home repairs because I suck at simple home repairs.

9. Have you ever been to a Drive Theater? Would you like to see Drive-In Theaters make a comeback?

I went to drive-ins a lot growing up. They ARE making a comeback.

10. Should towns provide community entertainment like bands in the park, fireworks on the 4th, and community picnics, or is the cost just too much?

Our city has plays in the park, concerts on the plaza, a Tulip Festival, and other events that give the place its identity.

11. What would you change about your town if you had the power?

During the Women’s March Madness basketball tournament taking place at the arena downtown recently, “ESPN commentator Rebecca Lobo remarked about Albany… While discussing the family of Caitlin Clark and their plans while staying in the host city for the latest round of the women’s NCAA tournament at the MVP Arena, Lobo stated, ‘And by the way, good luck finding something to do in Albany.'”

This generated a great debate about what to do in downtown Albany in the winter. While the area has plenty of attractions throughout the year, and there are things to do in the metro area, the downtown, which was in trouble before the pandemic, is not necessarily… robust. It WAS Easter weekend.

Grocery shopping

12. How often do you find yourself shopping for groceries?

My wife goes shopping once a week using the car. I pick up stuff we run out of twice a week, walking with my trusty cart.

13. Do you have a favorite nighttime snack?

Spoon-Sized Shredded Wheat.

14. Do you buy in bulk, and what kinds of tips do you have to save money on grocery shopping?

I was a vigorous coupon clipper in college and for years after, going to two stores for the best price. But I don’t do that anymore. The only things we get in bulk are paper products (napkins, paper towels, toilet paper) and canned cat food.

15. Let’s have a picnic in the park. What foods are we packing, and will we cook anything there, or is it all prepared ahead of time?

There must be deviled eggs. My preference is cold chicken and potato salad. Beyond that, I don’t much care. But no anchovies.

Sunday Stealing: after the vernal equinox

Asking Superman

The first Sunday Stealing after the vernal equinox is another WTIT: The Blog presentation.

1. If you could witness any event from history, what would it be?

The end of World War II in 1945. I’ve seen/read enough science fiction to want to make sure I don’t muck up history.

2. What do you think about conspiracy theories?

Most of them have no basis, and some are utterly absurd. So those that I consider plausible, such as JFK’s assassination, make me really uncomfortable.

3. Do you like cartoons? Do you have /had a favorite one?

I have always loved cartoons. Popeye got to eat spinach. When I was five and a half, I remember having a bloody nose so severe that I was admitted to the hospital; it was great because I got to see the Hanna-Barbera cartoons such as Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear. Later, I watched The Flinstones and the Jetsons, then the Bugs Bunny/Road Runner stable. For a few years, I watched The Simpsons. If I had to pick one, it’d be Rocky and Bullwinkle. And this doesn’t even touch on print cartoons such as Doonesbury, Nancy, and many more.

4. What did you most dislike in school times?

In grade school, the teachers checked our fingernails to ensure they were clean. Mine were rarely clean. They might have been when I left the house, but not by the time they were checked. At the time, I thought it was stupid. In retrospect, it was stupid.

Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream

5. What sounds are, in your opinion, relaxing? The sound of the sea? Traffic? Vacuum cleaner? Combine harvester on the field? Some kind of music? Birds singing?

White noise, vacuum cleaner.

6. What was the last thing you read?

Today’s newspaper.

7. What is one thing that has stumped you so hard you won’t ever forget it?

When I was eleven, give or take, I was walking down the street when something cracked the lens of my glasses. What WAS that? Nothing hit me, such as a pellet from a BB gun. My eye was unharmed.

8. What are you interested in that most people aren’t?

The US Secretaries of State who became President: Jefferson was Secretary of State under Washington, Madison under Jefferson, Monroe under Madison, JQ Adams under Monroe, Van Buren under Jackson, Buchanan under Polk, and H. Clinton under Obama—wait, that last one didn’t happen.

9. What’s something you really resent paying for?

I think the American method of tipping is weird, and I wish the workers were better paid. I’d rather pay more for the service.

10. If you could choose a different time period and place to be born, when and where would it be?

I have no magical “better time” in mind. I think of technological and medical advances that I appreciate.

Man of Steel

11. What’s one question you would ask Superman?

Why don’t you end the wars in Ukraine, Gaza, et al?

12. What’s your favorite smell? What’s your least favorite smell?

I love lilacs. I hate rotten eggs.

13. How do you feel about cars becoming fully autonomous and having no steering wheel, breaks, or accelerators?

I’m in favor of the idea. The technology is not there yet.

14. What are your favorite books and authors?

I have a whole bunch of Marvel Masterworks, many from the 1960s. So Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Stan Lee. (I’ve answered this question a few times, and I’m trying to give a new response.)

15. Have you had a reading or palm reading done?

Probably, but it was not anything I put any stock into.

Sunday Stealing: The Promise

cringeworthy

Today’s Sunday Stealing I called The Promise because I happened to be listening to a song called The Promise by Tracy Chapman when I started this post.

1. What ONE thing would you change about your life? How would your life be different?

The absence of pain in my knees, especially in my left one, and my feet. Maybe I would go for a walk with my wife sometimes. As it is, I walk to get from Point A to Point B, not for leisure or exercise. And if by necessity I walk too much, I am miserable for a couple of hours.

2. What is the hardest thing you have ever done? Why was it hard for you? What did you learn?

I don’t know about EVER, but since I hate confrontation, one I had this year with someone was utterly out of necessity. The situation was eating me up and making me cranky.

3. Write about the most glorious moment in your life so far.

IDK. Maybe winning on JEOPARDY!

4. Write about a moment you felt brave.

I wasn’t feeling brave; I was feeling panicked. A toddler wandered between two cars, and I snatched them up. I would have felt awful if something had happened to the kid. So, at the moment, I wasn’t thinking about the fact that I, too, could have been hit by a car.

5. What made you happy today?

Writing this blog post. It’s my second today after having written only two others all week.

6. What did you dislike most about growing up?

I got poor grades in handwriting and art in elementary school. Although I was reasonably good at academic tasks then, it was rather deflating.

I grew up in a house numbered 5

7. Write about five activities you love the most and why you love them.

Singing in choir soothes my soul. Listening to recorded music soothes my soul. I like to help people figure out stuff, from bus schedules to what governmental agency they should contact, because I like to be helpful. Writing my blog allows me to offload stuff in my head. Reading the newspaper because, while I get my news other ways, it’s the method that imprints the best for me.

8. Do you have an embarrassing moment that still makes you cringe?

Yes, several, actually. But I’m not going to write about it here. It’s less out of a sense of embarrassment. It’s more because dredging them up will force me to relive them, and what’s the point of that? They already have a space in my brain and I needn’t make it toxic for me.

9. What has been your best trip so far?

Barbados, May 1999 honeymoon. It was beautiful at an all-inclusive resort. And I won it by coming in second on JEOPARDY!

10. What traits (physical or personal) do people notice when they meet you for the first time?

I have no strong sense of how others perceive me. It often depends on the situation. If I’m at church or introducing a speaker at the library, I can be warm, friendly, and informative. But if I’m in an uncomfortable situation, I can be shy and quiet and hang around the room’s edges.

I still call it Twitter because X is stupid

11. Is social media a blessing or a curse?

Yes, undoubtedly. I initially got on Facebook to track my niece Rebecca Jade’s musical adventures. Subsequently, I’ve met many folks online, including those I used to know IRL and those I’ve never met. But, beyond the stupid and intentionally deceitful, there’s a lot of “How can you think THAT?” It’s especially true about things of little consequence to them, such as who was snubbed at the Oscars or whether Taylor Swift is any good.

12. What is your greatest hope for your future? What steps can you take to make it happen?

I still have a foolish notion that democracy can work in the United States. To that end, I always vote and encourage others to do so as well, even those folks whose politics I disagree with.

13. What did you struggle most with today?

Waking up. The change to Daylight Saving Time sucketh.

14. Name the biggest priority in your life right now

I want to return to the genealogical research I haven’t touched in 2024.

Fingers on my left hand

15. What are five things you wish others knew about you?

I’m inclined towards melancholia. Since I have at least 3K albums, I don’t have to always listen to the Beatles, even though I’m a boomer. I’m extraordinarily bad with names; everyone should wear nametags. When I get a notice that the Uber that’s picking me up is a white whatever make and model, I have no idea what that vehicle looks like except that it’s white. Increasingly, I need a lot more illumination.

Sunday Stealing: Friday Five

the cinema

This week’s Sunday Stealing is from something called the Friday Five. But is it the Dave Clark Five, Jackson 5, MC5, Five Stairsteps, Five Satins, Five Man Electrical Band, or another quintet?

1) What is your favorite thing about winter?

I may live to regret this, but… The winter of 2023/24 in Albany, NY, to use a technical term, sucked. Last I checked, we were two feet below average for the date. My seasonal allergies, which tend to disappear in the winter, occasionally flared up.

I like going to the movies in the winter and catching up on the awards-nominated films, so I’m greatly disappointed that both the Spectrum and the Madison Theatres in Albany closed, at least temporarily.

2) What is your favorite winter sport?

I LIKE shoveling a third of a meter of snow, and I take pride in the good, no, great job I do in clearing the sidewalk.

3) What is the best winter treat?

Hot Chocolate.

4) What is the earliest time in the year it ever snowed where you live?

October 4, 1987. I was interviewed on the local news because of my 2012 blog post recollections.

5) What is the best way to stay warm in the winter?

My head MUST be covered. I’ve been known to wear two knit hats simultaneously. Next, gloves are important, followed by warm socks.

6) What are your favorite things that are paper?

Book pages, especially art books. I did like the movie The Paper Chase.

7) What are your favorite things that are cotton?

Actor Joseph Cotten (1905-1994). Or clothes

8) What are your favorite things that are leather?

Eh? My wallet, I guess.

9) What are your favorite things that are floral?

No idea. The Rose Bowl parade?

or Woody Guthrie

10) What are your favorite things that are wood?

The built-in bookcase in my office. Or Evan Rachel Wood, Natalie Wood, Ed Wood, Norwegian Wood, or Woody Woodpecker.

11) What should you do if you think your house is haunted?

The house is a century old. It’s almost certainly haunted, but I’ve taken no action.

12) When should you investigate a strange noise in your basement?

We once had sewage back up into our basement. I believe we heard it before we smelled it.

13) How do you know if an abandoned building is safe to visit?

When I was younger, I LOVED abandoned buildings. I’m relatively sure I dream of abandoned buildings. Now, my footing is too unsteady to venture into uneven surfaces.

14) How do you decide whether to solve a problem as a team or split up and go it alone?

The last complicated problem was going to France in May 2023. It involved securing land transportation (train and car) and a place to stay in a remote locale that AAA’s affiliate could not accommodate. So much of it was me because 1) I was retired and, therefore, theoretically had more time, and 2) the wedding involved a friend of mine from 1977.

15) Where do you store your knives, and where would you look if one was missing?

The sharp knives are in a block on the kitchen counter. If one is missing, it’s likely in our daughter’s bedroom.

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.