Tag: Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing: Pink

cannot draw a circle

This week’s Sunday Stealing is called Pink. I assumed it meant something else. Instead, the progenitor of the post is something called Fickle in Pink.
Ah, what the heck:
The Pink Panther theme
Trustfall– Pink
Wish You Were Here – Pink Floyd

Barbie World by Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice, with Aqua

 

1. Do you tend to have a guilty conscience?

No, and yes. On one level, what is done is done. Still, at unexpected times, I ruminate on how I could have done something better, especially this year.

 

2. Do you still have your wisdom teeth?

Nope, all gone, two at a time, before I was 30.

 

3. Peanut Butter – creamy or crunchy?

I don’t eat peanut butter because I don’t like it. When I was three or four, I ate it a lot, Jif brand. I wondered if I had overdosed on it. The valuable aspect of this is that when I’m eating unlabeled cookies, I can take one bite and suss out the PB ones. This was important because my daughter is allergic to peanuts and most tree nuts.

 

4. Get up off your butt. Take 5 steps. Which leg did you start out on?

My right one always, because it’s in less pain than my left. When I walk up or  down the stairs, it’s also the right.

 

5. What color is your favorite kitchen utensil?

Turquoise spatula.

 

6. Did you watch the Michael Jackson memorial/funeral?

No, and I had no interest in doing so. Yet I wrote about remembering where I was when I heard he died.

 

7. Do you know anyone who graduated from high school this year? Were you invited to their graduation party? Did you go?

Yes, some kids from church. We went to two different events. At some point, it rained, but neither party was a washout.

 

8. White with black stripes or black with white stripes?
Surprise me.
Paul Peca
9. If we were to call your 6th-grade teacher, what would they say about you?

I hope nothing unless you have been conducting a seance since he died in 2011. But Mr. Peca would be pleased because I’m a thinking, opinioned sort. I remember distinctly that he supported Barry Goldwater for President in 1964 when most of the class backed Lyndon Johnson. But he liked the back-and-forth.

 

10. Can you draw a perfect circle?

Goodness no. I have to draw a clockface for those cognitive tests they give old people.  It’s an oval, at best.

 

11. What was your favorite scratch-and-sniff sticker scent?

I’m not a fan. It makes me slightly nauseous.

 

12. How many light switches and electrical outlets are in the room that you are in right now?

There are two outlets. The one with a power strip allows me to use my laptop, printer, CD boom box, light fixture, and phone charger.

 

13. Do you know sign language?

No. I tried a little, but I was not a quick learner.

 

14. Do you step on cracks in the sidewalk?

I make a point of it. When I try to increase my pace, I try to take fewer sidewalk panels, two instead of three, e.g.

 

15. And the sheets on your bed look like….?

I don’t know. I usually go to bed after my wife does and in the dark. Currently,  they are blue flannel.

 

The picture above is of our former bathroom sink during the deconstruction before the reconstruction.

Sunday Stealing – Identity

hot under the collar

mytrueidentityThe Sunday Stealing this week is about identity, an intriguing topic.

1. if someone wanted to really understand you, what would they read, watch, and listen to?
Read: see #8 below
Watch TV- JEOPARDY, 60 Minutes, CBS Sunday Morning, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Twilight Zone, Rocky and Bullwinkle, Mission: Impossible until Landau and Bain left. See movies: Young Frankenstein, Annie Hall, Casablanca, West Side Story, 13th.
Listen to: see #4 below

2. have you ever found a writer who thinks just like you? if so, who?
He is not exactly like me – he is far more technologically knowledgeable, e.g. But Arthur is a political science guy, sometimes activist, and is open to stealing ideas from me. In fact, he’s doing his Ask Arthur Anything event, which he admittedly purloined from me.

3. do you care about your ethnicity?
Yes, and yes. Yes, it still seems to matter to others; we aren’t in that post-racial society yet. And yes, because it’s interesting to me. Ancestry occasionally recalibrates my DNA percentages. Presently:
Mister Music
4. what musical artists have you most felt connected to over your lifetime?
In response to blog posts J. Eric Smith shared, I wrote a series of pieces that featured Prince, the Temptations, Jethro Tull, Steppenwolf, Johnny Cash, Steely Dan, Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel, Harry Belafonte, plus a bunch of people also mentioned in the previous links. If I HAD to pick three, it’d be The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, and Paul Simon.

5. are you an artist?
Suppose art is drawing, painting, or sculpting; then absolutely not. If art includes singing, then arguably yes.

6. dog person or cat person?
I had cats from when I grew up until 40 years ago. Then, a decade ago, there were two cats, one of whom was certified demented by his vet. The one dog we had when I was a kid bit me; we got rid of that dog when he also bit the minister’s daughters. There are a handful of dogs I’ve liked, especially Random.

7. inside or outdoors?
I like the outdoors when it’s temperate. I like April, May, and September. But I hate heat and fear burning. My tolerance for the cold has diminished with age.
Literature
8. five most influential books over your lifetime
I dunno. How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi regarding how I see inequity. Life Itself by Roger Ebert is about how I see movies. The Sweeter The Juice by Shirlee Taylor Haizlip is about how we’re the same. The Good Book by Peter J. Gomes is a philosophical treatise. One of those Joel Whitburn books about music – Top Pop Singles – is about how music rules.

.
9. would you rather be in Middle Earth, Narnia, Hogwarts, or somewhere else?
By default, Hogwarts. I’ve never read any of the books, but I’ve seen all the movies.

10. list the top five things you spend the most time doing, in order.
Sleeping, reading, sorting through stuff, blogging, eating (including food prep or purchase)

11. have you ever felt like you had a “mind-meld” with someone?
Yes, at random times. A few times on the Amtrak.

12. could you live as a hermit?
That’s what COVID felt like. If I had a phone, Internet, a source of food delivery, maybe for a year before I started going bonkers.

13. do you feel like your outside appearance is a fair representation of the “real you”?
Most people who know me well recognize that my outside appearance is not particularly a high priority for me. So I haven’t a clue.

14. three songs that you connect with right now.
Here are songs by artists who have birthdays in December: Nothing Compares 2 U – Sinéad O’Connor, who died in July 2023;  Something So Right– Annie Lennox from her all-covers album, where she reorders the Paul Simon lyrics;  Love and Affection– Joan Armatrading, which has one of my favorite first lines:  “I am not in love. But I’m open to persuasion.”
made into a PBS series
15. pick one of your favorite quotes.
When I get this question, I pull a book off the shelf and randomly pick something. From The Story of English by McCrum, Cran, and MacNeil: “Phrases like hot under the collar and bite the dust are an everyday reminder of the powerful influence the cowboy has had on the English language. Perhaps this is because, of all of the frontier heroes, the cowboy was the beneficiary of nineteenth-century technology. The camera and the railroad exported the cowboy lifestyle and language back to the east so vividly that a New York dentist, Zane Gray, who was virtually ignorant of the real West, could create a believable picture of cowboy society from the information available to him in New York, thousands of miles from the range.”

Sunday Stealing – Surveys

L.L. Bean

This week’s Sunday Stealing is Surveys. But isn’t it Saturday? Why yes it is.

Before that, I want to do some light kvetching. There’s a walkway between our house and the neighbor’s. Two Wednesdays ago, there was a bunch of trash on the ground. I figured it might have blown over – it has been occasionally windy – and it would be picked up by Thursday night with the city garbage pickup on Friday morning.

But it was still there Friday afternoon when I took this picture. Fortunately, it was disposed of by Saturday morning, but now there are TWO shopping carts, one from Whole Foods, the nearest one of which is four miles away. Since there are at least four apartments  in the building, I don’t know who to ask, and there’s enough turnover there that I don’t know anyone there presently.

I can’t talk to the absentee landlord because he is a piece of work.  He scraped my wife’s vehicle with his rusty pickup truck last month, white paint from our car on his rust bucket. Moreover, there are two witnesses to this. 

Where were we?
  1. . How long was your last phone conversation?
About a half hour, with my baby sister.

2. Have you ever dyed your hair?
Not ever.

3. What do you have on your feet?
Slippers. It’s always slippers if I’m at home. Maybe socks if I’ve been out covered by slippers.

4. Do people ever mispronounce your name?
It’s a pretty easy name.  Still I’ve been called Robert and, most often George; I think it’s the consonant thing. When I was waiting to read at the Ironweed marathon reading, I heard the announcer say, Next up:, Roger Breen” or something that wasn’t my name.

5. Where did you get the shirt you are wearing?
My wife bought it from L.L. Bean, which was the Final JEOPARDY response in the game I lost; I was the only one to get it right, taking me from third to second place.

6. Does any part of your body hurt right now?
My feet. My knees, which are bone-on-bone. The left one is particularly exhausting.

7. Do you drink hard liquor?
Very seldom. But I have a LOT in my house for guests. But we don’t havce a lot of guests, mostly because we have a demented cat.

8. Have you ever read a book in one sitting?
Other than children’s books, perhaps many years ago. 
Felines
9. Do you like cats?  Why or why not?
As noted, our male cat is demented. The female cat is skittish but nice. I tend to be pleasant to the neighbor cats. There was a calico cat on the front porch this week and I talked nicely to it. Related: there was a dead mouse on the walkway to our sidewalk this Wednesday; I kicked it onto our lawn, intending to pick it up on Thursday night for trash night, but it was gone. Friday morning, there was that dead creatrure on our front porch and ANOTHER dead mouse on the back porch,  presents, I believe, from the calico cat, who was in our backyard. Oh, cat, you SHOULDN’T have – really, you shouldn’t.

10. Do you like the ocean?
Sure. Looking out from the San Diego area is particularly lovely.

11. Ever think you might have seen a UFO?
Perhaps.

12. Do you type fast?
Not at all.

13. How long are you usually in the shower for?
Ten minutes, maximum.

14. Chinese food or Mexican food?
Yes. But I’ve had Mexican food recently, whereas it’s been possibly pre-COVID since I had Chinese food.

15. Do you read and believe your horoscope?
A friend of mine got me a very detailed horoscope probably four decades ago or more. It took into account my time of birth, the location, etc. It seemed pretty accurate It’s around here SOMEWHERE, but it certainly has not informed the way I lived my life 

Sunday Stealing – Thanksgiving

goats

JFK Thanksgiving Day proclamation 1963
JFK Thanksgiving Day Proclamation 1963

This week’s quiz from the League of Extraordinary Penpals is Sunday Stealing- Thanksgiving, which is coming up in the United States on Thor’s Day.

1. People I’d like to thank and why

Too many. But thanks to Jeff Sharlet, author of The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War, whom I’ve known since he was six, for our breakfast on Saturday; KD, whom I’ve known since kindergarten, for our breakfast on Friday; and the Bible Guys, with whom I had breakfast on Thursday.

2. Something I rebelled against as a kid

Wearing ties. I was right; they’re legalized nooses.

3. What I need to accomplish before the end of the year

I have a reimbursement program for my medical expenses. I must submit them, and it is an extraordinarily tedious process, but I need the money, well over $1000.

4. Guilty pleasures right now

I don’t believe in them. Guilt is highly overrated. BTW, I’m presently listening to ABBA.

5. Local landmarks

Nipper. There are others, such as the skyline, but the dog is among the most iconic.

6. Cause or purpose I deeply believe in

I attended a panel discussion this week about book bans and challenges. Someone read a list of some of the most challenged books. As a retired librarian, I find the activity deeply unsettling, especially as these actions are often stirred up by a group not even in the communities.

No can do

7. Things I never learned to do

Type, drive, or enjoy beets.

8. Seasonal traditions I’m always excited for

My wife has three days off from work in a row.

9. Something I’d like to be mentored on

Genealogy. I’m trying to find my great-grandmother’s birth certificate, Margaret (or Marguerite) Collins Williams (May 1865-August 8, 1931), and find her parents’ names. They are not on her death certificate.

10. Exotic animals I wish I could keep as pets

Goats. They could mow our lawn, and I’d lend them to the neighbors.

11. Something normal to me that might be odd to others

I always hear music, even when it’s not playing.

12. The last book I quit reading and why

Possibly Brothers In Arms by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anthony Walton because I got busy. I may return to it because Morgan Freeman has executive produced a documentary about the  761st Tank Battalion: The Original Black Panthers that should be on the History Channel. The Kareem book is about that very entity.

13. Right now, I appreciate…

Good mass transit in Albany, NY. Thanks, CDTA. The Purple Line buses were free for the first two weeks, ending today.

Not ready for Christmas

14. When “the holiday season” starts for me

December 1 is when Kelly starts his Daily Dose of Christmas. It does NOT begin on November 1, even though the TV ads want me to think so.

15. Holiday foods and treats I love the most

I like fruit pies. Not so much pumpkin but apple or cherry.

16. “Terrible” movies that I actually like

Reefer Madness, which I haven’t seen since college. The Albany preview of Howard The Duck was sponsored by FantaCo, the comic book store where I worked.

17. Cooking all day for holiday dinner vs. ordering carry-out

We’ll probably have food prepared by others.

18. If I were trapped in a holiday movie, I’d pick…

Miracle on 34th Street. I’ve only seen it once, so I would tire of it less quickly.

19. Which holiday tradition I wish lasted all year long

A perhaps insincere attempt at civility.

20. Favorite books, music, TV, and movies this month

Music: whose birthday is this month? Randy Newman, Jimi Hendrix, Felix Cavaliere of the Rascals, Berry Gordy (Motown compilations). TV: football, recorded, which I can watch in about 70 minutes

Sunday Stealing: alphabetical

Manic Depression

Welcome to this week’s Sunday Stealing. The moderator doesn’t remember where she stole this, so I dubbed it as alphabetical.

A – Ambition: To be useful. I suppose that’s why I became a librarian. But it shows up in other ways. We had the First Friday concert at our church, and I helped people find the second-floor bathrooms. Someone asked if I were the pastor; I laughed.

B – Birthday: March 7. When I was working, I would take off the day. If my birthday were on Saturday, I’d take off the Friday before. And I’d take off Monday if my birthday was on Sunday.

C – Computer: A Microsoft Surface laptop I bought from a former SBDC colleague after my previous one fell from a table and became essentially unusable.

D – Dream: I dream a lot. I thought after MLK was killed in 1968, the progress that had started with the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act would have taken hold better. But after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Right Act about a decade ago, attempts to disenfranchise people have grown.

E – Exercise: Primarily walking to the grocery store. My left knee is often in pain – including as I write this – so it’s limited.

Manga

F – Favorite Food: Grapes are great, especially for hydration. I like eggs, and usually, I prefer them when someone else makes them. And chicken. The chicken and the egg. There are lots of things I’d eat if I weren’t concerned about cholesterol and my weight. Bacon every day. There’s a packet of Golden Oreos on my kitchen counter I’m bringing to a meeting this week, but I’ve had none (so far).

G – Garden: Whatever gardening takes place is done by my wife, and she’s busy with work of late.

H – Hobby: Probably genealogy, though I haven’t had sufficient time to pursue it this autumn.

I – Idol: If I have one, it’s former Chief Justice Earl Warren or folksinger Pete Seeger.

J – Job: Retired business librarian for the New York Small Business Development Center; I was there for 26 years and eight months (1992-2019). The next longest job was working at FantaCo, a comic book/publisher/mail order/convention entity, for eight years and six months (1980-1988).

K – Kids: One, who I’ve written about in this blog every month on the 26th since May 2005.

L – Location: There was a question on a recent episode of Celebrity JEOPARDY in the category Demonyms, which are words that refer to a native or a resident of a specific place. “It’s how you might refer to a resident of Tirana, a capital city near the Adriatic coast–or to a resident of NY’s state capital.” I’m in the latter category.

M – Military: I received a Conscientious Objector status in 1972, and no one born in my year was drafted in 1973.

N – Name or Nickname: ROG

O – Optimist or Pessimist: Yes.

That darn cat

P – Pets: Two cats. One is demented. Midnight freaked out when he went to the vet nine years ago. The new vet was convinced that if we slipped him a sedative the night before and the morning of a visit, she could control him. Nope. She determined, “Your cat is crazy.” We knew this.

Q – Quote: From the comic book Saga of the Swamp Thing #22: “We left you the BEST part. We left you the HUMANITY. Try not to LOSE it.” (Alan Moore)

R – Reads: In the past few years, a bunch about race and racism. The New Jim Crow, The Color of Law, and How To Be An Antiracist.

S – School: Daniel S. Dickinson, Binghamton, NY, K-9. Binghamton Central High School, 10-12. SUNY New Paltz, B.A. in political science (1977). SUNY Albany: dropped out of a master’s in Public Administration program and went to work at the aforementioned comic book store (1980). Then SUNY Albany, Master’s in Library Science (1992).

Somewhere else

T – Travel: I’ve visited 32 US states, most recently Nevada. I’ve only been to Canada, Mexico, Barbados, and, this year, France.

U – Unfulfilled ambition: To visit the remaining 18 states and go at least to Ireland.

V – Vacation spot: Lake Placid, NY, which I went to for at least two work conferences

W – Wardrobe: Casual if at all possible.

X – X-tra facts about me: I can’t really write or clean house unless I’m listening to music. Presently on the CD player: the Jimi Hendrix Experience, a greatest hits collection. The song Manic Depression ALMOST led me to yesterday’s Wordle, which was MANIA.

Y – Years online: For work, it was probably 1994. I had AOL back when you needed those shiny discs to access email.

Z – Zodiac sign: Pisces, the best one.

 

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