Ask Roger Anything Archives - Page 20 of 22

Why the Equinox Ask Roger Anything Edition is Better

One of these days, he, or someone else, will throw some of those questions right back at me. Which, of course, serves me right.

(That is to say, better than the Solstice ARA.)

Yup. Doing that Ask Roger Anything, that exciting time of the year when YOU get to ASK ROGER ANYTHING. Pretty straightforward, eh?

And I LOVE to do this in March and September for one simple reason: Jaquandor does the same thing in February and August. And one of these days, he, or someone else, will throw some of those questions right back at me. Which, of course, serves me right. In fact, preemptively, I’m working on one right now. No topic is off-limits.

Of course, I reserve the right to obfuscate my remarks somewhat, but they cannot be outright lies; there must be an element of truth to my responses.

I’ll be answering y’all (which I consider a perfectly appropriate term) over the next couple of weeks.

Also would like your comments on the new Randy Newman video. He’s the guy who offended Short People, among many others.

Obama v. Romney

Sometimes I want to just take on the system, sometimes I want to write in quiet contemplation; much of the time, I worry about the fate of the planet.

Answering more Ask Roger Anything questions:

Tom the Mayor, who I know personally, pondered:
Here is a hard one Roger! Who do you think will win the presidential election?

I went to 270towin.com. The map there suggests that Obama has 217 likely electoral votes, and Romney with 191 electoral votes, with 130 electoral votes listed as a tossup. Three states in that latter category are hugely important – Florida (29), Pennsylvania (20), and Ohio (18). I suspect that whoever wins at least 2 out of 3 will probably win the White House.

Some statistical piece – I can’t find it presently – states that the Republicans were far better controlling the argument in the media than the Democrats regarding the presentation of the healthcare law dubbed Obamacare. The GOP was able to stay on message, using the same keywords, while the Dems were more diffuse. This tends to be true on other issues as well.

I mention this because, even when the Democrats have good issues, they don’t seem to be able to capitalize on them. Obama’s support of gay marriage can’t really help him much; those supporters weren’t going to Romney. Obama’s announcement that he wouldn’t go after illegal immigrants who were brought to the US by their parents might have been popular with some Hispanics, but Republicans managed to turn it into a Constitutional overreach by the President.

FOX News blamed Obama for rising gas prices, and incorrectly predicted worse. Now that they are actually falling, FN notes that they are signs of a “looming global economic crisis.” Ya can’t win. And people with selective memory recall that Obama’s to blame for all of it.

Now, I think that Romney has been amazingly non-specific about what he would DO as President on many issues, save for building that pipeline. But if the economy is still weak – and the Dow Jones lost 250 points the day you posted the question…

If the election were held today, I think Romney wins. Of course, the election is NOT today, so things could change. I’m not optimistic about Obama’s chances at this moment.

Tom also asked:
Did you get the new Paul McCartney Album? What do you think of it?

I assume you are referring to Kisses on the Bottom, rather than the reissue of Ram. In general, the less I knew the song, the more I liked it. I don’t need another version of It’s Only a Paper Moon or I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter, and I don’t think Sir Paul added much to those. But I liked tunes such as My Very Good Friend the Milkman, Get Yourself Another Fool, and The Inch Worm, plus a couple of original songs. I think my decision to buy a Macca album depends on the reviews.

BTW, there are nice Coverville podcasts for Paul McCartney and for Brian Wilson/the Beach Boys that you might want to check out; for the latter, I made a couple of requests that were played.
***
Chris from Off the Shore of Orion wonders:

Is there a limit on the number?

Yes, no more than 37 at a time. So you’re safe – so far…

What historical figure do you most identify with?

Oh, it varies, depending on the issue, and my mood: Nat Turner, Henry David Thoreau, Rachel Carson. Sometimes I want to just take on the system, sometimes I want to write in quiet contemplation; much of the time, I worry about the fate of the planet.

Something at work reminded me of this: when I was 9 or 10 and wanted to wrap presents, I would get the Sunday funnies from the newspaper and use those. I would be severely mocked, even/especially by my own family. These days, what I did is considered environmentally cool, but then as doofy, a word one of my sisters used A LOT in describing me.

Who do you think was the most evil person who ever lived?

Oh, there are so many. The obvious ones such as Genghis Khan or Hitler.
So, I’ll pick US President Andrew Jackson, whose support of slavery, and especially his Indian removal policy should get him removed from the US $20 bill.

What’s the most heartbreaking novel you’ve ever read?

A Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. That said, I don’t read a lot of fiction these days. I was very affected by Maus by Art Spiegelman. I had actually met him a couple of times before that book was released. He was publishing this eclectic, oversized magazine called RAW; boy, I wish I had kept those.

A Solstice Tradition: Ask Roger Anything

This is actually the one time in the year when your responses are vital to my blogging.

OK, so the solstice was actually yesterday at 23:09; this is close enough.

This is one of those times of the year when you get to ask Roger just about anything. Did I suggest “just about”? Nay, I say, anything, ANYTHING. Now, faced with a TMI question, I will, undoubtedly, make use of my obfuscation skills; I don’t use them that much these days, but in my 20s, I was really quite good at it. Still, I can’t out-and-out lie.

Since I now feed this blog to my Facebook and Twitter feeds, I am actively requesting folks that find me that way to participate as well. You are not limited to one query, either, but as many as you are moved to share.

This is actually the one time in the year when your responses are vital to my blogging. The home office gets a little warm, so if I get no questions at all, I’ll be forced to post summer-themed videos thrice a week, or the like, and I did a lot of them LAST summer, so all the good ones are taken, leaving stuff such as The Jamies doing Summertime, Summertime. Easy for me, of course, but probably not that exciting for you; think of this task as enlightened self-interest.

Your Post-Birthday Present to Me: Ask Roger Anything

That’s right, ask me ANYTHING. Anything at all.

The notion that I should limit my birthday to, I don’t know, 24 hours, is such a silly notion when I can be celebrating it all month. And I know that you meant to get me something a couple of weeks ago, but you just didn’t know what to pick out. (It CAN be tough.) I know you are very upset about this, as well you might be. Well, I’m here to tell you that your existential agony could be over!

All you need to do is Ask Roger Anything. That’s right, ask me ANYTHING. Anything at all. And, here’s the kicker – I have to answer it, in this here blog. The answer must be, more or less, truthful, though, if, given the opportunity, I might just obfuscate a tad.

And if you’re shy and prone to embarrassment, you could even e-mail your questions to me at rogerogreen(AT)gmail(DOT)com. The rest of you brave souls, though, can leave yours in the comment area of this particular post.

Oh, I should note that I’m not one of those take-take-take kinds of people. For similar requests, I’ve provided questions to Lefty Brown and Jaquandor, here and here, among others.

Your Solstice Gift to Me – Ask Roger Anything!

So consider the gauntlet to be thrown down.

Doesn’t matter if you celebrate Hanukkah, Saturnalia, Festivus, Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, Brumalia, Christmas, Kwanzaa, or nothing at all. You can give me a present, or presents. I LOVE presents!

The present will be to Ask Roger Anything. This means anything at all, and I must tell the truth or at least a variation of same. Last time Jaquandor did this, he wrote: “I’d also note that there are questions that I genuinely expect to get asked every time I do this, and none of those ‘Hey, will this be the time that X gets asked!’ questions has yet to show up!” I feel the same way. Though I DID try to press Jaquandor somewhat; he did edit one of my questions slightly.

So consider the gauntlet to be thrown down. I will answer at some points before Epiphany, depending on how the holiday turns out, and the number of presents (questions) I get.