Sunday Stealing Archives - Ramblin' with Roger

Sunday Stealing — Catherine’s Questions

THINK

“Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

“Catherine called her blog Marvel Not a Girl, and while I don’t know for sure, it’s believed she came up with these questions herself.”

Catherine’s Questions

1) What one word describes your personality?

Apparently, it is enigmatic. Certainly not everyone, but some people think they know me better than they actually do, attributing motives to my behaviors that had indeed never occurred to me.

2) What’s the best way to get on your good side?

I believe the THINK Acronym for Kinder and More Effective Communications online definitely applies to dealing with me in person (or online).

Is it TRUE? Don’t spew gossip and theory as fact. Specifically, don’t say bad things about, say, FOTUS that are untrue, thinking this will ingratiate you to me; it will not.

Is it HELPFUL? When I think, “why did you say/do THAT?” that’s what I’m talking about.

Is it INSPIRING? My father used to say A LOT, “It is better to remain silent and appear ignorant than to speak and remove any doubt.” The quote was almost certainly not from Abraham Lincoln or Mark Twain; here is the backstory.

Is it NECESSARY? Some people fear silence.

Is it KIND? I sent a recent email reprimanding someone I thought was being snarkily unkind to me in person a few hours earlier. Some people operate on snark; I find it utterly exhausting.

Elephant Talk – King Crimson

3) What person do you feel most comfortable with?

Someone who doesn’t feel that filling every second with conversation is necessary.

Talk, it’s all talkToo much talkSmall talkTalk that trashExpressions, editorials, explanations, exclamations, exaggerationsIt’s all talk

4) Do you handle criticism well?

It depends on a) the legitimacy and b) the manner of the criticism.

5) Are you the type to tell someone, if asked, that their pants DO make them look fat?

If they REALLY want to know, I guess so.

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Sunday Stealing — Stolen from Tom

Civil War cards

“This week, we’re stealing from Tom, who called his blog The Morning Erection. Despite the rather suggestive title, none of his questions are sexual in nature.”

Stolen from Tom

1) What was the scariest thing in the world to you when you were a kid? Does it still scare you now?

“Topps released their highly collectible Civil War News card set in 1962. The 88-card set consisted of 87 cards depicting the most well-known battles that took place during the Civil War. The fronts contain color drawings along with the name and date of that battle.”

I owned most of these and kept them for a while, but some of the cards freaked me out. The one I best remember is the card Death Battle from July 1863, in which the combatants have bayonetted each other.

To this day, I don’t like to watch my skin being punctured. I’ve given blood over 180 times, but I never look.

Unplugged

2) Imagine your 12-year-old daughter (or granddaughter) is hosting a sleepover at your home. A sudden storm knocks out cellphone service, wifi, and cable. How would you keep these suddenly unplugged pre-teens entertained?

I’d tell stories, maybe things from my past: when JFK died, the 1965 blackout, or the October 4, 1987 snowstorm. Or tales about my ancestors, such as James Archer, who fought in the Civil War. (I’m sensing a theme here.)

3) What piece of movie or TV memorabilia would you love to own?

Nothing, actually. It becomes just more stuff. In the past, I might have wanted something from The Wizard of Oz.

4) You are gifted with the services of a personal assistant for four hours. What would you ask your assistant to do?

Organize files in my office: medical receipts, genealogical records. If I had more time, I’d easily find more tasks.

5) If literary characters were real, which one would you like to interview, and what would you ask?

I would want to ask those time travelers from the past: Is the future what you expected? I’d ask time travelers from the future: How is it that we still have a future?

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Sunday Stealing is F.A.B. yet again

More Brilliant Than The Sun

Law and Order Tornto Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

Since it’s Thanksgiving weekend, we’re going to keep this simple. We stole this from a blogger named Idzie, who called this the F.A.B. (film, audio, book) meme.

F.A.B. yet again

F. Film: What movie or TV show are you watching?

I stumbled onto Law and Order Toronto: Criminal Intent. Since 1990, I have watched a representative sampling of most L&O programs, enough to anticipate their beats. But the rhythm of this show, while familiar, is fresh enough with its Canadianisms to enjoy.

Wikipedia: “The series premiered on February 22, 2024, on Citytv, and became the #1 prime-time drama of the year in Canada by attracting 1.1 million views on the first episode. The first season ran for 10 episodes; in June 2024, it was renewed for a second and third season.”

It stars Aden Young as Detective Sergeant Henry Graff, Kathleen Munroe as Detective Sergeant Frankie Bateman, K. C. Collins as Deputy Crown Attorney Theo Forrester, and Karen Robinson as Inspector Vivienne Holness. In the first few episodes, the latter two had far too little to do; that’s been rectified a bit.

In the US, the CW has been broadcasting the first season – I just finished episode 9. Season 2, already completed in Canada, will air in the US in 2026.

Music

A. Audio: What are you listening to?

I have finally allowed myself to listen to Advent/Christmas music. Also, I’ve been playing the CDs of Rebecca Jade, who, as it turns out, is the daughter of my sister Leslie; in other words, the first niece. Check out her videos; I’m particularly fond of Peter Sprague’s and her take on Wichita Lineman.

B. Book: What are you reading?

My daughter borrowed a book from a Western Massachusetts college library and insisted I read it before she has to return it in late January. It is titled More Brilliant Than The Sun: Adventures in Sonic Fiction by Kodwo Eshun. Buying the book, which was published in 1998, would cost north of $400.

I can tell you that the Discontents, which you would call the table of contents, namechecks Miles Davis, Grandmaster Flash, Cypress Hill, Funkadelic, Kraftwerk, the Jungle Brothers, Sun Ra, Alice and John Coltrane, and Pharoah Sanders. The index mentions others, such as John Cage, Chic, Queen, Public Enemy, Stevie Wonder, James Brown, and Sly and the Family Stone.

Being an obedient parent, I shall have read it by the deadline.

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Sunday Stealing Goes Back To The Well

not as bad as it was

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves!

This week, we’re once again stealing from Steph, aka Cry Baby. She loves Taco Bell and asking questions like these.

Revisiting Steph – Sunday Stealing Goes Back To The Well

1) Has anyone ever told you “I love you,” but you didn’t say it back?

This happened at least 48 years ago. This young woman and I were buddies, not even really close friends. We were hanging out somewhere outdoors, and she said that. I thought it came out of nowhere, and I felt terrible. When I didn’t respond in kind, she seemed really crushed. I reflected on the vibe I was giving off to her. I hadn’t thought about that in a long time.

2) Do you consider yourself organized?

I think that there’s more than one way to be organized. In some ways, I am, and in other ways, definitely not. My blog writing has a system: I know what I’m gonna write, but I leave room for inspiration. I go through my email, which is my organizational tool for triggering specific behaviors, such as paying bills. My cell phone helps me remember my medical appointments and other irregular events.

Conversely, my office is a mess. It’s not as bad now as it was a couple of days ago. I was having trouble getting Internet connectivity, and I knew someone from Spectrum was going to come into my office at 8 a.m., so I woke up at 4:40 without an alarm clock and moved stuff around for about 2.5 hours.

Pathway

Now there’s a path from the entryway to my desk, so the worker could, as it turns out, replace the modem I just got a month ago with one that actually works.

3) Where do you look first when you go clothes shopping?

I should note that I loathe going clothes shopping. Last time I went, I needed a new winter coat, so I got one at Lodge’s, the oldest store in downtown Albany. I also bought some socks because I can always use more socks. Usually, my wife buys me shirts from L.L. Bean.

4) Do you often reflect on your past in terms of eras or milestones (“it’s been 10 years since X happened”)?

Not exactly, but I do recall anniversaries. I note famous people’s 70th birthdays, my parents’ birthdays, and death dates, my sisters’ birthdays, etc.

The only time I reflect is in end-of-year posts, when I’m mainly looking back on the previous 12 months. The only milestone demarcations I suppose I have are before the daughter and after the daughter, and my previous church versus my current church.

5) Were you more recently ill or injured (flu vs. twisted ankle)?

Challenging to say. I’m often in a state of mild injury. I wrote about pain in my left knee some months ago. The last time I was sick was probably when I had COVID in August of 2022, and honestly, because I had gotten shots, it wasn’t all that bad.

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Sunday Stealing is Working Through It

the most pleasure

Jackie K. at Working Through It found 20 questions on Quora that can “tell you the most about a person.” By using the 10 best, we’re going to learn more about you.

What 10 Questions Can Tell You the Most about a Person

1. If you were an animal, what animal would you be?

An indoor house cat. What a life!

2. Are you generous?

I think so – generous with my time and, to the degree I can afford it, with my treasure.

3. Of the following, which consistently gives you the most pleasure: a) music, b) money, c) books, d) science, e) spirituality, f) food and wine, g) movies?

In order, music (please don’t tell me you are surprised), spirituality, movies, books, money, food and wine, and science.

4. Describe your dancing ability.

Minimal.

I have a worst enemy?

5. What do you think your worst enemy really thinks of you?

I have no idea who that could be. That said, he is self-absorbed, with his mind filled with obscure and useless information.

6. Can you tell when someone is lying to you?

Sometimes. It depends on the nature of the lie versus the likelihood that it could be true.

7. Describe how it feels to fall in love.

“It’s like trying to explain to a stranger ’bout rock and roll.” In other words, I have no idea.

8. In deadly peril, what three people would you want in a foxhole with you?

I talked with two of them on the telephone this week for more than 90 minutes each. The other is an OLD friend.

9. What is your greatest weakness?

I don’t know if it’s a weakness. But my late buddy Dustbury (Charles Hill) described both of us as magpies, always looking for the next shiny object. This is why I have a low tolerance for doing anything for too long. Some people can binge-watch television programs, but I cannot. I was working on a blog post, but it was taking too long, so I wrote another post, then this one; I’ll get back to the first one eventually.

10. If you were to live out the rest of your life as your favorite fictional character, which would you choose?

Columbo. “Just one more thing.”

Work Song – The Paul Butterfield Blues Band

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