Sunday Stealing Archives - Page 2 of 33

Monday Morning Meme on Sunday Stealing

math is everywhere

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!

Maria called these questions “The Monday Morning Meme.” Unfortunately she didn’t link back and I couldn’t find the original blog that posted it. OK, I admit I didn’t try very hard, but still I found the questions and am sharing them with you. That counts for something, right?

Monday Morning Meme

1. What was the last thing you laughed at?

It almost certainly was some sort of wordplay, possibly my own. I’ve been known to crack myself up. I’m an easy audience. My wife was doing a Spelling Bee on Friday (Halloween), and looking at the letters upside down, I found the pangram WITCHING, which amused me.

Maybe it was this picture from Jeff Lefferts of the King Crimson Fan Club, done by one of his friends; it helps if you know the original.

There have been “bits” of comedians that cracked me up the first several dozen times, but I’ve seen/heard them too often: Jack Benny, Abbott and Costello, probably many others. But I still appreciate this bit from The Life of Brian, though it’s funnier in context.

2. Who among your friends/family “gets” your sense of humor?

My friend Bruce and I can banter about almost anything. Numbers are usually involved because, as he says, math is everywhere, and it is. I should note that my wife has slowly picked up on some of the play on words that I’m prone to using.

3. What jewelry are you wearing at this moment?

I was never a jewelry guy. When I was offered the option of getting a high school class ring, I declined. The only item I have is my wedding ring.

No schmuck zone

4. If you could offer one bit of etiquette that everyone should follow while dining out, what would it be?

Patience. At least some food establishments are understaffed, especially in the past half-decade. Screaming at the waitstaff makes you an ass; if you do it in my presence, I will be mortified with embarrassment. This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t comment to them about the slow service or a wrong order. But don’t be a schmuck. That seems to be good advice for most situations.

5. What’s the first thing a guest would notice when they walk through your front door?

The coat rack is unsteadily leaning against the wall, filled with shopping bags.

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Sunday Stealing: Four 5’s

five cents

We found this one at CreativeGene, who stole it from someone named “Randy” because “it looks like fun.” Let’s see if you agree.

Four 5’s

FIVE things on my to-do list:

1. Write the book

2. Clean out the drawer

3. Book speakers for the FFAPL book reviews/author talk in January/February 2026 (interested?)

4. Submit reimbursement forms for my health care expenses

5. Re-sort my played compact discs

FIVE snacks I enjoy:

1. Oatmeal raisin cookies

2. Canned fruit cocktail

3. Golden Oreos

4. Apple sauce

5. Ritz crackers

FIVE places I have lived:

1. Kingston, NY – 2 months in 1972, a roach-infested place

2. Charlotte, NC – roughly 4 months in 1977, living with my parents

3. Jackson Heights, Queens, NY – roughly 4 months in 1977, living with one of my sisters

4. Schenectady, NY – approximately 20 months in 1978-1979

5. Binghamton, NY, my hometown

Workin’ For A Living

FIVE jobs I have held:

1. A box factory, for two weeks. Hated it, as described here

2. Janitor at some department store in New Paltz for a few weeks, and at Binghamton City Hall for about four months in the 1970s

3. Empire Blue Cross, customer service rep, eventually hated it, which I described here

4. Albany Savings Bank, teller, 02/1978—Two days after my training was over, and I was on the window by myself, spending an hour trying to find a five-cent overage, I quit with two days’ notice. They weren’t happy, but they were only paying me $6000 a year, less than what I had in my drawer every day. I left to work as a bookkeeper at the Schenectady Arts Council, which I liked a lot more and made $8200/year.

5. FantaCo, from May 1980 to November 1988

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Sunday Stealing — Meme Schmeme

Milky Way

Cheri is a blogger from the beautiful state of Georgia who didn’t often participate in memes but stole this one because “for whatever crazy reason” it appealed to her. Let’s see how you like it.

Meme Schmeme

Complete the thought:

I AM that kid who used to write his address with way too much detail, adding North America, Northern Hemisphere, Western Hemisphere, Earth, Milky Way galaxy, and probably other markers.

I LIVE by some basic mottos: the Golden Rule, helping others when you can, sharing information, listening to music a lot, and trying not to be an @$$4013.

I THINK I am a klutz with even the simplest physical tasks. We had to put new license plates on a vehicle this weekend. So I unscrewed the old plate on the back and put on the new one. Then I went to the front and unscrewed the plate. Where’s the replacement plate? I managed to attach two plates to the back of the car; they seem thinner than the ones I used to screw on, which was probably a half-century ago.

Fred MacMurray

I KNOW an inordinate amount of useful and more than occasionally mundane info. Just this weekend, there was a Facebook conversation about the television show My Three Sons. Someone wrote that they had a crush on one of the sons, Robby. In response, another asked if he was the oldest. I jumped in: “Originally, there were three bio sons, Mike, Robby, and Chip. But Mike got married and left; the dad then adopted Ernie. So if you were watching in 1965 or later, Robby was the oldest. Simple question, but complicated answer.” Except for the year, I KNEW all of that.

I WANT to declutter the house, and occasionally, my mind.

I WISH people would stop believing comments, often made by political figures, that are, to my mind, clearly lies. Also, the rationalization of bigotry by JD Vance, over “jokes” about gas chambers and rape, approving of slavery, and sneering about “watermelon people,” among other comments, reflects a moral bankruptcy.

I PRAY that people recognize that climate change is real and act to slow its progression since it is apparent that we are beyond reversing it.

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Sunday Stealing Tunes In

Dick Van Dyke

This week we’re stealing from Christina at Call Me Patsy. Back in 2008, she said this was the TV meme “that everyone has been doing.” Well, we don’t like to be left out.

Sunday Stealing Tunes In

1. Name a TV show you’ve seen every episode of.

For sure, The Dick Van Dyke Show; I watched the five seasons on DVD with my daughter. Probably I Love Lucy; ditto. The Twilight Zone, which I have on DVD. MASH.

2. On which device do you do most of your viewing (television, tablet, computer, phone)?

I have never been on the phone. A CBS Mornings anchor said they were watching MOVIES on the phone, and I shuddered. I have no tablet. The only time I’ve used the computer is when my wife wanted to watch TV. So television by a vast margin.

3. Name an actor/actress who would make you less likely to watch a show.

Can’t think of one.

I watched a LOT of TV.

4. When you were a kid, what show did you love?

There was a wide range of programs: Wonderful World of Disney, Andy Griffith Show, JEOPARDY, Password, The Defenders, Perry Mason, Ed Sullivan, Top Cat, The Smothers Brothers, The Wild Wild West, the aforementioned Twilight Zone, and the Dick Van Dyke Show.

5. What show do you recommend everyone watch?

I don’t. But I’ve long been fond of CBS Sunday Morning, a magazine of the air, since it premiered in 1979. Since I learned to use the VHS recorder, I generally record it to watch later.

6. What shows do your friends like, but you don’t?

I don’t really talk to my friends about their TV viewing habits. That said, it would probably be something in the horror genre.

7. When you watch TV, do you also busy yourself with something else (jigsaw puzzle, folding laundry, etc.)?

Not usually.

8. Do you eat a meal or snack while watching TV?

Maybe popcorn.

I love the word “genre”

9. What’s your preferred genre (comedy, drama, reality, etc.)?

Probably drama.

10. Do you prefer mini series (shows that tell their stories in a pre-determined number of episodes) or shows that come back season after season?

There are SO many shows that I have seen zero or one episode of that are on streaming services: Severance, Man On The Inside, The Morning Show, The Pitt, The Studio, English Teacher, Shrinking, Dying for Sex, Your Friends and Neighbors, and Hacks. I might like most of them, but I have no idea whether they’re ongoing or limited series.

Ten years ago, I read that there are more television episodes, excluding news, sports, and reruns, every day than hours in the day.

Sunday Stealing: Memememe — Part 1

Three different songs titled Games People Play

Impetua is a blogger who stole this meme from someone named Mel, whose blog no longer exists. There were originally 58 questions, but for Sunday Stealing we’re going with 20 over two weeks.

Memememe — Part 1

1. The phone rings. Who do you want it to be?

My daughter from college probably has some arcane questions to ask me, or wants to know if she can spend money. The arcane topic could be a great philosophical musing, and it can be interesting because I hadn’t thought of that issue at that point. Sometimes, she likes to compare notes about how she’s feeling about a new situation.

2. When shopping at the grocery store, do you return your cart?

Yes, I usually have a little cart to wheel the groceries home. Having both my personal cart and the store cart can be awkward, so I want to abandon the latter as quickly as possible. I leave it in the store area that has other carts.

3. In a social setting, are you more of a talker or a listener?

It really depends. If it’s people I know and I feel comfortable with, probably a talker. If it’s people I don’t know well, I’m probably more of a listener, leaning into my basic shyness.

4. Do you take compliments well?

I don’t think so.

Games People Play

5. Do you play Sudoku or Wordle?

I’ve tried Sudoku sparingly. Conversely, I have played nearly 1300 Wordle games and am now at 1000 consecutive successful games since the above miss, when I changed my strategy.

Wordle 1297

6. Did you ever go to camp as a kid?

Once or twice, I want to say it was the Boys Club or maybe the YMCA. It wasn’t something I particularly enjoyed

7. Could you date someone with different religious beliefs than you?

As some call a “liberal” Christian, I’m much more concerned by other Christians who believe that empathy is a sin, which does not jibe with my understanding of the teachings of Jesus. Moreover, it causes non-Christians to link intolerance with Christianity forever.

8. Would you rather pursue or be pursued?

Pursued by whom and to what end? If we’re talking romance, neither.

9. Have you ever fired a gun?

When I was about seven, my Grandpa Green took me hunting. He suggested I fire his rifle, so I did. I landed on my butt.

10. Would you rather dine at Olive Garden or Panera?

I can say that we’ve been to Panera far more times, and in two states.

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