Sunday Stealing: Staying Up Late

The color of my blow dryer

staying up lateThe Sunday Stealing prompt Staying Up Late has some interesting questions, plus some “really?” ones.

But before that, I want to note that I’m thankful that a relative is finally home after a week or so in the hospital and then far too long in a physical rehab center. The service was… uneven. Then some state evaluators showed up on the scene a couple of weeks ago. Suddenly, the patients were asked if certain protocols were being followed.

More importantly, home equipment that seemed to have been the victims of supply chain shortages for months suddenly became available and was delivered to the home. A case worker was assigned, as was a visiting nurse.

Frankly, it wasn’t anything WE did. But SOMEONE kvetched to the powers that be, and the situation for everyone at the facility improved rapidly.

***

Do you have any Pepto-Bismol in your house?

No. The liquid was awful. The tablets aren’t as bad.

Do you have a favorite flavor of vodka?

Does vodka have flavors? Yes, I know it does. I mean, no, I don’t get into flavored vodka. That’s what grapefruit juice or orange juice is for.

Is your backyard big enough to fit a trampoline? …and then some.

Depth-wise, probably. But one might jump into power lines and tree branches. Width-wise, the chance is great that one would bounce into the fence or over the fence into my neighbor’s pool or patio, which would hurt.

When was the last time you had eggs?

I have eggs all of the time, possibly this very day. In an omelet, fried, scrambled, poached, deviled. It was the first food I made when I was seven or eight.

How often do you blow dry your hair, and what color is your blow dryer?

Have you SEEN my hair or the lack thereof?

Stay Up Late

Have you ever gone to bed later than three AM?

Yes. When I was going to college, the bars closed at 4 a.m. I wasn’t up a lot for that, but a few times. The most recent time I stayed up that late was on June 13/14, when I stayed up all night when my daughter and I went to Carnegie Hall

Have you been to a surprise party before?

There was a stretch of about two decades that I regularly planned surprise parties. I had this college friend named Candid Yam who was freaking out about turning 20. We were working on a newsletter together. But that night, the other co-editor and I actually finished it early while CY’s friend was distracted with a (real) tale of woe. CY returns, sad that they’d have to go back to work. Nope, SURPRISE!

I’ve been surprised a few times myself, including just before my 19th  birthday.

What is your least favorite month?

I suppose February, which, for a short month, seems to go on forever.

Have you ever gone to see a movie the day it came out?

I’ve gone to two movie premieres. 1983: Twilight Zone: The Movie at the Crest Theatre in Binghamton, NY. Why Binghamton? Because Rod Serling, the creator of the television show, grew up in a small upstate city. He had died in 1975, but his favorite teacher, Helen Foley, was there. WAY back in 2005, I wrote about my convergence with Rod and Helen.

1986: Howard The Duck. The premiere was sponsored by FantaCo, the Albany, NY, comic book store I worked at. We did not know how poorly it would be received.

I may have gone to one or two movies on opening night, but they’re not coming to me.

You can believe it because it’s the truth

Do you like movies/books about drugs, and why or why not?

I saw the very absurd Reefer Madness (1936) when I was in college. Talk about a contact high. It inspired me to write a truly terrible song called (Marijuana) The Assassin of Youth, which I have shared with VERY few people.

Do you have scrap paper by your computer desk?

Of course. That’s where I figure out Wordle options.

Have you ever kept a bag from a store because you liked it?

Probably.

Was the last thing you drank carbonated?

No, plain water. I do drink carbonated beverages occasionally.

Do you own any yellow clothing?

No, all my apparel is very courageous.

Last person you argued with?

Likely, my wife, though I have no idea about what.

A long movie quiz: Sunday Stealing

Truth and Reconciliation

moviesHere’s a long movie quiz from Sunday Stealing, or so it was described. I should note that any answers to the superlative questions should be taken with a grain of salt. I wrote the first film in the category I thought of, except for Casablanca, which is my favorite classic movie.

1. Best movie you saw during the last year. CODA
2. The most underrated movie.  Cinderella Man, a boxing movie with Russell Crowe
3. Favorite love story in a movie. Love, Actually
4. The most surprising plot twist or ending. Sorry To Bother You 
5. A movie that makes you really happy. Hidden Figures 

6. A movie that makes you sad. Manchester By The Sea 
7. Favorite made-for-TV movie. Brian’s Song.
8. A movie you’ve seen countless times. The Wizard Of Oz, once in a theater!
9. A movie with the best soundtrack. West Side Story
10. Favorite classic movie. Casablanca

REALLY hate

11. A movie that you hate. The Leech Woman
12. A movie that changed your opinion about something. Long Night’s Journey Into Day (2000), “four stories of Apartheid in South Africa, as seen through the eyes of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission”
13. A character you can relate to the most. Almost any character played by Jack Lemmon, but especially in The China Syndrome (1979) and Missing (1982)
14. A movie that is a guilty pleasure. Animal House. I can watch this from the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor to the end anytime.
15. Favorite movie based on a book/comic. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

16. A movie that disappointed you the most. The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
17. A movie from your favorite actor/actress. You Can Count On Me (Mark Ruffalo, 2000)
18. Favorite movie from your favorite director. Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder)
19 .Favorite action movie. Speed (1994), which is the first movie I ever saw with my now-wife.
20. A movie you wish more people would have seen. The Grand Budapest Hotel

21. Favorite documentary.  Summer of Soul 
22. Favorite animation. Toy Story 2
23. Most hilarious movie you’ve ever seen. Young Frankenstein
24. A movie that you wish you had seen in a theater. Dr. Strangelove
25. Your favorite movie of all time. Annie Hall, maybe; I haven’t watched it this century

Upstream Life with Sunday Stealing

Making ADD happy

This week’s Sunday Stealing Stealing is Upstream Life.

1. Your favorite sport.

Baseball. Something Kelly said recently resonated with me. “I’ve been paying more attention to baseball the last few years than I had basically from 2000 to, oh, 2015 or thereabouts. In the 90s, I loved baseball, and I almost always had a game on the teevee if there wasn’t something else we were watching (and it was baseball season, of course). While I’m not much for televised sport anymore, I’ve found it appealing to follow sport the way people probably back in the days before television: they read about it!” This is exactly correct for me as well.

2.  A quote to live by.

“No matter where you go, there you are.”

3. A city in the US you would like to move to.

Given the vagueries of climate change, it’d certainly be in the Northeast or upper Midwest. Madison, WI or Burlington, VT.

4.  3 beautiful little things in your life.

The door of our house refracts the light so that, most mornings, I see rainbows on the walls and/or the carpets.
My very full built-in bookcase.
Flowers that grow between the cracks in the sidewalk.

5.  What made you laugh today?

Some off-the-cuff banter between a nurse and me.

6. A good deed you did today

Apparently, I was very nice to that same nurse, who had a subsequent patient be not nearly so nice.

7.  Activities you like to do when you are bored.

I’m never bored. That said, play pinochle, chess, or spades on my phone; read.

8. Are you a procrastinator?

No. The consequences of procrastination make me anxious.

And then

9. Your thoughts about dying

There is about a 99.999999999999999999999999% chance that it will happen. To everything, there is a season.

10. What superpower would you like to have?

Flight, mostly as a timesaver. But also, I always enjoyed my dreams in which I am flying, so much so that I’ve awakened to be very disappointed that it did not actually happen.

11. Top 3 Netflix series

n/a – I’ve never had access to Netflix.

12. Things you want to do before you die

Go through my diary to scope out all of the FantaCo references, which would probably make ADD very happy.
Make sure my daughter is reasonably secure in her life.
Write a book: about what, I’m unsure.

13. Your biggest fears

Humans will make the earth uninhabitable via climate change, war, or another catastrophe.

14. What makes you angry?

Disinformation, which some folks are trying to fix.

15. Do you listen to podcasts?

Three regularly. Coverville; Brian Ibbott has been playing cover songs since 2004.  AmeriNZ; Arthur Schenck, one guy, two countries, since 2007. Hollywood and Levine; writer Ken Levine, since 2017.

Fill-in for Sunday Stealing

FantaCo photographs

Roger.cartoonThe Sunday Stealing is a fill-in.

1. I am currently obsessed with old photographs. I used to work at a comic book store in Albany called FantaCo from 1980 to 1988. Specifically, my old boss Tom is looking for old photos from that period. As it turns out, I took a bunch of pictures with cheap cameras. They are in photo albums, in some semblance of order. I will wade through the photo albums and mail them to him. He will digitize them, then send the pics and the digitized files back.

BTW, if you have some FantaCo or FantaCon pics, feel free to email them to me or send them via Facebook. If you can identify any people, that would be great.

Simultaneously, I’ll be hunting for photos of an ex-girlfriend to give to someone who knew her in the same time frame.

2. Today I am happy because I’m going to see some theater, not just today but eight productions over the next ten months.

3. The age I am is apparently inappropriate to some people. The age I feel depends on the part. For instance, my head is about fifty, but my left knee is about 100.

4. My favorite place may be my office. It has 70% of my books, and I have a device on which I can play music.

5. Something I have been procrastinating on is creating a Wikipedia page for my late friend, the artist Raoul Vezina, who worked at FantaCo. I have enough material, but I’ve never done one of these things before.

6. The last thing I purchased was almost certainly recorded music.

Books!

7. The thing I love most about my home is the built-in bookcases in my office.

8. My most prized possession – IDK. Maybe the metal file box with all of my important papers.

9. If I could be one age for the rest of my life, I would want to be 37; it’s a prime number.

10. My outlook on life tends toward the pessimistic. Global warming, gun violence, and certain political philosophies are involved.

11. If you want to annoy me, be a poor listener.

12. I am completely defenseless when it comes to bubbles.

13. The bravest thing I’ve ever done was run out into traffic to scoop up a toddler who had wandered out there.

14. Something that keeps me awake at night is: See 10.

15. My favorite meal in the entire world is lasagna.

Magical Journal for Sunday Stealing

fire

Magical JournalThe Sunday Stealing this week is Magical Journal. Do you believe in magic?

1. What’s the best beach or lake day you can remember?

I had torn the nail of the big toe of my left foot when I was about 12. The family went down to Jones Beach, on the south shore of Long Island. I’m not much of a beach person, but I did wade in the water. The saltwater did a remarkable job in healing the nail.

2. Describe your ideal picnic lunch

I’m pretty flexible. Bread that you tear apart. Cheeses of various types. Fried chicken and deviled eggs -the mother and child reunion. Lemonade. Grapes.

3. What flowers are in your bouquet?

Tulips, which we planted one very warm December 1. Lilacs: we had a bush next to our house growing up. Beyond that, whatever.

4. Silly ways to pass the time during a snowstorm

Whatever “silly” things one could do are not coming to me. If I’m snowed in and have things to read and, ideally, some music, I’m fine. With the right people, I’d play cards and/or board games.

5. The most beautiful house you’ve ever visited.

I suppose one of the Newport mansions.

6. Best place you ever dined

When we were on our honeymoon vacation in Barbados in 1999, we could dine at one of three or four establishments as part of our all-inclusive package. All of the food was fabulous.

7. How many layers to your ice cream sandwich?

Sandwich, ice cream, sandwich. What more does one need?

8. Pretty things, which are faux patent leather

Literally, I have no idea.

9. What is the best way to eat chocolate?

Is there a bad way to eat chocolate? I always thought that fondue was wonderfully decadent.

Uni

10. Describe your unicorn’s special magic

The daughter of one of my oldest friends had a large stuffed unicorn. She, the daughter, thought that my daughter ought to have her unicorn. And it became so. Here are my daughter and Uni back in 2010.

11. All the fruits in your fruit salad

Blueberries, strawberries, pineapple, peaches, and mac apples.

12. Describe the soil, grass, trees, flowers, and rocks in your magical forest.

I think we started with perfectly fine soil, grass, et al., but we’re wrecking it.

13. The lyrics which move you the most are:

NUMEROUS. Here are the first that came to mind:

And I need you more than want you
And I want you for all time
– Wichita Lineman by Jimmy Webb

14. What are the best sauces in the world?

Hollandaise, sweet and sour, and marinara are the first to come to mind; there are probably plenty of others.

15. Write a haiku about nature

Climate change is real.
Droughts, fires, floods, catastrophes.
We must act right now.
[Yes, I checked: fire can be one syllable or two]

Ramblin' with Roger
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