Sunday Stealing Archives - Page 31 of 35

Unconscious Mutterings (Sunday Stealing)

no matter what

The Sunday Stealing for this week is Unconscious Mutterings. “There are no right or wrong answers. Don’t limit yourself to one-word responses; just say everything that pops into your head.

“I say … and you think …?”

Hurry!: Reflectively, it irritates me because it’s usually from someone who either 1) procrastinates until it’s almost too late or 2) tries to pack too much in.
Dumb: Usually uttered by someone arrogant.
Fudge: A perfectly good alternative for a specific vulgarity.
Sturdy: One of those Soviet women from those 1984 Apple ads.
Printing: Gutenberg. A good thing, all in all.

Itch: A craving.
Creaks: Our stairs and my knees.
Paste: That gooey stuff from grade school.
Waste of time: Some usually harmless, occasionally inspirational tasks that person B is doing that annoying person A can’t imagine doing. Also, a reference to a Marshall Crenshaw song.
Let down: Heartbreak.

Cancellation: Something one does with postage stamps.
Suspect: Still innocent until proven guilty.
Fireplace: I wish ours worked.
Spring: Stravinsky.
Commute: Something I don’t have to do.

Places: “There are places I’ll remember
All my life though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone, and some remain”

1984

Fraud: Doublespeak. “To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them, to use logic against logic, to repudiate morality while laying claim to it, to believe that democracy was impossible and that the Party was the guardian of democracy, to forget whatever it was necessary to forget, then to draw it back into memory again at the moment when it was needed, and then promptly to forget it again, and above all, to apply the same process to the process itself—that was the ultimate subtlety: consciously to induce unconsciousness, and then, once again, to become unconscious of the act of hypnosis you had just performed.”

Adoption: When it comes to new technology, I’m a late adopter.
Election: Something I participate in every time, no matter what, and despite the travails.
Moving day: I have written about it a few times. Helping others isn’t bad; I’ve done it about 70 times. For myself, moving sucks!

Stolen from Sunday Stealing

free and unexpected

stollen

Sunday Stealing had these questions. But they were stolen. (Not to be confused with stollen.) And with any luck, someone will steal it from me.

The best story your parents or grandparents tell about the good ole days.

No obvious narrative comes to mind from my parents, ESPECIALLY my father, who I don’t believe thought in terms of the ole days being all that good. It’s probably a story from my maternal grandmother, usually about building X used to have business Y. I don’t know if the stories weren’t that engaging or if I was too impatient to hear them. Probably both.

Now, my mother did tell stories, like the red wig tale, but it wasn’t historic when she first told it, but contemporaneous. The oldest story I can recall involved me singing the ad for Pamper Shampoo, when I was a toddler, about which, of course, I have no recollection.

The best things in life are…

Both free and unexpected. My wife, my daughter, and I went to an ice cream place on Memorial Day. My wife was going to talk with a couple of people about who they should hire for a position. I just wasn’t that interested in being a part of that conversation. Fortunately, I saw a friend from my church I hadn’t talked with for months. They, their Significant Other, and I had a great conversation about information access, privacy, television, and much more. It was grand.

Guano crazy

Things that drive me batty

Broken politics. For instance, Congressman Chris Jacobs, a Republican from near the mass shooting in Buffalo supported a federal assault weapons ban and a limit on high-capacity magazines. A week later, threatened with a primary and a dressing down by DJT Jr, he’s no longer running for reelection.

The Boston Globe had a piece, What drives mass shooters? Grievance, despair, and anger are more likely triggers than mental illness, experts say. Yet mental health and schools that are more fortress-like are the only things Senate Minority Leader McConnell even mentions.

To that end, I’m reminded of this segment from the Daily Show, Switzerland: So Many Guns, No Mass Shootings.

A place I’d like to live and why

Here (Albany, NY). Given the vagueries of climate change, this, or similar settings are fine.

Simply the best

The best thing I’ve ever found

I’ve found some great books and CDs at discount stores and library sales.

The best thing that happened recently is…

My wife’s retirement party. despite not knowing most of the folks, I nevertheless had a decent time. Or the wine-and-cheese art opening at the Pine Hills branch of the Albany Public Library, with music by the Albany High School Jazz Ensemble. Or talking with a friend for nearly two hours.

I admire people who…

Are optimistic without being Pollyanna-like

What makes me special

I don’t think it’s a single thing. It’s the odd admixture that is me.

I am looking forward to…

My daughter going to college.

Things that scare me

The loss of American democracy, and all that entails.

Complaints I have

People who seem to believe the rules don’t apply to them because they are too busy or too important.

I could never live without…

Music. But you knew that.

Things that make me laugh

They tend to be situationally funny, often involving wordplay.

Love Me Some Surveys: Sunday Stealing

Why Forgive

The new Sunday Stealing is Love Me Some Surveys.

1. Who was the last attractive person you saw?

Attractiveness is one of those notions I think is rather fuzzy, actually. My wife and I saw a movie recently in which a particular character was supposed to be very handsome. My wife just didn’t see it. It is so subjective as to be largely unanswerable.

2. Do you have a tattoo? If not, are you going to get one?

No, and no.

3. Have you smoked a cigarette in the last 24 hours?

I’m pretty sure the last cigarette I even attempted to smoke was in 1985. No, wait, that was a different type of cigarette. Never mind.

4. Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance?

Ostensibly yes. But let’s face it: some things are very difficult to forgive. A group at church read the book Why Forgive back in 2018-2019, which I wrote about here. Are we not all worthy of redemption?

How odd

5. What is your favorite number?

37, which is a prime number.

6. What time did you go to sleep last night?

12:15 a.m., after I did the Wordle and the Quordle.

7. Are you one of those people that always answer their phones?

No, I only answer the phone if the number is familiar to me, or if the caller ID alerts me that it’s someone I know. Usually, the landline goes to the answering machine. People reaching my cellphone usually just hang up; I get a LOT of Potential Spam indicators.

8. If you died today would your life be complete?

Well, yes and no. On one hand, I have an ever-increasing list of Things To Do, optimally including, ideally, getting my daughter through college. On the other hand, what you’ve done when it’s time is what you’ve done.

shhh

9. If you are being extremely quiet, what does that mean?

It could mean any number of things. I could be uncomfortable being with a bunch of strangers. I might be tired. Maybe I’m about to take my blood pressure, before which I sit quietly for nine minutes. Or I could be seething with rage, and working very hard not to say something I would assuredly regret.

10. Do you know what high school your dad went to?

According to the Binghamton School Directory 2019, he went to Central.

11. Last time you had butterflies in your stomach?

It was talking to a financial adviser. It gives me agita.

12. Where is your cell phone?

It’s probably in the pair of pants I wore yesterday.

13. What is the nearest purple thing to you?

Books, right in front of me. The spines of reference books, one on comic books, the other on soul singles.

14. When did you last step outside? What were you doing?

I came back from a graduation party for the children and nephews of a friend from church.

15. What is the last thing you watched on TV?

I watched black-ish, an episode I recorded six weeks ago because I don’t watch television in real time.

Fewer than 5000 questions

Life On Mars

Sunday Stealing links to a site with thousands of questions. From this are culled fewer than 5000.

Who do you take for granted?

At some level, maybe everyone who has died who I expected to be around a lot longer, from my parents to my friend Norm Nissen. Put differently, I don’t take ANYONE for granted.

Short, knee, or ankle skirts?

Haven’t worn skirts in years, but if I did, surely ankle.

Do you wear a hat?

Always. Hat, cap, or in lieu of those, an umbrella to use as a parasol. I’m really susceptible to the sun on my pate; I have a rational fear of skin cancer.

Who’s your favorite cartoon character?

Popeye, I suppose. He got me to eat spinach. More than that, he had a pretty long fuse. But at some point. “That’s all I can stands, ’cause I can’t stands no more.” I think there’s a bit of me in that.

Does break dancing impress you?

Yes, but I don’t want to do it and have never tried.

Are you a miracle?

Sure, why not? But aren’t we all? Or at least most of us.

Have you ever eaten tofu?

Yes. I think that people processing it have gotten better at it because I used to hate it.

Does the moon have an effect on your mood?

Not so as I [howls at the big thing in the night sky] have noticed.

Many people will say that the Harry Potter books are pure fluff with no literary value. Do you agree?

That’s just silly. If nothing else, it has gotten a ton of people to read enthusiastically.

What are you doing next Wednesday?

Actually, going to my Dad’s group at church.

Elvis won’t leave the building

Why do so many people think Elvis is still alive?

Elvis fulfilled some need for something mythic. I mean, he just COULDN’T die that young, and in such a pedestrian manner, so he’s been willed back to life.

Are your hands cold?

No, but my wife’s hands often are.

Have you ever given blood?

Only about 174 times, as I noted here. There was a stretch of about two decades when I was giving at least five times a year. I give less frequently now because scar tissue has developed on both arms in the locations from which they had traditionally drawn.

What SCI-fi books do you read?

I’ve tried. Asimov, LeGuin, Herbert. I think the only science fiction book I ever finished that wasn’t a children’s book was Stardancer by Kelly Sedinger. Unless you count 11/22/63 by Stephen King. But I did read short story sci-fi when I was younger. And I read comic book adaptations and watch television and movies.

One TV show that oddly came to mind recently was called Life On Mars. It was a 2008 US drama that was based on a 2006 UK series. Apparently, the British version was better, but I’ve never seen it. “A present-day car accident mysteriously sends a detective back to the 1970s.” It starred Jason O’Mara, Michael Imperioli, Gretchen Mol, and Harvey Keitel, but only lasted a season.

Have you ever belonged to a sorority or a fraternity?

No, but my wife did.

Sunday Stealing hodgepodge

2 Samuel

This Sunday Stealing hodgepodge was so detailed that I could have written whole posts about a few questions. And in fact, that’s why I’ve done it here a few times, link to items previously discussed.

1. Where do you get your news these days?

I’ve thought about this a lot. I get a lot of newsfeeds, “mainstream,” progressive, and what one might call rightwing. About the latest mass casualty event, I receive a dozen notices. Elon Musk dithering about whether to buy Twitter I read about ad nauseum.

Yet the first time I read that Bob Lanier, Hall of Fame basketball player and an apparently really good guy had died, it was in from Kelly’s blog. And the second was from a weekly newsletter that linked to this article. It’s more and more difficult to know everything.

2. Do you like crab meat? What makes you crabby?

It’s OK. People hijacking the Consitution and/or the Bible.

3. Does freedom mean more choices? Have you ever felt there were too many choices? Elaborate.

I think we have a gazillion choices of picking watching TV/movies, e.g. – so many platforms! Sometimes keeping track of the options is essentially impossible.

4. Barbara Millicent Roberts was introduced to the world on March 9, 1959…that’s Barbie to most of us. Did you have Barbies as a kid, or did you let your own children play with Barbies? What well-known Barbara (living or not) would you most like to meet?

I think my sisters may have had a Barbie. I can’t think of a famous living Barbara I’d like to meet, but maybe Barbra Streisand.

5. What are three things you value most in another person?

Integrity, intelligence, and compassion.

THEY are old…

6. How would you define “old.” At what age is a person old?

It’s always been true: 30 years older than I am.

7. A place you’ve been that’s “old.” Tell us something about your visit there.

My Grandma Williams’ house was old and is now non-existent. This is a picture of my parents in the backyard of 13 Maple Street, Binghamton, NY.

8. Something you miss about the “good old days.” When were they?

In the 1960s, there were a bunch of Supreme Court decisions that were making the United States a better place: Mapp v. Ohio, Baker v. Carr, Gideon v. Wainwright, New York Times v. Sullivan, Griswold v. Connecticut, Loving v. Virginia.

9. In what way are you a ‘chip off the old block’? Or if you’d rather, in what way is your child a ‘chip off the old block’?

My daughter understands my motivation in terms of time usage, way better than her mother does.

10. Old fashioned, Old Testament, old-timer, same old same old, old glory, good old boy, old wives tale…choose an ‘old’ phrase that relates to something in your life or the wider world currently and explain.

My Bible study has been slogging through the Old Testament histories, presently in 2 Samuel. While some of the theology is mystifying, it is an interesting reflection of human foibles.

A juicy mango

11. July 5th is National Hawaii Day…have you ever been to Hawaii? Any desire to visit or make a return trip? Pineapple, mango, or guava…what’s your pleasure?

Never been to Hawaii, though I’d like to. There’s a story about that. Pineapple, though I never had mango until the last decade or so.

12. Last time you were ‘thrown in at the deep end’? Explain.

The Gutenberg block editor on WordPress, which I wrote about here. Just this past week, I tried it again, but could not “get” it.

13. Sun, sea, sand, salt…your favorite when it comes to summer?

I’ve NEVER done sun for the sake of it – ixnay on the unbathingsay, and that was before I had the vitiligo.

14. Bury your head in the sand, the sands of time, draw a line in the sand, pound sand, shifting sands…pick one and tell us how the phrase currently relates to your life in some way.

Sands of time. I’m getting older, and achier.

15. On a scale of 1-10 (1 = make your own rules and 10=like a warden), how strict were your parents? If you’re a parent where on the scale do you land?

My dad was a 7.3, and my mom was about 2.3. I’m much closer to my mom’s score than my dad’s.