Tag: Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing: YouTube entry

sports, cilantro

YouTubeThis week’s Sunday Stealing is called YouTube.  “This came from a YouTube entry that no longer exists.”
1. Working on anything exciting lately?
Our daughter is having her birthday soon, and we’re planning a trip for her and two of her best friends.
2. What was the highlight of the day today?
Seeing my oldest college friend and maybe their significant other.
3. What is your favorite thing to do on the weekends?
Singing in the church choir.
4. What are your favorite restaurants?
I’m pretty catholic. Italian, Indian, breakfast food, a burger joint, whatever, as long as I’m not cooking it.
Ballgames
5. Do you follow any sports?
I used to follow them far more than I do now. For instance, this past year, I saw no regular season games during the National Football League. Yet I watched all the playoff games I recorded because I can fast forward during instant replay, challenge flags, and halftime.
I vaguely follow Major League Baseball, but nowhere near what I did from the 1960s until 2010. Once, I had hundreds of baseball cards from which I could cite various statistics.
Here’s a specific example. Eight National Basketball Association players have scored 70 or more points in a game: Wilt Chamberlain (six times between 1961 and 1963), Elgin Baylor (1960), David Thompson (1978), David Robinson (1994), Kobe Bryant (2006), Devin Booker (2017), Donovan Mitchell (2023), and Damian Lillard (2023). I know precisely who the first five are, but I have no idea about the last three.
The only current players I know are Steph Curry and  Giannis Antetokounmpo (who I saw on 60 Minutes!) Also, a handful of former Oklahoma Thunder players, James Harden and Russell Westbrook, only because my late blogger buddy Dustbury used to write about the games.
What did FDR say again?
6. What is your biggest fear?
Dementia, I suppose.
7. What is your biggest regret?
As I’ve answered before, I have experienced many regrettable things. But I’ve learned from all of them eventually, or so I believe.
8. When you were growing up, what was your dream job?
A defense attorney. That is until I took a pre-law course in college.
9. Do you say ‘sherbet’ or ‘sherbert’?
When I’m awake, sherbet. When I’m half asleep, sherbert.
What WAS that?
10. Have you ever had a paranormal experience?
Almost certainly, there are things I’ve seen and experienced that I cannot explain, from serious deja vu to specifically answered prayers to speaking in tongues once to something that broke the glasses that were on my face but did no harm to me, that defied reason.
11. What is your favorite food at a cocktail party?
In terms of taste, cheese, and crackers. In terms of controlling calories, fruit, such as grapes.
12. Who is a book character most like you?
This is a total cheat because it’s a real person, but Roger Ebert, specifically in his autobiography Life Itself Itself. He describes himself with warts and all. I relate to warts especially.
13. Do you read reviews before you go to the movies?
Enough to know if it’s generally favorably received but not enough to know anything about the plot details.
14. How do you feel about cilantro?
I have no feeling whatsoever about cilantro. My wife, on the other hand, really loves it. She thinks it enhances the flavor of chili we had recently. Since I was unaware it contained the seasoning, I have no basis for comparison.
15. Have you ever cried in public?
Sure. At work, more than once. It is reasonably often at funerals, though it may not be as apparent to an observer as it is to me.

One to Ten Sunday Stealing

observant

This week’s Sunday Stealing is One to Ten.

One song that describes my life.
I’m trying to pick a song I haven’t discussed recently. From Paul Simon’s Still Crazy After All These Years album is a tune called Have A Good Time, which I used to play every March 8 for about two decades. The lyrics begin:
Yesterday, it was my birthdayI hung one more year on the lineI should be depressedMy life’s a messBut I’m having a good time

Two things I wish I had more of in my life
Money, though I’d give most of it away, and time.

Three ways I relax
Getting a massage, listening to music, taking a nap

Four of my best accomplishments
Blogging for nearly 18 years, winning on JEOPARDY, figuring out some genealogical puzzles, and working long enough so that my wife’s health insurance is paid for until she’s 65 and my daughter’s until she’s 26

Five things I am looking forward to
Visiting Vermont again, reading several books, attending Jagged Little Pill, attending Ain’t Too Proud, going to a concert

Six things I am grateful for
My wife, my daughter, my sisters, my friends, living in a walkable neighborhood, and my house (despite its flaws, but don’t tell it I said so)
Seven Deadly Sins
Seven facts about me
I met former Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren in 1973, I introduced Rod Serling at a high school assembly in 1970, I’m much more likely to remember numbers than words, I was born on a Saturday, I’ve never been off North America, I’m the oldest of three children, and I know all of the two-letter postal abbreviations for the 50 states

Eight things I can see from where I am sitting
Lots of books, several Hess trucks, photos of my wife and daughter, my inhaler (which I haven’t needed lately), an empty diet cherry Pepsi bottle, a file cabinet that had been spray-painted blue, the radiator, a lamp

Nine words I would use to describe myself
Intelligent, cautious, opinionated, political, musical, curious, melancholy, considerate, observant

Ten little things that make me happy
Watching kids read, barbershop quartet harmony, people holding the door for others, kittens, missing all of the red lights when going to church, getting JEOPARDY questions correct when all three players fail to ring in, fixing something mechanical (not generally my strong suit), people shoveling their walks after a snowstorm, listening to Italian even though I do not understand it, a clean kitchen counter 

Sunday Stealing: Extraordinary PenPals

adrenaline rush

This Sunday Stealing edition is PenPals, Part 2, stolen from the League of Extraordinary PenPals.

1. Do you make new friends easily?
I don’t think so. Acquaintances who may become friends down the road, perhaps. But almost all of my friends I’ve known for decades.

2..Which podcasts do you like at the moment?
I only listen to three. Coverville: Brian Ibbott plays new renditions of previously recorded songs.  Hollywood and Levine by Ken Levine, an Emmy-winning writer/director/producer/major league baseball announcer. AmeriNZ by Arthur Schenck, a gay American-born New Zealander.

3. One thing that immediately makes your day better
Music. I play a LOT of music. Currently, it’s people whose birthdays are in March, such as Aretha Franklin, Elton John, and James Taylor. Also, LOTS of soundtracks in honor of the Oscars.

4. What app do you use most?
The Capital District Transportation Authority’s Navigator tells me when the next bus is coming.

5. The friends who would have your back no matter what
The ones I’ve mentioned in the last three months: Carol, Karen, Mark, Bill, Fred, and a few others.

6. What is something you’ll never do again?
So many things… I’ll say get married. (Note: I like being married.)

7. Something you practice often
The intentionality of kindness. A movie I saw two years ago called The Antidote spoke to this. 
Better than drugs
8. What gives you an adrenaline rush?
I repeat myself when under stress. I repeat myself when under stress. I
 repeat myself… It’s music. This week, I was commenting on how the bassline of Love Is Like An Itching In My Heart by the Supremes moves me. Or how The Boxer by Simon and Garfunkel breaks my heart.
My choir is practicing Worthy Is The Lamb That Was Slain, the last piece from Handel’s Messiah. We began working on it in March 2020, and then we didn’t perform it for some reason.

9. How well do you do in social situations?
I fake it well, I gather. Our dermatologist told my wife this week that I was “full of personality” from when I was there a couple of months ago.

10. Are you a light sleeper or a deep sleeper?
Definitely light.

11. Do you get stage fright?
Yes.
A small tribe
12. Which family members are you closest to?
Well, my family is small.  There are two nieces on the Green side, two sisters, one daughter, and one spouse. My parents are deceased, and they had no siblings, so I never had any first cousins.

13. How was your February?
Exhausting. Although I’ve said for years that I wasn’t in charge of my church’s Black History Month, I suppose I was. I called a meeting in October for ideas, several of which sounded promising, but only one panned out.  I scurried around finding events for three classes of Adult Education.

14. What is your favorite candle scent?
I have no idea.

15. One book that you would recommend as a “must read”?
I don’t believe in a “must read, ” an album people must listen to, or a movie folks must watch. It’s too prescriptive for my sensibilities. Besides, it depends on the individual I’m recommending to.

Penpals: Sunday Stealing

Mike Post

The Sunday Stealing prompt this week is Penpals, Part 1, which, for some reason, reminded me of  Reasons To Be Cheerful, Part 3 by Ian Dury and The Blockheads. 
1. What are your plans for March?

My birthday is this week, and my wife is taking me out to dinner. We’re meeting with our financial advisor. I’m seeing my cardiologist. We’re picking up our daughter from college and returning her a week later. I’m getting my teeth cleaned. We’re going to see a play. Plus the usual – choir rehearsal, church, ZOOM with my sisters, book reviews, and blogging.

2. Did you ever have or go to sleepovers as a kid?

Not that I can specifically recall. It’s possible.

3. Which books would you pick for a book binge?

Any number of the ones I’ve purchased but have not read. We Who Believe in Freedom- Alice Green. Caste – Isabel Wilkerson. The Mask Is Off – Dr. Mildred Smoth-Chang. I’ve got tons of them.

4. What features do you love most about your home?

The built-in bookcases in the room I am presently sitting in.

5. Favorite songs from tv, movies, and video games
I like story songs for TV themes, from The Beverly Hillbillies to Cheers. Mike Post created a lot of instrumental themes for shows I watched, such as The Rockford Files, Hill Street Blues, and Law and Order. I also liked the Earle Hagen themes such as The Dick Van Dyke Show and the Andy Griffith Show. 
I have over 100 soundtracks, some from movies I’ve never seen. Often a song’s power comes from where it happens in the film; the first that came to mind was the title song from the movie Philadelphia by Neil Young, which plays near the end.
I have no idea about video game songs.
Games People Play
6. What group games do you like to play with others

Cards: pinochle, hearts, spades. Scrabble, Monopoly, Uno, Boggle, and probably others.

7. How often do you try something new?

Every day is something new.

8. What type of sushi is your favorite?

California rolls, I guess.

9. Do you prefer to relax or go on adventures during vacation?

I like to sightsee.

10. How do you prevent burnout?

Turn off my phone.

11. Which colors look best on you?

I look marvelous in everything, dahlink. Actually, I have no idea, but my wife often says, “That shirt looks nice on you,” and it can be a variety of shades.

12. Do you like brunch?

What’s not to like?

13. Trends you showed up late for

Just about everything. I am a late adapter to virtually every technological innovation. My first iPhone I got in 2020 or 2021. I seldom watch streaming services. My landline still exists.

14. What’s your favorite drink order?

My first drink was a Tom Collins. In general, I drink white wine if I’m consuming alcohol.

15. Which clothes or accessories make you feel most confident?
A hat keeps me warm in the winter and protects me from sunstroke the rest of the year. 

Compassion, Int’l: Sunday Stealing

tulips

This week’s Sunday Stealing is Compassion, Int’l, which refers to this organization. What the quiz has to do with the entity, I am uncertain.

1. Do you ever have funny dreams at night?
If by “funny,” they mean weird, strange, bizarre, then yeah. And I can have them when I take a 30-minute nap. I remember them for a time but forget them if I don’t write them down. That said, one recent one involved my late father.

Just last night, I played handball, two on two, but we played with full-sized cars that bounced instead of balls. (I used to play racquetball regularly from 1983-2010.)

2. If you could make a law for your country, what would it be?
A salary ratio so that the rich don’t continue to get richer.

3. What would you do if you were invisible for a day?
I’d sneak into some corporate entity and sneak out their documents proving their culpability in, e.g., polluting the air or water or creating other risks for people and/or animals. Then I’d leak ’em to the press. (Or should I post them on my blog first? Hmmm.)

4. If you could be someone else for a day, who would you be?
Elon Musk. And I’d give away 90% of his/my money to worthy entities feeding the hungry, fighting disease et al.

5. What would you like to change about yourself?
I want to eliminate some pain.

6. What is your daily routine?
Currently: I get up, post my blog to Facebook, do Wordle, Dordle, Quordle, and Octotordle, vote for my niece Rebecca Jade in five categories, vote for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame candidates, and check my email. Weigh myself, and take my blood pressure and pulse. Feed the cats, then feed myself. Then it depends.
Perfection
7. What would your perfect day be like? What would you be doing?
Seeing a movie at a cinema, watching a play, or singing in the choir, and then getting a massage.

8. How old were you when you learned to read?
IDK. I don’t recall not reading.

9. What is the most interesting thing you know?
I don’t know that it’s INTERESTING, but I know all of the US Presidents, in order and year of inauguration

10 What makes you nervous?
Being late to take a plane or train.

11. What is your favourite flower?
Tulips. It’s an Albany thing.

12. Have you ever ridden on a horse or any other animal?
Yes, on June 9, 1975, I rode a horse. It was the day after I had my first hangover. Not recommended.

13. What time do you go to bed?
11 p.m., or maybe later if I have projects to finish.

14. What time do you get up?
7:15 a.m., when the cats want to be fed.

15. What is something that is always in your refrigerator?
Eggs, 1% milk, cottage cheese, grapes, and apples.