Sunday Stealing Archives - Page 34 of 40

Sunday Stealing: Trapped in a room, plus

Participate in the FFAPL Silent Auction

Trapped in a room is the current Sunday Stealing meme hosted by Bev Sykes.

But before that, a Wordle milestone last Tuesday
200 Played, Win 100%
157 Current Streak, 157 Max Streak
GUESS DISTRIBUTION
1-0
2-0
3-33
4-37
5-53
6-76

Wordle 458 3/6

🟩⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Now I didn’t win every game. I missed one. But 199/200 is 99.5%, which rounds up to 100%. And now I feel pressure to keep up the streak.

You see that I play VERY conservatively, based on the numbers of 5s and 6s. In fact, almost certainly too much so. My methodology is better for those multiple board games (Duordle, Quordle, Octorodle, etc.)

On the other hand, I don’t understand why, when people have found four letters, they don’t know what the fifth letter is, and there are lots of options left, they don’t find a word that will eliminate multiple choices.

One recent selection was PARER, a terrible word indeed. But the answer might have been PACER (my third pick). It could have been PAGER or PAYER or PAPER; instead of using them in turn, I used GYPSY (my fourth pick), which eliminated the three of them. This left only PAVER, PARER, and PAWER; I had eliminated PALER and PATER in the first two words. The WordleBot scorned my choice of RIVER (my fifth pick), but I then knew there was a second R; and if neither word was there, it’d have to have been PAWER.

Now, onto the quiz

1. If you were trapped in a room with the person who asked this for 24 hours, what would you do? The answer cannot be romantic or sexual.

I assume I’m trapped with Bev. It would depend on the circumstances. Are we in some sort of peril? Is water leaking into the room that will drown us unless MacGiver shows up?

Assuming no peril, I suppose we’d start with a conversation about the usual things, family, work, health. If we have cards and/or board games, we’d probably play something.

2. If you could learn any language instantly, what would it be?

Spanish. I know more people whose native language is Spanish than any other except English.

3. If you could only read one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?

The Bible, ideally with the Apocrypha. It’s less of a theological choice then because it’s very dense.

4. Favorite song lyric?

I’ve picked others in the past, so I’ll go with Indiscipline by King Crimson from the great Discipline album.

I do remember one thing.
It took hours and hours, but…
by the time I was done with it,
I was so involved, I didn’t know what to think.
I carried it around with me for days and days…
playing little games
like not looking at it for a whole day
and then… looking at it.
To see if I still liked it.
I did.

I repeat myself when under stress.
I repeat myself when under stress.
I repeat myself when under stress.
I repeat myself when under stress.
I repeat…

You can hear it here.

Playing favorites

5. Favorite album?

Impossible question, as it’s changeable, often depending on what I’ve listened to recently. And I listen to music all of the time. I will say that I’m a sucker for eclectic pop albums. This would include Revolver – The Beatles; Spike – Elvis Costello; and That’s A’Plenty – the Pointer Sisters.

6. Which time of day would you say is best for you work-wise?

I write best in the morning.

7. What do you think people assume about you from first glance?

I have no idea.

8. Favorite city that you haven’t visited?

Paris.

9. If you received $10,000 but had to give it away, what would you do with it?

There are so many worthy charities it’d be easy. I’ll pick the FOCUS Churches Food Pantry. On the other hand, you (yes, YOU) could participate in the FFAPL Silent Auction.

10. What is one book you wish you could get all your friends to read?

I have ZERO desire to mandate that people read, watch, or listen to anything.

11. What is one movie you wish you could get all your friends to watch?

Ditto.

12. If you could create one thing, what would it be?

A time machine. I have unanswered questions about my late parents I cannot answer.

13. If you could play any musical instrument, what would it be?

Piano or some keyboard instrument. I took piano lessons at about 12 for a year, but they never took.

14. What is your favorite item of clothing?

Somewhere in this house is a nifty beret.

15. What is your favorite card/board game?

Cards: hearts or pinochle. Board games: though I haven’t played lately, SCRABBLE.

Sunday Stealing: Staying Up Late

The color of my blow dryer

The 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

Here’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

The 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.