Sunday Stealing Archives - Page 4 of 37

Sunday Stealing Feels Frustrated

Loving You Has Made Me Bannans

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!

This week’s meme is inspired by Christina at Call Me Patsy, who turned to answering these questions when she felt frustrated by a project she was working on.

Frustration – Joan Armatrading

Questions to Answer when You Need a Break because Sunday Stealing Feels Frustrated

1. What would you rather be doing right now?

Sleeping, actually. I had oral surgery on Wednesday, and the residual pain, while not severe, is exhausting.

I’m Only Sleeping – The Beatles and I Go To Sleep -Pretenders

2. What is always on your grocery list?

Bananas. My wife and I usually have them with oatmeal for breakfast. She likes them browner than I. And my daughter would eat them when they are practically green. So you can’t purchase too many at a time.

Loving You Has Made Me Bananas – Guy Marks

3. Have you ever used a fire extinguisher for its intended purpose?

I have a vague recollection of doing so, not in this century, in a kitchen. But I did, for a very brief time, in the late 1980s or early 1990s, SELL fire extinguishers. I wasn’t very good at it, although I believed in the product, because I hated door-to-door retail sales. Even more, I despised strong-arming my friends.

Fire – Ohio Players

Text

4. How many times did you text yesterday?

Once. I attended a party, and my daughter drove me because the bus runs infrequently on weekends and holidays. My daughter texted me a couple of hours later to see if I wanted a ride home. Since the next bus was in 47 minutes, and the party was starting to break up, I said yes. But my wife ended up picking me up because she had just come home from a different party.

I hate texting. I’m not particularly good at it. The idea of always being available is appalling to me. If I’m home, I don’t even carry my phone unless I’m playing NYT Connections or contacting a doctor. This is why we still have a landline—that and to call my cellphone when I inevitably misplace it.

Stop Forwarding That Crap To Me – “Weird Al” Yankovic

5. Would you prefer a slow-paced, relaxing vacation or one filled with new sights and experiences?

I think I need to alternate. One day of busyness, followed by a day of relaxation.

Vacation – Connie Francis and Vacation – the Go-Go’s

Sunday Sunday: F.A.B. winter 2025

January birthdays

This busy holiday weekend, we’re going to keep this simple. We stole this from a blogger named Idzie, who called this the F.A.B. (film, audio, book) meme.

F.A.B. winter 2025

F. Film: What movie or TV show are you watching?

I watched the CBS piece Rob Reiner: Scenes from a Life. Mark Evanier said about it: “Someone — probably many someones — did an extraordinary job putting it together in not enough time. They not only got access to a lot of Reiner’s closest friends, but they got them to share very personal, unique insights into the man…

“I know how easy it is to lapse into clichés and say generic things about how wonderful the deceased was, how the world will never be the same, etc. This was not that. It was a portrait of a real person painted by people who knew that real person and who said things specific to that real person. “

I totally agreed with that assessment. Also, “Remembering the treasured films of Rob Reiner from CBS Sunday Morning by Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz

BTW, I wrote about the Reiners here.

A. Audio: What are you listening to?

Besides Christmas music, which I will play until January 6 or until I run out, whichever comes first, I’ve been listening to musicians whose birthdays are in early January:

Joan Baez: Simple Twist of Fate

David Bowie: Panic In Detroit

Jim Croce: Operator

Roger Miller: You Can’t Rollerskate In A Buffalo Herd

Donald Fagan: The Royal Scam – Steely Dan

Elvis Presley: Jailhouse Rock

Soupy Sales: Though I’m Just A Clown, On Motown Records!

Rod Stewart: Every Picture Tells A Story

Michael Stipe: It’s The End Of The World As We Know It – REM

Stephen Stills: Woodstock – CSNY

B. Book: What are you reading?

I’m catching up on The Week magazine and the newspapers.

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Sunday Stealing Feels Festive

Maundy Thursday

Welcome to Sunday Stealing, which, heading towards the solstice, Christmas, and other celebrations, feels festive.

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!

Impetua is a blogger who stole this meme from someone named Yello, whom our moderator could not find. While it’s not specifically about the holidays, these questions do have a festive feel.

Stealing Some Fun

1. Describe your favorite cake.

My favorite cake is carrot cake, which I’ve had for my birthday about half of my life. Considering I didn’t have it in the first 18 years means I’ve had it a lot since. Part of my grand self-delusion is that, since it has carrots, it must be healthy. I don’t REALLY believe it, but it’s pretty delicious, especially with vanilla ice cream.

2. Think of the best party you’ve ever attended. Were you a host or a guest?

The best parties I can remember are my birthday, which I suppose seems terribly unimaginative and/or self-centered, but it’s true. For my 16th birthday, my parents held a party at the American Civic Association in Binghamton, NY. I rarely had parties at home because our house was so small, so my parents renting out a place was a big deal.

The next birthday that stands out is actually the 33 1/3rd birthday party I had with my then-girlfriend. We held it in July because my birthday in March is cold, and the weather can be dodgy. I remember the invitation was on green paper, of course, and the design was an LP label with the party information.

My 50th birthday was at my church, and my sister Leslie came up for it.

I’ve had a card party (hearts) at my house almost every year for the past dozen years, and that’s always a joy. We play hearts

Hallmark

3. When you choose a greeting card, do you pay more attention to the words or the pictures?

I always pay more attention to the words. I like a nice picture, but a nice picture with saccharine verbiage will turn me right off.

4. What’s your favorite holiday?

The problem with most holidays in the United States is that they are often fraught. The so-called “war on Christmas.” Thanksgiving carries a lot of baggage from its first celebration. MLK Day and Juneteenth are deemed too DEI. Most people can’t tell the difference between Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day?

It may be Lent generally, and Maundy Thursday specifically. I love that melancholy music.

5. Who is your favorite character on your favorite TV show?

That would be Rob Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show. He had a good job, a lovely and talented wife, and a pleasant child. They lived in a charming house. He had good friends. What’s not to like?

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

Sunday Stealing — Catherine’s Questions

THINK

“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!

“Catherine called her blog Marvel Not a Girl, and while I don’t know for sure, it’s believed she came up with these questions herself.”

Catherine’s Questions

1) What one word describes your personality?

Apparently, it is enigmatic. Certainly not everyone, but some people think they know me better than they actually do, attributing motives to my behaviors that had indeed never occurred to me.

2) What’s the best way to get on your good side?

I believe the THINK Acronym for Kinder and More Effective Communications online definitely applies to dealing with me in person (or online).

Is it TRUE? Don’t spew gossip and theory as fact. Specifically, don’t say bad things about, say, FOTUS that are untrue, thinking this will ingratiate you to me; it will not.

Is it HELPFUL? When I think, “why did you say/do THAT?” that’s what I’m talking about.

Is it INSPIRING? My father used to say A LOT, “It is better to remain silent and appear ignorant than to speak and remove any doubt.” The quote was almost certainly not from Abraham Lincoln or Mark Twain; here is the backstory.

Is it NECESSARY? Some people fear silence.

Is it KIND? I sent a recent email reprimanding someone I thought was being snarkily unkind to me in person a few hours earlier. Some people operate on snark; I find it utterly exhausting.

Elephant Talk – King Crimson

3) What person do you feel most comfortable with?

Someone who doesn’t feel that filling every second with conversation is necessary.

Talk, it’s all talkToo much talkSmall talkTalk that trashExpressions, editorials, explanations, exclamations, exaggerationsIt’s all talk

4) Do you handle criticism well?

It depends on a) the legitimacy and b) the manner of the criticism.

5) Are you the type to tell someone, if asked, that their pants DO make them look fat?

If they REALLY want to know, I guess so.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

Sunday Stealing — Stolen from Tom

Civil War cards

“This week, we’re stealing from Tom, who called his blog The Morning Erection. Despite the rather suggestive title, none of his questions are sexual in nature.”

Stolen from Tom

1) What was the scariest thing in the world to you when you were a kid? Does it still scare you now?

“Topps released their highly collectible Civil War News card set in 1962. The 88-card set consisted of 87 cards depicting the most well-known battles that took place during the Civil War. The fronts contain color drawings along with the name and date of that battle.”

I owned most of these and kept them for a while, but some of the cards freaked me out. The one I best remember is the card Death Battle from July 1863, in which the combatants have bayonetted each other.

To this day, I don’t like to watch my skin being punctured. I’ve given blood over 180 times, but I never look.

Unplugged

2) Imagine your 12-year-old daughter (or granddaughter) is hosting a sleepover at your home. A sudden storm knocks out cellphone service, wifi, and cable. How would you keep these suddenly unplugged pre-teens entertained?

I’d tell stories, maybe things from my past: when JFK died, the 1965 blackout, or the October 4, 1987 snowstorm. Or tales about my ancestors, such as James Archer, who fought in the Civil War. (I’m sensing a theme here.)

3) What piece of movie or TV memorabilia would you love to own?

Nothing, actually. It becomes just more stuff. In the past, I might have wanted something from The Wizard of Oz.

4) You are gifted with the services of a personal assistant for four hours. What would you ask your assistant to do?

Organize files in my office: medical receipts, genealogical records. If I had more time, I’d easily find more tasks.

5) If literary characters were real, which one would you like to interview, and what would you ask?

I would want to ask those time travelers from the past: Is the future what you expected? I’d ask time travelers from the future: How is it that we still have a future?

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