No hair day
Is this a fashion question?
No, non, nein, nyet
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Roger Green: a librarian's life, deconstructed.
Am I mellow?
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The Good Book
Here’s the new Sunday Stealing, The Pen Company. But before I get to that, a couple of Independence Day announcements in Albany, NY.
First, the July 4 oration will take place at the Stephen and Harriet Myers residence, 194 Livingston Avenue in Albany, NY, sponsored by the Underground Railroad Education Center (UREC). Music by Magpie, who will be joined by Kim Harris.
A metal box in my office that has my birth certificate, my father’s death certificate plus other important documents. A box of photos. My laptop.
Oddly, it wasn’t my date. My ex-girlfriend was going to the Washington (NY) County Fair with her new boyfriend c 1996/97. She invited a friend of ours and me to attend as well, because we were all “mature” people. It was…weird. Interestingly, they broke up, I got back together with my gf, and we’ve been married 24 years.
The loss of freedom and justice in the United States, based on the actions of several governors and state legislatures, the rhetoric of several candidates for the 2024 Presidency, and recent Supreme Court decisions.
Usually playing double deck pinochle or backgammon on my phone.
Probably my 50th because I had a big party at my church. I made a mixed CD that I gave out.
Fig Newtons with milk.
It might be Albany, NY because that’s where I decided to live. My favorite place to visit might be Galveston, TX; I’d go out to he pier at 5 a.m., watching the tide from the Gulf of Mexico come in.
We have a garden. But I have little or nothing to do with it.
My hometown was Binghamton, NY. It was small enough – and my school was tiny enough – that I can to this day name most of the kids in my 9th grade class. And I’m still friends with three of them. Oh, and went to kindergarten with them too.
A Century of Pop Music bt Joel Whitburn.
Quite possibly, The Good Book: Discovering the Bible’s Place in Our Lives by Peter J. Gomes. Here’s a reader recommendation from Thrift Books:
“Gomes takes the Bible off its pedestal and presents it to us as a tool for Christian living. This book is a must read for any Christian struggling to read and understand the Bible in modern terms. He explores many of the controversial topics of the Bible, including race, homosexuality, women’s roles, anti-Semitism, wealth, and more. [This is definitely true.]
It might be Roger Ebert, whose movie essays I enjoyed greatly. His autobio, Life Itself, is the book I would liked to have written, if I had the skills.
Olives. Black olives, green olives.
I wrote about terrible neighbors across the street, but thankfully, they’re gone.
Oxydol
I don’t drive a car. I’ve never had a license, though I’ve had seven (!) driver’s permits, which is why I know the rules of road so well. The last time I rode a horse was June 9, 1976; I had a hangover, which I don’t recommend. I do have a bike, and have ridden it, although not yet this year because I can’t find my bike lock, so we’ll go with that.
the co-creator of RAW magazine.
Either, because they’re both changing rapidly. Alaska is too warm now, and I expect much of Hawaii will be underwater in a few decades.
The giraffe because they’re so freakishly strange. Incidentally, my post about the song At The Zoo by Simon and Garfunkel.
The 86th floor of the Empire State Building.
Almost never unless they wear out. My wife buys me clothes because my criterion for “worn out” and hers are not the same.
Jeopardy, and I’ve already watched it. On the other hand, the DVR is 52% filled, some of it going back to December 2022.
We Return Fighting: World War I and the Shaping of Modern Black Identity, edited by Kinshasha Holman Conwill
I answered this before, so I’ll answer it again differently. I had some Jamaican food this weekend which was quite good.
WHAT? What are you telling me here? Santa’s not real? Why would ever say such a thing?!
From 5th to 11th grade, math: algebra, geometry, trigonometry.
I don’t believe I’ve eaten anything particularly weird. OK, this is a story from my youth. My mother made… something. It was awful. It had green specks in it. At the time, there was a laundry detergent call Oxydol, and it advertised as having “green bleaching crystals.” So we referred to… whatever it was… as tasting as though it had green bleaching crystals.
“common sense”
The new Sunday Stealing.
1) What is your favorite way to spend a lazy day?
Je ne comprends pas. Qu’est-ce qu’une journée paresseuse ? I’m not feeling “a lazy day” of late. If I did have one, I would watch the Tonys and the National Spelling Bee Finals, in that order, which I have recorded.
2) What do you look forward to every week?
I like seeing folks at church and attending the Tuesday noon book reviews.
3) Name three pet peeves you currently have
Certain people think their way is the only way.
Some people are “all hat, no cattle”; a recent example is Antonio Brown, the braggadocious owner of the Albany Empire Arena Football team, who got his team booted from the league for non-payment. He reminds me of a particular politician whom he said he admired.
Bad drivers, bike riders, and pedestrians.
4) Where would you choose to go if you were to win an all-expense paid vacation for two weeks to anywhere in the world? What are some of the things you would like to experience while you were there?
I need to go to either Asia, Africa, or South America. I suppose I’d go to Nigeria to be on the grounds of my ancestors. I’m 20% Nigerian, almost entirely on my father’s side. Maybe there are some resources there that would help with my genealogical search. And if not, it’d be worth it anyway.
5) What was one of your favorite toys as a kid? Did you save any special things from your childhood that you still have today?
The only toy I can remember is a Johnny Seven OMA (One Man Army), a multi-function toy weapon produced by Deluxe Reading under their Topper Toys toyline and released in 1964.” It was the best-selling boys’ toy that year. I’m fairly sure I used it in antiwar film my friends made five years later. Featured on Law and Order: Criminal Intent. “Detective Robert Goren finds one in a toy store and demonstrates all seven firing modes” (Episode: Collective) June 2006. Because I’ve dealt with collectibles, I remember seeing that scene and howling with laughter.
The things I have from my childhood tend to be books. One in my line of vision is Play the Game: the Book of Sport, edited by Mitchell V. Charnley (1931). This was an anthology of sports stories from American Boy magazine from 1923 to 1931, which I read repeatedly.
6) What is your favorite holiday? What is your least favorite holiday?
My favorite is Thanksgiving, though I’ve had some terrible ones. My least favorite is Memorial Day because too many people don’t know what it’s supposed to mean.
7) Have you ever met anyone famous? What concerts have you attended?
I’ve answered the famous question recently. Here are some concerts I’ve attended. It does NOT include several classical concerts, mostly the Albany Symphony Orchestra. The one that stands out featured Evelyn Glennie, the percussionist.
8) Are there any expressions that people use that really annoy you? If so, what are they?
There are several, but I’ve blocked most of them out. “Common-sense” reforms or gun laws or whatever bugs me because it presupposes some agreed-upon definition of “common sense.”
9) Do you like your name? Are you named after anyone? Is there a story how you got your name? Would you change it if you could? If so, what name would you give yourself?
I’ve told this story before, but I can’t find it. My father named me. At some point after I was born, he was over at his cousin’s house furiously writing…something. He was coming up with a name for which the initials spelled out something but nothing offensive or complicated for me to live with. So Roger Owen Green spelled out ROG. It was brilliant. I love the name, and I wouldn’t change it.
I was not named for anyone. Curiously, my sister Leslie was named after my father. I can’t begin to understand that logic.
10) It is said that it’s the little things that make life worth living. Name five of those little things in your life
Music. And not listening to it but math: 4/4, 6/8, 3/2 et al. The inverted pedal point. Modulations.
Math. 0 squared + 0 +1= 1 squared. 1 squared+1+2=2 squared. 2 squared+2+3=3 squared. Figuring out if a number is divisible by 3 or by 9. License plate algebra.
History. Being a keeper of the history of FantaCo, the comic book store where I worked from May 1980 to November 1988. Doing genealogy and having some luck; see tomorrow’s post.
White noise. It helps me sleep.
Electricity.
unscheduled