Category: Occasional Quizzes

Sunday Stealing is all about your bed! By the way, did you know that there’s a low-budget horror movie from 1977 that’s become a cult classic, and its title is Death Bed: The Bed That Eats? It’s about a bed that has been possessed by a demon and thus it literally eats people who sleep on it. So that’s fun! (You can watch it on YouTube, if you insist.)

Anyway, onto the questions, about bed stuff (it’s all G-rated, folks):

1. Let’s say your alarm wakes you up with music. What would be the worst song to hear first thing in the morning?

Honestly, I’m not sure. Sometimes the song has been something quiet and peaceful, which doesn’t really help. And I wouldn’t want to wake up to Toby Keith, for example…but there’s zero chance of that.

We did used to have the clock radio set to WNED, the local classical station, and WNED used to run the BBC’s news update at the top of every hour. So there were a few times we were awakened, if the alarm was set for 6am or some such thing, to a British person calmly reading news copy like “Authorities are still working to collect the bodies.”

2. How many pillows do you sleep with?

I use two while sleeping, and sometimes my head goes under the top one. I use a third, smaller pillow to prop my head for reading, but when I put the book side, off goes that pillow.

3. What size mattress do you sleep on?

Queen at home. When we’re staying in a hotel we try to get a King.

4. Do you always sleep on the same side of the bed?

Generally, yes…as you’re in the bed, I’m usually on the right side. We recently spent a weekend in Toronto and we had to flip, though, because the hotel room’s AC unit was blowing directly on The Wife, and she didn’t like that.

5. Do you make your bed every day?

I wouldn’t say we “make” the bed, but we do tidy it up a bit.

6. Do you keep water on your bedside table?

Yes, though I rarely actually drink out of it.

7. How often do you change your sheets?

Weekly? Biweekly? Honestly, I’m not sure.

8. What’s under your bed?

Stuff, dust, and cats.

9. Do you sleep in total darkness or do you like to have a light on?

I need light, but not much. A light in the hallway is fine, or the soft light from the humidifier. Total darkness freaks me out. I hate not being able to see anything. When we’re in hotels, I’ll leave enough of a gap between the thicker curtains to allow some light in, maybe just an inch-wide gap of light, during the night and in the morning.

10. What do you remember about your childhood bedroom?

Which one? We moved a lot…but when we settled in WNY, I had the upper part of a bunk bed, which gave me extra room down below. That was fun.

Share This Post

Looking over this week’s quiz, I think I can answer some of these. Let’s give it a shot!

   What was the last song you listened to?

Yesterday I started listening to Wagner’s Das Rheingold, leaving off somewhere in Act I.

    What is your favorite thing about the place you live?

There’s a wonderful blend of nature and urban here. Plus proximity to water. I do not know how people live in waterless places.

    What is your earliest childhood memory?

“Just images, really. Feelings.” –Princess Leia

And that’s really about it: no specific memories, just images of things and places. A toy airplane that I loved. A park I enjoyed going to. 

     If you could be any animal, what would you be?

Probably some kind of cat.

    Who do you trust the most in your life?

The Wife.

    How many languages can you say “hello” in?

Let’s see: English, German, French, Spanish, Elvish, and…that’s about it.

    What is your favorite kind of weather?

Cool, and little wind. For photography currently I need no precipitation, as Miranda is not weather-sealed.

    How did you discover that Santa wasn’t real and how old were you?

In 2nd Grade we spent Christmas on vacation in Florida, going to Disney World and other locations. I bought the idea of Santa finding us in our camper in whatever campground we were in on Christmas night. But also at that point I was losing teeth occasionally, so there was the tooth fairy to contend with. One day I lost a tooth and dutifully stuck it under my pillow…without telling my parents. I just assumed. Next morning the tooth was still there. Some time later, after I mulled this over, I asked my mother point-blank if there was a Santa Claus. She shook her head, maybe a little sadly.

    What is the best feeling in the world?

Laughter that’s not born of meanness or spite. Having a dog curl up with you. Smelling the morning coffee on a day when you’re not going to work. And the sound of people laughing at you when you’ve been hit in the face with a pie. I doubt that one’s terribly relatable, but there it is.

    What is your favorite color?

Blue! And red. And green. And yellow, and purple, and pink, and gray, and brown, and black, and white. Oh yeah, orange.

    Is there a language you would love to learn?

I wish I would have kept up with my high-school French. Spanish, too. 

    How do you feel about reality TV?

Which kind? Cooking shows usually make me happy. I enjoyed the first few seasons of The Real World way-back-when. But reality teevee also normalized a certain businessman-turned-politician-turned-would-be-dictator, so there’s that.

    Did you ever skip school when you were a kid?

Sure, didn’t everybody? Not very much, though. Maybe only once.

    What is your least favorite food?

If I was James Bond and I was up against a super-villain whose scheme was to rid the world of broccoli, I’d stand down and let them have at it.

    Do you have a good luck charm?

Nah, I don’t believe in good luck charms…but maybe there’s a kind of minor superstition to wearing overalls each and every day? Hmmmmm. And I also feel like myself more when I have a camera in my hand….

 

Share This Post

From SundayStealing we get these questions:

When do I feel most authentically myself:

When I’m writing or taking photos. 

What I’m thankful for today

Ooof. I’m not gonna lie here: Thankfulness has not had a good run of late.

A memory I hope I never forget

So many! But I’ll go with looking at the girl I was sitting next to at the local college bar, where we were celebrating a mutual’s birthday, and wondering why I hadn’t noticed how pretty she was. Later, we married.

Other ways I connect with long distant friends

Mostly social media these days.

How I reconnect with myself when I feel lost

I read and I listen to beloved music and I go to the woods or to the water.

What would be my signature drink if I owned a café

We’ll assume that by “Cafe” we mean “bar”, in which case I make some terrific Mojitos, if I do say so myself.

Something I’ve let go of, as I’ve grown older

The feeling that I need to treat American conservatives as though they have real and genuine insights about things that are based on facts about the world.

The things I’m most likely to lie about

Hmmmm. This one’s kind of interesting, innit…I find myself trending more toward blunt honesty as I get older, but what would I lie about? Probably something mainly harmless, like “Did I like the cake you made,” when in fact I wasn’t in love with it.

What’s something I wish I had more time to learn

Photography! And I think I’m doing fine. I just wish I’d decided to approach it more seriously years ago. I had no idea, folks!

Social media trends that puzzle me

Endless political content. You see this on Tiktok a lot: people who just make video after video after video responding to the latest talking points on the other side. Even I, who am firmly on the left side of things, wonder if it all feels pointless after a while.

Local phrases and terms I use often

“Go Bills!” Also, “wings” refers to Buffalo-style chicken wings, and nothing else. Zubaz is a pattern, not a specific brand of clothing. I also expect not too many other places refer to “Lake effect” this or that (mostly snow).

If I could only wear only three colors, I’d pick these…

Blue, white, and brown–thus preserving my ability to wear most of my overalls. (The black ones would, sadly, be ruled out…unless black is stipulated as being available because everybody needs something in black, right?)

Favorite books, music, tv, movies, and media this month

Well, The Great British Baking Show is winding down, so that’s a bummer. We’ve started a re-watch of Scrubs from the beginning, because after the latest instance of watching a Netflix series that only had ten episodes, The Wife expressed a bit of annoyance. (That was Nobody Wants This, in which a podcaster who focuses on stories about the dating life finds herself involved with a Rabbi. Recommended, by the way.)

Music? There’s an album out called John Williams Reimagined, in which a bunch of Williams themes are re-arranged for a piano, flute, and cello. The recasting of dramatic music as chamber music is fascinating.

Books: I’ve started Bystander, which is a history of street photography, and Ian Fleming: The Complete Man. 

Movies…last night we watched Salt, a thriller from 2010 featuring Angelina Jolie is an FBI agent who might turn out to have a secret past she doesn’t know about. Very entertaining.

Share This Post

Gramps turned eighty the other day,
and everybody was there.
He was dressed up in a brand new suit,
sittin’ in his big arm chair.

Then a beautiful, young, naked woman
stood up in front of the group.
She offered gramps some super sex,
So he said, “I’ll take the soup!”

–“Bad Jokes“, Prairie Home Companion

So I have a big pot of soup on: the first cauldron of Buffalo Chicken Soup of the 2024-2025 Soup Season! Now, I tend to limit my soup consumption to the colder months, so for me, Soup Season usually starts in October and winds up, oh, March or April, depending on how grim that particular spring happens to be. This annoys my family members, who believe that there’s no such thing as Soup Season and who would cheerfully eat delicious soup even when it’s 85 out in July. What do you all think? Is all year Soup Season?

(Oh, and I made a couple of small alterations to my recipe this time around, and if I like the way it turns out, I may update my Official Buffalo Chicken Soup recipe on this site! Exciting! Stay tuned!

Moving on, we have this week’s Sunday Stealing quiz. The numbering is again wonky, so we’re not numbering these. And these questions lend themselves to short, pithy answers, which is always fun!

What’s your guilty pleasure? 

I don’t really believe in “guilty pleasures”. If I like something, I like it. There’s more than enough opportunity for guilt in this world.

Which meal is your favorite: breakfast, lunch, or dinner?

Yes.

I mean, I like them all…and it’s also fun to have meals at each that is traditionally served at another meal! Waffles for dinner! Pizza for breakfast! Burgers for lunch–oh wait–

What do you do when you want to chill out after a long day?

Change into comfy clothes (almost always involving overalls), read a bit, watch something on the teevee later on. Maybe an adult beverage, but lately, we only indulge those if we don’t have to work the next day. This is probably best in terms of health and expense.

How would you spend your ideal weekend?

That depends! Maybe road-tripping, or relaxing at home, or going somewhere local and doing photography. Always a bit of time reading and writing, too.

Do you listen to podcasts, or mostly just music? What’s your favorite podcast?

I do listen to podcasts, though not many; I listen to music more than that. Some podcasts I like are: James Bonding (guess what that one’s about!), Functional Nerds (interviews with geeky writers), Noble Blood (somewhat gory tales from history), and The Open Ears Project (in which notable people discuss a particularly meaningful piece of music).

Do you prefer to go to the movies or watch movies at home?

Ooof, this can get contentious on social media. I love going to the movies and yes, the actual act of movie viewing is better in a theater than at home…but everything else about going to the movies has become sufficiently a hassle that we just stay at home. The expense and the time costs just aren’t worth it anymore, except in very special circumstances.

What was your favorite TV show growing up?

It probably depends on when “growing up” can be said to have happened…but through it all, there was Star Trek, so…Star Trek.

What’s your favorite TV show now?

The Repair Shop (which is going through a bit of thing because its host got into legal trouble). For non-“reality” shows, I’m thrilled that Ghosts has returned. It’s interesting to me that I have now had two beloved shows whose premise was “Couple ends up running an inn in a rural location where they have to contend with a very quirky population, and by the way, she really looks great in sweaters.” (The first was Newhart.)

How would you spend your birthday if money was no object? 

A week somewhere in the Finger Lakes, including the Ithaca Apple Festival, and I’d take a thousand photos.

What’s your favorite season? What do you love most about it?

Fall. I love the relief of breaking temperatures, I love the color, I love the food. All of it.

Do you prefer camping or going to the beach? 

I haven’t been camping since I was a kid and I’m not sure I really have a hankering to do it again at all (though I’m intrigued by “glamping”), so…the beach. Especially if it’s Waikiki.

Which phone app do you think you use the most?

Chrome or Gmail. Or my phone’s camera app. Also Snapseed and Lightroom.

Would you instead cook, order delivery, or go out to eat? 

Cook first, go out second. We never order delivery.

How do you drink your coffee?

From a mug. (OK, fine: mostly with cream. Sometimes black. Never sugar.)

If you could have any animal as a pet, what would you choose? 

I dunno, let me ask our cats and dogs!

Share This Post

OK, I’m up early on a Sunday drinking coffee and we’re hoping to get to Letchworth today, but I’ll just toss off a quick quiz-thing! And I’m doing this one before I read Roger‘s answers!

1. What’s the best birthday party you’ve ever had?

I never had a birthday party. Next! (When I turned ten we had a family dinner at the Big Restaurant in Olean, as we had just moved there. The place was called The Castle, and it was part of a resort-hotel thing that was quite the going concern back in the day. Nothing of The Castle remains. It fell on hard times and different fashions, the idea of vacationing in a place just for the resort and not much else kind of fell by the wayside, and The Castle gradually rotted and now is gone.)

1. Where is your favorite place you’ve ever visited?

I love too many places to name a favorite, I think, but of all the places I have gone, I could see myself living in Ithaca, or Geneva (NY), in the Finger Lakes region.

1. How do you like to spend your free time? 

Reading, writing, photography, listening to music. (OK, sorry about the weird numbering here. As I start a new paragraph to answer each of these the WordPress list thing is renumbering as best it can, so each question is ending up Number One, and I’m not going to bother changing it.)

1. What’s one of your favorite bands?

Just one? Drew Holcomb and the Neighbors.

1. What is the cutest animal you’ve ever seen in person?

Excluding our own pets? I’ll go with the otters I saw at the New England Aquarium with my mother back in the 80s.

1. How would you describe your style?

Cottagecore, with overalls.

1. If your wardrobe could only be one color, what would it be? 

Blue, I guess. Because of all the denim!

1. What was the first concert you ever went to?

A concert band at the University of Wisconsin in LaCrosse. I was in kindergarten. If we’re talking rock or other pop music? That would be the first time we saw the Trans Siberian Orchestra.

1. What is the best book you’ve ever read?

The Lord of the Rings. (BTW, I include The Hobbit in there.)

1. What’s your favorite movie of all time? 

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.

1. What’s the stupidest movie or TV show you’ve ever seen?

Hudson Hawk. (Which actually has some kind of weird charm to it, believe it or not. It’s best known for being a colossal flop, but it has some real gonzo goofiness going in there.)

1. If you could only have one food for the rest of your life, what would you choose?

OK, this particular quiz is really old-school, isn’t it? This feels like first-generation blog quizzes from back in 2003. Anyway, for purposes of this thing, I’d say…pizza? It has so many variations. But even that would get boring very quickly.

1. What are your biggest pet peeves?

I’m reminded of George Carlin’s quote: “I don’t have pet peeves, I have major psychotic f*ckin’ hatreds!” I’m not sure what my biggest ones are, but fresh on my mind are dudes who have to voice every disagreement they have with any opinion they see, guys on crotch-rockets who are obviously riding that thing for Adventure (I use “crotch-rocket” to refer to a specific item; it does not mean a generic motorcycle), people who will run into someone they know someplace and then stand right there to catch up without ever once looking around to see if they are blocking traffic in some way (because they always are), and overalls worn with one strap unfastened (don’t ask me why, I just don’t like the look).

1. Are you more into brains or looks?

If I have to interact with you, I hope there’s a brain in there.

1. Do you celebrate any holidays? What’s your favorite?

In order: Christmas, New Years, Thanksgiving. Halloween always feels like it should be more of a thing in our household, but it usually isn’t. I still have a weird thing about Valentines Day, even though I’ve been married for 27 years to a woman I started dating when I was 19. The last few years it’s been very hard to get excited for Independence Day, but here’s hoping we can get that mojo back.

Oh, and I don’t care what anybody says, “Sweetest Day” is not a thing.

Share This Post

Interesting format for this week’s Sunday Stealing: instead of a selection of questions, it’s a series of prompts. I’m going to try to do these in one sentence each. Let’s see how that works out, shall we?

Reveal yourself in 24 easy steps

I am not: the least bit interested in pulling the weeds out back that I’ve been neglecting for a while now, and I am really going to regret not doing it sooner.

I hurt: at really random times these days, which I suppose goes with being 53 and well into the time of life when the body just hurts sometimes, regardless of whether or not you actually did anything that could cause an injury.

I love: photography.

I hate: missing the shot entirely because I dilly-dallied and didn’t even get the camera up. An attempt that misfires is one thing, but not even attempting is just duh. (Well, my “one sentence per reply” thing didn’t last long, but hey, did anybody reading this think it would?)

I fear: the prospect of enough Americans rising up to defeat the current possibility for the country shooting itself in the foot, but those Americans not being geographically distributed in a way that allows them to win.

I hope: for a gigantic rejection of American conservatism in November.

I regret: the shot I missed last Tuesday. 

I cry: every time that goofball cropduster guy realizes he has to sacrifice himself to save the world in Independence Day. (Sheesh!)

I care: about the unfair nature of breed-specific dog legislation.

I always: fasten both straps on my overalls. The one-strap thing always feels weird on me, like there’s all this strange tugging and pulling when overalls shouldn’t do that, and I dunno, it feels kind of unfair to put all that responsibility for the structural integrity of one’s pants on a single shoulder strap and buckle-hook.

I long: to go back to Hawaii.

I listen: to The Wife. Or I try to. Not always successful, and this always gets pointed out when it happens.

I hide: the keys for my tool cabinet at work. I just have to.

I write: less than I used to, which is a little bit of a problem! I need to find the balance between the writing and the photography.

I miss: that one coworker who brought all kinds of weird joy to the party. I’m still in contact, but she left The Store several years ago.

I search: for good deals on vintage overalls and cool tops on a daily basis. I don’t buy much these days, but you never know!

I learn: by doing. I learn more from doing something once or twice than by watching it a hundred times.

I feel: like the world is trying to turn better? Like a series of better choices might be in the offing?

I know: way too much odd minutiae about Star Wars.

I want: a full-frame mirrorless camera with three or four lenses to use with it, and a week in Toronto or Honolulu to put it through its paces.

I worry: about what if the world isn’t trying to turn better.

I wish: for more wishes. Duh!

I have: a little black book with my poems in….

I give: zero shits about how good it is for me, I am not eating broccoli!

I wait: for a better day.

I need: more money, a house with a big enough room with bookshelves to allow single shelving of my books, a dozen pitties and maybe a few greyhounds too, and as it’s been a while, I probably need a pie in the face.

And that’s it!

Share This Post

I’m actually on vacation and the days have been packed, which is why I haven’t posted a whole lot the last few days. My current vacation doesn’t end until Thursday morning, when I go back to work, so who knows if I’ll post much between now and then…and while I’ve been taking a lot of photos, that means I have a lot of culling and editing to do!

But meanwhile, I can do a quiz, can’t I? Sure! As I write this, dinner is in the oven, so I have some time. (It’s a cool, low-humidity day here, otherwise I’d be avoiding the oven. Also the weather forecast originally had it being rainy around dinnertime, so I ruled out grilling. So…guess what the weather is right now. You don’t even need three guesses. Harumph!)

1. I am looking forward to …

My next vacation! Seriously, my next one is our annual Fall getaway to Ithaca and the Apple Harvest Festival. I love that trip. I’m also looking forward to getting through the next six weeks or so at work; we have a couple of special events in that time that are making my life abnormally busy.

2. Least favorite words

“Moist” should only be used in the context of describing a cake or other baked good. Other than that, I don’t really dislike specific words. Now, “least favorite phrases” is something I could go on at length about.

Oh wait, I remember 1999 or so that everybody was suddenly using “copacetic” a lot. That word was suddenly everywhere, and it went away equally quickly. I never really understood that.

3. If I ruled the world

Let’s stipulate no war and stuff. I’d mandate tons of high-speed rail all over America, universal healthcare, and I’d make overalls the Official Pants of Humanity. (I wouldn’t require everybody to wear them, I’d just give them the title.)

4. Favorite websites and blogs

This one! And Roger, and Sheila, and Mr. Evanier, and a few others. I keep waiting for people to get frustrated with social media and its incessant mechanized moderating and return to blogging, but maybe that’s not happening.

5. Things I do for myself

Not sure I get this one…I get dressed, so, yay! I also make my own coffee, for the most part. I can cook pretty well. 

6. Weekly rituals

Nature walk on Sunday morning; cooking dinner for The Wife and I on Fridays and making cheese plates on Saturday and cooking for the entire family on Sunday. 

7. DIYs I want to try

I don’t know if I’ll ever bother, because when I get home the last thing I want to do is DIY stuff, but I did see some ideas for home-made planting systems while at the County Fair the other day.

8. On my shopping list

An interchangeable lens camera! Not sure if I want full-frame or Micro Two-thirds, but we’ll see. I’m not actually expecting to enter that market again for at least two years, but we’ll see.

9. Places to see in your town

We just got back from the Buffalo AKG Art Museum! The museum was wonderful when it was known as the Albright Knox and was a lot smaller, but then a man named Gundlach gave the museum a huge amount of money, and they built an expansion that almost (or did outright) doubled the amount of exhibit space in the museum. It’s an amazing facility that really makes you feel like Buffalo is a world-class place.

10.Road trip must-haves

Water, snacks, camera and phone, stuff to read. Obviously clothes.

11. Guilty pleasures

I don’t really believe in guilty pleasures.

12. Things I’d rather be doing right now

Street photography in Toronto, NYC, or Honolulu.

13. Books I’d like to read this year

Hmmm. I actually have a reading list written down in my yearly journal, but that’s upstairs and I’m too lazy to go get it. I hope to finish NK Jemisin’s Broken Earth series soon, though. I only have the last book to go.

14. Lessons learned

Patience is good. Taking a deep breath and counting is preferable to jumping off half-cocked. Always keep your dogs on leash. Check your camera settings a lot while you’re out-and-about shooting, as it’s super easy to screw up and leave it set incorrectly for the next shot. And overalls are cooler (temperature-wise) than shorts with a belt. It’s an airflow thing!

15. Vacations to take

Hawaii again, obviously. Toronto and NYC, always. I’d like to take a week and roam around the Finger Lakes…and honestly, taking a week and not going anywhere is lovely.

Extra question:   Olympic events I like to watch or follow

I’ve lost track of figure skating over the last bunch of years, but with Mom gone, I’m thinking about following it again. Hockey, too. Most of my favorite events are Winter events; somebody once said that the problem with the Summer Games is that it reminds us too much of gym class. I can relate. The gymnastics is amazing to watch, precisely because it doesn’t make me think about the years of getting picked last for softball.

It also seems to me that Olympic pie-throwing should be a thing….

 

Share This Post