Tag: Quiz-Things

I saw this quiz at SamuraiFrog‘s place. It’s a bit more explicit than the kind of thing I usually do, but…well, it’s a new year and all, so here goes.

1. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up?

Rush Limbaugh. Preferably when he’s standing next to Sarah Palin and Joe Lieberman.

2. You can flip a switch that will wipe any band or musical artist out of existence. Which one will it be?

Wow, this isn’t nice. Ye Gods! I wouldn’t want to wipe anyone from existence, but there’s a guy who does parody songs for WGR, the local sports-talk station, whom everybody but me thinks is funny. I’d like to make him stop.

3. Who would you really like to just punch in the face?

Joe Lieberman.

4. What is your favorite cheese?

We just went from punching people and blowing people up to…cheese. Strange quiz, this.

And really, doesn’t the answer depend on what we’re doing with it? There are times when cheddar is called for, and others when anything other than mozzarella is an affront to God.

5. You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your immediate disposal. What kind will you make?

Right now? Is this the last sandwich I’ll ever eat? OK, then: Cappicola on a toasted roll, with mayo, romaine lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and banana peppers.

If it’s just a sandwich right now, PB&J will be fine, please. With a big glass of milk.

6. You have the opportunity to sleep with the movie celebrity of your choice. We are talking no-strings-attached sex and it can only happen once. Who is the lucky celebrity of your choice?

OK: exploding people to food and now to sex? And why should I assume that of any random tryst with a celebrity of my choice, the celebrity is the one who’s lucky? I mean, my skills aren’t exactly…oh jeez, there’s just no way to finish this sentence well, is there? Zoe Saldana, then. (She’s on the brain because I watched Star Trek last week with the kid.)

7. You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who do you pick?

Natalie MacMaster, I guess. Wow, this is getting to be a creepy quiz.

8. Now that you’ve slept with two different people in a row, you seem to be having an excellent day because you just came across a hundred-dollar bill on the sidewalk. Holy shit, a hundred bucks! How are you gonna spend it?

These days, I probably go the boring route and use it to load up on some groceries in the freezer, or maybe I pick up a power tool of some sort that I don’t already have.

9. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?

London.

10. Upon arrival to the aforementioned location, you get off the plane and discover another hundred-dollar bill. Shit! Now that you are in the new location, what are you gonna do?

Rent a car and drive around to see stuff. Eat some of that wonderful English food.

11. An angel appears out of Heaven and offers you a lifetime supply of the alcoholic beverage of your choice. It is…?

Captain Morgan.

12. Rufus appears out of nowhere with a time-traveling phone booth. You can go anytime in the PAST. What time are you traveling to and what are you going to do when you get there?

Dallas, November 22, 1963. Because I would just have to know.

13. You discover a beautiful island upon which you may build your own society. You make the rules. What is the first rule you put into place?

The Constitution of the United States.

14. You have been given the opportunity to create the half-hour TV show of your own design. What is it called and what’s the premise?

It’s called Stupid People Getting Kicked in the Ass by Nathan Fillion. The premise is inherent in the title.

15.What is your favorite curse word?

Dumbass!

16.One night you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn on the light to find that you are surrounded by MUMMIES. The mummies aren’t really doing anything, they’re just standing around your bed. What do you do?

I start screaming like a little girl. (As if you wouldn’t.)

17. Your house is on fire, holy shit! You have just enough time to run in there and grab ONE inanimate object. Don’t worry, your loved ones and pets have already made it out safely. So what’s the item?

My laptop bag, which will naturally contain the laptop, my external hard drive, and my Flash drives.

18. The Angel of Death has descended upon you. Fortunately, the Angel of Death is pretty cool and in a good mood, and it offers you a half-hour to do whatever you want before you bite it. Whatcha gonna do in that half-hour?

Kick Death in the junk because he’s been entirely too much of a pain in my ass the last five years.

19. You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What’s it gonna be?

Flight.

20. You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again?

Is anything different about the time? Do I get to change anything? Or just observe? I’d like to watch my own wedding again.

21.You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?

Telling The Daughter that her brother had died.

22. You got kicked out of the country for being a time-traveling heathen who sleeps with celebrities and has super-powers. But check out this cool shit… you can move to anywhere else in the world! Bitchin’! What country are you going to live in now?

Canada.

23. This question still counts, even for those of you who are under age. Check it out. You have been eternally banned from every single bar in the world except for ONE. Which one is it gonna be?

Hmmmm. I don’t get to bars much, and the ones I do go to have restaurants. I guess I’d want to be able to go to Danny’s for the soup.

24. Hopefully you didn’t mention this in the super-powers question…. If you did, then we’ll just expand on that. Check it out… Suddenly, you have gained the ability to FLOAT!!! Whose house are you going to float to first, and be like “Dude, check it out…I can FLOAT!”?

What’s the difference between “flight” and “floating”? Am I just bobbin’ away in the air? That sounds stupid.

25. The constant absorption of magical moonbeams mixed with the radioactive vegetables you consumed earlier has given you the ability to resurrect the dead famous-person of your choice. So which celebrity will you bring back to life?

Carl Sagan.

26. The Celestial Gates of Beyond have opened, much to your surprise because you didn’t think such a thing existed. Death appears. As it turns out, Death is actually a pretty cool entity, and happens to be in a fantastic mood. Death offers to return the friend/family-member/person, etc. of your choice to the living world. Who will you bring back?

This is so obvious, I won’t even say it.

27. What’s your theme song?

“We Have All the Time in the World”, Louis Armstrong.

Not sure about this quiz, to be honest. The questions seemed too weird for my tastes.

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I saw this Christmas quiz-thing over at SamuraiFrog‘s place, but I noticed that apparently the thing has a huge number of questions, which caused him to pare it down a bit. I, on the other hand, tend to be weirdly obsessive about quiz-things (even though I’m noticing that fewer interesting ones seem to be making the rounds these days), so I Googled a bit and dug up the entire thing. And boy howdy, is it big. Ye Gods! However, I am undaunted, so here we go. (I got it from Knitting is my Boyfriend, by the way. Never seen that blog before, but I’m indebted all the same.)

Favorite Christmas…
01. Non-Jesus-related song?

God, I love the music of Christmastime. That’s why I’m doing the “Daily Dose of Christmas” on the blog this year. Picking just one (which hasn’t yet come in the rotation, but it will), I’ll go with “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” — but it must have the original lyrics:

“Someday soon, we all will be together
if the Fates allow;
Until then we’ll have to muddle through somehow.”

That lyric gives the song a wonderfully elegiac tone that the nonsensical “Hang a shining star upon the highest bough!” completely destroys. And that lyric change was all Frank Sinatra’s fault. I love Sinatra, but he really screwed the pooch on that one.

02. Jesus-related song?

I honestly can’t pick one. Seriously, I can’t. “Angels We Have Heard On High”, “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing”, “Silent Night”, “Joy to the World” — any and all of these fill my heart. I’m not that big a fan of “What Child is This” (I keep wanting to sing the words to “Greensleeves”), nor do I much like “Away in a Manger”, because of that line about baby Jesus not crying. Why wouldn’t he? If God really came into the world as a human, why wouldn’t he, as an infant, cry?

I’ve been kicking around an idea lately that so many Christmas songs are beautiful and eternal because so many of them revolve around the most basic building blocks of Western music, the major scale (what’s the first line of “Joy to the World” except a scale in a certain rhythm) or the major triad (a major component of “Silent Night” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”). I’d have to do more work on that notion to flesh it out, though.

03. Santa-related song?

“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, I guess.

04. Fictional character?

Billy Mack. (From Love Actually, my favorite Christmas movie.)

05. Dinner’s main course?

Depends. Some years turkey (as it will be this year), other years it’s ham. And one year The Wife got sick, so I made pastitsio.

06. Dinner’s dessert?

Whatever we feel like, I guess. No real tradition here.

07. Scent (pine, gingerbread, candles…)?

Pine, peppermint, baking stuff.

08. Animated movie?

Movie? Ruling out the teevee specials, then? The Polar Express. I’ve never found the animation in that movie creepy at all, not even the characters’ eyes.

09. Non-animated movie?

Oops, tipped my answer above: Love Actually. Which reminds me, I’m due to watch it. I’m also due to renew my once-annual tradition (missed the last couple of year) of watching My Fair Lady every year around this time, even though it’s not a Christmas movie, per se.

10. Personal memory?

Lots. Second grade Christmas at Disney World; getting my first stereo in fourth grade; first gift exchange with The Girlfriend (now The Wife) in college; The Daughter’s first Christmas; lots and lots of memories.

11. Story/Fairy Tale?

“The Gift of the Magi”; Luke Chapter 2.

This or That

12. Candy cane or peppermint patties?

Both. I adore mint in all its candied forms.

13. Sugar or gingerbread cookies?

Both.

14. Tinsel or beaded strands?

We don’t use either, actually. Not a conscious choice, but once we have all the lights and ornaments up, anything else seems overkill.

15. Multi-colored or same-colored lights?

Both. Our tree is pre-installed with colored lights, to which we add one strand of white lights.

16. Flashing or still lights?

Still. Not a big fan of flashing. Those lights with the little vials of liquid that bubble are super-neat, though. Gotta buy one of those one of these years.

17. Wreaths or mistletoe/holly?

Wreaths.

18. Rudolph or Frosty?

Rudolph. I was never completely sold on Frosty, and while the Rudolph sequels that are rarely seen anymore aren’t all that great, the Frosty sequel — which is shown every year — is Godawful.

19. Sledding or snowball fights?

Sledding. I prefer different missiles for “fights” of the throwing variety.

20. Snow or ice/icicles?

Snow. Icicles are cool to look at, though.

21. Snow hat or earmuffs?

Hat. I just got myself a nifty knit hat:

22. Getting or giving?

Giving, but getting can be nice, too.

23. Snow days or plow trucks?

I work for a living. Plows.

24. Stockings or presents?

We never did the stocking thing, to my recall.

25. Cookies & milk or letter to Santa?

Cookies and milk. Or cheese and beer.

26. Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

Both. We do all of our family gifts on Christmas Eve, and then we save a few big items for The Kid on Christmas Day.

27. Log Burning Channel or real thing?

We have no fireplace, and we have no cable. But if the choice were mine to make, the real thing.

28. Cards or emails?

Either.

29. Shoveling or cleaning off the car?

Both of these tasks suck. I’m the person who only clears enough snow to enable enough visibility for driving. The person driving down the street whose car looks like the head of a comet because all the snow is blowing off the roof? Yeah, that’s me.

30. The Inn’s manger or the animals?

Not sure what I’m being asked here.

31. Mary & Joseph or The Wise Men?

Mary and Joseph, I guess.

32. Hot cocoa or eggnog?

Hot cocoa. I’m not the biggest nog fan, although I do like it.

33. Jack Frost or Little Drummer Boy?

Little Drummer Boy.

“Yay!” or “Ugh”:

34. Holiday shopping? Yay!

35. Icy roads? Ugh.

36. Limited driving visibility? Epic ugh.

37. Christmas carolers. Yay!

38. Mall Santas? Yay!

39. Salvation Army Santas? Yay!

40. Blizzards? If I’m at work, Ugh. If I’m at home and I don’t have to go anywhere, Yay!

41. 24/7 Holiday radio? Yay!

42. Freezing cold? Yay! Cold weather is overalls weather.

43. Setting up the tree? Yay!

44. Wrapping presents? Ugh. I stink at it.

45. Visiting/seeing family? Yay, if we ever did it…but they live on the other side of the country, so it’s hard.

46. Ad-Lib on “Rudolph…” (like Monopoly!)

Everybody does it, and the song is never really sung in any kind of situation which would make the ad-lib inappropriate, so I’m fine with it. Yay.

47. Free mint red/white candy?

Yay!

48. Belief in Santa Claus?

Yay!

49. Chocolate advent calender?

We never do this, but I wouldn’t say “Ugh”, either. Maybe I’ll get one next year.

50. Peeking at your gifts (or by accident)?

When I was a kid and thought I was clever, Yay! Now that I’m trying to hide gifts from the kid who thinks she’s clever, Ugh!

51. Making out with Santa under the mistletoe?

I’m a guy, so I’m going with “Ugh”.

52. Decorated houses?

Yay!

53. Extreme decorated houses?

Big Yay!

54. White Christmas morning?

Yay!

55. Searching for ornaments in the attic?

No attic here, just overstuffed closets. We always know right where our stuff is, so not a big deal.

56. Santa knowing when you’re sleeping and awake?

Ugh! (Although I suspect this is poetic license in the song.)

First Thought That Comes To Mind When You Hear…

57. Snowflake!

The yummy latte we have at the coffee bar at The Store.

58. Pinecones!

Uhh…sharp?

59. Elves!

A Elbereth Gilthoniel!

60. Sleigh!

Ride!

61. Presents!

I want some!

62. Cookies!

Awesome!

63. Mistletoe!

Kissing under it…which I’ve never done….

64. Rudolph!

Nureyev.

65. Blizzard!

1977. (Even though we didn’t live in Buffalo back then.)

66. School’s Canceled!

Crap…do I have to miss work because The Kid has no place to go?

67. Ice Skating!

Not nearly as much like rollerblading as I’d thought.

68. Santa’s Lap!

A place I don’t want to be.

69. Black Friday!

Jeebus, you people are warped

70. God’s Son!

The obvious.

71. Melting Snow!

Spring in WNY. Gray, melty and muddy.

72. Lumps of Coal!

There’s a company that makes a popcorn ball that’s dipped in chocolate; they call it a Lump of Coal. That’s what I think of.

73. Nutcracker!

Sure wish the Chinese Buffet had more of ’em, for those pesky crab legs. And the ballet that I want to see one of these years.

74. Ho Ho Ho!

Green Giant!

75. North Pole!

Soon to be ice free!

What’s a Winter Activity YOU Do…

76. …In the snow by yourself?

Walking and sledding.

77. …Inside by yourself?

Reading, writing. Year-round activities, actually.

78. …In a public place?

Shopping, walking, sledding.

79. …With friends/family in the snow at home?

Same stuff as above.

80. …With friends/family inside at home?

Teevee, movies, read, cook….

Grade/Rate Holiday Movies A – F

81. A Christmas Story.

B. It feels like an episode of The Wonder Years, but with a rifle instead of Winnie Cooper.

82. How The Grinch Stole Christmas?

C. Not my favorite.

83. The Santa Clause?

B-minus. I kind of liked it. Never saw the sequels.

84. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer?

A-minus. I’m always bugged by the way the coach cheerfully joins in the ostracizing of Rudolph.

85. Frosty The Snowman?

C-plus. Jimmy Durante’s awesome, but this show always feels really slight to me. And that sequel? GAHHH, that is some awful teevee.

86. Home Alone.

C-minus. Don’t care much for it. Culkin’s not cute, the slapstick antics aren’t that funny, and it’s got one of the few John Williams scores I don’t like.

87. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

B. I think it’s funny.

88. Elf.

Haven’t seen it.

89. Miracle on 34th Street.

B, I guess. In truth, I haven’t seen it since I was very young.

90. A Charlie Brown Christmas.

A-plus. It’s a human-made thing, so it’s got to have a flaw in it somewhere, but I’m damned if I can spot it.

Christmas At My House… (one or the other)

91. Tree is fake/real?

Fake.

92. Tree is under/above 4′?

Above.

93. Open presents Christmas Eve/Day?

Answered above.

94. House/entire yard is decorated?

Apartment, so no.

95. Amount of presents under the tree?

Right now, zero. We gotta get on the ball here.

96. Snowman is a male/female?

Since Calvin and Hobbes? They’re neither. They’re deranged mutant killer monster snow goons.

97. Go for Santa/Jesus?

“Go for”? What does that mean?

98. Homemade/delivered/takeout?

Homemade.

99. Bedtime is before/after midnight?

Before.

100. Wake-up is before/after 7am?

It’s whenever we hear the kid going “Oh, wowww!“

101. Go/don’t go to church on Christmas?

Christmas Eve, the candlelight service. I’m interested to hear what the new pastor has to say this year.

102. Pray & sing Happy Birthday/do nothing before bed?

Neither.

103. Do shopping before/after Thanksgiving?

I used to start in October, but now I’m lucky if I even have some ideas by Thanksgiving.

104. Low-key/over the top decorations (inside and out)?

A tree and that’s about it, for right now.

105. Last minute preparation or long in advance?

Closer to last-minute than otherwise.

106. Errr…oh wait, that appears to be the end. Wow, that was exhaustive, wasn’t it? Oh well, enjoy!

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I got this from Kerry, who dubbed this a “dumbass quiz”. Strangely, the word “dumbass” appears nowhere in the quiz. Odd….

1. 3 living things you treasure

The Wife, The Daughter, and as of right now, Abe Vigoda.

2. 3 non-living things that you treasure

My 11-in-1 screwdriver, my laptop, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

3. favorite time of the year and why

Fall, because temps become nicely comfortable, the world gets prettier, and the Bills start playing…oh wait, forget that last one.

4. favorite things to wear

This question is too hard to answer.

5. are you a perfume wearer? If yes, which one?

No. Nor do I wear cologne, musk, or any other “manly” scent. Sometimes, though, I smell of sawdust.

6. favorite animal

Killer whales.

7. top three events in your life (so far)

Two births and a wedding.

8. top three small pleasures

Coffee, alcohol, pizza.

9. top 3 favorite places in the world you have visited

Toronto
Boston
Chicago

10. top 3 favorite sounds

Music by Rachmaninov
The ignition of a lightsaber
The sound my circular saw makes when it engages with the wood

11. top 3 favorite things to eat

Pizza
Ice Cream
All things that are good tasting and currently bad for you until someone does a study that indicates that eating it a little bit on a daily basis may be good for you.

12. 3 small ways someone has made your day lately

Direct deposit went in the day before yesterday!
Someone asked me to do something and then decided to do it themselves
Someone showed me how to do something I didn’t know how to do before

13. 3 small habits/quirks

I always have to resist the urge to buy more flashlights at Home Depot
I color-sort Skittles before consuming them
Wednesday is Donut Day!

14. describe your life using 6 words maximum

PAST: Probably shouldn’t have given up music
PRESENT: Books! Movies! Power and Hand Tools!
FUTURE: Danger! There be dragons.

15. favorite books, films, and music… list 3 in each category:

OK, I’m ducking this one, as this entire blog tends to be about this stuff.

16. name 3 words that you hate, and 3 that you love:

HATE: Copacetic, Libertarian, Didactic

LOVE: Golden, Mist, Fountain

17. what are a few of the goals you have for your future and how do you plan on making them a reality?

Writing a story; I plan to finish a story that’s already in progress.

18. what is the best piece of advice you’ve ever heard?

“Never a day without lines”; “Measure twice and cut once (but don’t measure at all if you don’t have to)”; “Wear safety glasses when cutting or drilling”; “Use slow speed and a lot of pressure when drilling metal”; “Do or do not”; “It’s just one word after another”.

19. what is your favorite quote and why?

Can’t pick a favorite, but here’s one, from Captain Jack Sparrow: “The only rules that really matter are these: what a man can do and what a man can’t do.”

20. have any regrets?

A few, but too few to mention…something something, without exemption….

That’s it.

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Roger has a quiz, and since I haven’t done a quiz in a while, here goes!

1. What is the color of your toothbrush?

White with magenta trim. I started using those battery-powered vibrating toothbrushes a while back. I like the tickling.

2. Name one person who made you smile today.

A guy I work with who called me just to speculate on who the Bills’ new coach will end up being.

3. What were you doing at 8 am this morning?

Either scraping off old caulk on a fixture at The Store or installing a stainless steel splash guard on a hand-wash sink.

4. What were you doing 45 minutes ago?

Reading blogs.

5. What is your favorite candy bar?

I couldn’t name a favorite if I wanted to. Almond Joy (it would be perfect if they made it with dark chocolate); Skor and Heath; Clark; Reese’s Cups; Boyer Peanut Butter Smoothies (oh so heavenly); Baby Ruth; 100 Grand; Oh Henry; and many others.

Bonus Question I Just Made Up: What no-longer-available candy would you bring back?

Marathon Man. Wow, those were something: strands of caramel were literally braided together and covered in chocolate. The thing was 12 inches long, and the wrapper actually indicated this by having a ruler printed on the back. These were around when I was a kid.

6. Have you ever been to a strip club?

Never once, and I have absolutely no desire to attend one, either.

7. What is the last thing you said aloud?

“Get your dessert.”

8. What is your favorite ice cream? How to choose?

Ummm…yeah. Like the candy question, all I could do is list a bunch of flavors. I can only recall one ice cream flavor that I didn’t like: Turkey Hill (a brand in these parts) makes a “Buttered Popcorn” ice cream. I thought it sounded intriguing. It wasn’t.

9. What was the last thing you had to drink?

Water.

10. Do you like your wallet?

I guess so. It gets the job done. My wallet isn’t thin, but it’s not “George Costanza” thick, either. I refuse to carry it in my back pocket, though. I hate that.

11. What was the last thing you ate?

I had cheese and crackers for dinner tonight.

12. Have you bought any new clothing items this week?

No. I desperately need new socks, though. I’ll pick some up the day after Thanksgiving.

13. The last sporting event you watched?

In entirety? Browns 6, Bills 3 — a month ago. We’re watching movies instead of the Bills. (This week, I’m thinking Close Encounters sounds good.)

14. What is your favorite flavor of popcorn?

I like my popcorn marinated in butter, and then dipped in butter prior to and immediately after popping, and if possible, I like each individual kernel to be injected with butter. Oh, and then, pour butter over the whole thing, and wash each mouthful down with a sip of butter. (It’s OK. I don’t eat popcorn all that often, although all the movie watching lately has my popcorn consumption going up a bit. But still not more than once a week.)

That said, I adore the kettle corn made at the County Fair. Microwave kettle corn is OK, but not the same.

15. Who is the last person you sent a text message to?

The wife. I rarely text.

16. Ever go camping?

Not in many years. It’s perennially high on the “things we need to do” list.

17. Do you take vitamins daily?

Yes. I have morning and evening vitamins. Some of them could get caught in the gullet of a small horse.

18. Do you go to church every Sunday?

Most of the time, yes. I truly enjoy it and love the people, but I’m still unsold on the ideological aspects. My general view continues to be that every religion has something wise and insightful to say about humanity and its place in the Universe, and that every religion has something deeply bogus to say about humanity and its place in the Universe.

19. Do you have a tan?

It’s November in Buffalo. Take a wild guess. (Even though our weather this year has been stunningly mild.)

20. Do you prefer Chinese food over pizza?

Yes. And no. I love both, but I have pizza more often because a large cheese-and-pep is cheaper than Chinese for the family. But if money’s not an object, it’s whichever one we haven’t had in the longer while.

(Wait a minute: how about General Tso’s Chicken on a pizza? Holy shit, I’m on to something BIG here!)

21. Do you drink your soda with a straw?

Only if it’s in a paper cup from a fast food joint. If it’s served in a plastic cup or a glass at a restaurant, I don’t use the straw.

22. What did your last text message say?

“Unhelpful wife is unhelpful.”

OK, the boring tale: we were at the Central Branch of the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library this past Saturday. That’s the main branch, which is in downtown Buffalo. It’s a two-story building that takes up an entire city block. A big library. So I went off to look at what I wanted to look at, The Wife went off her way, The Daughter was in the Children’s Room, et cetera. After an hour or so I wondered if it was time to start thinking about leaving, so I texted The Wife to asked her, “Where are you?” To which she replied, “Right here.” Hence my reply above.

23. What are you doing tomorrow?

Going to work. Oh, specifically at work? I have to blow out the condensers on our self-contained refrigerated cases.

24. Favorite color?

Purple.

25. Look to your left; what do you see?

Books; several stacks of CDs; plush toys of Grumpy from Snow White, Mickey Mouse in his “Sorceror’s Apprentice” garb, and Sully from Monsters Inc.

Roger says there might be a part II of this someday….

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I haven’t done a quiz-thing in a really long time, so here’s one I’m stealing from Roger:

A- Advocate for: Combating global warming; the merits of the Star Wars Prequels; the dismissal of everyone with the Buffalo Bills above the rank of “kid who fills the cups with Gatorade”.

B- Best Feature: Either my brain or my hair.

C- Could do without: Joe Lieberman. I’m sure glad they gave him a stern talking-to back in January; it’s turning out well.

D- Dreams and desires: To write something that’s good.

E- Essential items: Books, music, movies, hand and power tools, my computer(s), cats, bib overalls, pizza, rum, beer, lemonade, ice water, apples, white peaches, blueberries, coconut cream pie.

F- Favorite past time: “Past time”? The Romantic Era, I suppose. Pastime? Reading, blogging, generally partaking of any activity involving the “Essential Items” listed above.

G- Good at: learning; wasting time online.

H- Have never tried: Authentic Indian or Thai cuisine, made by pros in a restaurant. I’ve had takeout versions and “quick make at home” kinds of dishes, but never the real items.

I- If I had a million dollars: I’d own a nice house on a nice piece of land.

J- Junkie for: coffee and tea.

K- Kindred spirit: All spirits are kindred. Whoa….

L- Little known fact: I’ve only had stitches once. It was in second grade, when I fell off my bike and hit my chin on the sidewalk.

M- Memorable moment: Playing a work for solo trumpet in college, written by a friend who was majoring in Composition.

N- Never again will I: read Ayn Rand. Once was enough.

O- Occasional indulgence: I try to take a four-day weekend three or four times a year.

P- Profession: Maintenance/Handyman

Q- Quote: “If you set your goals ridiculously high and it’s a failure, you will fail above everyone else’s success.” (James Cameron said that. I just heard it last week, in an article I still need to link one of these days.)

R- Reason to smile: The Daughter continues to grow. Good movies continue to come out. I continue to learn new things.

S- Sorry about: Telling my parents some unimaginably unbelievable whoppers as a kid.

T- Things you are worrying about right now: The vomitous mass that is the United States Senate.

U- Uninterested in: John McCain’s opinion on anything. Sarah Palin’s opinion on anything. Rush Limbaugh’s opinion on anything. Glenn Beck’s opinion on anything. Lather, rinse, repeat.

V- Very scared of: The onward march of ignorance, the increasing disrespect toward science, the disregarding of certain problems until they will be unsolvable, the rigid adherence to the worship of the “free market”.

W- Worst habits: swearing too much, eating too much, surfing the Web too much.

X- X marks my ideal vacation spot: I think I could have fun anywhere at all. Even right here. I’ve been enjoying “staycations” for years.

Y- Yummiest dessert: Ice cream. Cookies. Cake. Coconut cream pie. Apple pie. Cherry cobbler.

Z- Zodiac sign: Libra, even though astrology is a giant batch of hooey.

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Well, that post title should cover it all, shouldn’t it? Anyhow, Jason and SamuraiFrog did this quiz-thing, and I’m always willing to follow wherever angels tread, or something like that, so here we go:

1. Most hated food: Well, this is a no-brainer, and longtime readers can see my answer coming a mile away. So, here it is: broccoli is the purest distillation of pure evil in plant form as you will ever find on this planet.

2. Most hated person: I don’t like hating people, really. There are lots of people I dislike intensely, and the word “hate” can be a useful shorthand for “Wow, that guy/lady really rubs me the wrong way”, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say I hate them. That said, I dunno — Dick Cheney works. Or Newt Gingrich. Or Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Glenn Beck. Anyone who regularly appears on FOX “News”.

3. Most hated job: I’ve never really hated any of my jobs, to be honest. For a week out of college I worked as a “helper” — that should read “pack mule” — for a beverage delivery company, helping to deliver beer to bars and supermarkets. That was OK, but the boss there was a complete jerkoff who didn’t bother telling me after that first week that he just couldn’t use me that summer after all. (It was a work “on call” type of thing; you called every night to see if you were needed the next day, or something like that. This went on for two weeks before the idiot actually told me what the actual story was. He was a goof, but I didn’t dislike the actual job.)

And then there was my telesales job. Didn’t really hate that job either, but it was not a good fit for me, and I’m retroactively surprised that I managed to work there a year and a half before I was canned. My office was full of nice people that I liked immensely. I will note that the reason they finally used for canning me was staggeringly bogus (they did one of those deals where they invoked a certain standard of operations that, had they applied it consistently, would have required the firing of more than half the people working there), but at that point I was fine with it. And as luck had it, two months later The Wife was offered the promotion that took us to Syracuse, so I would have left that company anyway.

4. Most hated city: Davenport, IA. What a hole!

OK, I’m kidding — I always actually liked the Quad Cities a lot when traveling through there. Of the places I’ve lived, I liked Syracuse least, but we only lived there eight months, and it was over winter, so I don’t think Syracuse got a proper chance to impress me, and I was able to see that it has some strong things going for it. As far as cities I’ve visited but not lived in, The Wife and I spent a weekend in Dallas for a business thing ten years ago, and in that time I think I literally saw everything in Dallas that I could want to see. (Well, I didn’t see Southfork, so there’s that.)

5. Most hated band: Guns-n-Roses. I know, they’re all iconic and stuff, the metal version of the Beatles or something, but I just can’t get beyond the fingernails-on-chalkboard aspect of Axl Rose’s singing voice.

6. Most hated web site: Ye Gods, I have no idea. Maybe I’m not good at hating stuff? There are aspects of some sites that I dislike, mainly the “interactive” portions — I visit Ain’t It Cool News daily because I genuinely like the articles there, but the TalkBacks are just awful. And the Film Score Monthly forums are usually a good source of info for new releases of film music recordings and the occasional appreciative article about a composer I’m unfamiliar with, thus steering me in directions I’d not considered, but there are also some bizarre personalities there, and the regular burst of Jerry Goldsmith worship over there gets annoying. (Seriously — it’s like moon cycles or something. All of a sudden there will be a profusion of threads with titles like “I miss Jerry!”, which I always find creepy. When did film music fans get to be on a first name basis with Goldsmith and Goldsmith alone?)

7. Most hated TV program: I’ve actually been more exposed to it lately, because The Daughter likes it, but I still can’t get behind The Family Guy, which is nearly always unfunny crap to me. I’ve watched it three or more times a week for months now, and I can still count on one hand the number of times it’s made me laugh. I am impressed at the breadth of pop-cultural references the show makes, but since none of them are funny, it all adds up to “Meh”.

The times it made me laugh? Well, when someone was being uptight, the dog said, “Wow, it must be lonely there for you, back in the Fifties!” And at one point Peter says “You can kiss the fattest part of my ass”, which is, admittedly, a line I plan to employ in real life. And there was a scene where the baby and the dog were trying to talk to each other on walkie-talkies that was really funny, even if it was a rip-off of the classic Airplane! cockpit chatter scene. (“Over!” “What?” “Roger, roger!” “Huh?”)

8. Most hated British politician: Hmmm. I liked Tony Blair until he decided looked at George W. Bush’s foreign policy and decided “Hey, I gotta get me some of that!” Margaret Thatcher didn’t do much for me. And one can always delve into history a bit: Neville “Oh, go ahead, take Czechoslovakia! Are we good now?” Chamberlain. And how about the monarchy itself? I’m looking at you, Richard III.

9. Most hated artist: Hell, I don’t know. I vaguely recall reading of an artist who poses dead house pets into bizarre poses and then photographs them; that sounds icky, but I may be misremembering and frankly I don’t much feel like Googling it.

10. Most hated book: A three-way tie, between Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead, and Twilight. The Difference Engine also nearly makes the cut, as does The Celestine Prophecy.

11. Most hated shop: Wal-Mart, for so many reasons.

12. Most hated organization: The National Review. FOX News. Operation Rescue. The Discovery Institute. And many others like them; can’t pick just one. (And always, the New England Stupid Patriots.)

13. Most hated historical event: 9-11-01, not just for the horror of the event itself but for the way it became the justification for so many further bad things.

14. Most hated sport: Spectator sport, I assume? Soccer. I cannot fathom why it’s so beloved the world over.

15. Most hated piece of technology: Bluetooth receivers. I don’t own one, I don’t see where they are actually needed, and I detest the now-almost daily incident where I think someone’s addressing me, only to see that no, they’re talking into the receiver that’s on the other side of their head.

Honorable mention: Twitter. I don’t get the appeal, I’m sick of seeing hash-tags everywhere I hang out online now for the benefit of the Twitterfolk, I loathe reading incomprehensible whiny tweets like the idiocy that Senator Chuck Grassley issued last week. You can keep your 140-character bursts, folks; I’m going to stick with the complete sentence and the paragraph.

16. Most hated annual event: Hmmmm. April 15, maybe? Bills-at-Patriots? The lovely day in late August or early September when the Pirates lose their 82nd game of the year? And around here, the noxious thing called “Sweetest Day” annoys the hell out of me.

17. Most hated daily task: Getting up at a ridiculous hour of the morning.

18. Most hated comedian: I never liked Andrew Dice Clay or Sam Kinison.

And now the stuff I love. I have to admit, the hate stuff was much easier to write about. I don’t know what that says about me… I’m not sure I want to know…

1. Most loved food: Pizza, in any form. (Sorry, New Yorkers, but your pizza is not the Platonic ideal of what pizza should be. Give it up.)

2. Most loved person: The Wife and The Daughter.

3. Most loved job: My current one. (And I’m not sucking up to management by saying that, either.)

4. Most loved city: It’s still Buffalo, but man, are the local and state governments making it as hard as possible to say that. I also adore Toronto.

5. Most loved band: A tie between Van Halen and Pink Floyd. (And to answer my question of the other day, I actually like Van Halen and Van Hagar equally, believe it or not!)

6. Most loved web site: My own, of course. This seems obvious. Here it’s all me, all the time. (Which probably explains why I only get about 200 hits a day.)

7. Most loved TV program: Oh, let’s stick with my current obsession: Firefly, which I may well re-watch in its entirety soon.

8. Most loved movie: Oh come on, do I even need to say the words? “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….”

9. Most loved artist: John Constable, Monet, Jackson Pollock, Jack Kirby, Paul Gulacy, Jeff Smith, and more.

10. Most loved book: Again, do I even need to say the words? “One ring to rule them all….”

11. Most loved shop: Two years ago I fell in love with the new-and-used bookstores in Ithaca, NY. I still shop at Borders and Barnes&Noble, of course; most of Buffalo’s beloved “indie” book and music stores are on the opposite end of town from where I live, so I get to them very rarely, I’m sorry to say. I do wish that Queen City Bookstore or Don’s Atomic Comics were closer.

12. Most loved organization: Once upon a time I might have said the Buffalo Bills, but that’s not really the case anymore. I like Jason’s answer of the Planetary Society. PBS and Public Radio International make me happy.

13. Most loved historical event: July 4, 1776, and all the events leading up to it and the events following it that established our country.

14. Most loved sport: Football. Once upon a time this would have been baseball, but I don’t love baseball that much anymore.

15. Most loved piece of technology: My laptop. Once in a while I think back to my 3.5K VIC20 and I’m taken aback by amazement.

16. Most loved annual event: The holiday season. The start of fall. The Super Bowl. Our apparent new annual tradition of watching The Lord of the Rings during Lent.

17. Most loved daily task: Getting home from work.

18. Most loved comedian: George Carlin, always. But I do love Jerry Seinfeld, too.

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Belladonna has a quiz thing! And I haven’t done a quiz thing in a long time, so hey, here goes. Pretty straightforward.

8 Things I am looking forward to:

1. Seeing Star Trek. I’m still deeply skeptical about the whole “reboot” thing — I’m not wild about a Jim Kirk who never went back in time and fell in love with Edith Keeler, who never put a guy named Khan on a deserted planet, who never had to deal with a ship full of tribbles — but I’m hearing that the movie is good, and I do like good movies.

2. Continuing my re-read of Guy Gavriel Kay’s novels; next up is A Song for Arbonne. (Note to self: blog about Tigana.)

3. Corn on the cob and BLT’s, our favorite late-summer dinner.

4. Losing more weight. I’m on a plateau of my own making right now, but soon!

5. My father-in-law’s visit in late June, which will coincide with The Daughter’s tenth birthday. Nobody tell her! (Although I think she already knows.)

6. Seeing how Terrell Owens and the new tight end impact the Bills’ offense this fall.

7. Trying Dijon mustard on my next burger, to see if my tastes match Barack Obama’s. My preferred condiments tend to be ketchup mixed with Weber’s horseradish mustard (a Buffalo thing), or the combination of mayonnaise, onions, and lots of black pepper.

8. Figuring out the future.

8 Things I did yesterday:

1. Repaired two of the electric carts we have at The Store for elderly or disabled shoppers.

2. Rode around on my scissors lift. (Well, it’s not my scissors life, but I treat it like it is.)

3. Watched last week’s episode of Hell’s Kitchen. Go Danny!

4. Enjoyed “Hong Kong Chicken” at the Chinese Buffet. I have no idea what’s “Hong Kong” about it.

5. Went to the library.

6. Had yogurt and green tea with mint for mid-morning snack.

7. Read xkcd on a rare Thursday update. It had a five-day storyline this week, and it was inspired; do go check it out. Especially if you liked Firefly.

8. Fixed a broken condensate pan on a self-contained refrigerated case. I am Maintenance Man, hear me roar! (Odd that I have a job for which overalls would be the perfect attire, but they’re not the approved uniform. Oh well.)

8 Things I wish I could do:

1. Carpentry. I’m learning.

2. Understand why everybody else, and not me.

3. Not have to wonder why everybody else, and not me.

4. Talk to my best friend again.

5. Knit (No, I did not forget to take of Mimi’s answer, I’m just stealing it. I’ve never learned how because I just don’t sit still long enough. But it seems like a cool and worthwhile practice. Maybe I’ll learn??)

6. Plumbing. But I’ll learn. (See no. 1 above.)

7. Throw things, reliably and on target. My aim has always been lousy.

8. Dance. Who knows, maybe I can. I was always too self-conscious to try.

8 Shows I Watch

1. Grey’s Anatomy

2. Scrubs

3. 24

4. Antiques Roadshow

5. The Office

6. 30 Rock

7. American Idol

8. The Amazing Race

Just a couple more entries would sum up the entirety of my teevee watching these days.

8 Life Lessons I have benefited from (or am TRYING to put into practice)

1. Listen to music every day.

2. Let it be.

3. Hope is a good thing, and no good thing ever dies.

4. Do, or do not. There is no try.

5. Never go in with a Sicilian when death is on the line.

6. Don’t pour all of your cruelty and power and malice into a single gold ring.

7. When its third-and-short late in the fourth and you have the lead, run the ball.

8. And my usual year’s end sign-off, “Smile, because you never know what life will throw in your face next.”

Quizzes! Fun!!

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I snagged this from Roger:

1. Did you date someone from your school senior year?

No. I went on exactly one date in high school, a few months before graduation, with a girl from a different school. I was evidently unimpressive as a date, since my three or four calls for a subsequent date were blown off with the “I’m busy” excuse.

2. Did you marry someone from your high school?

No.

3. Did you car pool to school?

No. I rode with parents until I got my license, after which time I drove myself.

4. What kind of car did you drive?

Volkswagen Rabbit.

5. What kind of car do you have now?

A Plymouth Acclaim.

6. It’s Friday night…where were you (in high school)?

Sitting at home, watching a movie or listening to classical music.

7. It is Friday night…where are you(now)?

Maybe out to dinner with the family, or watching a movie with the family, or something else. With the family.

8. What kind of job did you have in high school?

I didn’t have any jobs until after senior year, when I worked in Technical Services at the St. Bonaventure Library.

9. What kind of job do you do now?

Maintenance for a large grocery store.

10. Were you a party animal?

No.

11. Were you considered a flirt?

I have no idea. Maybe? Hmmmm….

12. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir?

Band. (Trumpet.)

13. Were you a nerd?

Maybe? Probably? Hmmmm….

14. Did you get suspended or expelled?

No, just detention a couple of times for cutting class and using the back stairwell. (Yes, that was a thing. Our principal declared that stairwell off-limits for some reason.)

15. Can you sing the fight song?

Did we have one? I remember the first line of the “Alma Mater” song: Mid the hills of Cattaraugus stands a high school fair…. (Hey, I didn’t write it.)

16. Who was/were your favorite teacher(s)?

I liked my 11th and 12th grade English teachers a great deal. Funny thing about the 12th grade teacher: she’d also been my 8th grade teacher, and she hadn’t been very good at that. But she was quite good for 12th grade. I also liked all of my history teachers, particularly the 11th grade one.

17. Where did you sit during lunch?

Wherever my friends sat. We weren’t creatures of habit on that score.

18. What was your school’s full name?

Allegany Central School. It has since then merged with a town called “Limestone” to become “Allegany-Limestone”.

19. When did you graduate?

1989.

20. What was your school mascot?

We were the Blue Devils. (Now they’re the Gators, which is just plain wrong.)

21. If you could go back and do it again, would you?

Doubtful. It wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t Teh Awesome, either.

22. Did you have fun at Prom?

Didn’t go.

23. Do you still talk to your prom date?

Didn’t go!!!

24. Who was your best friend?

Mr. Jones, before he moved away.

25. What did you want to be when you grew up?

At that time, an orchestra conductor.

26. Any regrets?

Well, I spent most of 11th grade chickening out of asking one particular girl out. Not that she’d have said yes, and certainly not that we’re lost soulmates or anything, but it would have been nice to have been a tad less gutless. (In my defense, I’d been rejected in fairly definitive fashion the year before, which made me pretty gun-shy on that point.)

27. Biggest fashion mistake?

I dunno. It was the 80s. There were kids who made fun of me for not having the right brand of jeans, but I didn’t much care.

28. Favorite fashion trend?

Well, it was the 80s, so…I guess “Big Hair”. Girls who had long hair with nicely poofy bangs. I also liked the whole “acid washed jeans” thing.

29. Are you going to your next reunion?

No idea…haven’t been to one yet, but this will be 20 years. (I can’t believe I just typed that.)

30. Who did you have a secret crush on?

Secret crushes are a waste of time. I wore my crushes on my sleeve.

31. Did you go on spring break?

No.

And I guess that’s it.

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UPDATE: Some correct guesses are in, as noted below. Another day or two and I’ll give out the rest of the answers.

What this blog needs to jazz things up is…a quiz! So, here’s a quiz. The following are quotes from fictional characters. Some are from movies, some from comics, some from books. Each quote has the speaker describing himself or herself. Identify the characters. Fun wow!

1. “I’m the best there is at what I do, but what I do best isn’t very nice.”

(Wolverine from The Uncanny X-Men

2. “In this town, I’m the leper with the most fingers.”

3. “You like me because I’m a scoundrel. There aren’t enough scoundrels in your life.”

(Han Solo in TESB)

4. “I’m the only cause I’m interested in.”

5. “I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the Flame of Anor.”

(Gandalf in Lord of the Rings: FOTR)

6. “I play videogames better than anybody.”

7. “Whacking. I’m hell at whacking.”

(John Book in Witness)

8. “I have an extensive collection of nametags and hairnets.”

(Wayne in Wayne’s World)

9. “I wanna be just like you. I figure all I need is a lobotomy and some tights.”

10. “I washed my face and hands before I come, I did.”

(Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady)

Who are these folks?

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I rarely do these anymore, but the premise of this quiz made me laugh, so I took it:

Hooray!

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