Silly Me...

SI.com - MLB launches probe into 'roids - 18 hours ago

So this headline appears at the top of my inbox on Gmail and what do I do? I wonder to myself if they're going to need Headlamps, given what big assholes most MLB players are.

Then I realize they're talking about steroids, not hemorrhoids!

POP QUIZ

And to think I spent the entire fourth grade writing on the blackboard...

wil will have to write:



I will stop yelling, "As God is my witness,
I will never go hungry again�"


'What will you have to write on the chalk board?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Ah Ha! So That Explains It...

"… so be warned, rubberneckers… reading blogs, actually blogging, or even just thinking about blogging/reading blogs will probably cause you to cease to be a functioning member of society… but hey, you guys are all grown-ups…. so choose wisely… and y'all probably weren't very high up on the Productive Member of Society scale anyways...." -The Straight White Guy

Weekend Assignment #105: Share a favorite poem.

Weekend Assignment #105: Poetry in Motion

It's time to get a little bit cultured here at the Weekend Assignment: Weekend Assignment #105: Share a favorite poem. Extra Credit: Ever write poetry yourself?

Dear John,

Poet Laureate of San Francisco Lawrence Ferlinghetti's poem “Christ Climbed Down” was one of the first poems that wasn't required reading for course work that I fell in love with. At the age of 15. Only eight short years after it was first published. By a poet living and well respected by his contemporaries. Notorious, due to his being Allen Ginsberg's domestic publisher and indicted co-conspirator in the censorship trial concerning HOWL! Who I heard read said poem at Columbia University one weekend evening when I was supposedly “staying with a friend” in Greenwich Village. Best hooky I ever played. Even better than that time I got the ride of my life by Shelly on the back of a dappled gray gelding ... and that's saying something!

Of course, it lead to things like hanging out in coffee houses and bookstores, listening to other poets. Tuli Kupferberg. Allen Ginsberg's HOWL! had me from the first stanza. Dennis Nurkse, the Poet Laureate of Brooklyn, and other “beat poets” of the day.

Without further discussion...

CHRIST CLIMBED DOWN

Christ climbed down
from His bare Tree
this year
and ran away to where
there were no rootless Christmas trees
hung with candy canes and breakable stars

Christ climbed down
from His bare Tree
this year
and ran away to where
there were no gilded Christmas trees
and no tinsel Christmas trees
and no tinfoil Christmas trees
and no pink plastic Christmas trees
and no gold Christmas trees
and no black Christmas trees
and no powder blue Christmas trees
hung with electric candles
and encircled by tin electric trains
and clever cornball relatives

Christ climbed down
from His bare Tree
this year
and ran away to where
no intrepid Bible salesmen
covered the territory
in two-tone cadillacs
and where no Sears Roebuck creches
complete with plastic babe in manger
arrived by parcel post
the babe by special delivery
and where no televised Wise Men
praised the Lord Calvert Whiskey

Christ climbed down
from His bare Tree
this year
and ran away to where
no fat handshaking stranger
in a red flannel suit
and a fake white beard
went around passing himself off
as some sort of North Pole saint
crossing the desert to Bethlehem
Pennsylvania
in a Volkswagen sled
drawn by rollicking Adirondack reindeer
and German names
and bearing sacks of Humble Gifts
from Saks Fifth Avenue
for everybody's imagined Christ child

Christ climbed down
from His bare Tree
this year
and ran away to where
no Bing Crosby carolers
groaned of a tight Christmas
and where no Radio City angels
ice skated wingless
thru a winter wonderland
into a jinglebell heaven
daily at 8:30
with Midnight Mass matinees

Christ climbed down
from His bare Tree
this year
and softly stole away into
some anonymous Mary's womb again
where in the darkest night
of everybody's anonymous soul
He awaits again
an unimaginable
and impossibly
Immaculate Reconception
the very craziest of
Second Comings

This is from A Coney Island of the Mind, Poems by Lawrence Ferlinghetti,
a New Directions Book, Copyright ©1958 by Lawrence Ferlinghetti.

You had to ask, didn't you? My best regards to your gals. Congrats on all the wonderful things that have been happening in your life of late. I'm envious. No question about it.

Wil

P.S. Extree Credit, Read All About It: Snoozelets

MEME: Tuesday Two - Episode 23

A new piece of equipment at work has me thinking about the wonders of technology. That's the topic of this week's question.

For those who have never played, the rules are simple: I offer two different questions, both related to the same topic, but you only choose one of them to actually answer.

Carly of "Ellipsis...Suddenly Carly" was first to answer last week's question for the second week in a row. Congratulations, Carly!

Now, onto this week's choice of questions. And remember: don't answer both questions!


THIS WEEK'S TOPIC: TECHNOLOGY

QUESTION A:
In general, do you think technology makes our lives easier or harder, and why?

or

QUESTION B:
What "modern marvel" could you most do without, and why?

Choose A or B, (indicate which question you're answering!) then either answer the question in a comment or answer it in your journal and include the link in a comment. (To be considered "first to play," a link must be to the specific entry in which you answered the question.)

Remember: choose one or the other...not both!

I'm answering Question A this week:

Technology is a double-edge sword; it giveth and it taketh away. I think that technology has made our physical lives much easier than the lives of the folks a few generations back. It has also destroyed the potential for the vast majority of the populace, ie. the poor, the working class, and the middle class. The truly rich have other issues which we won't deal with today.

Today, technology affords us instant communications. Instant access to information. No longer must one sit down, compose one's thoughts, then (and only then) committing them to paper or parchment. Sent off, with barely concealed patience, to await a reply a week, a month or years in the coming. No longer do we wait our turn on a party line, having to pay exorbitant rates to call a relative a state away, and all the time knowing that every single word said will be known by all in the neighborhood by the close of business tomorrow. No, we have pagers on our belts, Blue-toothed cell phones glued to our ears around the clock such that you are either truly deprived or truly rich if you are unavailable to everyone and their brother 24/7.

Nor do we make our living by the strength of our backs and the sweat of our brow, for the most part. We have machinery to do the heavy lifting these days. Machines to do our thinking; answering our every whim twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.

Unlike many of you, I live in a old house (circa 1856) and grew up in an even older house (1683 - older in comparison to the vast majority of housing in the United States of America). I live in a part of the world at war with itself over the advances of technology. My home was geared to early industrialized society's technology. That's the technology of wood heat, horses as prime movers, centralized supply and services, home grown food and manual labor for all. In the one hundred fifty years of this house's existence, it has seen electricity added, running water added, bathrooms added, insulation and storm windows added. It has seen the heat source change from individual room wood stoves, to a central, wood-fired hot air furnace, to an oil-fired boiler and back again to wood stoves and individual oil stoves. Still and all, the fact of the matter is the house is not much warmer than when it was built in the 1850's. It's just warmer for different technological reasons.

So too the lives of it's inhabitants have changed. The head of household no longer farms, providing milk to many of the neighbors and city folk they once took milk to via horse-drawn wagon on a daily basis from this farm located 8 miles from the downtown of the second largest city in Maine. That was about as far out as one could be and still bring product to your customers in the city behind a horse in a one day round trip. This farm no longer supports a dozen people, all needed to make it function smoothly with industry and benefit to all. It supports no one now. The economics of farming are such that this 100 acres are no longer viable as a profitable economic unit. Family farms must needs be a part-time operation. “Real income” is derived from the service sector economy, dishing up hamburgers and asking, “Do you want fries with that, Ma'am?

A large family is no longer needed nor desirable. One, possibly two children are all that anyone needs to assure replication and continuation of a family name. No longer are eight or nine offspring needed in order to assure survival of family from the ravages of time, disease and infant mortality. You know, it is considered a great tragedy these days to bury one's child where once it was a reasonable expectation to lose two or three prior to adulthood to disease and accidents. My wife must needs be no longer a slave 18 hours a day to assure the domestic tranquility; instead she slaves at an outside job for 8 hours a day to support the entire family – me.

Technology has eased the burden of hard physical labor to such an extent that the majority of citizens in western civilization fights obesity on a daily basis, suffers from ennui, and pays for the privilege of exercising muscles in gyms and spas across the land. Instead of the short, brutish life expectancy of a hundred fifty years ago, the technology rich pay for their bounty with extraordinary high stress, inability to sleep, chronic insufficient sleep well into their seventies and eighties – ages unheard of by most people just three or four hundred years ago.

So yes, life is easier and we live longer. We have so much food we've become fat. But I can not say, despite all that technology has to offer, that we are any happier than the citizens of 150 years ago. In point of fact, our general level of satisfaction with life may even be lower. We work far longer hours than our ancestors did, most of us at jobs we hate, for and with people we despise. Family unity and cohesion has fallen into disrepute. Today's students have more to learn by sixth grade than most adults knew in their entire lifetime. However, today's students are so distracted by the wonders of technology, hypnotized by mass media, and intoxicated by illegal substances and the surge of hormones in their systems as amplified by additives in the feed of the cows and pigs they eat and the milk they drink, that they border on the edge of illiteracy – and they're too ignorant to give a damn. Something to work on in the future, I guess, eh?

And so it goes...

You can join in by going to Patrick's Weekender and snagging the questions each week, answering one in your blog and leaving a link to your answer there in the comments. Easy. And expeditious, if you suffer from constipation. Sort of like Ex-lax, but gentler. Just ask Garrison Keilor about "Buttermilk Biscuits" while you're there -- he's a frequent contributor. To the New York Times' Sunday Book Section.

Wednesday Mind Hump

Hello humpers! Today's mind hump isn't very exciting, but it's good for you so you have to do it whether you like it or not. Today, you see, is Finish Your Veggies day. So take that look off your face and answer the following, or no dessert!

1. What is your favorite veggie? Broccoli.

2. Are there any veggies you don't eat? Nope, I'm an equal opportunity gnosher.

3. Which veggie do you think has the funniest name? Radicchio, kohlrabi.

4. If you're a vegetarian, why are you and do you like it? If you're not a vegetarian, would you ever want to become one? I was a lacto-ovule-pescan vegetarian for about six years, back in my twenties. I gave it up for meat. Damn, I missed a good steak something fierce. I think I've overdone it at this point...

The rules are, there are no rules!!! All you need to do is copy and paste the above questions into your blog and add your responses. After you've finished, return here and leave us a comment so we'll know you've humped. Be sure your hump is linked back to http://bdinsanity.blogdrive.com so others can hump too.

Remember, there are no right or wrong answers. If one of the questions doesn't inspire you then simply "pass" it. Just use your imagination!

If you don't have a blog or you're an exhibitionist *woo hoo* feel free to hump right here in our comments section. There's absolutely no pressure ... although it's called the Wednesday Mind Hump you can hump on any day.

Until next time, this is your music-loving mememeister wishing you a happy hump day!

QUIZ: What Mythological Creature Are You?

All thanks to Cynthia at a Crazy Quilt Life. I'd actually expected to be a dragon, so was startled by the results...

You scored as Demon. Demon: Darkness is your sanctuary. Demons are many and are all different in appearence and rank. The most common are the ones that feed off of human souls. They love to make someone fall into their inner darkness. Blood, wrath, murder... You name it they love it. These beings don't care who you are, if they set their sights on you, let's just hope you know a good excorist. They kill any love within you and pull you toward their side. By any means possible. You wish for chaos and hate, you are the Demon. Demon 100% Dragon 92% Mermaid 75% WereWolf 58% Faerie 25% Angel 8% What Mythological Creature are you? (Cool Pics!) created with QuizFarm.com

Handicapped Canoeing?

According to this Maine Morning Sentinel article, a bunch of high school honors students have decided to kill two (or is it three) birds with one stone -- they're going to build the "World's Longest Canoe" -- 320 feet!

Good to see nothing has fundamentally changed...

You Are 88% Evil

You're the most evil person you know. The devil is even a little scared of you!

How Evil Are You?

Via Paul Little's Aurora Walking Vacation and he claims he got it from Respectful Insolence

MEME: Sunday Seven - Episode 30

Over the years, the Crayola company has introduced a total of 120 colors to crayon boxes. A few names, like "Prussian Blue" and "Indian Red" have been changed at the request of educators to more politically-correct names like "Midnight Blue" and "Chestnut." In 1962, "Flesh" became "Peach." In 2000, "Torch Red" became "Scarlet."

That should give you enough information to get you ready for this week's colorful question.

But first, Carly, of "Ellipsis...Suddenly Carly," who was first to answer last week's question about dog breeds! Congratulations, Carly!!

On to the challenge!

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION:
Of the Crayola color names not mentioned above, pick up to seven names you think should be scrapped in favor of better, more descriptive, or more creative alternatives. (Feel free to suggest alternatives if you like, but it's not necessary.)

Either answer the question in a comment or answer it in your journal and include the link in a comment here. (To be considered "first to play," a link must be to the specific entry in which you answered the question.)

My choices for the great color name dumpster-in-the-sky are:

1. Banana Mania – name isn't all that bad but coupled to a decidedly non-manic-banana color.

2. Beaver – this just plain wrong on so many levels.

3. Fuzzy Wuzzy Brown – It's way too cutsey-wootsie and makes me want to arfy-barfy.

4. Razzmatazz – It isn't a color, it's a Bronx Cheer!

5. Shadow – It needs to be renamed to Baby Shit Green.

6. Tickle Me Pink – really needs to be Spanking Fetish Rose in my book.

7. Purple Mountain's Majesty – this could more accurately be renamed Blue Balls...

Those are my answers. This blog will self-destruct in 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2...

Monday Music Mambo - Week 92

RFDuck was heard to quack thusly, "Hello mamboers! Spring is finally here, but it doesn't really feel like it yet. I'll make this week's mambo fairly simple. All you have to do is give me some songs, artists, or albums that remind you of or use the following words:"

Birds – White Bird (It's A Beautiful Day)

White Bird

White bird, in a golden cage, on a winter’s day, in the rain.
White bird, in a golden cage, alone.

The leaves blow, across the long black road,
To the darkened skies, in its rage.
But the white bird just sits in her cage, alone.

White bird must fly
Or she will die

White bird, dreams of the aspen trees, with their dying leaves, turning gold.
But the white bird just sits in her cage, growing old.

White bird must fly or she will die.
White bird must fly or she will die.

The sunsets come, the sunsets go.
The clouds pile high, the air moves slow.
And the young bird’s eyes do always know.

White bird, in a golden cage, on a winter’s day, in the rain.
White bird, in a golden cage alone.

White bird must fly or she will die.
White bird must fly or she will die.
White bird must fly or she will die.

She must fly, She must fly, She must fly.

She must fly or she will die.

For an interesting discussion of the elements of this haunting refrain and to see the artwork in it's original context, please visit The Twelve Tribes of Israel

Flowers – April Showers...(Bring May Flowers) (Al Jolson)
Sun – Good Day, Sunshine!
Rain -- Autumn Rain, I Love A Rainy Day
Party (in honor of spring break) – Spring of '65 (Holy Modal Rounders), (We Love)Boobs-a-lot (The Fugs)
Change – A Change Is Gonna Come (Bob Dylan, although, many like Sam Cooke's version better)

There's my mambo for this week. Sadly, I don't have White Bird on CD so can't share it that way – still haven't gotten set up to transcribe the 500+ LP's I have to digital format.

The rules are, there are no rules!!! All you need to do is copy and paste the above questions into your blog and add your responses. After you've finished, return here and leave us a comment so we'll know you've Mamboed. Be sure your Mambo is linked back to http://bdinsanity.blogdrive.com so others can dance too.

Remember, there are no right or wrong answers. If one of the questions doesn't inspire you then simply "pass" it. Just use your imagination and dance like crazy!

If you don't have a blog or you're an exhibitionist *woo hoo* feel free to Mambo right here in our comments section. There's absolutely no pressure ... although it's called the Monday Music Mambo you can Mambo on any day.

Until next time, this is your music-lovin' Mememeister saying have a good Monday and a good Mambo!

UPDATE: Go To this site and scroll down a ways to start a player with the entire track of White Bird for your listening pleasure. I have disabled the yahoo link originally cited as it would not play the track.

Monday Morning Madness Meme: The Wallet

Overcome by Spring, Otto was heard to say, “This week's questions come from our friend, Tilly! Thank you, Tilly, for offering these for us this week! =) And thanks to all of you for playing each week!”

1. Do you use a bag/satchel/wallet? I do indeed use a wallet.
2. Do you use the same bag/satchel/wallet everyday or change depending on your outfit? Same one, unless I am going kayaking or swimming, then I will slip some ID, a credit card and some cash into a floating wallet I have for such purposes.
3. What do you carry in your bag/satchel/wallet? ID, cash and debit/credit cards, important papers and medical info.
4. Do you check and change the contents of your bag/satchel/wallet before you go anywhere specific or do you take everything everywhere? Same thing, different day. I usually check and count the cash I have on hand at the start of each day, just as a means of avoiding unpleasant situations.
5. How often do you have a good clean out of your bag/satchel/wallet? A couple times per year. Life, on the other hand, “cleans me out” frequently of any cash I might have.

Meme: Unconcious Muttering -- Week 164

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Glass castle::stones
2. Preserved::well
3. Jealousy::green eyed monster
4. Territory::Yukon
5. Coffee::tea
6. Stephen::grandsons
7. Slut::Ho
8. Dynamic::static
9. Daybreak::dawn
10. Dew::point


Want to play along? Visit La Luna Niña's site for the new words and leave a link to your answers in the comments there.

Ray's Meme

One of my favorite contemporary writers is Ray Wong. Not sure what possessed him. but he posted a meme on his blog, I, the author. Well, you know I rarely pass a good one up and so I share it with you below. If you want to play along, be sure to leave a link to your answers in the comments at Ray’s blog. Thanks.

1. If someone is going to make a movie about you, which movie star/actress should play you?
Robin Williams - he’s of my generation and we’ve had a number of similar experiences, so he’d understand the character he’d be portraying better than some.
2. What are your favorite movies and/or books?
As of this moment, Philadelphia is still one of my favorite movies. Surprisingly catholic tastes in reading materials, two of my favorite books are Time Enough For Love and Past Through Tomorrow, both by Robert Heinlein. Others include Adam’s Task, Slaughterhouse 5 and Dune.
3. Coffee or chocolate?
Coffee, of course.
4. Hot tub or beaches?
Now that meds require me to avoid direct exposure of skin to sunlight it’s hot tubs. Used to be beaches, though.
5. Do you like to take naps? Or do you sleep only a few hours a day?
I love naps. Can’t get enough; actually must have or bad things happen to me.
6. Do you sleep in the nude?
Nope, not usually. I am pretty sensitive to chilling of my neck muscles, so I tend to wear a t-shirt in summer or turtleneck in winter when repairing to bed in our unheated bedroom. If I am sleeping alone I can sleep nude because I can pull the covers over my head as the CPAP provides me with fresh air.
7. What do you consider is your best achievement so far?
Helping to raise two children to adulthoods that do not involve drugs, crime or terrorist acts against the state ... so far.

Meme: Saturday Six -- Episode 102

In two more weeks, we will have completed the second full year of the "Saturday Six." Time does fly when you're having fun.

Last week, the first one to have fun with this weekly feature was Cat of "Sweet Memes," who was first to play last week. Congratulations, Cat!

Here are this week's "Saturday Six" questions. Either answer the questions in a comment here, or put the answers in an entry on your journal...but either way, leave a link to your journal so that everyone else can visit! To be counted as "first to play," you must be the first player to either answer the questions in a comment or to provide a complete link to the specific entry in your journal in which you answer the questions. A link to your journal in general cannot count. Enjoy!

1. How confrontational are you in real life, and how does your real-life persona compare with your blogging persona?
I'm a pugnacious, annoying, son of a bitch in real life. On-line, because it is way too easy to mistake humor for an attack, I cut correspondents way more slack than normal.
2. Other than the food itself, what makes your favorite restaurant your favorite?
The view. It's looks out on the Gulf of Maine, a view I never get tired of.
3. You buy an iPod: what's the first tune you're likely to put on it?
This week, it'd be Johnny Cash's Hurt from his album American IV: The Man Comes Around
4. Take this quiz (if you haven't already!): What's the most important quality of your (ideal) significant other?

Intelligence Intelligence is most important in a boyfriend/girlfriend. You like to be able to talk about everything that is on your mind, and if your partner can't keep up, well, you know. You are very attracted to someone who can challenge you, and make you see things in a whole new way. Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

5. If you had to choose one or the other, which would you rather do: hear gossip or be the first to reveal some juicy piece of gossip?
I really don't like gossip. But, assuming that “had to” is the operative term in the question above, I'd rather hear some gossip than spread it.
6. READER'S CHOICE QUESTION #85 from Barb: If you had a magic feather (my Daddy Do carries several in his pocket) and this magic feather could make you unbelievably attractive OR unbelievably intelligent, which would you choose, and why?

I'd like to try both. But, given I am so intelligent just as I am, (What? You doubt the veracity of the previous statement? How could you, with proof like this available?) I'd like to try giving "being attractive" a chance. It'd be a really new experience for me. I am many things. Attractive isn't one of them. I'm too short, my nose is too large, I'm too fat, my butt's too big, my ass too small, my eyes are too close together, the ears stick out, etc. ad nauseum. I've heard them all. Doesn't make them true, but after a while...

According to the author of this quiz...

I am 16% Idiot.

I am not annoying at all. In fact most people come to me for advice. Of course they annoy the hell out of me. But what can I do? I am smarter than most people.

Take the
Idiot Test
@ FualiDotCom

Blame this madness on John M Scalzi

MEME: Tuesday Two - Episode 22

Even a springtime snow can't stop the Tuesday Two!

For those who have never played, the rules are simple: I offer two different questions, both related to the same topic, but you only choose one of them to actually answer.

Carly of "Ellipsis...Suddenly Carly" was first to answer last week's question about animals.

Now, onto this week's choice of questions. And remember: don't answer both questions!


THIS WEEK'S TOPIC: YOUR SPACE

QUESTION A:
What room of the house do you most consider to be entirely "your space" and what makes it so uniquely yours?

or

QUESTION B:
A co-worker wants to borrow your workspace while you're out of the office. The next day, you return to find your things out of place. Will that bother you at all, and will you say anything about it, or just quietly return things to "normal?"

Choose A or B, (indicate which question you're answering!) then either answer the question in a comment here or answer it in your journal and include the link in a comment. (To be considered "first to play," a link must be to the specific entry in which you answered the question.)

Remember: choose one or the other...not both!

This week it'll be the answer to “B” that I will tackle. Only because this used to happen with amazing regularity where I worked and because in the early days I shared an office and computer with the assessor and we both had issues about the moving of material. My modus operandi was to stew about the issue until it poisoned the relationship. Just the way I am. Stupid, this I know.

Once I got my own office and computer, I still had to get used to the sheriff's deputies and local SP dropping in and using my desk when I was out of the office to place calls. Aside from being unable to access my files and date book to see where I was supposed to be next while they were on the phone, I was cool with it. Despite all the bad-mouthing we do about government employees, the fact remains that rarely does local government ever have the resources it really needs to get the job done properly.

I'm not sure why I am so far behind this week. Must be Spring Fever.

MEME: Weekend Assignment #104: Color My World

John M. Scalzi's Weekend Assignment #104: Tell us your favorite color. Give no less than three reasons why it is so. Extra credit: A picture that is primarily of your favorite color.

Dear John,

I see you captured the reasons for to be green. Well, I'm just a tool for blue. Blue is the color of the sky, the ocean reflecting a sunny day and the wonderful hue of blueberry ice cream! They've written songs to Blue. Blue Angel, Blue Danube, Old Dog Blue, Blue on blue ... it's a musical conspiracy. My mother's eyes were blue, the blue of the little flowers on the heath of her ancestral homeland.

But blue isn't to be confused with the Moody Blues or the blues of Muddy Water or B.B. King. That's the heart breaking, gut wrenching blues of loss, death and despair. That we'll reserve for another day when you are up for some heavy lifting.

Pick a pocketful of posies and give them to your darling Krissy and that prodigious progeny of yours, Athena. I wonder what “blue meanie” will the one who first breaks her heart?

wil

Wednesday Mind Hump

Duckmeister was heard to utter under his breath, "Hello humpers! Are you ready for another mind hump? Today is International Goof-off Day! I'm sure each and every one of you are experts at that! Let's get started."

1. What's your favorite way to goof off?
Reading fiction has my vote as my favorite goof off mode.

2. How much goofing off do you do on an average day?
As much as I can get away with, but usually an hour or so per day.
3. If you got paid to blog, how would you goof off and not do your job?
The same way I do now, except I'd be sure it was far, far away from a computer.

That's all I can think of today. Remember, if you're going to goof off, doing a Blogdrive Insanity meme is an excellent way to do so!

The rules are, there are no rules!!! All you need to do is copy and paste the above questions into your blog and add your responses. After you've finished, return here and leave us a comment so we'll know you've humped. Be sure your hump is linked back to http://bdinsanity.blogdrive.com so others can hump too.

Remember, there are no right or wrong answers. If one of the questions doesn't inspire you then simply "pass" it. Just use your imagination!

If you don't have a blog or you're an exhibitionist *woo hoo* feel free to hump right here in our comments section. There's absolutely no pressure ... although it's called the Wednesday Mind Hump you can hump on any day.

Until next time, this is your music-loving mememeister wishing you a happy hump day!

Events on this day in history:

March 23, 1775 -- Patrick Henry asks for Liberty or Death.

Today he'd just sue the manufacturer , the hospital and his doctor(s).

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Signs of Spring

John Scalzi's Your Monday Photo Shoot: Snap a shot of something that lets you know Spring has come around.

You know it's coming on spring when the river ice starts to break up. Taken this morning from the Brewer, Maine waterfront, looking at the City of Bangor dock. Note the floats behind the fishing boat, it'll be months before they're in the water. The boat is the only vessel tied up and a bit of a mystery. We're miles upriver from anything that would interest a purse seiner and she is clearly rigged for deep water work. The name was Ocean Wanderer and I didn't get to see where she hails from.

Monday Music Mambo - Week 91

Hi all! Ready to mambo? Today's mambo is going to be extra special, because it's Smile Rejuvenation Day! I'm going to keep things simple today. All I want you to do is . . .

Make a list of five songs that are guaranteed to bring a smile to any listener's face

In other words, give us your ultimate smile-making mini-playlist!

Here goes nothing...

1. Sargent Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band – The Beatles

2. Sultans of Swing – Dire Straits

3. In The Summertime – Shaggy

4. Cover Of The Rolling Stone – Dr. Hook

5. Don't Worry, Be Happy by Bobby McFerrin

The rules are, there are no rules!!! All you need to do is copy and paste the above questions into your blog and add your responses. After you've finished, return here and leave us a comment so we'll know you've Mamboed. Be sure your Mambo is linked back to http://bdinsanity.blogdrive.com so others can dance too.

Remember, there are no right or wrong answers. If one of the questions doesn't inspire you then simply "pass" it. Just use your imagination and dance like crazy!

If you don't have a blog or you're an exhibitionist *woo hoo* feel free to Mambo right here in our comments section. There's absolutely no pressure ... although it's called the Monday Music Mambo you can Mambo on any day.

MEME: Monday Madness - Drawing A Blank

Monday, March 20, 2006

Otto was heard to mumble beerily, "How about some 'fill-in-the-blanks' this week? Thanks for playing, everyone! =)" It was a great St. Paddy's Day. Hic!"

1. When driving in my car, my radio station is usually tuned to _WERU - Community Radio_.
2. When I turn my television on, even if I'm not really paying close attention to it, it's usually on channel _607 - Speed TV_.
3. If I owned a pet, I would own a _German Shepherd Dog_, because _they're the best_.
4. I own an all in one fax-copier-scanner- printer. I bought it because _it does what I want it to do_.
5. You can find all kinds of books in my bookshelves, but mostly this type: _Fiction_.
6. I take about _30_ pictures every month.
7. I blog about _40_ times a month.
8. I've been really busy _vegging_ lately.

Want to play along? It's easy, just go to Otto's Monday Madness site and copy the questions there each week. You can even sign up to be notified by email when new questions are ready. Enjoy!

High School Meme

High School Meme

1. Who was your best friend(s)? Bobby Reighter, Chris Gooding, Alex DiLorenzo.
2. What sports did you play? Soccer. I was a fullback, but not very good at it. I just wasn't into the competitive sports scene at all. I quit at the start of Junior year.
3. What kind of car did you drive? I didn't have access to a car at school (it was a boarding school). When home, I had a 1963 Oldsmobile F-85 at my disposal.
4. It’s Friday night, where are you at? Watching TV, reading. Saturday night was party night.
5. Were you a party animal? I was into partying my senior year, but most often I was the”designated driver.”
6. Were you in the “In Crowd”? Not even close.
7. Ever skip school? Yep, several times. Mostly to go to the beach, but I also cut classes to go into NYC and do research at the New York Public Library.
8. Ever smoke a cigarette? I was addicted to the filthy things by the time I as 13. I remained an addict until 2003. Smoked my last cigarette two hours before they wheeled me into the operating room for open heart surgery.
9. Were you a nerd? It was an unknown term when I was in school. I was a neanderthal. You got to remember, this was prehistory.
10. Did you ever get suspended/expelled? No. I was pretty careful to keep my nefarious activities hidden. I came close a few times...
11. Can you sing the Alma Mater? Nope. I don't remember it and besides, I can't sing without breaking glass.
12. Who was your favorite teacher? It was Bill Smith, my US History teacher.
13. Favorite class? English.
14. What was your school’s name? St. Paul's.
15. School mascot? It was a “Saint” with horns and a forked tail peaking out from under its choir robe.
16. Did you go to Prom? Oh yes. I went to several of them. It was required, not optional.
17. Would you go back again and do it over? Only if I could retain what I know now. Then my life might not have been quite the waste it has been.
18. What do you remember most about graduation? Being awakened and informed that we'd overslept and were really late and that Bobby Kennedy had been shot and killed early that morning.
19. Favorite memory of senior year? Nothing special stands out – then again, my memory for the period is pretty fuzzy.
20. Were you ever posted on the senior wall? I guess not – I don't know what it is.
21. Did you have a job your senior year? Not a paying job, but I was a “monitor” the entire year. Sort of a mini-gestapo officer responsible for maintaining order amongst my peers.
22. Who did you date? Several lovely young women. No, really. I don't know why I was so lucky...
23. Have you gained weight since then? I'm almost twice the size I was then.
24. What did you do after graduation? I worked at a summer camp as a counselor, then off to college.

Via Shelly's Cyber Chocolate.

Blogger Blues Bereft?

Been having problems accessing your Blog*Spot blog lately? Well, the geeks at google got in and replaced a bad router and are in the process of migrating the hundreds of thousands of blogs off the offending filer machine. It'll be a while before they are done, so problems will continue for now.

The guys at google tech that had been plagued by the bad router took out their revenge upon the hardware. You can see it here.

Paul made me do it.

Honest. He held a Canadian Bacon to my nose and a hockey stick to me head and everything, eh? At least I wasn't An Expendable Character like he was.

My results:
You are Jean-Luc Picard

Jean-Luc Picard 95% Geordi LaForge 80% Spock 59% Data 59% Will Riker 55% Worf 55% Mr. Scott 50% Uhura 50% Deanna Troi 45% Leonard McCoy (Bones) 45% Beverly Crusher 40% Chekov 35% An Expendable Character (Redshirt) 35% James T. Kirk (Captain) 30% Mr. Sulu 20%

A lover of Shakespeare and other fine literature. You have a decisive mind and a firm hand in dealing with others.

Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Test

Meme: Unconcious Muttering -- Week 163

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Week 163

1 hour, 53 minutes ago

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Sugar rush:: harvest

2. Chemical:: suppression

3. Suspension:: bridge

4. Defending:: position

5. Conference:: Convention

6. Dance:: Macabre

7. Weather:: snow

8. Fuel:: JP5

9. Heartbreak:: Hill

10. Insult:: Don Rickles

Want to play along? Visit La Luna Niña to learn how to play and to get yourself on the notification list.

MEME: Saturday Six - Episode 101

Saturday Six - Episode 101

I hope everyone had a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Emmapeel of "Talking to Myself was first to play the 100th edition of the Saturday Six last week.

Here are this week's questions. Either answer them in a comment here or answer them in your own blog and leave a comment here with the link to that entry. To be considered "First to Play," you must be the first person to answer the questions here or leave the complete link to the specific entry in your blog in which you answered the questions. Enjoy!

1. How did you celebrate St. Patrick's Day?
With a “Happy St. Patrick's Day” to the spouse upon arising and dinner out that evening.
2. What is your favorite green food?
Broccoli.
3. Other than Christmas or Thanksgiving, what holiday do you generally spend the most for when you celebrate it?
Fourth of July. Lobsters and corn-on-the-cob with watermelon for dessert and lots of brew adds up to a hefty tab.
4. It probably seems like winter may have already disappeared from this year based on the warm weather much of the country experienced this season, but if you had to eliminate one season entirely, which one would you choose and why?
Winter. I've had a lifetime of fighting snow and I'm sick to death of it.
5. If you then had to replace the season you eliminated with one of the three remaining ones, meaning that we'd have six months of one season, which would you choose and why?
Autumn. Most of the bugs are gone, gardens are grown and harvested, fodder has been harvested and put up and it's time for hunting, fowling and some late season fishing. And most of the time you don't have to shovel the precipitation...
6. How many of your old school yearbooks (or annuals) do you have today? If you let someone read the messages people wrote in them, would they think you were popular, not popular, or somewhere in between?
I think I have two from high school covering my junior and senior years. Writing in yearbooks was a “tit-for-tat” kind of affair. When you only have 50 in your graduating class, you can't be too choosy. So, while there's a fair number of entries, they are more courtesy than enthusiastic. I'd rate the impression as “somewhere in between” whereas the reality was “not popular.”
Next week, another "Reader's Choice Question comes your way. If you'd like to send me one, click the "View My Profile" link in the sidebar at Patrick's Weekender, then click the email link and send me your question!

Music Archive Videos: Phil Collins :Serious Hits ... Live! :'In the Air Tonight' (Live)

Music Archive Videos: Phil Collins :Serious Hits ... Live! :'In the Air
Tonight' (Live)

http://mp.aol.com/video.index.adp?mode=2&pls=music.archive.3942.All.sort&startid=1224682&start=1&guideContext=

Meme: Weekend Assignment #103 & More

You can blame this on Paul...

You Are Guinness

You know beer well, and you'll only drink the best beers in the world. Watered down beers disgust you, as do the people who drink them. When you drink, you tend to become a bit of a know it all - especially about subjects you don't know well. But your friends tolerate your drunken ways, because you introduce them to the best beers around.

What's Your Beer Personality?

But the credit for my taste in beer goes to my Irish ancestors...

And now, for something completely different...

John M. Scalzi's Weekend Assignment #103: List the songs you'd play to kick a party into gear. You can choose up to five. And if you want to explain why those five, that's good too. It can of course, be any kind of music from any era -- and it can be any kind of party, too. Hey, it's your party. You're in charge of the jukebox, my friend.

Extra Credit: Name the song to play to start winding down the party.

Do I look like a party animal?

Nope, I didn't think so.

Nevertheless, I've been known to get wired and kick the speakers in on occasion... usually it involved legal substances like Tequila in industrial quantities, but then again, I really can't remember the details (black outs, y'know).

Still and all, I haven't been a party animal for many moons now. Over 18 years since I partied hearty and more than 25 since I can recall any details. Never was a fan of disco, thank me lucky charms. So I hearken back to the 70's and 60's and 50's for my inspirations. Sorry about that, Chief.

Let's kick in the jambs with Hank Williams, Jr.'s “All My Rowdy Friends Are Comin' Over Tonight” (the Monday Night Football Theme).

Let's follow that up with The Rolling Stones' “I Can't Get No Satisfaction.” Because that was the theme song of my early teens? Yeah, baby. Shagalicious!

Midway to tomorrow, time to bring the guys and gals together into an embrace, so why not Billie Holliday singing Ira Gershwin's “Embraceable You”? It just oozes warmth and sexiness and man, oh, man! Getting horny, just thinking about it...

Time to kick it back up a notch, tap that second keg and get our second wind, so let's hear Steppenwolf's “Born To Be Wild.”

Let's follow it up with a changeup pitch, some kind of line dance. I'm toying with the “Macareña” but am open to other line dance suggestions. I was never good at that stuff, but it is a party pleaser if there's room. Or, inspiration just struck, I've gotit, By Jove! Eureka! “Hava Nagillah” that classic of wedding movies and Bris' – now there's a celebratory line dance anyone can get into and it isn't stupidly demeaning, like the “Bunny Hop.”

Finally, despite the unkind words of my dear friend, Paul Little, I'd use the dulcet tones of the self-proclaimed “Man With The Golden Voice,” Leonard Cohen, and his wonderful tune, “Closing Time” to suggest the party end was near.

While in real life I'm only half Irish, according to this quiz, I'm more Irish than Sinead O'connor!

You're 80% Irish

Congratulations, you're a shining example of an Irish lass (or lad). There's hardly anyone more Irish than you!

How Irish Are You?

Wednesday Mind Hump

If I'm not mistaken, Friday is St. Patrick's Day. That means it's time for some Irish-related questions for the Mind Hump!

1. What's your favorite Lucky Charms marshmallow shape? And do you ever eat the cereal part of it too?

Stars are big in my memory. Then again, that may be from hitting my head on the foot rail when I fell off my bar stool...

2. How do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day?

I used to get drunk. Then I started getting drunk every day. Now I get sober and watch all the drunks. I'm not sure which is harder – staying sober or pretending to understand the drunks around me.

3. What's your favorite Irish or Celtic song or artist?
Danny Boy as sung by just about anyone with a decent voice. Gets me every time.
The last question comes from famous Irish comic Jerry O'Seinfeld

4. Corned beef - ya got beef, but where's the corn? What is the deal?

Come on, Jerry. Stop with the schtick. “Corning” refers to packing a beautiful, luscious, brisket in rock salt until any vestige of beef or life or flavor has been banished. One then boils the living shit out of the hunk of dehydrated beef until it swells like a floater from the Hudson River after a two week trip through the tidal basin at the end of a tow rope on a garbage scow. This you pull apart into stringy bits and serve up with a greasy gravy, a huge mound of cabbage boiled to smithereens and the essential Irish food, boiled potatoes that have been boiled the Irish Mammy's way on top of the stove in an open pot for twelve hours while she went to the store, got her hair done, had a “few” down to the pub and returned just in time to dowse the flames erupting from inside the pot.

There, that just makes you want to order a “New England Boiled Dinner” tonight, don't it? And I didn't even start to tell you about the turnips and rutabaga pie...

The rules are, there are no rules!!! All you need to do is copy and paste the above questions into your blog and add your responses. After you've finished, return here and leave us a comment so we'll know you've humped. Be sure your hump is linked back to http://bdinsanity.blogdrive.com so others can hump too.

Remember, there are no right or wrong answers. If one of the questions doesn't inspire you then simply "pass" it. Just use your imagination!

If you don't have a blog or you're an exhibitionist *woo hoo* feel free to hump right here in our comments section. There's absolutely no pressure ... although it's called the Wednesday Mind Hump you can hump on any day.

Until next time, this is your music-loving mememeister wishing you a happy hump day!

MEME: Tuesday Two

Tuesday Two - Episode 21

Here we are with another regular edition of the Tuesday Two.

For those who have never played, the rules are simple: I offer two different questions, both related to the same topic, but you only choose one of them to actually answer.

Wil of "The Daily Snooze" holds the distinction of being not only the first to answer last week's question, but also the only person to do so!

Now, onto this week's choice of questions. And remember: don't answer both questions!


THIS WEEK'S TOPIC: ANIMALS

QUESTION A:
What is the most exotic animal you've ever actually come into physical contact with? If you've never touched an exotic animal, which one would you most like to touch?

or

QUESTION B:
How do you feel about zoos? Do you think that they are a valuable resource to encourage an appreciation of nature, or a harmful industry that only exploits animals?

Choose A or B, (indicate which question you're answering!) then either answer the question in a comment at Patrick's Weekender or answer it in your journal and include the link in a comment. (To be considered "first to play," a link must be to the specific entry in which you answered the question.)

Remember: choose one or the other...not both!

I'm going to take a stab at “A” this week. If I think about it hard, I recall running into black bears, raccoons, coyotes, moose and deer, opossum, armadillos, pine martins, otters, beavers, muskrats and woodchucks, rats, mice, voles and weasels. Then there's the reptiles; all sorts of snakes and vipers, from garter snakes to cottonmouths, diamond backs and Eastern timber rattlers, milk snakes and coral snakes, king snakes and little black racers. Salamanders and lizards. Geckos and skinks. And the dolphins. Can't forget any of them.

They're all pretty exotic, in the sense of touching them. Most were encountered in the wild. But some, such as the bear, the coyote and the cottonmouth, the deer and the moose, I encountered under controlled conditions. Of them all, the armadillo is the most exotic, but that was in the wild. The one I'd like to get up close and personal with is an elephant. And I'd love to exchange caresses with a wolf. I've cared for a half wolf hybrid, but that isn't the same.

All in all, looking back, I've been damned fortunate to have met these alien beings in their natural habitats. If it would be something you'd be interested in, I suggest you get out there and start meeting them for yourself. They're all fascinating creatures.

Monday Music Mambo - Week 90

Monday Music Mambo - Week 90

Greetings, mamboers! Today's theme is "Lend a helping hand day," and I need your help. You can help me by answering the following questions:

1. What song, artist, or album has helped you through a rough time?
Leonard Cohen and Willie Nelson have both been helpful in my life.
2. Name at least one song with the word "Help" in the title. If you really can't think of anything, a song by a certain British foursome is acceptable.
Help Me by Joni Mitchell (Court & Spark album)
3. A really good band has members who help each other play better. Sometimes it's the entire band that clicks, and other times it's a pairing of two people who would not perform the same without each other. Name me a band, pair of people or whatever other combination you like that fits the above description.
The best example of synergy that comes to mind off the top of my head is the band CREAM and specifically the synergy between Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker. Both are gods; together they ARE the Pantheon!
The rules are, there are no rules!!! All you need to do is copy and paste the above questions into your blog and add your responses. After you've finished, return here and leave us a comment so we'll know you've Mamboed. Be sure your Mambo is linked back to http://bdinsanity.blogdrive.com so others can dance too.

Remember, there are no right or wrong answers. If one of the questions doesn't inspire you then simply "pass" it. Just use your imagination and dance like crazy!

If you don't have a blog or you're an exhibitionist *woo hoo* feel free to Mambo right here in our comments section. There's absolutely no pressure ... although it's called the Monday Music Mambo you can Mambo on any day.

Until next time, this is your music-lovin' Mememeister saying have a good Monday and a good Mambo!

MEME: Sunday Seven - Episode 28

If you have cable or satellite television -- or if you've considered having it -- stay tuned for this week's question. But first, congratulations once again go to Carly, of " Ellipsis...Suddenly Carly ," who was first to play for the fourth week in a row last week! On to the challenge! THIS WEEK'S QUESTION: Your cable or satellite provider comes to you with an offer: they will drop your monthly fee in half if you voluntarily eliminate seven channels from the lineup of networks you receive. Assuming that you cannot drop any of your local stations, which nets would you opt to delete? Either answer the question in a comment or answer it in your journal and include the link in a comment. (To be considered "first to play," a link must be to the specific entry in which you answered the question.)

This one is as simple as looking at what I have blocked on our DirecTV system. The blocked channels are primarily shopping, christians, and latino soap operas. That's about a dozen right there.

But let's give it the sacrificial try, shall we?

If'n I HAD to do it, I would chose

1. Fox News

2. C-Span 1 & 2

3. CNBC

4. FIT-TV

5. LINK

6. Military

7. Disney channels

There, how'd I do? I wouldn't really miss these, except for C-SPAN where I watch Book-TV. The rest are no real loss.

What are your choices? Want to play? Just click on the box at the top of the entry and leave a link to your answers in the comments there.

Gimme an "M"...

Otto was heard to stutter as she frosted her St. Patrick's Day cake, “A good Monday to all! And now for this week's challenge...”

“Using the letters in the word 'MONDAY,' list things that you do (or would like to do) in your spare time.”

Make love to my wife...
On the kitchen table,
Near the sofa,
Directly under the mistletoe,
And, last but not least,
Yield to her wishes and do it all again.

MEME: Unconcious Mutterings - Week 162

I say ... and you think ... ?

1. Displacement::hull
2. Grease monkey::mechanic
3. Vacancy::No
4. Conquer::divide
5. Payroll::taxes
6. Personal::business
7. Housewife::horney
8. Lateral::move
9. Tissue::Kleenex
10. Multiplication::tables

Head Noise

Last week, the love of my life was laid low with a nasty virus that caused diarrhea, vomiting and terrible lethargy. I know this because I was awakened at four in the morning to the sound of her worshiping the porcelain goddess. Now, I love my wife. But she sounds like a hog straining to birth her sixteenth farrow when she's barfing.

I was sound asleep in my desk chair, where I'd drifted off while reading blogs. Suddenly, seemingly from the bowels of Hell came the most blood-curdling groan. Once I came to, I realized what was going on, but for a moment there I thought we'd been invaded and they'd cut her throat!

The concert went on for several days. Suggestions of the ER and IV's were met with stony silence (in retrospect, that's exactly what she should have done, but noooo, not my wife). Through it all, I kept my distance.

Well, for the obvious reasons. One, I didn't want what she'd caught to catch me too. And second, I am an absolute wuss when it comes to listening to someone else puke. If I can maintain my distance, i can sometimes avoid the undesired reaction. But most of the time, if I can hear you, I'm going to be elbowing you aside to take my place before the throne.

I was good until Tuesday and then it hit me. Unlike wifey-poo, I took Immodium (the hell with my blood pressure – I wanted the liquid shits to stop now) right from the start. I was sick only a day and a half (unlike the 4+ days my wife was laid low) and I managed to avoid vomiting, despite significant queasiness, by consuming that old stand-by, Pepto-Bismal. Between the two and fluids support (a liter of gator-aide per day).

So, today was the first day I ventured away from the old homestead into town. Let me tell you, false hope of spring abounds around here. Mud is everywhere. Snow is all but gone again, despite six inches of the heavy white stuff earlier this week. But the winds today were brisk, lowering the temperature to near the freezing point with the wind chill factored in. But I didn't let that stop me. I grabbed a meal at Arby's drive through and sat in the parking lot, basking in the sun and reading a book I had with me (Gerry Boyle's Home Body) for two whole hours! I felt like a new man. I even drag raced a kid in a pick-up from a standing start out on Broadway on the way home. He beat me, of course. Big block V-8 is going to sock it to an in-line four no matter how tricked out it isn't. Still and all, it's starting to feel like Spring around here and that is dangerous. I checked last years entries around this time and we were fighting sub-zero temperatures and a foot of snow. It's just too dang early for spring to come and it bodes ill to this curmudgeon, for one. We will pay for it with hot, dry weather or hurricanes or tornadoes or all of the above, of that, I am certain. Droughts. Pestilences. Locusts. Grasshoppers.

Something wicked this way comes...

MEME: Saturday Six - Episode 100

Yes, it says "Episode 100!"

In celebration of the 100th edition of the Saturday Six, I'm running six new questions chosen by the readers. Be sure to visit their blogs, and enjoy the questions!

My friend Carly of "Ellipsis...Suddenly Carly" was first to play last week for the second week in a row! Congratulations, Carly!

Here are this week's "Saturday Six" questions. Either answer the questions in a comment here, or put the answers in an entry on your journal...but either way, leave a link to your journal so that everyone else can visit! To be counted as "first to play," you must be the first player to either answer the questions in a comment or to provide a complete link to the specific entry in your journal in which you answer the questions. A link to your journal in general cannot count. Enjoy!

1. READER'S CHOICE QUESTION #79 from Cat: If you could trade places with one person in your family for a week, who would you choose? And would you want to trade as they are now, or sometime in the past (or future)?

I'd like to walk a mile in my wife's shoes, so she'd be my choice for the switch. As to how well I'd do, I have my doubts...

2. READER'S CHOICE QUESTION #80 from De: What were you doing 1 year ago this month, and are you more or less satisfied with your life today?

Freezing to near-extinction and shoveling snow. I was contemplating an upcoming surgery and a trip to be taken late in the spring. Probably less satisfied now than then, I have more ill health to cope with.

3. READER'S CHOICE QUESTION #81 from Lisa: Do you prefer watching television over surfing the Internet?

I like both. But, if I had to give up one or the other, the Internet would be gone in a flash. Although, I can do without television, too, as long as I have books to read.

4. READER'S CHOICE QUESTION #82 from Antonette: Outside of the U.S., where would you live and why?

The older I get, the more entrenched I become. I really have no desire to leave the U.S.A. If I had to make a choice, I suspect I'd move to New Zealand, assuming they'd have me. Because, it offers a great climate, the kinds of recreational activities I enjoy particularly and I can speak the language. Now, if I had to make that same choice thirty years ago, I suspect the choice would have been a little farther to the north, ie. Australia. But I can do without the heat, bugs and snakes in Oz. And the crowds.

5. READER'S CHOICE QUESTION #83 from Elton: When you leave your home, do you ever feel paranoid that you've left something behind?

No. Only because it's simple fact, not paranoia. I'd forget my head if it weren't attached. I routinely turn around and come back to get something I ave forgotten.

6. READER'S CHOICE QUESTION #84 from Laura: What song or songs would you want played at your own funeral and why?

None. I have no intention of having a funeral, therefore, no songs need be played.