Vague Wisdom

New entry titled "Meme from the lovely and talented serene" by stonebender.

2020-09-20T20:47:54Z

Yes, I am a little late getting to this. What can I tell you? It's been quite the year for me.

Answer each category with a SONG TITLE. No repeats and don’t use the internet (it's tempting but try not to). Go with the first song that comes to mind, change my answers to your own (you can steal mine, but what's the fun in that?), and repost.

Something To Wear - Short skirt and a long jacket by Cake
Something To Drink - Brain Shake by AC/DC
A Place - My California by Beth Hart
A Food - Green Eggs by Letters to Cleo
An Animal - Dog Eat Dog from Les Misérables
A Color - Heart of Gold by Neil Young
A Girl’s Name - Sunny Came Home by Shawn Colvin
A Boy’s Name - A Boy Named Sue by Johnny Cash
Profession - Dentist! from Little Shop of Horrors
Day of the Week - Monday by Wilco
A Vehicle - I'm a Little Rocketship by Cracker

Your turn!

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Remembering the good old days, a meme

2018-01-20T01:10:54Z

I found this on wordweaverlynn's Journal and thought I would answer the questions. The answers are supposed to be in fours. Feel free to follow that or not. [The plan was to finish this days ago, but exhaustion after the March, various computer glitches and nibbling ducks slowed my answers until now.]

Four places I’ve lived:

1. La Puente, California

2. Rockford, Illinois

3. Berkeley, California

4. Oakland, California

Four places I've worked: (This one is harder for me, if you only count work for pay.)

1. Growth Industries (It was a sheltered workshop. Where I got paid one dollar per hour. Sheltered workshops are allowed to pay workers with disabilities much less than minimum wage. I did some piecework, then answered phones and assistant-taught living skills.)

2. Accessible Environments Inc. (Did Americans With Disabilities Act trainings for companies, nonprofits and schools. It was a very traumatic experience. Details available in person if you really want to know.)

3. I got a couple of writing gigs to provide content in online text-based games in the late 90's. It's the only writing I've actually been paid for in my short freelance writing career.

4. I'm going to include the Center for Independent Living here even though it wasn't for pay. I was on the board for 10+ years. Held every office and was president of the board for several years.

Four things I like to watch:
1. Way too much television, especially SF. Some new faves are: Call Saul, Good Behavior, Halt and Catch Fire, and Imposters (although the last one could very well be unduly influenced by the main actress, Inbar Lavi, who checks many boxes in the Guy arousal matrix.) I also want to add a couple of television writers and their shows that are probably difficult to find, but I love. Bryan Fuller was a writer for Star Trek: TNG and also wrote three of my favorite canceled television shows; Dead like Me, Wonder Falls and Pushing Daisies. He was also going to be show runner for the new Star Trek, but had to bow out. I’m also very fond of Amy Sherman-Palladino, who wrote; Gilmore Girls, Bun Heads and is writing *and* directing the new show, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel writing on Amazon.

2. Being a Dramatic Arts major, I of course love theater. I'd prefer doing theater to watching it, but I’ll take either. I especially enjoy, Samuel Becket, David Mamet, Aaron Sorkin, Eugene O’Neill, Tom Stoppard and I’m sure there are others I’m forgetting. My training largely comes from improv and it will always be a love of mine.

3. Movies, A few faves: Local Hero, Breaking Away, Wings of Desire

4. People

Four places I have been:
1. New Orleans, LA

2. Las Vegas, NV

3. Solvang, CA

4. Houston, TX

Four things I love to eat:
1. Pizza

2. Short bread

3. Bacon

4. Sandwiches

Four people I think will respond:
Whoever wants to.

Four favorite things to drink:
1. Coffee

2. juice

3. Coke

4. Dark beer

Now here is what you're supposed to do (if you like): copy and paste this in your status and update it with your responses. If you do it, just comment "Done" on this post, so I'll know to check yours out.

I'm hoping this will lead me back into posting more. I really miss DW/LJ's longer, more meaningful posts from interesting people.

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stonebender @ 2015-05-18T17:39:00

2015-05-17T23:00:50Z

The Toast gives a list of 79 books which, allegedly, all white men own. Bold those you own. Italicize those you have read. ~~Strikeout those you would have to be paid to read~~. Bonus points if you're not a white male.

1. Shogun, James Clavell
2. Slaughterhouse-Five, Kurt Vonnegut
3. A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
4. Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace
5. A collection of John Lennon’s drawings.
6. A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway
7. The first two volumes of A Song of Ice and Fire, George R.R. Martin
8. God Is Not Great, Christopher Hitchens
9. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
10. I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell, Tucker Max
~~11. Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand~~
12. The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat, Oliver Sacks
13. The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
14. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
15. The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
16. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
17. Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk
18. The Master and Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov
~~19. The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown~~
20. The Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck
21. The Stand, Stephen King
22. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson
23. The Naked and the Dead, Norman Mailer
24. Tuesdays With Morrie, Mitch Albom
25. It’s Not About the Bike, Lance Armstrong
26. Who Moved My Cheese?, Spencer Johnson
27. Portnoy’s Complaint, Philip Roth
28. Seabiscuit, Laura Hillenbrand
29. John Adams, David McCullough
30. Ragtime, E.L. Doctorow
31. Lucky Jim, Kingsley Amis
32. America: The Book, Jon Stewart
33. The World Is Flat, Thomas Friedman
34. The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell
35. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon
36. Exodus, Leon Uris (if Jewish)
37. Trinity, Leon Uris (if Irish-American)
38. The Road, Cormac McCarthy
39. Marley & Me, John Grogan
40. Freakonomics, Steven D. Levitt
41. The Rainmaker, John Grisham
42. Patriot Games, Tom Clancy
43. Dragon, Clive Cussler
44. Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond
45. The Agony and the Ecstasy, Irving Stone
~~46. The 9/11 Commission Report~~
47. The Spy Who Came In From the Cold, John le Carre
48. Rising Sun, Michael Crichton
49. A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson
50. Airport, Arthur Hailey
~~51. Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki~~
52. Burr, Gore Vidal
53. Angela’s Ashes, Frank McCourt
54. The Wheel of Time, Robert Jordan
55. Into Thin Air, Jon Krakauer
56. Into the Wild, Jon Krakauer
57. Cryptonomicon, Neal Stephenson
58. Godel, Escher, Bach, Douglas Hofstadter
59. The World According to Garp, John Irving
60. A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking
61. The Tin Drum, Gunter Grass
62. On the Road, Jack Kerouac
63. Lord of the Flies, William Golding
64. The Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien
65. The Bonfire of the Vanities, Tom Wolfe
66. Beowulf, the Seamus Heaney translation
67. Rabbit, Run, John Updike
68. The Satanic Verses, Salman Rushdie
69. The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
70. The Big Sleep, Raymond Chandler
71. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey
72. A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess
73. House of Leaves, Mark Danielewski
74. The Call of the Wild, Jack London
75. Gravity’s Rainbow, Thomas Pynchon
76. I, Claudius, Robert Graves
77. The Civil War: A Narrative, Shelby Foote
78. American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis
79. Life, Keith Richards

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All We Like Memesheep Have Gone Astray

2015-01-25T06:15:57Z

Take this list, remove a thing, sort it by how much you like the things, add a thing at the top, a thing in the middle, and a thing at the bottom (preserving the sortedness, pedants): This version is via wordweaverlynn.

(most liked)
My music
A slice of sourdough bread fresh from the oven
Handknit scarves
Porridge (if Cream of Wheat counts)
Going up into the mountains
Getting something in the mail that isn't bills
Tidying
Steam locomotives
Emptying the dishwasher
Wandering
Twitter
Thermal underwear
Firefox upgrades
Cleaning the refrigerator
Doing paperwork (like tax forms)
Getting a seat on the commuter train
Celery in a stir-fry
Getting up early
Eating paper
Uber
Undercooked Aubergine
Fear
(most disliked)

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stonebender @ 2014-01-24T19:41:00

2014-01-25T03:15:12Z

[personal profile] jesse_the_k has given me the letter F.

Something I hate: fear

Something I love: film

Somewhere I have been: Freemont

Somewhere I would like to go: France

Someone I know: Fabian Franchi

Best movie: Fight Club

If you comment asking for a letter, I will provide!

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Television meme day 26 - 30

2011-05-08T19:38:00Z

Television meme day 25

2010-12-29T20:22:57Z

Television meme day 24

2010-11-11T06:36:52Z

Television meme day 23

2010-11-10T01:04:09Z

Television meme day 22

2010-09-30T19:30:05Z

This television meme was snagged from autographedcat by way of serenejournal. The idea is to answer one question a day from the list below. (Yes, yes I'm way behind. Never mind the applicability of the day numbers. I'm just keeping the numbering because I'm anal that way. I'm slow at this but I'm still having fun answering them when I can, so moving right along :-) Today's is:

Day 22 - Favorite series finale.

I genuinely loved the end of Angel. It was a strong episode independent of it being a finale. In fact, it remains one of my favorite Angel episodes. So many good scenes: Lorne as he goes off to do his part telling everyone he would do this, but afterwards he would be gone.

After Lorne shoots Lindsey, Lindsey: "You killing me? A flunky?! I'm not just... Angel... kills me. You... Angel... [dies]"

Illyria turning into Fred to comfort Wesley as he dies.

In the fight between Angel and Marcus Hamilton, Hamilton: Let me say this as clearly as I can. You cannot beat me. I am a part of them. The Wolf, Ram, and Hart. Their strength flows through my veins. My blood is filled with their ancient power.
Angel: Can you pick out the one word there you probably shouldn't have said? [he vamps out and bites Hamilton, draining his blood] Wow. You really are full of it!

I especially like that Whedon leaves most of the group still fighting evil:

Illyria: Wesley's dead. I'm feeling grief for him. I can't seem to control it. I wish to do more violence.
Spike: Well, wishes just happen to be horses today.
Angel: Amongst other things.
[A horde of demons and monsters is bearing down on Angel's team.]
Gunn: Okay, you take the thirty thousand on the left…
Illyria: You're fading. You'll last ten minutes at best.
Gunn: Then let's make 'em memorable.
Spike: And in terms of a plan?
Angel: We fight.
Spike: Bit more specific?
Angel: Well, personally, I kinda want to slay the dragon. Let's go to work.

I realize that some people think that that left the entire series up in air, but I disagree entirely. It pretty much wraps up all the individual storylines and starts them off on a new adventure. Anyway, I loved it.

I also enjoyed the final episode of Stargate SG-1 Mainly because it was so very different from the regular show. It's a complicated plot setup, but the short version is that the SG-1 gets stuck in a "time bubble" outside of our time (or at least so slow it might as well be) and the team must eventually spend their entire lives together on a spaceship. What I really loved is it gave me the opportunity to experience this group of people living their lives. It was a small quiet storyline that I found to be a comfortable little goodbye to their fans.

( Here's the questions. )

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Television meme day 21

2010-09-30T19:08:33Z

Television meme day 20

2010-09-30T18:33:54Z

Television meme day 19

2010-08-27T05:12:34Z

stonebender @ 2010-08-26T11:48:00

2010-08-23T21:10:54Z

I feel a little like I'm talking to myself answering this meme. I never actually authored one before, and thought it might be fun. It hasn't exactly caught fire around here but, oh well. I did try not to think of my answers while writing this thing. So I may not have the most interesting answers. Here goes.

( Answers under the cut )

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The no rules just suggestions movie meme

2010-08-20T19:28:06Z

I'm not much for best or favorite kind of lists. I can always think of several whatevers that would fit in whatever category. So feel free to pick one or more than one to answer any of these. I'd be interested in peoples answers, so letting me know where your responses are would be great. I'm going to leave the meme here without my answers. I'll answer the meme in another post. One last thing, context and stories are encouraged.

1. What movies do you like to talk about?

2. Are there any director's you particularly follow?

3. Are there any actors that will motivate you to see a film that wouldn't generally interest you?

4. Are there any movies that you wish you hadn't seen?

5. What genres do you particularly like?

6. What genres do you avoid like the plague?

7. Are there any movies that are really popular that you just don't get?

8. Are there any movies that you love that most of your friends haven't seen?

9. Are there any movies that you thought you would hate, but ended up really enjoying?

10. Are there any scene's or monologues that have stayed with you long after you've seen the movie?

11. Any movies that you think should have a sequel?

12. Any movies that the sequel ruined?

13. What movies do you think about from your childhood?

14. What movies can you watch again and again?

15. Any cool chase scenes?

16. Any really hot scenes?

17. Any cool fights?

18. Any movies that really changed how you think about something?

19. Any good adaptations of a book to the screen?

20. What movies make you really laugh?

21. What movies get you weepy?

22. Any movies that you're a little embarrassed that you like so much?

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Television meme day 18

2010-07-29T19:52:10Z

Television meme day 17

2010-07-19T20:19:21Z

stonebender @ 2010-07-29T12:28:00

2010-07-19T09:42:34Z

Snagged from serene

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros (don't like it)
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile

( Snipped for those meme averse. )

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you've eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.

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Television meme day 16

2010-07-01T23:15:32Z

This television meme was snagged from autographedcat by way of serenejournal. The idea is to answer one question a day from the list below. Today's is:

Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show.

I suppose it would have to be the few "reality" shows that I do enjoy. The one I'm most embarrassed by is Big Brother. I watch a couple so called reality programs. Some others are Survivor, and The Amazing Race. I really can't defend my enjoyment of Big Brother or Survivor they really do cater to showing off the worst in humanity, but The Amazing Race, I think, is a show that tries to use the format to expand people's awareness of the world. During the show there are many tasks that need to be performed before contestants can move on to the next country. Often the tasks are jobs or pastimes that the people in the country they're in do all the time. It gives the contestants and the viewers an opportunity to get a taste of what it's like to live and work in these other cultures. Granted, it's a shallow and televised version of these tasks but I think it's a worthwhile attempt

( Here's the questions. )

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Television meme day 15

2010-06-19T04:41:02Z

This television meme was snagged from autographedcat by way of serenejournal. The idea is to answer one question a day from the list below. Today's is:

Day 15 - Favorite female character.

As I've said before I have trouble with favorites. There are lots of female characters that I enjoy. CJ from West Wing, Willow from Buffy, The Vampire Slayer, Capt. Janeway from Voyager Etc. but I'm trying to come up with a few characters that people wouldn't think of at first. On HBO there was a show created and written by David Milch who created the The Sopranos. His follow up series was called Deadwood. Which was critically acclaimed and although really hard to watch at times, had some amazing characters and stories that I still think about today. The show was largely a Western about the town of Deadwood in South Dakota. This is very early in Deadwood's history. The town is not much more than a general store, a couple of bars and a whorehouse. One of the less expensive prostitutes is a woman named Trixie (played by Paula Malcomson who now is on Caprica, a very impressive actor IMHO). She is close to the bottom of the social structure having almost no power except whatever personal relationships she can develop. You wouldn't think of her as having the resources to help anyone in any way, but on several occasions she works things out to benefit many of the women in the town. She doesn't seem to worry about the social position of those she helps and she gets very little notice and even less credit for her actions. She helps fellow prostitutes, rich wives, whoever she thinks needs help. The entire show is about power and how its exercised when there's little government to enforce any rules. Most of the stories in the foreground are men fighting other men for something. Trixie uses her skills and knowledge to help support the very least powerful in town, the women. I love how differently she moved in this cruel and selfish place.

( Here's the questions. )

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Television meme day 14

2010-06-18T18:31:45Z

This television meme was snagged from autographedcat by way of serenejournal. The idea is to answer one question a day from the list below. Today's is:

Day 14 - Favorite male character.

In an effort to mix things up a little, I'd say a favorite male character of mine is Dr. Miguelito Loveless played by the amazing actor Michael Dunn from the The Wild, Wild West. Yes, he was largely a stereotype, but at least the character was played by an actual little person (I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm not sure that's the correct term anymore. Little person feels to me like it's wrong, but I've seen it used by people in his situation. If I'm offending anyone please give me a hand with better terminology.) Dr. Loveless is of course the bad guy, but he is West's arch nemesis. So at least he's a very good "bad guy". Michael Dunn would have been a major actor if he had been a little taller. IMHO He demonstrated how good an actor he was to have a career despite his height.

He also had a major part in one of my favorite Star Trek episodes. Here's a good example of Michael Dunn's work. It's not his best, but there's one of my favorite television moments here.

( Here's the questions. )

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Television meme day 12

2010-06-12T07:41:27Z

This television meme was snagged from autographedcat by way of serenejournal. The idea is to answer one question a day from the list below. Today's is:

Day 12 - An episode you’ve watched more than 5.

Oh my goodness! See, I like to re-watch television shows. I re-watch most TV I like. Certainly all of the Star Trek franchise (except perhaps for Enterprise, but I'll catch up on those soon I'm sure. West Wing, Sportsnight Buffy, The Vampire Slayer, Angel, Dark Angel, Dead Like Me, probably most of Gilmore Girls. There's lots of others but those are some that I've watched five times or more.

( Here's the questions. )

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Television meme day 13

2010-06-12T07:14:40Z

This television meme was snagged from autographedcat by way of serenejournal. The idea is to answer one question a day from the list below. Today's is:

Day 13 - Favorite childhood show.

Probably Dark Shadows, I remember having to rush home in order to see it. I think I got out of school at 3:00 and Dark Shadows began at 3:30 (or something like that). Anyway, I had to get right home in order to see it from the beginning. Anybody remember the storyline of the kissing ghost? I haven't Googled it but I believe the ghost was a young Kate Jackson. She was a Victorian ghost who would appear periodically and smooch on people. Anyway that's one of my earliest television memories. I also really loved Jonny Quest. It was a must-see on Saturdays.

( Here's the questions. )

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Television meme day 11

2010-06-12T06:56:23Z

This television meme was snagged from autographedcat by way of serenejournal. The idea is to answer one question a day from the list below. Today's is:

Day 11 - A show that disappointed you.

I have a few television shows that have disappointed me. The two that I can think of right now are Heroes. Which started out as such a fun show. Very comic bookish, with real good guys and the real bad guys. Just enough character ambiguity to keep things interesting. Then it turned into such a mess! It got to the point that not only couldn't I keep track of who was a good guy and who was a bad guy. I couldn't even keep track of who had what superpower. *sheesh*. Another older show was Sliders. I loved the concept and even sort of liked the characters. I kept hoping it would get better, but it just kept getting worse and worse. I will never forgive the show for what they did to Wade Kathleen Welles and if you thought Jerry O'Connell couldn't act! He is bleeping Olivier compared to his brother.

( Here's the questions. )

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Television meme day 10

2010-06-11T23:26:54Z

This television meme was snagged from autographedcat by way of serenejournal. The idea is to answer one question a day from the list below. Today's is:

Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving.

Probably Sportsnight, Aaron Sorkin's television show before West Wing. I had no intention of watching the show. I thought a show about sports news announcers? I am not a sports fan. not even a little. I couldn't imagine that they would do anything with the show that would be interesting to me. I'm not even sure how I ended up watching the first episode. It probably just came on after I watched something else and I was just too lazy to turn the channel. After about 10 minutes he had me. Sorkin has a way with dialogue which is a big plus for me. Anyway after the first episode it was my must-see show for the two seasons(?) it was on television.

( Here's the questions. )

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