Friday 5 for July 10: Troposphere

The following questions come from the usual source.

1. What’s your favorite novel, TV series, or film about someone leaving the big city or a big career and returning to their small hometown?

Green Acres. Oliver Douglas and his wife Lisa leave the high life of New York City and take up residence of a dilapidated farmhouse near Hooterville way out in the country to take up farming. Oliver who is a lawyer, is next to hopeless being a farmer even though he is 100% committed to it. Lisa misses her New York life and is a reluctant but coping wife in Hooterville.

The CBS comedy TV series ran from 1965 to 1971.  It was the first thing I thought of when I saw this question as we used to watch it a lot when I was a kid. Today I occasionally watch an episode just for the laughs. Besides Oliver and Lisa, the town of Hooterville is filled with funny, stereotypical country hick characters, some of which crossed over to CBS's two other country comedies: Petticoat Junction and The Beverly Hillbillies. It streams for free on TUBI TV.

2. What’s your favorite novel, TV series, or film about two characters (friends, strangers, coworkers, enemies, or something else) pretending to be in a romantic relationship?

I think I would go with The X Files on this. This one was a slow, slow burn, and Scully and Mulder kind of had something for each other but never admitted it through most of the series. It was in the later movie(s) [2 of them] where something sparked I guess, mainly in the second movie. I haven't seen the 2011 continuation series as it aired on a network I did not want to pay for.

Another show that had a fleeting but mostly professional relationship was the British TV series The Avengers... Mr. Steed and Emma Peel. This incarnation was during the mid run of the hit 1960s TV series.

It is likely I am not totally getting this question as these are the only ones I could think of without breaking my brains!

3. What’s your favorite novel, TV series, or film about someone who stumbles through a hidden portal into a magical or alien world?

Um... off the top of my head... THE WIZARD OF OZ... both the book (Frank Braun) and the movie from when I was a kid. Dorothy and her dog Toto get zapped off to the fantastic land of Oz in a tornado where they meet the Scarecrow, Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion along with the Wicked Witch of the West and the Wizard. In the movie all of the OZ stuff seems to have been a dream. The movie was framed in black and white for the normal scenes and in color for the fantasy story. It was probably quite innovative for its time of release - 1939.

Another one that comes to mind of THE PRISONER. A British agent (Patrick McGoohan) is taken away to an isolated village that he cannot escape from, where everyone's life is reduced to a number. "YOU ARE NUMBER 6." Escape is impossible. It was a British TV series that lasted on one season. It has turned into a cult favorite and streams for free on TUBI TV.

Other movies or TV shows I remember: Genesis II,  Planet Earth, Andromeda (Gene Roddenberry TV movies and series) - the protagonist is astronaut Dylan Hunt who wakes up from a 300 year sleep.

4. What’s your favorite novel, TV series, or film about characters racing against others to get somewhere, find something, or contact someone?

Movies: Indiana Jones - Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade.

Movie: Romancing the Stone - Romance novelist Joan Wilder has to turn over a treasure map or recover a diamond to the bad guys in order to save her kidnapped sister Elaine in Colombia. Action packed adventure comedy: "I broke my heal.." "Now it's practical!" John Colton...

5. What’s your favorite novel, TV series, or film about rivals, enemies, or adversaries becoming lovers, partners, or friends?

See Romancing the Stone above. Joan and John had a very shakey start and were on opposite ends of their respective lifestyles but end up falling for each other... Just like a stupid romance novel. The movie was directed by Robert Zemickis who later gave us the Back to the Future series and Forrest Gump.

There are others but my mind if fried already!!!!

 

Friday 5 for June 12: Turn the beat around

Questions come from Scrivener's Friday 5 web blog.

1. What do you do for stress relief?

Eat | Death Scroll on my Android | YouTube on my Mac | Walk

One of the four. Death scroll being the easiest.

2. What do you do to get out of moodiness?

Listen to music or watch mindless YouTube or Facebook videos.

3. How do you get through a day while sleep-deprived?

I force myself to stay up but by late afternoon, if I can, I take a nap.

4. How do you calm down when angry or anxious?

See answers to #1

5. How do you get your focus when you’re having difficulty focusing?

It depends on the task at hand.

Friday 5 for May 8: Someone else’s questions

Haven't done these in almost a year. Just taking a stab at this older one first.

1. If you could go back in time and murder anyone who’s ever lived, who would you choose? You’re not allowed to pick a certain German dictator from the 1940s.

At great risk of altering the timeline continuum, I would consider doing away with Klara Polzi at any time on or before 1888. I would call that a pre-emptive hit. That would prevent the birth of you know who.

2. If you could have any super power, what would you choose — if it has to be something a human can do? For example, you could have super strength (because humans have strength) but you can’t have invisibility or flight (because humans can’t be invisible or fly).

Becoming invisible at will in and out would definitely be my first choice. However since that is not within the realm of this particular question, I would choose to be able to do mental math without the use of a calculating device.

3. What super power do you already have?

Grumbling. I excel at that.

4. Who was your first celebrity crush?

Carly Simon based on that record album I bought by her in 1972 No Secrets. What a great cover and smile -- and good music inside. You're So Vain.

Second one was Susan Dey in the Partridge Family TV show and fake rock group (thanks to The Wrecking Crew studio musicians who were the actual band in addition to the two cast main singers). She became a better actor by the time L.A. Law showed up in the 1980s.

5. Which politicians do you find physically attractive?

Former Alaska Governor and VP candidate Sarah Palin was hot. I think she still is.  Plus she attended school at UH Hilo and HPU for a few semesters long ago.

Friday 5 for October 10: 10/10

 It's Sunday the 12th.  Happy Columbus Day!

Friday 5 for October 10: 10/10

The questions came from Scriveners Friday 5 site.

1. On a scale from 1 to 10, how was your week?

My weeks are generally a middling 5. Not too good, but not too bad.

2. Which of the Biblical 10 commandments are you especially guilty of breaking this week?*

Commandment #3 is most often violated when I'm frustrated. 😯😮😮

3. What do you remember about being 10 years old (or in 10th grade, if you prefer)?

I was 10 years old in 1967. I remember they made a big deal about the release of The Beatles album Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band on the radio. The song from that record that first impressed me at that time and remains a favorite to this day is Paul McCartney's "Lovely Rita" which painted an image of a London based meter maid I could fall in love with at that time. She sounded intriguing to my 10 year old mind.

I never got to listen to the entire album as a whole until a few years later. Back in the day most of the Top 40 radio stations played various tracks from the album during the course of their broadcast day. So I did get familiar with most of the songs one track at a time.

That Christmas my sister got a tape player called Sears Hipster. It played short 20 minute tape cassettes called Playtape, that failed in the marketplace about 2 years later. Among the tapes she got was a 4 track partial album of Sgt. Pepper. Her favorite Pepper song was "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite". 

Sadly through the ensuing years the tapes were lost, the player fell into disuse and my sister passed away from cancer in 1972. I did find the player some years later (see photo at the top of this entry).

4. Which 10 things do you like most about October?

In no particular order:

-- 31 Days - I like the longer months.

-- Tax Extension Deadline - Better than April.

-- Columbus Day - It is returning as it should be.

-- "The Monster Mash" by Bobby Boris Pickett. Good old Halloween song.

-- There are two comets that should be visible later this month.

-- I bought a refurbished DSLR camera at a good bargain price from Canon this month.

-- I might break out my LP vinyl recording of  the Orson Wells Mercury Theater 1938 radio play of "War of the Worlds" and give it a spin on the hi-fi. All based on the famous HG Wells book.

-- Will likely watch the best version of "War of the Worlds" on video... 1953 version produced by Paramount pictures.

-- Pumpkin Pie.

-- Thriller by Michael Jackson.

5. Who are 10 people you admire, each for a different reason?

-- My Dad - parent #1 taught me how to drive at age 10 and also be safe and thrifty.

-- My Mom - For her kindness and understanding, keeping our family together through some of the bumps in life, and for her great cooking. She was also a good singer.

-- For friends that will remain un-named for this exercise for the things they have taught me and similar values we share. I guess this should bring the number up to and possibly past ten. This also includes my sister and brother.

-- There are people from history, politics, technology, industry and music that I admire but are too numerous or controversial to mention by name.

 

Friday 5 for October 3: It’s their birthday

Yay! This is three days late. 😀

The questions for the Friday 5 comes from this website.

1. (Eddie Cochran, 1938) What caused your summertime blues this year?

My Canon Powershot G10 camera broke on my second trip to the Big Island of Hawaii... at the airport in Honolulu! I arrived in Hilo and had to buy a less than stellar Kodak digital camera there.

2. (Chubby Checker, 1941) Recently, what caused you to twist yourself?

Can't really think of anything. I try to keep on the straight and narrow. Turning into a pretzel and enduring painful bumps of life is best avoided when at all possible.

3. (Lindsey Buckingham, 1949) This weekend, how will you go your own way?

I'm always going my own way doing whatever it is that I do. Plus I regularly listen to Fleetwood Mac music whenever I can. Rumours is a great record album. Sometimes doing your own thing can make you "Go Insane".

4. (Gwen Stefani, 1969) What part of your personal or professional life these days is B-A-N-A-N-A-S?

Dealing with some of the tech issues involved with helping the non-profit I volunteer for.  Lastest thing is trying to get our domain hosted for free on Gmail. There is a free option, but the thing has lately thrown me into a set-up loop that I can't escape.

5. (Ashlee Simpson, 1984) Which pieces of you are you feeling pretty good about?

I am familiar with the first 4 singers mentioned in these questions. Never paid much attention to the much younger Ashlee Simpson. I guess I am old and well,  old people like myself have all kinds of minor aches and pains which generally does not make me feel "pretty good".

Friday 5 for September 26: 52.6641°N 8.6288°W

 

Photo: The Limerick Museum in Limerick, Ireland supposedly at coordinates 52.6641°N 8.6288°W.  (Wikipedia)

Friday 5 for September 26: 
52.6641°N  8.6288°W

Welcome to this week’s Friday 5 Answers. These questions come from the Friday 5 website which this links to.

1. What is your water flask like? 

I have several of them, but I hardly use them. I usually drink my water out of a bottle or pitcher poured into a glass or cup.

2. When did you last hold a mic?

This past week I was looking for missing microphones among my collection of electronic stuff. May need them to record some videos later this month. I found a big one that I used to plug into my Radio Shack Mixer, but the 1/4 plugs are too big for the small jack on my camera. I know I have a couple of smaller mics around.

3. Of whom are you jealous?

No one. I am satisfied with who I am.

4. For what are you zealous?

I don't get too enthusiastic about anything. Most things cost way too much money and I tend to avoid them as much as possible. Nope, can't think of anything that excites me enough to be "zealous".

5. And when might you go on a hike?

I've always wanted to do a photowalk up at Lyon Arboretum or on the other side of the island at Hoomaluhia Botanical Garden. Never been to Lyon and the last time I went to Hoomaluhia was way back in the 1980s. At my age challenging hikes are off the table, though I did a few way back in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Gravity can be cruel to hikers. 

 

Friday 5 for September 19: Mononymously yours

Hello, and welcome to this week’s Friday 5! Please copy these questions to your webspace. Answer the questions there; then leave a comment below so we’ll all know where to check out your responses. Please don’t forget to link us from your website!

1. What’s your favorite Elvis song?

I have a lot favorite Elvis songs, but if I go according to my list of songs for every year since my birth, then my go to Elvis track is "Jailhouse Rock". The songs catches the essence of early rock n roll, and Elvis was at his peak in his early years.

Top 5 Elvis songs (revised September 2025)

1. Jailhouse Rock
2. Blue Suede Shoes
3. I Gotta Know
4. Ku'uipo
5. It's Now of Never 

2. When did you last wear something Pink?

I'm a guy and I don't wear any Pink. If I did it probably is very long ago and I don't remember it.

3. What’s the most intereSting thing you learned last week?

Charlie Kirk made contingency plans for his succession long before he was brutally shot and killed.  His organization Turning Point USA will continue and his message will spread. News of his death was a total Sting for me. So young. He could have been elected President of the U.S. as early as the mid 2030s.

4. When did you last treat someone awFlea (or when were you last treated awFlea)?

It was a while back, but the people at the UPS store had gawd awful service at the Makaloa Street location. I vow never to go back there ever. Now if I need to deal with UPS I go to the Downtown location.AFLEA.... hmmm...

5. Which notable people do you Cher a name or birthday with?

If I told you this I would have to reveal my birthday which I prefer to keep confidential.  However I will say one of the cast members of the old ABC TV series China Beach has the same birthday as me.

• ELVIS - Jailhouse Rock
• PINK - Get The Party Started
• STING - Fields of Gold
• FLEA - Give It Away, Give It Away (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
• CHER - Half Breed

I don't know if we had to figure something out with these words. So I just matched it up with my favorite songs by these people.