1. The first quarter of 2017 is now behind us. How has it been?
At best: Mediocre. Haven't really done anything outstanding this quarter except take a few pictures of stuff that I like.
2. How has this past quarter of your life been surprisingly good?
I survived the quarter and hope to live through the next 3 without much difficulty.
3. When did you last drop quarters into a vending machine?
Since our condo building forbids us from owning our own washing machines, we have to use the ones that are on every floor of our multi-story dwelling. Therefore about every two weeks it is a gamble to toss your clothes into the washer, spend $1.75 in quarters per load and hope the machine works (which it usually does 95% of the time). The dryers are more like slot machines. They take quarters and only in multiples of 4 ($1)... It is a gamble because sometimes you get a dryer that only spins the clothes but emits no heat! Therefore your clothes do not dry. It is a bitch to go through the process with the management company to get a refund. I do the laundry about every two weeks. The last time was on Monday, March 27.
4. How do you feel about your state’s twenty-five-cent coin? If you’re not in the U.S., which of the coins do you think is especially striking?
King Kamehameha, the monarch that first united the Hawaiian Islands was worth the honor of being put on our state's coin. That happened in 2008. I have yet to see the one that honors our National Park. Don't even know if it is out.
5. Google’s corporate headquarters is called the Googleplex. What would be a good name for the corporate headquarters of your life?
The Melplex. I just need millions of dollars to build it.
I've watched several over many decades. I tend to skew toward monsters within the Science Fiction genre. That said, my top 5:
Aliens(1986) - Kick ass action movie sequel that is better than the original. Gotta save Newt! Sigourney Weaver as Ripley again. She was great! James Cameron directed. I react to big cockroaches like how the hapless people in this series react to the alien(s).
The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms (1953) - This movie is a well known "dinosaur invades a city" classic featuring the stop motion animation of Ray Harryhausen. It set the standard for movies of this type that followed in its footsteps.
King Kong (1933) - When is an ape a monster? When it is gigantic and goes lovesick over a pretty Fay Wray on a savage island and again in New York City. A total black and white classic.
The Forbidden Planet(1956) - Classic sci-fi yarn of astronauts who travel to a distant planet and encounter the electrified "monster of the ID". Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis and Leslie Nielsen. Monster in the Closet (1978) - Comedic yarn about people in a small town getting devoured by monsters living in their closets. Troma films.
Throwing this one in.... Night of the Living Dead (1968) - The low budget, original zombie movie. No hope for anyone living.
Also see Hillary's America mentioned below. :)
2. What’s your favorite social issues movie?
I would like to mention The Godfather and Godfather II for this one and its focus on the family business of organized crime. Crime continues to be an ongoing social issue.
Otherwise in this genre I lean toward documentaries such as John Stossel's TV segment on education, Stupid in America: How We Cheat Our Kidsfrom 20/20 on ABC in 2006. This is one of the best reports on education I have ever seen. Rubber rooms? Really??? It is a terrible waste of taxpayer dollars. The teacher unions get too much of their way with politicians who advocate for them. It is no wonder why America's "government" education has gone down the toilet in the last 30 to 40 years.
After seeing we need to support non-unionization of our schools, merit pay, right to work, school vouchers, charter schools and home schooling.
Stossel updated this report when he moved to Fox News.
Democrat Party policies are part of the reason for many of the social ills we have in our country. I've seen two of Dinesh D'Souza's stunning documentaries on how the Democrats continue to screw our country up, first with 2016: Obama's America released in 2012 and last year's documentary Hillary's America. If you are a conservative, you'll love what both films have to say about corrupt and compromising Democrat politics.
3. What’s a movie you dislike in a genre you love?
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1985) - William Shatner directed this stinker in the Star Trek franchise about Spock's half brother's search for God. Doesn't work for me on many fronts. I like Star Trek and love Science Fiction, but this one stinks.
Timothy Burton's Planet of the Apes movie from 2001 stunk — especially the stupid ending. I also did not like the movie Avatarfrom 2009.
4. What’s a movie you like in a genre you dislike?
I'm not a fan of slasher movies, but I did see the original Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) which is not bad for that genre. I guess I liked Robert Englund in the lead role of Freddy Krueger that made him famous. I was familiar with Englund through his appearance as the likable "visitor" Willie in the TV mini series V and its sequels from 1982 - 1984. 5. What’s a movie everyone else has seen but you have not seen?
I can name plenty because I rarely ever pay to go see movies (ticket prices are way too high) and take my sweet time in getting around to see them on either home video, streaming or on regular TV. That said, recent movies I have not seen that everyone seems to have seen:
1. Harry Potter series - all of them.
2. Moana (2016)
3. Frozen (2013)
4. Everything else from 2016 except Star Wars Rouge 1 and the last Star Trek movie.
5. Ditto for almost everything in 2015 except for The Martian and Star Wars The Force Awakens.
There are plenty of others too numerous to mention. High ticket prices, not enough time in the day, no cable, not subscribing to NetFlix, etc.
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Friday 5 for March 10: Count All The Bees in the Hive
"Thanks to Lisa Davidson of Tropical Toes for the idea. This is such fertile ground I’ve already decided to return to it in a few weeks."
I would be dishonoring my friend Lisa for not answering this one. Fact is the last time I had anything to do with the Pooh story was when I saw the Disney movie back in 1966 when I was only 9 years old. Borrowed the book from the library last week to read up on this. Haven't finished yet (reading two other library books all due next Saturday)... thankfully they're on Overdrive.. yeah for borrowing eBooks vs. buying them on Kindle, Google or Apple.
1. Which of the Winnie-the-Pooh characters do you most relate to?
You know there is not much of a plot to this book.... just this ridiculous toy bear stumbling through life in his little forest world among his cast of friends. Lisa told me that I was most like Eeyore... probably because I am kind of a pessimist in many ways. If something can go wrong, it will. Huh! 2. Which of the Winnie-the-Pooh characters has qualities you’d find most attractive in a romantic partner?
I don't know enough about the characters to answer this.
3. In what way have you “wandered much further” today than you should?
I walked beyond my usual 2.25 mile limit this morning. Probably because it was early in the morning and wasn't so hot or crowded where I walked... so was nicely pleasant to almost make it to 3 miles.
4. Of Winnie-the-Pooh stories you can remember (from the books, Disney cartoons, or other sources), which is your favorite?
Only familiar with the original one I am reading now and the movie which I assume is based on the first book. I barely remember the movie, but it was cute. My Mom loved it. Slow paced, innocent, innocuous.... just the way a "safe" family story or movie should be. 5. Which quote from the Winnie-the-Pooh stories would be good for the epigraph in the book about your life?
”People who don’t think probably don’t have brains; rather, they have grey fluff that’s blown into their heads by mistake.”
Unfortunately we run into too many people like this. Eeyore syndrome here. Huh!!!!!!
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