Friday 5 for July 25: Scattergories, part 15! - The Letter F

 

Scattergories Part 15: The Letter F

1. What’s a great summer food?

Definitely NOT FRUITCAKE.... Overall most Fruits, but defying the letter F, most likely for me it is WATERMELON or Banana. I'm not a fan of Figs, and they don't ring "summer" to me. Sorry F.

2. What item not usually bequeathed in a will, would you like to pass along to someone when you die?

Since I haven't died and my parents did not bequeath specific items, I would have to say FURNITURE for this one... and I don't have much... mostly cheap Walmart furniture. I also have a FAN, and maybe if I dug through my closet, perhaps there is a rotting FRUITCAKE... though that is unlikely.

3. What’s an admirable quality in a book but not in a person?

A lot of fiction liberally use the word FUCK in their narratives, but generally it is not a good thing for a person to say. I don't think the word is admirable, but I do notice it a lot. That said a good FINALE to a good story is admirable, while a FINALE in a person's life usually means death.

4. What’s a good food to add to other foods?

FRENCH FRIES go good with hamburgers, sandwiches and cheap Fish and Chips. And then again many varieties of FISH are great. Plus chopped raw FISH goes well with Sushi and other dishes.

5. What could make your day better right now?

FINISHING it off on a good note!

Yep, this one was late... it's Wednesday and I could not pass up Scattergories. Thanks Scrivener.

Friday 5 for July 11: In the can

 

Friday 5 for July 11: In the can

I don't eat too many cannned foods as I prefer most food fresh. Canned foods come in handy once in a while for convenience or an emergency. That said:

1. What was the most recent meat product you consumed from a can?

Recently this year it was either a can of tuna, sardines or salmon.

2. What was the most recent vegetable product you consumed from a can?

It's been ages ago, but I think it was a can of peas and carrots.

3. What was the most recent fruit product you consumed from a can?

The last time I ate canned fruit was last year. It was a small can of Del Monte Fruit Cocktail. I've also had canned pineapple slices.

4. What was the most recent beverage you consumed from a can?

1 can of LaCroix Orange Sparkling Water at Foodland Farms just the other day with my lunch bento. 

5. What are you approaching this week with a can-do attitude?

Nothing. Lately most of the tasks I have to do is either expensive, stressful or both.

As is every week, the questions come from Scrivener's Friday 5 page.

Friday 5 for June 27: You vs You

Generic You vs. You AI image

Friday 5 for June 27: You vs You

These questions are too personal, so I am going to just generalize.

1. How is professional you different from home you?

Professional you have to be on your best behavior, be productive and generally be dressed for a business type environment. At home I am terribly casual and just do things in time as they come.

2. How is grown-up you different from teen you?

The teen me was very long ago. but some of those things that I enjoyed as a teen still appeal to me, like listening to rock music.

3. How is online you different from IRL you?

About the same, though I may be more outspoken online, depending on the place I am posting something. Of course IRL as well as online, everyone has to be very careful and keep your privacy and security in mind.

4. How is morning you different from evening you?

I am more alert and better prepared to do work tasks in the morning vs. in the evening. Night is the time to relax, do more casual things and sleep vs. having to be productive. Sometimes I have to do work related tasks at night.

5. How is drinking you different from sober you?

I don't do any alcoholic beverages at all, so if the drinking me is doing water, well the sober me is also doing water. Both the same, never intoxicated, therefore not prone at all to get a DUI. Yay!

Friday 5 for June 20: What color is your parachute?

Will photographers and models be essential in the future when anyone can just tell AI to create a photo shoot with a virtual model such as this simplified one above?

Friday 5 for June 20: What color is your parachute?

Questions from Scrivner's Friday 5 page.

1. Which job on a film crew would you most like to do, and which would you be best suited for?

I was a producer for our student TV show many moons ago in college. That involved trying to round up a ton of chickens (talent and crew) to be in same place at the same time doing the tasks they signed up for. We had about a dozen people working on this for a short time and it was always a pain to get everyone there at the right time, rent the studio and finish the shoot within a prescribed time. And then there was post production which back in the day was all on 3/4 inch Sony U-Matic tape.. going from master to slave, etc. and cutting it in electronically on this big analog mixing board thing.

Today most of the stuff can be done on computer(s) depending on the size and scope of the production. Surely professional level movies and TV shows take a lot of people to put together... just watch the credits at the end of these... all kinds of specialists employed to get a show produced. Hence the huge budgets to get anything made.

Lisa and I wrote this for Assistance League of Hawaii and I storyboarded it out. We had it produced at Olelo TV in November. Somebody else coordinated the other parts like scheduling time, and bringing in the talent. It took a while to put together and it is only 40 seconds in length.

2. Which job on a hotel staff would you most like to do, and which would you be best suited for?

Probably working in their marketing department producing newsletters, taking photos, maybe updating their website, doing social media photography... who knows. I don't stay in hotels very much but I am sure they do a lot of marketing and media.

3. Which job in a hospital would you most like to do, and which would you be best suited for?

I am probably best suited for dying in the hospital. Got close to that once. That will probably happen again. 

4. Which job on a cruise ship would you most like to do, and which would you be best suited for?

Um... probably similar to hotel. I would rather work onshore for their marketing department. Can't stand the thought of being cooped up on a ship, in crew quarters for most of the year. If I had to work on board ship, probably ship photographer, but I would prefer not to.

5. Which job on a fashion magazine would you most like to do, and which would you be best suited for?

I don't have any fashion industry experience, but then again being a fashion photographer may be nice but very demanding. Models can be difficult to work with. I'd probably be better suited for working as a production artist on a computer doing the graphics, page make-up. etc... though I have been out of mainstream print media for quite some time now. A lot of the Mac programs have changed over the last 20 years, much of it not good... especially Adobe products with their horribly expensive subscription model. I used to work in advertising many years ago. A lot of jobs above may be replaced by AI.

Friday 5 for May 30: Agitation

 

Friday 5 for May 30: Agitation

1. Whose performance of your nation’s anthem did you find especially stirring?

It always feels great and patriotic when any of the military or even college bands play "The Star Spangled Banner" without any vocal accompaniment. Just a huge instrumental piece of music, the larger the band, the better.

2. When did you last fold something?

Two weeks ago after I took my laundry out of the dryer. Gotta do that again this weekend. Fold towels, pants, shirts, sheets, etc. I also occasionally fold paper.

3. When did you last toss something to someone?

Probably last week when I tossed something to Lisa.

4. How do you feel about beets?

I HATE BEETS!!!!!!!

5. What do you have mixed feelings about?

The political and economic direction the state of Hawaii is going in. I mostly have negative feelings about that. Our stupid governor just raised taxes on tourists. All tax increase have far reaching tentacles beyond the core group the tax is attacking. 

Questions come from the Friday 5 blog.

Friday 5 for May 23: Zihuatanejo

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!

OK what a strange word for the topic title. "Zihuatanejo" not found in the usual dictionary and Wikipedia points to a place in Mexico. Nope not going near Mexico anytime in my life. It's a dangerous country.

1. What could use a good shining?

Simple: My car!

2. When have you recently had to stand in a slow-moving line?

It's a good thing I rarely ever go to rock concerts or any kind of live show. Way, way back I remember standing in a long line just to buy tickets at the Blaisdell Center to go see The Rolling Stones at the now condemned Aloha Stadium back in 1998. I also remember standing in long lines to go see most of the Star Wars movies.

Today I won't go to any concerts because in addition to the regular state of Hawaii taxes, I certainly don't want to pay for the Ticketmaster taxes either. What do people get out of Ticketmaster? The whole damn thing is a scam.

A few years ago I had to wait in a line at Satellite City Hall to register the car. Missed the mail in deadline.

3. What was your favorite childhood counting-out game to determine who was it?

I vaguely recall a game called "Duck Duck Goose"... while it was not a counting game I think after you got called "goose" you had to chase the kid who did the "duck duck goose" countdown thing. I'm kind of blurred on this, since it has been decades since I was a kid.

4. Is anything feeling thinner these days?

• My wallet
• Not me

5. What do you know about Maine?

My friend Lisa is from Maine and she tells me it is one of those states that have an extremely high percentage of white people and not much ethnic diversity. 

An interesting thing I know about Maine is that the former Hawaii Superferry now known as The Cat sails between Maine and Nova Scotia, Canada during the summer season.

The Superferry looks the same as it did when I rode it in 2007 from Oahu to Maui and back.

Friday 5 for May 16: This was the week that was, in 1969

 

Haven't done one of these in awhile... so here goes... May 21. Ha! 1969 was a good year. Man landed on the moon. The Beatles were still a band, but only hangining on. They came out with at least two #1 hits that year. The Rolling Stones had a huge #1 hit. - "Honky Tonk Woman".... and Zager and Evans had their only #1 hit ever... "In the Year 2525".

1. How do you feel about bowling? (May 9: Billy Hardwick wins the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America all-star bowling tournament)

I don't bowl, and generally don't do sports because I suck at them all.

2. How do you feel about the comedy of Monty Python, and do you have a favorite bit? (May 11: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin form Monty Python)

Not a fan of Monty Python, though I think I saw one of two movies... they were mostly terrible. Not a big fan of comedy movies in general.

3. How many Cate Blanchett films have you seen, and do you have a favorite? (May 14: Cate Blanchett is born)

I saw four of them, of which three were The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Never got around to seeing The Hobbit trilogy. The other movie of hers that I saw was Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull. As a group, the Rings trilogy was great.

4. What would you like to get back? (May 14: “Get Back” by the Beatles is the number one song in America).

One of the lines in the song is "Get Back to where you once belonged..."

Someday I need to move back to the Big Island... before I die.

5. Who’s your favorite Joni, and who’s your favorite Mitchell? Alternate spellings and forms of the name are allowed! (May 17: Joni Mitchell is on the cover of Rolling Stone #33) 

I can't think of any Joni's except for Joni Mitchell... and she is NOT my favorite singer by miles. So that said, in terms of Joni's....NONE.

Mitchell? Hmmm. Don't know any except for you here on the blog and elsewhere online.

So pretty much a strike out on this question.

Friday 5 for November 22: And the world laughs with you

Friday 5 for November 22: And the world laughs with you

The following questions come from the weekly Friday 5 blog.

1. Among people who are professionally funny, who most reliably makes you laugh?

For my entire life since I was a kid, The Three Stooges have provided me years of laughs with their slapstick comedy shorts. I still laugh at them today.

2. Which films have made you laugh most?

One of them is Splash with Tom Hanks, Darryl Hannah, John Candy and Eugene Levy. To me Levy stole the show with his Dr. Walter Kornbluth character... "Behold the Mermaid!"

I get more laughs out of funny TV shows, especially older ones.

Various episodes of the TV series Seinfeld. "The Parking Space" episode is one of my favorites of all time, followed by the one with The Soup Nazi.

Other comedy TV shows that I like include:

- The Addams Family

- Gilligan's Island

- Green Acres

- The Beverly Hillbillies

- Beavis & Butthead

- The Simpsons

- South Park

3. Whose comedy leaves you flat?

Most modern comics who I can't recall their names, I find lame or offensive.

4. When did you most recently laugh aloud at something you read?

The breakdown of electoral college votes for the recently completed presidential election the day after... 270+ votes ending up with 312 for Trump. MAGA! 

It was funny to read about all the goofy crybaby reactions from the liberal left losers. The videos were even more funny.

5. What are some of your favorite novelty songs?

Not in any order:

- The Three Stooges - Swingin' the Alphabet

- Jump in the Saddle Band - The Curly Shuffle

- Ogden & Edsel - Dead Puppies

- Barnes & Barnes - Fishheads

- Chuck Berry - My Ding A Ling

- Ray Stevens - The Streak; Ahab The Arab

- Napoleon the XIV - They're Coming To Take Me Away

- Elmo & Patsy - Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer

- Fred Schneider & the Superions - Fruitcake

- J. Geils Band - No Anchovies Please

- Maestro Ziikos - APT Donald Trump (new)

There are plenty others.

Friday 5 for October 25: I’ve got a bad feeling about this

 The following questions come from Scrivener's Friday 5 blog:

1. In your city, where might a visitor find a wretched hive of scum and villainy?

Hawaii State Capitol. 😀 Some of them should be at OCCC.

2. When did you most recently do something you didn’t think you could do?

Survive a heart attack in 2015. 

3. If a robot could do all but two of your regular menial chores, which two would you continue to do?

• Turn the lights on and off
• Cook most of my meals

4. Who best qualifies as a mentor in your life today?

The two people who mentored me have both died now.

5. How are you at chess?

I'm better at checkers and Stratego. Chess, I can play but my King would probably be checkmated in under five minutes.

I have a cautious good feeling that Trump will win. 

Friday 5 for October 4: How many roads must a person walk down?

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 is the most grownup thing you did this week?

Completed the monthly newsletter for Assistance League of Hawaii. Got it emailed out on time - October 1.

2. What is the most adventurous thing you did this week?

Went to Diamond Head lookout early Wednesday morning, October 2 to take pictures of the partial solar eclipse.

3. What is the most foolhardy thing you did this week?

I did not do anything I consider foolhardy this week. I generally try to avoid that due to cost and/or embarrassment.

4. What is the most community-conscious thing you did this week?

Same as #1: Completed the monthly newsletter for Assistance League of Hawaii. Got it emailed out on time - October 1.

5. What is the the quietest thing you did this week?

I went to sleep early the other night.... around 9:00 pm.

Friday 5 for August 30: GOAT

 

Friday 5 for August 30: GOAT

Questions from Scrivener's weekly Friday 5 blog.

1. If you are forced to choose only one, what is the greatest single episode of a television series, ever?

"Severed Dreams", season 3 episode 10 of Babylon 5.

https://tubitv.com/tv-shows/714543/s03-e10-severed-dreams

Babylon 5 remains my favorite science fiction TV show of all time and here is a small reason why:

2. If you are forced to choose only one, what is the greatest opening line of a song, ever?

I first heard this song at the age of 10 in 1967. We got this old Brenda Lee album that was released in 1960 after my Uncle Robert died at a young age of 29. The album was seven years old by then, but when I played track 1 on side 2 of the record, my 10 year old self thought... oh my this song sounds naughty but I did not know why.

After a few nondescript seconds of hard to decipher whispers, the first three words spoken by Brenda Lee caught me and has remained with me ever since:

"Aha Honey, Alright...." I did not know what it exactly meant at the time, but I always associated the song with something naughty or sexy. After all it is about "Sweet' Nothins'" and Brenda Lee herself was only 14 when she recorded the record in 1959. Wow! Take a listen. It is one of my favorite early pop music tracks ever.

3. If you are forced to choose only one, what is the greatest movie kiss of all time?

That wet kiss in the original Spiderman movie from 2004 is quite memorable. Kirsten Dunst and Tobey Maguire, from the first movie series released from Sony and not from Disney's crazy franchise.

Otherwise most kissing scenes are not very memorable to me, though I have probably seen too many. I tend to gravitate toward sci-fi and action movies where kissing is not central to the story.

4. If you are forced to choose only one, what is the greatest building of all time?

I think for a building to be great, you must have gone to see it for yourself. That said I hardly ever traveled out of state in my life since it is so expensive. The last time I left was in the last century when I took that long trip on a Boeing 747... Gotta love those big 4 engine jets. 

That said, while I never went inside them, I did see the twin towers of the original World Trade Center back in 1974 when they were still being built. The one building I went inside to visit was the Empire State Building in NYC. I guess for me it is the greatest building that I have ever visited, but definitely not the greatest building of all time... I don't know... maybe that gigantic vehicle assembly building where they put together Apollo Saturn 5, the Space Shuttle and now Space X Falcon 9s and Super Heavys at Cape Canaveral Florida. 

5. If you are forced to choose only one, what is the greatest candy — not a candy bar — of all time?

M & Ms Plain or Peanut.

I also liked Horlicks Milk Chocolate tablets that came in a small jar with a red cover cap. They are no longer made.

Friday 5 for August 16: Scattergories, Part 14

 

Friday 5 for August 16: Scattergories, Part 14

The annual Scattergories thing for this week's Friday 5. Yay! My letter for this year is... 

i

1. If you can schedule it, what would you like for your last meal?

Among the menu items for my last meal, there would definitely be an ICE CREAM dish, preferably a big ICE Cream Sundae....

2. Where would you like to be buried?

Since I more than likely will be opting for CREMATION, I will be sent to the Mortuary's INCINERATOR to have the useless body reduced into a heap of ash. Hopefully the mortuary will scoop up most of my ashes and put them in an urn for disposal later... though I think some will end up on the floor in the INCINERATOR and be swept away. 

3. What will they place in your coffin to be buried with you?

Coffins are expensive, so I am going with INCINERATION which equals to cremation. Maybe I'll burn up my old iPOD TOUCH 4 with the long dead, built in battery along with my useless corpse. I HATE BUILT IN BATTERIES... They lead to an early death while the device is still functional.. Why can't they have iPhones and other devices that have batteries that end users can easily replace???? I hate built in obsolescence!

4. Who will sing at your funeral?

I will choose one of my playlists from either SPOTIFY or YouTube Music to stream my favorite songs. LIVE singers are never good as the record unless you have enough money to hire the original artists.... which is impossible in my INCOME bracket.

5. Who will deliver your eulogy?

At this time... ME MYSELF and I... I might audio record something really short and just have that play at some point in one of the above playlists... Easy to do with a YouTube Music mix since they allow you to upload up to 50,000 of your own MP3 or AAC files for free. I could probably put my very short eulogy at the beginning, middle and end of the music mix.

On another note funerals... are they even necessary? It's just another added expense to the death process.

The three letters offered on my only spin.

Friday 5 for August 9: Wrong answers only

 Friday 5 for August 9: Wrong answers only

These questions come from Scrivener's Friday 5 blog.

1. Wrong answers only: what is the secret of your success?

Staying home and doing nothing.

2. Wrong answers only: how would you like to spend this weekend?

Jumping off a cliff and splattering myself on the rocks below.

3. Wrong answers only: what’s next?

Growing all of my bones back and fixing myself as if nothing happened at a click of a finger.

4. Wrong answers only: when will you finally get that thing done?

In The Year 2525.  

5. Wrong answers only: what do you have to say for yourself?

Everything.

Friday 5 for August 2: EXCESSIVE NEGATIVITY

Excessive negativity

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!

It’s been a while since our last gripe session!

CAUTION: SERIOUS RANTING AHEAD

1. What’s your biggest complaint about in-store shopping?

Self service checkouts. I hate the ones with a camera built in. I hate having my picture taken. I also hate these things because at some stores you still have to call the clerk to fix a bad error code or approve of a coupon code that you put in but still needs verification - I'm looking at you Don Quijote.

I also hate that the prices of items don't match what is on the posted on the shelf vs. what the checkout price is. Looking at you again DQ! And then I read WalMart is moving to dynamic pricing.... just like Amazon... this will really stink. I can imagine two customers picking up the same item in Walmart will be charged different prices... Ugh! 

I hate the fact we have to also bring our own shopping bags to avoid an additional charge at checkout. I love the good old days where stores always gave you a free paper or plastic bag at checkout. It was so much more convenient and less costly. Bud gawd dammit... the fucking environmental wacko lobby persuaded legislators to regulate our lives by setting up bag fees and recycling fees for bottles... all a tax as I can see it. Fucking environmentalists and left leaning politicians.

2. What’s your biggest complaint about seeing movies in a theater?

Fucking ticket prices are way too high... It is way cheaper to just wait for the movies to show up in streaming or better yet, on DVD. I would rather spend the damn $16 movie ticket price to get the DVD, where you can find cheaper ones of older titles at used DVD stores and thrift shops.... often atmore affordable prices.

The last movie I saw in the theater was the last episode of the 40-year in the making of the Luke Skywalker saga of Star Wars... Episode 9. While I love the first 3 or even 6 Star Wars, the later ones from Disney have been disappointing. Star Wars is fucked up by Disney. I hate the new Disney... so woke and politically corrrect... next thing you know they are going to have a Black Snow White!!!!

Oh another thing that pisses me off about theaters... super high priced snacks. Not worth it. Just sneak cheap eats in and fuck the snack bar. I also hate movie complexes...they are set up just to keep people going to the snack stand with multiple screens and staggered times... Ugh! I am so done with movies in theaters.

3. What’s your biggest complaint about personal hygiene?

Increasing prices for all items. Bidenomics truly at work for all consumer items. Time to get rid of the leftist, progressive liberals!!!!

4. What’s your biggest complaint about preparing a meal?

I am not a cook. I don't like preparing meals. It takes too long, and I am not very good. I am ok cooking for myself, but I have zero confidence of cooking for anyone else... "why are the eggs green?".... impossible!!!!!!

5. What’s your biggest complaint about your neighborhood?

TOD - Transit Oriented Development.... high rises springing up everywhere along the projected RAIL route that will not get here before I die... Plus I have been OPPOSED TO THE FUCKING RAIL due to all of the high costs associated with it.... GE Tax increase, property tax increases (due to new developments springing up in my neighborhood).... and many other items related to the RAIL that just compounds all of our cost of living issues!!!!

Also increased CRIME in my area with fights, murders and more happening in this area... There are undeerground gambling operations, prostitution houses and drug pushing happening in my neighborhood, even with the elimination of most of the older Korean bars in the area.

Friday 5 for February 23: Noms

 

Questions from Scrivener's Friday 5 blog.

1. What’s the strangest food you’ve eaten out of a can?

The usual canned foods I eat are tuna and sardines. Once in a blue moon spam or corned beef. I can't think of anything strange. When it comes to food I tend to go with what is familiar. I am not adventureous.

2. What food most recently made you ill?

I can't think of anything recent. As for something years ago, the only thing I remember are the runs as if my stomach was being pumped. Mamacita's pasta... lovely... gross.

It was most likely spaghetti years ago from Mamacita (I think that is the name) of the Ala Moana Center Food Court complex, which recently closed... for good... After getting sick from their awful food, I never went there again.

3. What movie makes you really want to eat?

Here at home anything that is longer than a half hour on streaming will get me to go back and forth to the fridge or pantry. Most recently it was the movie Tetris on Apple TV before my free subscription ran out. It's a good movie about the development and marketing of the popular computer game Tetris. Developed in the old Soviet Union, sold and pirated on PCs and how it got to the Nintendo Game Boy during the transition of the old Soviet Union into the "new" Russia. Good movie.

4. What haven’t you eaten in a really, really long time?

My Mom's Thanksgiving stuffing and macaroni potato salad. It is something I will never ever eat again considering Mom passed away in 2015 and stopped cooking about two years before that. I miss Mom.

5. What did you most recently eat in a moving vehicle?

My commute to anywhere is generally short, so I can't remember what I recently ate. In the past I've eaten burgers and fries after ordering them through the drive-thru.

Friday 5 for February 9: Insert coin

From Scrivener's Friday 5:

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. How do you feel about vending machine food?

Candy, potato chips and other junk foods are the highlight of most vending machine food fare. My feelings about them? Is this all there is? They are expensive! Cheaper at the supermarket for better food. It is a good thing none are near me.

2. Where on this planet is the vending machine you’ve given the most money?

My bank ATM machine when I make deposits to my own account(s).

3. Have you ever purchased a non-food, non-beverage item from a vending machine?

Yes.... Money! A Bank ATM vends cash when after you insert your bank debit card or any credit card.... in denominations of $20 usually. I only use my debit card for these at my own bank. Don't want to pay for the fees for using my card in some bank that I don't belong to.

Another type of vending machine I used a long time ago is a Jukebox...where you could play a recorded song on a 45 rpm record for about a dime back in my kid days, and a quarter later... long before the Walkman, iPod and other personal music audio devices.

And of course who can forget a payphone? I've used these off and on more than 35 years ago. There are still a few of them around, though the best ones can be found in posh hotels and at big international airports.

4. Where’s the nearest vending machine right now, and what would you get from it if you were to go immediately?

There is a Coca Cola machine four floors down in the building I live in.

5. What would you like to see in a vending machine?

Free money with no fees.

Friday 5 for February 2: Mayday! Mayday!

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 does it take to make your way in the world today?

Staying focused (which is not easy), keeping myself safe and avoiding risk, being on time and know where I am going. Planning ahead if it is a destination I don't normally go to... Also keeping costs to a minimum if at all possible... Avoiding high priced events, venues and activities.

2. Where do you go to take a break from all your worries?

Can't really escape all he worries, but sometimes to the beach to catch the sunrise or sunset... somewhere in the country if I am so motivated... or else the easy way is to bury myself in recorded music.

3. Where does everybody knows your name and they’re always glad you came? (or where did everybody know your name and were always glad you came?)

Family reunions or more usual, at a funeral for a family member. As you age you end up going to more funerals until your life ends.

4. Which no-longer-in-business establishments are you nostalgic for, and is nostalgia generally a positive or negative emotion?

• Tower Records
• Woolworth
• Kress Store (Downtown Hilo / Kai'ko Mall)
• SEARS
• JC Penney's (dept store closed all locatons in Hawaii)
• DJ's Sound City (record store)
• The Record Museum
• Records Hawa
• Computer City
• Comp USA
• Patti's Chinese Kitchen
• The original Jelly's Records and Books
• Froggies (records and books)
• Dairy Queen of Honokaa
• Hamakua Fountain
• Waikiki #1 #2 and #3 Theaters
• Cinerama Theater
• Honolulu Weekly (free newspaper)
• Project 3 LTD (Hilo record store)
• MJS Music (Hilo record store)
• Interlude Music (record store + books)
• TKS / T. Kaneshiro Store (Honokaa HI)
• Ujiki Store (Honokaa HI)
• KKUA radio 69 on the AM dial
• KPOI 1380 AM radio
• KPOI 97.5 FM (98 Rock) - various other rock formats
• Radio Free Hawaii 102.7 FM
• Muxtape
• Finetune.com
• Power Computing (Mac clone maker)
• Be Inc. (BeOS)
• Jaiku (social media website)
• Modern Photography magazine
• MacAddict magazine
• MacUser magazine

I'm sure there are more than I could mention. May all those businesses and their generally affordable prices and merchandise rest in special places in our memories.

5. Which television shows have great opening theme songs with opening title sequences?

My Top 10

1. Hawaii Five-0 (1968 - 1980 original series)
2. Miami Vice (Jan Hammer)
3. Crime Story ("Runaway" by Del Shannon)
4. Star Trek The Next Generation
5. Babylon 5 (5 different theme variations for each of the 5 years)
6. The X Files
7. The Avengers (British TV series 1960s)
8. Mission Impossible
9. Gilligan's Island
10. Cheers

More for the songs but the opening video clips are mostly memorable.

Friday 5 for January 26: On the right tracks

Another Friday 5 question group on music... Late but could not pass this one up.

1. Which obscure song is better than well-known songs by the same artist?

There are plenty... but for now I will go with Paul McCartney. Here is a guy that goes all the way back to the 1960s and most well known for being one  of the four Beatles. However his career continued moving forward from the 1970s til today. Over those decades he has churned out many memorable and popular tracks on his own, as well as with his next group, Wings. That said, here are my Top 5+5 "obscure" hits by Paul McCartney.

• 1. I'll Give You A Ring (1982)
• 2. Ou Est le Soleil (1989)
• 3. Temporary Secretary (1980)
• 4. Seize the Day (2020)
• 5. Country Dreamer (Paul McCartney & Wings - 1973)
• 6. Frozen Jap (1980)
• 7. Sing the Changes (The Firemen - 2008)
• 8. Daytime Nighttime Suffering (Paul McCartney & Wings - 1979)
• 9. Sally G (Paul McCartney & Wings - 1974)
• 10. The Mess (Live - Paul McCartney & Wings - 1973)

2. What are some no-skip albums, albums whose tracks are all great to listen to?

Not counting compilations and boxed sets, here are my favorites:

• 1. Rumours - Fleetwood Mac (1977)
• 2. Ring - The Connells (1993)
• 3. Let It Be - The Beatles (1970/2021 Deluxe)
• 4. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John (1973)
• 5. Revolver - The Beatles (1966)
• 6. Cannibal Courtship - Dengue Fever (2011)
• 7. Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor - Caro Emerald (2010)
• 8. A Hard Days' Night - The Beatles (1964)
• 9. Band on the Run - Paul McCartney & Wings (1973)
• 10. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles (1967)

Many others would also be on this list. The most recent album that I love all tracks:

• Hackney Diamonds - The Rolling Stones (2023)

3. Which album didn’t do it for you at first, but became a favorite after repeated listens?

• Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent - Lewis Capaldi (2019)

4. Which album is best listened to at night?

I like listening to the following albums by Enya to put me to sleep:

• Watermark
• Shepherd Moons
• The Memory of Trees
• Amarantine

5. Which album is best listened to in a car?

I don't listen to albums in the car since my commute is short.

That said, I figure the main reason to listen to an album in the car is to keep you up and not fall asleep while driving... so here goes....

• Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
• The Connells - Ring
• The Raveonettes - In And Out of Control
• The Raveonettes - Pretty in Black
• The Rolling Stones - Hackney Diamonds
• AC/DC - Power Up

Friday 5 for January 19: Random topic generator

 From Scrivener's Friday 5 blog, here are the questions and answers nearly a week late.

1. How much experience do you have with tobacco?

Personally ZERO - and all instances that I ran into damn tobacco smoke have been NEGATIVE. Stinky. Awful. Foul. Why burn good money on this crap????

2. What have you made with wood?

When I was in middle school I made a wooden napkin holder and doorstop for woodshop class. I have a picture of those somewhere... can't find it now.

3. What do you think of farmers markets in your area?

I rarely go, though when I do go I like looking around and buying some fresh veggies and fruit. Some of these markets also sell too many non-farm produced trinkets which I never buy.

4. What’s a good movie, novel, or TV show containing a shipwreck?

While the fictional love story is basically crap, the re-creation of the sinking of the Titanic is great... Gotta love the special effects of that sinking in the movie.

Other great shipwreck movies:

• The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
• Mysterious Island (1961)
• The Final Countdown (1980) - what if a massive shipwreck event could be prevented....

And the ultimate shipwreck TV series.... Gilligan's Island... a silly but classic TV show of all time.

5. What’s a good song with the word magic in its title or lyrics?

Here are a few quick titles...

• Magical Mystery Tour - The Beatles
• Magic - The Cars
• You Can Do Magic - America
• Magic - Olivia Newton John
• Magic's In the Dancing - Lighthouse
• Black Magic Woman - Fleetwood Mac; famously covered by Santana

Friday 5 January 12: Stolen 5

1.What do you drink in the morning?

Water is the only thing I drink 98% of the time during my day. Since I have to take my morning medications, I almost 100% take them with water.

2. What was the last song you heard?

This changes by the minute or at the most a few hours. Except when I am at work, I always have some music playing. Right now that song is "The River" by the fictional rock band Daisy Jones & The Six from the Amazon Prime TV series of the same name. This is what I was listening to when I was typing up the responses for this blog on Google Docs a few hours ago.

You can keep up to date on what I last listened to by checking out my Last FM profile:

https://www.last.fm/user/macpro

I love music, music genres, lists and tracking the songs I listen to through a process called "scrobbling" at the Last FM website. I also publish music charts on my blog and at the M4B Personal Charts site online where chart geeks hang out.

M4B Charts Website - my username there is macprohawaii.

https://freakyflybry.proboards.com/board/38/personal-charts

Mel's Current Top 20 chart page

http://macpro.freeshell.org/music/WTop20.html - This is an old school web page that I have continually published since 1999.

Mel's Music Blog - charts, music streams, opinions, videos… lots of pop rock and oldies stuff here.

https://macprohawaii-music.blogspot.com/

My current most favorite song since September 2023 is "Angry" by The Rolling Stones. It is quite surprising that these three remaining 80 year old guys can still rock it along with their much younger back-up musicians. So in the end of my most recent scrobbles, you'll find "Angry" as the song I last played.

3. What are your feelings about ghosts?

The day I see and photograph one I'll believe it. Currently: No.

4. How do you feel about camping?

Inconvenient but could be fun. The last time I camped out was on July 11, 1991. I slept in a car waiting for a total solar eclipse to occur early the next morning.

5. What are your thoughts on showers vs. baths?

Showers are quicker. Both can be fun if you can do something creative with them. But for the most part I'm in a hurry and have to move on.

These questions and more are posted on Scrivener's Blog.