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
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)
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:
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.
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.
1. If you could dispense one condiment from each finger on your left hand without its ever running out (and without losing any normal use of your fingers), which condiments would they be?
Salt
Pepper
Cinnamon
Sugar
Oregano
2. Which you is the realer you: real-world in-person you, or online you?
Probably a blend of the two.
3. Who’s a better actor: Leonardo DiCaprio or Matt Damon?
Matt Damon nailed it for me in “The Martian”, one of the better science fiction movies of recent times. He also gave a good performance in the recent Amazon Prime movie, “Air” which is about how Nike wooed Michael Jordan to become their spokesman back in the late 1980s, early 1990s. He was also good in the “Bourne” series of movies.
I only remember Leonardo from the movie “Titanic” and it is a good thing he sank to the bottom of the ocean. Heh!
4. If you had to watch (and stay awake during) the same movie repeated for 24 hours, which movie would you choose and why?
While I would prefer not to watch any movie on repeat for 24-hours, any of the three original Star Wars movies would do fine for me. Probably the “Empire Strikes Back” would be the best one, even though I love the original “A New Hope” a lot.
One of the neatest things to do is to binge a movie series that you like a lot all in a day or whatever time it takes to go through them. I did it with Star Wars 4, 5 and 6 and also the entire 5 movies of the original Planet of the Apes series.
5. Who are the five most visually recognizable people in the world?
Just because I mention someone, it does not mean I am a fan of the person. I am going to break these down into categories….
DEAD PEOPLE
President Abraham Lincoln
President John F. Kennedy
President Ronald Reagan
Marilyn Monroe
Michael Jackson
POLITICIANS
President Donald Trump
President Barack Obama
King Charles III (U.K.)
Kim Jong Un (North Korea)
President Joe Biden (current)
MUSIC INDUSTRY
The Beatles
Madonna
Mariah Carey
Ed Sheeran
The Rolling Stones
CELEBRITIES
Tom Cruise
Tom Hanks
Kim Kardashian
Dwayne Johnson
Angelina Jolie
Category: Dead people, music industry and celebrity.
1. What has been a nice surprise in this first half of the year?
Nothing surprisingly nice has happened to me so far. Most of the time everything stays the same.
2. What’s the best new (new-to-you or brand-new) music, TV, or reading you consumed this year?
MUSIC
If I had to rate my top 20 "new" songs so far this year, this is what it would be (based on chart performance of my weekly Current Top 20 Hits that I post here and here - click the links).
Rank
Title
Artist
Peak
WAP
Total Weeks
1
Ghost
Tom MacDonald
1
7
21
2
Anti-Hero
Taylor Swift
1
5
23
3
Love Again
The Kid LAROI
1
2
10
4
End of the World
Tom MacDonald featuring John Rich
1
2
10
5
Wish You The Best
Lewis Capaldi
1
2
11
6
Flowers
Miley Cyrus
1
2
13
7
I Feel Like Dancing
Jason Mraz
1
2
13
8
Pointless
Lewis Capaldi
1
2
16
9
Karma / Karma (featuring Ice Spice)
Taylor Swift
1
2
8
10
Lux Æterna
Metallica
1
2
9
11
Eyes Closed
Ed Sheeran
1
1
12
12
Lost
Linkin Park
1
1
14
13
Get Her Back
Michael Ray
1
1
9
14
Blind For Love
American Authors
2
3
14
15
I'll Be Seeing You
Iam Tongi
2
1
6
16
Evangeline
Stephen Sanchez
3
2
13
17
Lavendar Haze
Taylor Swift
3
1
11
18
I'm Feelin' Good (Steve Miller Band)
King Calaway
3
1
11
19
Trustfall
P!nk
3
1
11
20
Bejeweled
Taylor Swift
3
1
12
Key - Rank | Peak Position | Weeks at Peak (WAP) | Total Weeks on Top 20
Rapper Tom MacDonald has held the #1 position on my Current Top 20 song longer than any other this year with his song "Ghost". It's an indie record (like all of his others) that most radio stations refused to play, even though this is just a simple love song to his significant other Nova Rockerfeller, who is the producer of most of his videos. MacDonald has amassed a large YouTube following and has sold many records / songs / digital downloads.
TV (My Top 10 TV Shows this year; old and new; I watch a lot of YouTube)
1. 1883 (Paramount+) Yellowstone prequel series
2. 1923 (Paramount+) Yellowstone prequel series
3. Star Trek Strange New Worlds (Paramount+)
4. The Expanse (Seasons 1 - 3 so far; 4 -6 to be watched soon; Amazon Prime)
5. Babylon 5 (Tubi TV - Classic scifi from 1993-1998 - rewatch)
6. Sleeperdude / Sleeperdude 2 (YouTube - A family that fixes old cars)
1. What did you most recent affix a sticker to, and what was the sticker?
Coming real soon, registration sticker on our car bumper. 6/24.
2. What are your favorite and least favorite songs about weather?
Favorite songs about the weather:
Here Comes The Sun - The Beatles
Rain - The Beatles
Here Comes The Rain Again - Eurythmics
Have You Ever Seen The Rain - Creedence Clearwater Revival
Sunshine Superman - Donovan
Worst songs about the weather:
Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head - B.J. Thomas
It's Raining Men - The Weather Girls
Fire and Rain - James Taylor
I Made It Through the Rain - Barry Manilow
Blame it on the Rain - Milli Vanilli
3. What turned out to be a good idea(s)?
1. Electricity! - Best idea ever. Thank you Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, etc. Electricity helped us to become a highly industrial and technological society.
2. Recorded Music - Yes from the first wax cylinder through the years of AM/FM radio, phonograph records, reel to reel tapes, 8-track tapes, cassette tapes, compact discs, DVDs, MP3s, AAC, digital downloads and streaming music and video... All of these made my life on Earth mostly pleasant.
3. Motorized Vehicles of all types. Cars, trucks, vans, motorcycles, etc. have mostly been beneficial to my life as well as the lives of many others.
4. High Speed Communication - From the telegraph, through landline telephones, cell phones, smart phones, computers, email, the internet and more. What would life be without these?
4. Which errands should you probably run this weekend?
I need to deposit a check I got in the mail.
5. What are your feelings about yogurt?
I like yogurt, especially strawberry and lemon lime flavors. Often yogurt is too expensive.
Aha... another Friday 5,,, this one on sugar sweet... which can be detrimental to our health. But let's go... Questions courtesy of Scrivener....
1. How much of a sweet tooth do you have?
A big one. I like chocolate and most sweet tasting dessert type foods. The good thing is that all the good ones are expensive, which means I rarely indulge and that is good for my health. No one wants to get diabetes.
2. What sweet dishes do you prefer at breakfast?
Waffles with maple syrup, butter whipped cream and a cherry on top.
French toast with maple syrup, butter and whipped cream. Ditto for pancakes.
3. What have you recently gotten a sweet deal on?
Last year during Black Friday I got not one, but two Amazon Echo balls... In the year that I have owned them, they've been a mixed bag of information, entertainment, music and stupidity. Honestly, Alexa is not as smart as Amazon makes it out to be unless you want to dish out more cash to make purchases.
Amazon wrongly thought that people would use Echo devices to make more purchases at Amazon and through other services that they could get a revenue stream from. In the end they were wrong, and the Alexa service will probablylose up to $10 billion this year. Most people use their devices just to get the news, weather, ask trivial questions, play a few free games or listen to music.
And then there are still those privacy issues that you have to take care of once you get a device.
4. What are some good songs with the word “sweet” in the title or lyrics?
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) - Eurythmics
Sweet Home Alabama - Lynyrd Skynyrd
Sweet Talkin' Woman - Electric Light Orchestra
Sweet Nothins' - Brenda Lee
Ain't She Sweet - The Beatles
My Sweet Lord - George Harrison (the lawyers for The Chiffons loved this song)
Sweet Emotion - Aerosmith
Sweet City Woman - The Stampeders
Sweet and Innocent - Donny Osmond
Sweet Child O' Mine - Guns N Roses
How Sweet It Is - Marvin Gaye or James Taylor
There's probably more from the 1980s, 90s, 21st century...
5. What evidence might someone present to prove you are a sweet person?
Since I became a whole lot older, I am generally more grumpy and pessimistic. Sweetness is not me unless it is chocolate, free money or a good pop-rock song.
Getting back into developing my own black and white film and making prints from that. Haven't done it since college. Cost and lack of space is too prohibitive.
3. What are you less into than you once were?
I stopped buying vinyl records. I ran out of space and in the last 3 years the price of vinyl records have significantly increased making purchases out of my budget range. I have to be satisfied with the 600+ record albums I already own and a couple hundred 45s. I had to severely cut back my music collection of records, CDs and tapes back in 2016. 😐
4. What difficult-to-find item would you really like to get your hands on?
A copy of "Beach Rock" 45 rpm record on SeaWest Records by the rock group Blue Finn. I think that was their only record and it has never been issued to a digital format as far as I know. I have a copy but someone in my family severely played it too many times and made a scratchy mess out of the recording. Ugh!
5. What is the standard attire for people into whatever you’re into? If there is none, what would be the appropriate dress?
Casual. I am not a dress up type of person and I get along best with people who are casually dressed.
Friday 5 for December 2: Seconds
1. When did someone last offer you a second chance?
God. I got a second chance on life in late 2015.
2. For how many seconds can you hold your breath?
I like breathing. I don't hold my breath for anything.
3. What movie was better on second viewing?
Generally when I don't like a movie on first viewing, I never bother to give it a second chance. I can't think of anything recent or from the past that I gave a second chance to watch again.
4. What’s your second-favorite song by your second-favorite musician?
Currently, "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John.
5. When did you most recently have to redo something because you were careless or sloppy?
I hate redoing anything. It is like one step forward and three steps back! Ugh.... most recently some elements of the Assistance League of Hawaii Newsletter.
3. What’s a good summer movie or a good summer book?
Movie:Jaws - If you haven't seen this classic Steven Spielberg movie see it! You'll think twice before going into the water at the beach. A swimming pool will be safer!
Book: I can't think of any books that are specifically summer related. Except if you like plenty of sand, gigantic worms, a very dystopian society full of conflict in a world where the spice and water are super precious commodities, then I can recommend Frank Herbert's Dune, which is the first of several sprawling books in the series.
4. How is this summer better than last summer?
I don't know about that. Stuff costs more this summer than they did last summer. Have you seen the price of gas? That surely limits summer travel. Air fares are up too. But then I haven't flown since the start of COVID.
5. What special something are you doing this summer?
I'm thinking whether or not I should drive to the other side of the island to go see the U.S. Navy Blue Angels flight show in August. I've seen them two times before and the USAF's Thunderbirds three times before. It may be more of the same, but it is always exciting. I just don't relish the though on driving in traffic to and from the event.
The questions as usual come from the Friday 5 website.
1. When did you last eat or drink something purchased from a truck or other wheeled vehicle?
I used to go to a variety of lunch trucks in the past. The last time I went to one was probably in 2019, months before the COVID-19 attack happened. Since then I have not returned. Also prices for plate lunches spiked A LOT higher since the start of that darn pandemic.
2. When did you last purchase something previously owned?
A couple of $1 record albums that I bought from the Thrift Shop. New vinyl records are now WAY TOO EXPENSIVE! Thanks millennials for spiking the prices higher. Ugh! You folks should have just stayed with digital.
3. When did a purchase most recently exceed your expectations?
For any purchase to exceed my expectations, it has to 1. last longer than 10 years and 2. be affordable. That said, many of the cameras I use are older than 10 years. Some of my audio gear is old and analog. Love em. We need more devices that do not connect to the internet.
My Toyota Corolla is way older than 10 years. I certainly got my money's worth on that car, which I bought used many, many years ago. Things that cost more than $100 should last a long time. I use a 10 year time frame to gauge the quality of expensive consumer items. Long ago when you spent serious money, you expected things to last a very long time.
4. When did you last overpay for something because you needed it right away?
Gasoline!Damn that Biden. The Keystone Pipeline should be re-opened and our national policy should go to making our nation oil independent free of expensive foreign crude from the Middle East, Indonesia and Russia! Trump had that right.
Like everyone else that drives, we are severely impacted by the price of gas at the pump. Per gallon, while we are not the highest in the nation, $5.50+ cents per gallon truly bites, even if I only drive a Corolla!
5. Among recent purchases, what was the best bargain?
I got two FREE (with coupon discounts, etc.) Paul McCartney CDs from Amazon this week.... Egypt Station from 2018 and McCartney III from 2020 (see photo at top). Happy belated birthday Paul... 80 years strong and thanks for the decades of great music! Yeah!
Overall, CDs are now a way better bargain than new vinyl LPs. They cost way less, and like it or not, are more durable than record albums (which I still love, thank God I already have a big collection of many classic titles) and sound great even when bought used. Can't say that about vinyl record albums, especially when you take a chance on used titles (though I have been lucky with most).
Record albums should be $8 to $9 for a standard black vinyl issue as new. Clearly less than $15. I was cringing when reissues of LPs that I bought brand new for $8 or even less back in the day, are now selling for over $20 a pop and more recently with an industry price hike, selling for more than $30. I mean is a $30 copy of The BeatlesAbbey Road worth it when a perfectly fine CD can be had for half the price? Duh! Good thing I have both the CD and a vinyl record copy of this classic album in my collection.
As for new music released this century I am more than happy with a digital download or a regular CD. Musicians of the current generation are not worthy for issuance on vinyl and the high prices that go with that.
Whatever task I was doing but not putting a full effort into was good enough if I completed it satisfactorily. Then I went home.
2. What are a few songs you'd include in a middle-of-the-road playlist?
Here is a rough list I compiled of soft rock / pop / easy listening music through the years. Some of the biggest pop and rock artists have made songs that can be considered "middle of the road" or "adult contemporary". You can listen to the music by scrolling further down this list.
1. Yesterday Once More - The Carpenters
2. The End of the World - Skeeter Davis
3. Chances Are - Johnny Mathis
4. Can't Help Falling in Love With You - Elvis Presley
5. I'm Sorry - Brenda Lee
6. Calcutta - Lawrence Welk & Orchestra
7. Strangers in the Night - Frank Sinatra
8. Never on Sunday - Connie Francis
9. (I Left My Heart in) San Francisco - Tony Bennett
10. Michelle - The Beatles
11. You're My World - Helen Reddy
12. Can't Smile Without You - Barry Manilow
13. Sundown - Gordon Lightfoot
14. Don't Expect Me To Be Your Friend - Lobo
15. Open Arms - Journey
16. On The Wings of Love - Jeffrey Osborne
17. Hard To Say I'm Sorry - Chicago
18. Always - Atlantic Starr
19. Hello - Adele
20. Fallin For You - Colbie Caillat
Hopefully you like the examples I have presented here and are able to create your own playlists with similar music.
3. What is the most ordinary thing about you?
My body parts are pretty much the same with some fixing as most of the species classified as homo sapien.
4. What do you like most about an average day?
Sleeping. Meh is the topic right?
5. What do people seem to think is wonderful while you think its just okay?
My photography, though most of the pictures I have shot I consider "meh". Whatever. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Merry Christmas! And now to answer the weekly Friday 5 questions.
1. If you owned a new professional sports team (pick any sport!), what would you name it, and what be its team colors?
Out here in Hawaii, owning a professional sports team is totally unfeasible for maybe the exception of one type... Minor League Baseball. In order for that to be successful, there has to be 1. fans willing to come to a small ball field to watch games all the time 2. connection to a MLB team preferably on the West Coast 3. A good radio and streaming TV contract rights 4. Ability to probably have to pay for competing teams to fly over and stay in Hawaii for each game 5. and last but not least a good small stadium that has plenty of parking and near the metropolitan area where some people could walk to the games for a day/night of viewing.
Cue up the old Honolulu Stadium. This was a reality back in the day and that team was called the Hawaii Islanders. It was for more part very successful in urban Honolulu at the small rickety wooden facility.
The team pretty much went back north after the forced move to Aloha Stadium and probably the increased costs, distance, etc. from their fan base.
So yes, in an ideal, and somewhat nostalgic way, a revival of the Hawaii Islanders baseball franchise could be doable. Heck they could even elect to play at 4 or 5 home "stadiums".... Honolulu U.H. stadium (with a good rental agreement as to not interfere with the UH team in scheduling) , Maui, Hilo, Kona and maybe Kauai, though the population there may be too small.
It could be something worth looking into as long as they do not have to play at a large overpriced, costly and as of yet unbuilt Aloha Stadium replacement.
All in all this would be a super expensive venture that has a huge share of risk.
Answer: Minor League Baseball team, Hawaii Islanders (revival) depending on who owns the right to that name.
2. If you owned a new restaurant, what would you name it, and what kind of cuisine would it serve?
Restaurants are the most mortal business anyone can take a risk at starting and running. Most restaurants go out of business in a very short time unless they have some kind of unique selling point. I for one would never go into this business. I am not passionate about cooking or even eating out, given COVID-19 and all the regulatory crap that goes along with it. Plus restaurants are so highly regulated I have to ask myself is it worth the time and money?
That said, the cheapest thing I could think of coming up with is a shaved ice stand with just a minimum offering, a tiny space or a mobile set-up. Mel's Shaved Ice and Cheap Snacks
3. If you owned a little independent retail shop, what would you name it, and what would it sell?
A record and CD music store that sold used music including vinyl, CDs, tapes and maybe some videos. It is a big risky kind of business to go into since it requires a lot of inventory, with most not selling very quickly. Plus the competition from digital and online streaming is huge... so a store such as this would be a very niche operation.
We have two record stores that I know of in this city and maybe that is enough. The market for physical music media is not that huge.
Name? Desert Island Discs? I dunno.
4. If you launched a charity, what would be its cause?
There needs to be a charity for those people with serious long-term body injuries or conditions, who live below the poverty line, and cannot afford to pay for needed surgery to correct their condition. Is there such a charity where people in need can be funded for major surgery that Medicare nor Medicaid are willing to fund?
Tell me about it or someone or group with deep pockets, please start one. Thank you.
5. What kind of recreation is sorely lacking in your town?
Over the years Hawaii has seen the decline or elimination of the following:
1. What kiddie song do you still like as a grownup?
As I get older, I like this well known kiddie song less and less for every year that I age... roll the drum please...
1. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU - Various Artists: It's probably the most sung and most popular song ever.
2. C is For Cookie - Cookie Monster / Sesame Street*
3. Yellow Submarine - The Beatles (Paul McCartney said it is a children's song)
4. The Hokey Pokey - Various artists first version by Ray Anthony
5. The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Time is Here) - The Chipmunks (David Seville)
6. Sing - The Carpenters
7. Jingle Bells - Various artists over the years.
8. The Bunny Hop - Ray Anthony / various artists for kids
9. Itsy Bitsy Spider - Various Artists / Carly Simon
10. Puff the Magic Dragon - Original by Peter, Paul & Mary
I was already too old when Sesame Street with all The Muppets premiered on TV... but I am familiar with the songs since my younger sister and brother watched it. Cookie Monster was and still is my favorite character on that series.
Click on the link below to get a short sample of all the songs on this list, or click on the graphic to listen to the entire list on Spotify.
2. When did a new* song most recently* get you excited?
There's plenty. I keep a blog of my Current Top 20 songs at this link. But for this week only, debuting at #15 on my chart is the kids punk rock band The Linda Lindas and "OH!". It's a shallow but fun song with all the right hooks in my book.
I participate on a message board system where other users publish their weekly charts of current songs. Fun stuff... I've been off and on through the years.
3. What song were you introduced to via television ad or as background in a movie or TV show?
Most influential song introduced to me when I first saw the movie? Of course it has to be STAR WARS, the opening theme by John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra. From the time I first heard it back in 1977, I said to myself, this is a GREAT song along with a GREAT score that clearly delineates the difference between good and evil. I mean Darth Vader had his own theme going which carried through the entire series, as well as Princess Leia and the other characters we all learned about in one of the most enduring movie series ever.
Every time that theme starts I can always reflect to when I first saw the original Star Wars back in the day for many times at Honolulu's Cinerama Theater from 1977 to 1978. Movies back then only cost $3.50 to see. Great times!
My second most favorite movie song has got to be THEME FROM JAWS also by John Williams. Lately I thought about taking a big boombox to the beach and playing this song. That would be funny.
The best TV theme song of all time is HAWAII FIVE-0 by Mort Stevens. The Ventures took this song to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969. When I was going to high school we played it for school band. It remains a very popular marching and pep song at ball games in Hawaii and elsewhere.
My second favorite TV theme song is THEME FROM MIAMI VICE by Jan Hammer. That record is the last instrumental song to top the Billboard Hot 100 at #1. This was way back in 1985.
Best TV ad song that I remember:
I'd Like to Teach The World to Sing - Coca Cola (1971) - The New Seekers made this a top 20 hit back in 1972.
4. Which song’s opening lyric do you especially love?
When I was a kid the one song that caught me was "Sweet Nothins'" by Brenda Lee and the sexy, spoken word opener.... "Aha Honey... All Right" and then the song starts,"My baby whispers in my ear... ooh Sweet Nothins'"... This song was so gutsy at that time for my childhood ears (released in late 1959).
It went to #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1960. I love the entire album this. song is on, Brenda Lee. Been loving Brenda Lee's music ever since.
Back when I was in college my room mate and I would always laugh at the beginning of this song: "Sucking wind.. slipping down the back road once again..." The title of the song is "Over the Hill" and it is on singer/guitarist John Stewart's most famous album Bombs Away Dream Babies, which features both Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac. This album came out in 1978. Nicks and Buckingham were busy after 1977's Rumours working on albums for their friends. These include Not Shy by Walter Egan and French Kiss by former Fleetwood Mac singer and guitarist, Bob Welch.
After all of this they re-grouped as Fleetwood Mac to record Tusk. Oh and they were also on tour in 1977, which included a concert at Honolulu's Blaisdell Center that I went to that December.
5. With which five songs would you begin a weekend-themed playlist?
I have hundreds if not thousands of playlists spread out over a number of devices (iPods, Mac computers, 4 Android phones (only one has active service), and Alcatel flip phone (not bad for a $20 MP3 player that can hold 32 gigs of music on a micro SD card... whop your jaws Apple!), various online services (YouTube Music, Spotify, Amazon Prime and 8Tracks.com), and about 100 cassettes that I still have in my home, most all mixed tapes made in the 1980s and 1990s.
So I have a playlist for any mood, any kind of music genre, and era that I want listen to all of the day and night, every week, month and year... oh boy.
That all said, I have no specific list for this weekend.
Here... sample or listen to my Spotify list of this week's Current Top 20 Hits according to Mel... These playlists are mostly rap and hip hop free zone. Enjoy.
The Friday 5 for February 26 dealing with telephones. I am not a big fan of telephones yet I have about 6 of them, of which only two are activated. Got 2 landline phones (non-active), a Samsung Galaxy J7 smartphone from 2016 that still kind of works and is connected to TMobile, Alcatel Flip 3 phone through Tracfone (now my primary phone) and two other older, 3G Alcatel smartphones that work but are not connected to any service. They make good radios, streaming music and wifi enabled devices, All of my cell phones have batteries you can easily replace and all have the good old analog headphone jack. That all said, there is not an iPhone in plain sight of me. Too expensive and you cannot easily replace the battery,
1. What is the longest you ever spent on the phone on one call?
I don't like to spend time talking on the phone. I especially hate using the telephone when I have to call one of those places that put you in menu and voicemail hell... and then if and when you get to a real person, you are connected to a call center in India, the Philippines or some other country where English is not very good and they know nothing about Hawaii. I am calling you out Hawaiian Airlines for having a stupid call center in the Philippines (though I haven't used it in years... maybe they moved it back to the U.S.A.)...... The good thing is that due to COVID-19 I am not flying to anywhere.
Getting back to the core question... I hate being placed on hold for 20 to 30 minutes and some places for more than an hour. Arrrrrgh!!! And the dreadful hold music... AAAAARRRRRGGGGGH!!!! Being on the phone for a long time, on hold, listening to dreadful music truly sucks!
2. When you were a teen, how important was the phone in your daily life?
The most important thing to have access to a phone for was to either call someone up to pick me up, or try to be caller #3 or whatever to the local radio station so that you could win the great prize. It was fun back in the old landline only, analog phone days where you could figure out how to be the right caller to the radio station to snag the prize.... usually some record that I wanted for free of course.
3. How much do you use the actual telephone function of your phone today?
Not too often. I used to use it more when 1. my parents were still alive and 2. Lisa was not living with me. I still call my sister, so I guess that counts for quality phone time... and a few of my friends far and between. I think like most people, even in my advancing age, we use SMS texts, email and other less personal, online methods of communicating remotely.
4. How well do you handle phone calls at work?
"Good (morning, afternoon) this is Mel from XXXXX's office. How may we help you?" or something to that effect. And then we listen to what the caller wants and see if we can actually help with whatever question they have or at least take a message and forward to call to someone else who can help. Just have to be pleasant even if the caller is irksome... we get a few of those.
5. What are some good telephone-themed songs?
OK let's try a 5 +5 list for this one.
1. Don't Call Us, We'll Call You - Sugarloaf (1975)
2. Call Me Back Again - Paul McCartney & Wings (1975)
3. 867-5309 Jenny - Tommy Tutone (1983)
4. Hanging on the Telephone - Blondie (1978)
5. Payphone - Maroon 5 (2012)
6. Operator (That's Not The Way It Feels) - Jim Croce (1973)
7. Telephone Man - Meri Wilson (1977)
8. Echo Valley 2-6809 - The Partridge Family (1971)
9. Star 69 - R.E.M. (1993)
10. Syliva's Mother - Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show (1972)
Way back in late 1966 singing group The5th Dimension had a top 10 hit with a song called "Up Up and Away". I probably would have named this topic after that song. Anyway, here are my five answers to this week's Friday 5.
1. What most recently made you feel elated?
Nothing has made me feel "elated". The closest I got for being "presently surprised" when friends recently gifted me with a 2013 Apple iMac computer, an older Apple iPad Mini (running iOS 9.3), and an old Acer Netbook computer running Windows 8.0. The Mac is working just great with Catalina (OS 10.15) and the iPad can get by with whatever iOS 9.3 compliant apps I can find in Apple's walled garden of an app store. The PC leaves a bit to be desired... however I have gotten it connected to my WiFi network, so that is good. Perhaps I may fiddle around with Linux on that thing if I ever can find time to be that adventurous.
2. Where is the slowest elevator in the universe?
Here in Honolulu there are two elevators that I know of. First off are the public elevators at the Hawaii State Capitol. When the place is busy it can be a long wait before one of the five available public elevators manage to show up. The freight elevator is the slowest in that building. State Capitol... you have the second slowest elevators that I know of.
Topping the list is the one and only 1927 era elevator that is still operational inside Aloha Tower, one of the popular tourist attractions in Downtown Honolulu. Up to last year, I used to love to go there on a Sunday (free street parking across Nimitz) to just hang out at the top floor (10th) and take pictures of any ships that were coming or going and many of the docked ones. While far from the tallest building in the city, it's harbor front location makes it an ideal place to capture some nice oceanside views from a free elevation.
I haven't been there since the start of the whole COVID-19 pandemic. Ugh. I miss the place. So yes, Aloha Tower elevator, you are the slowest that I know of.
3. When were you most recently in an airplane?
The last time I travelled off island was back in July 2019. It was a roundtrip on Southwest Airlines, Boeing 737-800NG from Honolulu to Kona and back from Kona to Honolulu. I was on the Big Island of Hawaii for almost two weeks back then. This was all before the COVID-19 crisis hit us. Now I have no desire whatsoever to travel anywhere off island in an airplane or ship. I just don't like the entire process of having to get tested, wear a mask and surrender personal information to more places that I can think of. What happened to our freedoms? Ugh!
The last airplane I rode was this Boeing 737-800NG on Southwest Airlines.
4. With what have you had it up to here?
COVID-19and all of its government imposed restrictions
Rail - Dumbest most expensive waste of taxpayer dollars in Hawaii this century. Now it is costing at least $11 billion and counting up to more! I hate paying taxes for this wasteful government project. Ugh!
5. What’s a good song whose title contains the word “sky?”
