When I'm walking to certain locations, I tend to think what is the shortest way to get there and then follow through.
2. How do you make up for one of your shortcomings?
Most of the time, I try to avoid those once they happen.
3. What does your favorite pair of shorts look like?
Old with a bunch of pockets... Well worn.
4. What was meant to be short-term but lasted much longer than planned?
Recurring seasonal employment for the last five years.
5. Which short films do you especially like?
My favorite from when I was a kid until today is The Red Balloon, a French film that came out in 1956. I first saw it in school a long time ago for one of our classes.
The DUST Channel on YouTube have a ton of great short, science fiction films. I can't remember the titles of specific films, but for the most part they have all been good.
NPR has the Tiny Desk short in-studio concert series and KCRW have some good concerts. Don't know if they qualify as short films, but I enjoy them.
Lastly Michael Jackson's long form video for "Thriller" is also a good short film.
Bullies. If you know someone who is a bully, the best thing to do is to avoid them whenever possible. I always take this to another level by avoiding "bully locations" such as...er... um Kalihi and Kuhio Avenue in Waikiki during the night time hours. Those areas and several others in Honolulu are high crime areas where bullies, drug pushers, gangs, etc. could strike at you in a very negative way. So yes... B is for BULLIES.
2. With whom would you like to have dinner?
Just off the top of my head, there is no one I personally know that whose name starts with the letter B. That said my other choice would be the actor Bruce Boxleitner. So B is for BRUCE BOXLEITNER... and we have a double B here. Yay!
3. What would you like to learn how to do?
Bake a cake or pie? Sounds delicious. I have never considered myself a cook. I can make edible stuff to just get by. Baking I don't have much patience for, but it does yield something delicious, most of the time... Oh and baked chicken I guess. That is good. B is for BAKE.
4. Where will you find what you’ve been looking all over for?
Ben Franklin Crafts store. I may be able to get some materials that I need to cut and shape and use to replace light baffles in several of my aging film cameras. B is for BEN FRANKLIN CRAFTS STORE.
The place is Earth 1993; The show is Babylon 5. It premiered on the now defunct PTENnetwork in 1993 (the pilot) and launched into a full blown TV series lasting 5 more years through 110 episodes. Babylon 5 had a focused storyline with interesting characters, plots and sub-plots that carried from one episode to another forming a long, planned story arc that lasted for five years (seasons).
Babylon 5's creator and writer of nearly all of the episodes J. Michael Stravinsky (JMS), pitched the series as a "five year novel for television." First run episodes of the entire story ran from 1994 to 1998 on the PTEN network and TNT cable. The show was released to DVD and is streaming on TUBI TV and the Roku Channel.
After the original series finished its network run, a short-lived sequel series titled Crusade was produced for 13 episodes in 1999 before being cancelled by TNT. Four made for TV movies were also produced and aired between 1998 and 2000 on TNT.
Warner Brothers television, the franchise rights owner toBabylon 5 announced a re-imagined series that is supposed to debut on the CW networkwritten by JMS. Since 2020 the series is in development limbo due to a number of factors impacting the show's production.
This year a Babylon 5: The Road Home, an animated movie written by JMS will be released to home video and possibly run on a streaming service such as Amazon Prime. An official announcement regarding the movie's streaming schedule and channel has yet to come. Orders are now being taken for the DVD.
Speaking of which, JMS also announced that Babylon 5 will be released to Blu-Ray DVDfor the first time ever. For many years fans had to be satisfied with releases on VHS and standard DVDs. I have all of the standard DVDs.
Above: Civil war breaks out between the Earth Alliance and Babylon 5. This clip is from the Season 3 episode Severed Dreams which won a Hugo Award back in 1994. All of the music for Babylon 5 was composed by Christopher Franke of Tangerine Dream.
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)
"Questions inspired by a favorite show you don’t have to have seen. 🙂"
Yep, probably some TV show I never saw.
1. How do you feel about (or what do you think of) soccer, the sport known everywhere but in the U.S. as football?
Soccer makes big money for the TV networks all across the world, especially during the FIFA World Cup which they all vie for every four years. The fervor for Soccer in some countries is so great that it is also a security risk at some locations with fans creating riots and other mayhem.
I am happy that American football is a huge success in the USA and continues to be so. What I like best about American football is that it never uses the metric system and keeps our English based inches, feet and yards popularly intact. Damn the rest of the world and their metric system. I can't visualize it. Thanks to football, I can visualize a foot, yard or even a mile (more credit for that goes to speedometers). I can't visualize metrics.
I am not a sports fan, but will watch a game once in a while when there is some interest. Sports TV is very expensive. Cable TV companies so far have sports fans locked into their live sports feeds. Over time this will change as streaming services land more and more contracts from professional and collegiate sport programs. Many are going to streaming where there are better options in terms of consumer choice and cost over cable TV bundles.
Here's a fun music video that promoted the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Africa. The song is called "Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)" by Colombian born singer Shakira.
2. What have you been forgiven for?
Can't remember anything recent or specific on this.
3. Who is the most joyful person you know?
Lisa when she is happy.
4. When were you most recently a fish out of water?
I try not to put myself in unfamiliar situations, which means I mostly play it safe. That said, I can't recall the last time I felt out of place... maybe very long ago when I first worked at the Hawaii State Legislature... way back in 1998... I guess everyone is a newbie at some job or another.
5. Under which circumstances are you the best version of yourself?
My best guess is when I am talking to people about old music, records and the top 40 charts of the 1960s to the 1980s. I was a big fan of the old Casey Kasem "American Top 40" radio show from back then.
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.
