Friday 5 for December 21 - It's Not the End of the World

Things I’ve been thinking about on the eve of the supposed end of history.

1. What’s something gross you’ve seen or tasted recently?

Seen - stuff in the toilet. Tasted - nothing recently.

2. What movie this holiday season are you most looking forward to?

"A Christmas Story" - the one about Ralphe the kid who wants the Red Ryder BB gun; his Dad's busted leg lamp and ruined turkey dinner... you know which one, the old classic from 1983. They do a marathon on TBS yearly. I'll probably watch it again.

3. What makes one photographer better or worse than any other?

Better - Attitude. Worst - Arrogance or Irresponsibility.

4. What specific, annual part of this season most makes you feel all the positive feelings again?

Some of the better holiday music.

5. What are your thoughts on eggnog?

Not a fan of eggnog.

So much for the end of the world.

Friday 5 for December 14: There's a Theme, Trust Me

A strange one this week from Scrivener's Friday 5 weblog that seems to be disjointed but allows for plenty of pictures. Here we go.



1. How self-conscious do you get when someone’s pointing a camera at you?

I hate having my photo taken, especially in this digital age when you don't have any control of your image and you don't know where that image may end up.

2. What was the last meal you took a photo of?

I take photos of food on a regular basis. The last food item I took a picture of were a box of Hostess Ding Dongs. The last "meal" I took a photo of is posted below. The entire photo stream of food appears in the slideshow below.







3. When were you last bitten or stung by something?

Possibly a few weeks ago by a mosquito.

4. What’s something people miss most when they move away from your area?



1. The beach. 2. The sand. 3. The surf. 4. Warm weather year round. 5. Pretty Girls. 6. sunsets



5. On long day-trips, do you prefer to be the driver or passenger? Why?

I would prefer to be the front seat passenger because I like to take pictures as we go along.

Friday 5 for December 7: Themeless

1. You know those delicatessens that name sandwiches after famous people? What would be the ingredients of the sandwich named after you?

The Mel Burger would have a garlic flavored sesame seed bun, 1/2 pound charcoal broiled all beef patty with lettuce, tomato, bell peppers, onion, olives, a light spread of mayonaise, a touch of ketchup, green relish and sprinkled with black pepper and other spices. The buns would also be toasted. The deluxe combo would come with a medium Strawberry Icee and an optional bag of tator tots, potato wedges or onion rings.

2. What’s your favorite part of staying in a hotel?

Having maid service clean up after you mess the place up the night before.

3. What was the last book you read, and how was it?

"How to Write and Self Publish eBooks for Free" by Jessica Cambrook... this is a short read on the basic nuts and bolts of how tow write, publish and market an eBook. I expected a little more on the technical end of what is the best software to use for creating an eBook. But then again this eBook was free from the Apple store so I can't complain too much.

4. What’s something super-unhealthy you’ve recently eaten?

Eating burgers and fries, chocolate candies and more on a regular basis tends to add up to "super-unhealthy".

5. What do you do with all those Christmas cards with photos of friends
and their kids?

Usually they get filed away, but I think this year I will scan them in and put 'em on Flickr and Facebook.

Questions posted from Scrivener's Friday 5 weblog.

Friday 5 for November 30: Tired Car Metaphors

1. What area of your life has lately (and pleasantly) been on cruise control?

Nothing. It's always stop and go for me.

2. Where in your life should you probably hit the brakes?

Eating.

3. Where do you go when you just need a little tune-up?

Home. Big Island of Hawaii.

4. How much junk have you got in the trunk?

Too Much. Want to buy a small collection of old Nintendo NES game cartridges?

5. Where is the needle on your fuel gauge pointing today?

Full @ 92,000 miles.



Answer these questions and more at Scrivener's Friday 5.

Friday 5 for November 23 - Black

OK, yes this is late but I could not pass this one up since it has a great music question / list at the end. So here goes... BLACK!


1. What’s your favorite black article of clothing?

Black Space Invaders T-Shirt.

2. What’s the best black food?

Opihi - raw with Hawaiian rock salt for flavoring. BTW, Opihi are not totally black, but their bodies have black coloring that you can see after you pry them out of the shell.

3. How did you pass the time during your most recent extended blackout (power outage)?

Listen to the radio waiting for news on when the power would be restored and the emergency situation would end. Also went around community and took photos. This was during the October 2006 earthquake.

4. When did you last play blackjack?

Sometime many years ago on my Mac IIsi computer.

5. What are some songs in your iTunes (or other media player) whose titles contain the word black?

I have about 50 tracks in my iTunes library with the word "black" in its title. Among my favorites:

1. Paint It Black - The Rolling Stones
2. Black Dog - Led Zeppelin
3. Black Magic Woman - Santana
4. Blackbird - The Beatles
5. Black Sheep Wall - The Innocence Mission
6. Black Friday - Steely Dan
7. Blackout - Breathe Carolina
8. Black & White - Three Dog Night
9. Black Betty - Ramjam
10. Black is Black - Los Bravos
11. Black Magic Woman - Fleetwood Mac
12. Long Cool Woman (in a Black Dress) - The Hollies
13. Black Velvet - Alannah Myles
14. Spin the Black Circle - Pearl Jam
15. Black Horse & a Cherry Tree - KT Tunstall
16. Black Water - Doobie Brothers
17. Black Sand - Kalapana
18. Back in Black - AC/DC (not in iTunes, LP only)
19. Black - Pearl Jam
20. Black Country Woman - Led Zeppelin
21. Man in Black - Johnny Cash
22. Black or White - Michael Jackson
23. Two Black Cadillacs - Carrie Underwood
24. Black Cat - Janet Jackson
25. Baby's in Black - The Beatles

Friday 5 for November 9 - TV Sitcoms

The answers to these questions have nothing to do with TV sitcoms.



1. When was someone or something recently Too Close for Comfort?

This was not very recent, but it did occur in 2004. I was on board an Aloha Airlines flight that had to abort a landing at Honolulu International Airport because another plane was on the runway that we were set to land on.

2. Besides yourself, who’s recently been in Double Trouble?

Mitt Romney, Ben Cayetano, Linda Lingle and Charles Djou all lost the November 6 election. The nation is in double trouble because a lot of people with socialist and communist agendas have taken over.

3. What’s Happening?

I just typed a response to these questions and posted them online. Something will happen next, but I'm not telling.

4. Who’s the Boss?

Me, myself and I.

5. What are you most likely to be up to from 9 to 5 tomorrow?

Working on something with my computer.

Thanks for participating, and have a Makin’ It weekend!

Will try. 10-4 over and out.

Friday 5 for November 2: Dreaming

1, If you suddenly received a ton of money and could open up some kind of store or service just for the pleasure of having it (assume it wouldn’t have to be too financially successful!), what would it be? 

 I always wanted to operate either a record store or a radio station.

 

 2. What service or store that no longer exists do you miss most? 

Plenty - Aloha Airlines, Mid Pacific Airlines, Woolworth, Kress Stores, Western Stores, Job Lot, Records Hawaii, The Record Museum, Tower Records, Radio Free Hawaii, Froggies, Hasegawa Store in Honokaa, Hamakua Fountain, Tou Inn, Dairy Queen in Honokaa, and other eating places too numerous to mention.



3. What local business do you think you could make better if you were to take it over? And if you don’t mind sharing, what changes would you make? 

Not exactly local, but at the Don Quijote Stores I'd bring back all of those one dollar items they used to sell that came from Japan.

4. What spot nearby seems to be impossible for businesses to survive in?

Restaurant Row complex near Downtown Honolulu has had a historically high rate of turnover. Many eating places have come and gone there over the last 20 years. There frequently are many vacant spots for people to set up a restaurant, but they remain empty.

Kalama Village Center, a small strip mall located in Hawaii Kai is mostly empty.

5. We’ve all seen stores that combined books and records, beer and laundry, or coffee and whatever. One of my favorite places to get coffee in Honolulu is a cafe and florist, and there is a car garage that’s also a diner in a town nearby. What would be a cool hybrid of two disparate ideas for somewhere you’d like to hang out? 

How about a classy coin laundry, bookstore and internet cafe mixed into one business.

Questions posted Nov. 2 at Scrivener's Friday 5.