Friday 5 for August 11: Scattergories Part 7!

What random letter was generated by the online random-letter generator (this doesn’t really count as one of your five questions)?

Questions from Scrivener's Friday 5 blog.

1. What’s something gross whose name begins with the letter? 

Some types of WORMS are gross, like um... MAGGOTS eating decaying, dead flesh. That whole scenario is gross.

2. What’s something crunchy whose name begins with the letter? 

* Waffles

 3. What’s something (or who is someone) you wouldn’t mind hugging whose name begins with the letter?

There are only 3 people in my Google Contacts list that start with W. I don't want to hug anyone on that portion of the list.

4. What’s something whose name begins with the letter and can be found on a passenger airplane?

  Wings ☺

5. What’s something (whose name begins with the letter) you could purchase at a hardware store?

Wheelbarrow
Weed Whacker
Window Frames
Window Shutters
Windows
Wastebaskets
Wiring
Washers

Friday 5 for August 4: In Your Head! In Your Head!

The questions are taken from Scrivener's weekly Friday 5.

1. Which mythical monster would you most enjoy discovering (first- or second-hand) is real?

Loch Ness Monster - If it is real it is best that it stays in its lake in the U.K. and not be a menace to seagoing transport. Would love to see concrete, scientific proof that this beast exists. A series of great photos and videos would do the trick. Come on people in the U.K. Where are those GoPro cameras flying over Loch Ness trying to get images of the elusive beast.

2. When did you last exhibit monstrous behavior?

When I lost a 48 page legal document I was typing in the computer many years ago after the power cut out for a minute! Lesson learned: save your work as you go along.

3. What do you think of monster trucks?

I would not buy an expensive toy like that. It's fine for people who have disposable income and like that kind of vehicle to crush other vehicles. If the owners are doing it for a show and deriving income from said truck(s), then it is totally fine with me. I just would not own one myself.

4. If you like monster movies, what’s a monster movie you dislike? And if you dislike them, what’s a monster movie you like?

Monster movies I dislike: Probably most slasher type of movies - Friday the 13th, etc.

Monster movies I like:



1. ALIENS (the second in the series was the best, and perhaps greatest monster movie of all time).

2. THE FLY (1986 version with Jeff Goldblum)

3. BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS - Classic 1953 Ray Harryhausen stop motion animated movie that inspired all of the big dinosaur movies that followed.

4. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968) - The original, low budget, black & white movie foreshadowed all of the zombie movies that followed. This is a good movie made on a shoestring budget.

5. GODZILLA, MOTHRA - The Japanese Toho productions made monster movies fun. Especially the ones with people in rubber suits dressed as gigantic monsters.

Honorable Mentions - MONSTER IN THE CLOSET (1978), CARRIE (1976), KING KONG (1933).



5. What song about a monster (or with the word monster in the title) do you really like?

My top 5 monster songs:

1. Zombie - The Cranberries
2. Monsters and Angels - Voice of the Beehive
3. Werewolves of London - Warren Zevon
4. Frankenstein - Edger Winter Group
5. The Monster Mash - Bobby "Boris" Pickett

Friday 5 for July 29: Off Balance

The following questions were posted to Scrivener's Friday 5 page.

1. What most recently made you giddy?

Nothing recently. My life is fairly mundane. I don't get giddily excited about anything. Things just happen. They may be good or they may be bad. Sometimes we never know.

2. What most recently left you agog?

The Diamond Head Lighthouse is celebrating their 100th anniversary this year and the U.S. Coast Guard is going to have an open house next month. Most certainly want to check this out. Prior to that, maybe going to my last rock concert to see Ringo Starr.

3. What most recently left you aghast?

My paycheck?

4. What in your life is the most higgledy-piggledy?

I would have to phrase that as "was" because for many years I was mired in household clutter. Had to get it all cleaned out last year. I sold or donated many books, records, tapes and CDs. I regret getting rid of several LPs.

5. What was your week a mish-mash of?

Scheduling.



Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance - trippy old film from 1982 that is compressed into 5 minutes here.

Friday 5 for July 21: Let’s Get Physical

Questions from Scrivener's Friday 5 site.

1. How confidently could you turn a cartwheel right now? 

ZERO. I am too old to be doing this kind of stuff. Don't want to break a bone anytime soon.

2. How (physically) flexible are you?

Basically I am a walking stiff. ZERO.

3. How are your Frisbee-throwing skills?

Haven't thrown one in decades so I would have to rate it at a ZERO.

4. Which carnival game do you have the best shot at winning?

Never played carnival games because it is a way for them to take away more of your money in the hope that you may win something, usually useless like a stuffed animal. ZERO.

5. How good are you at toss-the-paper-in-the-wastebasket?

Fair. I sometime can get 2 points depending on how far away I am.

Thinking about this song right now:

Friday 5 for July 14: Mornings Are for Coffee and Contemplation

From Scrivener's Friday 5 blog:

"In honor of Barb somehow getting an Emmy nomination (look it up if you don’t know and you’re curious), five questions."

First of all who the heck is Barb? Never heard of her. Looked up Emmy nominations here: http://variety.com/2017/tv/news/2017-emmy-nominees-list-nominations-1202494465/ - Saw no mention of this person. Plus I haven't seen any of the TV shows nominated except for the first year of Better Call Saul on some pirate website. Because I am such a cheap ass and cut my cable years ago and watch mostly YouTube and free stuff that is old on free streaming channels, I don't keep up with current TV except for local and Fox News.

1. Why are waffles better than pancakes?

Waffles have ridges and they are far more crispier than flat pancakes.

2. What’s something you remember about being 11?

Eleven was 1969. The most significant thing I remember was watching the first lunar landing and moonwalk by the astronauts of Apollo 11.... all on a colorful, grainy, black and white TV... using an antenna because in those days there was no cable.

3. What experience do you have with role-playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons?

None. I can't remember doing a role playing game ever. Just another personification of I not being a serious gamer beyond a 5 minute Nintendo app that can kill me in less time than that.

4. How do you feel about carnival rides that make you go upside-down?

Nauseous.... avoid at all costs... which is easy since 1. I rarely ever go to carnivals and 2. all rides are outrageously expensive.

5. You’ve seen Matthew Modine in more films than you realize (which he famously admitted during his opening monologue when he hosted Saturday Night Live in 1988) (filmography here). Which have you seen, and which was the best?

After looking at the filmography list, the only movies I've seen with this guy in it were the following:

Full Metal Jacket
Memphis Belle
Men in Black

I don't remember the Modine characters very well in any of those movies.

Out of the three movies, I remember Full Metal Jacket the most due to the basic training section of the story which were ultra memorable because of the conflict between the drill sergeant and the bumbling Private "Pyle". Intense. The movie then falls apart during the Vietnam War portion because it did not look like a tropical jungle or environment. Found out later that the film was shot entirely in the U.K.... not exactly a tropical place. Fail.

Memphis Belle I remember because the crew of the B-17 bomber were all shot to hell but they still made it back to base after the bombing run. Modine's plane was shot down and he died. Heh. ☺

Don't remember anything about his role in Men In Black. Was not really impressed with that movie at all.... I don't take too well to comedy in scifi.

From the three movies mentioned above, Full Metal Jacket is the best but not because of Modine.

Friday 5 for July 7: Grabby

Questions from Scivener's weekly Friday 5 blog.

1. There’s a convenience store nearby and you have a small case of the munchies. What do you grab?

Lately a granola bar like the one pictured above.

2. You’re about to get on a plane and someone just stole all your reading material, but there’s a newsstand nearby. What magazine (of likely available titles) do you grab?

Who buys magazines these days? They cost at least $5 a pop not the $2 of years gone by. The internet has free stuff you can read, but of course the damn thing don't work on many flights. Of course you can always download a book or PDF file of some sort to read on your device. Or maybe even listen to a podcast. Plenty of stuff to keep you entertained and informed while on a plane.

3. On a regular work day, where do you grab lunch and what do you get if you don’t bring a lunch from home?

I don't have much time for lunch, so the granola bar (above) is a substitute.

4. Instead of a lunch, you decide you need a quick nap during your workday. Where can you grab 40 winks?

We'd be fired if we slept on the job. :O

5. How close to your head is your cell phone when you’re asleep in bed?

Today's smart phones are pretty much internet access devices and digital cameras more than they are a phone, so yeah, they are close by so you can get news, information or entertainment. Mine is on the night table connected to a long charging cable.

I purposely leave the damn thing at home when I don't want to be bothered. For emergency use I do carry around an out of commission Alcatel phone that can still do emergency 911 calls.

Friday 5 for June 30: Shape of Things to Come

The M House by Melvin Ah Ching © 2017

Questions from Scivener's Friday 5 blog.

1. What shape is your mood today?

Moods change through the day. As of this morning, my mood is reservedly optimistic. Got the day off, jury duty was postponed.

2. What snack comes in a fun shape?

Animal Crackers.

3. Someone’s building your dream house, but it has to be in the shape of a letter of the alphabet.  Which letter do you choose?

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

The letter M would be the shape of my house (see picture above). Both the upper and lower case letter "M" use up the most space of any letter form. Therefore they seem to be a stable design to use in a possible construction of a dwelling. The letters A, D, L, N and Z may also be stable enough. A has proven itself since there are plenty of A shaped dwellings around.

4. What’s a great song with a shape in its title or lyrics?


Off the top of my head is the British bubblegum hit from 2007 called "Pull Shapes" by The Pipettes. Otherwise there is the #1 hit from earlier this year called "Shape of You" by Ed Sheeran which is a pretty good song.

5. What’s something in your line of sight that can reasonably be called blob-shaped?

Crumpled up tissue..... clouds outside my window.