Friday 5 for July 7: Midyear examination

More questions from Scrivener's Friday 5 page.

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)

7. The Flight Channel (YouTube - airline crash accounts / computer simulations)

8. Airline Videos (YouTube - live streaming from LAX, CA. take offs and landings)

9. Adventures Made From Scratch (YouTube - A guy who crushes cars at his junkyard)

10. Melinda (YouTube - Vinyl Record Reviews)

11. Kilauea Volcano Live (YouTube - USGS live feed of active volcano in Hawaii)

I take a long time going through books since I skip around from book to book. None listed right now.

3. What have you learned so far in 2023?

• Our high school in Honokaa will be celebrating their 135th anniversary in July 2024.
• I will likely not be going to see the total solar eclipse on the mainland on April 8, 2024.
• Cars that rely on computer tech are expensive to repair. Better to keep my old Toyota.
• The European Union will force smartphone makers to have removable batteries on their devices. I hate built in batteries.
• Electric car technology involves a lot of child labor in Africa mining for lithium and other metals that are required for manufacturing EV batteries.
• Hawaiian Airlines have become the carrier for Amazon Prime Air. Hopefully our Amazon orders get here faster than before. The airline has acquired Prime Air branded A330-300 freighters.
• My former boss State Senator Sam Slom died this year.
• There are more free streaming TV channels online this year than there were last year.
• My film cameras all need to have their corroding light baffles replaced.
• Can you believe in addition to having their call center in Manila, Philippines, that Hawaiian Air will now farm out their major aircraft maintenance to the Philippines.. and many do not speak English as their first language. I think the FAA requires English proficiency. Cutting corners?
• Southwest Airlines flies the Boeing 737-Max jets to and from Hawaii and inter-island.

4. What is the outlook for the rest of your 2023?

Uncertain and most likely more expensive.

5. What can you do this week to make someone else’s 2023 better?

Be a better listener.

Friday 5 for June 30: It’s a good time for the great taste.

Questions from Scrivener's Friday 5 blog.

1. What lies somewhere Beyond the Sea?

From Hawaii: California, Oregon, Washington and many other states to the East of there.

2.When and where did you last have a Splish Splash?

I spilled some water a few weeks ago at home which I had to wipe off the floor and the counter top.

3. What do you do Early in the Morning?

Open my eyes. Get out of bed. Go to the bathroom. More stuff afterward but it varies.

4. Who is your Dream Lover?

None of them would love me, so names are not worth mentioning.

5. What proves You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby?

My mother and father did not put me up for adoption. 😀😯

Friday 5 for June 23: Be curious, not judgmental

From Scrivener: "Hello, and welcome to this week’s Friday 5!" 

"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.

Friday 5 for June 9: Themeless

 The following is from Scrivner's Friday 5 website:

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.

Friday 5 for June 2: Do you feel a draft?

"Hello, and welcome to this week’s Friday 5! Please copy these questions to your website. 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. Where do you frequently go for a breath of fresh air?

Outside of my building, sometimes to the beach.

2. In what way are you running against the wind?

Many times and also when I listen to this Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band song:

3. What item on your to-do list this weekend do you expect to be a breeze?

Sleeping usually is.

4. What would you like to have completed by the end of August?

Some reconfiguration of my living space.

5. What recent events in your life are worthiest of trumpeting?

Being a person that prefers not to be in the limelight, I can't think of anything recent worth "trumpeting". Long long ago I used to play trumpet in high school band. That was ages ago... what I got out of that is the ability to read music on the treble clef... whoopie.

I think my birth was a big thing that my parents were excited about. I don't remember that but I have seen old pictures. Other life events celebrated by parents included birthdays, graduation from high school and college... other than that, nothing else.

I don't celebrate birthdays anymore. When you get old you kind of stop counting... and with all this social media crap, I avoid any active celebration of anything. I don't like having my photo spread out on social media. There is the high possibility that your photos can be used my nefarious players online, intent on stealing your identity and doing other evil things.

Friday 5 for May 26: Discomfort

Another week, another Friday 5 from Scrivener.

1. How ticklish are you?

Quite ticklish and I don't let anyone invade my personal space, which is quite wide.

2. When did you most recently experience physical numbness?

Not recently but back in 2015 when I had to undergo major surgery. I was out for 8 hours.

3. What’s caused you recently to squirm?

Walking quickly home to get to the bathroom ASAP yesterday.

Which now reminds me of this old Grade C movie screamer...

4. What recently caused you to gag?

Dumb assholes who try to pass off their pet dogs as service animals. Ugh!!! I hate dogs.

5. Which item in your wardrobe is most uncomfortable to wear?

Several that did not accommodate my horizontal growth... Babylon 5 T-shirt, Ringo Starr T-shirt, a of pair of jeans come to mind.

Friday 5 for May 18: Circumstance and Pomp

It's been months, but I'm back. Answering questions to the May 18 post.

1. What advice do you have for a high school grad getting ready to begin college?

Do not go too deep into debt. Pay off your college loan as soon as possible. Better, try and get a scholarship every year... or at least split your time so that you can work, save money but not too much as there are a lot of studies to do. Don't get the most expensive laptop since these things can be stolen or dropped. Plus computer tech changes so fast it is probably better to use a lower end PC or Mac vs. a high end model for schoolwork unless you are going to film school or something.

2. What advice do you have for a high school grad getting ready to enter the workforce?

Get a good resume together. Have good grades. Have a good work ethic. Be responsible and respectful of your employer and colleagues. Set aside some of your earnings for long term savings. Don't waste money. If needed, move to a more affordable state or locale.

3. What advice do you have for a high school grad who doesn’t know what’s next?

Find something you like to do and see if you can make money at it whether by yourself starting your own business or working for someone engaged in an activity or interest that you like. Focus and focus quickly.

4. What advice do you have for a high school grad whose high school years were disappointing?

If you can, go to a trade school or get some kind of work experience. Be positive. Don't fall into a life of squalor or crime.

5. What do you remember about your own graduation from high school?

We had no computers, no cell phones, no cable or TV streaming services, no internet, almost no nothing that was considered "high tech" except for hi-fi stereo, portable music cassette player/recorders and small TVs.

That all said, my Mom forgot the camera at home and I never got any pictures of my high school graduation... oh well... no biggie. Some of my friends came over to a small gathering we had at our house.  Some of them I never saw again since graduation.

The one good thing was that the music from back in the day was better than a lot of the crap we have today. There was no rap music and that is a good thing.

Photo above from the Honokaa High School Class of 1975 L-R The Dragon school mascot, 1989; Class of 1975 on graduation night, June 1975; Class of 1975 - 2010 reunion; Old campus Honokaa High School - still in use today as part of the school.

 

 This video reminds me of how we have all aged from the 1970s. This song by The Connells called "74-75" was released in 1993. In 2015 another video using the same song and people was made. Look for it here on YouTube.

My question is how many of your classmates from high school have passed on?

In my class of 168 graduates, about 30 have passed on.