Saturday 9: Hold It Against Me (2011)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
(I knew there was a reason I don't listen to Britney Spears.)
1) Britney Spears addresses this song to a dance partner when she hears her favorite song. What song always makes you want to get up and dance?
A. Pretty much anything disco. Yes, I like disco. Sue me.
2) She sings that she needs a vacation. How about you? If you could escape anywhere for an affordable three-day weekend, where would you go?
A. Washington, D.C. to the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institute.
3) Britney shows off her dance moves in this video. Her coordination shouldn't be surprising, since she was already an accomplished gymnast in grade school. If we asked you to turn a somersault right now, could you do it?
A. Heck no. I can barely walk to the car.
4) Britney's first and only feature film was Crossroads, written by Shonda Rhimes. Ms. Rhimes is famous for writing popular TV series including Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, The Catch and How to Get Away with Murder. Have you watched any Shonda Rhimes shows?
A. No.
5) Britney admits to smoking and biting her nails. Do you share either of these bad habits?
A. I bite my nails. I have done so since I was a small child and have yet to find a way to stop. At this point, I think it's too late to worry about it.
6) Britney prefers Margherita pizza to thin slice or deep dish pizza. What's your pizza preference?
A. Deep dish, but I haven't had pizza in probably 6 months or longer. Ulcers, you know.
7) In 2011, when this song was popular, Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton was big news. Are you a royal watcher?
A. No.
8) Apple co-founder Steve Jobs died in 2011. Do you have a Mac, and iPad or an iPhone?
A. I have an iPod around here somewhere, but that's about it for Apple products.
9) Random question: Which friend annoys you more, the one who interrupts you all the time, or the one who is never on time?
A. I think they are both frustrating, but the one who interrupts is probably the most problematic. Actually, I am not sure *I* am not the friend who interrupts, at least with one of my friends. I try not to do that, though. And I am always either a little early or on time. I hate being late. I think it is disrespectful.
_____________
I encourage you to
visit other participants in Saturday
9 posts and leave a
comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate
rules. We love memes,
however.
Saturday, November 05, 2016
Friday, November 04, 2016
Review: Skyrim ReMastered
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition also called Skyrim: Remastered
Bethesda last week rolled out an improved version of Skyrim, its most popular role playing game. It is the fifth in the Elder Scrolls series. I have played Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim, but not the first two.
Skyrim is set in a world where there be dragons, and you are, should you choose to be, the Dragonborn, and thus the dragon slayer.
The thing about Skyrim, as well as other video games, is there is a story line. Most non-players do not understand that. It's not just shoot and kill, shoot and kill. There is a plot. There are morals (or not, your choice). The Elder Scrolls games in particular are immersive and non-linear, meaning you can roam about a detailed countryside, sit down in a bar and have a beer, and create your own story line if you want by simply ignoring the quests and storyline offered. (Some of the storylines need to be ignored - they are obviously written by 20-year-old boys who have spent too much time in their mother's basement.)
I have over 1,000 hours in the original Skyrim, which was released five years ago. Of course, some of that has been recovery time from my health issues, so it's time I may have spent at work or elsewhere had I been well. But I digress.
Skyrim: Remastered is a better graphic version of Skyrim released five years ago. However, for PC users, it isn't much of an improvement. Fortunately, Bethesda released it for free to PC users - but other platforms have to purchase it.
Is it better? Sure. I suspect on a console, it is fantastic. I do not have a huge gaming computer, so I have to play on low-level graphics anyway, and even with that limitation, the graphics are better. There is no change in game play, though. The easter eggs remain, the ways to get things that are kind of cheats (but not) remain - and the dialogue is still screwed up in places. (I know this because I'm up to a level 19 character with 14 hours in the last week.)
Seriously, guys, if you were going to all of that trouble to re-release the game and call it "remastered," couldn't you have fixed the dialogue in Riften so that Bolli and the guy in the Pawned Prawn aren't married to the same woman? And couldn't that the quest in the Riften Hall of the Dead send you to the right place initially, not to Windhelm instead of Whiterun, where you are supposed to go? How could you re-release this game and not make those simple fixes? You're a big gaming company. Do you not have a proof reader or copy editor or something?
So far I have only played the vanilla version of Skyrim: Remastered. In the initial version, I generally played vanilla first and then attached a few mods, mostly multiple followers and a bat file that kept all of my NPCs from being killed by master vampires early in the game. I like having more than one follower - they are good for hauling loot and watching my back. And I hate it when my NPCs die. There aren't that many of them to begin with.
I have a tendency to create my own story line and immerse myself in the game world, looking at every shelf, reading all the books, building the houses - and it is good to have someone tackle the bandit who slips up on you from time to time.
That's the thing about Skyrim. It is a great interactive world. The AI is a bit long in the tooth as far as the NPCs go, but overall, it's very easy to say, "I'm going to play for 30 minutes" and two hours later you're wondering what happened and why you're still hunting for that darned dragon priest.
Bethesda now needs to put out Elder Scrolls VI, and move forward. Skyrim is having its second go-round - according to Facebook there are 180,000 people talking about it right now - but I am ready for a new story. I don't want to play online with other people. I want another game like this one, but with a new plot and a new land. Nirn (the world of the Elder Scrolls) is a big place. Let's explore more of it.
To answer an oft-asked question, yes, I am a female who plays video games. I have played video games since there were video games. I started out with Pong and moved on. I have a huge box full of 3.5 disks with most of the ID Software games, and I have all of the Age of Empire games, all of The Sims games, and I loved Might & Magic in all of its incarnations. And let's not forget Commander Keen, Wolfenstein, Myst, King's Quest (all of them), Fable, Dungeon Quest, and even NASCAR.
I do not play games that require me to interact with other people, because in my experience, it is hard to find other female players, and many guys are jerks. I know they're not all jerks, but the majority are, and I choose not to subject myself to that.
How many women play video games these days? And by that, I mean role playing games or online character games. Not just Words with Friends or Angry Birds. I play things like that, too, but those are different from an immersive RPG.
Bethesda last week rolled out an improved version of Skyrim, its most popular role playing game. It is the fifth in the Elder Scrolls series. I have played Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim, but not the first two.
Skyrim is set in a world where there be dragons, and you are, should you choose to be, the Dragonborn, and thus the dragon slayer.
The thing about Skyrim, as well as other video games, is there is a story line. Most non-players do not understand that. It's not just shoot and kill, shoot and kill. There is a plot. There are morals (or not, your choice). The Elder Scrolls games in particular are immersive and non-linear, meaning you can roam about a detailed countryside, sit down in a bar and have a beer, and create your own story line if you want by simply ignoring the quests and storyline offered. (Some of the storylines need to be ignored - they are obviously written by 20-year-old boys who have spent too much time in their mother's basement.)
I have over 1,000 hours in the original Skyrim, which was released five years ago. Of course, some of that has been recovery time from my health issues, so it's time I may have spent at work or elsewhere had I been well. But I digress.
 |
| Skyrim 2015 |
Skyrim: Remastered is a better graphic version of Skyrim released five years ago. However, for PC users, it isn't much of an improvement. Fortunately, Bethesda released it for free to PC users - but other platforms have to purchase it.
Is it better? Sure. I suspect on a console, it is fantastic. I do not have a huge gaming computer, so I have to play on low-level graphics anyway, and even with that limitation, the graphics are better. There is no change in game play, though. The easter eggs remain, the ways to get things that are kind of cheats (but not) remain - and the dialogue is still screwed up in places. (I know this because I'm up to a level 19 character with 14 hours in the last week.)
Seriously, guys, if you were going to all of that trouble to re-release the game and call it "remastered," couldn't you have fixed the dialogue in Riften so that Bolli and the guy in the Pawned Prawn aren't married to the same woman? And couldn't that the quest in the Riften Hall of the Dead send you to the right place initially, not to Windhelm instead of Whiterun, where you are supposed to go? How could you re-release this game and not make those simple fixes? You're a big gaming company. Do you not have a proof reader or copy editor or something?
So far I have only played the vanilla version of Skyrim: Remastered. In the initial version, I generally played vanilla first and then attached a few mods, mostly multiple followers and a bat file that kept all of my NPCs from being killed by master vampires early in the game. I like having more than one follower - they are good for hauling loot and watching my back. And I hate it when my NPCs die. There aren't that many of them to begin with.
I have a tendency to create my own story line and immerse myself in the game world, looking at every shelf, reading all the books, building the houses - and it is good to have someone tackle the bandit who slips up on you from time to time.
That's the thing about Skyrim. It is a great interactive world. The AI is a bit long in the tooth as far as the NPCs go, but overall, it's very easy to say, "I'm going to play for 30 minutes" and two hours later you're wondering what happened and why you're still hunting for that darned dragon priest.
Bethesda now needs to put out Elder Scrolls VI, and move forward. Skyrim is having its second go-round - according to Facebook there are 180,000 people talking about it right now - but I am ready for a new story. I don't want to play online with other people. I want another game like this one, but with a new plot and a new land. Nirn (the world of the Elder Scrolls) is a big place. Let's explore more of it.
****
To answer an oft-asked question, yes, I am a female who plays video games. I have played video games since there were video games. I started out with Pong and moved on. I have a huge box full of 3.5 disks with most of the ID Software games, and I have all of the Age of Empire games, all of The Sims games, and I loved Might & Magic in all of its incarnations. And let's not forget Commander Keen, Wolfenstein, Myst, King's Quest (all of them), Fable, Dungeon Quest, and even NASCAR.
I do not play games that require me to interact with other people, because in my experience, it is hard to find other female players, and many guys are jerks. I know they're not all jerks, but the majority are, and I choose not to subject myself to that.
How many women play video games these days? And by that, I mean role playing games or online character games. Not just Words with Friends or Angry Birds. I play things like that, too, but those are different from an immersive RPG.
Thursday, November 03, 2016
Thursday Thirteen
These are the results of a study that compared women’s and men’s beliefs in paranormal phenomenon like witchcraft, aliens, ghosts and folklore. Do you think these statistics are true? (The test is online here; the results are from more than 11,000 people who have taken the test.)
1. 78% of women (compared to 51% of men) believe that we are meant to cross paths with certain people. Women were also more likely to believe in soul-mates (63% vs. 43%) and destiny (61% vs. 42%).
2. 39% of men believe that the Bermuda triangle poses a danger to ships and airplanes (compared to 26% of women).
3. 65% of women (compared to 49% of men) think that certain people are destined for greatness.
4. 43% of men consider it entirely possible that aliens have either already landed on Earth or will do so in the future (compared to 36% of women)
5. 71% of women (compared to 56% of men) trust that there is life after death.
6. 70% of men have no doubt that there is life on other planets (compared to 58% of women).
7. 72% of women (compared to 52% of men) believe in ghosts.
8. 26% of men believe in Big Foot (compared to 22% of women)
9. 66% of women (compared to 47% of men) feel that the future can be predicted and that prophecies can come true.
10. 18% of men believe in alien abductions (compared to 14% of women)
11. 48% of women (compared to 30% of men) believe that they have had several past lives.
12. 40% of men believe in the conspiracy theory that governments are hiding proof of alien existence (compared to 36% of women).
13. 67% of women (compared to 52% of men) believe what goes around comes around, and that people will get back what they give to the world (e.g. angry, hostile people are more likely to live in an angry, hostile world).
An equal amount of men and women believe in the Loch Ness monster (36%), and that the world will end in an apocalypse of Biblical proportions (21%).
(These results were sent to me in a press release from Queendom.com and Psychtests.com.)
____________
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 472nd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
1. 78% of women (compared to 51% of men) believe that we are meant to cross paths with certain people. Women were also more likely to believe in soul-mates (63% vs. 43%) and destiny (61% vs. 42%).
3. 65% of women (compared to 49% of men) think that certain people are destined for greatness.
4. 43% of men consider it entirely possible that aliens have either already landed on Earth or will do so in the future (compared to 36% of women)5. 71% of women (compared to 56% of men) trust that there is life after death.
6. 70% of men have no doubt that there is life on other planets (compared to 58% of women).
8. 26% of men believe in Big Foot (compared to 22% of women)
9. 66% of women (compared to 47% of men) feel that the future can be predicted and that prophecies can come true.
10. 18% of men believe in alien abductions (compared to 14% of women)
11. 48% of women (compared to 30% of men) believe that they have had several past lives.
12. 40% of men believe in the conspiracy theory that governments are hiding proof of alien existence (compared to 36% of women).13. 67% of women (compared to 52% of men) believe what goes around comes around, and that people will get back what they give to the world (e.g. angry, hostile people are more likely to live in an angry, hostile world).
An equal amount of men and women believe in the Loch Ness monster (36%), and that the world will end in an apocalypse of Biblical proportions (21%).
(These results were sent to me in a press release from Queendom.com and Psychtests.com.)
____________
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 472nd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
Wednesday, November 02, 2016
Books: X
X
By Sue Grafton
Copyright 2016
Read by Judy Kaye
Unabridged Audio
13 1/2 hours
I have read or listened to all of Sue Grafton's novels. The last couple have left me wondering what she was doing. Stretching her wings as a writer, I suppose. Unfortunately, all of this flapping has left Kinsey Milhone, the much-loved female detective of the alphabet series, a bit lost.
In X, Grafton has three subplots going, but no main plot. Even my husband, who listened to the first part of this book with me on our drive to Pennsylvania and back in September, noted the lack of a plot. Trust me, he is no book connoisseur, and if he noticed, then there was no plot.
Apparently as the series winds down, Grafton wants to bring back old characters - I know she brought up the name of several minor characters throughout this book - and I felt like she was trying to wrap up not only the books but her story world, too.
Maybe Kinsey will find some other way to fill her time by the time we hit the final two books.
In this story, a betrayed spouse outwits Kinsey by pretending she's someone she's not in order to steal a valuable painting from the former husband. The new folks who have moved in next door to Kinsey and Henry do not seem to be who they say they are. Kinsey has a banker's box with an envelope in it that seems to mean something, but she's not sure.
The latter subplot was probably meant to be the real mystery, but there wasn't enough meat on that story to make a book. It also ended with a thud. I will say no more in case you want to read the story.
The reviews on Amazon are all over the place on this one - some people give it a four, some give it a two. I don't think it was one of Grafton's best novels, by any stretch of the imagination, and I think she is searching for a way to wrap up this series. She started writing it in 1982 and with the last books staring her in the face, she has to be wondering what's next. This book felt like a writer wandering, trying to figure out what's next.
I also thought Kinsey did a few things in this book that a good, ethical detective would not have done, and that bothered me.
Of course I will read the next books, just like I plodded through Janet Evanovich's bad books in the teens of the Stephanie Plum series (though I admit I am a few books behind on that now).
If you've never read Grafton's books, go back and start at the beginning. If you pick up with X, you will be lost and left wondering what all the fuss is about.
By Sue Grafton
Copyright 2016
Read by Judy Kaye
Unabridged Audio
13 1/2 hours
I have read or listened to all of Sue Grafton's novels. The last couple have left me wondering what she was doing. Stretching her wings as a writer, I suppose. Unfortunately, all of this flapping has left Kinsey Milhone, the much-loved female detective of the alphabet series, a bit lost.
In X, Grafton has three subplots going, but no main plot. Even my husband, who listened to the first part of this book with me on our drive to Pennsylvania and back in September, noted the lack of a plot. Trust me, he is no book connoisseur, and if he noticed, then there was no plot.
Apparently as the series winds down, Grafton wants to bring back old characters - I know she brought up the name of several minor characters throughout this book - and I felt like she was trying to wrap up not only the books but her story world, too.
Maybe Kinsey will find some other way to fill her time by the time we hit the final two books.
In this story, a betrayed spouse outwits Kinsey by pretending she's someone she's not in order to steal a valuable painting from the former husband. The new folks who have moved in next door to Kinsey and Henry do not seem to be who they say they are. Kinsey has a banker's box with an envelope in it that seems to mean something, but she's not sure.
The latter subplot was probably meant to be the real mystery, but there wasn't enough meat on that story to make a book. It also ended with a thud. I will say no more in case you want to read the story.
The reviews on Amazon are all over the place on this one - some people give it a four, some give it a two. I don't think it was one of Grafton's best novels, by any stretch of the imagination, and I think she is searching for a way to wrap up this series. She started writing it in 1982 and with the last books staring her in the face, she has to be wondering what's next. This book felt like a writer wandering, trying to figure out what's next.
I also thought Kinsey did a few things in this book that a good, ethical detective would not have done, and that bothered me.
Of course I will read the next books, just like I plodded through Janet Evanovich's bad books in the teens of the Stephanie Plum series (though I admit I am a few books behind on that now).
If you've never read Grafton's books, go back and start at the beginning. If you pick up with X, you will be lost and left wondering what all the fuss is about.
The Music Used to Make Me Smile
But that was before everyone became so damn sensitive and apparently everything offends somebody.
For example, the non-existent "war on Christmas" is already occurring in my FB feed, so please note that Bing Crosby was singing "Happy Holidays" over 50 years ago, and the word "holiday" has been around since Chaucer and it means "holy day." It isn't "politically correct" or anything else to say it.
Just say what you want and stop buying into the news-media-manufactured B.S. surrounding Christmas and don't take offense when someone is being nice.
They could tell you to "F&ck off" instead of happy holidays, or just push you down in the store aisle to get that last TV or whatever.
Be kind, and accept the kindness. When did we all become so sensitive? Geez. Get over yourselves.
Today's Roanoke Times lead story on the election started out "Clinton" and when it mentioned Donald Trump it simply said "Trump." No first names, no context, nothing. If space is so short that the story could not read "Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee for President" and "Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for President," then chop from the bottom or rewrite. I realize 9/10 of the population probably knows who these people are, but there are still some folks out there who seldom read or are just catching up. Bad journalism - bad writing - all the way around.
****************************************************************
Today's Roanoke Times lead story on the election started out "Clinton" and when it mentioned Donald Trump it simply said "Trump." No first names, no context, nothing. If space is so short that the story could not read "Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee for President" and "Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for President," then chop from the bottom or rewrite. I realize 9/10 of the population probably knows who these people are, but there are still some folks out there who seldom read or are just catching up. Bad journalism - bad writing - all the way around.
Monday, October 31, 2016
The Year Without An Autumn
 |
| The gap on 10/29/2016. I enhanced the photo to get a little color. |
 |
| Unit 2, as my neighbor calls this field, with the Blue Ridge Mountains in the background. |
 |
| A closer look at the mountains. The house you can see belongs to my father. Computer enhanced. |
 |
| Had to use a little computer magic to make it look like there was any color at all on those mountains. |
 |
| My father's house, pulled in with a long lens and messed with in the computer. His house is directly opposite my house. I took this picture standing on the highest point of the hay field that is in between us. |
 |
| Turning around, you see my driveway. But my house is hidden behind the trees. |
 |
| Look! Some orange. |
We are still not having an Autumn, and here it is Halloween. Seems to me that by now the colors should be brilliant and starting to fade, but I think this year the leaves are simply going to fall from the trees. We are having unseasonably warm weather and I think the plants are confused. I never realized how much I looked forward to the colors of Fall until now, when they are not there.
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Sunday Stealing: Halloween
From Sunday Stealing
Halloween Meme
From the archives
1. What is the worst treat to get when trick-or-treating?
A. I have never been a fan of candy corn.
2. What character from any horror film would you most like to play?
A. Can I be Buffy the Vampire Slayer?
3. Would you rather be a zombie, alien, or psycho? (why)
A. Alien. You could be very creative with an alien, because we don't know what an alien would look like! I think "psycho" is a poor projection of mental illness, which deserves our concern and empathy and not our mockery and fear.
4. How many Halloween, Friday the 13th, or Nightmare on Elm Street movies combined do you have on dvd?
A. None.
5. What is the scariest movie you have ever seen?
A. The original version of The Amityville Horror (1979). That may have had something to do with my age, since it came out the year I turned 16, but I remember finding it terrifying. The Shining with Jack Nicholson (1980) would be a close second.
6. Lamest costume you have worn on Halloween?
A. That would probably be the most recent years when I did not dress up but simply put my camera around my neck and carried my press pass, and said I was a news reporter. Seeing as how I looked like that every day, it was pretty lame.
7. Favorite Halloween treat?
A. Rice Krispie treats. Seems to be the only time I get them.
8. Friendly-faced jack o’lantern or scary one?
A. Oh, scary. Although lately I have been enraptured by some of the terrific carvings in pumpkins that depict things like Star Wars or Lord of the Rings or anything else you can think of.
9. Have you ever had nightmares about a scary movie character chasing you?
A. Yes.
10. Best thing about Halloween?
A. It is a pagan tradition known as Samhain, and has been an important date since ancient times as it celebrates the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the season of darkness (winter). It is a time when boundaries between worlds thin, so the living can see the dead (or fairies or other creatures). I like the mystique surrounding the holiday, the fact that it is old and has pagan roots, and that no matter how hard people try, it doesn't go away.
11. Strangest Halloween custom you’ve heard of?
A. I know people who celebrate it as the Day of the Dead, which is of Mexican origin. But I don't consider it strange.
12. Person in your family who most likes Halloween (not counting yourself)?
A. Just me. I don't know of anyone else who likes it. It is my favorite holiday.
13. Are you superstitious? If so, name at least one superstition of yours.
A. I am not superstitious. If I were, I wouldn't be answering this question, as it is number 13! I also play Thursday 13, another blog meme, every week.
14. What's your best Halloween memory?
A. When I was quite young, six or less, my mother took me trick-or-treating. She stayed back on the road while I went up to the house. At one house, a witch opened the door, and inside there was a big cauldron bubbling. "Would you like to come into my house, little girl?" the woman cackled. I took a big breath, held out my bag, and said, "No thank you. My mother doesn't allow me to go into the homes of people I don't know."
15. At what age were you allowed to go trick-or-treating by yourself?
A. Never, really. I just outgrew it. We lived in a rural area and if we wanted to go trick-or-treating my mother or father had to take us to my grandmother's house or some friend's place. So while they may have stayed behind while we walked the roads around the age of 10, we really were not "by ourselves" in that an adult had to hang around. This was long before the churches grew weird about Halloween and began trying to take over the holiday with their "trunk or treat" events.
__________
I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.
Halloween Meme
From the archives
1. What is the worst treat to get when trick-or-treating?
A. I have never been a fan of candy corn.
2. What character from any horror film would you most like to play?
A. Can I be Buffy the Vampire Slayer?
3. Would you rather be a zombie, alien, or psycho? (why)
A. Alien. You could be very creative with an alien, because we don't know what an alien would look like! I think "psycho" is a poor projection of mental illness, which deserves our concern and empathy and not our mockery and fear.
4. How many Halloween, Friday the 13th, or Nightmare on Elm Street movies combined do you have on dvd?
A. None.
5. What is the scariest movie you have ever seen?
A. The original version of The Amityville Horror (1979). That may have had something to do with my age, since it came out the year I turned 16, but I remember finding it terrifying. The Shining with Jack Nicholson (1980) would be a close second.
6. Lamest costume you have worn on Halloween?
A. That would probably be the most recent years when I did not dress up but simply put my camera around my neck and carried my press pass, and said I was a news reporter. Seeing as how I looked like that every day, it was pretty lame.
7. Favorite Halloween treat?
A. Rice Krispie treats. Seems to be the only time I get them.
8. Friendly-faced jack o’lantern or scary one?
A. Oh, scary. Although lately I have been enraptured by some of the terrific carvings in pumpkins that depict things like Star Wars or Lord of the Rings or anything else you can think of.
9. Have you ever had nightmares about a scary movie character chasing you?
A. Yes.
10. Best thing about Halloween?
A. It is a pagan tradition known as Samhain, and has been an important date since ancient times as it celebrates the end of the harvest season and the beginning of the season of darkness (winter). It is a time when boundaries between worlds thin, so the living can see the dead (or fairies or other creatures). I like the mystique surrounding the holiday, the fact that it is old and has pagan roots, and that no matter how hard people try, it doesn't go away.
11. Strangest Halloween custom you’ve heard of?
A. I know people who celebrate it as the Day of the Dead, which is of Mexican origin. But I don't consider it strange.
12. Person in your family who most likes Halloween (not counting yourself)?
A. Just me. I don't know of anyone else who likes it. It is my favorite holiday.
13. Are you superstitious? If so, name at least one superstition of yours.
A. I am not superstitious. If I were, I wouldn't be answering this question, as it is number 13! I also play Thursday 13, another blog meme, every week.
14. What's your best Halloween memory?
A. When I was quite young, six or less, my mother took me trick-or-treating. She stayed back on the road while I went up to the house. At one house, a witch opened the door, and inside there was a big cauldron bubbling. "Would you like to come into my house, little girl?" the woman cackled. I took a big breath, held out my bag, and said, "No thank you. My mother doesn't allow me to go into the homes of people I don't know."
15. At what age were you allowed to go trick-or-treating by yourself?
A. Never, really. I just outgrew it. We lived in a rural area and if we wanted to go trick-or-treating my mother or father had to take us to my grandmother's house or some friend's place. So while they may have stayed behind while we walked the roads around the age of 10, we really were not "by ourselves" in that an adult had to hang around. This was long before the churches grew weird about Halloween and began trying to take over the holiday with their "trunk or treat" events.
__________
I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.
Saturday, October 29, 2016
Saturday 9: Tubular Bells
Saturday 9: Tubular Bells (1973)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
(I had no idea this song was from The Exorcist. Thanks for the new knowledge!)
1) According to Reader's Digest, The Exorcist is the scariest movie of all time. Have you seen it, and if so, did it scare you?
A. I saw it when I was young, and I am sure it did scare me even though I barely remember it. I do not watch horror movies anymore.
2) The Exorcist has been made into a TV series on Fox, premiering last month. Have you become a fan of any of the season's new shows?
A. I guess not, since I can't think of any.
3) "Tubular Bells" is a popular ringtone for both Android and iPhone. What's your ringtone?
A. The Nokia one.
4) As Halloween approaches, do you watch more scary shows and movies?
A. I watched The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown last night.
5) Do you have any recurring nightmares?
A. Yes. For a long time I dreamed continually of a bathtub full of blood. I do not dream this very often now.
6) Have you carved a jack o' lantern this year?
A. No. I just have a pumpkin sitting outside my door, along with some mums.
7) Do you like the taste of pumpkin seeds?
A. They're ok. Depends on how they are "fixed."
8) What will the trick or treaters who knock on your door get?
A. I don't have trick or treaters. I live in a rural area and am too far off the road for anyone to bother with.
9) A Halloween "let's pretend:" Back in the 1950s, a home in your neighborhood was the site of a gruesome murder/suicide. Relatives retained ownership of the house but declined to live there. During the ensuing decades, a legend grew: The tragic couple haunts the halls. Generations of schoolchildren have insisted that they have heard strange sounds and have seen curtains move mysteriously. Now the house is about to be demolished. A local charity is raising money by sponsoring a Halloween sleepover. Would you be willing to stay in this haunted house over night?
A. Yes, if I could bring in a cot and not sleep on the floor. I'm too old to sleep on the floor.
_____________
I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
(I had no idea this song was from The Exorcist. Thanks for the new knowledge!)
1) According to Reader's Digest, The Exorcist is the scariest movie of all time. Have you seen it, and if so, did it scare you?
A. I saw it when I was young, and I am sure it did scare me even though I barely remember it. I do not watch horror movies anymore.
2) The Exorcist has been made into a TV series on Fox, premiering last month. Have you become a fan of any of the season's new shows?
A. I guess not, since I can't think of any.
3) "Tubular Bells" is a popular ringtone for both Android and iPhone. What's your ringtone?
A. The Nokia one.
4) As Halloween approaches, do you watch more scary shows and movies?
A. I watched The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown last night.
5) Do you have any recurring nightmares?
A. Yes. For a long time I dreamed continually of a bathtub full of blood. I do not dream this very often now.
6) Have you carved a jack o' lantern this year?
A. No. I just have a pumpkin sitting outside my door, along with some mums.
7) Do you like the taste of pumpkin seeds?
A. They're ok. Depends on how they are "fixed."
8) What will the trick or treaters who knock on your door get?
A. I don't have trick or treaters. I live in a rural area and am too far off the road for anyone to bother with.
9) A Halloween "let's pretend:" Back in the 1950s, a home in your neighborhood was the site of a gruesome murder/suicide. Relatives retained ownership of the house but declined to live there. During the ensuing decades, a legend grew: The tragic couple haunts the halls. Generations of schoolchildren have insisted that they have heard strange sounds and have seen curtains move mysteriously. Now the house is about to be demolished. A local charity is raising money by sponsoring a Halloween sleepover. Would you be willing to stay in this haunted house over night?
A. Yes, if I could bring in a cot and not sleep on the floor. I'm too old to sleep on the floor.
_____________
I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.
Thursday, October 27, 2016
I Can Still Remember: Thursday Thirteen
1. Gasoline that cost $0.25 a gallon. By the time I turned 16, it had hit $1.00.
2. Bread that cost $0.75 a loaf. Now it is $2.50.
3. A wired VCR that cost over $300 to purchase (1984).
4. My first purchased new car - a Pontiac T-1000, bought in 1982 - cost about $7,000.
5. When Patty Hearst was kidnapped in 1974 and then arrested for joining the group that had taken her. Even back then, though I was but a teenager, I never thought she did anything out of her own free will but instead was a victim of brainwashing. I still think that. Only she knows, I suppose.
6. Eight-track tapes that played in endless loops, with big speakers in cars that blasted so loud it nearly knocked you off your feet.
7. American Top 40, with Casy Casem. It played every Sunday evening and I listened to it religiously after I turned 10.
8. Jimmy Carter wearing a sweater in the White House.
9. The day John Lennon was shot - my teachers cried (1980).
10. The day Ronald Reagan was shot - I was in school and did not believe a classmate when first told (1981).
11. Rooting for Billy Jean King to beat Bobby Riggs (1973).
12. The explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986.
13. When man took his first step on the moon (July 20, 1969). My grandmother called us in from playing to watch the event on TV.
____________
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 471st time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
 |
| Pontiac T-1000, 1982. Mine looked like this. Ugly thing, wasn't it? |
3. A wired VCR that cost over $300 to purchase (1984).
4. My first purchased new car - a Pontiac T-1000, bought in 1982 - cost about $7,000.
5. When Patty Hearst was kidnapped in 1974 and then arrested for joining the group that had taken her. Even back then, though I was but a teenager, I never thought she did anything out of her own free will but instead was a victim of brainwashing. I still think that. Only she knows, I suppose.
6. Eight-track tapes that played in endless loops, with big speakers in cars that blasted so loud it nearly knocked you off your feet.
7. American Top 40, with Casy Casem. It played every Sunday evening and I listened to it religiously after I turned 10.
8. Jimmy Carter wearing a sweater in the White House.
9. The day John Lennon was shot - my teachers cried (1980).
10. The day Ronald Reagan was shot - I was in school and did not believe a classmate when first told (1981).
11. Rooting for Billy Jean King to beat Bobby Riggs (1973).
12. The explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger on January 28, 1986.
13. When man took his first step on the moon (July 20, 1969). My grandmother called us in from playing to watch the event on TV.
____________
Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 471st time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
A Long, Long Time Ago
Long ago, in Middle Earth, Gondor was a great kingdom. Then it began to crumble.
They called the ruler "a steward" because the line of the true king had been broken. The stewards ruled in the king's stead, mostly to keep civil war from taking place.
"The rule of Gondor was given over to lesser men." That's what Gandalf called these stewards in The Return of the King movie (and maybe the books; I've not looked it up).
The line sticks with me.
"A thousand years this city has stood. Now, at the whim of a madman, it will fall," sayeth the wizard.
Throughout the history of this world - the real one, not the fantasy land of Tolkien - empires and realms have grown proud and tall, only to fall.
I remember learning in school that at one time there was a saying that the sun never sets on the British Empire, because the British held so much land in the 19th and early 20th centuries. At that time, it was the largest in territorial size of any empire in history. With lands stretching from Canada to Australia, that saying certainly holds up.
By 1897, the phrase was being used to describe the holdings of Uncle Sam. No one told me that in school, though.
Yes, we are the American Empire. Today, the sun never sets on American territory, properties owned by the U.S. government and its citizens, American armed forces abroad, or countries that conduct their affairs within limits largely defined by American power.
Most people in the United States do not think of the U.S. as an empire, I believe. We are not taught that we are an empire. We are taught that we do good and spread democracy, and never have evil intent. The word "empire" just sounds wrong and bad. We don't know that we are imperialists, asserting our influence in ways that are harmful to the people we are subduing. We prefer to think of it as doing no evil.
Google says it has no evil intent, either, but it sure as hell spies on my web crawling to the extent that I find it creepy, if not downright scary. I mean, I don't want anybody to know I've looked up how to fix an ingrown toenail. That's rather personal.
The idea of an American Empire is also creepy and scary. It's also a fact, one that cannot be denied if one looks at a map. Like the British Empire of old, we have military bases in Canada and Australia. Maybe we don't "rule" the territory, but we certainly have massive influence wherever we go.
Did our forefathers expect the United States to become an empire? Those men - greater men? plain ol' men? - did they expect expansion?
They were imperialists, these founders. George Washington himself called the U.S. an "infant empire."
Jefferson made the Louisiana purchase, so he was for expansion.
The Monroe Doctrine of 1823 indicates that by then the leaders of the United States considered all of North and South America - two continents - to be under their purview.
I believe it is safe to say the Founding Fathers were expansionists, and empire and imperialism was not beyond their thinking.
A world globe on my desk, one I've owned for about 25 years, is no longer accurate, particularly with countries that are no longer part of Russia, but it is close enough. To look at it, you would not think the United States is an empire.
It doesn't go into that much detail. It does not show military bases, or areas in which we are fighting now. It doesn't show who are leaders that are in power because we helped things along, so we could have the people we wanted in power, and not that other guy.
So much has happened in this new millennium, particularly in the Middle East. But also here, in the United States.
Many of us know now that we are an empire (and some don't care). Some of us are aware that others in this world do not like being under the boot of the red, white, and blue.
The Middle East once was an empire. Rome once was an empire. Byzantine was an empire.
They are empires no more. This should serve as some kind of warning about empire, imperialism, and expansionistic thinking.
These vast territories fell for numerous reasons - there is never just one. Economic factors, outside factors, internal strife, divisions from within and without all contributed to the downfall of these once might kingdoms.
Even Hitler could not have risen to power alone. He may have led his army into Austria to start World War II, but it was the soldiers who followed orders, the public who lacked the will to stand.
What constitutes a lesser man? Is it the brick layer who toils in the sun all day, doing his job with care and love? Is it the gambler at the table, tossing down his cards, a quartet of aces in his hand? Is it the wealthy man, who has through cunning and sleight-of-hand, made his fortune? Or is it the leader who takes the reigns of a mighty empire, and then quickly brings it down?
The brick layer is the best of the men I have listed. The farmer, the laborer, the doctor, even a lawyer - these are not the lesser men.
Even the gambler is preferable to a rich, uncaring man.
The lesser men are those whose ego leads them to lead lands astray, to take their greatest assets - these lowly, humble men who lay bricks and grow corn - and use them for cannon fodder. That leader, my friends, is a lesser man.
The United States will fall, if not in my lifetime, then shortly thereafter (depending on how long I live). I don't see this nation holding together much longer. That's a sad statement to make. Nothing lasts forever, though.
Regardless of who wins the presidency in a few weeks, the country will stumble and falter, because we have lost sight of the great men - the brick layers and ditch diggers - and placed our hopes into the hands of lesser men who know only how to use others for their own amusement and gain.
All this election will do, and the perhaps the next one and the one after that, will delay the inevitable, if the United States cannot find her footing, and put the greater good before the love of money and those who possess it. I don't know that we as a people can do that. I think we're too far gone.
In plain language, honor the brick layer. Don't cheer the rich. They may have the money, but they are the lesser men.
They called the ruler "a steward" because the line of the true king had been broken. The stewards ruled in the king's stead, mostly to keep civil war from taking place.
"The rule of Gondor was given over to lesser men." That's what Gandalf called these stewards in The Return of the King movie (and maybe the books; I've not looked it up).
The line sticks with me.
"A thousand years this city has stood. Now, at the whim of a madman, it will fall," sayeth the wizard.
Throughout the history of this world - the real one, not the fantasy land of Tolkien - empires and realms have grown proud and tall, only to fall.
I remember learning in school that at one time there was a saying that the sun never sets on the British Empire, because the British held so much land in the 19th and early 20th centuries. At that time, it was the largest in territorial size of any empire in history. With lands stretching from Canada to Australia, that saying certainly holds up.
By 1897, the phrase was being used to describe the holdings of Uncle Sam. No one told me that in school, though.
Yes, we are the American Empire. Today, the sun never sets on American territory, properties owned by the U.S. government and its citizens, American armed forces abroad, or countries that conduct their affairs within limits largely defined by American power.
Most people in the United States do not think of the U.S. as an empire, I believe. We are not taught that we are an empire. We are taught that we do good and spread democracy, and never have evil intent. The word "empire" just sounds wrong and bad. We don't know that we are imperialists, asserting our influence in ways that are harmful to the people we are subduing. We prefer to think of it as doing no evil.
Google says it has no evil intent, either, but it sure as hell spies on my web crawling to the extent that I find it creepy, if not downright scary. I mean, I don't want anybody to know I've looked up how to fix an ingrown toenail. That's rather personal.
The idea of an American Empire is also creepy and scary. It's also a fact, one that cannot be denied if one looks at a map. Like the British Empire of old, we have military bases in Canada and Australia. Maybe we don't "rule" the territory, but we certainly have massive influence wherever we go.
Did our forefathers expect the United States to become an empire? Those men - greater men? plain ol' men? - did they expect expansion?
They were imperialists, these founders. George Washington himself called the U.S. an "infant empire."
Jefferson made the Louisiana purchase, so he was for expansion.
The Monroe Doctrine of 1823 indicates that by then the leaders of the United States considered all of North and South America - two continents - to be under their purview.
I believe it is safe to say the Founding Fathers were expansionists, and empire and imperialism was not beyond their thinking.
A world globe on my desk, one I've owned for about 25 years, is no longer accurate, particularly with countries that are no longer part of Russia, but it is close enough. To look at it, you would not think the United States is an empire.
It doesn't go into that much detail. It does not show military bases, or areas in which we are fighting now. It doesn't show who are leaders that are in power because we helped things along, so we could have the people we wanted in power, and not that other guy.
So much has happened in this new millennium, particularly in the Middle East. But also here, in the United States.
Many of us know now that we are an empire (and some don't care). Some of us are aware that others in this world do not like being under the boot of the red, white, and blue.
The Middle East once was an empire. Rome once was an empire. Byzantine was an empire.
They are empires no more. This should serve as some kind of warning about empire, imperialism, and expansionistic thinking.
These vast territories fell for numerous reasons - there is never just one. Economic factors, outside factors, internal strife, divisions from within and without all contributed to the downfall of these once might kingdoms.
Even Hitler could not have risen to power alone. He may have led his army into Austria to start World War II, but it was the soldiers who followed orders, the public who lacked the will to stand.
What constitutes a lesser man? Is it the brick layer who toils in the sun all day, doing his job with care and love? Is it the gambler at the table, tossing down his cards, a quartet of aces in his hand? Is it the wealthy man, who has through cunning and sleight-of-hand, made his fortune? Or is it the leader who takes the reigns of a mighty empire, and then quickly brings it down?
The brick layer is the best of the men I have listed. The farmer, the laborer, the doctor, even a lawyer - these are not the lesser men.
Even the gambler is preferable to a rich, uncaring man.
The lesser men are those whose ego leads them to lead lands astray, to take their greatest assets - these lowly, humble men who lay bricks and grow corn - and use them for cannon fodder. That leader, my friends, is a lesser man.
The United States will fall, if not in my lifetime, then shortly thereafter (depending on how long I live). I don't see this nation holding together much longer. That's a sad statement to make. Nothing lasts forever, though.
Regardless of who wins the presidency in a few weeks, the country will stumble and falter, because we have lost sight of the great men - the brick layers and ditch diggers - and placed our hopes into the hands of lesser men who know only how to use others for their own amusement and gain.
All this election will do, and the perhaps the next one and the one after that, will delay the inevitable, if the United States cannot find her footing, and put the greater good before the love of money and those who possess it. I don't know that we as a people can do that. I think we're too far gone.
In plain language, honor the brick layer. Don't cheer the rich. They may have the money, but they are the lesser men.
Monday, October 24, 2016
The Colors Aren't Bigly
Yesterday we, along with most of Roanoke and several people from Florida who probably thought we do not really have the Autumn colors here like they see on travel brochures, took a drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
We went south to Mabry Mill.
Maybe we were late. Maybe we were early. We seldom manage to catch the colors at their peak, except for those around the house.
Mostly we were disappointed. The colors were blah and practically non-existent. There were great views, of course, but no mighty array of colors to astonish the mind and please the eye. Have a look for yourself:
The colors around here haven't changed over, either. I'm beginning to think they are going to simply turn brown and drop off.
We haven't had a lovely Autumn in quite a long time. I remember vibrant, vivid colors 10 years ago, but it has been awhile since we've seen those.
(The photos in my header, by the way, are from years past, not this year.)
We went south to Mabry Mill.
Maybe we were late. Maybe we were early. We seldom manage to catch the colors at their peak, except for those around the house.
Mostly we were disappointed. The colors were blah and practically non-existent. There were great views, of course, but no mighty array of colors to astonish the mind and please the eye. Have a look for yourself:
 |
| The Parkway outside of Blue Ridge, where we entered. |
 |
| A tad more color further north, but not much. |
 |
| This looks better than the reality, thanks to computer magic. |
 |
| Roanoke from the Parkway. Computer magic, again. |
 |
| Haze kept this photo from coming out well. That's Roanoke with the Wells Fargo Tower in the middle. |
 |
| Computer magic, again. But even so, meh. |
 |
| Looking back toward Roanoke. |
 |
| A little more color, but nothing to brag about. |
 |
| Lovely view, looking toward North Carolina (I think). But not much color. |
 |
| Mabry Mill was slammed. No place to park. I took this from the car as we drove by. |
 |
| Also taken from the car while we sat at the stop sign. To prove we were really here, you know. The people are more colorful than the leaves! |
We haven't had a lovely Autumn in quite a long time. I remember vibrant, vivid colors 10 years ago, but it has been awhile since we've seen those.
(The photos in my header, by the way, are from years past, not this year.)
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