Saturday 9: My Funny Valentine

Saturday 9: My Funny Valentine (1991)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) In this song, Ms. Kitt sings that her lover is her favorite work of art. Tell us about a piece of artwork you can see from where you're sitting now. (Yes, that crayon drawing created by your 5-year-old nephew counts.)

A. There's a picture that I took of a sunrise over the Peaks of Otter off the Blue Ridge Parkway. It is in hues of orange and black. Across the top of it I have written "Never Fear Tomorrow."

Here is a picture of the picture. I can't find the original on my computer. It sits up high on my bookshelf.

The original print looks better.

2) She asks him to not change his hair. When will you next find yourself in the stylist's chair?

A. My next appointment is two weeks away.

3) Ms. Kitt always wanted to be a performer and attended the New York School of Performing Arts (aka the "Fame" school). Think back to your high school self. In what ways would you be surprised by how your life turned out?

A. No kids, for one thing. Still living near where I grew up, for another.

4) Ms. Kitt took over the role of Catwoman on TV's Batman. Name another Batman villain.

A. The Penguin. The Joker. The Riddler.

5) Ms. Kitt enjoyed tremendous success performing in Parisian nightclubs. Have you ever been to Paris?

A. I went to Paris when I was a junior in high school with a class group.

  
This is the last Saturday  9 before Valentine's Day and so this morning we shall focus on the upcoming holiday.

 

6) The holiday is also known as The Feast of St. Valentine. Do you have a special meal planned for next Wednesday?

A. Not at the moment.

7) The phrase "wear your heart on your sleeve" began in medieval times. On Valentine's Day, men would celebrate the holiday by displaying their lady love's name on their sleeves. If you were going to adopt this custom, whose name would you wear?

A. My husband's.

8) Women buy and send more Valentines than men do. What's the last greeting card you received?

A. Christmas card.

  
9) Men buy and send more roses at Valentine's Day than women do. What's your favorite flower?

 

A. Iris.

 

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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 Thirteen

Barbie dolls for 2018


1) HIGH FALUTIN' BARBIE: This princess Barbie is sold only at Neiman Marcus, usually purchased online. She comes with an assortment of Louis Vuitton handbags, a leased Lexus SUV, a long-haired foreign dog named Honey and a house larger than she and Ken can afford. Available with or without tummy tuck and face lift. Workaholic Ken, M.D. sold only in conjunction with the augmented version.

2) MOM VAN BARBIE: The modern day homemaker Barbie is available with Ford Wind star Minivan and matching gym outfit. Traffic jamming cell phone sold separately.

3) GET-OF-JAIL FREE CARD BARBIE: This recently paroled Barbie comes with a knife, a Chevy with dark tinted windows, and a Meth Lab Kit. This model is only available after dark and must be paid for in cash (preferably small, untraceable bills) . . . unless you are a cop, then we don't know what you are talking about.

4) "MIDDLE INCOME" BARBIE: This yuppie Barbie comes with your choice of a BMW convertible or Hummer H2. Included are her own Starbucks cup, maxed-out credit card and country club membership. Also available for this set are Shallow Ken and Private School Skipper. Barbie won't be able to afford any of them.

5) COUNTRY GIRL IN THE CITY BARBIE: This pale model comes dressed in her own Wrangler jeans two sizes too small, a NASCAR t-shirt and Tweety Bird tattoo on her shoulder. She has a six-pack of Bud light and a Hank Williams Jr. CD set. She can spit over 5 feet and kick mullet-haired Ken's butt when she is drunk. Purchase her pickup truck separately and get a confederate flag bumper sticker absolutely free.

6) OVER-AGED AND NOT ACKNOWLEDGING IT BARBIE: This collagen injected, rhino plastic Barbie wears a leopard print outfit and drinks cosmopolitans while entertaining friends. Percocet prescription available as well as full-season (yearly) subscription to the local opera and Amazon Prime.

7) DOWN HOME COUNTRY BARBIE: This tobacco-chewing, brassy-haired Barbie has a pair of her own high-heeled sandals with one broken heel from the time she chased beer-gutted Ken out of Barbie's house. Her ensemble includes low-rise acid-washed jeans, fake fingernails, and a see-through halter-top. Let's not forget the butt tattoo and thong. Also available with a mobile home.

8) THE GENTLY AGING HIPPIE BARBIE: This doll is made of actual tofu. She has long straight brown hair, arch-less feet, hairy armpits, no makeup and Birkenstocks with white socks. She prefers that you call her Willow . She does not want or need a Ken doll, but if you purchase two Hippie Barbies and the optional Subaru wagon, you get a rainbow flag bumper sticker for free.

9) THE NEW MOMMIE BARBIE: This Barbie now comes with a stroller and infant doll. Optional accessories include a small car and/or bus pass. Baby Daddy Ken and his 1979 Caddy were available, but are now very difficult to find.

10) MOBILE AND ON THE RISE BARBIE: This Barbie comes complete with Soccer Mom outfit of white pants and shirt and tennis shoes and one set of clothing for shopping at the local large food chain. Mini-van accessory for toting kids to the nearby sports fields optional. Blue Collar Ken comes complete with lunch pail, coveralls and sports suit for those "dress up" days.

11) MADE IT AND WILL MOVE IN FIVE YEARS BARBIE: This Barbie comes complete with Barbie's Mansion Home. Certificate of Mortgage with $3,500 house payment comes with the dollhouse. Furniture is optional; Hummer2 for front driveway required. Local swim club membership included. Completely interchangeable with the "MIDDLE INCOME" Shallow Ken and Private School Skipper set.

12) COUNTRY GIRL FOR SURE BARBIE: This blue-jeaned Barbie comes with unkempt hair and a screaming toddler on her hip; Farmer Ken optional but suggested. Barbie's Run-Down Farmhouse comes complete with horse, cow, chickens and a 10-year old Ford pickup truck. Barbie fashion accessories include hair barrettes, bright red false fingernails, T-shirts and halter tops and a cellphone with Apple's country music station.

13) THE FAR-OUT BARBIE: This Barbie comes dressed in the Confederate Flag with optional sheet to pull over her head. Barbie and Tobacco-Spitting Ken doll come with a fold-out farm with a mobile home for their little ones. UFO background set available. Must-have additions include the 1959 Farm Tractor, the broken-down Volkswagen, and the garden full of marijuana plants that borders the National Forest. Interchangeable with the COUNTRY GIRL FOR SURE Barbie set.


*Just for fun. Sent to me some time ago with local names, I changed it up a bit. No offense intended. If we don't have a sense of humor about what all is going on, we'll all die sad.*


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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 538th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

What Is Up With AOL?

When the Internet first became a "thing," my only access was through America Online. At the time, it was a dial-up service with an 800 number and that is how I first accessed this new technology. My local phone service did not offer access, and I live out in a rural area that still has limited Internet connection.

So my first experience with the Internet was that EEERRRRR  WWWOOOOO DWEEEE sound that one used to receive upon connection, followed by, "You've Got Mail."

That was, as best as I can tell, on June 20, 1994 (according to my AOL account information). I set up a main account and two other accounts, both of which I still use, because I think at the time you were allowed three. Then it went to five, then to seven.

So I've been with AOL for 23 years, and I've had the same email accounts for 23 years. For a long time I paid a monthly fee for Internet access, and then about the time AOL became "free" (with advertisements) my local provider finally offered DSL in my area, so I switched to that and kept the free email accounts.

Over the years AOL has been, more or less, reliable. The stuff surrounding AOL has changed - there used to be active groups you could join, a closed community sort of thing. I made some friends online during that time, a few of whom I still keep in touch with. Never met them in person and probably never will, but we've followed one another from AOL to gmail to Facebook or whatever.

I stopped using AOL software a long time ago (and recently threw away a bunch 3.5 disks that had American Online 2.0 on them). I access it via my browser. For the longest time it has worked fine - a little menu came down so I could select which email account I wanted, it remembered my password, I went in and did my business, and came back out and went to the next account.

Now AOL seems to not want me to do that. It wants me to sign in constantly. This wouldn't be such a big deal if my password was something easy, like "password" but AOL, you may recall, had a breach in 2014. I changed my passwords and they are the most convoluted things you ever saw.

I am hoping this is a hiccup in what used to be a fairly decent email service, but if it continues I may have to look for something else - or somehow stick with a single AOL account. That will be difficult but not impossible. One of the accounts I use for the junk stuff that businesses want to send out; the other I use for personal mail, not business mail. I have yet another account (not AOL) for that. (At one time I had 11 email accounts. Whew.)

Other people use AOL because it is familiar. It still says, "You've Got Mail" to me sometimes (not every time, which is kind of weird). I have adapted as the thing has changed, but after a while you get tired of typing in long passwords.

I did every search I could think of to see if there was something up with these recent quirks in AOL but nothing satisfactory came up as an answer. There is a problem going on - I see other references to it in various places, but not sure what is happening.

Dear Lady M.

My Dear Lady M.,

I do hope that your little cats, Precious and Frodo, are doing well and of course I greatly desire to hear that you too are in good spirits and fine health.

My delight in finishing my tax documents was enormous, and I am pleased to report that I have recovered my health.

Today I am concerned about something my state government is doing - changing the Freedom of Information Act laws. As you know, Lady M., there is no need for secrecy in government, particularly in local government. (I'm not talking about national security; if we've plans to blow the world up with some new bomb, I'm not sure I want to know about it.) These people are paid with public funds and their actions therefore should be visible to the public at large. No local government has to have a closed meeting to discuss anything if they don't want to. The fact that they do is a pall upon their nature and in my opinion closed meetings cast disgusting shadows upon the entire legislative process. Today I counted 28 different changes to the state's Freedom of Information Act. All but one purposes to cut off public access to various and sundry documents, including some in the court system that are currently available if one only goes to the courthouse to look.

Shame, shame, I say. Let the people know their own business, or it is no longer the people's business, but despots' desires. Are we or are we not a democracy? Never mind, Lady M., as I know the answer to that one. We are not a democracy. We're not even a republic. We're an oligarchy pretending to be a democratic republic. Ha.

I heard through the grapevine that you had tea with the illustrious artist, Lady D., and that she asked if she could paint you in the form of the Queen from Alice in Wonderland. What on earth possessed you to say yes? I know you love her artwork but what a fanciful idea. I have a hard time envisioning you as one who would say, "Off with her head." I suppose Precious could be the vanishing cat of the story, though.

As for me, I have little news to report of my own industry. I have been thinking of taking up painting but I am not sure I could stand the scent of the oils. Perhaps watercolor?

That is all for now, Lady M. Please do write whenever you have the time. I so enjoy hearing from you.

With best wishes and kindest regards,

Lady J.

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My Dear Lady J.,

I am happy to report to you that not only am I well, but Frodo and Precious are simply divine. They must be the happiest little kitties in the world, they purr so much. Frodo is starting to look a bit overweight, though, so I think I must cut back at feeding time. Otherwise I shall have to rename him Samwise!

Lady D. and I did have a most pleasant visit. She is such a delight, always laughing and carrying on about the ways of the universe. She told me a tale of a local ghost that was most delightful; remind me to share it with you next time we are out. She is not pleased, however, with the current affairs of government and agrees with the two of us that something must be done. Time's up, as they are saying, but I'm not sure exactly what we will have in its place. I hope for better but sometimes I find change to be dire.

Your concerns about the Freedom of Information Act are appropriate and I agree, the work of the people should be available for the people to see. Unfortunately our governmental protectors (is it fine to call them that? I do not feel protected.) see themselves as little kings and thus the people - that is, you and I - are not to be trusted with vital information. I say cast the lot of them out in the November election and let's start anew. Resist, revolution, remake. Perhaps we need lessons on the three "Rs" again?

My concerns now are at the federal level, as another government shutdown looms again. What is wrong with these people? Dear me, it does seem like we have fallen into the rabbit hole - which is why I agreed to dear Lady D.'s request. If I'm going to live on a crazy chessboard I may as well be painted the part, don't you think?

I also laughed heartily at the "memo" which proved nothing and said very little. I read the thing in its entirety and thought, what a bunch of wasted paper. I do fear all of that ado about nothing was really a cover-up for something else. Something that the wealthy know about, apparently, since they are pulling their money from the stock market and it is falling faster and harder than a baseball during a foul ball play. Who knows how this will play out. I knew it was coming and I daresay it will not stop until it has dropped back to 13,000. That will put a crick in the neck of everyone who has their retirement socked away in a mutual fund, I'm afraid.

Ah well. These are topics about which we can do little, for we have no control. What I can control is when I have tea, and as it is that time again, Lady J., I bid you a fond farewell.

Until next time, I am your faithful servant,

Lady M.


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Note: This is a work of fiction (sort of). There is no Lady M. or Lady J. I have been watching Victoria on PBS and the queen writes frequently to "Lord M." in the show, and I thought it would be fun to create two characters and have them write back and forth occasionally, using a more gentile language and style than our present day verbiage.

So We Had A Little Ice

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing

1. January was National Mentoring Month. Have you ever had a mentor? Been a mentor? How would you rate the experience?

A. The only person I ever mentored was my brother. You'll have to ask him how I did.

2. What current trend makes no sense to you?

A. Fox News.

3. I saw a cartoon on Facebook highlighting a few 'weird' things that make you happy as an adult. The list included writing with a nice pen, having plans cancelled, freshly cleaned sheets, eating the corner brownie, cleaning the dryer lint screen, and sipping coffee in that brief time before anyone else wakes up. Of the 'weird' things listed which one makes you happiest? What is one more 'weird' thing you'd add to the list?

A. Of the listed items, freshly cleaned sheets make me happy. Another weird thing I would add is a pair of brand new socks.

4. What's the last good thing you ate?

A. Chocolate lush, which is a dessert made from a recipe of my grandmother's. It's delish.

5. Describe life in your 20's in one sentence.

A. I married, built a house, and had six surgeries.

6. It's that time of year again...time for Lake Superior University to present a list of words (or phrases) they'd like to see banished (for over-use, mis-use, or genera uselessness) in 2018. This year's top vote getters are -- unpack, dish (as in dish out the latest rumor), pre-owned, onboarding/offboarding, nothingburger, let that sink in, let me ask you this, impactful, Cofefe, drill down, fake news, hot water heater (hot water doesn't need to be heated), and gig economy. Which of these words/phrases would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Is there a word not on the list you'd like to add?

A. Fake news and gig economy get a thumbs up from me. I would add "free enterprise" and "democracy" to that list. We don't live in a democracy anymore. We haven't for a very long time.

7. What's something you need to get rid of in the new year?

A. I could use a new attitude, so I suppose that means I need to rid myself of an old one.

8. Where do you feel stuck?

A. In my efforts to eat healthy.

9. January is National Soup Month. When did you last have a bowl of soup? Was it made from scratch or from a can? Your favorite canned soup? Your favorite soup to make from scratch on a cold winter's day?

A. I had soup about 10 days ago. It was Campbell's Chicken with Rice (HeartSmart). I was sick. That would be my favorite canned soup and I can't recall the last time I made soup from scratch.

10. Tell us one thing you're looking forward to in 2018.

A. I am hoping for a blue tsunami in November.

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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 9: Boat Drinks

Saturday 9: Boat Drinks (1979)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) Jimmy Buffett is singing about his bandmates watching hockey in a sports bar. Since it's Super Bowl weekend, our first question is: In cold weather, which sport to you watch most: football, hockey, or basketball?

A. Ice skating. I don't watch any of the three mentioned.

2) Jimmy sings it's just 20º outside. How high will the mercury reach where you are today?

A. We have a forecast high of 39 degrees and a low of 19 degrees, according to Siri.

3) "Boat drinks" are mixed drinks designed to enhance the enjoyment of a boat ride or time on the beach. Popular boat drinks include The Tequila Sunrise, Cuba Libre, and Mimosa. When did you last sip an alcoholic beverage? Was it a boat drink?

A. I don't drink alcohol anymore, but if I remember right from 35 years ago, the last mixed drink I had was called Sex on the Beach. I suppose you could call that a boat drink.

4) Jimmy met his wife, Jane, in Key West at a bar called The Chart Room. Have you ever been to Key West?

A. No. At least, not that I remember.

5) Have you ever met anyone worth knowing at a bar?

A. Not anyone I didn't already know from somewhere else.

6) While Keith Richard and Paul McCartney have made cameo appearances in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, Jimmy Buffet has not. Producers have asked him, but he's always had to decline because of his touring schedule. Have you seen any of the Pirates/Jack Sparrow movies?

A. I think I have seen all but the last one.

7) When Jimmy gave the commencement address at the University of Miami, he showed up in flip-flops. How many pairs of flip-flops do you own?

A. None. I hate flip-flops.

8) Jimmy has his own station on Sirius Radio. Do you subscribe to Sirius?

A. No.

9) Random question: What trend or fad from your youth do you hope never makes a comeback?

A. Big hair.


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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. 

I Blame Rowling

Recently I read two books, one completely self-published and another that was published through what is an imprint of Amazon publishing.

The completely self-published book, Haven, by Kate Roshon, was well-done although I could see where it could have benefited from an editor. There were very few typographical errors, which was great, but there were a few areas where I wanted to say "show don't tell." However, it was a good story and I applaud the author (whose husband plays in a video game with me, just so you know), for nice work. For a totally self-published book, this was good and well done, and one of the few self-published books I would recommend if you read science fiction. If I should chose to publish in this manner, I can only hope I do as well with all of the editing and creating a cover and all that goes into making such a book.

Haven was a dystopian tale with hope. I'll leave it at that because I don't want to give away much of the story.

The other book went through a total editing process with a team of editors via Amazon. The book was free to me as a Kindle First book (if you belong to Prime, you get a free book at the beginning of each month; the books so far have all been from Amazon's own publishing imprint, Lake Union Publishing). Daughters of the Night Sky, by Aimee K. Runyon, was a historical tale about women who flew planes for Russia during World War II. It was an interesting fictional look at a historical fact I knew nothing about, and I enjoyed the read.

However, both of the books had what I have come to call the Rowling Syndrome. It's actually a literary device known as an epilogue. She didn't invent it and it is not unique to her, but the ending of her series of children's books is the most famous example I can think of.

In J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Rowling ended the story (and series) not where it should have ended - with Hogwarts retaken, the Death Eaters defeated, and Harry saving the world, but with an epilogue that I (and a few others) disliked. The epilogue took away any imagination of the characters' future lives by writing about how Harry married Gini and Ron married Hermione and they had little kids and lived happily ever after.

These two books I recently read had the same sort of endings. The stories reached points where they should have ended, but the authors went forward in time to each main character's old age and showed how their life played out.

I know some people like this kind of completeness in an ending, but I rather prefer the idea of the story ending in a good place - but with room left for one to imagine what else might have happened, rather than being told how things went on to end.

In Harry Potter, for example, I would have preferred to not know who married whom, or what they ended up doing with their lives. I would have liked to have imagined that for myself (and I would never have married Hermione to Ron). It is the same with these two books I just read. I'd rather have imagined the futures of the two women in each story from a certain point, and not seen how things turned out for them.

Sometimes it is good to let the reader use her imagination. If the character has any appeal, I like to fantasize about what might have happened, who she ended up with, how the rest of her life might have played out. Having it all laid out for me there on the page seems to take something from me.

What do you think?

Thursday Thirteen

Today I am celebrating women in space. Sixty women have flown in space from countries all over the world. I am only listing 13. How many of these names do you recognize? Why do you suppose that is?


1. Valentina Tereshkova (1937 - ) was the Soviet Union's first woman in space. Actually, she was the world's first woman in space. Her flight took place on June 16, 1963. She is also the youngest woman in space (she was 26), and the only woman to make a solo spaceflight.

2. Svetlana Savitskaya (1948 - ) was the first Soviet Union woman to fly on a space station (Salyut 7, 1982). She was also the first woman to perform a spacewalk (July 25, 1984) and the first woman to make two spaceflights (Soyuz T-5 (July 19, 1982) and Soyuz T-12 (Jul. 17, 1984))

3. Sally Ride (1951-2012) was the first woman from the United States to go into space. She was on STS-7 (June 18, 1983) and STS-41-G (October 5, 1984).

4. Judith A. Resnik (1949 - 1986) was the first Jewish American woman in space. She was killed in the Challenger disaster on January 28, 1986, which was her second space expedition. Her first was STS-41-D (Aug. 30, 1984).

5. Kathryn D. Sullivan (1951 - ) was the first United States female to perform a space walk ((Oct. 11, 1984). She flew in missions STS-41-G (Oct. 5, 1984), STS-31 (Apr. 24, 1990), and STS-45 (Mar. 24, 1992).

6. Anna Lee Fisher (1949 - ) was the United States' first mother in space. She flew on STS-51-A (Nov. 8, 1984).

7. Margaret Rhea Seddon (1947 - ) flew in three United States space missions: STS-51-D (Apr. 12, 1985), STS-40 (Jun. 5, 1991), and STS-58 (Oct. 18, 1993).

8. Shannon Lucid (1943 - ) was the first United States woman to fly on a space station ((Mir, 1996). She was also the first Chinese-born woman in space and the first woman to make a third, a fourth and a fifth spaceflight. Her missions were STS-51-G (Jun. 17, 1985), STS-34 (Oct. 18, 1989), STS-43 (Aug. 2, 1991), STS-58 (Oct. 18, 1993), STS-76/79 (Mar. 22, 1996).

9. Bonnie J. Dunbar (1949) flew five missions for the United States. Her missions were STS-61-A (Oct. 30, 1985), STS-32 (January 9, 1990), STS-50 (Jun. 25, 1992), STS-71 (Jun. 27, 1995), and STS-89 (Jan. 22, 1998).

10. Mary L. Cleave (1947 - ) of the United States flew two missions in space (STS-61-B (Nov. 26, 1985) and STS-30 (May 4, 1989)).

11. Ellen S. Baker (1953 - ) of the United States flew three missions in space (STS-34 (Oct. 18, 1989), STS-50 (Jun. 25, 1992), and STS-71 (Jun. 27, 1995)).

12. Kathryn C. Thornton (1952 - ) of the United States was the third woman to walk in space. She was also the first woman to make multiple spacewalks ((May 14–15, 1992, Dec. 6, 1993, Dec. 8, 1993). Her missions were STS-33 (Nov. 22, 1989), STS-49 (May 7, 1992), STS-61 (Dec. 2, 1993), and STS-73 (Oct. 20, 1995).

13. Marsha Ivins (1951 - ) of the United States flew five missions: STS-32 (Jan. 9, 1990), STS-46 (Jul. 31, 1992), STS-62 (Mar. 4, 1994), STS-81 (Jan. 12, 1997), and
STS-98 (Feb. 7, 2001).


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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 537th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

Blue Moon, Super Moon

Here are my shots of the blue moon, also called a super moon, with the beginning of the lunar eclipse visible.

Starlings

Robins

My grandmother always said the first robins heralded spring. I don't know about that but the yard has been full of them in recent days. Seems a wee bit earlier than usual for migration to me, but I don't track these things on a calendar.

Anyway, I took some photos with my new Nikon B700. Still trying to learn the camera and what it will do.