Saturday, November 18, 2017

Saturday 9 x 4

(Link in meme-roll)
Monster Mash (1962)
Unfamiliar with this week's featured song? Hear it here.

1) In your younger days, did you ever trick or treat while dressed as a monster or ghoul?
I don't think so. I don't remember most of my costumes, but I can't see my parents doing anything scarier with me than basic black-hatted witch.
2) Do you enjoy being frightened by celluloid boys-gone-bad, like Michael Myers (Halloween) or Jason (Friday the 13th)?
Not at all. Have not seen any of these movies, ever.
3) When you were a kid, did you ever TP a neighbor's house or indulge in any other Halloween acts of vandalism? (Don't worry, the statute of limitations is up.)
Absolutely not.
4) Will you be attending any Halloween parties this year? If so, will you dress up?
Oops, uh, no. I wasn't home at all on Halloween: worked 7 a.m to 6 p.m., met my sponsor for dinner, then went to a meeting, arrived back home around 9:30.
5) Can you see any Halloween decorations as you answer these 9 questions?
Nope. Then again, next week is Thanksgiving, so I wouldn't be likely to see much at this point, even if I could see outside.
6) While Halloween is most popular in the United States and Canada, and isn't really celebrated at all in Japan or South Korea. How would you explain our Halloween customs to a visitor from another land?
Kids run around in costume begging for candy. It's a bit weird.
7) "Monster Mash" is one of Halloween's most played songs. Are you happy to hear it every year? Or does it set your teeth on edge?
I actually never heard it this year.
8) This week's featured artist, Bobby "Boris" Pickett, started as a stand-up comedian who incorporated his imitations of Boris Karlof and Bela Lugosi into his act. Can you impersonate anyone?
I don't think so.
9) Dick Clark was an impossibly young looking 33 in this week's featured clip. Are you often told you look good for your age?
Well, last week someone asked if Beast is my son. He's literally 6 days younger than me. Yeah, that was a suuuper-good day.
+ + + + + + +
Suddenly I See (2005)Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This song is a tribute to Patti Smith, the rocker who inspired KT Tunstall. What woman who has inspired you?
My mom and grandmothers. Gloria Steinem. Margaret Sanger. Sandra Day O'Connor. People from my church(es).
2) In this video, you can see a turntable and an LP. When is the last time you played a record?
Oh boy. Decades. I mean, our stereo is set up and ready to go, but it's too much hassle to get out the records themselves. Oh. Wait. I played a 78 on our Crosley to put it onto a CD for work last year.
3) Growing up, Ms. Tunstall seldom sang at home because her father is severely hearing impaired and music interfered with his sensitive hearing aid. Do you, or does anyone in your family, wear a hearing aid?
My dad did. No one here does now though. The day is probably coming.
4) In high school, she got experience performing on street corners. Have you ever tipped a street musician?
Ayup.
5) When this song was popular, Microsoft introduced the Xbox 360 to North America. Are you into gaming?
Not really. Sparky very happily presented something on our Skype call today, "See what I just got?!" It's a game. "It's the NEW Pokemon game; it just came out." Oh.
6) In 2005, Prince Charles married his long-time love, Camilla Parker Bowles. At the time of their wedding, 73% of Brits said they disapproved of her. Today, her popularity has increased somewhat and her disapproval has dropped to 55%. Do you know anyone who married someone you didn't like? Did their spouse grow on you with time?
Yes. And no.
7) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was popular in theaters. Who is your favorite "Harry Potter" character?
Hermione of course!! ...though I have a soft spot for Ron, too.
8) In 2005, YouTube was introduced by three young men who met while working at PayPal. What's the last thing you paid for using PayPal?
I have never used PayPal. That's rather shocking, I guess.
9) Random Question: After a long, exhausting day of travel, you check into a motel. The room is not at all to your liking. It's next to the ice machine, so you can hear cubes dropping noisily into metal buckets. Your view is of the parking lot. The bathtowels and thin and tiny. In short, you feel like you're being ripped off. Do you grab your bag, turn on your heel and check out, hoping there are better accommodations nearby? Or do you say, "What the hell, it's only one night," and climb into bed?
Depends on how tired I am and if the bathroom is clean. If I'm beat...I'll probably just crash and then leave a rude note online. If the bathroom is scummy though, I'm definitely out. Dirty bathroom, buggy bed, bye-bye.
+ + + + + + +
Get Down Tonight (1975)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) Tonight, KC has three things on his "to-do" list: do a little dance, make a little love and get down. Tell us three things you'd like to accomplish this weekend.
Update the checkbook and balance it. Take a bath. Make a list of all the calls and errands I need to do Monday.
2) This week's song is considered emblematic of disco, a genre that had as many detractors as fans. Is there a kind of music you simply cannot stand?
I don't like experimental weirdness that is clearly just pompous self-aggrandizement.
3) Before becoming a musician, KC, aka Harry Casey, worked in a record store. In those days, record stores were very popular. Peaches, Coconuts, Sam Goody and Tower Records are four store chains that once dotted the landscape but now are gone. Today, if you wanted to purchase a CD, where would you turn?
Amazon.
4) One of his duties at the record store was unloading the big corrugated shippers filled with LPs. What's the heaviest thing you've lifted lately?
I've been humping stuff in and out of various medical facilities pretty much daily--this last one, I'm bringing in clothes and schlepping them back home to wash every day. Thank God our water is free.
5) KC is proud that he's lived his entire life in Miami-Dade County. Do you expect to change your address in the next year or so?
It is eminently possible if Beast can't figure out stairs but is otherwise able to come home.
6) In 1975, the year this song was popular, former Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa disappeared, never to be seen again. Many theories flourish about what may have happened to him. Is there a famous criminal case that has a hold on your attention?
I've been addicted to Jack the Ripper since sophomore/junior year of high school. I've done two term papers on him and that era/place in history.
7) Jaws was the most popular movie of 1975. Are you afraid of sharks?
Not particularly. I can't swim, so....
8) Actress Angelina Jolie was born in 1975. People magazine once named her "most beautiful." Who is the most beautiful woman you can think of?
That I know personally? I work with a couple of striking women. I can't think of anyone I think who stops traffic or anything...
9) Random question: A wizard offers you a choice -- would you like your life to stay as it is right now (in terms of your health, your career, your relationships and your finances) for the next 5 years, or would you like to take a chance that the future will be brighter?
Oh, hell, the future has to be better than the present! Right?
+ + + + + + +
Son of a Preacher Man (1968)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This song was originally offered to Aretha Franklin, who turned it down. What's the most recent thing that you said "no" to?
Helping Beast in the bathroom this afternoon. This is what the nurses are paid for. Most of the rest of the stuff that goes on there, I'm willing to help with. Not that, though.
2) Two years later, Aretha recorded "Son of a Preacher Man." What's something you changed your mind about?
I've been doing a lot of back-and-forth about Beast coming home.
3) This song tells the tale of Billy Ray, a young man who could be very persuasive. If we wanted to change your mind about something, would you be more easily swayed by an emotional argument, or with verifiable facts?
I would be unlikely to be swayed by someone trying to change my mind at all. I don't do well with being told what to do.
4) If you ordered a "Son of a Preacher Man" in a bar, you'd get a cocktail made with peppermint schnapps, gin and lemonade. When did you last have lemonade? Was it just lemonade, or was it spiked with alcohol?
Good gawd that sounds AWFUL! I can't even think of a time I've had lemonade in the past 6 months. It's not really my thing, but it would have been just lemonade.
5) Dusty had a thing for maps. She admired them artistically and enjoyed using them to take long car trips. Do you use printed maps? Or do you rely on technology, like GPS or Google Maps?
I almost exclusively use the GPS in my car, and look at Google Maps ahead of time.
6) As a girl, she attended convent school. There, one of the nuns discouraged Dusty from performing, telling her that if she would do better to be a mother or a librarian. When you were growing up, did the adults in your world encourage your dreams?
Nope. Which is ridiculous, actually, considering that I come from a long line of women who worked for pay.
7) That nun inspired Dusty's first major act of rebellion. In an attempt to make herself look less like a future librarian or housewife, she bleached her hair platinum blonde. In school, were you much of a rebel? Or did you conform to the expectations adults had of you?
Oh, I was quiet and relatively well-behaved in school. But remember those striking-looking women? One of them has several tats, wears 6" heels and short skirts, dyes her hair in random colorful streaks....and is a librarian. So, hey nun, fuck right off.
8) Early in her career, Dusty provided the entertainment at a family summer camp. She appeared on the bill with a clown, a fire-eater and a hypnotist. Have you ever been hypnotized?
Nope. Hell to the no, not in public for sure!!
9) Random question: Have you ever played matchmaker to your friends? If yes, did your efforts lead to romance?
I have, to spectacularly zero effect. Setting up two non-communicative people is just stupid.

2 sweet-talkers :

The Gal Herself said...

I've never fixed anyone up, either. So much potential for disaster!

OK, so it's surprising that you've never used Paypal. On the other hand, I've never read/seen anything Harry Potter, so I guess we're even.

Welcome back, Ms. Cat.

Kwizgiver said...

So many of these answers had me "yes"ing!

Post a Comment

Sweet comments from sweet people

 
Copyright ©2004- , Cat. All rights reserved. All opinions expressed on this weblog are those of the author. Nothing included in this blog is intended as a representation of the views of my employer or past employers, or anyone else unless so stated.