Saturday 9

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I Will See You in C-U-B-A (2010)

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

This song was chosen in honor of Father's Day.

 

1) In this week's song, Lucie Arnaz encourages us to hop a ship and join her in Cuba. Is your passport up to date?

Weirdly, we were talking about this at work on Thursday. I think my passport is due to expire in 2027. Or maybe next year. I should probably check. One of the many things I should do.

2) She sings that Cuba is a great place to enjoy wine and Panatelas. Do you like the smell of a good cigar?

I actually do. A GOOD cigar, outside, or the smell on a winter coat is very homey. A bad cigar is grounds for murder. 

3) Lucie said her Latin Roots CD represents "the rhythms of my soul" and is a tribute to her father, Desi Arnaz. Cuban-born Desi starred on Broadway and in nightclubs but was best known for co-starring in and producing the 1950s sitcom, I Love Lucy. When you think of I Love Lucy, what's the first thing that comes to mind?

Lucy's crying -- 'waaaah waaah' -- which is an interesting commentary on what we used to think was funny.

4) While Lucie's parents – Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball – are famous for their TV work, Tony-nominated Lucie has found her greatest success on the stage. She inherited their love of performing, saying, “My parents were always happiest when they were working.” What have you inherited from one or both your parents? (It could be anything from your work ethic to your eye color.)

My dad's side of the family has Very Strong Genes: three of the five kids look just like him physically. Since all three of those kids are/were girls, that's not necessarily great. My brother looks like Mom's side, more and more as he ages. 
To be slightly deeper, we were all instilled with a desire to be the best at whatever we did, which is good...until it becomes neurotic.

5) Though "Ricky Riccardo" often mangled English on I Love Lucy, Desi's English was very good. Lucille Ball admired his facility with languages and encouraged him to speak Spanish to their children so that they would be bilingual. When you were growing up, did your family speak any language other than English?  

Some would argue we barely spoke English! My parents were all about speaking properly (I remember being scolded for saying "liberry" when I was quite young), but their pronunciation was decidedly questionable ("warsh", "piz-za" (z's, no 'ts' sound -- sounds like the city in Italy). 

6) Desi Arnaz often performed "I Will See You in C-U-B-A." Is there a song that reminds you of your father?

There are two: "Mairzy Doats" and "The Hokey-Pokey." I teased my dad whenever he complained about my "loud noise" (i.e. music) by singing "Mairzy Doats" all the way through. He also had a whole routine he did around "Bill Grogan's Goat." 
He's currently furious (I can hear him yelling from heaven!) that I'm not naming any hymns, so I'll throw in "How Great Thou Art" and "Joy to the World." 

7) After Lucie's parents divorced, Lucille Ball remarried and Lucie got a stepfather, Gary Morton. Lucie appreciated how positive Gary always was about Desi. Decades later, when she married a man who already had children, Lucie said she better understood what a tough role stepparent can be. Did you have a stepparent? Are you a stepparent? 

I have no step-parents, nor am I one. I am, however, quite proud of being "Mom #2" for a multitude of kids I knew when I was teaching Sunday School, running Youth Group, babysitting, working with. I love all 'my' kids. As I get a little older, I find it interesting how many of these kids (now adults) have come to me to vent about their 'actual' parents, or at least for advice on how to deal with them. 

8) As a single dad, Desi lived south of Los Angeles in Del Mar. Lucie and her brother, Desi Jr., spent school vacations there, going to the race track, bowling, and fishing with their dad. Share a happy memory from one of your school vacations (Christmas, Spring Break, or Summer).

It's been a long time since my childhood, and while it was not a perfectly, endlessly wonderful one, distance (and comparison) has made it look damn good. I loved jumping rope and playing jacks and creating little neighborhoods for my brother's toy cars to park in; vacations were endless and stressful and occasionally even fun.

9) Father's Day began in Washington state. In the early 1900s, Spokane resident Sonora Smart Dodd listened to her minister deliver a sermon celebrating Mother's Day and devoted herself to similarly honoring fathers. A century later, more money is still spent annually on Mother's Day. Why do you suppose that nationally we still make more of a fuss over Mother's Day than Father's Day?

School is in session for Mother's Day, not so for Father's Day. Also, so many of my peers in school had divorced parents making it harder to get buy-in from both parents to support each other that I think dads have gotten short shrift. I'm not a Man's Rights person, but I do think the patriarchy has a lot to answer for in this area, in the 'erasing' of fathers as important and the glorification (but no support for) mothers.

Friday 5

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Intense intents in tents

1. When have you recently been the ringmaster?

I feel like I'm often juggling at least 10 plates and 3 rings at work. The life of a middle manager....

2. When have you recently walked a highwire?

I'm currently kind of stranded in the middle of walking across a deep metaphorical (emotional) chasm on a very narrow path, trying not to freak out and remind myself that if I got to the middle I can get to the other side.

3. When have you recently been an acrobat?

I spent almost half my work hours this week in the children's department, which I don't hate at all, but I canNOT do my actual work in there during Summer Reading. So, I didn't get a lot of forward progress done in getting new books out to the shelves. It's past time to get the new children's librarian on board and we still have another week to go! 

4. When have you recently been a lion tamer?

I am a terrible lion tamer. If this were my job, the lions would bite off my head in 3 seconds and the act would be over. This is why I'm relegated to children rather than dealing with adults, i.e. potential lions.

5. When have you recently been the strongman or strongwoman?

Isn't this where I say this is my full-time life, and has been for the past 8-ish years? I'm tired. Can someone else please be in charge of everything for me for a few weeks?

All of this is to say that, unfortunately, this IS my circus and these ARE my monkeys. 

Sunday Stealing (x2)

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10 Questions with Nigel

1. What's your life's motto?

I don't know that I have a motto. The most frequent life advice I give is "Don't be a dick" but I don't know that that's a motto. Lately, it feels like I should be following the "Fight for your own stuff" but I hate that too.

2. Where were you living 13 years ago?

Right here. Different furniture, same house. Apparently, I had just finished entering all my reading history into GoodReads (at least the previous 20 years' worth), and have since added 2500 books. A  LOT of those are from childhood and generally before I started actively keeping track.

3. Is anyone jealous of you?

How in the world would I know? Right now, I very much doubt anyone wants to be in my shoes. I certainly don't.

4. Where were you when you heard about the 9/11 terror attacks?

Beast called me at church where I was doing some volunteer work, alone in the building, to tell me to go home and turn on the news. The first building fell while I was on the way--I had newsradio on--and I nearly got T-boned by someone else racing home. Then our new pastor and wife came over because they didn't have their TV (cable, blah blah) set up and we all gaped, and Pastor's Wife kept saying she needed to go to the grocery store to 'stock up.'

5. Do you consider yourself kind?

I try. Beast told me one time that he thought I was, and I treasure that comment.

6. Can you change your car's oil?

I mean, I probably could, but there's no way I'm starting this project at age 61 when Bob does it just fine and checks out all the other important things while he's in there.

7. What's the last thing you heard about your first love?

My actual IRL "first love" or my first crush? lol David Cassidy has been dead for 8 years, and my first boyfriend ... I haven't checked facebook recently. I'm friends with his brother though, so I presume I'd hear if something happened to 'boyfriend.'

8. Have you ever been burned by love?

Are we comparing scars? I won't win any contests, but I have been in therapy for a decade-and-a-half. 

9. What was the last thing you paid for with cash?

What is this 'cash' concept of which you speak?? 
Actually, I always pay the cleaning crew at the house in cash, so Thursday.

10. Do you hug your friends?

If they want me to. I always want to hug people, but one of my coworkers has become EXTREMELY germophobic and touch-phobic, so I try to keep my hands strictly to myself around her. Otherwise, I tend to tap people's shoulders or forearms for their attention if I don't want to verbally interrupt them. So yeah. I got two hugs in 5 minutes from people at work Friday.

Saturday 9 (x2)

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Hold On (1990)

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

 

1) This song gives encouragement to someone who is enduring heartache. Have you more recently given support, or received it?

There's been a lot of receiving of late. It's not a place I'm very comfortable living in. 

2) "Hold On" is featured prominently in the 2011 movie Bridesmaids. It's an anthem for the friends in the film and they love to sing it together. Is there a song that reminds you of good times with a good friend?

One that reminds me of college, and one specific college friend, is "Safety Dance." It's a terminally silly song, with great memories around concerts and campus radio sets, that makes me smile every damn time I hear it. 

3) The video for this song finds Wilson Phillips outdoors on a snowy mountainside and then on a sandy beach. What's the view outside your window?

Cloudy skies, green trees and the eave of the house next door is all I can see from my recliner. 

4) The mountain segments were filmed in California's San Gabriel Mountains. The girls were flown to the set by helicopter. Have you ever been in a helicopter?

I would LOVE to have a long helicopter ride around some scenic area just for the experience. The only person I know of close to me who's been in a helicopter is Beast and that was Flight for Life. This is NOT how I wish to travel!

5) The members of Wilson Phillips are authentic "California Girls." Wendy and Carnie Wilson's father is Brian Wilson, who wrote the Beach Boys hit[s]. Chynna Phillips is the daughter of John and Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas, who sang "California Dreamin'." Have you been to California? If yes, where did you visit?

I've been to Cali several times, mostly to cities--San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles--but I loved the ocean in each of those areas. 

6) Another generation of the Wilson family has entered the music business. Carnie's daughter/Brian Wilson's granddaughter, Lola Bonfiglio, participated in the current season of American Idol. Has a family member followed you in your chosen profession?

Heh. I followed my sister into Library Science. My niece followed me into it. We all (have) had good long careers in a field that is wholly worthwhile and rewarding (when it isn't wholly frustrating and infuriating).

7) In 1990, when this song was popular, satellite radio was in its infancy and streaming was unheard of. Our cars gave us a choice of AM/FM and maybe CD player/tape deck. When you're driving and a favorite song comes on, are you more likely to sing along if you're alone? Or don't you care if anyone hears you?

I rarely listen to music in the car anymore. I have a ginormous backlog of podcast episodes I'm trying to get through. I do talk back to them regularly, and sometimes pause the whole thing to argue about something, but not when/where people can see me. If I do have music on I sing along rather mindlessly, whether or not others are around. I don't care if anyone else hears or sees me. I don't mind being the crazy old lady in town. 

8) Also in 1990, actor Alan Hale Jr. died. He was "the skipper" on Gilligan's Island. Without looking it up, can you name the other six castaways? (If not the actors, then their characters.)

Gilligan, the millionaire and his wife, the movie star, the professor and Mary Ann. I don't know all the actors' names, but man I loved that show as a kid. 

9) Random question: What superhero would you like to have as your best friend?

Deadpool seems fun, if rather dangerous, to hang out with. [I don't see most superhero movies, so that's all I can come up with...]

Too Shy (1983)

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

1) This song laments vulnerability and self-consciousness in a social settings. Are you often "too shy?" Or are social gatherings easy for you?

I am terminally shy, but adept at snapping on my Public Mask in a flash and smiling and schmoozing through a (short) party or meeting. Also, I'm unable to abide silence in social settings so I talk too much.  

2) In the lyrics, a girl self-censors, telling herself, "hush hush." Have you more recently shushed someone, or were you shushed?

As a librarian.... ha ha ha. I get shushed by patrons more than I shush them. Then again, most of my public service work is in the children's room, so it's pretty loud in there. I did get shushed yesterday at work by a little girl who wanted us to whisper about the snake puppet she said had bitten her, and which then bit me. 😀 

3) Band member Nick Beggs recalls that they called themselves Kajagoogoo because it sounded like something that would make a baby laugh. It is fun to say. Can you think of another word that you just enjoy saying?

"Shenanigans."  Also, "boooolllshiiiitttt." 

4) This was the only US hit for the British band, earning Kajagoogoo the title "One Hit Wonder." Can you think of another artist or band who had one really popular song and then just kind of disappeared?

Well, I seem to be calling out "Safety Dance" a lot this week, so I'll hit them up again.

5) Though fame was fleeting here, Kajagoogoo remained popular in England. Lead singer Limahl recalls the adulation as "overwhelming," and he was shocked when he stepped on stage in Cornwall to see row after row of fans wearing their hair like he did. Have you ever handed a photo to a stylist and said, "Make my hair look like this?"

I don't think I've done precisely this, but I did have a "Lady Di" haircut as a late teen, and I'm sure I've said other things to hairdressers over the years about hairstyles I thought would work with my hair. 

6) In 1983, when this song was popular, the Lotus 1-2-3 program made it easier for PC users to make spreadsheets. Are you answering these questions on a Mac or PC? Laptop, phone or tablet?

I'm on a Lenovo laptop. I've never used a Mac except when strictly necessary, and phones/tablets have too small of a keyboard for me to properly type.

7) 1983 saw Abbey Road Studios open their doors for the first time for public tours. During the first two months, 22,000 tickets were sold to fans who wanted to see where the Beatles made their magic. What's the last ticket you purchased?

I can honestly say that I haven't purchased tickets for ANYthing in years. Maybe parking in a hospital lot, but honestly even then I think it was just a pass-through not an actual ticket.  

8) Also in 1983, McDonald's introduced Chicken McNuggets. When was chicken most recently on the menu at your home? How was it prepared?

At home? I have a container of rotisserie chicken shreds I nosh on for dinner once in awhile. I had chicken strips from some fastfood place this week for lunch, maybe even McDonalds. I eat a lot of chicken. Or peanut butter. Those are my main protein sources. 

9) Random question: Have you ever forgotten where you left your car in a parking lot?

I forgot which lot I parked in AT WORK on Wednesday this week! This isn't an uncommon occurrence. I'm the flakiest person on staff, hands-down.