Saturday 9

(Link in meme-roll)
Black Is Black (1966)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) Black is this week's signature color because Friday, November 27, was "Black Friday," when retailers cut their prices and consumers flock to the stores. Did you score any "Black Friday" bargains?

I don't 'do' Black Friday. I work almost every year on that day, and even when/if I don't, I loathe crowds, so the whole Black Friday thing just sounds like hell on earth. I thank God every year that I'm not in retail.

2) WalMart, Best Buy, Toys R Us and Target have all heavily advertised their "Black Friday" sales. If you could have a $50 gift card to one of those stores, which would choose? What would you spend the $50 on?

I would spend it online at Target.com.

3) Star Wars items are predicted to be big sellers this Black Friday. Are you a big sci-fi fan? Are there any sci-fi fans on your holiday gift list?

Yeah, there'll be some SW items under the tree for sure this year. To be fair, there usually is something SW-based under our tree.

4) Feasting and football are also popular Thanksgiving weekend pastimes. Do your Thursday-Sunday plans include pigging out or watching a game?

Duh. Really, despite the best efforts of my lunatic niece Katherine, we watch football all day Thursday, much of Saturday and all Sunday afternoon.

5) At Thanksgiving dinners, Crazy Sam's homemade gravy is always a hit. (Probably because she's so generous with the cognac, which gives the gravy a nutty taste.) Do you have a signature dish?

I'm going to have to try the cognac.... My signature dish is the turkey. This year was a little weird: the skin was overcooked, and I used so many lemons to stuff it that it was basically turkey soup by the time it needed to come out of the oven. We had to ladle out about 6 cups of liquid before we could lift it out of the oven. One project for the weekend is to clean the oven. And the floor around the oven. The whole kitchen floor, really.

6) What did you give thanks for on Thanksgiving 2015?

By the time I sit down, I'm just grateful no one is injured, the food is all on the table, and the fact that I can sit! OK, and for the faces around me. I actually did say grace this year.

7) Monday is Cyber Monday, when shoppers can save big online. Do you shop confidently over the Internet, or do you worry about security breaches and identity theft?

I don't worry about security online. At least, I don't worry about it anymore than I worry about my credit card in person. Restaurants...seriously, think about it: your card is out of sight for how long while they do who knows what? Yeah. And I've only ever been hacked in person, probably overseas. So I really do not worry about online shopping.

8) This week's featured band, Los Bravos, was international. Their members came from both Germany and Spain. If you could travel to any foreign country in the world, which would you choose?

I would love to visit several Middle Eastern countries--Turkey, Egypt, Syria, Israel, Iran, Iraq--but I'm not confident enough to do so without a tour group of some kind. And body armor.

9) The band's name, Los Bravos, can be translated to mean, "The Brave." Do you consider yourself gutsy?

I do. "Foolhardy" is another word that might fit at times.