Reading, Part II

Here are the rest of the questions from the reading meme that I started last week (see part I here). Thanks to C in DC for giving me some content for the blog!

• Favorite reading snack? There's no eating or drinking in a library! But a hot cup of coffee and maybe a cookie?
  

• Name a case in which hype ruined your reading experience. I can honestly say, I don't think that has happened to me - then again, I have avoided the Harry Potter books and the other, most recent overly publicized book series.
  

• How often do you agree with critics about a book? God, I remember how my mother used to read the NYT Book Review every Sunday and then write up her book lists and go off to the library with a stack of reserve slips. Today, you are lucky to find a decent book review, so if I do, I will usually read it and it might push me in a particular direction.
  

• How do you feel about giving bad/negative reviews? If it's bad, it's bad. Move on.
  

• Most intimidating book you’ve ever read? I don't think that I have ever been intimidated by a book - although I am sure there was a college textbook here and there that I really didn't want to read for one reason or another - but it probably wasn't intimidation.
  

• Most intimidating book you’re too nervous to begin? Isn't War and Peace like the benchmark for this question?
  

• Favorite Poet? Robert Frost. Period. End of Discussion.
  

• How many books do you usually have checked out of the library at any given time? When I went to the library on a regular basis, 3-4 often came home.

• How often have you returned book to the library unread? On a rare occasion.
  

• Favorite fictional character? Ooh, tough question. But if we are sticking with Mr. King (see the next question), I'm going with Andy Dufresne and Red from "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption."
  

• Favorite fictional villain? First one(s) that pop into my head would be the many, scary villains / monsters that populate Stephen King's stories. In the lead would be Randall Flagg from The Stand.
  

• Books I’m most likely to bring on vacation? paperbacks
  

• The longest I’ve gone without reading. I don't think I've ever really stopped reading, I just don't do it as often.
  

• Name a book that you could/would not finish. I don't know if I can identify one, although I am sure there was a college textbook in there somewhere that I could not get through, despite the requirements.
  

• What distracts you easily when you’re reading? I don't really get distracted too . . . hey what's that over there?
  

• Favorite film adaptation of a novel? The Shawshank Redemption
  

• Most disappointing film adaptation? The Stand
  

• The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time? I'm not at liberty to say. But on myself, probably too much, on others, not enough.
  

• How often do you skim a book before reading it? I do not adopt the Billy Crystal approach (see "When Harry Met Sally") but I will usually read the leaf pages to see if it is something that I might enjoy.
  

• What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through? See my earlier answers about if it is not good, it's not worth the time.
  

• Do you like to keep your books organized? Hi. Have we met? You all know what I do for a living right? The Brave Astronaut library is even online through Library Thing. Here's a story. Before I moved in with Mrs. BA (back when we were dating), I would visit her and would visibly twitch at her serendipitous arrangement of the books in her apartment. She would repeatedly tell me, when you move in, you can rearrange the books. The day I moved in, before I unpacked a box or a suitcase, I was emptying those shelves and arranging them according to subject, genre, and author.
  

• Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them? There are a lot of books in my home and there always will be. But I also have a large inventory of books up on Half.com.
  

• Are there any books you’ve been avoiding? No, although Mrs. BA would probably tell you she avoids The Giving Tree.
  

• Name a book that made you angry. Mrs. BA would probably say The Giving Tree makes her angry, too.
  

• A book you didn’t expect to like but did? That's sort of a bonus for me. I have been given books as gifts and given them a shot. In most of the cases, it has worked. But it will always come back to if it's bad (or I don't like it), I'm not going to read it anymore.
  

• A book that you expected to like but didn’t? I attempted to get through the few collaborative works that Stephen King wrote with others, but couldn't. It was too clear to me where his writing ended and the other started up.
  

• Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading? Not necessarily a book, but I still enjoy reading the comics in the newspaper. Last thing in the paper I read everyday.
  

Reading? I Vaguely Remember What That Is . . .

Unfortunately, my reading these days is limited to childrens fare and while I know I should, I am not reading as much as I would like. But here for your enjoyment (and possible derision) is a reading meme that I stole from C in DC. The meme has 55 questions and she broke her posts into 4 different posts. I'm going with two posts. Look for Part II next Friday.

One of my jobs growing up was as a page in a library. It was an enjoyable job and I made some great friends there. It also helped to strengthen my love of reading (which had been instilled in me by my mother).

• Favorite childhood book? This is certainly different from favorite children's book, which is what I read a lot of now, as the parent of a 6 and 3 year old. But one childhood book that jumps up in front of me is My Brother Sam is Dead (I know, I know), which was a historical fiction book about a boy whose brother is killed in the American Revolution. Sorry to start out on such a downer.
  

• What are you reading right now? American Lion by Jon Meacham (a biography of Andrew Jackson in the White House)
  

• What books do you have on request at the library? None. I am ashamed to admit that I do not even currently have a library card.
  

• Bad book habit? How to answer this question? A habit, as in addiction? Maybe. A bad habit, like dog-earing pages? No.
  

• What do you currently have checked out at the library? Unfortunately, nothing as noted above.
  

• Do you have an e-reader? Never. I will always want the feel of pages on my fingers (newspapers, too).
  

• Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once? I have tried this, but I prefer, and do better, with one at a time.
  

• Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog? No, it was more the kids that changed it.
  

• Least favorite book you read this year (so far?) With the amount of time that I have to read, if I don't like the book, I move on. My mother's rule was to give it 100 pages, if it didn't have you by then, don't waste your time.
  

• Favorite book you’ve read this year? I really enjoyed the most recent Stephen King book, Under the Dome.
  

• How often do you read out of your comfort zone? When I do read, I really want to enjoy the experience. I am long past the era of "required reading" and don't need the aggravation.
  

• What is your reading comfort zone? I have long been a fan of fiction (especially historical fiction) and the political thriller. I also enjoy good biographies (as evidenced by my current book on the night table).
  

• Can you read on the bus or train? I can pretty much read anywhere, but I usually cannot do much else, that is, the book must be the focus.
  

• Favorite place to read? in bed
  

• What is your policy on book lending? For all you people can tell the difference, I am a librarian. You can borrow my books.
  

• Do you ever dog-ear books? No
  

• Do you ever write in the margins of your books? No
  

• Not even with text books? That would imply that I had read them closely enough to have wanted to make marginalia [cough, cough]
  

• What is your favorite language to read in? English
  

• If you could read in a foreign language, which language would you chose? I could, if I really wanted to struggle, read a book in French. I had a relative, who spent much of her life moving in the circles of the French Communists (and met Lenin and many other revolutionaries) and wrote a book about that time. Someday, I would like to read that book.

• What makes you love a book? The language. And being able to "see" the story that I am reading.
  

• What will inspire you to recommend a book? Same as above.
  

• Favorite genre? Fine, nail me down? Political Thriller
  

• Genre you rarely read (but wish you did?) Fantasy, but only on the rarest of occasions.
  

• Favorite biography? Wow. Tough one. Nail me down again? The Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant (the autobiography he wrote as he was dying so that his family would have some income after his passing).
  

• Have you ever read a self-help book? Yes, if the "dummies" books count.
  

• Favorite cookbook? Hands down, The Very Best Recipe Cookbook (although I don't think that is the exact title) from the publishers of Cooks Illustrated. Have not had a bad thing out of it.
  

• Most inspirational book you’ve read this year (fiction or non-fiction)? Inspiration is not really my thing (although with LBA in Catholic School and our semi-regular attendance at Sunday Mass, I am getting a little more accustomed to the bible readings).
  

Would it Have Been Anyone Else?

Two weeks ago, Billy Joel and Elton John took to the stage for the first concert ever at Nationals Park - home to the lowly Washington Nationals. Tonight, I am headed to the park for a game between the Nationals and the San Diego Padres. While I would have liked to attend the concert, the reviews were mediocre and featured a full on hissy fit by Elton John, when his piano broke in the opening set.

Shortly after I returned from a New York weekend, my cousin tagged me in a note on Facebook. I have done similar work / lists like this before, but here goes:

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Try not to repeat a song title. It's harder than you think.

Pick Your Artist: Billy Joel

Are you male or female: An Innocent Man

Describe yourself: I Go to Extremes

How do you feel about yourself: Don't Ask Me Why

Describe your current boy/girl situation: A Matter of Trust

Describe where you currently live: The River of Dreams

If you could go anywhere you wanted to go: Leningrad

Your favorite form of transportation: The Downeaster Alexa

Your best friend(s) is(are): Big Shot and The Entertainer

Your favorite color is: Oyster Bay (I'm sure it's a color - it's got to be in the blue family)

Favorite time of day: Until the Night

If your life were a TV show, what would it be called: The Longest Time

What is life to you: The Longest Time

What is the best advice you have to give: You're Only Human

Thought for the Day: It's Still Rock and Roll to Me

How I would like to die: Only the Good Die Young

My soul's present condition: Pressure

Firsts - but second

Because she said I would.

1. Who was your FIRST prom date?

• The one I actually went to? Kim from Huntsville, AL. The first one I was invited to? That would be Donna Kadlub, who invited me to get her ex-boyfriend to ask her - then she decided to go with him. And don't get me started on the 9th grade formal. It was like that scene in Say Anything ("sitting here at like the Gas 'n' Sip on a Saturday night completely alone drinking beers with no women anywhere?")
  

2. Do you still talk to your FIRST love?

• How are we defining love? But no, whoever she is, I am not still in contact with her. But I talk to my true love every day.
  

3. What was your FIRST alcoholic drink?

• I was always a vodka guy.
  

4. What was your FIRST job?

• Delivering Pennysavers, then newspapers

5. What was your FIRST car?

• First one that was all my own - a 1982 Mercury Zephyr
  

6. Who was the FIRST person to text you today?

• Haven't received one yet, but I don't get a lot of personal ones - hockey scores and news alerts are the majority of my texts.
  

7. Who is the FIRST person you thought of this morning?

• Mrs. BA

8. Who was your FIRST grade teacher?

• Ms. Marino

9. Where did you go on your FIRST ride on an airplane?

• I think the first time I flew was when I went to France in 1983.
  

10. Who was your FIRST best friend & do you still talk?

• Probably Gary and not as much as we should.
  

11. Where was your FIRST sleep over?

• I think Gary again.
  

12. Who was the FIRST person you talked to today?

• Mrs. BA - telling her I wanted five more minutes (that's usually the first words we exchange in the morning)
  

13. Whose wedding were you in the FIRST time?

• My brother's wedding (we wore Morning Suits - I was a teenager)
  

14. What was the FIRST thing you did this morning?

• Getting breakfast ready for the boys
  

15. What was the FIRST concert you ever went to?

• Easy - Billy Joel, Madison Square Garden, 1985 - we got tickets through a lottery system. You sent a check and a self-addressed stamped envelope and your tickets came back to you in the mail. How quaint.
  

16. FIRST tattoo?

• Thank you, no.
  

17. FIRST piercing?

• Again, thank you, no.
  

18. FIRST foreign country you visited?

• Canada (on a school trip to Quebec) followed by the aforementioned France.
  

19. FIRST movie you remember seeing?

• I don't remember but I think it was at Radio City Music Hall in New York. It was the thing to do.
  

20. When was your FIRST detention?

• Thanks for bringing that up - Lunchtime detention, elementary school, with Mr. Zazucha. And just when I thought I had blocked that out.
  

21. What was the FIRST state you lived in?

• New York

22. Who was your FIRST roommate?

• I went off to college and my first roommate never showed, so I had a semester with no roommate (but three suitemates). Second semester, Joe Basi showed up, less than stellar student, but a good pot farmer (remind me to tell you that story some day)
  

23. If you had one wish. What would it be?

• "I'd like to teach the world to sing . . . " - no really, I guess - is not being tired a good wish?
  

24. What is something you would learn if you had the chance?

• I would love to learn to fly and get my pilot's license
  

25. Who do you think will be the next person to post this?

• Possibly the Canadian Paw or Ohioan Amy
  

A 6-6-6 Meme

This was created by the venerable archivist, Terry, who blogs here. He created this meme. Here is my own take on it:

Rules: Six categories, with six entries each done in six minutes without Google (I didn't use Google, but I did consult my iPod).

Six songs with numbers in the title

1. 867-5309 (Jenny)
   
2. Route 66
3. One More Night
4. 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover
5. 99 Red Balloons
6. Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)
   

Six songs with a color in the title

1. Purple Rain
2. Little Red Corvette
3. Blue Suede Shoes
4. Blue Bayou
   
5. Man in Black
   
6. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
   

Six Songs with Animals in the Title

1. Cats in the Cradle
2. Honky Cat
3. Me and You and a Dog Named Boo
4. Free Bird
5. A Horse with No Name
   
6. Bye Bye Blackbird
   

Six Songs with Body Parts in the Title

1. I Only Have Eyes for You
2. My Eyes Adored You - "Carried your books from school, made believe you were married to me. You were fifth grade, I was sixth, when we came to be."
   
3. Open Arms - that one's just for OC
   
4. Ain't that a Kick in the Head
   
5. Brown Eyed Girl - it's my ringtone when Mrs. BA calls
   
6. Heartache Tonight
   

Songs with a Country / Place name in the Title

1. Born in the USA
2. China Grove - not here.
   
3. America the Beautiful - though I really, really love the version below.
4. City of New Orleans
5. Georgia on my Mind - while I love this song, it will always make me think of this show.
   
6. Goodnight Saigon
   

Songs With a Job in the Title

1. Working at the Car Wash Blues
2. Son of a Son of a Sailor
   
3. Operator
4. The Candy Man - but only sung by him.
   
5. The Entertainer
6. I Wanna Drive the Zamboni
   

Stranger in Paradise

From C in DC, here's another Friday meme. Feel free to play along. She got it here.

1. Put your iTunes or MP3 player on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer
   

You must write the song name no matter how silly it sounds.

If someone says "is this okay" you say?

• Ally Ally Oxen Free (The Kingston Trio)

What would best describe your personality?

• Georgia on My Mind (Ray Charles)

What do you like in a guy / girl?

• If I Can't Have You (Yvonne Elliman)

What is your life's purpose?

• Straighten Up and Fly Right (Natalie Cole)
  

What is your motto?

• Old Joe's Place (The Folksmen - from A Mighty Wind)
  

What do your friends think of you?

• Yellow Submarine (The Beatles)
  

What do you think about very often?

• Calypso (John Denver)

What is 2 + 2?

• Shower the People (James Taylor)

What do you think of your best friend?

• One of These Nights (The Eagles)
  

What do you think of the person you like?

• Owner of a Lonely Heart (Yes)
  

What is your life story?

• Dance Band on the Titanic (Harry Chapin)
  

What do you want to be when you grow up?

• Stay (Jackson Browne)
  

What do you think when you see the person you like?

• I'm Still Standing (Elton John)
  

What do your parents think of you?

• Grazing in the Grass (The Friends of Distinction - from the Anchorman soundtrack)

What will you dance to at your wedding (although I don't expect to be having another wedding)?

• Fire and Rain (James Taylor)
  

What will they play at your funeral?

• Come Together (The Beatles)
  

What is your hobby / interest?

• Worrisome Heart (Melody Gardot)
  

What do you think of your friends?

• Buildings and Mountains (The Republic Tigers)
  

Whats the worst thing that could happen?

• What's Goin' On (Marvin Gaye)
  

How will you die?

• She's Got a Way (Billy Joel) (ouch)
  

What is the one thing you regret?

• Don't Stand So Close to Me (The Police)
  

What makes you laugh?

• We Can Last Forever (Chicago)
  

What makes you cry?

• Good Life (Tony Bennett)
  

Will you ever get married?

• Lowdown (Boz Scaggs)
  

What scares you the most?

• The Boy in the Bubble (Paul Simon)
  

If you could go back in time, what would you change?

• Crazy Love (Poco)
  

What hurts right now?

• Tell Her About It (Billy Joel)
  

What will you post this as?

• Stranger in Paradise (Tony Bennett)

If it's Friday, it must be another Meme

Fridays have developed into Meme / List Friday around here. Here's one that C in DC stole from others and also undertaken by Special K.

1. Political show - Meet the Press
2. Picnic food - Deviled Eggs
3. Mixed drink – Vodka Collins
4. U.S. President – Thomas Jefferson
5. Kind of student to teach – High School
6. Hobby you do or wish you still did - Read for pleasure
7. Sports commentator – I was always fond of Jim McKay
   
8. Sport to watch on TV – baseball
9. Animal to have as a pet - cat
10. Halloween costume you have worn – Pirate
11. Kind of dessert - my mother's cheesecake
12. Comic strip - Pearls Before Swine
13. Style or make of footwear - Docksiders
14. Ice cream flavor - Heavenly Hash or coffee
15. College or university president – I am a big fan of Ruth J. Simmons
16. Internet news source – I have to pick one? Probably CNN
    
17. Vacation spot - Bermuda
18. Wine – Shiraz
19. Way to waste time instead of working – things like this
    
20. Student excuse for late work – true story - my typewriter / word processor ran out of ribbon - ah, those were the days
    
21. Reality show – not if I can help it.
    
22. Jewelry on a man – a wedding ring is sufficient, though I do have my father's fraternity ring
23. Pizza topping – Sausage
24. Children's movie - from my era, possibly the Fox and the Hound, currently the next generation of Brave Astronaut prefers Toy Story 2
    
25. Celebrity you wish would retire - Jack Nicholson
    

A List of Firsts

I'm on the road today to spend a few days with my father for the holiday, so here's a list of firsts, that I "borrowed" from my Canadian friend, Stinkypaw.

1. When was your first kiss? Well I was known as the "kissing bug" in elementary school for a reason.
   
2. When did you first start buying holiday or birthday gifts for other people and stop thinking about what people would buy for you? An interesting thought, but not one that I have ever really contemplated. I like to buy things for people.
   
3. When was the first time you thought of yourself not as a kid/teen, but as an adult? Who says I think of myself as an adult now?
   
4. What do you remember about the first time you drove a car? Drivers Ed in high school. I think the teacher is still pounding on the passenger brake.
   
5. Tell me about your first pet. There were always cats and dogs around the house. But Tonto was the first pet that was really "mine." He had a brother, Tarzan, together they were TnT. Tonto lived to a ripe old age, despite having been hit by a car and nearly dying. He used to lie around my neck like a stole and be quite content about it. And he liked to eat cicadas.
   
6. What was your first job? Delivering Pennysavers, then Newsday. Then I got an "indoor job" working at the Syosset Public Library.
   
7. Who was the first teacher to make a positive impact on your life? Mr. Izzo, fourth grade, Baylis Elementary. But the model of the teacher I wanted to be was Mr. Gaudino, Social Studies, high school.
   
8. If you’ve lived in more than one house or apartment as an adult, tell me about your first one. The first place I lived on my own was in Poughkeepsie, a one bedroom apartment in a house converted to apartments next door to a funeral home. Occasionally, you could watch the people "arriving" by the side door.
   
9. What was it like the first time you got drunk (assuming you remember). Well certainly, they all start to blend together. But one of the better (more vivid?) memories is on the beach with friends, the night I lost my high school class ring. I was pretty hammered that night.
   
10. Did you marry your first love? Inconsequential. I am in love with the one I am now married to and that's all that matters.
    

What Do I Need

Pinched from my friend Lana some time ago.

Here are the rules:

• Google your first name with the word "needs" after it and post the results

So what does John need? Evidently, I'm pretty needy. Putting "John needs" into Google returns 46,300 hits. A fair number of them referred to what John McCain needed or what Elton John needs (and I'm not going there). Here are some of the other highlights:

• Some other John did this meme in 2005
• John needs 13 bottles of water . . . (C in DC, where are you when I need you for math?)
• John needs Affirmative Action - from a column referring to Elizabeth Edwards . . . you think she still cares about that?
• John needs workers (a fort that is in need of some maintenance - want to help prop up my ramparts?)
• John needs to let his players know exactly who is boss - a soccer coach getting a tongue wagging from the media.
• John needs help - well who doesn't?
• John needs a ride back to SF on Sunday - I do?
• John needs Priests and Ministers - OK, so I'm a little full of myself, but I do NOT have my own religion
• John Needs - This guy's name is actually John Needs - and it shows up on p. 7 of the Google results.

Crazy Eights

Another meme, borrowed from Daryl:

Eight Books I Have Read Recently

1. The Lobster Coast
2. The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid
3. The Code
4. I'm impressed I got through three books recently. But I could include that lobster and crab book that I have read endlessly to a 3 1/2 year old.
5. But I do have several on my nightstand, really I do.
   

Eight Movies I Have Seen Eight Times

1. Good Morning Vietnam
2. The Towering Inferno
3. The Princess Bride
4. National Treasure
5. Field of Dreams
6. It's A Wonderful Life
7. 1776
8. The Poseidon Adventure
   

Eight Things I Have a Passion For

1. My wife
2. My children
3. My family
4. My friends
   
5. My profession
6. My job
7. Really good potato chips
8. This election, it's just too important
   

Eight things I say a lot

1. "Hey!" or "Step!" - when LBA needs a time out (he has to sit on the step)
2. When he sometimes says "hey, daddy" to me as the start of some long monologue, I will sometimes respond, "Hay is for horses, sometimes for cows, pigs they don't eat it, cause they don't know how." (It's from a movie, but the name escapes me)
   
3. "Brave Astronaut, May I Help You?" - when I answer the phone at work (of course I do use my real name)
   
4. "What's for dinner?" (most often a rhetorical question, because of scheduling, I'm the one making it.)
5. "Gopher?" (inside joke)
6. "I'm out and up" (indicating the day is at an end and I am heading upstairs to bed. Sort of a reversal of the morning goal of being up and out - get it?)
   
7. "Really" (can be said as a question, "Really?" / exclamation, "Really!" / confirmation, "Really, it's true."
8. 
   

Eight Things I Would Like to do Before I Die

1. Travel the world
2. Be financially secure (now, stop laughing, it's going to be fine)
3. Play baseball professionally, at least try out for it (hey if we're talking pipe dreams, that's one of mine)
4. Play golf and score consistently in the double digits, that is under 100 (hey, I played the other day after visiting the dentist (a good checkup!) and scored the best round for nine holes I ever had.)
5. Have season tickets to my favorite sports, baseball and hockey.
   
6. Publish
7. Make a difference
8. um, not die?
   

An End of Summer Menu Meme

Written earlier for posting on Friday August 29, 2008

Pinched from C in DC:

Appetizer: When was the last time you had your hair cut/trimmed?

• Just recently. It was getting pretty mangy. Only problem with the person that currently cuts my hair? I think she used to work for the military. I'm not exactly getting crew cuts, but it's pretty short once she's done with it.
  

Soup: Name one thing you miss about being a child.

• Lack of responsibility. As OSG remarks, work is so inconvenient these days, it gets in the way of all the other things we would rather be doing, sleeping, watching TV, you know fun stuff.
  

Salad: Pick one: butter, margarine, olive oil.

• Butter all the way baby
  

Main Course: If you could learn another language, which one would you pick, and why?

• I took six years of French in high school and another in college. But Spanish would do a lot better for me. But I would also love to at least be able to speak in several languages.
  

Dessert: Finish this sentence: In 5 years I expect to be…

• Good Lord, turning 45. Hopefully just as happy as I am now and successful in the endeavors that I have set out in front of me.
  

Here's Another List, List, List

The Brave Astronauts and the OSGs are off to Annapolis this evening to enjoy the Annapolis Rotary's Annual Crabfeast. Here's another list / meme to amuse you in my absence. Tomorrow will prove to be a busy day as well as LBA's daycare class will descend upon Mission Control for an end of the year summer party in the backyard.

From Random Knowledge:

Three favorites . . .

• Three artists: (This is sure to get me in trouble with Mrs. BA if I choose wrong), Wyeth, Homer, and Hopper (but I could easily go a whole different direction)
  
• Three cities: (that I would live in and have visited?) Chicago, New York, Paris
  
• Three colors: blue, charcoal gray, maroon
  
• Three countries: (that I would live in given another choice and there were no obstacles - money, language, etc.?) Spain, France, Bermuda (OK, not a country, but my meme, my rules)
  
• Three fiction books: The Stand, Stephen King / Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger / and a third book that I can't think of . . .
  
• Three flowers: roses, black-eyed Susans (one of my Mom's favorites), forsythia (always means Spring to me)
  
• Three fruits: pineapple, watermelon, a really good peach
  
• Three graphic novels: Not my thing, I wouldn't know where to begin
  
• Three movies: Good Morning Vietnam / Field of Dreams / It's a Wonderful Life
  
• Three non-fiction books: Fatal Vision, Joe McGinnis (the first non-fiction book I ever read by choice) / A Walk in the Woods, Bill Bryson / Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant, Ulysses S. Grant.
  
• Three sports: Golf, Baseball, and Swimming
  

Friday's List of the Week

"Borrowed" from Stitch Bitch, who got it from Hip to be Squared.

• What is in the back of your car? The seats fold down in the back of the Mazda and the currently are and there isn't anything back there right now as I got the car washed yesterday and put the seats back up.
• What color is your toothbrush? The Oral B Triumph is white and silver, with a blue ring. My "manual" toothbrush is purple, the color of royalty.
• Name one person that made you smile today? NJM, because when I got to work this morning there were two glazed donuts from Rawlin's on my desk. She's the best.
  
• What were you doing at 8 am this morning? Heading to work, listening to the CBS World News Roundup (as I try to do each morning).
• What were you doing 45 minutes ago? Playing in the rabbit hole of the Internet.
  
• What is your favorite candy bar? Do I have to pick just one? Today, it's probably this one. Just this morning, Amy in Ohio posted this quiz on recognizing candy bars from their middles. There are lots of other quizzes there, so have some time if you go to the site.
  
• Have you ever been to a strip club? Yes, but it's not my thing. Really. Honest.
• What is the last thing you said aloud? Be there in a minute.
  
• What is the best ice cream flavor? Ice Cream again? In the interest of full disclosure, I may have eaten a whole pint of Ben and Jerry's Pistachio, Pistachio by myself the other night. And last night I polished of the dregs of some Raspberry Chocolate Chip.
  
• What was the last thing you had to drink? Nantucket Nectar's Half and Half
  
• What are you wearing right now? My jammies, which tonight consist of a t-shirt and lounge pants - it's damn cold under the desk where the A/C blows right on them. Plus the poison ivy on the legs is not yet 100% gone.
  
• What was the last thing you ate? Dinner - hamburgers and hot dogs (and maybe a little ice cream).
  
• Have you bought any new clothing items this week? No.
• When was the last time you ran? Ha, ha. Funny. Remember, there's a gym in my building, but it's really far from my office.
• The last sporting event you watched? Hey it's the British Open, but also "a little baseball" for LBA before bedtime.
  
• What is your favorite flavor of popcorn? Lots of butter and salt (as enjoyed at the movies on Wednesday night)
• Who is the last person you sent a comment/message on Facebook? Stinkypaw and Eileen, who commented on my status update yesterday.
  
• Ever go camping? Not in many years. But I would do it again. Perhaps a Father-Son weekend will be planned.
• Do you take vitamins daily? No, should I?
• Do you go to church every Sunday? No, but that's OK. God Understands.
• Do you have a tan? Unfortunately, no. But remember what Mrs. BA says, everybody looks better with a little bit of color.
• Do you like Chinese food over pizza? Yes.
• Do you drink your soda with a straw? Sometimes
• What did your last text message say? I get text messages when baseball games end, so it told me that the score of the Nationals game.
• Are you some-one's best friend? Yep, and I'm married to her.
  
• What are you doing tomorrow? Going to two wedding ceremonies (and getting LBA a haircut, which is long overdue)
  
• Look to your left, what do you see? The rest of the living room
  
• What color is your watch? I haven't been wearing one recently, which is weird because I normally feel out of sorts when I don't have one on. But the normal watch is a boring old Timex with a brown band.
  
• What do you think of when you think of Australia? Bill Bryson's "In a Sunburned Country."
• Do you use chap stick? I prefer the stuff in the little round blue container
  
• What is your birthstone? Blue Topaz
  
• What is your favorite number? A new number has been decided on, 12, the month of my birth and my two sons, and the day of the month my true love was born.
• Do you have a dog? No, allergic. But I would get a cat . . .
• Last person you talked to on the phone? My sister
  
• Have you met anyone famous? Several hockey players, a few baseball players, but the banner night was when my mother and I got to meet Brian Dennehy after seeing him in Death of a Salesman and getting the bonus of meeting Robert Goulet, who my mother loved.
  
• How many states have you lived in? Just two, New York and Maryland
  
• Ever go to college? Yes.
• Do you dye your hair? No
• Biggest annoyance in your life right now? Looking after the lawn and the yard.
  
• Last song listened to? I don't listen to music that much in the car, I'm more of WTOP guy.
• Can you say the alphabet backwards? If I have to. But if I have to, I'm probably at a sobriety checkpoint and I am likely hosed.
• Do you have a maid service clean your house? Would that were true.
• Are you jealous of anyone? I don't think so.
  
• Is anyone jealous of you? I don't know
  
• Do you love anyone? Yes.
• Do any of your friends have children? Yes and some with more on the way!
• Do you eat healthy? I know that I should, but if I'm having too much fun enjoying myself.
  
• What do you usually do during the day? Working for the man.
  
• Do you hate anyone that you know right now? Not that I'm aware of.
  
• Do you use the word 'hello' daily? I do.
  
• What color is your car? Blue, it has been referred to by Mrs. BA as the "blueberry"
• Do you like cats? Yes.
• Have you ever been to Six Flags? Which one? New Jersey (Great Adventure), yes. The one here in MD, soon. Any of the others? No
  
• How did you get your worst scar? I have a bevy of scars, but the worst (and most recent) is the one on my wrist where I slipped with a pocket knife while opening up a box. As people say about me, "careless with a can-do attitude."
  

If It's Friday, It Must Be Another Meme

"Borrowed" from my blogging buddy from north of the border, Stinkypaw. It's OK, she got it from somewhere else.

• My ex . . . was just not the right person for me.

• Maybe I should . . . focus more on the tasks at hand (damn this rabbit hole thing called the Internet).

• I love . . . my wife endlessly and my children unconditionally.

• People would say . . . I am a bit too sarcastic at times (no, not me, never).

• I don't understand . . . why bad things happen to children.
  

• When I wake up in the morning . . . I really want it to be the afternoon (God, remember those days?).

• I lost . . . my high school class ring twice. First time on a beach and the second down a sewer drain. I guess I was never meant to have it.
  

• Life is full of . . . surprises!
  

• My past is something . . . that I try not to dwell on too much. But it certainly will preclude me from ever running for President.
  

• I get annoyed when . . . things don't go according to plan. Especially when it's not my plan. Ask Mrs. BA, she'll tell you.
  

• Parties are . . . a problem for me in planning, but enjoyed in the execution.
  

• I wish . . . that everything would just happen the way it was supposed to and that I wouldn't have to worry about making sure it happened correctly.
  

• Dogs . . . are slobbery but have their place in the world, I just don't need to be in the same place with them all the time.

• Cats . . . are something I would really like to have again someday.

• Tomorrow . . . is Saturday and little OSG's first birthday! And there's a party!

• I have a low tolerance for . . . stupidity.

• If I had a million dollars . . . I'd buy you a green dress, but not a real green dress, that's cruel. (would you have expected anything else?)
  

• I'm totally terrified of . . . spiders. Well, you asked!

Friday's Meme #2

As with last week's meme, this one also comes courtesy of the House of Lime. I also saw a variant of this on Geof's blog.

1. What was I doing ten years ago?

• Same stuff, just in a different state (in a way, a little depressing)
  

2. What were five things on my list to do today?

• Stay on top of the workload
• Make a new To Do List at the end of the day for next week (it's a ritual)
• Pick up my son at daycare (by 5:30)
• Update the JAL Tours Baseball list and send out a payments received email.
• Square things away at the house (that's a perpetual one)
  

3. Snacks I enjoy?

• Wise Onion Garlic Potato Chips (give me a bag and they are gone - and they are hard to come by south of the Mason-Dixon line.
• Chocolate, but really who doesn't enjoy chocolate.
  

4. Things I Would Do If I Were A Billionaire?

• Stop working. Endow a position at one of my former places of employment. Stop working. Travel. Stop working. Go anywhere I wanted at a moment's notice. Did I mention stop working?
  

5. Three of my bad habits?

• Man, the last meme only wanted one, now I have to list three? Well, still the occasional smoke. Although I seem to be better about it, I used to be a bad knuckle cracker. I also have a bad sarcastic side, not so much a bad habit as it is just annoying.
  

6. Five places I have lived?

• Syosset, New York
• Albany, New York (college)
• Poughkeepsie, New York
• Bethesda, Maryland
• Cheverly, Maryland (good thing it's only five, that's all I got).
  

7. Five jobs I've had?

• Newspaper delivery (and Pennysavers)
• Valet Parking Attendant (possibly the best job I ever had)
• Pizza Delivery Man
• Social Studies teacher
• Archivist
  

8. How did you name your blog?

• Hey, it's what I do. Make Order out of Chaos
  

The Brave Astronaut Alpha to Omega

I've found a couple of memes in my Google Reader in the past few weeks (and no, I'm not doing the makeup one), so over the next few weeks, I will snatch them for some content here on the blog. (Sorry, summer doldrums are setting in - but I will admit to enjoying sitting at the computer when the A/C is on, the vent chills my legs to the point of numbness.

So here's the first one. I saw this meme here. Feel free to pilfer and post on your own blog.

A is for your age:

• 40 - and remember, younger than Mrs. BA (and soon to be two years younger than her).

B is for your burger of choice:

• Just the other night, Mrs. BA and I enjoyed Five Guys burgers. The fries are also outstanding. My burger will usually have cheese, a full complement of condiments (mayo, ketchup, mustard), pickles, and maybe onions.
  

C is for the car that you drive:

• A Mazda 5 - and no it's not a minivan, thank you.

D is for dog’s name:

• The last one I had - his name was Gus. But I'm more of a cat person.

E is for an essential item you use each day:

• For as much as I depend on my car, I really should live in LA. It's not essential per se, but it gets me to and from work.
  

F is for your favorite television show:

• current: most likely Lost
  
• recent: The West Wing (please come back to Bravo!)
  
• old: M*A*S*H* (I'll always flip to it if there's nothing else on, because that usually is)
  

G is for favorite game:

• I like card games and of the many out there, Liverpool is a family favorite. It's a version of rummy. Board games means Scrabble (and its online companion - Scrabulous on Facebook).
  

H is for hometown:

• Syosset, New York

I is for instruments played:

• I was a nerd in high school, but no instruments were lugged around by me. I played a mean recorder for a while.

J is for favorite juice:

• Pineapple. But I don't get it enough. The orange juice monopolies rule the world. When I drink OJ, I like to "chew" it, i.e., lots of pulp. Sorry Mrs. BA.

K is for what you’d like to kick:

• Heh heh, well tonight I'll be watching some Russian and Cuban a@@ get kicked.
  

L is for last restaurant you dined at:

• The aforementioned Five Guys. I can't remember the last "table service" restaurant I went to.
  

M is for your favorite Muppet:

• I like Beaker and Animal. But I love the crankiness of Statler and Waldorf.

N is for number of piercings you have:

• Thanks but no thanks. I have all the holes in my body that I need. I have no desire to add to them.

O is for overnight hospital stays:

• Knock on wood, so far, none.

P is for people you were with today:

• I ate by myself today (which I know drives Mrs. BA crazy) but the lunch crowd was a little limited today, with NJM away on vacation and ADR working from home. OSG is also away so I didn't see him either. I did see C in DC in the afternoon. And, of course there was the Red Dawn party this evening.
  

Q is for what you do in quiet times:

• Heh, heh, you're dirty. But then that wouldn't be quiet time anymore would it? But read would probably top the list.

R is for regrets:

• "Regrets, I've had a few" - thanks Frank.
  

S is for status:

• Happily married. Happiest I've ever been.
  

T is for time you woke up today:

• Again, later than I wanted. But it was about 7:15am
  

U is for what you consider unique:

• If I told you, would it still be unique? My mind keeps wandering back to my marriage as unique. I have never been in a relationship like this before and what Mrs. BA and I have seems so special to me as to border on the unique.
  

V is for favorite vegetable:

• I have a thing for brussel sprouts. But there are few veggies that you could put in front of me that I wouldn't eat. Now, Mrs. BA on the other hand . . .

W is for your worst habit:

• The ones with the really big wimples. A stiff breeze and I'll fall over. :) But smoking would have to rank up there. As a former smoker, you never really quit, you just stop doing it as much.
  

X is for x-rays you have had:

• At least one on the leg that I broke when I was a senior in high school. Several sets on the back that I have standing appointments with my chiropractor and massage therapist to keep in line.

Y is for yummy food you ate today:

• Tonight for movie night, we are having really good pizza, along with mojitos. So that's what's at the top of the pile for today.
  

Z is for zodiac sign:

• Sagittarius. Hey wait, is that why I like water?

Random Weird Things

Man, the woman goes out and starts a blog and then she tags me? What's up with that? Fine. I can't get mad as I tagged her before she even had a blog . . .

THE RULES:
1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post THE RULES on your blog.
3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 people and link to them.
5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

So seven weird or random things about me. Let's see . . .

1. I didn't drink beer until I went away to college. I never really had a taste for it. I was (and for the most part still prefer) a vodka drinker. And my tolerance will never be what it was in college, but I am still an enjoyable drunk. Just ask [stamp foot, stamp foot]. But that won't impact my ability to keep the stories rolling for the blogging month of drunkenness.
   
2. I do not hold a valid passport. I had one for a trip to France in 1983, but it has long gone away into the ether. Mrs. BA's is around somewhere, but it's expired and has her wrong name on it. That trip to France and two trips to Bermuda are the only ones off of the North American continent that I have taken, making Canada the only other foreign country I have ever visited.
   
3. I have a flair for the dramatic and have been known to exaggerate on occasion. I would love to act in a stage production some day. And I even promise to not sing.
4. I inherited my mother's ability to cry at the drop of a hat. It may be part sentimentality, but there are any number of movies that I can't watch without getting a little misty eyed. It also makes being mad difficult, if you are trying to be angry and all you want to do is start crying.
   
5. "I am a model train enthusiast . . . about ten years ago, I killed a man in a bar fight. It was in Minnesota and . . . I just ran. I never heard from the police and I'm not about to give them a call . . . Every now and then, I take out his wallet and think, Steve Dercy, you poor son of a bitch." [I graduated from high school with the man who helped craft the above "confession." Judd Apatow produced "Anchorman" and the above lines appear on the soundtrack, spoken by Will Ferrell. So, no, I didn't kill Steve and I have never even been to Minnesota. Natalie Portman also graduated from my high school.
6. My chosen profession, despite it not being my first choice, suits my personality. I am crazy neat and pretty organized. I like to use lists and like to have a clean desk and neat, orderly piles to do my work.
   
7. My current profession was not my first choice. I was a teacher for about six years until I left education. I became an archivist after my first wife left a job that she didn't like. I applied for it in her place.
   

I just recently tagged the "Usual Suspects" for a meme not too long ago. I guess I have to go a little further afield this time. Even so, this is the best I got.

1. The 6th Floor Blog. There are at least seven people running around that apartment at one time or another. Everybody gives up one factoid. C'mon Anne. Crack that whip.
2. Lana at the Dreaming Tree. Let's see if you can come up with seven things that I don't remember about my high school friend. And I figure you will tag Charles, whose blog I also now read, or else I would.
   
3. As discussed, I am tagging NJM. She can respond in the comments along with . . .
   
4. Ed in Pittsburgh. That's right, click on the hot link in the reader, come over to the site, spend a few minutes, and flash us all with some juicy secrets.
5. Anna, Amy, Kim, and Stinkypaw, you're off the hook, unless you want to be on it.
   

Archives Meme

How could I not do this one? It's about archives! I got tagged by Stinkypaw to do the following meme. Below you will find those who have been tagged to keep the party going. Here's how it works.

1. Go back through your archives and post the links to your five favorite blog posts that you've written. But there is a catch:
1. Link 1 must be about family.
2. Link 2 must be about friends.
3. Link 3 must be about yourself, who you are... what you're all about.
4. Link 4 must be about something you love.
5. Link 5 can be about anything you choose.
2. Post your five links and then tag five other people. At least TWO of the people you tag must be newer acquaintances so that you get to know each other better.

• Link 1 must be about family. Tough choice, but I chose this one: Why I'm Not Surprised It Snowed Today.
• Link 2 must be about friends. I had trouble with this one, picking this one, which talks about food and friends. And if you are around the same age as me (and you grew up in the states in the 1980s, read this).
  
• Link 3 is something about me. Again, a very difficult choice, but I went way, way back and picked this one.
  
• Link 4 is about something you love. That's easy. Read this one or this one.
• Link 5 is dealer's choice. Here's mine. But you should also read this, if you haven't already.
  

So, faithful readers, how'd I do? Did I pick the right ones? Here are the list of happy go-lucky bloggers out there who I am tagging. You will note the absence of some of my most faithful readers, who either don't have blogs, or archives that deep. If you feel worthy, get on it. Otherwise, enjoy the postings of the tagged.

1. Kim Ayres, The Bearded One. Hey, he gives me an award, I give him a meme to do. Plus, he constantly beats me at Scrabulous.
2. Geof Huth. And yes, you may choose from any one of the blogs you have created.
3. Archival Trash. Hey, just doing my part to help you keep those resolutions.
4. Amy in O-hi-O. You have the blog, it's your blog. C'mon out and play.
5. Stitch Bitch. Because I needed 5, and you've been at this for a long time.

Middle Name Meme

I have been tagged by my friend Lana. Here's how it works.

1. Post these rules before you give the facts.
2. List one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don't have a middle name make one up or use the one you would have liked to have had.
3. When you are tagged write your own blog-post containing your own middle name game facts.
4. At the end of your post, choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

A - is for Alan, my middle name. It is also my son's middle name. It is also my father's first name, who would be unable to play this game because he doesn't have a middle name. It is not, as some have suspected, my last name, nor is it spelled "Allen." It is Alan, like the French, Alain, as that is what my family is.

L - Laughter. There is nothing quite like laughter, especially when it is coming out of either my wife or my son. You know the questionnaire that James Lipton does at the end of "Inside the Actor's Studio"? That's the sound or noise that I love.

A - Archivist is my chosen profession, although I started out as a teacher, but decided this is where the fun is. It was never about the money, either for the teachers or the archivists. I do it because I love it.

N - New York. The state where I grew up. The only other place I have lived before moving to Maryland.

They are not the best answers, but the tooth seems to be draining off my creativity. So work with it. Now I know that I am supposed to tag four other bloggers, but I am going to vary that a little as two of the people I want to tag don't have blogs. So leave them in the comments, ladies.

I tag in the non-blogging world:

• C in DC
• NJM

And the bloggers are:

• ADR (and I love Pearls Before Swine, too)
• Special K (you won't threaten to leave again)

If you are a blogger friend who comes by regularly, please feel free to tag yourself and head back and enlighten us to the facts associated with your middle moniker.

Let us Give Thanks, Part I

Because I didn't have enough to do, I went to the Washington Capitals game tonight with ADR. It was a good time, but bad hockey. The chants of "Fire Hanlon" (the coach) began when the Atlanta Thrashers went ahead. They won the game 5-1. Mrs. BA and I will attend a second Caps game on Saturday night, when they will face off against the Carolina Hurricanes. On December 12, ADR will accompany me to the Capitals-Rangers game, after I received an early birthday gift from Mrs. BA.

Because God has a great sense of humor, I arrived home to find a clogged sink and water in the basement. Much work was done to try and rectify the situation, but I have to admit, Thanksgiving Dinner at the Brave Astronaut home is in danger of cancellation.

While I have several posts that I need to get to, I have lifted the meme below from Anna Van Schurman from her stitching blog. Enjoy your holiday.

Which do you like better: Cooking at your house, or going elsewhere? I would like to say that cooking at home is nice, but this year might not have been that year. But Thanksgiving to me has always been about family and I am glad to have as many of them around for the day (somewhere, my mother is happy with me).

1. Do you buy a fresh or frozen bird? Butterball, baby, is what I am used to as that was what was on the table growing up. This year, we are having a 19 lb. bird purchased from the organic market. Should be delicious.


2. What kind of stuffing? My father is always a meat stuffing kind of guy, but I am a plain old Pepperidge Farm or Arnold bread stuffing kind of guy, with the onions and the celery mixed in. And I prefer it in the bird, but that's evidently not allowed anymore.


3. Sweet potato or pumpkin pie? Um, ick. Desserts are always big, but pumpkin pie usually came out of the freezer and then out of a box at my house growing up. And there was usually another dessert option available. Tomorrow there will be four of them.


4. Do you believe that turkey leftovers are a curse, or the point of the whole thing? Duh, whole thing. C in DC and I are currently in negotiations about whether she should bring her stockpot so she can take the carcass home to make stock for soup.


5. Which side dish would provoke a riot if you left it off the menu? I have to lobby for vegetables, so tomorrow we are having three different ones. My mother always said you had to have pearled onions because her grandmother did, and she hated them. They are one of the three tomorrow. I have no problem with more sides than people, but I am not sure which one I would agree to throw under the bus, except maybe for sweet potatoes, because they are icky, but I won't take away someone else's desire to eat them.


6. Do you save the carcass to make soup or stock? Stock then soup, see number 5.


7. What do you wish you had that would make preparing Thanksgiving dinner easier? I'm actually looking forward to the prep this year, as I have a real kitchen and an opportunity to use the good china. But it would be nice to not have to crush the final prep moments into a blur of time. So the ability to slow down time would be nice.


8. Do you get up at the crack of dawn to have dinner ready in the early afternoon, or do you eat at your normal dinner hour? We are aiming for 3:00pm tomorrow, which means 4:00. You have to eat in the middle of the day so the 9:00pm turkey sandwich tastes that much better. And don't even get me started on my brother-in-law who plans dinner around the Cowboys game each year.


9. If you go to somebody else's house, what's your favorite dish to bring? I like to cook, so I don't know. But I would usually bring wine, too. Then there was the year that friends were invited to another friends for the family Thanksgiving and when asked what the friend could bring, the hostess (the friend's mother) said, "Oh yes, could you bring this? And here's the recipe I'd like you to use . . . "


10. What do you wish one of your guests wouldn't bring to your house? I'm on the fence with this one. I like when people bring things along to contribute, but when it's something I don't like, I feel some sort of obligation to try it. Yes, I know, I'm weird, but we've already established that.


11. Does your usual mix of guests result in drama, or is it a group you're happy to see? Hi, I'm Brave Astronaut, have we met? Drama in families? Never happens [snicker].


12. What's your absolute favorite thing on the menu? Tomorrow? I think it's my mom's cheesecake, followed by the mashed potatoes.