I haven’t had much time for a welcome-me-back post, but that will still have to wait — I’ve been tagged by Nina to do the Book Meme!
Here’s what you have to do…
Pick up the nearest book. Open to page 123. Type the fifth sentence on the page.
And here’s what I got…
Related Items: location.pathname property; document.location property; string objects (Chapter 9).
Anyone want to guess what kind of book it was? Be specific!
And then tag, you’re it! :)
I found this amusing and had to share it. I don’t know where it came from, but I heard it yesterday listening to C-SPAN. I googled it and happened to find it here…
1.The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country.
2.The Washington Post is read by people who think they run the country.
3.The New York Times is read by people who think they should run the country and who are very good at crossword puzzles.
4.USA Today is read by people who think they ought to run the country but don’t really understand The New York Times. They do, however, like their statistics shown in pie charts.
5.The Los Angeles Times is read by people who wouldn’t mind running the country — if they could find the time — and if they didn’t have to leave Southern California to do it.
6.The Boston Globe is read by people whose parents used to run the country and did a poor job of it , thank you very much.
7.The New York Daily News is read by people who aren’t too sure who’s running the country and don’t really care as long as they can get a seat on the train.
8.The New York Post is read by people who don’t care who is
running the country as long as they do something really scandalous, preferably while intoxicated.
9.The Miami Herald is read by people who are running another
country but need the baseball scores.
10. The San Francisco Chronicle is read by people who aren’t sure if there is a country or that anyone is running it; but if so, they oppose all that they stand for. There are occasional exceptions if the leaders are handicapped minority feminist atheist dwarfs who also happen to be illegal aliens from any other country or galaxy, provided of course, that they are not Republicans.
11. The National Enquirer is read by people trapped in line at the grocery store.
12. The Oregonian is read by people who have recently caught a fish and need something in which to wrap it.
I’m stealing this from Veronika, who got it from Chickadee, Renee and Barbara.
Also, I’ve grayed out anything I’ve started/not finished or have no interest in reading.
Anything you want to talk me into?
1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMavrier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)
Stolen from Renee Darly…
TIME OF DAY: 5 a.m. when I’m the only one up and have the world to myself.
DAY OF THE WEEK: Saturday. I work plenty, but at least it’s for me.
SEASON: Fall. The crispness and the colors.
HOLIDAY: Groundhog Day. Because nobody really celebrates it, poor thing.
BEACHES: I don’t like beaches. If I had to pick one, there’s this private island in French Polynesia we went to on a cruise — boy, that was a long time ago!
SONG: The Green Fields Of France by Dropkick Murphys 
FLOWER: Purple lilac. They’re nice enough to look at, but they smell wicked awesome!
TALK SHOW: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart — does that count?
MOVIE: All-time favorite? I think I have to pick The Blues Brothers
SOAPS: I’m a Caress man.
BEVERAGE: Red wine, a Merlot or Shiraz.
FRUIT: Apple. No, banana!
SNACK: Cheesy poofs, I think I have to say.
FOOD: Indian food. It’s nicely spicy but not in a hot way. Yum!
RESTAURANT: Bosacki’s Boat House in Minocqua Wisconsin. Right on the water, have some fish and chips and beer. Very relaxing.
I’ve seen this a couple times, but decided to steal it from The Artist. And just in time for Shelli’s Meme Monday!
The rules are simple. Answer each question in three words. No more, no less.
Simple? Let’s just see!! :)
01. Where is your cell phone? in its holster
02. Boyfriend/girlfriend? my lovely wife
03. Hair? I say brown
04. Your mother? lives in Florida
05. Your father? he lives elsewhere
06. Your favorite item(s)? laptop and mobile
07. Your dream last night? didn’t have one
08. Your favorite drink? red red wine
09. Your dream guy/girl? smart and funny
10. The room you are in? office at work
11. Your fear? that I’ll fail
12. What do you want to be in 10 years? ten years wiser
13. Who did you hang out with last night? mostly with Junior
14. What are you not? half way through
15. Are you in love? yes I am
16. One of your wish list items? Apple’s new iPhone
17. What time is it? just past noon
18. The last thing you did? ate my lunch
19. What are you wearing? jeans and shirt
20. Your favorite book? hasn’t been written
21. The last thing you ate? eggplant spinach rolls
22. Your life? enjoy to fullest
23. Your mood? happy as usual
24. Your friends? don’t have many
25. What are you thinking about right now? how many more
26. Your car? blue Subaru Outback
27. What are you doing at this moment? three word meme
28. Your summer? hazy hot humid
29. Your relationship status? married with kids
30. What is on your TV screen? well that depends
31. When is the last time you laughed? reading Jay’s post
32. Last time you cried? I don’t remember
33. School? wish I could
Playing along? Link up and leave a comment, why doncha?!
Stolen from Shelli. If you’re playing along, leave your link.
1. When do you feel your best?
a) in the morning = 2
b) during the afternoon & and early evening
c) late at night
2. You usually walk…
a) fairly fast, with long steps = 6
b) fairly fast, with little steps
c) less fast head up, looking the world in the face
d) less fast, head down
e) very slowly
3. When talking to people you…
a) stand with your arms folded = 4
b) have your hands clasped
c) have one or both your hands on your hips
d) touch or push the person to whom you are talking
e) play with your ear, touch your chin, or smooth your hair
4. When relaxing, you sit with…
a) your knees bent with your legs neatly side by side
b) your legs crossed
c) your legs stretched out or straight = 2
d) one leg curled under you
5. When something really amuses you, you react with…
a) big appreciated laugh
b) a laugh, but not a loud one
c) a quiet chuckle = 3
d) a sheepish smile
6. When you go to a party or social gathering you
a) make a loud entrance so everyone notices you
b) make a quiet entrance, looking around for someone you know
c) make the quietest entrance, trying to stay unnoticed = 2
7. You’re working very hard, concentrating hard, and you’re interrupted…
a) welcome the break
b) feel extremely irritated = 2
c) vary between these two extremes
8. Which of the following colors do you like most?
a) Red or orange
b) black
c) yellow or light blue
d) green = 4
e) dark blue or purple (well that was a no-brainer!)
f) white
g) brown or gray
9. When you are in bed at night, in those last few moments before going to sleep you are.
a) stretched out on your back
b) stretched out face down on your stomach
c) on your side, slightly curled = 4
d) with your head on one arm
e) with your head under the covers
10. You often dream that you are…
a) falling
b) fighting or struggling
c) searching for something or somebody
d) flying or floating
e) you usually have dreamless sleep
f) your dreams are always pleasant = 1
POINTS:
1. (a) 2 (b) 4 (c) 6
2. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 7 (d) 2 (e) 1
3. (a) 4 (b) 2 (c) 5 (d) 7 (e) 6
4. (a) 4 (b) 6 (c) 2 (d) 1
5. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 3 (d) 5 (e) 2
6. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 2
7. (a) 6 (b) 2 (c) 4
8. (a) 6 (b) 7 (c) 5 (d) 4 (e) 3 (f) 2 (g) 1
9. (a) 7 (b) 6 (c) 4 (d) 2 (e) 1
10.(a) 4 (b) 2 ( c) 3 (d) 5 (e) 6 (f) 1
Now add up the total number of points.
OVER 60 POINTS: Others see you as someone they should “handle with care.” You’re seen as vain, self-centered, and who is extremely dominant.** **Others may admire you, wishing they could be more like you, but don’t always trust you, hesitating to become too deeply involved with you.**
51 TO 60 POINTS: Others see you as an exciting, highly volatile, rather impulsive personality; a natural leader, who’s quick to make decisions, though not always the right ones. They see you as bold and adventuresome, someone who will try anything once; someone who takes chances and enjoys an adventure. They enjoy being in your company because of the excitement you radiate.
41 TO 50 POINTS: Others see you as fresh, lively, charming, amusing, practical, and always interesting; someone who’s constantly in the center of attention, but sufficiently well-balanced not to let it go to their head. They also see you as kind, considerate, and understanding; someone who’ll always cheer them up and help them out.
31 TO 40 POINTS: Others see you as sensible, cautious, careful & practical. They see you as clever, gifted, or talented, but modest. Not a person who makes friends too quickly or easily, but someone who’s extremely loyal to friends you do make and who expect the same loyalty in return. Those who really get to know you realize it takes a lot to shake your trust in your friends, but equally that it takes you a long time to get over if that trust is ever broken.
*** 21 TO 30 POINTS: Your friends see you as painstaking and fussy. They see you as very cautious, extremely careful, a slow and steady plodder. It would really surprise them if you ever did something impulsively or on the spur of the moment, expecting you to examine everything carefully from every angle and the n, usually decide against it. They think this reaction is caused partly by your careful nature.
UNDER 21 POINTS: People think you are shy, nervous, and indecisive, someone who needs looking after, who always wants someone else to make the decisions & who doesn’t want to get involved with anyone or anything! They see you as a worrier who always sees problems that don’t exist. Some people think you’ re boring. Only those who know you well know that you aren’t.
A list of places I’ve been since last week — in alphabetical order, or course! And look, there are fourteen of ‘em. Why? Well, why not?!
1. Connecticut
2. Delaware
3. Florida
4. Georgia
5. Maryland
6. Massachusetts
7. New Hampshire
8. New Jersey
9. New York
10. North Carolina
11. Pennsylvania
12. South Carolina
13. Virginia
14. Washington, DC
If you live in one of these places, you can be glad or mad that I didn’t stop by.
Nope, didn’t visit any bloggers this trip, not like last time. Anybody remember that? Lisa? Lisa?
Are you posting a list today? Leave your link! And have you gotten kicked off any blogrolls lately? I have!! I guess I’ll just sign up for this one instead!
OMG I’m behind again on my Blog Fodder questions. Here’s #10 and later in the week I’ll catch up.
If you could go back in time and choose your career, what would it be?
This is so easy, and I think about it all the time. I would love to go to law school.
Now I don’t want to hear any snickering. I know how lots of people feel about lawyers. They’re easy to make fun of, and the lawyer jokes I’ve heard are all pretty funny.
But when I think about what really interests me, it’s the law. I’m a total C-SPAN junkie. I could watch the House and Senate all day long, and sometimes do. I love hearing the Supreme Court Oral Argument recordings they play form time to time.
And it’s not like I want to be a courtroom lawyer or anything. I’d much rather be involved in some kind of legislative/policy kind of thing. I know this a lame way to think about it, but when I look at the characters on L.A. Law and compare them to the characters on The West Wing, I feel like I identity more with the latter. Sam, Josh, Toby — they’re all Lawyers.
And no, I don’t have some kind of Rob Lowe or Bradley Whitford fixation. You don’t see me wanting to be a TV executive like Danny on Studio 60, do you? Hey, is it true Richard Schiff is on that show, too? I got that from TV.com
But I digress. What else is new?
I’d love to go to law school, but (1) I can’t afford it, and (2) there isn’t one close by, and (3) even if there was, it would be a tough thing to fit into my busy schedule. Wifey is supportive of this dream of mine, and that’s nice, but that doesn’t make it any easier to achieve.
It’s something that really feels like a missing piece of my life, though. And every now and then it makes me really sad.
One more combination post and look, I’m all caught up on Blog Fodder!
#8 — How does one handle work, home and family (or a combination thereof) without having a nervous breakdown?
In a word, PLANNING. If I have ten things to do, I make sure I’ve set aside some time for each and every one of them. If I have to be in three places close to the same time — driving kids around, for example — I make sure I can get from A to B to C without anybody being left alone for too long. I tell the kids there always has to be a plan. Without it, I’d probably be writing about my nervous breakdowns! :)
#9 — Name a sensory input(s) which trigger a mood change be it uplifting, depressing, poignancy or remind you of a past event or period in time.
For me, there are two smells that remind me of my grandparents’ house. One is a certain kind of soap, I think it’s Dove and the other is bacon frying. These smells always take me back to memories of being there visiting, which wasn’t offten, because we lived so far away. My grandfather died maybe 18 years ago, my grandmother just this past month. I don’t think I have any other smell or other sense with such a strong memory tied to it.
I thought I’d better try and get caught up with Blog Fodder, so I’m going to tackle two questions at once and then I’ll only be one week behind!
#6 — What is your most memorable meal? Why?
I’d have to say this would be the time Wifey and I were on our first trip to Paris and had dinner at La Tour d’Argent which has been in business since 1582 and where they invented discovered the fork. Yeah, very famous place! Well there was this really loud American woman at the next table and she was making a scene. And here we were in this really fancy, famous place and Wifey was pretty annoyed. I think it was funny as hell and we look back now and have a good laugh. It’s a great story. This woman was really loudly telling her husband that this other woman a few tables away should shut up. And then they took an ash tray from the table and put it in their bag. The woman’s husband paid for it, but still… It was pretty funny!
#7 — Which is more important, intelligence or common sense?
Book smarts only gets you so far — you have to know how to apply what you know and that’s where common sense comes in. It’s funny, of my three kids, one is very intelligent and another has a great deal of common sense. And a third has this unbelievable combination of both. This is the one I figure will be President some day, so I’d better shut up now. :)
I’m so far behind — I think they’re probably up to #8 by now. OK, #7. Over at the Blog Fodder Hub, I mean.
Anyway, #5 asks us to tell a story about our in-laws. Well that’s easy. I’ve got the greatest in-laws you could have. But boy do they get on my nerves sometimes. So part rant, part fodder, here goes.
It’s my mother-in-law, really. Sweetest, nicest lady you could ever meet. But when it comes to dessert, I am just not a big dessert eater. I don’t need dessert. I don’t want dessert. And it also happens that I don’t eat chocolate and I don’t eat ice cream. So when it’s time for dessert, these facts make it easier not to have any dessert because it’s usually one or the other, right?
But no. My mother-in-law, because she is so sweet and nice, will make something other than the stuff I don’t eat, so that I can have some. But I don’t want some!! If we’re at her house, I’ll usually take something, just to be nice. But if they’ve brought something to my house, I do what I want, which is usually not to have any.
Then there was Christmas. By Christmas night I’d had more than enough cookies and candy and whatever other crap to eat. We were at Wifey’s aunt and uncle’s house and so were were her parents. There was plenty to eat, all dessert kind of stuff, and it was in the just-help-yourself mode, which is plenty fine with me. I sat on the couch and was talking with one of Wifey’s cousins and whoever else was there.
My mother-in-law, because she is so sweet and nice, was asking if anyone wanted anything. She brought a piece of pie for my youngest and that was nice of her. She asked me if I wanted anything, there was a cheesecake with no chocolate. I said no, thank you. “Oh, don’t you like cheesecake?” was her reply.
I was more than a little annoyed by this. Maybe I don’t make the best choices when it comes to what to eat. But when it comes to what not to eat, I think I’m pretty much right on.
What I got from this exchange was that if you don’t like something you don’t eat it, but otherwise *damn it* you’re going to have some. Last time I checked, I was a grown-up, capable of making my own decisions.
Boss your own kid around. But please, me you can leave alone, thank you very much.
Renee did this fun meme she tagged everybody that hadn’t been tagged. I guess that means me!
1. When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought?
I overslept this morning, so I didn’t shave, which would have been an opportunity to look in the mirror. So to be honest, I never did look at myself in the mirror today!
2. How much cash do you have on you?
I’ve got the $50 bill that that guy gave me for that goat the other day. Keeps moving from one pocket to another, but I probably won’t spend it.
3. What’s a word that rhymes with DOOR?
FLOOR
4. Do you label yourself?
beyond the word “independent” not really
5. Bright or Dark Room?
closer to bright, but not too much so, please
7. Why is there always a missing question?
just to shake up our brains. I can handle the empty space. it doesn’t bother me a bit.
8. What does your watch look like?
it’s a Timex, just got it for Christmas, and since I’m using my laptop it’s sitting on the table next to me. it’s got a steel band with black rubber inserts and black plastic around the face. I quite like it!
9. What were you doing at midnight last night?
sleeping
10. Where is your nearest 7-11?
about 20 minutes down the road — I pass two of them on my way to work most days
11. What’s a word that you say a lot?
JUST
12. Who told you he/she loved you last?
Wifey
13. Last furry thing you touched?
one of the bunnies
14. How many rolls of film do you need developed?
film? ha!!
15. Favorite age you have been so far.
this one.
16. Your worst enemy?
him
17. What is your current desktop picture?
this one…
18. What was the last thing you said to someone?
“yeah, sure”
19. The last song you listened to?
“I Can’t Tell You Why” by the Eagles, I think it was — last night
20. What time of day were you born?
around 2 in the morning
21. What do you do when vending machines steal your money?
I give them a good kick and then I try and figure out who to contact about getting a refund
22. Do you consider yourself kind?
yes, I do.
23. What’s your life motto?
enjoy it, it passes too quickly — choose wisely and don’t look back
24. Name three things you have with you at all times.
my wallet, my phone, my glasses
25. Can you change the oil in a car?
if I really, really have to, but I’d rather not.
26. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it?
wow, I really can’t remember!
Hey, why not link up if you’re playing along with this one. I’ll add Renee since I got it from her.
Welcome, friends old and new!
