Pop Culture Memes for Old People: Gangnam Style

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Q. What is it? A. A pop song and video from a South Korean group called PSY.

Q. Why? A. Kids these days. It’s been played on the radio, parodied in various forms and has recently appeared on Saturday Night Live.

Do I give a crap? A. Probably not, but in case you want to know what the youngsters are talking about, this is it.

Continue ReadingPop Culture Memes for Old People: Gangnam Style

links for 2011-09-01

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Question: If you could master one skill what would it be?

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Anon Question: If you could master one skill what would it be?
Writing. I’d like to be a successful, published author. It’s the dream I’ve had since I was a small kid. Writing is also the hardest thing for me to do and the thing I’m most insecure about, which is why I constantly shoot myself in the foot and screw up.

Anon Question: If you and Stephanie could change places with any famous or infamous couple in the history of the world who would you choose?
Well… if I have to choose a famous couple, either Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward or Pierre and Marie Curie. History is sadly lacking in couples who didn’t cheat on one another or die young or in tragic circumstances. Newman and Woodward were both gorgeous and blissfully happy. The Curies were intellectual equals who brought out the best in each other and achieved more together in collaboration than they could have separately – both represent things I’d like to achieve in our relationship.

Ask me a question yourself.

Continue ReadingQuestion: If you could master one skill what would it be?

Question: Have you bought any clothing in the last week?

Yes, I’m hunting around for things to write about, and picking random questions from the internet. My friend Matt has been doing a 30 day blogging project, and I was sort of interested in doing something similar except not the same. Possibly something that makes no sense. And that doesn’t obligate me to write everyday for 30 days because as we all know, I have no discipline whatsoever. So this is totally that something.

I’m also just that bored and avoiding things I should be doing. Want to make the monkey dance? Ask me a question yourself. Or in the comments here. Be nice. Be rude. Be intrusive. Ask personal questions. I don’t really care. If you don’t ask, I’ll just answer more random questions from the internet, except that I’ll pretend you asked them.

Question: Have you bought any clothing in the last week?
A: Yes. (And oh boy, am I in the mood to overshare. I’d turn back now, if I were you.)
Actually, I tacked an item onto an Old Navy order that Stephanie placed. She bought a dress and a pretty pink shirt. I bought these underpants. Why? Because they reminded me of these underpants:

Magic Underpants.
Which I hope did not actually sell because – underpants from a yard sale? Ew. Funny, but no.

I’ve been thinking about underpants lately because I came across this tumblr of girls wearing boy’s underwear, and was struck by the awesome therein. (this might have something to do with the fact that all these girls look great in boys underwear.) And some hours later, I was editing photos came across this image I took in the Apple Store last year:

Seriously? Is this a thing?
Which I guess is not all that risque or anything, compared to a swimsuit, but was still rather surprising at the Fashion Mall.

All of which prompted me to buy some underwear. In order to write about it? I guess possibly. I don’t know.
Speaking of photo editing, which I just was a moment ago, right in the middle of the underwear conversation (did you notice that at all?) I’ve finally broken through the logjam of photo editing in which I’ve been stuck for months, and I finished editing all the photos I took in May last year when we went to England. And then I finished editing photos from June of 2010, and photos from July of 2010. I’m now in the midst of August of last year, which was a busy month, too. So I’m mentally 7 months behind the rest of the world, and not even into the winter yet, at least as far as photos are concerned, which is the only way I remember what the hell I was doing in the past anyways. (Was that a run-on sentence? Should I break it up? What the hell, I’ll leave it. Stephanie will tell me what to do with it later.)

The trouble with being perpetually 7 months out-of-phase with reality is that I’m not posting pics of cool photos as they happen… like say this funny thing we saw the same day as the Superman underpants at the Woodruff Place Flea Market

Woodruff Place Flea Market
Not so much as it turns out.

Or this photo I took on the fourth of July:
July 4th Party

Or even this accident we saw on I-65:
Car Accident
That was scary

I’m hoping to get my two universes synced by up by March, at which time I will be available for various social events. If the two universes don’t collapse into one another, that is. Please mark your calendars.

Continue ReadingQuestion: Have you bought any clothing in the last week?

26 Things

Back in 1999, people on the internet were trading the meme called “100 Things” where you wrote 100 things that people might not know about you, and you posted them on your site. I started my list but never got beyond 26 items, so I never put it on my site. In cleaning out some of my old writing today, I found the list, and chuckled at some of the now out-of-date items. You might get a kick out of them, too.

  1. I daydreamed my way through elementary school. I would have done better on the tests, except that I was reading ahead in the book and not doing the exercises, because the story was really fascinating.
  2. Salman Rushdie is one of my favorite authors. So is Jane Austen. I’m not always sure I understand Rushdie, so I have to read the criticism and analysis. I do understand Austen.
  3. As a kid, I took piano lessons and clarinet lessons. The only thing I can play now is the right-hand introductory part of “The Sting.”
  4. I grew up Catholic. I quit going to church in college. I started going back a few years ago, semi-secretly, because I didn’t want my friends & sister to make fun of me. I quit again when the priest scandal hit last year. I’m officially a secular humanist now.
    Unitarian Universalist. Although we never go to church, because we’re not awake that early on Sundays.
  5. I only keep in touch with one friend from high school – Cate. Most of the rest of my friends I met in college or recently at work.
    This is no longer true due to the wonders of Facebook.
  6. I didn’t really understand everything about sex until I was 16. I knew the “tab A, slot B” part, but I didn’t know the “arousal, orgasm” part. I thought that people had sex solely for the purpose of makin’ babies. I found out the truth from my friend Linda Griggy on a sleep-over.
  7. In high school, I joined the drama club not because I wanted to be an actor, but because I had a crush on a girl that was joining and she talked me into it. She ended up being my first real kiss.
  8. The only boy I ever kissed was Doug Knox, a kid from Junior High. I kissed him in Linda Griggy’s basement. This was before she explained the crucial details of sex to me, and I finally understood that it was girls that turn me on.
  9. Years ago, I was in a wet t-shirt contest at The Ten, the lesbian bar in Indianapolis. I was dating Peg at the time. I was very drunk. I didn’t win.
  10. I’ve been single for quite a long time. It feels normal to me. I don’t know if that’s good or not.
    So not true now.
  11. My favorite board game is Clue. Because of the house. I love houses. Also, I love board games.
    Different house, same love of the game.
  12. I am a fan of Amy Grant. Because she’s HOT.
  13. I lived in Canton, Ohio for two years; eight grade and my freshman year of high school. It was hell and the kids at school were evil. Although we lived next to Hershbergers, who were really cool. Mike Hershberger was a retired major league ball player, and a really cool guy.
  14. I haven’t been sleeping well lately. I’m only getting about 4 hours of sleep a night. I don’t know why.
    Wow, that’s stil true, but I didn’t realize how far back the insomnia problem went.
  15. Places I’ve been on vacation: New York City. Tucson, Arizona. Las Vegas, Nevada. Atlanta, Georgia. Madison, Wisconsin. A roadtrip around the mid-west. Washington, D. C. Munster, Germany.
    Cambridge, England; London; Toronto, Canada; Mexico, Route 66, California, Phoenix, Arizona; Durham, North Carolina; Luray, West Virginia…
  16. Places I’ve never been: California. Florida.
  17. I’ve worked for the same company for almost 8 16 years.
  18. I’m not a fan of Mexican food. It tends to make me ill.
  19. I’ve forgotten how to cook. I used to be able to make things, but now I eat right out of the refrigerator and heat everything up. This is ironic because people use my recipes every day, and send me new ones.
    I Still hate cooking.
  20. I’m mostly German, but also Irish, Polish, and native American. I’d like to find out more about my native American ancestors.
  21. I like to collect things. Many of my recent collections are influenced by my friend Doug.
  22. Jobs I’ve had: Baby sitting. Reshelving books at the public library. McDonalds. Chicken restaurant. English Tutor. College food service. Pizza Delivery Driver. Factory worker at Maxon Corporation. Assembly line worker at Vita-Chlor. Ticket sales at a movie theatre. Graphic artist at Laser Graphics. Graphic artist at Western Newpaper Publishing. Graphic Artist at Macmillan Publishing (now Pearson Education). Document conversion at Pearson Education. Web design at Pearson Education.
  23. I “came out” in 1987 in college. I’ve been honest about being gay for 15 23 years.
  24. My favorite movies are the Wizard of Oz, Auntie Mame, and Fight Club. I don’t know what that says about me, but it can’t be good.
  25. I think a great deal of psychology is complete bull.
  26. When I was in high school, I sprained my ankle really badly and had to undergo cryotherapy and walk around on crutches. This was my worst injury.
    Wimp. Nothing compares to having your chest cracked open.
Continue Reading26 Things

5th Sentence, recurrent

I’ve done this meme a half-dozen times before, but it’s always different because the books is never the same.
Rules for this Experiment:

  • Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
  • Turn to page 56.
  • Find the fifth sentence.
  • Post that sentence along with these instructions.

“Here is Queen Victoria photographed in 1893 by George W. Wilson; she is on horseback, her skirt suitably draping the entire animal (this is historical interest, the studium); but beside her, attracting my eyes, a kilted groom holds the horse’s bridle: this is the punctum; for even if I do not know just what the social status of this Scotman may be (servant? equerry?), I can see his function clearly: to supervise the horse’s behavior: what if the horse suddenly began to rear?”
— Camera Lucida: Reflections on Photography by Roland Barthes

Continue Reading5th Sentence, recurrent

Life Shuffle

Having been tagged by Cordelia, I cheerfully submit my answers to this meme.
The Instructions:

1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. Press forward for each question.
3. Use the song title as the answer to the question even if it doesn’t make sense. NO CHEATING!
(I’m going to break the rules right away, and use my entire iTunes library, which currently stands at 23,056 songs. We’ll see what that gets me.)
1. How do you feel today? Can’t Get Used to Losing You (Andy Williams)
2. Will you get far in life? Barbara Bush Quote – the underprivileged are better off
3. How do your friends see you? The Lottery (Alex North)
4. Where will you get married? Rhythm is a Dancer (Snap!)
5. What is my best friend’s theme song? Stoppin’ Traffic/Party at Erics! (Kid Koala & Herbaliser
6. If someone says, “Is this ok?”, you say: Body (Hurra Torpedo)
7. What would best describe your personality? I Never Changed (The Exploited)
8. What do you like in a girl/guy? You and Me (The Cranberries)
9. What is your life’s purpose? Tamburitza Linga (Ani DiFranco)
10. What is your motto? Bad Mouth (Fugazi)
11. What do you think about often? Rabbit in Your Headlights (U.N.K.L.E.)
12. What is your life story? Thuggish Ruggish Bone (Bone Thugs ‘N’ Harmony)
13. What do you want to be when you grow up? worked up so sexual/Death Cab Mix (The Faint)
14. What do you think when you see a person you like? Oce Moj (Sinan Sakic)
15. What will they play at your funeral? Midnight Rider (Gregg Allman)
16. What is your biggest secret? The Undertones (Teenage Kicks)
17. What do you think of your friends? Xylophone (The Magnetic Fields)
18 What’s the worst that could happen? Come Away with Me (Norah Jones)
19. How will you die? Lion (Sandra Bezic)
20. What is the one thing you regret? Sit on my Face (Monty Python)
21. What makes you laugh? I Hope (Dixie Chicks)
22. What makes you cry? All Things Dull and Ugly (Monty Python)
23. Who is your secret admirer? Pool Shark (Sublime)
24. If you could go back in time, what would you change? Carcass (Siouxsie & The Banshees)
25. What hurts right now? Mistake No. 3 (Culture Club)

———————
Death by lion? I guess that sounds about right. And I have no comment about number 20.

Continue ReadingLife Shuffle

3 Things Meme

Copy, paste, delete my answers and type in your answers. Tag a few good friends! The theory is that you will learn a lot of little known things about each other.

Three Names I go by:
1. Steph
2. Electrasteph
3. [secret blog name redacted}

Three Jobs I have had in my life:
1. page in a public library
2. factory work at Maxon Corporation (college job)
3. Website Designer

Three Places I have lived:
1. Ankeny, Iowa
2. Canton, Ohio
3. Indianapolis, Indiana

Three TV Shows that I watch:
1. The Closer
2. The Mentalist
3. The Rachel Maddow Show

Three places I have been:
1. Münster, Germany
2. Route 66 from Chicago to California
3. Toronto, Canada

People that e-mail me regularly:
1. Stephanie
2. Chi
3. The Gap

Three of my favorite foods:
1. Buffalo Chicken
2. Pizza with capers
3. Olives

Three friends I think will repost:
1. Stephanie
2. Chi
3. David (if he hasn’t done it already)

Things I am looking forward to:
1. vacation week!
2. container gardening on the porch
3. finishing up some furniture refinishing

Continue Reading3 Things Meme

Steph Needs

DIRECTIONS: Type your name and the word NEEDS in quotes (e.g., “John Needs”) into Google and see what comes up.

Steph needs someone to CoNfOrT HeR.
Steph needs another new start
Stephanie needs to get the women together in an alliance because the men
Stephanie needs cash-fast-but times are tough, and soon she’s forced to turn to …
Stephanie needs a behavior modification approach to deal with …
Steph needs to go to the bathroom real bahhd.
Stephanie needs some help. Look at those pants! Should have stayed on the sidewalk!
Stephanie needs to be in a family where there are no other children or animals.
Steph needs our continued prayers
Steph needs your help with a quick survey!
Steph needs to be gone.
Steph needs a ride
Steph needs to know that her feelings are normal and that a sleepy…
Steph needs to stop eating lamingtons.
Steph needs to fight her own battles.

Heh.

Continue ReadingSteph Needs