Well, I suppose I could tidy up a bit here and there, but no, I'm actually pretty organized.
TNP wants to travel more in 2015.
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Well, I suppose I could tidy up a bit here and there, but no, I'm actually pretty organized.
TNP wants to travel more in 2015.
Definitely. The older I get, the more I like being someplace else.
TNP likes travelling by train.
Yeah. I like just sitting down in my spot and not being bothered.
TNP has a yen for air-travel or going on safari in dune buggies.
Not huge with me, no.
TNP wouldn't mind an old school safari, with an army of bearers carrying his stuff.
That would be kind of fun. What was the movie with Ava Gardner with the safari and shit?
TNP would dislike being trapped in a jungle-monkey-cage, however. Not even with Ava Gardner.
(I was just reading about Theodore Roosevelt's massive 1910 safari. It did sound fun!)
As to the jungle-monkey cage, definitely - sounds like no fun at all.
TNP would've gone on a date with Ava Gardner, in her prime.
Well, sure. And if Robert Graves could get some of that, why not me.
TNP has read more than one book by Robert a Graves.
No, not a one, alas.
TNP has heard the story about Eva Gardner and J.R.R. Tolkien.
What????? No. And I believe Ava in *The Killers* (the first one) to be about the steamiest.
TNP has been surprised by trivia in the past day. eta so tell the one about that hobbit-man and Ava! also i don't think have read more than The White Goddess -- if I had time I guess Claudius would be fun, not really one of my people, Graves, but oh hey shit he wrote some good poems.
No, not that recently.
Tolkien told the story in one of his letters (found here: http://www.amazon.com/Letters-J-R-R-...olkien+letters, a great resource for any Tolkien fan). He was at an Oxford faculty party in the late Fifties, I think it was, and got to talking to an attractive brunette. They hit it off and chatted for quite awhile. A mutual friend came up to them and said, "Neither of you know who the other is, do you?" They had to admit they didn't. The friend explained that Miss Gardner was a famous actress, while Prof. Tolkien was a famous writer. Tolkien was bemused by the whole experience - he was so unaware of pop culture that he didn't recognize Gardner (who was visiting the UK at the time), and she knew so little of literature that she'd never heard of The Lord of the Rings.
TNP knows of another unlikely meeting between two famous people.
Yeah, lots. Try to think, maybe a good one is Goedel and Einstein.
TNP feels that caretakers of children should take their group of upwards of a dozen little shrieking children to a damned playground, not unleash them in adults' ADULTS' city parks. I like to sit, smoke my tobacco, whatever, without feeling like I'm in the children of the corn or that I'm some bad influence. If they don't want to watch a grown man smoke, then don't come here.
Well, if there's playgrounds in the neighbourhood, that certainly makes sense.
TNP always loses at least one glove per winter.
Oh fucking A. I think of gloves as disposable property -- they might as well be made of latex, for all I care.
TNP thinks if ur going to take the effort to take a bunch of moron kids out (a) do it in a neighborhood w a kid park or (b) move somewhere else. Lots of us old people like kids, but we dont like being forced to (i) not smoke tobacco (ii) have a coffee without fear of some retard spilling it on their fucking face or (iii)) whatever because all of a sudden there are a bunch of shrieking children roaming around. There's no shame in smoking a pipe outdoors, nor should there be. Stop ruining my playground because your kids choose to play in the adult streets. Or make it a teaching moment -- "see, little billy, this is where adults come to sit down when they want to get off their feet!"
Or else just shut the fuck up about your retard pack of kids and act like an adult. Stupid fucking morons.
eta or (c) teach your kids to not be fucking morons.
No, I'd have to disagree. Unless park rules prohibit kids (something I've never seen, at least during daylight hours), I'd say let 'em come.
TNP would love to be on a beach somewhere right now.
That sounds about perfect. Miles of white-sand, get some jogging/walking in, get some of that vitamin-D back in, listen to some tunes or even radio. Could spend all day doing that, rinse and repeat.
no there's nothing wrong with the kids -- it's just why make a field trip next to me and then make it seem like i'm sitting in a playground by choice! christ, they took an entire fieldtrip and deliberately chose where i was sitting to let these kids go apeshit? find yr own spot, morons! eta or just teach them by example to be cool -- I don't go around smoking bob marley joints or getting wasted and screwing harlots in public, because that's not what you do. teach your kids the same rules.
TNP would like a long vacation of any kind about now.
OH GOD yes. The time I took off at Christmas seems a long, long way off now.
TNP thinks that of all the great things about New York City, Central Park may be the greatest.
Most definitely. Love the place! PBS had a fine documentary recently on Olmsted and its creation. Worth a look: http://www.pbs.org/wned/frederick-law-olmsted/film/
TNP has seen a good documentary lately.
Yeah. the one about Carl Jung (lol!)
TNP thinks one of the good things about manhattan is that people are like "don't like it here? there's the door!"
Actually, I always find Manhattanites pretty nice, although I try to use my head and not ask some guy who's obviously racing to an important meeting if he knows how to get to Carnegie Hall.
TNP mows how to get to Carnegie Hall.
I only mow my own lawn, nothing in NYC.
TNP has been to NYC in the last 60 days.
Not in a few years.
TNP knows more than two tunes with the phrase "New York" in the title,
You only need the one.
TNP is starting to think auto-correct creates more problems than it solves.
I have long thought that. Sometimes it's funny; more often it's annoying.
TNP has gotten a new cellphone in the past six months.
Nah, it's been awhile.
TNP likes scones.
Not as much as muffins, rugelach, doughnuts or buttered toast, but they're OK.
TNP prefers tomato soup to all others.
No way, no how. Nothing against it, it's just pretty acidic and watery to my tastes.
TNP doesn't really like soup that much, even if it's a good one. Or it has a bunch of grains in it. Or is thick, like pea soup or menudo.
False, love soup, could happily live on soup and eggs.
TNP prefers boysenberry more than any ordinary jam.
Fuck yeah. Not only are they aesthetically interesting, I think they taste great.
TNP doesn't much care for strawberries, though -- I spent a summer picking them as a child and they were a PITA, and too many strawberries are not perfectly ripened or are blemished.
Wrongy wrong wrong. I love strawberries. My favorite way to eat 'em: rinse them in cold water, cut them up, sprinkle a little sugar on them, and put them in the fridge for a few minutes. Then remove and put a little vanilla ice cream on top. Yum!
TNP has something in his or her fridge that's more than a year old.
Yeah, probably. There's a couple jars at the back that nobody wants to look at too closely.
TNP goes to more than 20 movies a year.
I wish! No, probably closer to a dozen or so. I watch quite a few on DVD at home, though.
TNP has a strong favorite to win the Best Picture Oscar this year.
No clue. *Annie Hall*, *Raging Bull*?
TNP is totally chill with not knowing what the current generation (gen-Z?) is watching on their japanese phones.
Well, I kinda like to have a broad idea of what my kid is watching, withou getting into detail.
TNP texts on a regular basis.
Absofuckinglutely. I hate doing voice-mail tag. I refuse to do the smrtphone thing, primarily b/c I think the data plans in the US are absurd, but I primarily text with my peeps.
TNP will never own a "smartWatch" (a prof yesterday had to caution her examinands at a test, "if you have a smartwatch, turn it off"). Brings to mind the Stones "earphone necks, you're so twentieth century!"
Probably not. I've gotten out of the habit of wearing a watch at all.
TNP looks at a clock of some kind at least twice an hour, on average.
Yeah, kind of obsessed with time.
TNP likes to watch cooking shows, but doesn't actually cook that much.
Used to, back when i was a decent home cook. Now, no way, all these celebutard chefs and it got all trendy and shit.
TNP doesn't read the newspapers.
Not very much. I check headlines on CNN.com daily, and my local newspaper's website on occasion.
TNP has a favorite news website.
Naw. If I hear something around the proverbial water cooler I want to look up, my long-time online standard is just Reuters (that and the AP was how I stayed informed on 9/11, back in the wild days of the web), but these days, I just google it up and follow whatever links show up. I do still like the NY Times, though I haven't bought one for years -- I am proud to be a long-time Saturday solver -- even though it's kind of a hippie rag of yellow journalism. it's still the newspaper of record, along with the WSJ, which is my other newspaper I used to read
TNP is feeling really sluggish and should take more exercise. after buying moleskin for sore feet
Yeah, I could always use more exercise, I guess, but I do have a mild cold which is making me a bit more sluggish.
TNP is surprised to be reading so much about Bruce Jenner in 2015.
Speaking of news, I think I accidentally saw some google headline ad about a half hour ago. More a Joe Henderson (the runner, not the musician) guy when it comes to philosophy of running, but I certainly recall just from general knowledge who he was. Didn't he make those kardashian people or something? Anyway, yeah, I was surprised to see a blip of a headline about some runner from the 1970s.
TNP has had about enough of this crazy-ass weather.
Cold here and plenty of snow recently, but no, I'm not to the point of minding it yet.
TNP watched the Grammys last night.
Nah, I have no idea who is doing anything, and besides, the Grammys.
TNP thinks there are way too many show business awards, or at least too much attention paid to them by people outside the business.
Not sure -- I can see ueber-fans paying all kinds of attention to whatever circle-jerk awards are happening. I guess they can have their little nurd fun -- it doesn't hurt me any, and I can occasionally get a nice light conversation going just hanging out during a break, so that way I don't have to bother with that myself. I'm a movie fan myself, but I don't actually care enough to watch some awards. Ditto the Grammies, the Emmies, the Tonies, the Daytime Emmies, the Teen Choice.....goddamm that list really does seem interminable. OTOH someone told me Neil Patrick Harris (or whatever his name is) was going to be hosting the Academy awards. He's a funny guy, so the groundlings should have a good time.
TNP
Yes. No. Or something in-between.
TNP likes enigmas.
Nah, I like things cut and dried, I just don't get things that way.
TNP can't understand why Bob Dylan would go attacking Tom T. Hall, of all people.
Guess not - hadn't even heard that had happened.
TNP already has summer travel plans.
Yes, going on a Disney Cruise, amongst other things.
TNP suffers from seasickness.
Yes, unfortunately. I love the sea and naval history, but once the ship I'm on starts going up and down, my stomach rebels.
TNP has barfed in the past 30 days.
Ha! Over the past two weeks or more, that happens in the morning three or so times a week. Extremely unpleasant, and I've never puked while drinking, except when I was a teenager/young adult. I blame allergies dripping mucus down my throat.
TNP has consumed an entire 1.75L bottle of whiskey in one day.
Wow! No, I never have. No plans to, either.
TNP knows something about Gideon Welles.
The name seems familiar from somewhere, but that's all.
TNP likes hard-boiled eggs.
Fuck yeah -- hard-boiled or fried over-hard.
TNP has a yen for soft-cooked eggs.
Yeah, love them so.
TNP wishes this winter would go away, like, now.
Nah, I'm still doing all right. Spring will come when spring comes.
(Welles was Lincoln's Secretary of the Navy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gideon_Welles)
TNP can name two other U.S. Secretaries of the Navy from memory.
Yes I can, but I'm 100% sure i'd be wrong. Adm nelson or trafalgar aren't on the list, pretty sure.
TNP will answer his or own TNP promptly, for the benefit of knowledge-seekers.
the US had a navy in that racist Lincoln's day???? yeah I guess merrimack and monitor and all that -- still.....clue me in! i enjoy military history, just am not very knowledgeable
oh shit apparently Trafalgar was not an admiral or even a person at all. you need to educate me!
eta to play along TNP knows something cool about naval history in the US and will share
Sure! The U.S. Navy was quite small at the outbreak of the Civil War, but expanded rapidly under Welles's very capable leadership, both to build and maintain a blockade of the Southern coast, and to support the armies moving and fighting along the inland rivers. In four years it grew to become one of the biggest and most powerful in the world, but was quickly scaled back again after the Confederacy's fall.
U.S. Secretaries of the Navy I can name from memory include Welles (under Presidents Lincoln and Johnson), John Connally (under JFK; later Governor of Texas and in the President's limo during the fateful Dallas visit), John Warner (under Ford, I think; later a U.S. senator and husband of Elizabeth Taylor), and John Lehman (under Reagan; led the Navy during its huge expansion in the Eighties).
TNP has a favorite historical factoid to share.
Um....Gaius Caligula was a serious pervert? (according to Suetonius, IIRC)
TNP knows the rank structure of the US armed forces, but couldn't necessarily recognize rank from the sleeve insignia unless he or she really stared at it and thought about it for a while.
Generally true.
TNP has been to Rome.
Never! I've spent time in Genoa, Florence, and Turin (Genoa is a terrific city, full of charming people and beautiful parks), but never had a yen to go down to Rome.
TNP likes relaxing in urban parks, people-watching, and checking out what's what in general from a comfortable vantage.
Yeah, that's good enough fun.
TNP likes Popeyes chicken better than KFC.
I've never been to a Popeye's -- and I always think of KFC as pretty ghetto.
TNP lurves him some fried chicken, though.
Very much so. Never have it at home - only when I go out.
Q: What did Gandalf say when the hobbits asked him how they should prepare his chicken dinner?
A: "Fry, you fools!"
TNP likes bad puns.
Is there any other kind? Yes, I love puns.
TNP loves crowssword puzzles too. Like, a lot.
No, never really cared for them, which surprises a lot of people who know how much I love words.
TNP listens to the NPR puzzle segment every Sunday morning.
You know, I used to head to the coast with my dad in his car semi-regularly on some weekends, and I avidly "played along" over the radio (that and the "Car Talk" puzzles). Will Shortz baby! I think he might be the king of all nerds!
TNP hasn't listened to the radio in a long, long time.
False. I do just about every day.
TNP has owned more than three cars in his or her life.
Naw, probably exactly three, actually.
TNP really despises car repair (but is actually a good shadetree mechanic) -- just hates it, is all, and that's why I will never own another car. Big fucking hassle to be fixing some retarded machine all the time. Also, they are aesthetically incorrect,
Although "retarded" is not the word I'd choose, yes.
TNP has learned something recently about U.S. Grant.
Well, yeah, thanks to you.
TNP gets good stuff off the encylopedia pretty regularly.
More from books and Wiki than the encyclopedia these days, but as a kid I'd read the encyclopedia a lot. Browsing was and is one of life's intellectual pleasures.
TNP has shoveled snow in the past two weeks.
holy shit no thank fucking gawd.
TNP hates shoveling snow.
Yes.
And TNP is not only sore all over but just is tired of the tedium of life.
Well, I'm always kind of sore, but no, I'm still kind of interested in stuff.
TNP had strand dreams last night.
For once, no -- actually was housesitting at my parents' place this weekend, and their guest bedroom has a super-comfortable bed. Well, my dreams are never weird, they're just vivid and about mundane stuff.
TNP likes surrealism.
Now and then, yes, but not a steady diet.
TNP has drunk orange juice in the past 30 days.
No! And I like citrus fruits, it seems to upset my tummy.
TNP uses a lot of vitamin C, every day, for some damned reason.
Yes, it's the rare day that I don't have a glass of OJ.
TNP regularly takes a vitamin supplement.
Yeah, I guess so, take cod liver oil capsules largely for the Vitamin D.
TNP finds the history of scurvy kind of interesting.
Yes. I've read a bit about Capt. Cook and what the Royal Navy did to fight it.
TNP has seen a solar or lunar eclipse in the past six months.
No :(
TNP has a great clear view of the stars right now, which is also nifty!
Just looked out the window, but no, it's quite overcast.
TNP owns or has owned a telescope.
I think I built one as a nerd child -- maybe it was a periscope lol. Never owned a real telescope -- that would be kind of neat toy, actually. Though I'd probably break it in short order.
TNP is having some wine tonight!
Didn't last night, and probably won't tonight.
TNP can see a flag from where he or she now sits.
Actually, no, which surprise me a little bit.
TNP had pancakes on Pancake Tuesday.
No. I had the chance, at our church, but didn't.
TNP usually doesn't give up anything for Lent.
I guess this makes me a bad man, but, no. I just don't see the point.
TNP has been called a fictional character IRL in, say, the past twenty years. in my case no shit a couple people muttered "Ron Burgundy!" twelve or so years ago. to be fair I was wearing a turtleneck, a sportcoat, and carrying a briefcase on my way to hold office hours or teach -- I thought it was pretty funny, but for some reason I remember that. no shit, that's true! speaking of *Anchorman* eta that was before the movie -- I barely knew what they were talking about but i still got the joke...sometimes undergrads can be funny too!
Not that recently, but when I was in college, a guy I barely knew blurted out that I reminded him of Mr. Howell from Gilligan's Island. I was both pissed off and amused.
TNP used to watch Gilligan's Island a lot.
Ah, yes, in the sweet days of my childhood.
TNP used to serously believe you could cure amnesia by dropping a coconut on the sufferer's head.
Being unaware of any credible medical research on that topic, no.
TNP likes the taste of coconut.
Not really -- coconut MILK though is one of the best things to have in your pantry.
TNP suffers from allergies of all sorts.
Dust, pollen and pet dander. But nothing too bad.
TNP has had allergy shots.
Nah, pretty lucky.
TNP has had major surgery in the last five years.
Gawddamm no! That just sounds horrific.
TNP only likes going to the hospital because (a) need to see a doctor housed "on-campus" (b) visit/assist someone (c) because of their magnificent cafeterias.
True enough. When I was in law school, I often ate at the hospital cafeteria.
TNP likes meatloaf sandwiches.
Hell yes!
TNP hasn't had a proper meal in a few days (enough calories is enough, but I mean a real meal).
False. Just tonight we had pepperjack grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. Really hit the spot on a cold night.
TNP has seen the musical Blood Brothers.
Nope. Never heard of it.
TNP has a plan to start feeling physically better. Only drink alcohol once a week, and not all day, every day
False.
I saw a high school production of Blood Brothers on Sat. night that, uh, well, wasn't totally crappy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Brothers_(musical)
TNP has seen a live musical or play in the past two weeks.
Not that recently, no.
TNP has seen The Book of Mormon.
No, but if all goes well, I will this summer!
TNP watched the Oscars last night.
I had no idea they were on -- seriously.
TNP likes Harold and Kumar movies.
Never seen one - but I want to someday.
TNP has an all-time favorite comedy movie.
Does "a good Chasey-Lain-sized handful of Mel Brooks" count? I'm guessing not....wait...........*High Anxiety*. That's it. So YES!
TNP doesn't particularly care for most silent movies [size]get it, *Silent Movie*?[size] unless they have the right stuff.
Well, sure. I want all of my movies to have the right stuff, regardless of format, length, stars, music, sound, sets, props etc. I neither seek out nor avoid silent movies, as such.
TNP has a favorite dramatic movie.
Too broad a category. Maybe *The Magnificent Ambersons* maybe *Kane* maybe *Faces of Death*.
TNP has a favorite crime movie.
eta there's just been so many admirable non-fiction movies -- unlike in fiction, where the man of taste is limited to a mere handful over the past 80 years or so. And fragmentation among genre-fiction is just as fierce as in movies, many with their own rewards, and all with their own advocates. One man's *The Big Sleep* could easily be the next fellow's *night/Cabiria* could easily be another person's *the Red Circle*.
Genre differentiation in film seems more difficult, perhaps for marketing reasons, or the inevitable collusion of industry workers who work in various genres, including actors.
Well, several favorite crime movies, I'd have to say: The Usual Suspects, Memento and Ocean's 11 (the remake; haven't seen the original) would probably be near the top.
TNP has a favorite movie romance.
Absolutely. fwiw, *A Matter of Life and Death*
TNP has a favorite movie romantic comedy.
Hmm. Hard to pick just one... I guess Notting Hill probably gets the nod. What's Up Doc, Shakespeare in Love, The Philadelphia Story, While You Were Sleeping, Love Actually, and Yes Man are all favorites, too.
TNP has a favorite movie musical.
Hell yes! wait....damned....too many....pick one....*Gold Diggers of 1933*
TNP has a favorite Maurice Chevalier movie.
No. Don't think I've ever seen a one.
TNP has a suggestion for the all-time best Maurice Chevalier movie.
*The Smiling Lieutenant* -- it's tough to choose.
TNP can name a lot of French actor/actresses, and will do so in the next post.
Hmm. Can't vouch for spelling, but... the aforementioned Maurice Chevalier, Edith Piaf, Marion Cotillard, Gerard Depardieu, Bridgette Bardot, and, uh, that guy from The Artist. I think that's about it.
TNP will probably see a movie in a theater in the next two weeks.
No. I hate theaters -- except for live symphonic performance where acoustics are important.
TNP has beaten himself at a game recently just now had a class cancelled, so grabbed a beer and payed for an hour at the table -- I just couldn't make a single shot, not even easier cut-shots, and not even natural-seeming multi-combination shots. not even the cue landed where i even vaguely expected it to. pathetic. i was disgusted with myself -- do you know what that feels like? just disgusted.
Nah, haven't beaten myself at a game.
TNP has been beated at a game by a chicken. (Happened to me one time)
Can't say I ever have.
TNP demands that RET tell the chicken story.
TRUE!!!! I bet it has to do with chess or mental arithmetic
TNP WILL EXPLAIN NOW!!! and i think u just got called a frittata! lol
Ok. It was back in the day, before computers were common. I was at the Canadian national exhibition, the big fair we have in Toronto. There was like a tic-tac-toe screen between you and a chicken in a glass cage, and panels for you and the chicken to make your moves. Now obviously, The chicken wasn't really playing tic-tac-toe, it was just pecking where it had been trained to by Pavlovian conditioning, and you were playing tic-tac-toe against the computer. Unfortunately, I was so busy figuring this out that I wasn't paying attention to the game, and the chicken/computer won.
After I lost, the big crowd that been waiting behind me to play disappeared.
TNP likes agricultural fairs.
Eh, I can take them or leave them. But having the chance to play a chicken in a game of skill would definitely be a draw.
TNP has ridden a horse in the past year.
i was right a chicken beat you at arithmetic! you suck!True, actually. There tend to be a lot of hippies around these parts at those kinds of things, but I would take a county fair any day over a farmer's market populated with bobos and whining thirty-something entitled-feeling people. Or any kind of "art festival," for that matter. Fuck all those people. Give me a bubba and his wife eating a corndog over some bobo anyday.
well, that's not exactly NYT columnist material, but this is just a message board.
TNP has ridden a horse in the past year.
Nah, not in, I dunno, decades.
TNP has eaten horse.
I think I did, once, yes. A long time ago - I don't really remember it, though.
TNP has at least three silver picture frames.
Not one.
TNP keeps very few photographs given by others.
False. I've accumulated quite a few over the years, although these days they're just about all digital.
TNP owns a digital camera other than his or her cellphone.
Used to -- actually a pretty nice little Canon Elf (point-and-shoot). Gave it to my mother when the battery died on hers not too long ago -- hey, I just use my dumbphone or the built-on-camera on various netbook/tablets if I get bored enough to take a picture.
TNP has thought about using a webcam to set up a little private security set-up (for no particular reason except to be an asshole and intimidate malfeasants).
No. Not quite that paranoid yet.
TNP has been part of a neighborhood watch assn. or its equivalent.
Nah. Don't even think I've been in a neighbourhood that had one.
TNP is glad that Spring Training has started.
Not really paying attention, but sure, if it means warmer weather soon!
TNP will probably go to at least one pro baseball game before June 1.
Meh. I never follow the inside scoop on baseball -- all I know is I just really like watching/listening to the games. See, that would be a hobby, and, anyway, I think my DTV box is broken, or something. SIMULPOST! No, there isn't an MLB team in my town, and their AAA farm team for San Diego got moved somewhere.
TNP is looking forward to the next boxing match he or she can watch on youtube the next day.
No, not actually paranoid -- i just think it would be amusing and maybe I could freak some of those skateboarder punks out, as, you know, a hobby.Quote:
Originally posted by Elendil's Heir
Hell no -- I know it isn't the way the game is played, but I can't resist weighing in. I would join one of those if I were well-compensated, could pick my own hours, and they paid for a nice collapsible baton and a 4-D-Cell mag light ('torch" for you brits). It's already been established to me I should not own a sidearm. I am extremely careful at the range, was trained in safety since I was a Cub Scout, but I could see firing off a few rounds into the woods off my balcony and getting in a shitload of trouble.
No, not into boxing.
TNP has done some amateur boxing in the ring.
If by "ring" you mean anywhere other than in a darkly-lit public place littered with beer cans and friendly profanity and chit-chat, then....no.
TNP despises the idea that "if you want to learn something, take a class!" I really do believe it's wrong-headed to think some "class" activity is going to do more than boost an ego or two, or maybe give some structure for people who need that.
No, it often (not always) has merit.
TNP has followed the A-10 Thunderbolt controversy on Capitol Hill.
Can't say that I have. (Although I have a feeling it involves bizarre over-spending for a plane of dubious utility.)
TNP has been in a biplane.
I've been in very small planes, but never a biplane.
(As to the A-10, on the contrary, it's about retaining a relatively cheap warplane that's been very useful: http://www.ibtimes.com/10-thunderbol...-syria-1693329)
TNP has handwritten a thank-you note in the past 30 days.
Actually.....does thank-you telephone call count? I'm guessing not.
TNP LOVES the warthogs -- I'm not military, not any kind of expert, but I just love the idea, close air-support, help troops on the ground, slow, sturdy, well-armored. Maybe i'm just copying unintentionally what Hackworth wrote somewhere, but it's my kind of plane. AND I think it's an elegant design around the cannon.
I agree. I've admired the plane for years. Here's more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairch...Thunderbolt_II
TNP didn't click on that link.
No, because I've had it saved as an mhtml file on a disk drive forever. *The Right Stuff* has always (well, but you know...) been one of my favorites, and when I had a chance to read the book, I went nuts for planes. Not exactly in an autistic way, not that that's bad, but just started reading what I could about various MiGs and all that stuff. Having read Hackworth's *Hazardous Duty* a few times, I remembered exactly his opinion, as an Army man, on the A-10. Regardless of what they say, to me it's the kind of airplane I like -- helps people doing the hard work, deprecates pride and ego, works like a motherfuck, and can fly. Just like a Birdman!
TNP is really not enjoying this winter.
It's certainly had its ups and downs, but overall, I'd have to say false.
TNP has a perfect warm-weather spot in mind.
You know, not really. I like to be among the trees, banging out 20-30 miles, always in their protective shade and always in sight of something pretty cool. My idea of a hell is being stuck in the sun with nothing to shade me -- without an umbrella, I'd be cursing like a mofo.
TNP enjoys being in the burning radiance of the sun.
Yes I do. Too bad about the skin cancer thing.
TNP likes lamb chops.
Love love love lamb. my paternal grandfather died of skin cancer -- he was a forester by trade before becoming a CPA in his twenties. he was a teetotaller and a hard-core scholarly methodist like his wife's family. i wish i were cautious out of respect, but, no, i just don't want to have a wrinkled old face. like Jack Benny, i'm always going to be 39
TNP knows exactly one person personally who knows and respects how to cook duck. in my case and anyone I'm close to, that's me. i will eat duck all day, so long as I don't have to pick out shotgun pellets and decide if the duck has been eating out of dumpsters all day ETA people are like zomg it's so greasy! fuck you! cook it good, you bunch of lazy punks. cucumber water for customer only!
Hmm, guess that's true, since my mother died, my wife is the one person I know whom I'm sure could handle a duck.
TNP likes goose better than turkey.
Never had goose. But it's hard to beat some perfectly roasted Turkey Thighs, skin on, bone-in, so FALSUM!
TNP has never had a Dungeoness Crab he or she actually thought was good. maybe on a desert island, food is food, but crabs just taste like garbage to me, and I don't appreciate having to do a bunch of labor to eat a meal
Never had that kind of crab at all.
TNP loves lobster bisque.
Dunno. Never had lobster. and I am the only person I have ever known to properly roast turkey, therefore, I win
TNP has never had caviar.
False. Just two or three times, though, and that was enough.
TNP absolutely loves caviar.
False. It's good.
TNP likes eating at old school steakhouses.
True! Not every day, mind you, but several times a year would suit me just fine.
TNP knows at least six vegetarians.
Hmmm...probably not...have known a fair number of lapsed ones over the years.
TNP knows someone who keeps Kosher.
I guess technically I know a few, but they're kind of from a long time ago. Not anyone I can think of at the moment whom I know personally.
TNP has well-ingrained opinions about the various sects of Judaism.
Not particularly. I just want everyone to live together in peace and harmony.
TNP likes this arrangement of Strauss's Blue Danube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaLq7eRCT8U
You really don't want to know what I think of that arrangement. Also, Bubba is a sexist because he insists on controlling the sustain pedal. No, I just hate everything about that. De gustibus, whatever. Also, the visual photo montage is the worst kind of treacle I have ever seen.
eta i wasn't suggesting criticism, just the ideas that orthodox are whatever, hasidim are whatever, reform are whatever
TNP knows some good musicians who should really try to try to be good. eta I'm not convinced Anderson and Roe are good musicians. in fact, I'm convinced they're the opposite -- I'm talking about real artists
Anderson and Roe are *at best* barely competent technicians.
I would be happy if either of them performed with sensitivity any....ANY....piece of music.
ETA they are the worst kind of scum. I hate their "arrangements," their showmanship, their "technique," their taste, and anything else about them. I would have a hard time giving them a hand out of a subway station should they need it. It makes me sick.
TNP likes to take his or her shoes and socks off when he or she gets home.
Weather permitting, definitely. I'm barefoot around the house most of the summer, f'rinstance.
TNP owns more than 10 pairs of shoes.
Nah, I am kind of a minimalist about shoes.
TNP likes to watch boxing.
Yeah, maybe. not sure.
TNP has more than ten pairs of pants.
damn! nija'ed again!
Yes, I like a good fight.
TNP doesn't really care for MMA and all that stuff.
True, I'm old and just like old school fighting.
TNP is kind of annoyed that "Daylight Savings Time" is now so long, they might as well cancel "Standard Time".
Hells yeah. I'm not happy about any of it.
TNP wouldn't mind living on a private island for a few years (NOT a euphemism for a state hospital ward, but like a Marlon Brando-type island).
That certainly has its appeal - but there's too much I like to do in the big city for me to want to give it up for that long.
TNP has lived for more than five years of his or her life in a big city.
Yep. if there isn't a corner store less than a mile away to go buy a quick roll of toilet paper or a beer or whatever, AFAIC, it's not living at all
TNP really dislikes the "miserable sickness" of automobile culture. I think that quote was from Orson Welles in reference to his picture *The Magnificent Ambersons* - well, it was pretty near to what he said anyway.
Yes. Hope it is corrected in the future.
TNP is concerned about the increasing tendency of agriculture to rely on fewer and fewer crops and varieties.
you know, not so much,
TNP has a lot of faith in farmers/ag-types to ply their trades.
Having grown up on a farm, not as much as all that.
TNP really likes cupcakes, and wishes the cupcake mania of a few years ago had lasted longer.
No. Absolutely not. At MOST I can tolerate little girls who have some kind of weird fetish for cupcakes. No. I find sweets of any kind disgusting, and I think less of any man under sixty (or so) who craves them.
TNP thinks he or she is a pretty macho guy (girl, whatever).
I don't consider myself macho at all, although coming from a farm, I can handle a gun, knife, axe or flame better than most folks in my current social class.
TNP likes to buy stuff from Orvis.
I have now and then, but not so often that I'd say I like to do so.
TNP has been known to spend some money on L.L. Bean stuff.
Yeah, they're cool.
TNP likes old school rap.
Not so much.
TNP has heard Psy's "Gangnam Style" 'way too much already: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bZkp7q19f0
Never heard bothered to see it.
TNP doesn't care to see Two Girls One Cup, and has not done so.
Quite true. I know just enough about it to know I really don't want to see it.
TNP has a particular movie he or she would like to see this month.
Many. Many. Many, DVDs get scratched too often, but I like to stroll down memory lane. I could watch *Rififi* right now, but I don't know if my copy is any good.
TNP likes to watch movies like a mental patient or the way stoners like to listen to their favorite Pink Floyd or Hendrix albums -- once is good, more is better.
Generally not. I tend to seek out stuff I haven't already seen. Still, among the movies I've often watched are Aliens, Dark City, Notorious, Casablanca, Limitless, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars, True Lies, Trading Places, The Fellowship of the Ring, Breaker Morant and The Incredibles.
TNP loves at least two of those movies.
Yeah. It took me until pretty recently to admit that *Casablanca* is a pretty good film. Of course I'd seen it about a million times before hand. *Notorious*? Yes, I've always liked that picture. *Breaker Morant* I would put in the "pretty entertaining" category. Oh yeah, *Aliens* is key!
TNP used the public library a bunch as a kid (define it how you want).
Yeah, I did. Now I like to own stuff.
TNP has a whole bunch of books, both paper and in the e-reader, that have been sitting around forever waiting for the right time to read.
It is to laugh. No, I've gotten rid of books I either hate or will never, ex princibus, read again, but there's still a shitload i haven't fully digested.
TNP does not tolerate well morons.
Well morons or sick ones, no, I'd just as soon not be around them.
TNP has had a cold in the past 30 days.
Hmm, a mild one, I think I remember.
TNP likes Neapolitan ice cream.
I like it OK. My favorites, though, are mint chocolate chip, Heath Bar crunch and mocha.
TNP watches TV news quite often.
Nah, pretty much given up on it.
TNP doesn't believe what they read in the paper.
True. I don't bother anymore.
TNP could give a shit about politics anymore. Just one tiny shit.
Yes, I really could give a shit - and do. I follow politics very closely.
TNP already has a favorite U.S. presidential candidate for 2016.
Ralph Nader?
TNP is considering wearing a campaign button or using a campaign bumper sticker or T-shirt or one of those things.
I'm sure I will, once the Democratic primaries are underway.
TNP thinks voting should be mandatory, as it is in Australia.
Well, true. Except that Ozzers i know kind of resent it a bit (or else they take it as a fact of life). I think it'd be a good thing for Americans. I know all the arguments against compulsory service, in whatever form, but I believe a person's worth should be measured in terms of the stake they put in. Yeah, it's not practical, but I think it's an ideal to hope for.
TNP hasn't given up hope, in whatever form.
No. Like JFK, I am an optimist without illusions.
TNP has listened to a song on YouTube in the past 24 hours.
Actually, yeah. True.
TNP thinks YouTube, more than or as much as any other web-based device, has really changed the game. I.e., it's a game-changer.
Absolutely. Huge impact on pop culture, providing access to video and audio remarkably easily (despite the annoying ads).
TNP has bought something seen in an ad in the past week.
Not that I recall, no.
TNP spent a lovely day seeing what he hoped was a routine doctor visit for a blurry eye turn into emergency retinal displacement surgery.
Probably not in the past week, but it really depends on how you define an "ad"? Sign in a convenience store window? Link to a random website? Recommendation from a friend to go see a movie? I'm not really sure what's an "ad" and what is just "word of mouth," or even some kind of mysterious power of suggestion.
TNP can't watch TV advertisements without getting that sinking feeling deep in his or her gut.
Sorry about that, got ninja'd. Gah, no. That sounds pretty rough. Uh, you do know people go permanently blind from detached retinas, right? So, assuming you made it out in one piece, you probably should be feeling pretty lucky you were on the ball and had the good treatment.
TNP knows (or knew) at least one blind person he or she was close to, as a friend.
Some acquaintances, but no friends, I'd have to say.
(Sorry, RET, for your eye problems. PM me if I may help).
TNP has heard of Lombardy Pudding Elk.
A what? no, that's a big false. What, like made of Elk (or what some Europeans call "moose"?
TNP has never been hunting.
stop calling our comrade a retard! he's had a rough day!
True. If I shoot an animal, it will only be with a camera.
(Lombardy Pudding Elk are a running gag on the SDMB).
TNP has a hunter in the family.
Nope. Well, maybe a cousin or two -- I really don't know.
TNP has some hearing damage.
Yes, I have a mild case of tinnitus. Not usually a problem.
TNP is following the Richard III reburial story.