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No, I haven't had more than a sip of Scotch since I can't remember when. Blended whiskeys, or bourbons? That's a different story.
TNP will name his or her comestible or potable equivalent of Popeye's cans of spinach that inspires him or her to do productive things.
Coffee. Without it, work is unthinkable.
TNP now owns a large assortment of face masks.
I have three, all sewn by my very skilled wife: a blue one, a green one, and one with a Cleveland Indians logo pattern.
TNP has a favorite restaurant he or she particularly misses not having gone to lately.
No. I have visited a "restaurant" whose food I've regularly liked in the past, but, while I'm pretty sure I'm an idiot, I'm not sure I've graduated into covidiot status. Probably, but aren't we all covidiots, deep down?
It's worth it for a quiet beer or two, on occasion, while maintaining distance, as much as possible, but I just don't think the food is worth it. Spraying bits of particles between mouthfuls of food all around...perhaps I just need better table manners.
Nearly ready-to-eat grocery store foods: frozen pizzas, hot dogs and buns, or frozen burritos? TNP will choose! And choose TNP must! And will do so!
Hot dogs and buns. The other two are for teenagers and stoners.
TNP thinks the Chicago style hot dog is the ultimate form of the food.
I like 'em fine, but I'd really rather have an all-beef bit of heaven from the Hot Dog Shoppe in East Liverpool, Ohio, just with ketchup and melted cheddar, please, along with a big-ass basket of cheese fries. Mmmm.
TNP has used a red pen in the past hour.
No. I only use red Sharpies to mark out the three days of each week I abstain from alcohol on the calendar [you know, to let the liver dry out a bit and also in a vain attempt to "diet"], and I haven't decided what today will bring.
TNP has ever submitted a plea of "no contest" to a non-criminal violation along with an explanatory letter to the court. TNP can provide the results, if he or she feels like it.
No, although I have had some minor traffic charges dismissed after an explanatory phone call or a letter.
TNP would visit London tomorrow if finances and the pandemic permitted it.
No. I'd prefer it if I kept my virgin streak of never having visited the British isles intact. They're more than welcome to send some war brides over for me to paw at, but in these uncertain times, I don't think they would. Not the best ones, anyway.
TNP had a moment recently of thinking about going into a haircuttery, then thought, "meh, fuck it, it's Covidtown!"
Yeah, even though they’ve reopened here, seems like more trouble than it’s worth. Will probably get my wife to cut my hair, like she did for the kid.
TNP hasn’t been in an elevator in three months.
No, I was on one on Thursday. Only two people allowed on at a time, and there are big stickers on the floor to remind you to maintain six-foot-away social distancing.
TNP listened to some Sousa on July 4th.
No. I was thinking about it, in a kind of perverse way, as in, "Yeah, let them call the sherriffs and explain that the Sousa music on the fourth of July is too loud." But, fortunately, the howling beasts and raving maniacs were somewhat incapacitated or otherwise less troublesome, so there was no need to attempt to equilibrate the noise.
TNP is very much not amused by fireworks. Not at all.
If they're too loud, and too close, and go on too late (all of which they have, lately), no, I'm really not.
TNP has bought fireworks in the past month.
Nah, literally can’t remember the last time I bought any.
TNP is living in an area that’s having a heat wave.
True. It has been a bit toasty of late, but after 9 last night we were finally able to turn off the A/C and open the windows.
TNP isn't sure he or she could survive the summer without air conditioning.
Far from it. Good Holland-Dozer-Holland tune, though, courtesy of Martha Vandella and the Vandelles! Whoops, too slow on the draw.
Yeah, I can do no AC no prob: jockey shorts, wifebeaters and some cold, cold beer. It's proof that God hates us and wants us to be miserable.
TNP has tried fitted ball-caps, from manufacturers like FlexFit (I guess is one of the main manufacturers), and is never going back to any kind of adjustable cap.
I have, and IF they fit, that's fine. But too often they're just not quite right, so the adjustable ones are better.
TNP owns more than three baseball caps.
Probably, but I only like the current one that fits my 7 ¾ melon. WITHOUT that little strap of velcro or plastic on the back, thank you very much! The rest can go to hell, or have been lost or are in unknown parts around my domicile.
TNP has ever bought or acquired two or more of the identical pieces of clothing (mark, maker, size, color, model number, everything identical) because it was just good. For example, white dress shirts, or ballcaps, for that matter.
Yes, some Charles Tyrwhitt dress shirts and L.L. Bean button-down shirts that I liked and wanted to have more than one of.
TNP has no shoes on right now.
Damn right. If at home, no shoes on. I'll be strapping on the steel-toed boots in not too long, so, that's the rule.
TNP is amazed that the product "Shoe Goo" still exists, and would use it to repair some hiking shoes or trail runners.
I am, a little, yeah. But I suppose anything useful can probably be found somewhere.
TNP owns a stopwatch (one not on a phone).
Absolutely. Several, in fact. It's one of the main reasons I wear a watch with a chronograph, aside from, you know, telling what time it is. The circular slide rule on the bezel....I'm ashamed to say doesn't get very much use, but it is neat, in a barely-useful way. The only thing it lacks that would be very handy is a little magnetic compass (in addition to lacking a date complication, but I pride myself on knowing what day it is mostly).
TNP finds it useful to set up clocks on computers, say, to display different time zones simultaneously, including UTC/Zulu/GMT. Of course in the 24-hour system.
Not useful, I guess, but kind of cool. I've set the World Clock screen on my smartphone for the times of London, Cairo, Tokyo and McMurdo Station in Antarctica (+6, +7, +14 and +17 hours, respectively, from EST).
TNP would like to visit Antarctica someday.
Yeah. That's one of the very few places on the top of my list to live. Unfortunately, there's a bunch of red tape: you can't really just up and rent a room at McMurdo and chill out (?!) for a while, AFAIK. They're kind of particular, you know, is my understanding.
TNP would rather live in Finland than Norway (yes, given that there are various regions of each country that are somewhat disparate, but in general).
I have no particular desire to live in either place, but I've seen far more beautiful pictures of Norway than I have of Finland, and Finland's proximity to Putin's aggressive Russia is slightly troubling, so I'll have to say no. But I'd be willing to visit both countries post-COVID.
TNP has been to both Finland and Norway.
I've been to neither! But Finland is such an oddly egalitarian culture, with an odd language, and with ... it's just odd. So, speaking and reading/writing a tiny bit of Finnish, I'd go there in a second if I could figure out a way to get some time off while TCB of my stuff here in the meantime. Long plane ride, anyway, from PDT.
TNP thinks the NATO alliance is kind of a relic, almost quaint, but probably serves some purposes that aren't completely dim-witted or nefarious in intent.
Definitely. I have a much higher opinion of NATO than that guy in the White House these days.
TNP knew that J.R.R. Tolkien based his Elvish language Quenya, in part, on Finnish: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quenya
Well, yeah. I think it was you yourself who said that not too long ago! [Excursus: it is true that Finnish has fifteen grammatical cases, but it's not really very difficult. Most of them are locative cases, and then you have the usual ablative in extended, metaphorical uses, the genitive, and the very peculiar use of what they call the partitive case. Which is, indeed, much like the partitive in English or French or any number of other languages, but they really get the maximum use out of that one. Beyond that, it's that the lexicon is not at all related to Slavic or Romance or other Indo-European languages. So, yes, there are quite a few borrowed words from mostly the continent or the British isles, but the bulk of the language has very little to do with any of that.]
TNP would be angered, or at least upset, if he or she were obliged to learn a specific minoritarian language throughout lower education, such as the Finns do with Swedish language, and to some extent German, because of history and stuff.
Definitely. I have no particular skill and languages and would not appreciate such an obligation.
TNP has shaken someone's hand today.
No. Not for months. Even before the dark days began, fist bump was much more de rigueur, though.
TNP thinks the "newer" elbow-bump (to replace the ever-popular fist-bump) is pretty fly.
Eh. I'd just as soon stay six feet away, if I can.
TNP has taken part in a trivia game in the past two weeks.
Nope. Not unless playing "stump the chumps" with you guys or at a piano forum counts. :)
TNP can give one singularly persuasive argument to read JRRT's Lord of the Rings. Preferably in more than several words, but less than, I don't know, like a million, or something.
It’s incredibly entertaining. Forget about it being the foundation of modern fantasy and all that, it is a joy to read. ( I don’t know if that’s enough words, but it’s what I got.)
TNP is travelling someplace farther than the supermarket in the next few weeks.
Not really if one says a 10km radius. Don't need to go farther than that.
TNP is pretty good at converting metric to imperial British units in one's head, but not the best.
No, I have no skill for that at all.
TNP has dealt with paper recycling in the past day or two.
No. I just throw it all in the trash. If the damned dictator of the free world doesn't even know Finland's a country, or feigns ignorance, what's more little bit of cardboard going to do.
TNP has recently heard a pretty amazing battle of the birds lately. Literally, birds. And believes there was at least one casualty. But cannot say which flock triumphed in the end.
Yes, I saw a red-tailed hawk being driven away from a grove of trees by quite a few of what might have been chickadees not long ago. I think the hawk was uninjured but definitely lost that dispute.
TNP likes avian raptors generally.
Sure. I like the seeing various types of owls back when I was commuting well before dawn descend across the roadway in a very determined fashion...I don't know, going after some small rodent or perhaps something much larger. There are plenty of neat birds, and among the raptors there's no exception.
TNP is slightly confused that various federal enforcers deployed against protestors in parts of the US are indeed part of the best solution to hold civilian local and state law enforcement accountable. Not confused, exactly, but it's partly ironic and partly incongrous, the nearly universal vitriol among what seems to be a proponderance of activists.
I'd say the guy in the White House seems to have a hard time distinguishing between peaceful protesters and violent mobs - or, more likely, it suits his political agenda to mix the two.
TNP has been to Portland in the past five years.
Oh, yeah I heard of that. I'd not recommend visiting. It's ugly, the people are stupid hippies, everyone drives like they're hillbillies on crack, and the cops are not chill. Some good dive bars relatively free of hipsters, though.
TNP does not think there's anything juvenile or ridiculous about holding various nations and their cultures responsible for their actions in the past, say ninety years. Such as abstaining from buying their automobiles, or whatever.
It's not juvenile or ridiculous, but it's not something I would do. My family had a young Japanese exchange student stay with us for awhile when I was a kid. She was as smart, kind and friendly as could be, but faced some racist hostility in my small Ohio hometown from people who blamed her for what her militaristic countrymen had done years before she was even born.
TNP is reading a really good book these days.
Yes. I'm reading (possibly rereading: I some notes in the margins in my hand, but I don't recall making them) Beckett's Watt and Murphy, sort of treating them as one book. Watt is pure comedy, but Murphy takes the prize as the better novel.
TNP, when having to call via the telephone the IRS (US federal taxation bureau), finds it necessary to schedule approximately an entire day to perform the task. And finds this to be absurd.
Yes, the Federal bureaucracy can be infuriating. I advise you to keep 'em on speakerphone so that you don't have to hold the phone up to your ear the whole time, and take careful notes as to who you talk to so you can let higher-ups or later contacts know to whom you've already spoken, and what they told you.
TNP thinks that's good advice.
It's very good advice. I can't remember the last time I did a phone thing and didn't have pen/cil and paper ready to note time, contact, and all that. I'm no Karen, mind you, it just has aways seemed better to keep good records. No, I can't deal with speakerphone, though: I find it unsettling both as an auditor and as an orator.
TNP finds, damn the trees, it's best to keep groups of records or discrete printed matter scrupulously devoted to their own file folders.
Yes, where possible. I often prefer to keep hard copies of records.
TNP has looked through a telescope in the past month.
No. Lots of light pollution, and even if I find myself in good position under favorable conditions, just the naked eye (perhaps with corrective lenses i.e. eyeglasses) is enough to satisfy me that I can still spot the obvious constellations.
TNP is now or has ever made it a little mission to teach younger relatives how to properly use a map and a compass to navigate, for it is in TNP's view a very important skill which requires practice.
No, not since my Scouting days.
TNP has seen a non-pet rabbit in the past week.
Yeah. They, well, apparently they breed like rabbits. AFAICT their diet consists of much more than a gardener's carrots or other root vegetables, since they clearly thrive in areas devoid of cultivated plant matter.
TNP has done a real crossword puzzle recently (WSJ's weekly, NYT, etc.).
No, not in years. Not a crossword guy, although I enjoy Scrabble and Bananagrams.
TNP has played either of those games in the past week.
Nah. I do have a Scrabble set somewhere, but I just don't especially enjoy the game. People always arguing about what the words are, not respecting the dictionary. And they got rid of some of the best words, so eff that noise. I have no idea what a Bananagram is, and I don't think I care to investigate! :) Besides I'd have to have friends to play those. Not for me!
TNP, if one were inclined to acquire and train a beast to respond perfectly to voice control, could probably set aside historical connotations and use a German Shepherd for the task.
German Shepherds are fine, but Labrador Retrievers are my favorite dogs (with corgis a close second). But just the same, I'd rather have a cheetah: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drq_ww7Ytzw
Bananagrams is a lot of fun - I think I've mentioned it here before. It's like Scrabble, but you can move around your own tiles as needed, and you're racing the other players: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bananagrams
TNP wants pizza for dinner.
No, I eat quite a lot of pizza, and too much of it in one sitting. "Chinese" takeout, rather. And a pint of whiskey for good measure! Very traditional Chinese menu!
TNP will be spending the minimum amount of time in direct sunlight this summer that is possible. Or TNP perhaps wears a large Pancho Villa style sombrero!
Probably, less to preserve my skin than because the ‘Rona has pretty much reduced me to sitting around the house watching old movies.
TNP could eat a donut right now.
Yes. But then, that's usually true.
TNP has a favorite kind of donut.
Glazed old fashioned, I suppose. Simple, easy to eat, easy to order. I'd eat one if it came to a choice between raw monkey brains and the donut, for sure.
TNP has not found in the US any single bakery that makes a good croissant, i.e., that doesn't skimp on the pâté I mean the butter. Pathetic.
Yes, but what about chilled monkey brains...?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNZ63iwnn5M
I must have low standards for croissants. I think I've had lots of good ones here in the States.
TNP likes banjo music.
Yeah. Well, I guess there's a lot of different types of music that uses banjo, but I can listen to Earl Scruggs or someone using his technique and that groove all day. Sorry, Bela Fleck fans, but I can't follow his groove.
TNP would not have said anything if, for example, at a small chain convenience store the check-out gal deliberately rung up, say one pack of cigarettes while delivering two, as asked for. And one is sure she did it deliberately, probably just for her own reasons or TNP was, as usual, exceptionally polite and cheerful.
No, I would politely say, "Miss, thank you, but please charge me for both packs." I don't want to either encourage, or benefit from, employee theft.
My wife and I went to a Bela Fleck concert some years ago, having heard all kinds of rapturous reviews of his music, and were unimpressed. Just meh.
TNP has watched Unorthodox on Netflix.
No. I've not even heard of it. But I'm OG, so I've been browsing DVD sets of the TV show The High Chaparral at the bad place that sends things to one's house. None of that fancy streaming radio waves for me, no sir! They got contrails on them is what they have is what I heard!
Well, I thought it was a bit odd, but that probably was the highlight of her day, getting to ring somebody up who didn't reek of marijuana, actually wore a mask, and was cheerful and polite to her. So, I let it go. It's only a few dollars, and it probably made her happy for a while. I'm sure they get a lot of shrinkage around there. Anyway, even if it's wrong, I don't consider it any of my business to interfere with her. Then again, I wouldn't rat out some random person I saw outright shoplifting either, or report anybody at work doing anything untoward, so, that's just how it is.
Yeah, Bela Fleck is an amazing technician, but BF < Earl Scruggs. IMHO.
TNP has recently been very frustrated at figuring out a puzzle-like problem, whether an element of a foreign language, a constructed puzzle of some kind, or whatever.
Not really, but arranging to get our DirecTV account turned off today was more of a pain in the ass than it should have been.
For more on Unorthodox (a very good Netflix miniseries): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9815454/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
TNP knows an Orthodox Jewish person.
Yes. Several. That's all I'm going to say.
TNP has a pretty powerful hankering for blood sausage, of any type, right now. No, that's not a double entendre, I mean actual blood sausage or perhaps blood pudding, depending on your terminology.
I have to admit I've never tried it, but the name is kind of a deterrent, so I'll have to say no. I like many other kinds of sausage, though.
TNP wants eggnog with rum and a little nutmeg on top, even though it's nowhere near Christmas.
No. No. The weather's pretty warm for a cream-based drink. Still use milk in coffee and the occasional tea, but I don't feel like the "wintery" warm spices.
TNP is not happy to have someone hand him or her a drink at some festivity unless her or she sees the barman or barmaid make it in front of his or her eyes. In fact, TNP would go so far as to say (sottto voce), no thank you, I'll have a club soda and mix his her own drink in private outside. Some peopel got no class, I'm telling you. What is your bottom shelf liquor so fancy?
Yeah, I'd be a bit wary of that even pre-COVID.
TNP needs to buy some scissors.
Eventually I'll need a new pair, given how often I use these Fiskars including cutting paper and never sharpening them. They're still going strong, though, and as long as they can cut nosehairs, that's good enough for now. I really don't want to have to make a special trip out to some fabric store and buy new ones, so I'll pretend they still do a good job, and maybe use some fine-grit sandpaper to hone them and probably use them until the day I die.
TNP does not ever open the door after the sun goes down, even if one suspects it might be a LEO. Never.
Nah, I will open the door if I think it’s safe.
TNP likes Fernet Branca.
You know, that's one liqueur I've never had. I was just now this morning at a local arboretum admiring a tree of the genus "sambuca" or "sambucca" and thinking, "hmmm, that's probably where they get the flavor of sambuca, I guess."
TNP could easily see oneself as an older man, maybe a few pounds heavier, sitting on a terrace somewhere outside in the shade sipping on small glasses of various liqueurs, watching the shadows grow longer.
Only if I can have a snazzy hat, and a beautiful, much younger woman gazing adoringly at me from the seat beside me.
TNP thinks that could happen.
Ha. First laugh of the day. And it's about the end of the day for me. Nah, I don't go perving on the younger gals, but we get along OK. Everyone knows which way is pointed where and women aren't stupid. They know what it is, so it's no big deal.
TNP has felt the cold, disapproving eye of a woman once today. You know, bartender, random lady, whatever. You know what I mean. That look.
No, it's been quite awhile, even pre-pandemic, since that happened to me.
TNP counts an elderly woman among his best friends.
Sorry to say, but I've not the pleasure. I did have a dream about my former mentor Avital Ronell a few nights ago, but I wouldn't call her "elderly." No, it was not an erotic dream, just blah blah doing stuff with books. I dont think people in their sixties or whatever are exactly "old." Just mature, I suppose.
TNP has recently met somebody with an improbable given name and had a hard time trying to suppress laughter. For example, if one meets a person with the name "Darby," how can one not think of Darby O'Gill and the Little People. Just an example.
Better TNP: TNP thinks using glue traps for mice is abhorrent, but has considered it, possibly to this very day.
No, never have. We find a little bit of chocolate or a gumdrop usually suffices to trap them.
TNP has had a gumdrop in the past three days.
No. I know what those are, but, I don't really want to get them stuck in my teeth. But by all means, don't let me stop you, as I'm sure it won't.
Gumdrops That's an excellent idea! I'll look forward to it on my next dozen mousetraps!
TNP thinks it's both one of the greater pleasures and mistakes in life to become too intimate with, let's say, a woman, or whatever. In that once it begins, it's difficult to halt.
"Too intimate" is certainly in the eye of the beholder, but yes, I'd agree. Having just celebrated my 30th wedding anniversary, it hasn't been a problem for me for awhile, though.
BTW, there's this crazy thing the kids these days are all calling "Wikipedia": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gumdrop
TNP has three green pens within arm's reach.
Nope. Not one of my favorite colors.
Damn you, everyone knows what a gumdrop candy is! Now the mice have probably heard, and I don't want to buy a thing of peanut butter! Shit. I have had good luck with bacon grease studded with bits of fortune cookies (I never eat those, so I have dozens in those little cellophane bags). Nutella would work, but I don't know that mice are all that picky. They sure do not like that "kill bar," as it's called, though, so I suppose they're somewhat intelligent. More than me, anyway.
If TNP was teaching, she or he would use or has used a nice red pen or a 4B or even 6B pencil to strike out errors of his or her students. No matter what they say, or how much they complain. I like the softer graphite idea: never tried it. Do a little closed Halmos box over every error and make it exceptionally dark.
Yes, when I'm editing, I prefer to use the red Flair PaperMate pens, but those are harder and harder to find these days, it seems.
TNP wants to hear "The Politics of Dancing": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8BBob7o6a4
No. I really would not. Now or ever.
TNP has become very frustrated discussing sociology and politics recently with somebody....and finds it very....frustrating, I suppose is the word.
Yes, I seem to keep hearing the same election-year arguments and laments over and over. It gets a bit tiresome.
TNP will be voting by mail this year.
Nah, I figured just hole up in a cabin on the outskirts of civilization is probably a more produtive idea. Sort of do a *Red Dawn*/Unabomber kind of thing. Seems reasonable.
TNP is pretty much horrified by the lengths people go to in order that they can make or buy a nerd "real doll," and yet doesn't have a better solution for the whole incel "movement" or whatever their deal is. How does one exterminate nerd culture, anyway, if one contends that is the probem? Perhaps give them all their own nerd real dolls isn't the worst idea, however many unforeseen problems that might create.
IOW TNP sees there's a problem, but doesn't know how to solve it.
True of just about everything for me, sadly.
TNP would like to once again experience just sleeping through a night, without waking up even once.
That would be nice. I'd also welcome not having diarrhea nearly every morning. Nor being in a consistently foul mood verging on the pathological. But this ain't candyland, son!
TNP is going with Biden (US presidential candidate)'s pronunciation of the prename "Kamala" (namely, accent on the first syllable).
I think that's correct, so yes, I will.
TNP will be sending out at least three pieces of snail mail today.
No. None. It's occasionally necessary, but I find it offensive, just as much as receiving a telephone call.
TNP has at least once in his or her life been aghast that others have not assisted an automobilist in need of a simple thing like a jump start for his or her car battery, and assumes both that (i) the offending party is ignorant of the procedure and that (ii) he or she is a dickwad. FTR I gave a jump to somebody just today. Took five minutes, at most. Granted, I ran my alternator for quite a bit more than usual, but, still.
No, I don't think I've really noticed that. By the same token, I don't stop for every car that's pulled off to the side of the road.
TNP has seen Airplane! in the past week (and don't call me Shirley).
Yes I have. So if I can't call you Shirley, you must be Otto, right? Good man, very reponsive people, them.
TNP actually knows somebody IRL named Shirley, and finds it's an unusually out-of-time name.
TNP can name more than two movie characters from well known movies with the first name "Otto"
Hmm. Lemme think... uh... no, just the Airplane! autopilot, and Otto the remarkably stupid criminal with poor impulse control from A Fish Called Wanda (Kevin Kline won an Oscar for playing him).
TNP agrees with me that Kline really earned his Oscar for that role: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YKbYLb5GVc
No, I do not. I may be a bad nerd, but I don't think Mr. Kline is very amusing at all. In addition to Otto from Repo Man, that does make more than duple, so you win that trick. Ah!!! you didn't name more than two Ottos, so you lose!
But the thread wins. I think it's in the bible somewhere. It is written!
TNP has been halfway thinking of baking some bread recently. Even though it's a PITA to do without a good stand mixer and do it all by hand. If not, TNP will explain what his or her major malfunction is, being not baking bread!
Because you can buy perfectly good bread at the store, and I'm no baker (or cook, really).
TNP has a habit of quoting Full Metal Jacket.
I wouldn't know. I drew fire watch on my last day at the island. The book is kind of: I didn't know they stacked shit that high. Good movie, though. Outstanding.
TNP is a little bit (i) blind and (ii) deaf, and thinks it's no good.
I'm a little nearsighted and my hearing is not quite what it once was ("What was that, sonny? Speak up, damn ye!"), so yeah, I'd have to agree.
TNP has big plans for the weekend.
Not so much. Drink plenty of water, and try to sleep as much as possible. Maybe go have an absurd amount of food at a bar.
TNP has in recent memory placed a somewhat ridiculous order at a restaurant, like "two eggs, over hard, wheat toast, no potatoes, side of french fries, bacon, side of bacon, side order of two eggs, over hard. And a Pabst."
Don't think so, no (and particularly not since the pandemic hit).
TNP has listened to Mozart recently.
No. Not any music really except playing James Brown albums and those by others in the car at maximum volume, except for reading on paper some new (to me) editions/engravings of some small Bach pieces.
TNP has come the conclusion that there are some strange people, whether of Finnish descet or not, on the internet, and that it's better to pursue light-hearted, mutually satisfactory banter in all cases. There are some strange people, man. Yeah, I see the irony given my position as an occasional chatty-Cathy, but, it can get pretty weird, man.
Yeah, that's usually a good approach, I'd say.
TNP has two separate Zoom calls scheduled today, plus doing laundry.
No. I've never used Zoom or Skype, nor any of their competitors, if they exist.
TNP does not find the popular "meme"-like notion that the Nordic countries and their public policies are directly relevant to states of affairs in the Americas.
Generally true, although the Swedish prison system seems much more humane and effective than that of the U.S., from what I've read.
TNP has watched more than five minutes of either the Democratic or Republican national conventions.
Nope. Of course, I’m Canadian.
TNP is getting used to watching the sports without crowds, and only occasionally wants to weep mid game.
TBH, I didn't even really notice in baseball until somebody pointed out the superimposed heads on the bleachers on the televised broadcasts. I've never noticed in basketball during these "difficult times," just seems like normal play. The guys are moving around so much, can't bother to look at the crowds. Go Bucks!
TNP would describe himself or herself as a "casual" fan of a given sport, or a true disciple.
Casual fan of baseball, even less so of football, basketball, soccer and hockey.
TNP saw someone wearing a bowtie today.
Sure. George Will appears nightly in my dreams, taunting me with his Vulcan logic.
TNP has had been or plans to soon be tested for CV-19 with the good old nose-plunger-stick method.
No, don't think I'll need to anytime soon. I do have my temperature taken every morning I go to court, though.
TNP ought to buy some new shoes.
Nah, what’s the point, I don’t go anywhere.
TNP will probably never buy another suit.
Probably untrue, but it might be awhile. I'm pretty well set for now with the ones I have.
TNP has seen the Harrison Ford movie Air Force One in the past year.
No, I've never seen it. I've heard President "Ford" was rather insistent that various people "get off [his] plane," though.
TNP is pretty fond of steel toed shoes, or at least the idea of them, if not the added weight.
Yeah, haven’t worn them in decades, but I am glad my kid wears them at his golf course job.
TNP likes to watch schlocky old drive-in movies.
Nah, not really my cup of tea. My faves tend to be action movies, sf, fantasy, mysteries, historical dramas or romcoms.
TNP has seen a good movie in one of those categories in the past week.
Oh, I couldn't really say if it's been a week or ten days. Probably the latter. Maybe even a fortnight ago. I did rewatch the John Wick movies and found them Wickier than ever, in a good sense. Sure, I suppose sometime in that time, the answer should be 'affirmative.'
TNP has given the classic "dead-eyed stare" directly at a violator at work (maybe this is just my technique, but you look directly at the violator in his or her eyes, sort of unfocus your eyes, and hold the gaze for quite a while). Optional, after six or seven seconds, walk away, slowly shaking one's head.
Alternate TNP: TNP thinks whatever "big man upstairs" should really not give TNP the role of enforcing certain workplace rules.
Because, then, you get the jizzelbin treatment. And nobody wants that.
Yes, I've given my own Death Glare to people not acting safely during the pandemic. You do not want to see my Death Glare.
TNP has heard birdsong today.
I sure have. Earlier today I heard what I believe to have been my beloved Steller's Jays scratching around under the eaves doing...whatever they do. Countless other bird songs and other bird stuff. There's a bird's nest in the warehouse which I couldn't see, but my buddy Ra Teasha warned me off standing directly underneath it. "Why?" I asked? "You don't want bird shit on your head, do you?" Still couldn't see it without my glasses on, but I believe that's a true fact.
TNP thinks if some PITA dickwad contractor POS asks for your name in an adversarial work setting, an appropriate response is to say, "I'm Spartacus," and then walk away.
If you are not legally required to answer him, sure! Better yet if coworkers will chime in with "I'm Spartacus, too!" "No, I'm Spartacus!" and "They're full of shit, pal; I'm Spartacus!"
TNP wishes he or she had a chin like Kirk Douglas.
Hmmm....yeah, it was quite a chin. I'm happy enough with my strong chin, although there may be multiple, despite me being in OK physical shape. I wouldn't mind having his voice though, or at least be able to do a good impersonation of him. Yeah, he was definitely sui generis, that son of a rag-picking bitch. Love that guy: they broke the mold with him, for sure.
Aside: yeah, a chorus of coworkers would have been great, but even my dozen or so people I know pretty well there, maybe only two or three of the older ones would have picked up on the riff, and, anyway, it was a Walking Tall situation, just me versus a pack of violators.
TNP thinks snapping one's fingers to get someone's attention after failures at verbal intervention is completely appropriate. Maybe "on the edge," but still reasonable.
Yes, if nothing else works. I'm more likely just to raise my voice.
TNP has a coffee mug within arm's reach right now.
I did at the time of the posting: nice big cup of coffee, whole mik, good and hot. And the Jizzelbin looked upon it, drank of it, and said it was good. Now I have a nice cold 24 oz. (sorry Commonwealth people, you'll have to do your own arithmetic this time :)) can of Steel Reserve 211 "Extra Malted Barley & Select Hops for Extra Gravity" where my coffee mug used to be.
TNP does not disparage instant coffee, for it is simple, potable, efficient, but has never been so desperate as to put the dessicated grounds directly in one's mouth, as one sees sometimes in the movies. For that may be a bridge too far.
It's not ideal, but I have drunk instant coffee now and then. I have indeed never been so desperate as to put coffee grounds directly into my mouth. Bleccch.
TNP prefers tea to coffee anyway.
In theory, a small cup of tea is more civilized and restrained than a giant mug or thermos of coffee, but I find tea (not herbal tea) to be a bit too acidic for me to take in quantity.
TNP has ever been as happy of a small purchase as I, namely, a dog "clicker" training device, to be used on people at work.
Read carefully "as proud as": it doesn't matter the device, just the degree of satisfaction.
And, no, children don't count as devices.
Yes, I just bought some cufflinks from the U.S. Capitol Historical Society that I like very much.
TNP has been inside the U.S. Capitol.
No, I've never been down to DC at all.
TNP has responded recently to a RL enquiry about, say, "Hey, Olympi* National Park, you been there? How do you get in there? There's roads right?" Or something equally ridiculous (Olymp* forest is huge, so no answer is going to be adequate). Something ridiculous, like "what's the main road into Ontario" or "How do you get to Lake Erie."
Ahhh. People are funny.
Oddly enough, no, nothing like that has come up.
TNP hopes to have pizza this weekend.
Yeah, I was thinking about it, but then I opened the fridge and remembered I didn't even eat half of the fried chicken I had yesterday.
TNP enjoys the fried chickens, but finds it hard to not think of a greasy jazz musician, say, Bird, or Paul Whiteman, sitting in the backseat of a taxi in NYC devouring such with gusto.
Not until you mentioned it, no, but now I can certainly see it in my mind's eye. Somehow I more readily think of Elvis happily tucking into fried chicken, though. And I loves me some fried chicken, too!
TNP has used the phrase "I loves me some...." in the past week.
No, I've never used that phrase ever, to the best of my knowledge. But I do hates me some peanut butter and nanner sandwiches, probably!
TNP is just about had enough of this mask and social distancing bullshit, especially with no end in sight. It's really getting to be quite enough: not a good way to live day-to-day for the indefinite future, not for me and certainly the increase of social hostility can probably be partly blamed on this frustration.
Well, had enough in that I am unhappy. Not in that I am going to give up on something that’s been working and endanger myself and my wife.
TNP has been drinking more the past few months.
Yeah. I don't know about more: maybe even a bit less, but it's just messing up my sleep quality too much, so that's got to be ratcheted down statim. Not optimal.
TNP is very much pessimistic that this CV-19 crap is ever going to end, or at least stabilize.
No, I'm optimistic. This too shall pass, even though it's already taken too damn long. And that said, I agree with RET's sentiments entirely.
It's now raining outside where TNP lives.
Nope. Hot as balls.
TNP thinks a worthy task for all ambulatory humans, young and old, is to master the "moonwalk" dance step. Difficult (IMHO) but so worth it!
If you wanna, go ahead. Not sure how "worthy" it is, though.
TNP could go for some blue cheese on a cracker right now.
Yeah, that sounds just perfect. Of course I'm making do with a frozen "Screamin' Sicilian" brand pepperoni pizza, after it cools off in temperature a bit. I guess that's pretty much grain and cheese, but not as good as a chèvre on a morcel of baguette or cracker, or any of various blue cheeses.
TNP has ever found a cheese so....interesting....that one has been tempted to prosleytize in its favor, such as Brunost (Norwegian brown cheese).
I have, as a matter of fact! I'm a big fan of Maytag blue cheese (from a dairy farm founded by a guy from the washing-machine company's family). VERY good stuff: https://www.maytagdairyfarms.com/
TNP has been on a dairy farm in the past ten years.
No, it's been a bit longer than lot.
TNP has been in a working barn, hayloft an everything, in the past, say twenty years.
No, it would've been longer ago for me, too.
TNP can hear a coworker speaking from where he or she is now.
No, no, and hell no. Although some of them are pretty low-key and amusing to chat with.
TNP has ever looked at electrical diagrams for a car and thought "Hell no, fuck this."
Nah, but I would.
TNP has a lot of trouble following instructions that aren’t in written form.
I have a lot of trouble following instructions period, unless I'm convinced they would be ones I would have created for myself.
TNP can remember the last time he or she replaced a fuse (you know, such that you might find in a fuse box, not the stick of dynamite kind of fuse).
God, no. Probably closer to 40 years ago than 30.
TNP can remember the last time they flipped a circuit breaker.
Sure. Not the exact specific time, but recently-ish. I sometimes toggle them to check if something's screwed up. Not too often, but it happens.
TNP has ever been in the near proximity of very large forest fires.
No, fortunately. I've seen footage and they look freakin' scary.
TNP is friends with a firefighter.
I think he's still a friend. We've talked recently and he doesn't live too far away now, by coincidence. As it were a former forest-fire fighter (I don't know what the term is). One of my crew back in the day, playing music, eating a bunch of acid, working in restaurants. Little guy, you know: tough, but not a big hulking dude. He went off to northern California and joined a brigade of professional backwoods firefighters for at least a few years.
TNP carries or wears a few medallions, ornaments, or such pretty much and doesn't think it's too ridiculous. I'll exclude wedding bands, because while those fit the description, are too ubiquitous.
No, other than my wedding band, as you mentioned.
TNP heard rainfall today.
No. That would be nice.
TNP must choose between (i) Paul Masson's Emerald Dry and (ii) André's Cold Duck. Even if one has not tasted both in a refined, controlled setting.
I'll go with the Cold Duck, because at least I've heard of that.
TNP prefers duck à l'orange to Cold Duck.
Nah. I think a chicken leg or two and a bottle of Cold Duck or two sounds better.
(Paul Masson's "Emerald Dry" is one of the products hawked by Orson Welles on TV commercials, as in "Drink no wine before its time." I have never seen it in a grocery, ever, much less drank it. Cold Duck is not bad at all. A cheap sparkling wine, and it has a badass jazz tune named after it, "Cold Duck Time.")
TNP could probably be convinced to drink reindeer urine to get the effects of the amanita muscaria mushroom without the pesky toxins.
LOL. No, thanks, I'm good.
TNP thinks Reindeer Urine would be a great band name.
Sure, it's OK. That sounds like something some musicians would come up with. "We should call ourselves 'Reindeer Urine' in tribute man, like it's our origin story, right in the name! And they have to play it on the radio because it's the proper name for it, man!"
TNP has been very recently disappointed to find a local store no longer stocks a desired specialty item.
Nah, would have to go to stores for that to happen.
TNP is in a funk.
No, I'm feeling pretty good, despite all the crazy stuff in the world right now. (Hope you're doing OK, RET - just remember you have friends here who want only the best for you).
TNP would like to travel a lot more once the pandemic passes.
Lots more. Used to have fun trips every summer, this year just made it to Niagara Falls for a few days.
TNP has a favourite musical.
If I had to pick just one, it would be G&S's Mikado, in a production of which I appeared in high school. But I also like (off the top of my head and after checking the Tony listings on Wikipedia) Hamilton, 1776, Les Miserables, Fiddler on the Roof, The Pirates of Penzance, H.M.S. Pinafore, Jersey Boys, The Lion King, Guys and Dolls, My Fair Lady, The Music Man, Five Guys Named Moe, Godspell, Xanadu and some others that I'm sure I'm forgetting.
TNP has seen and enjoyed at least three of those.
Oh, sure. We did and toured HMS Pinafore in high school around the PNW in the US for about ten days or two weeks. I was a sailor! Some good tunes. 1776 is great. "Sit down, John, sit down! Someone open up a window!" And I like the tunes from My Fair Lady: a lot of them became instrumental jazz standards. Good melodies and harmonies. And, yes, sometimes when washing dishes I inexpertly try to sing "These Are My Friends" from Sweeney Todd (sp). I'm just a very happy man, is all!
TNP has recently opened a case with HR in very strongly worded language, including words like "demand" and "expect" or whatever.
Alternate TNP: TNP knows what the standard US IRS (taxation federal bureau) deduction is per mile. And knows how to use it.
No to both, although I have written some cross emails to HR when nothing else seems to get through (it took me months to get my accumulated vacation time, which I had been assured I could carry over from one job to the next, to be transferred).
TNP knew that today is Constitution Day in the U.S.
No. I'd have guessed it's /*something*/ day, like pie-eating day or something.
TNP wouldn't have any idea how to celebrate a "Constitution Day." Fireworks? Meh... I got nothing, so TNP tell us.
Maybe a toast at dinner? That's what I usually do on such a day.
TNP will be sleeping in on Sunday morning.
Anymore, if I don’t get up till 6:30 a.m. it counts as sleeping in. I doubt if I will manage that.
TNP likes getting their breakfast delivered on weekends.
Never have had that service, probably not even in a hotel, but that sounds excellent. Big plate of bacon, eggs, toast, potatoes, a cauldron of hot coffee, without messing up the kitchen? That sounds most excellent.
TNP has considered saying some very inappropriate, but likely historically accurate, things on "Talk Like a Pirate Day." Such as, "Take those pants off and get back in the barrel-with the hole in it, cabin boy!"
I did do some pirate-talking today, to mark the holiday, but nothing quite that raunchy.
TNP knows why the little kid wasn't able to see the new pirate movie.
It was “AAARRRR rated.”
TNP has hade an “Okay Boomer” directed towards them.
You got it as to the pirate movie.
No, no "OK Boomer" moments for me yet. Yet!
TNP will be going for a long walk today.
More like a forced march of many miles around the warehouse, but yes, true.
BTW, you all should be very grateful Rubes got the right answer to the joke: there are some answers I was thinking of that probably are not SFW.
TNP has pretty extreme fatigue from looking at backlit screens of various types too much.
Yeah, there have been days when I have definite Zoom fatigue, in particular.
TNP has been in at least four Zoom meetings in a single day.
Never. But if I had even one serious Zoom/Skype session, I would find it very difficult to keep from laughing the entire time.
TNP has ever felt like a champion for finding that a grocery store manager restocked a desired, rare product, such as Pabst Hard Coffee, about which I can tell you nothing, for it is not breakfast time yet.
Yes, a few times I've come to the right shelf at just the right moment like that. Bliss!
TNP has at least ten items on his or her current supermarket shopping list.
Oh yeah. I'm actually out of salt, if you can believe it. And numerous other basic food items. Plenty of sugar, though, from my winemaking days, plenty of yeast of all kinds, which kind of fills up most of my freezer.
TNP wants to see some awesome pictures of my feet with numerous failed attempts by bedbugs to get blood out of my feet. Bedbugs are not very perspicacious, IMHO.
LOL. Hard pass.
TNP has seen a rat in the past month, and not just the one on YouTube with the pizza slice on the NYC Subway.
Not that recently. The last time I saw one at someone else's abode, it startled the shit out of me.
TNP ever had a pet vermin, say, as a child. You know, like a rat, or a hamster, or a ferret, or a Richard Gere, or one of those abominations.
My sisters and I had gerbils and a rabbit back in the day. Don't know if those count.
TNP doesn't believe the urban legend about Richard Gere's visit to the ER.
Oh, sure, I believe it! I suspect there's a vast Hollywood network of secret gerbillers. They go by codenames. "Muskrat-Maverick." "Nutria-Nellie." And so forth. Not many people know that, but it's true.
TNP has never, to his or her knowledge, believed in a conspiracy theory, and yet takes no pride in that "accomplishment."
I suspect there's more to JFK's assassination than the Warren Commission uncovered or than we now know, but I don't think it was a vast conspiracy or that, for instance, LBJ orchestrated it.
TNP has been to Dealey Plaza.
Sir, that's that place where they shot Kennedy from the book suppository, sir!
TNP has never been to Texas.
False. Been to Houston and liked it okay, hope to get to a ballgame in Arlington if the world ever settles.
TNP likes peach ice cream.
Are you asking me if I like to take a bte of peach? As in the movie Wild At Heart? Well, I can't say as I wouldn't mind about now. Ice cream? No, don't care about that. Must be warm.
TNP has strong opinions about Ty "The Georgia Peach" Cobb baseball player, and if so, will say what they are.
I think he was an amazing ball player, with a lot of issues, who got unfairly saddled with a reputation as an insane racist, when there’s evidence that he was popular with his teammates and supported blacks in baseball.
TNP would have loved to see a deadball era baseball game.
Yeah. There are big patches of baseball history I'd like to have seen. Ty Cobb sliding with his cleats out, in at least one case regrettably putting a good catcher down with a broken collarbone or something. Gaylord Perry messing up the ball in play at the mound. Bob Gibson instigating a fistfight, also from the mound. Not all from the dead ball era, but just generally older moments from the game.
TNP can think of why a smaller mouse, probably a juvenile, would just be lying on the bathroom floor, immobile, likely dead already? No poisons were used. BTW that makes 7 kills in 6 days for me.
Are you using the Dark Side of the Force again?
Quote:
Originally posted by Elendil's Heir
Yes, but have you been there, Jizz?Quote:
Originally posted by Jizzelbin
TNP will have a milkshake tonight.
No. If I had some ice cream, I might consider doing what Nick Nolte's character in the movie Cannery Row did and have a beer milkshake, but, no.
No, I've not been to Dealey Plaza: it just seemed like a good place to drop in a Full Metal Jacket half-quote. And I don't use telekinesis on my enemies, rather just brawn, steel, and sheer will. Considering I'd killed six adults in as many days, and relocated one not long ago to a dumpster, it was likely starving, or maybe rabid or something. The toilet seat was open though! Full of man stew: got everything a young mouse needs!
TNP thinks Nick Nolte is hilarious as a butt of many jokes about his feral, drunken nature, despite thinking he was a pretty good actor.
Sure, I suppose. Can't say I've given him much thought. I liked him in 48 HRS.
TNP will watch the U.S. presidential debate on Tuesday.
No. I do have a TV, but I'm not going to bother plugging it in, or finding a place to put it. Besides, is it really a debate if one person speaks and the other jerks off? I can read the summaries or transcripts the next day. My mind is polluted enough with that consarnit Finnish language.
TNP genuinely did not think POTUS would have agreed to any kind of debate, and is kind of shocked. Seriously.
Yes, kind of.
TNP thinks that, for that matter, it might have been in Biden's best interests not to agree to debate.
No, that never occurred to me. Despite rumors, he's an articulate, informed man. At least in my limited capacity as observer.
TNP can explain why that would be good for the challenging candidate.
OK, here's a tricky TNP: TNP thinks Biden/Harris would lose none of their base, and possibly gain some, if Biden hewed to the Vatican RCC position on abortion. For right or wrong, it might be a canny, effective move, although probably too late. After all, I'm pretty sure he knows what the shorter Apostle's Creed is, even if he may not remember it in the correct, universal language of the Church. He still bears the indelible mark of the trinitarian baptism, AFAIK, but that may be a mark against him. After all, Pence has it too, although he became a heretic of some sect with considerable political power.
Or either TNP question: whichever is more interesting to TNP.
'Way too late for Biden to repeat the Vatican line on abortion now. He's been pro-choice for decades.
TNP has more than three kinds of postage stamps available at home.
Yeah, I think so. At least one "International Post" with a face value of like $0.50 USD somewhere. A few "Forever" stamps. And a bunch of US denomination out-dated stamps worth varying face values.
TNP is ... proud? maybe not the right word. satisfied, perhaps .... that he or she has not even overheard anti-Catholic sentiment in person for years and years. No, you needn't walk on eggshells about the answer....it's just kind of a hobby of mine, and I'm proud to have memorized all of the Latin the laiety is supposed to know, especially because I'm not a born memorizer.
TNP wants to know why it would be in the Biden/Harris ticket's interest to refuse a debate.
No, I think I know: because the President will bluster, and lie, and seem to dominate, and Biden will either not be able to counter him effectively or will say something truly stupid, as he is wont to do, that will be a big problem for him in the last weeks of the campaign.
TNP has replied to an online poll in the past month.
I don't think so. Maybe.
I see your point about the debate. They should probably disrobe, oil up, and do some old fashioned naked wrestling, like in the movie Women in Love. I'm sure there's an audience for that kind of thing. Putin would do it!
TNP is somewhat active on Reddit, on some limited topics.
Nope, not me.
TNP likes watching wrestling, whether or not oil is used.
No. Well, I should say "probably not," given that I've never seen a match of Greco-Roman or the fun kind with the costumes and everything. A student of mine in English Comp. was an undergraduate wrestler, and he wrote an essay about...I don't remember...something about wrestling. The way he was explaining it during office hours trying to figure out a topic for him to write on, it's a lot more complicated than I'd have thought, so I respect the sport.
TNP loves professional boxing, and doesn't really care so much that the combatants are likely to become permanently brain-damaged. After all, Cletus Bocephus the town drunk everyone loves probably acquires similar amounts of brain damage over the course of his career as village idiot.
No, never been interested in boxing at all, and the extensive brain-damage research isn't likely to make me a fan of the sport anytime soon.
TNP felt rain on his or her skin today.
Nope. Lot of sweat. "Rain of Man Who Make Water From Air." Or something.
TNP wouldn't think it were that great an idea to say goodbye on the way out of work to a group of coworkers by saying (amiably!) "Adios, muchachos!" Given that (i) he or she didn't realize a native Spanish speaking woman was going in my direction, who may not be very adept in English and especially (ii) I don't really think that's an appropriate thing to say in Spanish, regardless of how good my pronunciation. I think it might be the equivalent of doing a femme-y handwave and saying, "See you later, boys!" My reputation might have been spoiled! Never mind all that, just answer the TNP, muchos hombres.
Nah, I'd be fine with that. I've said it myself now and then.
TNP remembers that "Adios, muchachos" is actually a line in Aliens.
No. I don't remember that at all. Then again, most of my "Spanish" "skills" come from watching old Westerns and occasionally trading insults with people for fun and overhearing stuff. I still think I should have said "Adios, hombres!" but then again I wouldn't know.
TNP can think of a more ridiculous name to self-apply than "Proud Boys." Like, wth? "The Proud Boys Choir Present Their Tribute to Judy Garland"! Plus, TNP suspects many of them are not very good at driving automobiles.
I dunno, "Proud Boys" is pretty stoopid: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proud_Boys. Maybe "Nazis Lite"? "Adolf's Idjits"?
See Aliens at 4:08 here, as Burke explains the risk of an accidental thermonuclear explosion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IySXgTv3eU4
TNP agrees that Aliens is a damn good sf action/adventure flick.
Well, yeah. Of course!
TNP relishes lower-budget action movies made in the 1970s by the likes of Don Siegel, Sam Peckinpah, and countless others. Not the absolute cheese movies, but the ones that had a lasting impact, like *Charley Varrick*, *Junior Bonner*, and so forth.
Alternate TNP: TNP has had a conversation with a native Spanish speaker recently that ended mostly with him saying "What?" C'mon, "Cerveza es mi esposa!" That sounds like good Spanish to me! I've also learned to, from using Finnish, not ... whatever it's called, aspirate the d/t p/b etc. pairs. It was surprisingly difficult to me to do without thinking, but I'm glad I've got that covered. I will never be able to roll my R's from the front, but I like to think the uvular R is good enough. And, no, it doesn't sound like clearing one's throat: I can sustain that for as long as my breath holds hold, trilling the R from the back.
Oh, well, it's too late to edit, but here's what I really want to know.
Can the TNP come up with a better alternative to Biden's "Will you shut up" than my current favorite: "Silence, an adult who owns property is speaking. Now, sit down and listen."
Someone on the Straight Dope suggested Biden say something like, "You appear incapable of listening, sir. You haven't listened to the doctors, and far too many people have now died in this pandemic. You haven't listened to the generals, and the Russians are offering bounties for our soldiers. Women have told you to leave them alone, and you brag about grabbing them. You just can't listen. I guess that's just another way we're different."
TNP thinks something like that might work.
That is clever. While I didn't watch the "debate," nor do I really know much about Biden, I suspect that might have been a bit much for him. That's something Cicero might have put together in an oration, or a philippic, but probably not Biden. Then again, even Cicero was not above the one-line insult, particularly against Antony.
TNP, if faced with an interrupter, sometimes just keeps talking in a calm, uninterrupted, way, and thinks that's the best strategy for a "debate" such as the one on the table. After all, the microphones go into the soundboard, and a transcript should pick up everything. Even better if addressing the camera: surely there are some lip-readers among the undecided, or at least nominally observant people. Perhaps not.
Pretty much. I think you have to keep your cool as long as you can, but be willing to show some steely disapproval when someone like Trump keeps interrupting you.
TNP needs to buy some pens.
No. I just bought nine new lead holders and let's see, 72 varicolored 2mm pencil leads and it came came with a bunch of HB "black" leads (I don't use HB: I use B, 2B, 4B for pencil leads, plus the Staedtler stick erasers). Not good lead holders: they're more the mechanical pencil type, where one clicks to advance the lead, but that's a small detail, and I can give some to my nephews. It was a ridiculously cheap set, but the colored leads seem more like B or 2B in hardness, so go China?
Aside, but I think I've actually lost two Staedtler Mars lead holders ... they're probably in the car somewhere. I'm coming around to shorter technical lead holders...but I am attracted to the limited supplies of the good old Staedtler Mars lead holders in black, instead of the good old blue. They're a little too long to fit in a breast pocket of a shirt, and I might become a Koh-I-Nor man, even though they have annoying attributes.
I'm not a pencil nerd! Shuddup!
TNP can and will say what kinds of pens would be desirable in his or her opinion. Fountain or cartridge pens excluded, for I find they are too esoteric.
TNP wants to buy a new pencil sharpener (or "pointer," is I guess the preferred term for people who use technical pencils/lead holders/clutch pencils) because he or she is awesome and loves pencils.
No, I use pens far more than pencils and don't need a sharpener at the moment.
TNP learned of President Trump's COVID-19 diagnosis with more than a little skepticism.
No, not exactly. I will treat any further statements as worthless, though. It could be a ruse, but I fail to see how it benefits whatever demented cunt is sitting in the white house. OTOH, considering the source, it's almost certainly not true. What, is the "October Surprise" hiring back all of the pandemic people from Obama's administration? "He" could die a matryr's death by giving his ventilator to a soldier, and gasping for breath until it is his last, but that's not going to happen. And then we're left with that heretic Pence, whose head should be held in a toilet bowl until he repents and confesses to the Church.
TNP is genuinely glad when enemies perish, and cannot understand people who say things like "I wouldn't wish that on anybody." Rather, TNP does wish suffering, pain, and death on his or opponents.
Deep down, yes, I do, but I also really try to overcome it. And to be completely, politically crass, if I may: a President Pence would probably benefit from a big sympathy vote if Trump dies in coming weeks. I would rather Trump lives (although suffering very much from COVID-19) and lose the election, but hey, that's just me.
TNP heard a lawnmower run today.
No. They come from the devil's workshop.
Good point: it could be that after two weeks, DT loses twenty pounds in the hospital, they give him steroids and tape some fishskin to his face to get of some of the jowls, and maybe wash that shit off his face.
That would be bad. Pence would be bad. Either way, his handlers are going to pump him so full of "health" shit and strap him into girdles before any public appearance.
I conclude there's not really an excellent solution that is likely to occur.
/////////
TNP considers it a pretty good day when one is in a pleasant, cheerful mood, and only is forced to call someone a "goddamned bitch" IRL once. Or perhaps never.
Never for me (at least, not to anyone's face; maybe muttered under my breath later), and yes otherwise.
TNP is a Jelly Roll Morton fan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv4jD1d64Z0
Yeah. He's that drunk piano player guy from that fancy place with the madams and all that, right? Small hands, though, for a stride piano player, is what I heard. He wrote some tunes, though, even though he couldn't play as good as Fats Waller.
TNP can think of another good example of someone who, despite some limitations, managed OK.