Day: January 2, 2022

Sunday Afternoon Alphabet Game

Fandango10 Comments

I think this started with Carol Anne and it seems to have gained some traction, so I’m going to join in with some of my fellow bloggers and play along.

A – Age: old enough to know better
B – Biggest fear: reaching the point where I no longer know better
C – Current time: 3:00 pm
D – Drink you last had: caffeine free Diet Coke
E – Every day starts with: taking a piss
F – Favorite song: Layla by Derek and the Dominos
G- Ghosts, are they real? No
H – Hometown: the town where my home is
I – In love with: my grandkids
J – Jealous of: no one and nothing
K – Killed someone: well, if looks could kill…
L – Last time you cried: when we had to put our old dog down in 2020
M – Middle name: NMN
N – Number of siblings: two
O – One wish: that American democracy survives
P – Person you last called: the pet store to order food for my cat
Q – Question you’re always asked: Are you serious?
R – Reason to smile: my grandkids
S – Song last sang: Good Lovin’ by the Young Rascals, which is playing in the background as I write this
T – Time you woke up: I’m already very woke
U – Underwear color: tighty-whities
V – Vacation destination: ask again once the pandemic is behind us
W – Worst habit: according to my wife, it’s snoring
X – X-rays you’ve had: they took an x-ray of my head and found nothing
Y – Your favorite food: streamed Chesapeake blue crab
Z – Zodiac sign: Confucious.

E.M.’s Sunday Ramble Prompt — Cars and Driving

Fandango15 Comments

E.M. Kingston has started a new weekly prompt called The Sunday Ramble. It is based upon a certain topic. She asks five questions about that topic, that we can ramble on however we wish. Today’s topic is “cars and driving.”

1. We all had a first car. What year, make, and model was your first car?

My first car was a 1961 Chevy Corvair Monza, pretty much like the one pictured below.

When I was about 18, my parents handed down to me their 1961 Monza. I believe they gave it to me right about the same time that consumer advocate Ralph Nader first published his book, “Unsafe at Any Speed,” a book that basically condemned the Corvair as a death trap. Hmmm.

It really was a POS car. It was so bad that, because of its bronze color, my friends dubbed it the “golden garbage can.” But, given that it didn’t cost me anything, I did have some fond memories of that POS. As they say, you never forget your first car.

2. If you won the lottery, would you buy your dream car and what kind would it be? If you do not care to talk about cars, how would you spend your lottery money?

Back in the day I got used to really care about the kinds of cars I drove. I preferred sports cars, and I owned, at one time or another a Sunbeam Alpine, an MGB, an Austin Healey 3000, a Jaguar XK150, and a Datsun 240Z. Then I got married, had kids, and bought station wagons, minivans, and SUVs. Today I own a small, electric SUV and that more than meets my driving needs. So if I won the lottery today, I’d by a luxury mountain retreat.

3. The Transporter (hauling other people and going from point A to point B), Gone in 60 Seconds (fast!), or Driving Miss Daisy (Slow)? (This would be examples of your driving style.)

I’m heavy-footed, so I have to go with “Gone in 60 Seconds” or maybe “Fast and Furious.”

4. Which is your preference to drive on: Interstate, Freeways, or Back Roads?

Back roads.

5. Pick your favorite famous car on television.

That would have to be KITT, from Knight Rider, a modified Pontiac Firebird Trans Am that did it all: fired rockets, sniffed bombs, sprayed tear gas, could “ski” on two wheels, and had artificial intelligence and could talk.

Who Won the Week — 01/02/2022

Fandango23 Comments

The idea behind Who Won the Week is to give you the opportunity to select who (or what) you think “won” this past week. Your selection can be anyone or anything — politicians, celebrities, athletes, authors, bloggers, your friends or family members, books, movies, TV shows, businesses, organizations, whatever.

I will be posting this prompt on Sunday mornings (my time). If you want to participate, write your own post designating who you think won the week and why you think they deserve your nod. Then link back to this post and tag you post with FWWTW.

2021 is finally over. According to aUSA TODAY/Suffolk University poll of Americans conducted last week, people were not happy with 2021. In response to an open-ended question to describe 2021 in a single word, just 14% offered adjectives that were positive, assuming “exciting” is a good thing. The rest chose various versions of bad, from “catastrophe” and “chaos” to “frightening” and “failure.”

But the good news is that, when asked to come up with one word that best describes their mood about 2022, close to half of Americans said “hopeful.”

All I can say is that it’s a good thing I wasn’t included in that survey, as that would not have been a word I would have chosen.

Be that as it may, my Who (or What) Won the Week winner this week is hopefulness.

What one word would you choose to describe your outlook about 2022?

What about you? Who (or what) do you think won the week?

Photo credit: Getty Images.

Song Lyric Sunday — Goodbye Cruel World

Fandango20 Comments

For this week’s Song Lyric Sunday theme, Jim Adams looked to Melanie B Cee of Sparks From a Combustible Mind, who suggest that we find songs that feature lyrics of Entertainment, Circus, or Show. I decided to reach way back to 1961 and give you the circus themed song, “Goodbye Cruel World,” from James Darren.

“Goodbye Cruel World” was written by Gloria Shayne and recorded by James Darren, an American television and film actor, television director, and singer. Darren was a teenage heartthrob who came to fame in the 1959 California surfing film, Gidget, starring Sandra Dee. Darren played, Moondoggie, the leading man, and he also sang the movie’s title track.

Darren recorded a string of 60s pop hits, the biggest of which was “Goodbye Cruel World,” which sold over one million copies. The song was his first top ten hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number three.

“Goodbye Cruel World” was about a man whose heart was broken by a “mean fickle woman.” His plan was to join the circus as a brokenhearted clown. He did not mind being shot out of a cannon, and planned to tell the world that she “made a crying clown” out of him. Ah, nothing like those deep, heartfelt lyrics from the early 60s pop songs, am I right?

Here are the lyrics to “Goodbye Cruel World.”

(Goodbye cruel world)
(Goodbye cruel world)

Oh, goodbye cruel world, I’m off to join the circus
Gonna be a broken-hearted clown
Paint my face with a good-for-nothin’ smile
’cause a mean, fickle woman turned my whole world upside down

(Goodbye cruel world)

Farewell to love, I’m off to join the circus
Gotta find a way to hide my tears
Bet I’ll have them rolling in the aisle
And I’ll forget that woman if it takes a hundred years

Oh oh oh, step right up and take a look at a fool
He’s got a heart as stubborn as a mule
C’mon everybody, he’s good for a laugh
And no one could tell his heart is broken in half

Well, the joke’s on me, I’m off to join the circus
Oh, Mr. Barnum, save a place for me
Shoot me out of a cannon, I don’t care
Let the people point at me and stare
I’ll tell the world that woman, wherever she may be
That mean, fickle woman made a cryin’ clown outta me

(Goodbye cruel world)

Shoot me out of a cannon, I don’t care
Let the people point at me and stare
I’ll tell the world that woman, wherever she may be
That mean, fickle woman made a cryin’ clown outta me

Goodbye cruel world
Goodbye cruel world

Goodbye cruel world
Goodbye cruel world

FOWC with Fandango — Medicine

Fandango22 Comments
FOWC

Welcome to January 2, 2022 and to Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (aka, FOWC). I will be posting each day’s word just after midnight Pacific Time (U.S.).

Today’s word is “medicine.”

Write a post using that word. It can be prose, poetry, fiction, non-fiction. It can be any length. It can be just a picture or a drawing if you want. No holds barred, so to speak.

Once you are done, tag your post with #FOWC and create a pingback to this post if you are on WordPress. Please check to confirm that your pingback is there. If not, please manually add your link in the comments.

And be sure to read the posts of other bloggers who respond to this prompt. You will marvel at their creativity.