The Syndicate

I suspect it will.

Is your week so far better than your last week?

White with occasional blood stains.

White.

What is the best 15+ minute song?

Two sheets and the comforter. And I too suffered from sleep paralysis- not just as a child either. Scariest shit.

Have you ever heard dredg's El Cielo? It's about sleep paralysis.

About two years ago. Dune: Messiah.

What is your oddest possession?

Strong and black.

Do you donate to any charities regularly?

Tales from Topographic Oceans by Yes.

What kind of car do you drive?

"Binge-watch?" Is that where you watch hours of TV on end?

We don't do that around here. We watch one episode (or two) and fuck off for awhile. The last thing we did watch was an episode of Family Matters. My kids love it.

Who is your favorite NBA player this year?

Ignorance.

For example, the articles that keep popping up describing the angst of people who are getting a much smaller tax refund this year baffle me.

Also, in one day I had four different students ask me if they were American citizens.

What's for breakfast?

I don't really mind microwaved fish.

Are you going to watch the Rising Star NBA game tonight? It could end up with over 300 total points.

Overcooked pizza.

What is your favorite pizza topping?

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, performed at- of all places- a pie company.

It was my favorite theatrical production I've ever witnessed.

What are you doing this weekend?

Beer.

If you got the opportunity to open for any act, be it musical, comedic, theatrical, whatever, which act would it be and why?

Bourbon.

What was the last birthday party you went to and was it any good?

"If I Didn't Care" by The Ink Spots

Honorable mention: "If We Were Vampires" by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit

Do you like sushi?

A cruise.

Got any plans tonight?

Not presently. And fellatio would be grand, thanks.

Where have you been?

Drama. Very few comedies seem to get it right anymore. Very few dramas do as well, but hell. We watch more serious TV when we do watch.

What's your favorite Peter Frampton song?

dunya wrote: ↑Tue Feb 12, 2019 6:44 am i get billed every 3-months, around $150, so that would make it $50 a month.

juliets wrote: ↑Tue Feb 12, 2019 8:23 am If you are in the USA, are you going to benefit from the tax cuts that went into effect for this tax filing season? If you are overseas did your taxes go up, down or remain the same for fiscal 2018 (I don't know if overseas is filing now like we are)?

I don't know, because I haven't done them, but from what I can tell, the standard deduction is the largest in history for our filing status, and we don't pay federal taxes anyway because the tax code is set up such that we get a "refund" even though we don't pay any taxes. What gets me are all those who complain that their refund checks aren't as large as they were in previous years, as though they treat their refund as a windfall savings account. Nonsense.

What was the first news story you read today?

Disillusioned and embracing my gradual obsolescence.

What was your water bill last month?

72F, light breeze, partly cloudy.

What did you do the last time you went out?

I used to, quite often actually.

What brand of trash bags do you buy?

It's a casino game played with dice.

Is it raining right now?

8am.

Have you ever played Craps?

Brazil nuts.

What's your favorite nut?

No. Galatea of the Spheres.

Do your shoes fit?

Yes.

What did you have for lunch?

No. There are a few things I get in the mail or in my email that I use somewhat regularly, but not much beyond that, so no, not an effort.

What's your favorite Molly Hatchet song?

The Wall in the Butter Battle Book.

Favorite investment?

S~V~S wrote: ↑Tue Feb 05, 2019 8:08 pm Sensodyne (Colgate in a pinch)

Do you know the names of all of your great grandparents?

No. I don't know my maternal grandfather at all (his name is Bill and I'm left with the impression that nobody liked him). My maternal grandmother's mom died a few years back just shy of her 102nd birthday, but she was not the biological mother of my grandma (nobody talked about this, but I was informed of it one time when I was a teenager). My great-grandma had two husbands. One died of cancer, and the other "murdered himself," as she put it.

My dad's side should be clearer, but isn't. I don't know any of my paternal great-grandparents' names whatsoever. They were all dead by the time I was born, and nobody ever talked about them that I was aware of.

What is your favorite day of the week?

The first cruise with my wife. We still talk about it.

Do you like escargot?

Some of them. Not all of them.

If you were offered a spot on a shuttle to a colony on Mars to spend at least one year there, would you go?

Pistachio and Butter Pecan.

Is the 40-hour work week outdated?

The Ladykillers starring Tom Hanks.

I know it got panned, but I truly believe it's because the critics don't understand a bunch of the dialogue and references. I do. So brilliant.

What's your favorite Tom Hanks movie?

The Shawshank Redemption

What is the most difficult skill you've ever mastered (or excelled at)?

Baseball.

What the fuck Todd Gurley?

Fighter-Mage.

What the fuck Jared Goff?

Computer Game.

I loved CYOA as a kid, but damn they would penalize the most sensible decisions. At least from my memory. I was, however, fascinated by fantasy books of that genre, specifically Forest of Doom by Ian Livingstone. Rather than have the reader only make choices, there were encounters that were decided by earlier choices you had made, as well as dice rolls and skill checks you had to make from time to time. I wore the cover off the book. Nintendo also published some Mario-themed books in the same vein. I enjoyed them but I don't remember them as well.

What is the coolest sci-fi / fantasy weapon/device/object?

I do! My children have inherited my action figures and books. I also have the first book I wrote when I was a kid (half plagiarized and wholly awful). I have many other things too stored away.

How old were you when you had your first kiss?

Red. It's our school polo.

What is your preferred method of sharpening a pencil?

Loading the dishwasher (really anything related to cleaning up the kitchen, but that's largely owing to the fact that I do most of the cooking).

What will be the final score of the Super Bowl?

21F

What's one thing you would change about your home if you could?

The one you like best.

What's your attitude toward junk mail?

Retiring.

What time do you normally go to bed?

A three-cylinder Geo Metro:



Laugh if you must- drive all damn month for thirteen bucks. I let my buddies borrow it to get snacks and they gunned it up and down the road and blew the transmission.

What's the stupidest things you ever did to impress your friends?

Old friends of mine have been discovering and being blown away by the fact that I can talk circles around them with regard to baseball, football, and basketball. I had zero interest in sports the first 28 years of my life or so.

What motivates you more than anything?

The Dark Knight

It was the only superhero movie I've ever seen that made me viscerally uncomfortable. I don't think Heath Ledger could have had a more brilliant swan song.

What have you learned today?

Tamago, followed by Yellowfin Tuna

How do you like your eggs?

All of them.

Do you like pistachios?

Not even imaginary people liked me.

What time does the mail usually come where you live?

I have my grandfather's Peavy amplifier; my brother (who doesn't play) has his guitar.

Are you hungry?