What are U doing today? (Ongoing thread) Showing 701-750 of 8,509

[Jim]

There used to be a fire tower in Madonna, MD. In 5th grade, our science project was to construct a 5" cube, put an egg in it & have it survive tossing it off the tower. Excellent view. Unfortunately, they took it down about 20 years ago.

[Jackie]

I love that library. Marie and Ellen are the best librarians on the planet! They always manage to find what I want, even when I'm not sure what it is.

[Linda]

Jackie wrote: "I love that library. Marie and Ellen are the best librarians on the planet! They always manage to find what I want, even when I'm not sure what it is."

Agree! I'm enjoying getting to know them.

[Linda]

Jim wrote: "There used to be a fire tower in Madonna, MD. In 5th grade, our science project was to construct a 5" cube, put an egg in it & have it survive tossing it off the tower. Excellent view. Unfortuna..."

Sounds like fun. I wonder how many (if any) fire towers are still in existence in the US.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Had my second knee shot yesterday. Also had my flu shot. Am resting up today and catching up with the group posts here. Will probably sleep most of the day. LOL

Quote from _This Immortal_:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"...in that second I knew that of all pleasures -- a drink of cold water when you are thirsty, liquor when you are not, sex, a cigarette after many days without one -- there is none of them can compare with sleep.
"Sleep is best. ..."

-character, Conrad, in _This Immortal_ by Roger Zelazny, pp. 162-3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Jackie]

Sleeping is good, helps the body heal and rejuvenate.

[Jim]

Feel better, Joy.

It's too wet to do much outside, so I entered the FarmTek photo contest. I used their poly game bird netting to keep the starlings from nesting in the barn by stapling it under the joists. Not very photogenic, but I think a lot of barn owners, especially those with out lofts (most new barns) will be interested.

First place is a $500 gift certificate & they have a bunch of $150 runner up gift certificates. Cross your fingers for me!

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Good luck, Jim, with the contest. Is it online?

As for fire towers, our kids used to climb up to the fire tower on top of Black Mountain on Lake George. I still have the little certificate-cards which the rangers gave the kids for climbing the mountain. Some of our sons still climb the mountain each summer. There's no ranger there now, but the tower is still there.

[Jim]

They sent me an email, Joy. Feeling better?

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "They sent me an email, Joy. Feeling better?"

I see.
I had a good nap, Jim. That always helps. Thanks.

[Jackie]

Good luck Jim.
Right now my TV addiction is kicking in full force. Off to TV land....

[Jim]

We watched the new 'House' night before last & the new 'Heroes' last night. Neither is blowing a lot of wind up my skirt, but they were entertaining. I think both are pretty much at the end of their lives, though.

At least they reined 'House' in somewhat. That was getting too far out & manic. Hopefully they'll quit trying to top House's oddities.

[Linda]

Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote: "Good luck, Jim, with the contest. Is it online?

As for fire towers, our kids used to climb up to the fire tower on top of Black Mountain on Lake George. I still have the little certificate-cards w..."

How neat - adds to the memories. Do you have any pictures of the tower by chance?

The book, mentioned earlier - caption under pictue of the tower: "The thirty-five-foot log fire tower erected in 1911 by the state on Black Mountain (2,646')."

Tower closed in 1988 although hikers continue to climb Black Mountain. "...a thirty-nine-foot communications antenna was installed above the cab as part of a state policy communications system."
Later states taht the antenna is powered by solar panels and a wind generator.

[Arnie]

Frankly, I don't get the apppeal of House---this guy makes Becker look like Marcus Welby!

[Linda]

Jim wrote: "We watched the new 'House' night before last & the new 'Heroes' last night. Neither is blowing a lot of wind up my skirt, but they were entertaining. I think both are pretty much at the end of th..."

I watched House but my husband wasn't interested (said got out of hand). Made me think of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest with Jack Nicholson.

[Linda]

Jackie wrote: "Good luck Jim.
Right now my TV addiction is kicking in full force. Off to TV land...."

Did you watch the Courtney Cox show last night?

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Linda wrote: "... "The thirty-five-foot log fire tower erected in 1911 by the state on Black Mountain (2,646')." ..."

Oh, boy, thanks Linda for all that info about the tower on Black Mt. I'm sure I have a pic of it somewhere. I'll search. Meanwhile, here's a link to photos (Eddie took years ago) of the view from the top of Black Mountain: ====>
http://picasaweb.google.com/Sea1934/L...
Note the captions.
Click on the forward arrows for 3 more views.
Also, press your f11 toggle key for larger pics.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Linda wrote: "Did you watch the Courtney Cox show last night?"

Missed it. I was watching a DVD of "Prizzi's Honor" (1985).
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Prizzi_s...
Wild ending.

I'm still trying to catch up with all the old movies I missed before Netflix revolutionized my life.

[Linda]

Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote: "Linda wrote: "Did you watch the Courtney Cox show last night?"

Missed it. I was watching a DVD of "Prizzi's Honor" (1985).
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Prizzi_s...
Wild endi..."

You didn't miss much! I'm not sure I'll watch it again. I'm curious to hear other opinions.

I would have preferred watching Prizzi's Honor!

[[deleted user]]

Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote: "Linda wrote: "Did you watch the Courtney Cox show last night?"

Missed it. I was watching a DVD of "Prizzi's Honor" (1985).
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Prizzi_s...
Wild endi..."


I read Prizzi's Honor years ago, can't remember a lot of it, but the humor was interesting. :)

[Jackie]

I watched Heroes on Monday and for a premier, it was really bad. I agree with Jim, it's end is near.

Never watched House but I did enjoy Hugh Laurie in a British series called The Black Adder. A comedy. It's hard to see him in a serious role after that.

Courtney's new show, no, I don't watch network comedy mainly because it's not my idea of comedy and life is too short to waste on shows that annoy me with their juvenile antics. My TV addiction demands that I watch shows I enjoy, LOL

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Pontalba wrote: "I read Prizzi's Honor years ago, can't remember a lot of it, but the humor was interesting. :)"

I didn't even realize "Prizzi's Honor" was a book! Thanks, Pontalba. I've never read anything by Richard Condon.

The GF book description says: "Prizzis [were:] New York's most powerful Mafia family." The movie had more mafia drama than humor, but there were some ironic things that happened and the character portrayals were over the top. In fact, the entire plot was outrageous. I suppose that's where the humor came in.

Kathleen Turner was perfect as the "sultry freelance killer-for-hire" (Netflix' words). Jack Nicholson, "as dim-bulb Mafia hit man" didn't seem to fit the part, but I liked him anyway. It's hard to see Nicholson as a "dim-bulb".

[Jim]

Linda, I've never heard of Courtney Cox.

I loved "Prizzi's Honor" One of the few movies I watched, then read the book & still LOVED the movie, but when Jack Nickolson is good, he's fantastic & he was perfect. He does bad guys, including the Devil, very well, I've noticed. Hmmmm...

I've read a couple of other Prizzi books by Condon. They were OK. I think the movie was the best though.

Like Hassan ("This Immortal") Charlie Partanna wasn't a genius, but possessed a high degree of low animal cunning.

[Jackie]

Courteny Cox was on Friends, Monica I think. Dark hair, lived with Rachel, Jennifer Aniston.

[Arnie]

Yeah, Cox was the one who was thin when Matt Perry was chunky, and who put on weight when Perry looked gaunt.

It was a cycle.

[Nina]

Linda wrote: "Jackie wrote: "I love that library. Marie and Ellen are the best librarians on the planet! They always manage to find what I want, even when I'm not sure what it is."I am certain Mary and Ellen are excellent librarians but possibly not the very best as my Librarian daughter would get my vote as the best; not that I am prejudiced. nina

Agree! I'm enjoying getti..."

[Jim]

I don't think I've ever watched an entire episode of "Friends". I know it's been on for a while, but I have only seen bits & pieces here & there. Not sure who Monica is... I'll see if I stumble across an episode at some point.

[Arnie]

Jim, Friends is a genuinely funny, fresh and clever sitcom---I think it rates up there easily with the best of them.
And believe me, when it first began in 1994 I was already to hate it---it won me over in an instant.

[Nina]

Jackie wrote: "Sleeping is good, helps the body heal and rejuvenate."A quote for Joy, "When you sell a man a book you don't sell him just 12 ounces of paper and ink and glue-you sell him a whole new life." Christopher Morley. Sleep tight. nina

[Nina]

"There is no such thing as a moral or immoral book; books are well written or badly written," Oscar Wilde nina ps My fingers are crossed, Jim. Good for you to try.I just finished, "Three Junes," by Julia Glass; our book selection for my book club. My comments as follows:One June in Greece(I liked this one and couldn't believe I never heard any more form the main character) 2nd June is set in Scotland which I probably liked because of the setting as I have been to Scotland four times and loved it; 3rd June was set on Long Island and was somewhat interesting but the change of viewpoint bothered me throughout the book. Question/who did the mother have an affair with? Great lines or quotes: :clouds as benign as a bridal veil" "splinters of red," describing the red coats of the hunters seen through the trees. Interesting theme that we always end up where we always intend to be. Now I am into, "Benjamin Franklin," An American Life by Walter Isaacson and i am learning some quite interesting things he did besides the electricty bit we all know about. More on this later after some of you tackle this book. nina

[Nina]

Forgot to mention both my husband and I are thoroughly enjoying from Netflix, "The Ladies Number One Dectective Agency," and I agree with the reviews that say the actors/actresses are in total agreement with the ones in the book. I loved the books also and now miss the DVD's as the series ended last night. Hope sometime they do more but both the director and casting agent have died. nina

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "... Like Hassan ("This Immortal") Charlie Partanna wasn't a genius, but possessed a high degree of low animal cunning."

Jim, I see what you mean (about Charlie Partanna of "Prizzi's Honor"). That's an interesting distinction.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "A quote for Joy, "When you sell a man a book you don't sell him just 12 ounces of paper and ink and glue-you sell him a whole new life." Christopher Morley. Sleep tight. nina"

Nina! This is a huge coincidence for me! Are you sure not telepathic? LOL

Believe it or not, I came across that very same quote last Tuesday, 9/22/09, and made a mental note to add it to my digital collection of quotes. It was on a bookmark from Amazon.com which I had tucked into my very heavy book, _Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature_. Not only that, I had misplaced the book around the house and had been searching for it for months. I discovered it on Tuesday on a shelf I hardly ever look at. I was so happy to find the book again. That's when I found the bookmark with the quote, tucked inside the book. I have a habit of tucking bits and pieces of information and quotes inside of various reference books I own. It's always a pleasure coming across the odd bits I've saved. But your posting of the same quote doubled my pleasure! Thank you!

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "... I just finished, "Three Junes," by Julia Glass; our book selection for my book club. ... the change of viewpoint bothered me throughout the book."

Nina, I read _Three Junes_ a while ago. I wasn't crazy about it, but I can't remember why. I think it was the shifting about of time and place, as you suggested. Personally, I usually like a linear storyline. Shifting about in a story calls for a good memory and I'm afraid mine isn't as sharp as it could be. Erdrich's _The Plague of Doves A Novel_ did me in on THAT score. Talk about time/place shifts! Oi!

You mentioned a cloud description: "clouds as benign as a bridal veil". Good one. How about the following:
"...the sun fades behind a gauzy cataract of cloud..."
-p.4, _Those Who Save Us_ by Jenna Blum

I also remember reading recently about an "emaciated cloud". Wish I had copied the line and written down the author!

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "Forgot to mention both my husband and I are thoroughly enjoying from Netflix, "The Ladies Number One Dectective Agency," and I agree with the reviews that say the actors/actresses are in total agre..."

Nina, for some reason, I couldn't get into the book, _The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency_. Perhaps I should try the DVD.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Arnie wrote: " Jim, Friends is a genuinely funny, fresh and clever sitcom---I think it rates up there easily with the best of them.
And believe me, when it first began in 1994 I was already to hate it---it wo..."

Arnie, like Jim, I watched bits and pieces of the "Friends" sitcom. It was amusing, but never really drew me in the way, for example, "Frasier" did. Two of the males in "Friends" looked so much alike to me that I sometimes couldn't tell them apart.

[Nina]

Joy H. (of Glens Falls) wrote: "Linda wrote: "... "The thirty-five-foot log fire tower erected in 1911 by the state on Black Mountain (2,646')." ..."

Oh, boy, thanks Linda for all that info about the tower on Black Mt. I'm sure..."How pleasant to see families really having fun together. Beautiful scenery to boot. And such a good pic of you with the dog and lake in background. A nice way to end my evening to look in on such fun. nina

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: ""How pleasant to see families really having fun together. Beautiful scenery to boot. And such a good pic of you with the dog and lake in background. A nice way to end my evening to look in on such fun. nina"

Nina, glad you enjoyed the pics in my online album. (See Message #717.)
In the words of William Maxwell:
"I have liked remembering almost as much as I have liked living."
-"William Keepers Maxwell, Jr., (1908 -2000) American novelist and editor."
(William Maxwell was best known as the fiction editor of The New Yorker magazine for forty years.)

[Jim]

Most sitcoms lose me because of the laugh tracks. I HATE them. I don't need the TV to tell me when to laugh. It's annoying.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "Most sitcoms lose me because of the laugh tracks. I HATE them. I don't need the TV to tell me when to laugh. It's annoying. "

I've come to take laugh tracks for granted. I don't even notice them. Did Seinfeld have them? Frasier? All in the Family? I can't even remember.

Which shows had live audiences instead of laugh tracks?

[Arnie]

I don't know---the three males in Friends are really different --looks-wise and personality-wise.

Frasier was of course also excellent---the show was the master of the Comedy of Errors.

[Jim]

Seinfeld was one of the shows that made me notice laugh tracks so much. So many people I knew loved it. I'd watch it without even wanting to smile & the stupid laugh track was rolling. Yuck.

[Jackie]

I don't like them either, a big turn off, but what can you do? I rarely watch American comedy anyway.

[Arnie]

The ones that don't use laugh tracks obviously know they're funny enough not to need one.
MASH dropped theirs after about 4-5 seasons in.

The earliest I remember was a very good show called "Hennessy", way back when.
It starred Jackie Cooper as a navy officer.

That impressed me that it would be so daring back then.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Arnie wrote: "... the three males in Friends are really different --looks-wise and personality-wise. ..."

These are the two I couldn't tell apart:

Matthew Perry
http://www.tbs.com/stories/story/0,,3...
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001612/

Matt LeBlanc
http://www.tbs.com/stories/story/0,,3...
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001455/

Does anyone see what I mean?

When I see them together, I can see the difference, but when they're apart, I have a bit of a problem. Could be because I didn't watch the show enough.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Arnie wrote: " The ones that don't use laugh tracks obviously know they're funny enough not to need one. MASH dropped theirs after about 4-5 seasons in."

Yes, I recently saw a sort of documentary on TV which said the decision to drop laugh tracks on MASH was because laugh tracks weren't apropos on a show with a wartime theme. At least I think I remember hearing that.

[Jim]

Joy, I agree with so many of the actors & actresses looking alike. I find most of them pretty interchangeable on top of that. Not like the great ones that always stood out; Katherine Hepburn, Bogie, Kirk Douglas & all.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "Joy, I agree with so many of the actors & actresses looking alike. I find most of them pretty interchangeable on top of that. Not like the great ones that always stood out; Katherine Hepburn, Bog..."

Jim, below is a list of the celebrities OR names I have often confused with one another, either because of their looks or their names. (I keep a running list when I can.):

-First off are all the blondes. LOLOL

THEN THERE ARE:
-Jennifer Jason Leigh / Emily Watson
-Nathan Lane / Jason Alexander
-Kristin Scott Thomas / Emma Thompson
-Nancy Milford / Nancy Mitford
-Alan Bennett / William J. Bennett
-Frederick Douglas / Stephen A. Douglas
-Jonathan Winters / Dom Deluise
AND
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE 3 FAMOUS "BLOOMS":
1.Benjamin Bloom (Bloom's taxonomy)
2.Harold Bloom (literary critic and author)
3.Leopold Bloom (fictional protagonist & antihero of James Joyce's _Ulysses_,
assuming the role of the 'Odysseus' character.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I have many more names on my hard copy lists.
Sometimes life gets so confusing; I try hard to hang on. LOL

[Jim]

I only knew Winters/Deluise & I don't have trouble with them. Patrick Swayze (just died) & Kurt Russell get confused for me. I like them both, but after not seeing a movie for years, I can't recall which was in it, apparently.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "... Patrick Swayze (just died) & Kurt Russell get confused for me. I like them both, but after not seeing a movie for years, I can't reca..."

I can see how they can be easily confused. See photo links:
Patrick Swayze: http://www.imdb.com/media/rm337553664...
Kurt Russell: http://www.imdb.com/media/rm270058086...