GUESS WHAT DAY IT IS HODGEPODGE!

   

     Well, we are one week closer to the advent of Spring. This past weekend was essentially snow free. It felt good to not be snowed in for a change and to be able to attend Sunday worship with the church family. 
    Today being Wednesday Joyce has more intriguing questions for us to ponder and answer. I urge you to join in on the fun. In any event I hope you like this week's edition of the Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1. Did you watch The Oscars? How many of the Best Picture nominees have you seen? (American Sniper, Birdman, Boyhood, Selma, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, The Theory of Everything, and Whiplash)
     I did watch some of the Oscar Awards Show. I kept clicking back to it from what I really wanted to watch. I have seen "American Sniper" and "The Imitation Game." 
Do you think actors should use their acceptance speeches as an opportunity to promote their political and/or social agenda? Does that sort of speech make you more or less inclined to change the channel?
     In my humble opinion the award recipients should focus on thanking those who helped them succeed. I don't think it should be used as a platform to advocate for your particular agenda. It should be use to extol the virtues of movie making in particular and the arts in general.

2. Speaking of the movies... are you comfortable going to a movie alone? How about dinner in a restaurant (not fast food, but an actual restaurant)? The second half of this question was posed by Carrie who blogs over at It's Not Easy Being Queen. Thanks Carrie! 
     I am one of those fortunate people who is very comfortable in his own company. I have gone to movies by myself, I prefer company but I will go alone. Dining is the same. I prefer to have company but am perfectly okay dining alone.

3. What's the last home repair or home improvement project you had to pay someone to complete? In hindsight was this a project you could have done yourself? 
      The last project I had to pay someone to do for SWMBO and me was the replacement of a window in our kitchen. In hindsight, no...I could not have done it myself and get it right.

4. Have you ever had Indian food? Like it or no? If you're a fan, what's your favorite dish? Have you ever prepared this yourself at home? Is there an Indian restaurant in your current hometown? 
      I have never had Indian Food. 

5. A song that reminds you of your parents? 
     Back in 1968 a singer by the name of Bobby Goldsboro had the number one song in the country. It was called "Honey." This song reminds me of my parents. You see, my mother died in 1965 and when this song came out in 1968 it really hit home with my Dad. Whenever I hear it I think of him and his sadness and the reason why he was sad...he missed my mom. 

6. The 26th of February is National Tell A Fairy Tale Day. What's your favorite, or one of your favorite, fairy tales? Do you have any childhood memories associated with a particular fairy tale?
     My favorite Fairy Tale is "I'm from the government and I'm here to help you!"  No, seriously I don't have a favorite. I think the bothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen are the best writers of the Fairy Tale genre.

7. What's a problem you solved yesterday? 
     We had scant food in the house so I did the weekly food shopping. We had the granddaughters over yesterday afternoon, SWMBO and the fur babies were exhausted after they left. I went food shopping alone so she could rest. 
  
8. Insert your own random thought here.
     Major League Baseball spring training is ramping up as I write this. All players should have reported by now. This means another nail has been driven into the coffin of Winter 2014-2015. DIE WINTER, DIE!!!
     I'm sure that it comes as no surprise that I am a proud citizen of Red Sox Nation. My beloved Red Sox are poised to have a great year this season. I'm equally certain that there are baseball fans saying the exact same thing about their home team all over the country and in Toronto, Canada. 
     So this season I will be following the Red Sox in the American League. In the National League I'll follow the exploits of the Chicago Cubs. They're the Red Sox of the National League. Apparently there's some sort of curse involving a goat or something, I'm not sure, but like the Red Sox did, the Cubs have a curse to break. This could be the year! 

I SURRENDER HODGEPODGE!

     THAT IS IT! I SURRENDER! I am running up the white flag to winter. We have run out of space to put the stuff! Also, I did not think that I was going to be able to participate in this weeks Wednesday Hodgepodge for a number of reasons. Fortunately, if not belatedly, here I am. Thank you Joyce for another series of though provoking questions.

1. When did you last have to interact, either by phone or in person, with someone in a government run agency? On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the experience? (10 being fabulous and 1 being pass the Tylenol)

     I can't remember the last time I had to interact with a government employee. Many times I have received excellent service. However there have been times when I needed the Tylenol. Like any other bureaucracy there are good, dedicated, caring workers as well as useless uncaring drones who fall at the other end of that scale.

2. The current governor of Wisconsin is considering a run for President next time around. Walker attended Marquette University, but never graduated. In terms of any candidate running for the office of President (not asking here if you agree or disagree with Scott Walker's politics) would the lack of a college degree influence your vote or no? Would that be a factor in your support of any candidate running for public office, even a role less weighty than President?

     Formal education is just one of the factors I use to evaluate a candidate for any office. It is not a deal breaker if they don't have a college degree. Many people in government have advanced college degree's from Ivy League schools and are no more than credentialed morons. There are other people who are less educated who are significantly more competent than the aforementioned morons. 
     I evaluate a candidate on how they performed in other endeavors. Have they ever run a business successfully? If they served as a governor of a state, were they able to deliver government services efficiently and eliminate wasteful spending. Were they able to lower taxes and increase government efficiency. Are they people with high moral integrity who live according to their stated principles?
     So I don't think that a lack of a college degree is an automatic disqualifier.

3. When did you last visit a place or site named for George Washington or Abraham Lincoln, and what was that place or site?

     In the mid nineties I visited the Washington and Lincoln Memorials in Washington D.C. I was a chaperon on a college Criminal Justice class field trip to our Nation's Capitol. 

4. February 16th was President's Day in the US, but did you know it was also National Almond Day? I didn't think so : ) Do you like almonds? If so, what's a food/dish/recipe you enjoy that contains almonds? 

     I enjoy almonds alone. I love Almond Joy candy bars. I enjoy almonds as part of a vegetable salad. So, yes, I like almonds.

5.The television program Saturday Night Live celebrated it's 40th anniversary this past weekend. Were/are you a fan of the show? If so what has been your favorite (or one of your favorite) skits, sayings, or characters that came out of the program?

     I have never been a fan of the show. I have watched it on occasions but I wasn't a fan.

6. Anything purple within ten feet of you? What is it?

     Yes, a fleece blanket throw.

7. Back in December I asked you to submit a question for a future HP as part of a giveaway I was hosting. I grabbed this one from those entries, submitted by Zoanna who blogs over at Penchant for Pens. Thanks Zoanna!

     

She asks, "How often do you make your bed, and how do you like to make it-pull the covers all the way up over the pillows, tuck the covers in around the pillows, or place all the pillows on top of the covers?" 

     On those rare occasions when I do make the bed I use either method. I don't have any particular preference.

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

     ICYMI, the barbaric group known as ISIS recently burned a captured Jordanian pilot to death and used it to send a message to the world. A couple of days ago that same vile godless group decapitated 21 Christian Egyptians on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and disseminated the take of that atrocity for the world to see. They killed those men because they are Christians...no other reason. They sent this as a message to "The people of the cross" AKA Christians.
     The Deputy Spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, Marie Harf, said at a news conference that we cannot kill our way to victory. We cannot defeat ISIS by killing them. The way to defeat these barbarians is to provide them with better governments, more good paying jobs among other things.
     These barbarians have declared war on us.  You don't defeat an enemy committed to your destruction by giving him a better job. If this is the level of thinking in the U.S. Government, we are doomed! God help us!

LITTLE FAT ARMED CHERUB HODGEPODGE!

     Saint Valentines Day, the day when we celebrate the concept of being in love, represented by the Little Fat Cherub armed with a bow and magic love inducing arrows. Have you been struck by one these magical projectiles? 

     Well, today is Wednesday and you know what that means, our friend Joyce from "From This Side of the Pond" has more questions. Won't you join in?

1. Have you ever written a love letter? Have you written one recently? Had one written to you? Did you keep it?

     I have written many love letters...sort of. Whenever I give SWMBO a greeting card on special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, etc, I always write a special message on the back of the card. She does the same to me when she gives me a greeting card. These messages make the occasion for the card so much more meaningful. The little love notes we share causes me think seriously about our relationship and gives it some perspective.

2. What's a movie that ends in a way you especially love?

     "A Christmas Carol" starring George C. Scott. I love the way that old Scrooge radically changes his life after the night of his haunting. I love the example of repentance and fruits in keeping with repentance.

3. Something that makes your heart sing? And for those of you who are parents, I mean something besides your children that makes your heart sing?

     I love stories of triumph after a monumental, seemingly impossible, struggle. These stories demonstrate the unconquerable power of the human spirit.  It gives me hope in times of difficulty.

4. What's the last event you had to attend, phone call you had to make, routine task you needed to complete, or meal you had to prepare, that you did do, but only half-heartedly?

     Snow shovelling! With all the snow that has fallen I have lost all interest in anymore snow shovelling, not that my heart was ever in it in the first place. 

5. Tuna fish salad-yay or blech? If you said yay, how do you like your tuna salad prepared? Hey, this is the Hodgepodge, right?

     I would have to say "Yay!" I make tuna salad with onions, mayonaise and sweet pepper relish. SWMBO loves my Tuna Salad recipe!

6. What's something you 'know by heart'?

     I know a bunch of things by heart. Songs I love to play on my guitar, favorite church hymns, the Pledge of Allegiance, the Star Spangled Banner, my Social Security Number...just to name a few.

7. In the spirit of Valentine's Day, what two or three word phrase would you write on a conversation heart for someone you love? That someone could be a spouse, child, parent, cousin, bestie...anyone at all whom you love.

     "I Would, Again!" By that I mean to convey that I would marry my beloved SWMBO again in a New York minute!

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

     Spring could not arrive soon enough! Nuff said!

THE I'M REALLY SICK OF SNOW HODGEPODGE!

      As I write this we are up to our butts in snow once again. Two major snowfalls in one week. For the love of...STOP SNOWING! Well, onto this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge! I hope you enjoy this weeks edition.

1. Do you wear your heart on your sleeve, or keep your emotions tucked in tight?

     It really depends on the moment. Mostly, I keep my emotions tucked in tight.

2. How did you meet your closest friend?

     I had a crush on her girlfriend who also was my High School Chemistry Lab partner. She was already engaged to someone else so my closest friend snagged me up on the rebound. She's been my closest friend ever since...my beloved SWMBO!

3.  Pink lemonade, grilled salmon, cotton candy, pink grapefruit, a strawberry milkshake, or raspberry sorbet...of the pink foods listed, which one is your favorite? Least favorite? Which one have you most recently consumed?

     I'll go with the strawberry milkshake as my favorite. My least favorite is grilled salmon because of my allergy to fish. I have not recently consumed any of the listed foods.

4. When were you last 'tickled pink' over something? Explain.

     I don't think that I ever got tickled pink over anything. Must be a "man" thing!

5. Are you a fan of television talk shows? Daytime, nighttime, or both? What's your favorite?

     I'm not a fan of television talk shows. I do listen to radio talk shows. A couple of my favorites are "Denis Prager" on AM 870 The Answer; and "George Noury" on Coast to Coast AM.  

6. When was the last time you wanted to ask a question, but felt too foolish to do so?

     I am generally not afraid to ask a question. I had a teacher who impressed upon me that the only stupid question is the one you don't ask. I have since learned that this is true, however there have been exceptions as with all truisms.

7. My favorite __________________right now is _________________.

     My favorite thing right now is that I am done shovelling snow, at least until the next delivery of the white stuff. I am running out of space to store the stuff until God takes it back later this Spring. I will not miss it!

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

     I'm sure that by now you all know that my beloved New England Patriots have won the Super Bowl. We in Patriot Nation are ecstatic at the victory. We believe that the Patriots won the game and not that the Seattle Seahawks lost.
     This Super Bowl was one of the best games I have ever seen. It involved the two best teams in this season's NFL. It was like two heavyweight fighters slugging it out for the entire fifteen rounds.
     Neither team had any quit in them. Each team played for the entire sixty minutes of the game. The game was much closer than the final score indicated. 
     I congratulate the Seahawks for their successful season. They played a magnificent game. That last catch by Jermaine Kearse took all the air out of the room where I watched the game and gave the Seahawks a great chance to win. The interception by Malcom Butler put the air back and secured the Patriot victory! I could not think of a more exciting ending to a championship football game.
     So I'm sure you'll forgive me as I bask in the glory of the Patriot's fourth Super Bowl victory since the year 2000! WOOHOO!