Last Christmas, my husband and I were invited to a white elephant party and were looking for a nice but fun gift to bring when we came across the handheld game 20Q’s. My husband was immediately addicted and we bought one as our gift. That little bit of background leads me to my current thoughts on an inexpensive but useful classroom tool for English language learners or struggling readers.

In order to play the game, you must pick a common object that most people would know about, be able to read or have someone read the questions for you, and then answer questions about your object’s characteristics. The choices are yes, no, and sometimes. The online game provides more answer choices. Here is a sample question. (I indicated that my object was an animal.)

Q2.  Does it have fur? 

 Yes ,   No  , Unknown, Irrelevant, Sometimes, Probably, Doubtful

Fun for struggling readers:

My nephew turned 15 this summer and I was stumped as to what to give him that wouldn’t just be thrown in his room and never used. Thankfully, I remembered the 20Q’s game and thought that it would be something he would enjoy. I was right. He and my husband played with the game pretty much all day and then again at dinner that night. My nephew is what most educators would classify as a struggling reader due to dyslexia and isn’t interested in reading. However, this “toy” required him to read the questions presented in order for the game to guess his object. My husband commented later that he thought the 20Q’s game would help our nephew with his reading because there were times when he did not know a word and would have to ask for help. 

Reinforcement/Fun for ELLs:

In an ELL classroom (only ELL students such as NEPs or NEPs and LEPs), 20 questions could be used to teach vocabulary and the characteristics of vocabulary. For example, if students are learning English for the first time, it is important for them to learn common school objects. The facilitator (teacher, instructor, para, tutor) will show them pictures of these objects or point them out around the school or in a book. Once the students are familiar with the names of these objects, identifying their individual characteristics creates a deeper understanding of the object and allows the students to then begin comparing and contrasting the objects or categorizing them into groups (comparing and contrasting and categorizing are higher level thinking skills). 

In addition to the content vocabulary such as the school objects, ELLs would also need to understand the academic vocabulary that is included in the game such as yes, no, unknown, irrelevant, sometimes, probably, and doubtful. If the students have no knowledge of these words then it is impossible for them to answer the question correctly. 

In a content classroom with ELL students, this “toy” could be useful as a “filler” (something that they could do after they have finished their work or if there are a few minutes left of class). 

The game is available in stores such as Target, Wal-mart, K-mart, and Toys r Us for approximately $7-$10. 

It is also online at http://www.20q.net/. 

If you have used 20Q’s in your classroom or have any other ideas on how 20Q’s could be incorporated into the classroom, please share your experiences and ideas with us.

This has been hanging around my draft queue for sometime…just doing some house cleaning…

1. Have you ever had inappropriate dreams about coworkers? (You know what I mean..)
Absolutely.  Especially the one where my bosses admin comes to my house and redecorates my living room in olive green paisley wallpaper…

2. Name the first person you ever told to fuck off.
My kindergarten teacher..school went downhill from there

3. Have you ever smoked pot or worse?
Well, I’ve smoked ham, cheese, salmon….do those count?

4. How and where were you conceived?
Don’t really want to know thank you very much.  The very thought makes my teeth itch.

5. Have you ever stolen anything?
My true love’s heart….that’s pretty sappy now isn’t it…

6. Ever been handcuffed?
See question 1 and concoct unusual answer…

7. Ever been arrested? Naked?
No. Yes.

8. Has anybody ever caught you watching porn?
Yes. See answer to question 2.

9. Do you have any unusual piercings?
My uvula and pancreas both have Corian studs..

10. Do you know any crack dealers or pimps?
Just the ones in The White House

11. Have you ever done a hit and run in your car?
We tried playing baseball in my friend’s minivan but the windows kept breaking

12. Have you ever been in jail?
Yes. Didn’t get my damn $200 either

13. Have you ever fired a gun?
Only to garner some happiness (you REALLY have to stretch on this one…)

14. Ever ridden a motorcycle in a race on the highway?
No, just in the hallway

15. Ever broken into a building illegally (as in, not your own house)?
Remember…we’re The Wet Bandits….Wet Bandits

16. Do you keep the extra change the checkout person gives you by mistake?
I actually don’t accept any change at the checkout counter. Who knows where all that filthy money has been…

17. What is your most guilty pleasure?
I can’t be specific, but it involves bungee cords, Redi-Whip and 10W-40 Quaker State…

18. Who do you most hate?
Go back to school and take some classes grammar…

19. Could you kill somebody?
You’re assuming I haven’t…

20. What was your worst Freudian slip?
I bought one at VS one time that was really shoddy…

Atlanta confirmed evidence of talon and won the game in a shootout (3-2), placing both the Sabres AND the Bills at 4-1 (Fabulooouuus). They played a lot better as the game went on, I was sure it was going to end up a disaster.  Goalieman Lalime was my hero of the night. He was excellent. It’s good to know we have someone reliable if Miller is ever hurt. Even though he may have chosen vanilla over chocolate, I admire his thinking. You can put the chocolate on the vanilla. That’s what I always say! Vanek remains a powerhouse (how many more goals?!?!!), Pommer got in a goal, and yes even Staffy. Except, he kind of needs to score while guys are chasing him and not just one on one with the netminder. 

My goodness Rick Jeanerette was very boisterous. My right ear was bleeding in the first period (in the best possible way).  

Next up, the Bruins. Oh joy.

Niagara on the other hand won 4-3. Thursday they play Michigan (#2). Oh… joy.

I originally planned on attending the Chargers and Bills game today. That was the game plan. Hmmm… yeah. Not happening. I forgot something. You know, that thing where Bills fans are hardcore. That one where they wait in line with pillows at 5am (not lying). I think it’s called dedication or something.

Tickets went on sale a few weeks ago at school and naturally they tend to sell out faster than Paul Gaustad’s body at an auction in Coyote Ugly (Look! No Timmy jokes!). Originally, they were supposed to go on sale at 7am but they changed the time to 5am to make buying tickets extremely painful and probably (I don’t know mebbe) to have something for me to write about. Maybe I’m just a bad fan. Bills, I love you but I’m not in love with you - not enough to be at school by 5am (maybe, maybe when they have Sabres tickets). My friends decided that they would wait in line a little before six and when I got there to just find them. One of my friends texted me at 6:15 and she said, don’t bother we’re already half way down on a huge waiting list. That pretty much blows all plans of the Bills game. I hope it snows. I’m kidding. 

My point is this weekend is Ralph Wilson’s birthday weekend. Keep kickin’. Please.

There’s this really cool site I got stuck on the day Amy referred it in one of her posts. It’s called Common Ties, and she has a (really touching) story there (along with a very awesome pic of her). The site no longer posts personal stories but instead, kind of like PostSecret, asks questions and invites you to send in your answer. If they like it and want to post it, they’ll pay you fifty bucks!! So after reading many of the answers (and yes, I don’t know if they’re all true but you’re supposed to sign something saying yours is), I thought it might be a cool thing to do.

Here is their list of questions for you to choose from, and for the purpose of making a point, I’m going to include them all here, rather than link to them:

1. What door do you wish you never opened?
2. What is your most obsessive thought?
3. What is the smartest/dumbest thing you have done?
4. What is the one thing your parents don’t understand about you?
5. What is the best/worst advice you’ve ever received?
6. What is your deepest secret?
7. What is the most shocking thing someone has confessed to you?
8. What were the strangest circumstances under which you have been intimate?
9. What happened on your most unusual date?
10. What email/letter do you wish you had sent/not sent?
11. What is the most interesting thing you have ever found or stumbled upon?
12. What is the strangest, funniest, or most embarrassing thing you have done/seen?
13. What is the most gracious act of kindness you have witnessed?
14. What is the nicest/nastiest thing you have ever said or done?
15. What was your funniest social or professional faux pas?
16. What was your most memorable encounter with a celebrity?
17. If you could meet someone from your past again, who would it be and why?
18. What was the most uncanny coincidence in your life?
19. What was your most life-altering moment?
20. Open Question: Submit your own question and answer.

You know that moment when in the Simpsons episode in which Springfield gets blasted with nuclear devastation Comic Book Guy suddenly says, “Oh, I’ve wasted my life”?

That is the first thing that ran through my mind when I realized I didn’t have a single answer to any of those questions. Not even number 20. I couldn’t think of anything.

Neither could I think of an answer to Karen’s question at the end of her post today.

I’m trying to think of this as a good thing, somehow, but I’m really sad about this. Either I have the shittiest memory on the planet, or I really have not consciously lived my life. I think it’s the latter, and I don’t know if I believe I can change.

This comes from Pop Matters.  #15 is classic Nellie quirkiness…

>>>>>>

Singer, songwriter, actor and activist Nellie Mckay calls her music ‘schizophrenic voodoo’. Schizophrenic because she jumps genres – from Tin Pan Alley pop and cabaret to reggae, rap and jazz—voodoo because these elements mysteriously gel with her evocative, playful, and bold lyrics.  The fictional character most like her?  A mix of Lassie, Scarlett O’Hara, Godzilla and Nancy Drew.  These and other reveling facets of her character are discussed with PopMatters 20 Questions.

A contributor to The Onion and The New York Times Book Review, McKay won a Theatre World Award for her portrayal of Polly Peachum in the Broadway production of The Threepenny Opera. She’s written the music and lyrics for the film adaptation of Katherine Arnoldi’s The Amazing True Story of a Teenage Single Mom, and is currently creating the Broadway musical version of the book and movie, Election.

1. The latest book or movie that made you cry?
Richard LaGravenese’s P.S. I Love You - for all the wrong reasons

2. The fictional character most like you?
I’m sort of a mix of Lassie, Scarlett O’Hara, Godzilla and Nancy Drew.

3. The greatest album, ever?
Anything by Toby Keith.

4. Star Trek or Star Wars?
A Star is Born (the first one).

5. Your ideal brain food?
When politics intersect with art.

6. You’re proud of this accomplishment, but why?
Dropping out of college: freethinking sustained by action.

7. You want to be remembered for…?
Being a great guy.

8. Of those who’ve come before, the most inspirational are?
The renegade Jews.

9. The creative masterpiece you wish bore your signature?
Rejuvenate! (It’s Never Too Late) by Eartha Kitt.

10. Your hidden talents…?
I can get really angry and no one can tell.

11. The best piece of advice you actually followed?
Please yourself.

12. The best thing you ever bought, stole, or borrowed?
A typewriter, a house, an idea.

13. You feel best in Armani or Levis or…?
A tent.

14. Your dinner guest at the Ritz would be?
Charo.

15. Time travel: where, when and why?
I wouldn’t want to ruin my illusions, but I would love to live sometime between the ‘20s and the ‘40s in New York, to have an icebox and two roommates, one sassy, with a one-syllable name, and one brainy (me and the sassy one would work on getting the brainy one out of the house, and me and the brainy one would work on the sassy one’s failed relationships with no-good sailors).

All three making a go of it in showbiz, running around from auditions to night club jobs and stopping for a nickel coffee and circling the theatrical ads, and communing at delis and drugstores with my fellow creative types, all of whom would go on to great renown, and maybe stand outside the theater

in the rain and get Lotte Lenya’s autograph, and be given a huge creamy bubble coat from a stage door Johnny who wouldn’t expect anything in return but to take me to dinner (according to Oscar Levant, that was often all they asked).  And once in a while our gang would go to Woolworth’s for a big splurge, and we’d sit at the counter and order all the French fries and malts we could manage (these being politically unaware times with regard to animal products, but at least there were no factory farms).

During the holidays we would all troop over to a friend who had an office job and we would have the merriest time at their Christmas party on the 25th floor of some mogul’s extravagant tower, and later we would entertain ourselves just wandering around the Village in the falling snow, and sneaking to the top of the Washington Square arch where we would declare martial law throughout the city and set about writing a brief constitution that we would subsequently tear to bits and sprinkle down on the cops amassing below.

We would be dreadfully hung over the next morning, but we’d be all right because we still had a little orange juice, bread and celery in the icebox and that would tide us over until the next big payday, which was certain to be right around the corner.

That or…I would live in the 1960s and work part time for the national anti-vivisection society while attending marches and student meetings in all my spare time.  I would wear a burnt orange/camel colored waistcoat and an old paisley dress and dark stockings with my granny shoes, and carry an old carpet bag which I would cram with flyers, books of poetry and calls to revolution.  Long hours would be spent over spaghetti and wine designing our future utopia in which all the pitfalls of the human condition could be avoided with a little foresight and much compassion and forward-thinking.

The problem with evil, we decided, was in its naïveté; if Hitler had realized the Holocaust would not solve all his personal problems, he never would have felt compelled to make it happen.  Our future must be grounded in the reality of existence, not over-compensating for miracles that had not and could not occur, or the basic injustice of life, never more obvious than at these meetings themselves, where the pretty people were deified as much if not more than in conventional society.

I would attend every be-in, every concert, absorb every opportunity to learn and grow that I could, all the while wearing my vulnerability with pride, an ability to be hurt not intrinsic to my femaleness but my humanity, not just to my humanity but my status as a living being, as comparable to a blade of grass as to a president.

Eventually I would meet a nice SDS member and raise him up like a puppy, teaching him the tenets of my burgeoning feminism and raising a family in the most organic, honest way possible.  This leads to my eventual and complete fulfillment.

16. Stress management: hit man, spa vacation or Prozac?
Ovaltine with Prozac.

17. Essential to life: coffee, vodka, cigarettes, chocolate, or…?
Parcheesi.

18. Environ of choice: city or country, and where on the map?
Doesn’t matter, polluted’s good.  It’s over.

19. What do you want to say to the leader of your country?
What leader?

20. Last but certainly not least, what are you working on, now?
Bringing it all back home.

~Dan - np: Sigur Rós - Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust

I got tagged by…

LEA KELLEY!

OK… here goes!

The rules of the game:

RULE #1 : People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blogs and replace any question that they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.

RULE #2 : Tag 6 people to do this quiz and they cannot refuse. These people must state who they were tagged by and cannot tag the person whom they were tagged by continue this game by sending it to other people.

Lea’s Disclaimer:

I did not write these rules…whoever did write these rules needs to “pop a Xanax” as a certain fellow blogger would say.

Questions:

1. If your lover betrayed you, what will your reaction be?

Shock, deep sadness… depends upon the betrayal… anger.

2. If you have a dream you’d like to come true, what is it?

The dream where I actually can make-ends-meet every month!

3. Whose butt would you like to kick?

It’s not very P.C.,… but it is a neck-n-neck tie between my ex husband and my partner’s ex husband.

4. What would you do with a billion dollars?

Pay off all my bills, my partner’s bills, all my Mom’s bills, save for kid’s college, etc. Then there is obviously plenty left over for giving!

5. Will your best friend always be your best friend?

I sure hope so.

6. Have you ever been in love with two people at once?

I have loved two at once, but NOT been IN-love with two at once.

7. How long would you wait for someone you really loved?

As long as I could hold out hope.

8. If you won the lottery, would you quit your job?

No, I could just enjoy doing it without the stress of making sure the business made money.

9. Who is on your celebrity top 5…

If you’ve seen The L Word… you know who these ladies are.

10. What sucks the life out of you?

STRESS!!!!

11. How would you see yourself in ten years time?

Successful, lower stress levels, healthy, happy, loved.

12. What’s your greatest fear/phobia?

I guess I don’t want to give it any more power by giving voice to it.

13. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?

THANKFUL!!

14. Would you rather be single and rich or married but poor?

Well, I am married and poor… so clearly… this is what I would choose.

15. What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?

Go to the little girl’s room.

16. Would you give all in a relationship?

I have in this one.

17. Is your career vitally important to you?

I think so because I believe it is my calling.

18. Would you forgive and forget no matter how horrible a thing someone has done?

I have learned to forgive to a great degree… but that is separate from “forgetting” or reconciling… or even not administering a butt kicking!

19. Do you prefer being single or having a relationship?

Hmm… I love being in a relationship… but sometimes it would seem nice to just have a “bachelor gal” weekend now and then.

20. List 6 people to tag:

Laurie, Ceara, Meg, Kelli, Steven, Debra.

PopTeeVee

PopTeeVee, an independent WebTV content creator and distributor, was launched in June 2008. Since then, it has attracted at least some 3,000 unique monthly viewers (and increasing) across its three channels: The Fairly Current Show (new episode on Thursdays), The Wknd Sessions (Fridays), and 20 Questions (Wednesdays).

Hardesh Singh, one of the principal drivers of PopTeeVee, hopes to grow the number of channels in the coming months; last I heard he was in talks with local college students to get them to creating their own content, based on local news items.

As broadband penetration in Malaysia increases over the coming years, and as more and more users (and producers) come to see the importance of consuming (and embracing) new media, a setup like PopTeeVee seems to be ready to take on this ascendant trend.

Some observations: While funding is still an issue (most of the people involved contribute their time and effort freely and with a mighty measure of belief in the need to democratize online content creation), and with slowly growing competition from old media desperately wanting to bed new media (and not immediately getting it right), we’ll have to wait and see how an idea like PopTeeVee grows, changes, and ultimately responds to market forces.

Here’s an article on PopTeeVee from The Nut Graph.

===

The videos can’t be embedded because of some coding problems, but if you just click on the pics you’ll be lead right to them!

Meor on The Wknd Sessions

One of my favorite performers, Meor, appears on The Wknd Sessions with a song, ‘Sama Antara Sesama’. You can also catch more of each musician at the main site - The Wknd. I love ‘Sofa Biru‘. Next week (10 Oct) they’ll be having another veteran busker: Sharidan.

shirts4real on 20 Questions

20 Questions, which is created, edited, and produced by songstress Mia Palencia, features young people who are then asked some 20 questions about their professions. This week the buzzy duo Dave & Joel interview the lads at shirts4real.

Suflan Shamsuddin on TFCS

This week’s interview on The Fairly Current Show discusses Reset, a new book by Suflan Shamsuddin, about the need to re-set our political mechanisms to deal with a lot of the problems that have plagued the Malaysian political landscape for a long time.

join in the fun! this is from Heterosexually Challenged (thanks steven! this is fun!)

A) Answer the questions below. Do a “Google” image search with your answer. Choose a picture from your first page of results. Do it with minimal words of explanation.

B) Tag 5 people to do the same once you have finished answering every question. Everyone hates being tagged, so if you want to play, consider yourself tagged and leave me a link.

okie dokes. so here goes!

The age you will be on your next birthday - 20

Place you want to travel to - South America

Your favourite place - field

Your favourite food - Roast Chicken

Your favourite pet - golden retriever

Your favourite colour combination - green and black

favourite piece of clothing - jeans

all time favourite song - when you say nothing at all

favourite TV show - criminal minds

name of your first significant other - not applicable

which town do you live in - singapore. technically, singapore

your screen name/nickname - jamujamujamu

first job - never worked before

your dream job - criminal psychologist

the one bad habit you have - can't sit still

worst fear - losing my fingers

thing you would like to do before you die - travel the world

the first thing you will do after winning a million dollars - tithe

first thing that comes to mind when you think of your significant other - i don't have one. so i'll consider my crush.

what present would you like for your next birthday - boyfriend!

So I only got to hear the first half of the VMA’s until the dude who was on the treadmill next to me was hogging the TV.  Cornball.

Anyways by the time I got back home I only caught the last half and had to watch the first half on rerun.  Seemed like perfect fodder for conversation so I hollered at the homie Cici and at the end of it all we got 12 questions.  We’ll throw in some video later as they come in on youtube.

Cici = Pink

Deuce Deuce = Orange

umm Jules im agreeing with you on this one

 Introduction/Hierarchy        Scripts/Drill                Misc Activities            Goals/Extra Practice

         Download Doc          Download Doc               Download Doc             Download Doc

Yesterday was one of those days where I was floating on a cloud. 
It was manifestation at its best where all my favorite things
made their way into one spectacular day

It started out with a dreaded trip to the Dentist
(my reason for my trip to Astoria)
where I was so pleased to find I had no cavities
and that the hygienist thought I had beautiful colored teeth!

(Here is a reminder of what my real smile looks like.)

After the best trip ever to the dentist,
I took myself out for a soy chai and some shopping
at my favorite antique and vintage shops.
It was at my very first destination that I found this:

You may or may not already know this about me,
but chess is my favorite game
(next to 20 Questions)
and back when I was head over heels
for that blond haired, blue eyed
goofy kid from Milton-Freewater
(the only hyphenated town west of the Mississippi)
he brought me a pink and white soapstone chess set
back from a trip to Mexico.
After that romance ended,
I *sigh couldn’t bare to have it around
so I gave it to a friend.
I have been searching ever since for another to replace it.

Grrrr Baby. Game on.

Throughout the rest of the day,
I found plenty more treasures including
this light pink foot stool
(which will be used a a plant stand)
and my new watch “dog.”

The icing on the cake was a quick stop in to see Denise
at Farmhouse Funk
where my bistro set dreams came true

I have my first project for when I land in Ashland.
Imagine white paint and blue seat cushions with white polka dots.
It will be beautiful.
The perfect place for an intense game of chess on the patio

I was so excited about my new treasures when I got home
that I jumped off the bulkhead while grabbing a tennis ball
to hit into the field for My Australian Boyfriend
(let the record show that NEVER once did I throw up the ball, swing and miss)
and mid sentence to my dad
“I have had the most fantasti…”
I stepped in a huge pile of dog shit.

In my White House Black Market sandals.
Gross.

Spirits were not lost.
I simply washed my feet and propped them up
while I kicked back in my favorite spot in the entire world
with Rudy, Eat Pray Love, and a bottle of wine.

Mom and Dad joined me after a while.
Happy Hour had begun.

So, I gave you 20 questions in which to ask me anything you like. It wasn’t as bad as I imagined it would be, I thought you’d ask some more nitty-gritty questions and I’d be squirming trying to answer them honestly. Here’s your answers…

Were you expecting a bigger response than this?

I didn’t really have any expectations, I just hoped people would respond… and harassed them a little with some help from twitter.

What do you do (or like to do) when no-one is looking?
Erm, I wander around naked alot if I have a shower. I just like to drip dry I guess, I’m not really an exhibitionist… At least I don’t think I am. Although I do love people’s bodies. I love Spencer Tunick’s artwork - I could look at it for hours, at all the different shapes and sizes of everyone.

Why do you blog, what do you get out of it?
I started a blog so I could have a journal about my time in Newcastle, documenting all the places I love and experiences I have. But it’s turned into a random mix of ‘blah’ - there’s alot about myself in here so it’s definitely becoming a bit self indulgent. But I like to talk about myself - it’s therapeutic. It’ll become a diary of my emigration as the months go on; a place I can look back to and just reflect on how far I’ve come.
I find reading other people’s blogs really insightful too - I’m a curious person and think people’s lives are incredibly interesting (hence my love for ‘Pick Me Up’ and ‘Love It!’), so hopefully people find mine insightful (or at least entertaining) too…

If you could be invisible for a day and follow a celeb, who would you follow?
I’m actually stumped by this question, I really can’t think! I’ve never been interested in ‘celebrity’. Oh, actually, yes i can. Zezi, the presenter on Big Brother’s Little Brother. I HAVE to know where she buys all her pretty dresses from. So I’d follow her to her favourite shopping haunts.

What would you do with a pair of chocolate shoes?
EAT THEM!!! I wouldn’t put my feet in them, yuk, I couldn’t eat them after that. And I couldn’t just display them as an ornament - it’s a waste of tastilicious chocolate.

If you were going to compete in the Olympics, what event would it be in? Doesn’t have to be an event that’s currently in the Olympics, just whatever you think you’d be one of the best in the world at.
I have never watched the Olympics and I have no idea what sports are involved - I’ve been useless at sports since being the chubby kid at school, and had no interest in it since. Perhaps if there was a ‘Bad Olympics’ I’d come out tops - Slowest Runner, Short Jump, Impaling the Nearest Spectator Accidentally With a Javelin… Yep, I would be gold medalist at being shite at sport. I have no hand-eye coordination so I can’t throw and catch or hit a ball with any type of bat/racket.

Any tattoos? And if not, then where would you like one and what would it be of?
I have two and a half… Funny story. When I was 19, I got a tattoo of a Playboy bunny on my stomach. I regretted it for two reasons, one; because from that point on I started to notice how many teenagers were sporting Playboy bunny branded apparel and I realised how tacky it was, and two; it was badly done, so instead of a rabbit head and bow tie, the head seemed to run into the tie, so it was just a rabbit head and neck. Nothing Playboy about that. Anyway, I had that tattoo covered with a flower - you can’t tell the bunny is there, unless you look for it - it’s like a magic eye picture, so I class it as 1 and a half tattoos.
The second tattoo is a massive red/pink lily on my back (see MY SENTIMENTS EXACTLY). I want to extend it, with two birds and some butterflies up my back - I love body art, just thinking about getting another tattoo makes my heart beat faster with excitement. It’s very addictive!

What do you do when people are looking that you don’t do when they are not?
The whole naked thing from above… Erm, maybe picking my nose/squeezing spots. Everybody does it. Don’t lie, you know you do.

How many copywriters does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
One, plus a thesaurus - so they could look up synonyms for ’screw’ and ‘lightbulb’, then write a few thousand words about it.

If you felt compelled to roundhouse kick someone, who would it be and why?
I’m not the violent type. I don’t have anyone I particularly feel the need to roundhouse kick either.

What is your favorite meal to cook, what is your favorite beverage to go along side?
I’m not sure about cooking it, but Indian food is my choice of meal, with a Kingfisher or Cobra alongside.

If you had to name a song which best describes you, what song would it be and why?
At the moment, it’s India Arie’s ‘Video’. I’ve inexplicably begun to feel an inferiority complex and body image issues. It’s ridiculous - I’m not 16, I should have grown out of it. But I had amazing self confidence when I was younger, I can only appreciate what a strength that was now I’ve lost it. I think there’s such increasing pressure from all angles to be beautiful, by the standards of others, that I’ve lost the ability to ‘own’ myself. I feel I should be different to match society’s expectations. So, India Arie is my mantra, to remind me that I am not a supermodel, but I’m ok.

Will you write a post about coffee shops in Newcastle?
Yes I will. Someday this week in fact, but not today.

A Tunnock’s Teacake at the Rendezvous, or a Kaffecino’s choccy muffin? And why?
I never liked Tunnock’s Teacakes - I don’t like the texture or the flavour of the marshmallow, so definitely the Kaffeccino’s double chocolate muffins. Oh, they are sooo good. The top is crusty, there’s white and milk choc chips in, and in the centre is gooey chocolate sauce… Oh I’m drooling…

Toilet paper … facing IN, or facing OUT?
Bizarre question! Not sure what you’d class as facing in or out, but I like my paper to roll from the outside of the roll, not from the ‘wall’ side, that’s just backwards to me.

As in the McCain ad: Daddy or chips?
Depends what mood Daddy is in!

Pork or lamb?
Lamb, I really don’t like Pork. I love lamb though, it’s so melt-in-your-mouth. Especially lamb stew… mmmm…

What was the best thing before sliced bread?
The bread knife. Although now we have sliced bread, I really appreciate non-sliced bread. It tastes so much better when you tear it from a crusty loaf, and it’s all fluffy in the middle - it’s like an authentic bread experience and the sliced stuff is just cheating.

What colour is your favourite shirt/top/t-shirt?
My favourite t-shirt is white, with FRANKIE SAYS RELAX in black type across the front. I love it. I don’t know why, since Frankie Goes To Hollywood was a bit before my time, but the t-shirt makes me feel cool… retro cool… which, ironically, is sad to admit.

Can I be the person who asks the 20th question?
Oh there’s always some smart arse isn’t there…

What was your most regrettable purchase? … i.e. the one that generated the strongest sinking feeling of buyer’s remorse.
There have been so many I don’t know where to start. I used to be such an impulse buyer. Oh, now I can think of one, big  (or rather, several little) regrettable purchases. I worked in Barratts shoes on Northumberland Street in Newcastle about 4 years ago. In the time I worked there, for a short and sweet 4 weeks, I earnt about £600. In that 4 weeks, I spent about £1200 on Barratts’ shoes… Hence why I quit.

There you have it. I’m still trying to think of somebody I’d roundhouse kick, because saying ‘nobody’ seems like such a cop-out. But I’m just not a hater…

Turns out that a few people are actually reading my blog, hurrah, and thanks for dropping by to decipher my inane ramblings. There is no particular theme to this blog, and I’m not sure I want one. I’m a fickle person, and very scatty, so I imagine that I’ll have posts about everything and nothing. But here’s a post for y’all, so you’re at least reading one thing of personal interest to you.

I’d like you to use the comments section below to ask me anything you like. I am explicitly honest - I have no sense of privacy or shame, so ask anything you like (now I’m asking for trouble). I’d like just one question per person, so I can get more people involved. Once I have twenty questions, I’ll answer them all.

It would be great if those with their own blog do the same - think of it as a reciprocal game. Tit for tat, if you like.

“The feds grabbing Gotti still ain’t stop me
I’ll never stop selling this Whitney and Bobby
watch so Rocky, Apollo on the fist
right wrist, killing niggaz like Drago’s in this bitch”

1. So do the most classless people in the tri-state area all decide to meet up at Six Flags Great Adventure each day?

2. Does the classlessness concentrate itself on the buses?

3. Is it really necessary to fall forty-five stories at one hundred and twenty miles per hour?

4. Why is that homeless people love talking to me? They usually don’t even ask for money, they seem genuinely interested in a conversation…

5. Is there a better spirit at the $20 price point than Rittenhouse bonded rye?

6. When we talk about the profits that oil companies make, why are the taxes they pay never taken into account? Who do people think fund all the ludicrous social programs that they love so much?

7. Speaking of which, how is it possible that New York State can be in a financial crisis when they’re taking at least 25% of everyone’s money? What the fuck are they doing with all that scratch?

8. How come we don’t hear about the War in Iraq anymore? Is it because we’re winning it?

9. Will Pineapple Express be the first Apatow movie that’s funnier than 40 Year Old Virgin?

10. Is Jodie Sweeten from Full House really getting her own reality show? I mean come on…

11. How cliche is it that MTV picked a loft in Redhook to film the next season of the cult classic Real World series?

12. Can we all thank David Chang for deciding to expand Momofuku Ssam and thus reducing wait times for all of us lamb tongue junkies?

13. Are the Mets going to get any sort of bullpen help?

14. Is anyone really sorry to see Jeremy Shockey go?

15. With the app store, 3G speeds and plastic black back is there any doubt that Apple has produced the best phone in the world?

16. Shouldn’t Mitt Romney be cast as the next Batman?

17. Is everyone else sick of miso soup or is it just me?

18. Should anyone who says that they have to “do sushi” at least once a week be shot, stabbed or gagged and electrocuted?

19. Where’s the bread bitch?

20. Shouldn’t Flyboyz start to be taken seriously as a relevant New York City food blog?

You’re going to watch it right? Of course you are. haha. *sigh* I’m sitting outside my house on my steps/stoop with my laptop. My dad grills me with 20 questions about where im going! Im just going to sit outside! dammit. Ugh. whatever. and it sucks because im trying to watch a live webshow and its now all laggy. X_X ARGH.

I have kitty pictures to post, but they’re not uploaded yet. We have eight kittens, four natural and four adopted. If you think one kitten running through the grass is too cute, your head will explode with cute overload when you see my kitten swarm.

But that is not today.

Instead, I’m doing this Q&A meme I saw over at Darcknyt’s a little while ago.

1. What was I doing ten years ago. Let’s see, this is 2008, right? So ten years ago…I was three months into my marriage, five months pregnant with my first baby, living in a hovel, and seeing my life flash before my eyes. Woo, way to start the meme with a bang.

2. Five things on my to do list. Hm. I don’t really have a to-do list. I normally just float through my day and do whatever crosses my path. Thinking… I guess I need to take out the stumps of the shrubs I cut down. Replace the rotting siding revealed from said cutting down. I’d put “get published” on the list, but I’ve done everything I can do at this point. Write a post. Oh wait, I’m doing that already. How many is that, only two? The remaining three: Get new laptop, lose belly, take mature Latin lover who doesn’t mind belly.

3. Snacks I enjoy. Triscuits and cheddar cheese. French Silk ice cream. Oranges.

4. Places I’ve lived. Prague, OK. Shawnee, OK. Paden, OK. Tecumseh, OK. Oklahoma City, OK. Sparks, OK. North Rock Creek, OK. Each of these towns is less than an hour from any other town on the list. *dies of boredom*

5. Things I’d do if I were a billionaire. Well, the first thing I’d do is start a tour of remote vacation spots (see above). While on tour I’d start a foundation for some oppressed demographic. And of course I’d have to get my extended family out of debt and into new dwellings. And then I’d GO CRAZY WITH POWER.

6. People I want to know more about. Famous people I can find out about on Google. Regular people are more fascinating. I want to know every single person’s story. Motivations. Loves and hates. Regular people are fascinating. If any one person reading this wanted to send me his/her secrets, I’d be ecstatic.

7. Two things I have in common with Oprah. Interest in spirituality and skin color. [Editor's note: This is a joke. I'm not black. It's not funny. I know that now.]

8. You can tell a lot about a person by… Their about me page.

9. Are you a yeller when you get angry? Not really. I do yell sometimes, but I used to be much worse. Now I mostly fume.

10. Have I ever danced in public? Yes, many times, but long ago. Usually embarrassed myself, but I love to dance so much. I dance every day, at home. I miss dancing with other people.

11. What did I do to deserve my first detention? I’ve never had detention. I got licks once for fighting in the 7th grade, but the other girl started it.

12. What did I do to deserve my first paddling? Oh, I forgot about the one in kindergarten. Kristy wouldn’t give me the pink marker, even though she wasn’t using it. Teacher just wouldn’t listen.

13. Three things I love about my town. The beautiful countryside, the memories of being happy here as a child, the library.

14. Four things I love to do. singing, dancing, spending time in my office, running from the kitten swarm.

15. Something unusual I carry with me wherever I go. My brain.

16. My favorite website. This changes weekly, but the most consistently-favorited is the lolcatz.

17. Where and when was my first kiss. Freewill Baptist Church in Spencer, OK. I was 14, he was 15. Ray Ticer was his name, and he was so cool because he pushed up the sleeves on his jacket. I knew he was planning on kissing me that day, because he had told my cousin and my cousin told me. He took me behind the church, leaned in. I was so nervous. Our lips touched, I knew the tongue was coming, but I was totally unprepared for how it would feel to have a foreign tongue in my mouth.

Now I like foreign tongues. *waggles eyebrows*

18. What would an enemy have to say about me? “Why is she always so f***ing happy? She’s always singing, why is she always singing?” (Actual quote of an actual person.)

18 1/2. Are we almost done yet? Geez, this is long.

19. Favorite childhood memory. Gosh, that’s a hard one. I don’t know if this is my favorite, but we used to have a lot of fun playing in our flooded street after a hard rain. And no, it wasn’t really dangerous. There was no drainage, that’s why it flooded every time, so it wasn’t rushing anywhere. It was like a huge wading pool with all the neighborhood kids. In this very town, actually, the happiest time in my life. I’ve come full circle.

20. Any regrets? Y’all should know by now that I’m too philosophical for that. Would my life be better right now if I’d made better choices? No way to know. I do know that when I die I’ll be the most well-rounded, well-adjusted person ever. So… Nope. No regrets.

1. What were you doing ten years ago?
   I had just graduated from high school, had my open house, went to
   college orientation, and went to London with my mom for my first overseas
   trip. I was hooked on crazy adventures from then on. The rest of the summer
   wasn’t so much fun because I had ACL reconstruction surgery and was waiting
   for my freshman year of college to begin. But let’s just say, I’ve come a
   long, LONG way in ten years even if I do have a long, LONG way to go.
2. What are five things on your daily to do list?
   Sleep, eat, shower, brush & floss teeth, and work (i’m always working).
3. What snacks do you enjoy?
   Yogurt, organic unsweetened applesauce, bananas, paul newman salted
   stick pretzels, string cheese, odwalla bars, almonds, sunflower seeds
4. Where have you lived?
   Mason, Michigan - East Lansing, MI - London, UK - Clemson, SC -
   Charleston, SC
5. What would you do if you were a billionaire?
   I would still work and volunteer but I’d probably be able to more fully
   indulge my hobbies like reading, travel, outdoor adventures, triathlon
   training, etc. Oh, but I’d probably also buy a house and make my parents’
   retirement happy.
6. Who do you want to know more about?
   All kinds of people and their stories.
7. What are two things you have in common with Oprah?
   We laugh with our whole spirit and we both are fascinated by a multitude
   of topics.
8. You can tell a lot about a person by…
   Whether they look at you when they talk to you.
9. Are you a yeller when you get angry?
   No, I bottle things up inside.
10. Have you ever danced in public.
    All the time. Why not? You don’t even have to be at a wedding or club to
    dance to a good song. Just grab a couple of friends and enjoy yourself.
11. What did you do to deserve your first detention?
    I never received detention. Only went to the principal’s office once and
    that was for running in the hall in the fourth grade.
12. What did you do to deserve your first paddling?
    My mom could answer this better than me but I think I only got spanked a
    few times and only when I did something that was dangerous and needed to
    learn a lesson. I vaguely remember something to do with our fuel oil pipe.
    My sister was the one who got into trouble most of the time. Boy did she
    have a mouth on her.
13. What are three things you like about the town you live in?
    Beach, weather, and how quiet it can be.
14. What are four things you love to do?
    read, work out, see new places, and learn.
15. What is something unusual you carry with you wherever you go?
    When I studied abroad I bought this angel stone that has an angel on one
    side and the other has the word "love".
16. What’s your favorite website?
    Google Reader or Google Calendar
17. Where and when was your first kiss?
    I don’t kiss and tell.
18. What would an enemy have to say about you?
    I don’t dress well, I expect too much from people, and I talk too much.
19. What’s your favorite childhood memory?
    Camping with my family.
20. Any regrets?
    Too many to list and not enough time to fix. Only thing can do is make
    more mistakes, have more regrets, but live life to the fullest no matter
    what.
     

2. What are 5 things on my to-do list today?
Since today is practically over, I’ll give you tomorrow’s list.
Thing 1: Wake up early and put on real clothes. (I’ve been at home all week and save a few exceptions, I’ve been wearing lounge pants and t-shirts and sleeping til 10am)
Thing 2: Go to the bank. Withdraw money for Father’s Day gift.
Thing 3: Get oil changed. Since it was overdue three months ago.
Thing 4: Have lunch with a boy. Don’t get excited. It’s not what you think.
Thing 5: Drop off resume at various employment possibilities.

3. Snacks I enjoy:
Chips and salsa (especially the tortillas with the hint of lime) and anything chocolatey. Diet caffeine free Pepsi with the chips and coffee with the chocolate.

4. Places I’ve lived:
Williamston, SC to Belton, SC to Cleveland, TN to Calhoun, TN Back to Cleveland, TN once more and then Back to Belton, SC.

5. Things I’d do if I were a billionaire:
Share. Buy a car. Buy a home. Stop looking for a job and write for fun.

6. People I want to know more about:
Some of the vloggers on Youtube that I subscribe to. My husband (wherever he is.) Jesus. Leslie’s boyfriend, since I haven’t met him yet. You. But not necessarily in that order.

7. Name two things you have in common with Oprah:
We both have couches. And we’re both Black.

8. You can tell a lot about a person by…
Their shoes, their hands, their hair. At least, I think so.

9. Are you a yeller when you get angry?
No I usually turn red, not yeller. Ha! Ok, seriously. If I get really angry, typically I cry. I have been known to slam a cell phone here and there.

17. Where and when was your first kiss?
First “actual” kiss was under the play doh table in kindergarten. First “real” kiss was in a car, at a stop sign, on a back road, seat belts a’flying. Wish I could take it back? Nah. What’s the use?

Woo. That was fun.