I've been trying this morning to catch up on my blogbrowsing and Sarah Lulu had an intriguing meme...so what the heck. Here's the meme:
1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.
The scary part was looking around to find the "nearest" book -- which was probably not going to be the book I would have just chosen. My computer chair sits almost equidistant between my bookcase (which mostly just has negative files, old pictures, wires, junk and few books) and my son's bookcase which is the one thing that remains from when my studio was his bedroom.
Looking at his bookcase, my heart dropped to see "Understanding HTML" and "Intermediate Algebra."
BAGMAN: "Yeah! That's make a gripping blog!"
So I moved my chair a smidgeon to the right. (Who invented the word "smidgeon"?). There were only three books to choose from. The first was the instruction manual for my Nikon D-80 in Spanish. I keep the English version in my camera bag because I'm a slow learner. The second was a disaster planning guide which I got for some emergency management class I took because I am part of the county's emergency management operations if something catastrophic ever happens in Charleston.
But the third might suffice. It was "The Notebooks of Robert Frost." I'm still leery, however, because I've browsed this book alot. It is not something you read because it is literally the unedited notebook jottings of the poet. Like my own journal scratchings, much of it makes no sense because it is just reminders of things that must have made sense to Frost when he wrote them. But rules are rules, so here goes:
Page 123, sentences 6-8.
Oops! I have a problem!
BUTLER: "No that's not what it says!"
No, that was me saying I have a problem with the meme challenge because Frost isn't using periods or writing in sentences, so how can I figure out what the next three sentences are after 5 or even where sentence 5 ends?
BAGMAN: "Just write something and go get another cup of coffee, for Pete's sake!"
Okay, okay...I'll try to decipher where there is a natural break even if there isn't a period. Here we go again. Page 123, pseudo-sentences 6-8:
"Trees in the village street in mid afgternoon in summertime"
"The Clear sound images Clear sight images have been attended to"
"Exponents to denote stress."
I think I should have picked another book.
Or another meme.
Showing posts with label memes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label memes. Show all posts
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
A "Meme" from Lulu
This morning, sitting outdoors at my favorite local café (pictured above), catching up on Blogspot, I found a few of us were doing something called a “meme.” Okay, to begin with, I didn’t really know what a “meme” was, except they seemed to relate to questions and answers. So I looked it up and found the first definition as:
“a cultural item that is transmitted by repetition in a manner analogous to the biological transmission of genes.”
BAGMAN: “Hey! Let’s do biological transmission of genes thing instead!”
But since I can’t follow Bagman’s advice in public, I guess I will do the question and answer thing that seems to trace back to Lulu…but probably goes further than that. This is dangerous, however, because it may be hard for me to answer succinctly…each one could turn into a blog, I fear. I also don’t know why this one is broken into layers.
BAGMAN: “Hey! Let’s at least do the laying part!”
LAYER 1: Tell us your...
* Name: Never! You’ll have to waterboard me first! (This might not be a very good start)…okay, I give up. It’s Mark. Most of the time.
* Birthday (month, day): June 13th.
* Birthplace:
* Current location: Undisclosed hideout near
* Eye color: Don’t really know…it says “Hazel” on my driver’s license but I don’t know what kind of nutty color that really is.
* Hair color: Mostly gone
* Height: I’ve always said six foot even, but after gaining weight, I think I’m down to 5’11”
* Righty or lefty: Only left handed people are in their right minds.
* Zodiac sign: Gemini – the twins, of course – Bagman and
LAYER 2: What's...
* Your heritage: Scotch, English with 1/32 Wampanoag Indian
* The shoes you wore today: So far none.
* Your weakness: Women and thinking way too much.
* Your fears: Boredom terrifies me.
* Your perfect pizza: The next one
* Goals you’d like to achieve: Miraculously, I’ve achieved most of them. The sad thing is that I find it harder to come up with new ones.
* Your first waking thoughts: Damn what a great dream I was having and it ended too soon…and get to the computer and log it into the database of dreams I keep.
* Your best physical feature: My smile
* Your most missed memory: The memory I miss most is my own; what was the question again?
LAYER 3: Do you...
* Smoke: Nope
* Cuss: Only when it is the most appropriate word for the occasion. Most cussing is linguistic laziness.
* Sing: Only at inappropriate times.
* Do you think you’ve been in love: Since I believe there are an infinite variety of ways to love – Constantly, all the time, with everyone.
* Did you go to college: Yes but it was a miniscule part of my education.
* Liked high school: Yes…I seem to remember that I did.
* Want to get/stay married: Absolutely plan to stay married.
* Believe in yourself: I think, therefore I am.
* Think you’re attractive: Probably more than most people although I avoid mirrors because they argue with my assumption.
* Think you’re a health freak: I plan to start tomorrow.
* Get along with your parent(s): All my family has long since passed away but I got along with them fine.
* Like thunderstorms: Absolutely! As a teenager, I used to climb high up in trees and let the wind blow me around and watch lightening. Stupid, I know. Digression: My grandmother told me that my mother was terrified of thunderstorms and didn’t want me to be, so overcame her fear and always took me to the window to see them when I was a baby. Probably why I’m gaga over them now.
* Play an instrument: Guitar and banjo some but haven’t picked in ages.
LAYER 4: In the past month have you…
* Drank alcohol: Not since I started going to A.A. in 1976.
* Smoked: This was already asked in Layer 3, whatever a Layer is – what’s the pre-occupation with smoking anyhow?
* Done a drug: Done? I guess I done drugs before 1976. Now I just done do all the regular baby boomer ones – lipitor, nexium, etc.
* Made out: I’ve made out fine, thanks for asking.
* Gone on a date: In the last month? With my wife, I guess. But we usually call it grocery shopping.
* Gone to the mall: Sure. Another date with my wife.
* Eaten an entire box of Oreos: Layer 4 must be the Layer of dumb questions.
* Eaten sushi: Only after deep-frying it.
* Been on stage: The world’s a stage…but sometimes I need a better playwright.
* Been dumped: Not in the last month…down in the dumps sometimes though.
* Gone skating: This is the point where I’m thinking of quitting meming.
* Gone skinny dipping: Not in the last month.
* Stolen Anything: Not in the last month.
LAYER 5: Have you ever…
* Played a game that required removal of clothing: As often as possible.
* Been trashed or extremely intoxicated: Prior to 1976, this was my whole raison d’etre.
* Been caught “doing something”: Doing something?
* Been called a tease: Unfortunately, that’s all that remains at my age.
* Gotten beaten up: Not really. Although I beat myself up sometimes.
* Shoplifted: Not since I was 16 and got caught.
LAYER 6:
* Age you did get/hope to be married: I’m awful at dates. My wife would shoot me for not remembering the hour and minute…1987 or 1988…who old was I then? Yes, I do miss my memory (see Layer 2).
* Numbers and names of children (either you have or want): 3 – Jean and David by my first wife, Brian (21) by my last wife – and Brian just made me a grandfather. Well, actually, he and Melody made me a grandfather. He didn’t do it by himself.
* Describe your dream mate: Karen, of course. (Although if we are talking “dream” see Layer 2). I do still retain an imagination, but enough…
BAGMAN: No! No! Let me answer that one!!! Don’t stop there!
* How do you want to die: I’m reminded of the old joke: “I want to go quietly in my sleep like my grandfather and not screaming in terror like the people in the car he was driving.”
* What did you want to be when you grow up: I wanted to be Ernest Hemingway.
* What country would you most like to visit: All of them –
LAYER 7: Now tell...
* Name a drug you’ve taken illegally: Who wants to know?
* Name a person you could trust with my life: Karen. And frankly, I’m naïve to think that, if push came to shove, most of my fellow inhabitants on this planet.
* Name a favorite CD that you own: It’s all varied and on iPod anyhow – blues, bluegrass, rock – anything with a fast beat.
* Number of piercings: None, although my surgeon did a pretty good job ripping out my prostate awhile ago.
* Number of tattoos: None
* Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper: Too many to count. Sometimes as subject, sometimes as by-line.
* Name a past experience that you regret: Every person I’ve ever hurt.
I have ....... Gratitude and passion. I’m particularly glad this “meme” thing is finally over.
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