TPBM NEW thead IX!

Done

TPBM likes the short new thread.

Yes!

The person below me has also been waiting for a new thread because they got so far behind during the holi-daze.

Nope. Just going along.

TPBM is glad to see philosojerk again.

I thought I'd seen him post elsewhere. But maybe that's just how far behind I've gotten.

The person below me has kept on top of things.

Of course, we are!

The person below me has blogged today.

Not yet, and I feel guilty enough about it!

TPBM recently joined a book discussion group, as I did.

Nope. But I did just quit a poetry-discussion group...

The person below me has been to a live concert on Second Life (like I would be at right now, except our performer is having some serious technical issues, sigh).

Not a second-lifer.

>4 AnnaClaire: I'm not a him. And I have posted elsewhere, I've just been avoiding the person below me thread because I was never going to read all 300-some-odd posts that I was behind by.

The person below me has been extremely productive today.

I wish.

The person below me thought the book they read today was just alright.

Wait, I was supposed to have read a whole book today?

The person below me also thinks that a whole book in a single day is nuts.

Not especially. I read half a book today, and probably would have read the whole thing if I hadn't blown half the day trying to figure out why my car mysteriously wouldn't start.

The person below me also has no problems churning through books uber-fast.

I read too fast for my own good.

The person below me exercised today.

No, I confess to being far too sedentary today. I was reading and blogging.

The person below me did in fact go to the gym and exercise.

I don't go to a gym, but I did exercise today.

The person below me is relaxing with a cocktail.

I don't drink.

The person below me is also watching Dirty Jobs.

Is it on right now? I love that show!

TPBM loves it too.

I haven't a clue what Dirty Jobs is. Never heard of it.

TPBM hasn't a clue what Dirty Jobs is either.

I have absolutely no clue.

The person below me did something to remember Martin Luther King today.

I remembered it. I called it, to myself, The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr., Day. I scanned the editorials commemorating him. I recalled the letter from the Birmingham jail. I recalled that long ago I decided to memorize the "I have a dream" speech by his next day, and so far have not -- it is, I reckon, my loss.

The person below me is happy to see people take time off from their jobs to commemorate the life of Dr. King but still wishes they could have their mail.

Nope. I'm just wondering why it took 40 years to make it a National Holiday. It should have started the January after his death.

TPBM has some sort of a religious icon that is not part of his/her belief system (or lack thereof) in his/her domicile.

Hmmm. Not sure how to answer that one. I guess I have thought about them as art more than religious stuff. I have a ganesh, I collect temple (foo) dogs, I have some Quan Yin things, I have some things I can't remember the name of (edit: thangkas), I have some little Buddha's, I looked for an Eastern Orthodox icon while I was in Romania but didn't find one I liked at a price I wanted to pay. I love my prayer wheels and use them all the time. I have a book of Mormon and three or four Bibles. I believe strongly in a higher power but am not so crazy about organzied religions. This is probably too much information.

The person below me thinks mentioning religion is a tricky topic.

It's tricky for those who don't understand to each their own. I don't push my beliefs or thoughts on religion and appreciate those who don't push onto me theirs. Everyone is entitled to what is out there, but limit are necessary

I decorated my guest bathroom with ornate crosses, the wallas are covered. I thought its really a room in the house you sometimes pray too. Works for me.

TPBM is reading more books than I am currently reading at one time(5)

Heavens, no! I can barely handle two at a time. I try to focus on one at at time but will keep a back-up book upstairs by my bed.

TPBM lives in a home that is all on one level, so s/he doesn't need to monitor the whereabouts of his a particular tome.

Yes, we live in a ranch, so I am always on the same floor, at least, as my current book.

#20 - We have an Infant of Prague in one corner of our garden, and we love it there, which is a constant source of confusion to our friends and family.

TPBM knows what an Infant of Prague is and, in fact, knows someone who used to sew clothes for them.

I have actually seen the real Infant of Prague, I am very familar with it. I don;t know anyone that has sewn clothes for him though.

TPBM loves banana bread!

How did you know? It is one of my favs, especially hot from the oven. It was my son's first cooking experience, when he was five.

TPBM can't imagine letting a five year old loose in the kitchen.
(I really was there step-by-step)

Sorry - my current seven year old has been making the Saturday morning pancakes with me for several years (he has his own "recipes", which sometimes require a separate batch of their own).

The person below me would prefer someone else do all the cooking.

No, my husband and I have split cooking duties fairly evenly over the course of twenty-six years of marriage. I like to bake more than cook dinners, but it's not particularly onerous on most occasions.

The person below me loves to bake and might be willing to share a recipe with us.

Sadly, my baking skills end at putting pre-packaged cookie dough on a pan and sticking it in the oven. I am quite a cook, though.

The person below me will provide that baking recipe jill is looking for, though.

I'd be more than happy to share a recipie, but I don't have any here at work. Though I did modify a recipie in one of Mark Bittman's cookbooks that came out well.

The person below me has also creatively modified recipies.

Edit: I was able to find the cookbook in question on the author page: it's How to Cook Everything: The Basics. There was a fruit tart or crisp or something that I baked with apples, and added some stuff to.

I have, with varying degress of success/disaster.

The person below me likes sweet chilli salmon (one of the successes).

Never had it, but I think I would like it. Where's the recipe? Sounds yummy.

TPBM is quite accomplished in the culinary treats of another country or culture. (And will tell us what it is.)

My baked apples get requests, but that's hardly a cross-cultural recipe. Especially in the Big Apple.

The person below me has never made baked apples.

Y'know, I never have. My sons only like apple slices crunchy. You should have heard what they said when I baked them on top of pork chops (even with brown sugar).

The person below me would never claim betrayal if presented with apple slices on top of pork chops for dinner.

That sounds like a total betrayal - not because of the apple slices, but because of the pork! I don't eat the stuff.

The person below me has some form of self-imposed dietary restriction.

No soda

TPBM loves downhill skiing

I used to, before several knee surgeries made it a less-than-desirable activity.

The person below me is tired of the cold.

I was, until it warmed up to near 70 today! Tomorrow it'll be cold and rainy again, though, and I'll once again be tired of the cold...

The person below finished a book today, and will share what it was.

I did. The Proving Trail by Louis L'Amour.

By the way - way up the line someone asked about "Dirty Jobs." It's a Discover Channel program, wherein the host spends a day doing the most horrendous, gross, yucky, gag-making job he can find. Lots of fun!!

TPBM has to leave now. *bell rings* Bye.

Nope, you are stuck with me. I'm avoiding work since someone has allowed the idiots out today in conjunction with a full moon. Every time the wretched phone rings or the email bell chimes, it's another fool with a stupid question (read the material sent to you) or inane request (no, I will not make your hotel reservation for you just because you don't wish to place a transatlantic call).

The person below me has a wealth of patience when dealing with such poor benighted souls.

BWAAA-hahahahahahahaha. Uh, no.

The person below me is done work for the day.

I am fortunate enough not to have a job. I have, however, to write blurbs for my church newsletter and a letter from our AOAO to the management company. I have to edit the minutes of the last meeting of the board of directors of the AOAO. I have to replace my front door. And I am hungry.

The person below me knows what AOAO stands for and hates them.

No clue, so I can't say that I hate them. Sorry.

TPBM is listening to NPR.

Only when I'm in the car. At the moment my husband is in the living room, watching NBC's Brian Williams. I, meanwhile, am looking forward to Keith Olbermann on MSNBC at 6:00 p.m.

TPBM will share a "punditry" gem heard today.

I didn't hear a single one! The only person I talked to was the nurse calling to change my (only) medication. I did enjoy learning about the Infant of Prague. And I got lots of books in the mail!!! Amazon and ebay both.

The person below me also got a new book today.

edit: How's this? "She could only compose music in 3/4 time. She had waltz timer's disease.” (From pun of the day...)

Or "I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me."

That's me! Actually, an embarassment of riches - three Bookmooch books (The Alchemist, The Keep, and Tithe) and a DVD box set (Horatio Hornblower). Plus two packages for my roommate, two Netflix discs and a whole stack of other mail... I could barely hold everything and fumble with my keys to unlock the door.

The person below me is also a Netflix addict.

I would be, but neither of us can figure out how to hook up the DVD player.

Therefore, the person below me thinks I'm clearly a dolt.

Um, no. Unfortunately, I understand. I am somewhat technologically challenged myself...

The person below me doesn't have any trouble with electronic gizmos.

That's partly because I don't ask for it. When I had a VCR, the date was set; but I haven't tried working with Series at LibraryThing.

The person below me thinks LibraryThing is not an electronic gizmo.

Well, it isn't exactly software, and it certainly isn't hardware, so... no.

The person below me has a bone to pick with my logic.

Having "a bone to pick" is an interesting turn of phrase, if you think about it... I don't think I pick bones... so, no

The person below me picks bones.

I have.

The person below me likes to use old-fashion-y phrases.

Well, bless your sweet heart, I certainly do. Plus, being raised by a ''very'' southern woman, I've a poke full of strange saying that leap out of my mouth totally uncensored by my brain.

TPBM has had their coffee this morning and therefore are more awake than little ole me.

Nope! Not a coffee-drinker. Caffeine before noon makes my heart feel like it's going to explode. I've got the hot pot going for tea, though.

It's already after noon for the person below me.

Oh my, no. It's still morning here.

TPBM will share an "old-fashion-y" phrase with us (I really like that idea, xorscape!) like "the chickens come home to roost".

(Which is what my dad said to me when I complained to him about what picky eaters my young children had become.)

In my house, we tell each other not to have a hissy fits. I don't know if that's just a Southern practice or if it qualifies as "old-fashion-y".

The person below me has some foreign language phrase that has crept into their every day use.

Oh, Merde - you want a whole phrase?

Here's one I only know phonetically, but it was used by my 6th grade teacher and is Russian - "shee e kasha, pisha nasha" translating to "cabbage soup and cereal is our only food". It is used in our household to say: quit whining and be thankful for what you have.

The person below me regularly uses a proverb they picked up from a grandparent.

"C'est la vie"
I don't really know how to spell the others.

"Uf Dah!"

TPBM is fluent in at least 2 languages.

Oops! Too slow. Fluent in English and proficient-y in French.

It's not a proverb, but the previous threads made me remember something my Atlanta-grown grandmother used to say when I was being contrary as a little girl, "You and me are fixin' to fall out." I didn't ever want to fall out with my grandmother, who spoiled me rotten, so I would be good.

TPBM will share another family/regional phrase.

I'll weigh in again because I like these.

My wife's grandmother: the higher the monkey climbs the more she shows her ass.

My grandmother: the horse always goes faster on the way back to the barn.

The person below me uses at least one proverb picked up from literature.

Probably dozens - if only I could remember one! Will "a rose by any other name" do?

On the other theme I always like - "sometime you have to kick the door before the penny drops" which refers back to the days when (UK, LSD) pennies existed and public conveniences used quaint coin in the slot mechanisms on the cubicle doors.

TPBM has live through a change in currency (like decimalisation in the UK or the switch to the Euro).

Only in the sense that I was born and raised in Canada, then (through marriage) ended up in the U.S. Canadian currency is attractively diifferentiated by color, unlike here.

TPBM has a collection of foreign currency, mementoes of travel.

I've never been outside the U.S.

The person below me is playing hooky today.

I really wish but I'm a getting behind and can't afford it...

TPBM has been to at least 3 other countries outside of their home one.

Nine (Canada, Mexico, Bahamas, Costa Rica, Panama, England, France, Germany, Italy). Ten if you count riding a train through a country, but never getting out as "having been to" (Switzerland).

TPBM has been to Asia.

I lived in Bangkok, Thailand for two years when I was a little girl. My brother was born there and held dual citizenship until he was 21.

TPBM has visited the Scandinavian countries.

Nope, I want to though. Someday I'll travel all over the world. (In my dreams)

The person below me will be eating out tonight. (ordering in counts too.)

I'm so sick of eating out, I could scream. I've had exactly 3 meals at home in the past month.
It all changes next week -- my father-in-law's funeral is Saturday.

>24 amancine: -- someone who used to sew clothes for Infant of Prague. That would be me. She was the wife of one of my Boy Scout adult leaders when I was a kid. She stood all of 4'8" (he was 4'10" and owned 3 Edsels), and she made hundreds of these outfits and lord help you if you made an even slightly disparaging remark about John Wayne!!!

TPBM can name 5 John Wayne Movies, and knows his real name.

The Quiet Man is the only one worth watching. And his first name is Marion.

The person below me drinks 8 glasses of water a day.

If you count the water in tea, yes.

The person below me is proud of their ears.

Not especially proud, no. I am deaf in my left ear, caused by a condition that has also given me two different coloured eyes - my left eye is blue and my right eye is split half blue/half brown.

The next person is proud of their earings.

I'm not wearing earrings.

(I missed the post and couldn't get back in to edit, hence the delete and attemted re-post.)

The person below me will knit something from one of my knitting patterns.

I've crocheted a pair of ribbed mitts.

The person below me is left handed.

No, but my mother is.

The person below me is ambidextrous.

Edited to add: I just noticed a funny coincidence of my mother being a leftie. Go take another look at that ribbed-mitt pattern if you didn't catch it.

Nope. Plain old righty.

WHL: my condolences on the death of your father-in-law.

TPBM will tell me get back to work.

Oh, I'm really, really right handed. I wish my left was more dextrous.

WHL, I am sorry about your father-in-law. My sympathies are with you and your lovely wife. It is hard to lose a parent.

Ooops. Too late. Get back to work, citygirl. Right now. Or soon. Or when you can. :)

The person below me uses the word "stoop" when talking about the front steps. (As in, I was sitting on the stoop when she stopped to talk.)

(I had never thought about this term while growing up, but I finally read it in some book and, as I understand it, it is a German word for front steps.)

Stoop always conveys to me the urban environment. Out in the suburbs or in the country, you don't encounter it as often. I have been known to refer to the front stoop but not since we moved to our present location.

TPBM is thinking about whether a recession will really hurt his/her ordinary joys of life -- like book buying.

I am worried about my book buying habit should we really get into a recession. Still, if we can't pay the mortgage and lose the house we could always build a book igloo to live in.

TPBM would like to live in a book igloo.

I don't think so. I would always want to read the one on the bottom. I think there is some game based on pulling out blocks without making the whole thing tumble down.

The person below me likes colored and/or patterned socks.

I like them, but I am rarely brave enough to wear them... sigh

TPBM likes hats

No. But since I have to wear them in the summer I am experienced with hats, here the choice: Japanese tourist style, thick cotton, goes into any bag, Panama hat, navy blue, 100 % wool captain of a boat hat, cordroy sand colored base ball cap, 1940s style formal hat like Greta Garbo......I deeply dislike all of them.

The person below me dislikes something she/he has to wear too.

Nope. I don't wear what I don't like.

WholeHouse - My condolences on the loss of your father-in-law.

TPBM is tired of winter.

I like winter but wish ours were a proper one. We didn't get a white Christmas we got a wet one. If it has to be so cold it ought to snow.

TPBM has booked their summer holiday already.

There are sketchy plans for a family reunion (my side) not too far from where the original Woodstock concert was done, sometime this summer. So, to answer your question, No.

TPBM was there at Woodstock, and will tell us where he/she can be seen on the album cover.

haha, that was the year my DAD graduated from high school.

TPBM finds that funny

Hee. Hee.

TPBM owns objects with his or her initials on them.

My mom used a Dremel tool to engrave my initials into my tape measure so other household members would quit swiping it.

The person below me has an ongoing DIY project in their home.

Nope - I'm a firm believer in paying people to do things when they know how to do them so much better than me.

TPBM is heading out for lunch.

I should be, certainly. But that entails getting up from the desk and as soon as I do, the wretched phone will ring with someone whining at me about something.

The Person Below Me has a better work attitude than I have at present.

Oh, goodness, I wish I did! I have things to do and I am sitting here reading LT posts, which is much, much more pleasant.

The person below me is enjoying a quiet evening at home.

Quiet? I wish. I can hear my downstairs neighbor's music. Thumpa-thumpa-thumpa. Not my music of choice. I'm not big on the confrontations, so I have not gone down and asked them to shut the f*ck up, and pounding on the floor has never done any good in the past.

Some day, oh god, some day I will live in a house away from other people and I will not have to listen to anybody's obnoxious f*cking music. I hated living in dorms and apartment buildings are only a little better.

The person below me, I don't know, has more tolerance than I do.

My neighhour is in her 70's and plays Dean Martin music at 6:45am while she hoovers her stairs, slams doors and hammers nails into the wall. She is the loudest woman in the world but she is mostly deaf and doesn't realise it.

Lucky for me I am also deaf in one ear so can sleep on the hearing ear and ignore her.

The person below me would have complained about the noise by now.

Oh, yeah. It's easy to cover up tunes, but the bass thumping drives me up a wall. A few of my neighbors have heard from me over the years. But it's not a problem right now, thank God. Quiet neighbors are a blessing.

The person below me also has quiet neighbors.

The immediate neighbors are pretty quiet, especially at the appropriate times of the day, and they don't get upset when I play a classical CD on my back porch. One of the neighbors has a dog who barks excessively, but otherwise I like him so I talk to him.

The person below me is too far from their neighbors to converse with the neighbors' dog.

Not really, they have greyhounds which I never hear. I don't know if greyhounds are naturally quiet or if these are well behaved. (Same neighbors who poisoned my dogs, but I never had proof.)

The person below me has really nice neighbors who don't make frequent, disrupting noise.

No, it's me again with the noisy old lady neighbour. When we lived in the other house I did complain about a garden party that went on past 3am with a lot of noisy singing over a microphone. But I took a nice bottle of wine with me to give to them so they didn't think I was a complete moaning biddy.

The person below me is the neighbour who makes all the noise.

I hope not. I play my loud music during the day, when my immediate neighbors are at work. I live in a two story detached house so the sound from my computer speakers doesn't travel all that far anyways.

The person below me lives in a place where fireworks are legal for purchase.

Me again and yes I do but I wish they weren't.

My dog is very frightened of them and they last for weeks before bonfire night in November and right through to Chinese New Year in February now, so that's four months of stress for her. I like them at displays and things but could do without the kids down the road being able to buy them.

The person below me has a fruit tree in their garden.

I do have 4 apple trees in my yard.

TPBM has some other fruit bearing plant/vine/tree

We used to at our old house - sour cherry or "pie cherry," as we used to call it. The kids would climb up on ladders before we went on vacation every year and pick all the cherries so that I could freeze them. Pies made from those cherries were the best ever!

Oops - too slow. We used to have grape vines, also, but I have mentioned that before.

TPBM would love a cherry pie right about now.

Mmmmmmmm... I would LOVE cherry pie right now... hot and delicious with ice cream on top... mmmmmmmmmmm....... drooooooooooollll!!!!!

TPBM is not hungry for something sweet.

Nope. Just ate a chocolate muffin top. I once asked my husband why the tops taste so much better than the bottoms. Something about heat distribution. I dunno.

TPBM has fun and/or special dinner plans this weekend.

Nothing more special than microwave meals for one I'm afraid.

TPBM does have special plans for something this weekend though.

No. Standard Saturday morning errands to do groceries, a visit to the local library for various book-group-related thingies, but otherwise a quiet and unassuming lifestyle.

The person below me may have something spiffier to look forward to -- if not on the weekend, maybe during next week!

I have a job interview on Monday! Wish me luck!

TPBM is also job-hunting.

No, but I should be, given how often I get paid.

Anyway, congrats on getting an interview. Break a leg (just don't literally break a leg).

The person below me thinks people who like living in large cities are nuts.

Naw; we're all nuts. I was thinking that if I got my wishes I'd live in a huge apartment in New York City with parking married to Danielle deNiese and going out all the time. I was also thinking that I ought to pack up all my books and move to Bhutan, but they don't have high speed internet.

The person below me is happy where they are.

Ugh, nope. I live in the desert and I hate the heat. My husband's job brought us here :-(

TPBM live in a really neat place!

Well, I rather like Boston. Though summers in the Laurentians, north of Montreal, would be neater.

The Person Below Me has a regular vacation spot they like to go to.

Well, we're in a rather-less-than-picturesque suburb which used to be a nice little community before the Great State of Pennsylvania decided to run various roads through it. The FAA has decided now to increase the number of planes over *our* heads so that folks in New York aren't hindered in *their* air travel. That desert you are in, Januaryw, sounds somewhat appealing.

The person below me isn't going to sound like s/he is as much of a misanthrope as I...

I think so - but most people don't. I love wide open spaces, magnificent star-filled skies, kind generous people, and a small enough school where I know every kid. And their siblings. And their parents. And their dogs and horses. And their inter-family connections. And what kinds of books they like.

TPBM is winding down from a busy Friday.

I guess I never was so much too slow so fast......answering 109

Pretty enough. A lake, small mountains, big ones in the background, a river for tough swimming, a dozen good bookstores, public transportation every 5-7 min.

The person below me knows a movie showing the place they live.

I do know a movie that has my town in it. It's called Brassed Off and is about a band. They used the art college but pretended it was hospital.

The person below me is hungry

Hungry for Ewan McGregor ;)

The person below me has played Chinese checkers.

But of course!

The person belong me has seen a good play in the last month, or has plans to see one soon.

Just an opera and a movie. No play..... Jodyreadseverything, I just bought this movie last saturday! Now I will see it tomorrow and hope I see what you see everyday!

The person below me is an actor.

I'm not an actor, I get too shy.

#117 Diwan - Not all the movie is in my town, just the bit with the hospital and you can see St Georges Minster in the background. But it's probably the only movie Doncaster has ever been in so I'm still very proud.

The person below me has acted in a Shakespeare play though.

Does reading Shakespeare in English class count?

The person below me has acted in a Shakespeare play in front of an audience not made up of his/her/its English class.

Holy cow, no! The last time I tried to act in front of an audience, I got so scared I could barely get my one line out before I fled the stage! It was my senior year in high school. I did act in a play when I was 12, and sang one of the lead parts. What a change between 12 and 18...

The person below me is not too shy to perform for an audience.

Up in front of the crowd once or twice a month as it happens. As far as Shakespeare is concerned, I was Friar Lawrence in Romeo and Juliet in sixth grade and a mere 30 years ago, I did Twelfth Night in college!

The person below me can quote some Shakespeare here and now.

"Romeo, oh Romeo. Wherefor art thou, Romeo?"

Or something llike that...

I never acted on stage, but I worked in the Stage Crew quite a lot.
I have no problem speaking in front of just one or two people or a large crowd.

TPBM knows how to use an abacus.

No, nor a slide rule either. I wish I could.

"To be or not to be. That is the question..." One of my favorites!

The person below me has a favorite literary quote. And, of course, will tell us what it is.

"The evil done by men of goodwill is the worst of all." Iain Pears, The Dream of Scipio

TPBM had dinner out tonight and enjoyed a delicious meal (unlike me whose dinner was awful.)

True. After a 5 hour drive with 2 somewhat shrill voices going non-stop (I love my wife, and I care for her family a lot, but it's difficult being around them -- the family; my wife is great), I had a pretty decent steak. Good thing too -- I'm digging a grave tomorrow morning. I told my father-in-law I'd see him through to the end -- I never imagined it would go that far!!!! This is definitely going to be a chapter in the book.

TPBM has read something by Stephen King.

Only the first 150 pages or so of The Stand, having decided once and for all that horror is definitely not my thing. Reality is scary enough.

Like me, TPBM will be thinking about WholeHouseLibrary tomorrow and wishing him well.

Absolutely true! He's demonstrating real family commitment today.

The person below me is snug and warm at home.

Right now yes, it's a bright sunny day with a clear blue sky - warm enough to leave the kitchen door open for the cats to get back in.

. . . and I'm off to London later so have to leave the snug and warm to go and catch an evening ferry.

TPBM has crossed the equator.

As many countries I've been in surprisingly No. The international date line? the Prime meridian? Yes

TPBM HAS crossed the equator.

No. I've been to places North of it so far.

The person below me has crossed the International Date Line.

Not yet. I've been to Hawaii, which is close, but I haven't made it over the line.

The person below me has been on at least three continents.

I spend a lot of time in North America. I've also been to England (twice) and China (once), so I've also been in Europe and Asia as well.

The person below me has only been on one continent.

Absolutely true. Both of my children are way more well-travelled than I am.

TPBM learned something new this week - and will tell us what it is.

I have learned that Pyrexia is a medical term for a dangerously high temperature and that tachycardic means a heart rate of more than 100 beats per minute.

TPBM has also learned something new and would like to share.

Checking this site http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html
I learned that world's human population now exceeds 6,646,582,000.

In 1960 it was slightly more than 3 billion.

It's expected to reach 9 billion by 2050.

TPBM is alarmed by this.

It is an alarming prospect. What ever happened to the concept of Zero Population Growth?

The person below me watched something worthwhile today -- on DVD or television or in real life!

On CNN, a portrait of the CEO of a textile retail imperium from Japan, growing like HM and IKEA, European skating championship in Zagreb, competition of the women, the international fight against the destruction of rain forests, a summary of the WEF in Davos, a woman surgeon in Kandahar, working for victims of the war and constantly being threatened to get killed as a working female, the politics around Gaza. Between 8 and 11 pm.

The person below me has bought books on economics or politics lately.

Too late, so. I bought a book on the Bush presidency a few weeks ago. I've received many books on politics recently, but did not have to buy them.

I've been watching The Green Mile, but I'm getting ready to go run errands.

TPBM has a particularly annoying errand he or she has to run.

I have to do laundry, does that count as an errand? It involves a lot of running up and down stairs from my apartment to the basement of the building...

The person below me doesn't mind doing laundry (care to do mine?).

I don't mind the laundry but I hate the ironing.

The person below me also hates ironing.

I don't hate laundry or ironing, but I do hate having to sort it and put it all away.

The person below me rented a new release this weekend.

No, I'm still working through the DVDs that came into this house at Christmas time. Today I watched Amazing Grace; I had tried to do it once before but got interrupted too frequently to remember anything about it.

The person below me gave up ironing years ago.

I never really started. I try, occasionally, but I'm not very good at it and I seem to rumple clothes just by putting them on, so what's the point?

The person below me knows how to iron.

Not really. Basic stuff, but anything else? It never looks quite right, so I took 2 complicated blouses and a white cotton button-down to be laundered. Never did that before. We'll see if it's worth it.

TPBM can successfully iron a white cotton button-down.

Yes, if you promise to keep a minimum of 20 feet away from me when I'm wearing it.

The person below me has something witty to say.

"You have to set a turian to Khatchaturian." Walt Kelly

The person below me gets it.

No, sorry, I get the word play but not the point.

The person below me knows who Walt Kelly is.

Walt Kelly wrote the Pogo comic strip, I believe.

TPBM is too young to know about Pogo.

No. I remember Pogo and still recall some of the jokes, such as "we have met the enemy and he is us". Still too true, she sighed.

The person below me makes an effort to look up words encountered in reading with which s/he may not be familiar.

Depends on if I can work them out from context or not. If I can, then no, I don't bother. If I can't, then I might.

The person below me has a headache (like me, ooch).

I do have a headache, so we can suffer together.

The person below me uses some sort of natural remedy to fix a headache.

No; I go for sinus stuff for that kind of headache and Tylenol for the rest.

The person below me doesn't get sinus headaches.

Ah, but I do. I think Aleve works best for my headaches.

TPBM is having homemade soup for dinner.

Well, it was not quite a soup, but neither was it a full-fledged stew. It was, however, a bit of a disappointment.

The person below me knows better than to improvise in cooking.

It depends on what I am fixing. New stuff, I stick with recipes.

The person below me is really jealous that I got to go to the Friends of the Library book sale this weekend. I went yesterday and half-price day today! I snagged some great books! (The Thirteenth Tale, The Time Traveler's Wife, some Marion Chesney, some large print for my mom, a couple of Mercedes Lackey for my brother, some 10 cent romances, and on and on...

I'd have been happy to trade places with you. Three hours before the funeral service, I was digging the grave!

TPBM now knows I'm a man of my word. I told my FiL that I'd see him through to the end.

There's going to be a chapter or two in my book (working title: Liberals and Conservatives, Pets and me, and Other Things that Don't Get Along, about this experience.

I do believe that you are a man of your word. And you have to be kind and caring to be so involved in your FiL's service. My sympathies for losing him and my admiration for following through.

The person below me can't wait for the book, even knowing that they may shed a tear for WHL and family.

It sounds like a very interesting book and I'd certainly buy it if I came across it. WHL, you can include my relationship with mobile phone companies if you like because we certainly do not get along. And I am very sorry for your family at this time.

The person below me has also had some bad experiences with so-called customers service people at a big company.

Yep. A telephone company kept calling me and when I answered a recorded message told me that my call was important to them and to hold for (name). I don't much like to wait when I make the call and when they're calling me! forgetaboutit.
This went on for a couple of days until finally a person was on the other end, I was asked to wait a moment and the person named in the message came online, he started with "Your last payment was..." and I cut him off. I told him that you do not call a customer and tell them to wait for you. My husband and I were in retail for 26 years and you just don't treat your customers like that. I ranted and raved for a few minutes, then asked him what his problem was. Turns out I had misdated the payment check. After telling him what I thought about their method of dealing with this problem, I told him I'd cut a new check and I WOULD NOT PAY A LATE FEE. I felt better, hubby was looking at me like he was afraid my head would start spinning.

TPBM thinks maybe I over-reacted a little

No, not in the slightest. I frequently seem to have such conversations . . . though I do try to remember to apologise to the human being that I'm talking to who usually has no more influence over their system than I do!

The degeneration of customer service will be one of the ongoing sagas of the first decades of this century I fear. And all done in the name of improved customer service.

The person below me has walked out of a meeting as a negotiating tactic.

No, but I've ended phone calls rather abruptly as a negotiating tactic. And I absolutely agree with you, GreyHead. Indeed I think one of the reasons that my teeny-tiny little non-profit is still around is due to our sense of customer (member) service.

In keeping with this vein, the person below me is tired of having to search to find open cash registers in department stores.

I hate having to search for someone when I am actually trying to hand my money over in a store. Especially when only one register is open but they have at least three people standing there staring at you while you wait but making no effort to help you in any way.

The person below me has left their goods on the counter and left the store because of this problem.

Yep! It's not worth the retelling, though.

I used to work at the receiving end of an 800 number for a now-thrice bought computer company called Tandem Computers. Our customer satisfaction numbers tanked when we went to a bean-counter type rating system (# of calls taken per hour; # of repeat calls; etc).

That's why I originally started doing Contracting -- The ratings had absolutely nothing to do with the Customer. This was shortly after the Personnel Department was renamed to Human Resources.

When all else fails, manipulate the data.

TPBM is more of a "People Person".

L No! I like my privacy, and quite and a select group of intelligent people to converse with...

TPBM isn't surprised by this statement.

As you so cleverly put it, L no.

The person below me somehow thinks people who read nonfiction are just showing off.

Well, not all people who read non-fiction. People who read exclusively non-fiction and look down their noses at people who prefer fiction, then, yes.

Seriously, the flight attendant on my plane yesterday was quizzing me about the book I was reading (The Looking Glass Wars) and whether it was broadening my mind and if I was learning anything, all in this really snarky and condescending tone of voice, and I just wanted to say "Shove off! I'll read escapist young adult fiction to distract myself from the awfulness of air travel if I want to!"

TPBM will actually strike up conversations with the person next to them on the plane.

I will talk to people on planes/trains/automobiles but only if they (and I) are not reading.

The person below me frequently says "sshh...I'm reading" to their loved ones.

No. I will however "shush" them if I'm trying to listen specifically to a news story on television because you can't put broadcast television or cable news on "pause" unless you have a TIVO. Reading, I will look up and acknowledge the person's inquiry or concern and then usually go back to my book. Books don't get upset if you put them on pause....

The person below me is invariably polite to the dimmer sorts of people in public society.

Yes. It works pretty well. Well, at least I start out polite. Every once in awhile I have to go Julia Sugarbaker on someone. Not frequently. It's usually not worth it.

TPBM knows what I mean by "going Julia Sugarbaker."

I don't know. I have never heard of her but don't tell her. She might "go Julia Sugarbaker" at me and it sounds bad.

The person below me does know who she is and what that means.

Would that be something like "Tammy Faye Baker"

TPBM likes sushi.

Yes, I do, but not all kinds. The octupus is always too chewy for me.

I know who Julia Sugarbaker is! Old tv show about southern designers (four women). It was pretty funny especially in the beginning.

The person below me watched the Mansfield Park on pbs last night.

No.

Julia Sugarbaker was a character fron the TV show, Designing Women, although the name of the actress who played her escapes me at the moment.

TPBM can fill in my lapse of memor for me.

Dixie Carter (married to Hal Holbrook). Delta Burke was her sister Suzanne.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Designing_Women

Like I said, I thought the earlier shows funniest.

The person below me is sadly shaking his/her head over these old(er) folks talking about old tv shows. (Andy Griffith was the best tv show EVER.)

Dixie Carter was the actress who played Julia Sugarbaker and when she was pushed past her patience, she could tell people off beautifully and with witty sarcasm that was invariably well-deserved. I would love to be able to pull a Julia Sugarbaker on the people who annoy me. Oh, crap, I'm too slow.

I am not shaking my head over the old folks on this thread; I do have my doubts regarding anyone of any age who thinks The Andy Griffith Show was great television.

The person below *me* watched Mansfield Park last night on PBS. Or alternatively the person below me will watch the State of the Union address this evening. Take your choice.

Yes, I did, and no, I don't think I will.

The person below me doesn't really care what television shows I watch.

Inquiring minds want to know!

TPBM remembers when tvs came in black & white.

We still have an ancient black and white television in our kitchen. I think it's older than my college-age sons.

The person below me has an appliance of great age in his/her kitchen.

I have a whisk that is older than me, if that counts. It belonged to my Grandparents and is kind of an heirloom.

The person below me only has modern appliances.

I have all modern appliances only because everything - and I mean everything - needed to be replaced within 3 years of purchasing the house. Argh.

The person below me has more kitchen gadgets than s/he knows what to do with.

Not really. Of all our kitchen gadgets, only a few are actually "mine" and not "family" (meaning "Mom's"). I think the list extends to a bowl, a pair of chopsticks (remember ramen noodles from college?), a saucepot, and a teapot.

The person below me thinks I should move out already, and knows of someplace I can afford without having to find a new job (especially one in a new city).

I have no opinion on that. You'll do what you feel is right for you at the time you choose. Not sure how you would ~not~ have a new job if you moved to a new city, unless you can telecommute. Meanwhile, Austin is waiting for you.

TPBM spent most of this past Sunday reading.

Church, afternoon of napping to classical music on the radio, evening of catching up online and reading the two local Sunday papers. A little bit of reading in a book that is harder to read than it should be.

The person below me is envious of my Sunday afternoon naps.

Not really, since I usually sleep late Saturday and Sunday.

The person below me only sleeps late when he/she/it is sick.

Depending on what you mean by "only", "late" and "sick", maybe yes, maybe no.

Prior to a month ago, it was not unusual to go for months on just 3 hours sleep in a 24-hour (more or less) period. My lack-of-sleep pattern has been torn asunder with caring for my FiL when no one else could, and driving up and down 50 miles of I-35 every day or three, and the 5-hour drive to east Texas in the rain was no picnic either. As of Saturday evening, I've been sleeping for 12 hours at a time. I'm not sick; just exhausted, and a bit punchy from doing things I never expected I'd need to do.

TPBM remembers the rules to Pinochle.

I never had the pleasure of playing pinochle, so I never knew the rules.

The person below me has never had a pet.

Many cats. Five fish. Two dogs. All but two cats are left now. Very elderly female kitty and younger, but no spring chicken, male cat.

The person below me has seen the movie The Day the Earth Stood Still and thinks Michael Rennie does a great job.

edit: changed my mind about the person below me thingy...

Klaatu Barata Nicto. (No, I did not check my spelling on that one.) Yes, I think Rennie did a great job; The Day The Earth Stood Still is one of the old sf movies that I think still works despite the leaps in scientific knowledge since its production. (I loved it the day that one of the speakers at my Annual Conference actually quoted that phrase to an audience of publishers.)

The person below me has read a recent work of science Fiction (recent being a relative term, granted, but in this instance, anything from the 1970's forward).

Meh. I don't read much science fiction. Does The Sparrow count?

I know y'all are way past it, but I just wanted to say that the toaster we use every day is a 1949 Toastmaster with lovely Art Deco lines. We collect toasters, and it is one of the few that still works.

TPBM wonders why anyone would collect old appliances.

*scratches chin and ponders* That does indeed make me wonder! Vintage toasters sound interesting though.

TPBM has an interesting hobby

I do enjoy geocaching. It's a treasure hunt with a GPS unit - people hide caches (usually little tupperware containers with a log book and some small toys) in interesting locations, and then upload their coordinates to the geocaching.com website. You download them, and then go try to find them. My friends describe it as "hiking with prizes."

TPBM has gone on a good hike in the past month.

Three in the past week, actually. I'm fortunate to live about ten miles from the nearest mountain range.

TPBM also loves to be outdoors.

Well, who doesn't? Don't get enough time outdoors, though.

The person below me, like me, hadn't checked in on this thread in some time, and took a while to catch up - but chuckled several times while doing so.

No, this thread is one of my favorite places to hang out! No hard thinking involved, which makes me eminently qualified to participate.

The person below me also finds this thread particularly fun.

Yes, though I don't post as often as I used to. Between pain, pain pills and P.T. visits, I'm not a very funny girl these days. On the up side, the physical therapist says that my sketching is good for the little rotator cuff muscle. But TPBM gives me my morning and afternoon smiles.

TPBM also has a cat on their lap. (WholeHouseLibrary, don't bother to respond, we know how you feel about cats. Sent prayers up for your FIL)

Nope no pets at all, though if we get one it will be a dog, one of the bigger breeds, most likely a Lab.

TPBM thinks Labs are just to silly to have as a pet...

Nope, three of my siblings own labs, I'm just not a dog person, perhaps living in a big city most of my life is responsible for that.

TPBM lives in the country.

Too Slow: No, not silly at all. I'm just wary of hip problems in the larger breeds.

I live in a small city of about 25,000 people.

The person below me is off to take a hot bubble bath with a good book....like I am!

Well I would be - though probably without a book; but there's a plumber practicing his arcane art in the bathroom and the floor tiles still have to be grouted . . . so probably off the the shower instead.

TPBM understands compression joints.

No, it is time to be up and doing something! I even made a list last night so I wouldn't forget some things I really, really need to do TODAY.

edit: too late. No, I don't even know what a compression joint is! A too crowded bar?

The person below me is not feeling guilty about being on LT right now. Like I am. :)

another edit: Grey, did you have to do some plumbing?

Nope, not feeling guilty at all. After a meeting I prepared for all weekend, I am now eating my much deserved lunch - chicken salad sandwich and banana.

TPBM's las meal was much more exotic than my lunch.

Yeah. Pretzels and a banana. Never tried that combo before. It's serviceable.

TPBM once got away with murder.

and you expect someone to confess to that after getting away with it? dream on copper! ;)

TPBM has broken the law, one less common than speeding...

Can't say that I have, but when my sons were much younger, we used to witness the Road Runner and Wiley E. Coyote break the Law of Gravity every Saturday morning.

TPBM can describe what a CinemaScope lens is/does to/for us.

* Typo....

No, though I probably should since I took film class.

The person below me never took film but knows what it is/does (no fair using google!)

Got me! I took a film class in college but I don't recall us ever discussing the actual variety of camera lenses that are applied. Was CinemaScope the one that allowed a wider angle to be displayed on screen without distortion of the image? Back in the days, when theater screens weren't smaller than your standard business envelope. (She said, betraying her age.) If not, someone else should step up to the instructional podium.

The person below me is eager to display his or her knowledge before others.

I thought you'd never ask!!!!

Ahem, unaccustomed as I am to public speaking.....

CinemaScope was a filming technique used in the late '50s and early '60s to provide the visual analogy of today's audio Surround-Sound effect. The lens actually had a second lens inside it, and could only project correctly on a concave screen, thus providing the illusion of depth without the audience having to use cheap viewing devices that ultimately gave them headaches. The hoped-for re-engineering of movie theater screens to the new format didn't happen, and another lens-within-a-lens was developed to create a proper image for flat screen projections.

The only reason I can tell you this is that a perk of my father's job was to review 3 or 4 movies every week, and they had to give him one of these lenses to view the movies.

TPBM is less than impressed with my presentation.

zzzzzzzzzzzz.

Oh! Is it my turn?

TPBM will tell us a joke.

I wish I had knowledge worth displaying. That said, I'm going to ramble a little...

edit: too slow. I am not good at telling jokes. I did hear a really funny blonde joke over at the Green Dragon last night. I'll see if I can find it again.

Sometimes WHL seems to ask something that I've been wondering about! I had decided a good person below me question would be about those theaters that had three screens put together to make one really wide one. I remember when I was little that we visited the big city for my brother's birthday (and to buy school clothes). He wanted to see Ben Hur at the Kachina Theater which had the big, triple wide screen. I just couldn't remember enough about it to ask here!

So, of course, once seeing the question about Cinemascope I thought that must be it. But (I cheated and looked) Ben Hur wasn't filmed in Cinemascope. So even if Cinemascope is wide screen filming, it wasn't exactly what I was thinking about.

I did learn something interesting about the casting (and other stuff) for Ben Hur. Quote: Many other men were offered the role of Ben-Hur before Charlton Heston. Burt Lancaster claimed he turned down the role of Ben-Hur because he "didn't like the violent morals in the story". Paul Newman turned it down because he said he didn't have the legs to wear a tunic. Rock Hudson was also offered the role.

The person below me has seen Ben Hur and found it to be a really good movie.

Oh my gosh. Way too slow.

No, I don't like the way Charlton Heston chews up the scenery. I can't stand him in anything but The 10 Commandments.

TPBM thinks he makes an awesome Moses, too.

Wait, I found a joke:

Two atoms are walking down the street and they run into each other.

One says to the other, "Are you all right?"

"No, I lost an electron."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm positive."

Okay, now back to the real action...

Ben Hur was OK. It may have been shown in Cinerama, which is a different system.

TPBM has run a carbon arc movie projector.

Yes. Yes I have! In my high school. Pretty nasty stuff, too.

TPBM has actually been involved somehow in the making of a movie.

Um, vaguely aware of watching film crews in New York City on my way to work but never did anything really in the way of participation.

I just want to say, however, that as much as Charlton Heston chews the scenery in Ben Hur, I have to tell you that this was an instance where the movie was DECIDEDLY better than the book. Lew Wallace may have been a wonderful general but his writing is turgid. No other word for it, just page after page of turgid prose.

The person below me is aware of Lew Wallace's other claim to fame -- hint: it had to do with a judicial proceeding following the American Civil War.

I have never heard of Lew Wallace. The only Wallace's I can think of are:

1. William Wallace (Scottish Hero)
2. Wallis Simpson (American woman who fell in love with our king)
3. Wallace from Wallace and Gromit (Plasticine Man)

So no idea on the judicial thing.

The person below me can explain the Lew Wallace claim to fame.

Wallace participated in the military commission trial of the Lincoln assassination conspirators.

(Screen-scraped from Wikipedia)

TPBM has read all 7 of the Harry Potter books.

I have actually bought pretty good insurance against ever reading the Harry Potter series: Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis.

The person below me gets along quite nicely in Latin.

I had planned on taking it in high school, but the teacher retired just before I started freshman year (94). Ready for the best part? They found someone to teach latin a year or two after I graduated. go figure.

The person below me can't understand why I would willingly want to learn latin.

Wrong, wrong, wrong. I used to be pretty good with Latin, but it's been decades since I've had a real need to use it. About a year ago, I bought a book to help me relearn it, but it's not on my priority list.

Philosophi is obviously the possessive form of "Philosopher", and
Lapis is a type of stone (very valuable if there's no limestone in it),
so you must have the first of the series, at least. Good luck with that!

TPBM can name another 'dead' language.

Ancient Nubian

TPBM has read The Language Instinct by Steven Pinker

Yes indeed, I've read all of Steven Pinker's books - at least the populist one's. I enjoy them and think he's a good explorer and explainer (rare). Though I think he's a bit hung up on words as constructs. Too much Chomsky in his youth perhaps.

TPBM has instincts about language . . .

My instinct is that others don't seem to hear what I think I say. Sigh. And now I want to read Pinker's book.

The person below me is able to get his/her point across easily.

I can make my point usually, but there is no guarantee that the other party actually takes it in. Not because either of us is inarticulate, but because listening skills are so rare these days.

The Lew Wallace bit that I was talking about earlier in msg 216 was that General Lew Wallace was the chief judge during the Andersonville Trials following the Civil War. Andersonville was a notorious Confederate prisoner-of-way camp.

The person below me is looking for recommendations for a good source of iron to add to his/her diet.

I've just been diagnosed as iron deficient so yes please.

The person below me also has a special diet requirement for their health.

yep

TPBM has read a book about Mt. St. Helen

Can't say that I have, although my current wife has ashes from the most recent erruption.

TPBM is already tired of the news coverage regarding the Primaries.

I'm guessing you mean your Presidential election, so yes, because our reporting on it is awful. It's pretty much reported on as along the lines of a novelty election "Will it be the woman, the black guy or...one of those others, whoever they are."

Deleted the one below as it was a repeat of this one.

The person below me has given up watching the news when the election comes on.

The only TV news I watched was The Daily Show, and then we got rid of the cable.

TPBM has an unusual hair and/or eye color.

No, my eyes and hair are both brown, although when my sister was little she called my eye color "apple cider."

TPBM enjoys a nice mug of hot apple cider.

too slow: I like hot apple cider, but right now I drink coffee.

Brown and brown. Very unusual indeed:-)

The person below me has a dominant color of his/her clothes.

Blue jeans and monotones. I've never been accused of being a slave to fashion.

TPBM has had velcro tabs on his/her shoes for so long that s/he has forgotten how to tie a bow.

Well, since you asked, I will proudly state that I can still tie my shoelaces, using a double knot.

The person below me hasn't been able to give up carrying a purse (or a man-bag, if you prefer to be gender - specific).

It's hard to give up a habit one never had.

TPBM doesn't think much of 'man bags'

I think messenger bags are fine for men. Why not?

TPBM will tell us why not.

A fundamental rule of bags is that the junk expands to fill the space allotted.

I have enough junk already.

The person below me will explain why women carry bags. While they are at it, they'll explain high heels to me, too. And why women like Jane Austen. All the mysteries of the universe!

Woman carry bags mainly because men don't I think.

A trip anywhere quickly has me loading my bag with my husbands wallet, his sat nav, any leaflets he picks up, the parking pass for his car, small things that he might buy, his phone...

The high heels are just for fun (and only if you don't have far to walk).

The person below me will only buy bags/shoes/whatever from a specific designer.

I began wearing New Balance leather sneakers about two years ago and I think I will most likely leave this world still wearing them. I do like Vera Bradley bags because they are both colorful and capacious.

The person below me likes that bit of alliteration.

I always prefer linguistic skills over handbags. But I don't mind them come together.

The person below me likes to go shopping for cool things.

Well, books are cool, right? And I have to admit that the handbags are too (I buy the Radley one's with the Scottie dog tags).

The person below me also likes a good shopping trip.

Define "good".

The person below me generally doesn't care for spending time in crowded places.

Oh, for sure. I'll wait for weeks (and go to odd showings) just to have a movie theater be empty-ish. I'll put up with it for concerts and such, but being stuck in the middle of a big crowd makes me intensely claustrophobic.

The person below me has seen a live music performance recently.

No, but I have tickets for a concert at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in March. Bagpipes in the Temple of Dendur.

The person below me thinks "Bagpipes in the Temple of Dendur" would make a good title for a mystery.

Actually, it has potential. Curiosity alone would make someone pick it up to look at the blurb on the back of the paperback. I say, run with it!

The person below me has seriously begun writing a mystery.

No. But for the future, should I take your opinion to be that of a publisher and/or published mystery writer?

The person below me thinks I should.

Never assume anything, J could just have very definate opinions on things.

The person below me agrees that one should never assume anything.

Without assumptions we would all be paralyzed.

The person below me doesn't like false polarizations.

Is that something that happens with batteries?

The person below me is planning a nice weekend getaway for sometime within the next few months.

Actually, no. We've been 'away' every weekend for the past several years (at the in-Law's house), except for when I was working in Delaware, so our plans now are to spend the next several weekends AT HOME (except for when we visit my MiL for only several hours now).

TPBM prefers his/her Thomas' English Muffins a tad on the 'browned' side, as opposed to merely warm and limp.

Muffins should have a certain crispiness to them, I agree.

The person below me, cherishing a certain fondness for hot crumpets with jam, believes crumpets should *not* be crispy.

Wikipedia just told me what a crumpet is. For my next visit to England or its former colonies, I citate Wikipedia, the plan to get and enjoy a crumpet with jam will be a top priority.

The person below me likes to eat.

Obviously, you've seen my picture....

Guilty, as charged.

TPBM had Lionel Trains as a kid.

What are Lionel Trains? :P

TPBM will offer to drive down to LA and help me move into my new apartment, lol.

I would, if only I didn't live in England.

The person below me could get to LA quicker than I could to help Angel move.

Probably not. There are non-stop flights from London to LA, but I'd have to have 3 layovers leaving from Austin.

TPBM can explain to ArmyAngel what Lionel trains are/were. I'm suddenly feeling very old....

Oh, Wholehouse, you will undoubtedly remain young and dashing. I suspect ArmyAngel is pulling your leg, given the emoticon that followed her question. On the off chance that I'm misreading her intent, here is the proper URL -- http://www.lionel.com/ -- for the manufacturer of model trains in O and standard gauge.

The person below me will also say something to keep WholeHouse from feeling old and decrepit. Maybe if we start referring to some of our fellow denizens as "young whippersnappers".

Sorry, I've got 10 years on AA and I still am unaware of them. but I never had ANY train sets.

Ha! Late and it still works!

TPBM will give WHL a hand and explain.

TPBM had many trains growing up.

I had no trains growing up. Barbie and accoutrement, yes. Town house, fancy cars, bubble bath, etc. Big fan of play-doh. Legos were pretty cool.

Side note: where do you guys put your cellfones, books, notebooks, medications, pens, lighters, PDAs, snacks, gum, etc. without man-bags?

TPBM will tell us what his or her favorite toys were.

Aside from the Barbie dolls, which my sisters and I all had, I had a really neat Texaco gas station when I was about seven or eight years old. The racks went up and down in the repair area. I think it was out of the Sears catalog. And we got a great racing car set one year as well! We weren't so very gender-bound after all in my family....

The person below me will keep Citygirl's question about childhood playthings going as well.

a Shovel, we loved playing in the dirt, and star wars action figures.

TPBM will continue.

My next-older brother had a habit of breaking every toy we had within about a half-hour of him getting his hands on it. He was a busy lad around Christmas -- there were 8 of us.

So I guess my favorite toy was the rock I once whacked him in the head with. It was an accident, I swear!

TPBM will likewise, continue on this theme.

I grew up in a village of former gypsies, 180 people living there, surrounded by steep hills, main crop were cherry trees. We played outside, always, fishing for trouts, jumping on a tractor or a horse waggon from neighbors, picking flowers, skiing, ball games, we did some real nasty things too (should better be turned into literature), the kids had to ring the church bells twice a day....there was a fancy puppet theater in our playroom, with a princess, crocodile, king, queen, police, a burglar...

The person below me will go on.........with some memories....

My favorite place when I was little was Ft. Benning Georgia, because in the woods down the street for us was what we called "the canyon." It was this area that looked like a much smaller Grand Canyon where we would climb the walls, hike the trails, and generally get filthy in the red clay. Great place to be a kid.

Oh, and I was serious about not knowing about the trains. My brother and I never played with trains.

TPBM did something dangerous when they were little, and will tell us about it.

My mother found me balancing on a chair on the stairs of our house, trying to climb through a window and onto a very dangerous roof. I also used to climb to the top of our climbing frame and jump off, to see if I could clear the fence that separated our garden from the neighbours yard.

The person below me broke a bone as a child.

I broke my arm when I was six. I was jumping on the bed and landed wrong. On the floor. I sprained a wrist falling out of a tree where I'd been reading. I wish I could remember what book was so interesting I didn't realize I was about fall out of a tree.

TPBM will tell tales of childhood mishaps.

The property my folks had was basically on 2 levels, with a not-so-gentle 6-foot drop over a span of maybe 15 or 20 feet, in the back yard. My father never mowed the 'lower' end. I was maybe 4 at the time; ran down the hill because I my legs were too short to walk down it, and I tripped (on who-knows what).

Apparently a few days earlier, one of my older brothers made an attempt at weed-whacking the area, and after a minute or two, decided it was too much like real work, and abandoned the idea (and the tool). Back then, weed whackers weren't motors on a stick slinging around a strip of plastic -- they were serrated blades on long thin metal rods with wooden handles.

My right hand landed and skidded on the business end and now I have a thin scar that runs from between my ring-finger and pinkie to the center of the area by my wrist. I also can't get my thumb anywhere near the palm of my hand, and it's probably the reason I can't throw a baseball.

The funny part of this is that my father took me to a doctor to get stitched up. I was fascinated by seeing what the inside of me looked like; my father, on the other hand (no pun intended), lost his lunch.

TPBM will now 'one-up' me.

I don't think I can one up you, personally, given that the worst thing I ever did was play basketball while my leg was still in a cast following surgery. (I broke the leg, but there was no blood involved).

However the horror story that I do have has to do with my youngest son. At the age of three or four, he was walking with his dad along a block that had a couple of stores and driveway or two for deliveries. Back in those days, Sesame Street taught numbers and letters by showing photos of things like license plates. TJ saw a letter on a license plate of a truck that was in one of the driveways and broke away from his father's hand and ran to point it out. At the same time, the truck whose license plate it was started to back up. The driver could not see TJ and my husband (heart in throat) saw the truck moving and bellowed at TJ - DOWN. TJ dropped down flat and the truck body rolled *over* him.

There is of course a happy ending. The truck stopped. TJ escaped with a minor stitch or two from a bit of gravel flying up into his scalp. My husband learned never never to let go of the kid's hand ever again. But that was our moment of horror; but unlike the story above, the blood involved was really quite minimal.

The person below me thinks that there have been quite enough scary stories and we should move on to happy things like Lionel trains, puppies, balloons and cake. Or something.

It is never possible to one-up you, WHL. Mine is minor in comparison. (My brother, however, when quite small, fell off the neighbors front porch onto one of those fences with metal spikes. Ripped open his cheek. Half an inch over and things would have been much, much worse.)

Hmm, me... I lied to my parents and went to the river instead of the local swimming pool. We were playing around and I stepped on something that sliced my foot open. We wrapped my foot in an unused diaper donated by some nearby picnickers and went off to the emergency room. My best friend called my parents and started with the phrase, xor is at the hospital, giving my parents heart failure. Some stiches and a shot and I survived.

Oops. Too late! My happy story. When I was in kindergarten, I had to walk home from school (alone-in those days I guess it was safer). I saw a kitten and coaxed it to follow me all the way home. I then "convinced" my mother that it was right outside the house all the time and couldn't we keep it? Yes, she relented and I got a new kitty.

(The kitten was between the railroad tracks and highway. No houses anywhere near. So I didn't take anyone's pet if you are wondering.)

The person below me will tell us any kind of childhood memory that she/he wants.

One time, at band camp....

TPBM will quickly change the subject.

Can't. Too sleepy.

The person below me is wide awake.

(Wait a minute, did I just change the subject?)

Wide awake. I might start my Early Review Book, The Shadow Year.

TPBM will start a new book tonight, too.

Maybe, but I'm more likely to read on in A Secular Age.

The person below me doesn't stay up late reading.

I do almost every night. After I stay up too late on the computer.

The person below me likes to read before going to sleep also.

Would I be on this thread....if I wouldn't ? I love to read non-fiction books in bed.....to some people facts and figures plainly are relaxing. I confess, I even love botany books.

The person below me has a morning, getting-up ritual.

Coffee in my bed for the first 30 minutes while I come to full consciousness is the key ritual. It works except for those days when I have to be on the road for work.

The person below me uses the morning news to gauge whether he/she is on schedule for getting out of the house in the morning.

I rarely have to leave the house.

The person below me is in easy reach of a digital camera.

Sadly, no... my really nifty digital camera was stoled when I was robbed over Christmas :-(

TPBM does however have a digital camera handy!

Yup, I keep it in my purse, which is in my laptop bag, which is about three feet away from me at the moment.

TPBM will post a link to a photo they took.

I don't know how to do that!

Can I go back to the childhood memories thing? I went to visit my dad yesterday, and we took a drive by the house where I grew up. It (and four other houses down the street) are in the process of being torn down. My house was pre-Civil War, so had probably stood for @ 150 years. As sad as it was, I found a strange sort of peace that my dad and I were seeing the house for the last time together. I would have gotten out of the car and asked the workmen if I could go inside, but my dad is too old to be able to do that sort of thing anymore.

TPBM thinks we Americans are too quick to tear down old buildings for new ones.

I think everyone is too quick to tear down old buildings for new ones. My town looks awful now because of this. I think some new buildings are beautiful but a lot aren't.

TPBM is fond of architecture and has a book about it.

Europeans do that too. This city makes plans to tear down architecture of different periods just to replace it by common meaningless constructions as they grow on the outskirts of any smaller or biger town all over the world. It is giving up unique sights for a prefabricated allover look. - It is really sad what you experienced and brave that both of you went there for a last goodbye.

The person below me has a favorite building in his/her town.

Our Library, of course! Before Cub Scouts and Soccer took over our lives, Monday night was Story Time at the Library. The older guys loved it, but my youngest son wanted nothing to do with it.

Oddly enough, Miss Barbara (as she liked to be called) looks a LOT like my current wife! They could easily pass for sisters; the difference being she has straight blonde hair, and my wife has curly red hair.

You can see my town's Library in a book titled: Heart of the Community: The Libraries We Love.

TPBM also has a favorite building in his/her town/city/hamlet.

The closest thing to my home that's admirable is our little train station that dates back to the 1800's when the town was the home to various railroad executives. There are some neat Victorian homes as well. Of course, change hits those as well. There is a certain fondness for slicing them up into apartment dwellings to a certain amount of local dismay.

The person below me can tell us about his/her very first apartment as an independent adult.

I would but since I skipped that stage, I can't. Lived with parents through most of college then got a job, bought a house moved to the other end of the state and then finished degree.

TPBM prefers renting

That depends on where I rent.

I went from living at home, to a college dorm (in the Adirondacks) for 2 semesters (spring and summer sessions), got married during the break, and rented a lovely little place about 3 to 5 miles from the college. It was a 'summer cottage', on a quiet lake, and we were probably a half-mile or more from our nearest neighbor. We also had access to a rowboat with a 10 hp motor on it. I worked for the landlord to keep the rent down. He got more than his money's worth. We heated exclusively by a wood stove I bought.

Another place we rented was the 2nd floor of a very old house on the border of Paterson, NJ. The stairs were on the outside of the house, and the interior stairs had been removed. It was a 1-bedroom place with a bathroom door that was 54 inches tall. No shower -- you had to kind of roll yourself over the edge of the bathtub to get in or out of it because the roof line was maybe an inch off the far side of the tub.

So, I've owned a house for 25 years, more or less. Yes, there's maintenance headaches, but I prefer it to noisy neighbors and being unable to get things fixed.

TPBM will weigh in on the matter.

I had a similar discussion with a neighbor today. I like owning. I've been in this house for 23 years and had a town house/co-op for the 10 before that. I rented apartments or duplexes from my senior year until I bought my co-op, two years after I started working.

The biggest downside to owning is finding someone to fix things. I needed my roof caulked around the skylight and fireplace. It was too high and way to scary for me to do. I called place after place. I finally paid $500 for someone to just do a little caulking!

The person below me has a story to tell about his/her renting or owning experience.

Leaving out the Starbucks downstairs with the brothel in the backrooms........living in a tiny oldtown appartment (the house dating back to 17 century something..) I would work in the kitchen and sipp my tea (read of course) and there was this enormous smell of marihuana, that I couldn't track.....it was allover, I literally lived in a cloud of marihuana, (I never smoked anything...) my clothes smelled, my living room, yes was full of marihuana, my grown ups would come and visit and make fun of me because of my strange smell of marihuana..... well, I thought it must be my neighbors smoking in their kitchen, but how could they smoke all that marihuana......????.....finallly, one year after I had moved out, my oldest daughter was in an office going into the same courtyard, when someone yelled: fire!...then she saw in the house opposite, under my old kitchen, a huge plant of marihuana production, that was on fire......

The person below me thinks Europe has some wild sides too.

I wouldn't know: I went to London twice, most recently in 2001, but nowhere else in Europe. And anyway, "wild" by New York standards is... well, New York's a tough act to follow.

And so is the town/city where the person below me lives.

Well, diwan, certainly Amsterdam has a very real wildness to it -- enough to startle New Yorkers. But AnnaClarire is right that for many folks on this continent, NY offers as much craziness as they can handle. (The Greenwich Village Halloween Parade is as wild as as anything I've seen.)

The town where I live is fairly quiet. But then again, I'm only a block from the police station, so perhaps my impression of the town is somewhat rose-colored.

The person below me lives in more of an upscale urban environment.

No kidding: the real estate agents have been caught calling parts of New Jersey "West (my neighborhood)".

(Sorry -- It's not that I don't trust you guys, it's that this is, after all, the Internet.)

The person below me lives either in My Neighborhood or in "West My Neighborhood", so can still tell what My Neighborhood is.

No, for me anything east of El Paso is "back east" so I'm not good at that east coast stuff. My brother finally made me stop talking about St. Louis as back east. He says it is the mid-west!

The person below me does know what AnnaClaire was talking about.

I'm going with a reference to the island of Manhattan, but I could be wrong.

The person below me gets befuddled when trying to name the five boros of New York City.

I don't know the specific name of AnnaClaire's 'neighborhood' but I do know what she means. When we lived in the suburbs north of Chicago, 'the' place was the north shore. We lived about eight miles in from the lake, so never said we lived 'on the north shore'. Imagine our surprise when someone who lived west of us advertised her house for sale as being 'on the north shore'. I think many people are hung up about being part of an exclusive group and real estate is one way to claim exclusivity.

Xorscape, you made me laugh, when I moved from New Mexico to Chicago, thirty-three years ago (that can't be right, I'm not old enough to have done that) I referred to the move as 'going back east'. People in Chicago looked at me like I was crazy and gently corrected me, "Chicago is in the mid-west." My answer always was, "When you live as far west as I did, Anything east of the Mississippi is 'back east'''.

TPBM will now introduce something fascinating for the rest of us to pounce on.

Sorry, I can't give you something more fascinating.

jillmwo, I don't blame you for assuming I live in Manhattan, or for spelling borough as "boro" (some New Yorkers get it wrong, too). But my neighborhood is in Brooklyn -- which is East of Manhattan where New Jersey towns being "West My Neighborhood" is even more ludicrous.

The person below me has some clever tidbit of geography to share with us.

Okay, not to brag, but I own 3 paintings by Igor Medvedev, and an etching by Rembrandt.

TPBM will decide how this information is pounceable.

Too slow.

Delaware is the state having the lowest highest elevation, at 60 feet above sea level.

TPBM is unimpressed.

By the elevation of the state or by your display of arcane knowledge?

The person below me will move the conversation to a higher plane...

"Mehr Licht".......last words of....?

The person below me has read Mephisto, now we are referring to the son.

I haven't, but I'm familiar with the Waltz.

TPBM has a literature-related calendar.

No. But I have a shoe-related calendar. Every day, a different shoe.

TPBM has been book-shopping recently. (Like me! I just ordered 10 books from Amazon. Whoopee!)

Yes, since I actually got a paycheck this week (and believe me, where I work, that's noteworthy in itself). Team of Rivals followed me home from the bookstore.

The person below me has been used-book shopping recently.

Actually no. But I am about to take possession of my late FiL's 878-book library, and he's read over 99% of them, so technically, it's kind of a gray area, and I'm ill, and these pills I'm taking to mask the symptoms are making me kind of woozy and I feel like I could write an opera at this point but I can't seem to concentrate Wow! look at all the dust in here. on anything.

TPBM can balance a rhinoceros on the business end of an anvil.

Anvils? Rhinoceri? Sounds like you need to adjust your dosages, WHL. (Maybe take some chicken soup for those rhinos' viruses...)

The person below me has a really good chicken soup recipe.

First catch your chicken ada'accm'##'ANC poajic anvil akfm pwf js cllpoja;hdaohd season lightly AfnfNFn anvil siejvi iwhasf /fj;aij boil until asejaij hfifja rhinoceros ihHa hdasf egg white . . .

TPBM sometimes gets interference . . . .

Interference, is that what you call it?

The person below me has a family recipe that isn't allowed to be giving outside the family.

No. As a family, we tend to share our recipes. We're not in the same regions so it isn't as if we would upstage each other at gatherings. But just to clarify Greyhead's recipe, make sure that add the egg white *after* you've gotten the rhinoceros into the pot. Otherwise the rhino curdles.

The person below me also tends towards flippancy.

Aquitted!!!!!!

Sometimes the mouth engages before the brain has a chance to override.

TPBM can give a one-word example of adding insult to injury.

Pun! (one word that usually means adding insult to injury)

Just a shot in the dark.

The person below me has read a book recently about either an artist, a work of art or a particular school of art.

Not a book, but an article in a past issue of Smithsonian Magazine about the tragic life of the artist Modigliani:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/modigliani.html

The person below me has studied art history.

Not formally, but one of my sisters has her degree in Art History.

>#310 -- I was thinking more of bamboo.

TPBM will expain why.

Why you were thinking of bamboo?
I haven't a clue.

(I went to the Cowboy Poets conference this weekend.)

The person below me will favor us with a rhyme.

Rhyme . . . yes

There was a young father from Maine
Who found tracking his books a pain.
He created this Thing.
That fast took wing.
That busy young father from Maine.

TPBM can improve on this.

I'll try

There was a Greek Scholar from Maine
Built a website for books 'n' gain
To track all his tomes
stashed in the rooms
where the shelves were under great strain.

TPBM will give it a go as well

Probably not, but here goes...

There is a dad name Tim Spalding
Who found catalogs appalling
So he created his own
See how it's grown
The effort it took was no small thing

Adding insult to injury: Bamboo

Onomatopoeia connoting injury: Bam
A word denoting insult.........: Boo

TPBM thinks that this was a long way to go for a joke, but not as long a way to go as one would need to in order to tip a rarity.

Alternatively, TPBM can outdo GreyHead and Readafew in another rhyme.

There once was a thread called below me.
It was often quite filled with baloney.

The person below me knows I got stuck and is willing to add more lines.

(My finished product was really really bad.)

You left yourself wide open for this....

I tried and went fishing
For a rhyme I was wishing
But all I caught was abalone.

TPBM can STILL outdo GreyHead and Readafew.

Okay, I'm laughing out loud! Excellent. Still better than mine.

(It was on such a site
built with vision and might
Started by Tim, not by Tony.)

The person below me from 318...

About lie these books and scrolls.
On my nerves they exact a steep toll.
If only I could list them
And show off my wisdom.
Those 'Brarians would laud me as droll.

TPBM will continue.

This thread has gone over to rhyme
For poets it's almost a crime
For we are not good
And we know that we should
Find something other to do with our time.

TPBM will also continue this rhyming thread.

There was a young man name of Tim
Found tracking his books just too grim
He invented a Thing
that made all of us sing
That clever creator named Tim

That was my shot. TPBM - you're next in this limerick contest.

There was Tim a man with a care
and his son who dressed like a bear
Success late one night
he designed the Site
after a nap the world to share

thought I'd give it another go, I like my first one better.

TPBM hasn't yet tried their hand at this.

That's true, and I will not.

The person below me is trying to finish up reading Groups in order to get to cataloguing books.

Guilty as charged, although I've got lots of other things to do, also.

BUT THEY"RE JUST GOING TO HAVE TO WAIT!!!!!

TPBM is in need of more bookshelves.

No, I am finishing up reading groups, but have no books to catalogue (well maybe a few left in odd corners).

Too late - no we have enough book cases, we just need smaller books to fit more on to them.

TPBM has catalogued more than half of their books in LT.

I think so. I do have several bookcases to go and then those bags of paperbacks from the library book sale. I think I am two thirds done.

The person below me keeps finding more books to read much, much faster than they are getting read.

Sadly, yes. My TBR pile is taking over!!!

TPBM thinks it is about time to start a new thread because this one is getting entirely too long!

Not yet, we haven't cleared 350 messages.

The person below me is wishing for a day off to spend reading.

Always! Although stuff at work today is pretty mindless, so I plan on spending a good chunk of it listening to my audiobook.

The person below me has a window with a nice view where they work.

HAHA, my 'window' looks out into the hall, I feel I'm in an aquarium

TPBM has a better 'office'

Actually, I have an office w/ a door and with two big windows. The downside are the two radiators in my office. One of them is turned off entirely and my office in the afternoon still reaches a sweltering 75 degrees. I have given up wearing turtlenecks in the winter time because of the heat.

TPBM has good coffee/beverage service in the office.

If by office, you mean my kitchen, then yes.

The person below me lives somewhere that's foggy today.

Cloudy, yes. Foggy, no.

The person below me lives somewhere that got flurries yesterday.

Nope, yesterday was a beautiful, warm day. Today is wet and windy. No snow for me.

The person below me wishes their local public library was bigger, or set up better, or carried something that they don't currently carry.

(My library has a whole level of wasted space. I want to cry when I think on it.)

I know a number of public librarians who wish they were bigger or set up better or carried something that they don't presently carry. Yes, it would be nice if my public library was as nice as the public library over in the next township. But what's the old line, "if wishes were horses..."? At least we have something.

The person below me might admit to patronizing Amazon more than their local library, just on the basis of convenience.

I might, if it were true. The fact of the matter is I have only used Amazon a couple of times to order some RPG books for my son, and am at my ~very lovely~ Public Library only 3 or 4 times a year (but rarely borrow books).

TPBM uses a fountain pen on occasion.

I have a very nice Schaeffer pen, a gift from a French Bank many years ago; and I lust after the occasional MontBlanc but in truth I haven't used a fountain pen for years. (I had an author friend sign a book for me this evening and I'm afraid that was done in roller-ball.)

TPBM owns a MontBlanc.

Too late but only sorta. I own several Montblancs, mostly in the writers and patrons of the arts series, but I have four 149's.

That occasion being that I have something to write.

I own a hundred or so fountain pens and always have one with me when I am out. Barny Noble offers me a ball point to sign the charge slip, and I pull out my Pelikan M1000 or my Namiki Rhodium Bamboo to make my scrawl.

The person below me collects something equally quasi-functional.

I think everything I own is functional, unless it's decoration, and I assure you I do not collect spoons of the world or Franklin Mint plates. I like penguins and would collect them if I had a habitat for them, and their function would be to make me smile.

So, let's just say I collect penguins, which are quasi-functional.

TPBM "owns" an unusual sentient being.

No. They make me think of ~pets~, and you all know where I am on that.

TPBM can tell is how many characters there are in each of the following language systems:

Sanskrit
Cyrillic
Spanish
English -- 26
Hawaiian
Rotokas

I filled in one for you. Hint: They're listed in descending order.

I'm a party pooper I guess. I don't know and I don't even want to find out.

The person below me either wants to fill in WHL's list or wants to share a quote he/she really likes.

"When I was little, my ambition was to grow up to be a book. Not a writer. People can be killed like ants. Writers are not hard to kill either. But not books: however systematically you try to destroy them there is always a chance that a copy will survive and continue to enjoy shelf life in some corner of an out -of-the-way library somewhere, in Rejkavik, Valladolid, or Vancouver".

TPBM knows who wrote that and has read other books by this author. (Hint--it's on my currently reading list).

Is that from A Tale of Love and Darkness? It was the only one that seemed likely on your list, but I haven't read anything else by Amos Oz.

The person below me likes the quote, however. (see msg 343 above.

I do like it, and I think it is from The Thirteenth Tale.

TPBM needs a vacation.

you ain't kidding!

TPBM Is traveling somewhere soon (for fun)

MMMM today I am driving my 80 year old parents a hour away thru a snowstorm to doctor's appointments. Does that count as fun?

Yes, it was from Tale of Love and Darkness and I really want to read more of Amos Oz after reading this book. But I can see how it fits into the story of the The Thirteenth Tale so that was a really good guess!

TPBM is really travelling somewhere for fun.

I wish (I could afford it)!

The person below me has no shortage of places to go for fun that are very much within his/her/its means.

True. One of the advantages of living in NW Indiana is the relative closeness of a big city like Chicago coupled with the vast opportunities for nature-related activities.

The person below me has multiple email addresses.

3 that I check regularly...

TPBM has even more.

Yes almost certainly, perhaps a dozen or so - but they are all delivered to the same place so a bit hard to tell.

TPBM has more email than mail - ignoring spam and junk in both cases.

It's about even. Apparently my ISP has really good filters and I rarely get spam or junk email. Wish I could say the same for what I get from the Post Office.

TPBM knows how to count higher than 5 on one hand.

Easy. Start over at 6, which goes where you'd had 1.

The person below me has another method of doing the same.

I can get from 0 to 31 if I go binary and struggle.

TPBM understands that there are 10 kinds of people in the world, those that understand binary and those that don't.

I will never tire of that pun.

The person below me is at 127.0.0.1 right now.

I wish, I'm at work.

TPBM is running from the techy humor

Arggh! A tad slow.

#356, no, I revel in it.

#355, Yes, I am at home.

But don't give out that adderess, it's private.

TP's BM Library does a Murder Mystery (audience participation) play as a fund raiser.

Not that I know of. I've never gotten an invitation.

The person below me has participated in a murder mystery activity (game, dinner theater, etc.).

Clue?

TPBM knows the capitals of all 50 states in the US.

Probably not, but I'll have a go at it later. I would also like to learn all the little descriptions you have of the states too because I think those I really good. New Jersey is the Garden State I think.

The person below me can name the states, thier capitals and their descriptions.

Edit: Ooops. Too late. And I can't. (Arizona is the Grand Canyon state.)

I love Clue! When will there be a computer game? I had one but it won't run on the newer machines, darn it.

Oh, I knew the capitals when I was in grade school, but that was a long time ago. I can't recite them anymore.

The person below me can tell us another state slogan.

Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono

The person below me can tell us whether Hawaiian is the only official language other than English in the United States.

No, I think there are those in Alaska that speak the language of the Inuit. But I could be confused. Where is Arctic Stranger when we need him?

I am at a loss as to what the person below me might do -- how about post a photo of a something that begins with the letter "C"? Can you tell I'm mentally reverting to Sesame Street here in the office?

The United States has no official language (though some states do). Here's a picture of a multi-lingual trashCan from Seattle.

TPBM understands that trashCan starts with a C in some language or other.

I'm sure it does. ;) Or maybe we should just say it is the can for trash.

The person below me can identify the four languages on the trash can (I can only do two).

I can't see the photo well enough to identify the languages. So I think I fail the test.

The person below me has added six books to his/her collection on LT in the past three weeks.

Nope, it is usually a little thin for me through January, trying to catch up on Christmas books

TPBM Has read all the books received for Christmas

HAHAHAHAHA no.

Of the books I received as gifts (not the ones I bought with gifted money), I've read three, three are reference-type and don't count, and I still have five to go.

TPBM has finished their SantaThing book(s).

I finished one of my SantaThing books, Alison Weir's Queen Isabella. I still have Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome to read. (And a current book to finish and an Early Review book to read.)

The person below me doesn't (usually) choose his/her/its next book until he/she/it is finished with his/her/its current reading.

That would be I/me/ego.

The current book may or may not influence me to read more on the subject matter. I don't pay much attention to TBR listings.

TPBM is pathologically attuned to the pile of books waiting to be read.

In a way, I am. But in a way I'm not, too: I suppose having most of my books in storage for more than a year helped with that.

The person below me will think of something very profound to say.

Hmmm... I am profoundly boring?

The person below me has a well-meaning family member that can be annoying. Or maybe just exhausting.

Oops, misread the TPBM mission statement, my annoying family member is just annoying, not well-meaning.

TPBM will now respond to xorscape's challenge.

Yes, but my husband would add that it is just one of the downsides of being married to me.

The person below me uses the tag "art" for some portion of his or her LT collection. No, you can't make me stop writing that his/her thing (no matter how much you razz me about it.)

I don't actually know off hand. I wouldn't be surprised if I had, but it's been so long since I tagged my books, I don't know.

The person below me is getting ready for work (or procrastinating doing so, like me!).

Nope already at work

TPBM lives in England

In my head I do.

The person below me has a date with a repairman sometime soon.

No, I've given up dating men for lent (well for quite a few years actually, my wife doesn't approve).

The person below me has had a repairperson arrive at the agreed time.

Once! It actually happened. but it was an emergency call, the furnace died and he was on superdoubleholidayovertime + expenses. luckily I didn't have to pay for it.

TPBM has generally had good experiences with repair persons...

Actually, strangely, I don't interact with them much. Maybe b/c my husband tries fix everything and will only call in the professionals for the tough jobs, and then he does the interacting. This is because I have absolutely no idea how any of the appliances or plumbing, etc., works. I know, it's kinda nuts, but it works for me. :-)

TPBM has an area of knowledge in which he or she is sadly deficient.

Cars. I can change a tire and put gas in, but much beyond that I'm totally useless.

The person below me has had problems with their car doors freezing shut.

For that I would need a car. I don't even have a driver's license.

The person below me doesn't, either.

I do. It's almost a necessity when living in a place with no public transportation. Not a lot of trains running through the corn and soybean fields here.

The person below me hasn't dusted their ceiling fan in a while.

They need dusting? just turn it on high. If it doesn't come off it doesn't need to!

TPBM is appalled by that attitude.

No. But my ceiling fan is a good bit higher than many ceilings.

The person below me owns a pogo stick.

No, but my best friend in elementary school did, and she broke her arm when she fell off it.

Keeping with the same theme, TPBM owns a hula hoop.

Not at the moment. I have found that they don't work at all if your body shape tends to be convex.

TPBM has Lincoln Logs, or possibly, an Easy-Bake Oven.

Actually, we do have Lincoln Logs stored in a huge Rubbermaid container in our living room. They were used by our boys some years ago, and just never got moved up to the attic.

The person below me has an Etch-a-Sketch.

I did as a kid, and used to write my name in cursive with it.

TPBM sips on some beverage or another all day long.

Water. Lots of water, occasionally replaced with a half-glass of orange or grape juice.
Milk at least twice a day. Soda, only when none of the above are available.

TPBM prefers some other type of liquid refreshment beverage.

*Forgot: Coffee, at least 4 cups of it, to prime the pumps, so to speak.

If it's not water then it's Pepsi, but it would be root beer if anywhere in England sold it anymore.

TPBM has felt angry today.

Not today, at least not yet.

Oh, I know. I have a slinky.

The person below me knows what a slinky is and has played with one.

Sure do! There are at least 3 in the house. I prefer the ones made of metal.

TPBM used to play with an Erector Set.

Oh, WholeHouse, how can you tempt me so...and you know this thread won't bear it. Aaargh.

No. I never played with an erector set.

TPBM has been in a fistfight.

Oh yes got a slinky when I was 6 for Christmas and the story goes that is the only toy I played with all day. Not the new baby doll with the curly hair and frilly clothes, not the new roller skates, not even the bike. All I wanted to play with was the darn slinky.

The person below me still has Christmas lights up

sorry messed up the thread my answer was for 392

TPBM will forgive me

Well, of course, I forgive you. That's because I have never been in a fistfight (see 394) nor have I been angry today (see 391). As for the slinkies, I will pass along a line I picked up from a nice Episcopalian blogger -- Some people are like slinkies; not good for much but it puts a smile on your face when you push them down the stairs....

The person below me thinks I am wicked to repeat such things.

Wicked by Gregory Maguire now thats a book. Can't beat The Wizard of Oz by Baum though. My all time favorite

the person below me wishes a house would fall on someone they know

I don't even wish it on my ex, although several will testify that she otherwise qualifies.

TPBM would help me, though, if I could arrange a safe or a piano to take the place of the house, though. Pleeeeeease

Strangers on LT?

TPBM missed that reference

Not any stranger than usual. But you are right, I don't know to what you are referring. See how good I write?

WHL, Old Mulehide acting up again? I've a nephew who lives in Austin, I could ask if he's available to help. He's a lawyer, he'd even represent you at the trial. :>)

TPBM thinks it is too early for such shenanigans.

It is my understanding that ex-Mrs.WHL has been an ex for many moons, so....I say we fight!!!

TPBM is a lover not a fighter.

I'm a thinker, I think I'm a lover and I try to think my way out of fights ;)

TPBM also has their taxes done.

Yep, been done since January.

The person below me has tried Splenda.

It was years ago, and I can't even remember what it is.....

TPBM will continue on the next thread.

hi