5 Personal Things: The Quotation Edition

Well, well, well ... look what we have here: The final day of #NaBloPoMo.

Plus, it's November 30th, too. Readers of this blog will no doubt recall that dates divisible by 5 mean it's time for Michael to whip out his 5 Personal Things list yet again! I know! You're champing at the bit to get to the meat and potatoes of it all!

But this time it's going to be a little different ...

It goes without saying the vast majority of you would like to be face to face with me and see how I actually interact in the flesh, right? Well, to accommodate you I've devote this 5 Personal Things posting to quotations I actually say, things indicative of me, just so you can get an inkling of how I conduct myself in real life situations. I know ... what fun!

Strap in tight folks 'cause away we go ...

"It could be worse, it could be raining." I say this when someone notes a dire situation or predicament they might find themselves in at a given moment. I like to think it eases their tensions and anxiety about what they're about to take on ... but I could be wrong. (I mean, I have been wrong before ...)

"Zounds!" "Egads!" "Woof!" Common exclamations in light of unexpected events, happenings or otherwise.

"The only thing that belongs in your eye is your elbow." Stated when anyone tries putting anything into their eye other than their elbow. Examples: a contact lens, eye drops, a low-hanging branch, etc.

"Oh my gordness!" Another exclamation, said with gusto.

"That was my next guess." Said with an over-stated, frustrating tinge when trying to guess something - no matter if it's the 2nd time guessing or 100th time - when the other person asks me to guess something then answers for me.

"Huh, buoy ..." I use this in place of "Oh, boy" when someone says or does something embarrassing, when an action could turn out to be regrettable and other applicable moments.

"Oh, look at the time." Said hurriedly when someone suggests something to do or somewhere to go and I don't want to do it or go there.

"Well, people in hell want ice water, too." A pithy response to someone who informs me what they want.

"And how's that working for you?" This phrase has endless possibilities in any given conversation. Usually proffered when the thing someone is doing or thinking is ineffectual.

"Bring your dog and we'll give him a bonus, too." Offered when anyone says something which contains the word "bonus." (Thanks, Groucho.)

"I'm right here." An outstanding reply to the common question "Where are you?" Usually said during telephone conversations for maximum impact.

"It's like pullin' teeth." One of my go to responses when someone is stubborn.

Any Blues Brothers quotation. You'd be surprised (or maybe you wouldn't) how many times a good quote from the film The Blues Brothers is appropriate during the course of the day. And on multiple occasions throughout the day.

And there you have it, folks. The final #NaBloPoMo posting of 2018. While I didn't make the cut of 30 individual postings because I flubbed a few during vacationing, I feel I more than made up for it in relevant, entertaining content.

Hope you had as much fun reading as I had writing.

.......... Ruprecht ( STOP )

Oh, No ... There Goes Tokyo

My #NaBloPoMo post today killed two birds with one stone:

On occasion I contribute to Warehouse Find, The Official Blog for NostalgiaZone.com.

The blog's orchestrator - Jim Fitzsimons - tolerates my monkey business (sometimes) and posts (often reluctantly) the things I write. (So long as there's cash money involved to grease his palm. Personally I think he publishes my blatherings just because he often needs a nap and doesn't feel like grinding out something week in and week out ... but we won't delve into his questionable methods or work ethics right this moment.)

At any rate, click this link and read my latest contribution. 

Because it's better than unwrapping that extra large package of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and sticking them onto your thighs where they'll just end up anyway.

The video below is a bit of a clue to the post at Warehouse Find. Please enjoy.

.......... Ruprecht ( STOP )

Blathering On

You know, I write. A lot.

I have in excess of 500 posts on this blog alone. Another 900+ on CliqueClack, the television / film site I used to write for before it went dormant. Another couple hundred plus at The Unbelievables site co-written with some good friends and probably close to 200 more on Hotchka, another television / film site I currently blather on. Hundreds more broken up on several other blogs I possess not to mention probably the same amount on fellow social media friends' sites and blogs, guesting and co-hosting.

What that translates to is a lot of writing. Not near as many as some, quite a bit more than others.

Along the way, I've angered, informed, sarcastigated, offered some boneheaded theories, proffered my own brands of justice / worry / knowledge / comedy and more.

But when it comes to this particular blog - Rupe's Value Added Services - which has been in existence for 11 years, I've never topped 100 posts in any given year. Yes, I've written 200 posts on average combined, yet I haven't on my own personal scribble-site. (The lone exception is my photo blog - F ( STOP) where I have 1,000+ postings over the course of 9 years. There, I have 4 years in a row running of 100+ postings ... but it's not a true writing site in my eyes.)

Well ... that changes with the unfurling of 2019. It's a personal goal of mine to cross that 100 post threshold next year and, by golly, I'm determined to do it come hell or high water.

I still have tons of thoughts and fodder to put down on virtual paper and only I can stop me. But ... I'm not going to. If that makes any sense. And it does to me.

Wait and watch and see ...

.......... Ruprecht ( STOP )

Juggler Extraordinaire

Remember at the beginning of the month I told you I was insane? (Click that link and go review if you need to.)

Well, it's caught up with me in a manner of speaking.

The lack of sleep, the constant repetition of "on the fly" projects, the multiple commitments I've promised not to mention work, holiday preparations (4 Christmas trees are up! Christmas lights on the exterior of the house are in place and active!), the Thanksgiving holiday and Life in general has beat me into submission. So to speak.

Here's what I've failed ...

#NaBloPoMo: I missed 3 posts in a row (November 21st through November 23rd) as well as an earlier jotting on November 10th. (But I did sort of make up for that post by doubling my 5 Personal Things offering on the 15th.)

#crystalvember: I missed several drawing challenges as detailed in that first #NaBloPoMo post, too. "Godzilla" (prompt of the 12th of November, which I have started but have not finished), "Wasp," "Snowman," "Robot," "2001: A Space Odyssey" (prompts 22 through 25, respectively) and "Mosquito" which was yesterday's prompt. Today's, "Salamander," I won't get to either. At least not today.

There's nothing I can do about the #NaBloPoMo pieces; I've chalked up a big failure on my part to post every single day in November as I'd hoped. But the #crystalvember challenge is easily remedied. I simply have to sit my ass down and get drawing. And, beginning tomorrow morning, I'll finally get the opportunity to do just that.

What a damned slacker I am ...

.......... Ruprecht ( STOP )

New Music Monday

 
I like music.

Yes, I do.

So when some new tunes come along, tunes which strike a chord, well ... happy camper me is more than willing to explore more.

Early this morning, I got a notification on   the Facebook of a new posting in one of the groups I haunt (Pacific Northwest XTC Fan Group) and one of its founding members, Phil Corless. Phil posted a song by a group I hadn't previously heard of before, Teleman, an English indie pop band formed in London half a dozen years ago from the ashes of Pete And The Pirates.

The song in question - Düsseldorf - is a catchy little number that not only got my toe tapping but spurred me onward to more of their output.

I've only gotten a couple tunes under my belt so far this morning but I look forward to streaming more from them while at work today.

For your dining and dancing pleasure, here are a couple for your perusal. Please enjoy.

.......... Ruprecht ( STOP )

5 Personal Things ... Or "Cult Of Personality"

Here we are: Yet another day ending in a multiple of 5.

That means it's another round of features that make up your favorite #NaBloPoMo personality - ME!

The hits just keep a'comin' ... !!!

#1: My first exposure to classical music was the film 2001: A Space Odyssey where I immediately fell in love with "The Blue Danube" by Johann Strauss II.

#2: I'm often loud and boisterous. In other words, you'll know when I'm around or you can find me in a crowd.

#3: I'm a card-carrying member of The Grammar Police and I'm not afraid to point out grammatical syntax errors, punctuation violations and the like. Keep in mind, that's not to say I don't make (and admit to) blunders myself.

#4: My favorite color is stripes.

#5: I have a knack for making up music lyrics on the fly, warping a song to some silly or comical iteration just for the sake of it all. I used to do this for my kids all the time to keep them entertained. I still do it during the most awkward of moments to break up tensions and add levity to stressful situations.

<< BOOM! >> There you are. More tidbits of information for you to tuck away in your mind and recall at an opportune moment!

You have to admit: The valuable information you receive by simply reading this blog is uncanny ... !!!

.......... Ruprecht ( STOP )

Three Days Lax

I'm back home! That's The Good News.

The Bad News? I've missed the last three NaBloPoMo posts because of vacationing.

Hey ... I apologize but what am I supposed to do?

There was driving for seven hours to get to my destination beginning 5:00 a.m. Wednesday morning. There was last minute monkey business to attend to in order to have things ready for Thanksgiving the following day. Then, the preparations of the Thanksgiving repast itself, an all day ordeal. Of course, dinner and dessert and the obligatory clean-up on said day. The following morning found me heading out to visit a "little sister" who was in the hospital more than an hour distant, Black Friday traffic notwithstanding. And more relatives to touch base with yet another hour away after the hospital visit. Finally, "home" (to where our vacation beds were located for the long weekend) where leftovers were prepared for the home's hosts who had been working all the live long day. Today, Saturday? It was another long drive back home to Placerville where I finally get the opportunity to sit down with a moment's peace and write this mumbo-jumbo.

"Couldn't you have written while on the trip in the car, Michael? I mean ... you had seven hours of drive time, doing nothing but effortlessly letting your ass grow wider ..."

True. But the wrinkle there was I drove the entire seven hours.

"You mean you couldn't have gotten up half an hour earlier on any given morning and done your thing to get your blogs in when they were supposed to be? You couldn't sneak away and plunk out a few paragraphs and post them? Not an instance of sitting on the toilet, doing your business and getting other business done, too?"

No, I could not.

So, like it or not, here is this chronicle detailing most of what happened, justifying my excuse - whether you believe it or not - of why I was remiss over the last three rotations of the small blue ball we all ride obliviously in getting a few words churned out.

Deal with it ...

.......... Ruprecht ( STOP )