Sunday, February 9, 2014

Sunday Stealing

Put your music player of choice on shuffle and list the first song
"When the Idle Poor Become the Idle Rich" from Finnian's Rainbow.

If you could spend a week anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? Would you take anyone with you?
How about an air conditioned villa in the south of France, with a staff to take care of the place and nothing to do but lounge around by the pool, read, eat gourmet food.   Must have internet access.  If you want to go with me, you have to be a couch potato.  Anybody else might want to do something like, you know, walk or something  (Come to think of it I have access to a place like that in Bali...but it means dealing with Dr. G again and I think I'm better off not doing that.)

What is your preferred writing implement? (eg. Blue pen, pencil, green pen)
A black Sharpie ultra fine point, unless I'm writing in a notebook when I use some sort of roller ball, which does not bleed through the paper.

When did you go on your first trip alone (without your parents)?
Wow.  I don't remember.  Probably a flight to Los Angeles when I was in college.

Do you have connections to any celebrities (even minor)? List them.
Hmmm.  Well, of course the incomparable Jim Brochu (actor, playwright) and fantastic singer/songwriter Steve Schalchlin, and I have met, though don't really have connection to:  Judy Garland, Carol Channing, Theodore Bikel, Marge Champion, Piper Laurie (the last 4 met through Steve & Jimmy), the guy who played the lawyer in Deathtrap on stage (we had coffee with him after the performance in San Francisco--he was a friend of a friend and had invited us to come backstage after the show).  Then there are authors David Gerrold, D.C. Fontana (had dinner with her and David one night before a class at Pepperdine), Harlan Ellison (David took me to his house once), there is an actor in a TV series out of ?Hong Kong whose real name is Joel Lee, but who uses another stage name. He used to be a member of Lawsuit.  And a host of people from the Lamplighters who went on to bigger and better things (thinking of Jane Hammett, who traveled with Phantom of the Opera for several years in the role of Carlotta and Trisha Gooch, who performed with San Francisco's Beach Blanket Babylon for several years) and all the name players who have been associated with The Last Session (e.g, Tony-nominated Bob Stillman) over the years. Radio man Tony Kahn of "Says You" fame, for whom I did some transcrition (his Blacklisted is a riveting story of the McCarthy era, and how it affected his family). And of course, my favorite Gilbert & Sullvan patterman John Reed who kissed me at the 2nd annual G&S Festival in Buxton, England.  Also opera director Laurie Feldman whom we have known since she was a little kid; and up-and-coming director Rachel Blackburn, whom I have also known since she was a little kid (she's Gilbert's great niece).  I know there more, but those are off the top of my head.

Name 3 items you could pick up from where you are.
To the left, the TV remote; to the right, a book of postcards from Sevastopol (Ukraine); in front of me, a jeweled gecko.

How would you describe your sense of humor?
quirky

Do you ever play board games or other non-computer games? Got any favorites?
Love board games, but it's difficult to find someone to play.  Of course our favorite was the card tgame 65, which we played at my mother's in the good old days.   I also remember enjoying Risk, Monopoly, Scrabble (now I do Word with Friends) and Trivial Pursuit.  I also enjoy "Mexican train" as long as the train whistle is disabled!!!

A musical artist you love that isn’t well known.
Steve Schalchlin, of course

A musical artist you love that is well known.
Judy Garland, John Denver

What is your desktop background currently?
My favorite picture of Tom with the girls in 49er regalia...it's old now; I must choose a new one.

Last person you talked to, and through what you talked to them
I actually had a very nice chat with my mother when I visited her yesterday.  I told her about the book I am reading "Upstairs at the White House" and we talked about FDR and Truman.  Almost like the old days.

What do you carry your money in?
My wallet inside my purse.

What timekeeping devices are in the room you are currently in?
The clock on my computer, my cellphone, a Simpsons analog clock that hasn't worked in years (needs batteries), and a clock from Australia set to Australia time (a gift from Peggy many, many years ago)

What kind of headphones do you use?
I don't use headphones, but have in-the-ear ear buds (the ones that actually go in the ear canal, not the ones that come with your iPhone.

What musical artists have you seen perform live?
Judy Garland, Lawsuit, Barbra Streisand (before she was famous.  She was the opening act), the Kingston Trio, Sandler and Young, Neil Diamond, Joel Grey, Nat King Cole, Steve Schalchlin...probably more. 

How often do you clear your browser history?
I think I've done it once.

What’s the best job you’ve ever had?
Private secretary for 3 professors in the Physics Department at UC Berkeley.

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?
Transcriptionist for a psychiatrist, the only non-family member of the office staff, which made me the person everyone could be angry with when they were really angry with someone in the family.  I started out loving that job, ended up hating it.   Not surprisingly, at a moment of great family tension, I was fired.

What magazines do you read, if any?
I am not a magazine reader.  For some reason, I can read a 1000 page book and love ever bit of it, but a 3 page article in a magazine makes me impatient and I rarely finish it.

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