Five Blogs That Make Me Think

So I was having a perfectly nice Saturday evening contemplating a world without The Simple Life and the way that the PTC will spin things to make it look as though decent honest basic cable subscribers are still subsidizing this horrible show when I decided to check my comments and discovered that I have been tagged by Captain Incredible with another meme (apparently, my dear Captain, it's pronounce "meem" – I had always been pronouncing it (in my head) as "mem-ay", as though there was an accent aigu over the final "e" that had been dropped by the foolish Americans, but that's the influence of living in a bilingual country). This one though comes with a cute logo type thingie and the word "Award". And you know, I a sucker for awards – probably has to do with me not winning any as a kid.

Okay, so the rules:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.
   
2. Link to this post so that people can find the exact origin of the meme.
   
3. Optional: Proudly display the Thinking Blogger Award on your site with a link to the post that you wrote.

Well, I've done #2, so that leaves me with #1 and a minor conundrum. There are a number of blogs that make me think but with several of them I'm likely to get absolutely no response. I mean let's face it, if I tag Lydia Cornell or, Mark Evanier, or Alan Sepinwall at best I'm going to get a "huh, what?" and almost certainly I'll be ignored. And let's face it, what's the point of doing something like this and taking it seriously if you don't want to see what works for other people. Fortunately there are blogs that make me think that I know – or sincerely have a hope – of getting a response from.

1. Ivan at Thrilling Days Of Yesterday. His recent departure from the employ of the La Quinta hotel chain has sadly deprived us of some of his great stories about working as a night auditor, and dealings with such people as Slappy the "Security" Guard, but even without that, his long form ramblings on nostalgia are a joy. His reviews of old radio shows, movies and TV series that fly under the radar of the people at TVShowsonDVD.com make me want to buy them, though I never will. His recent post on a listing of the top 100 films (in which he participated) has some great commentary on such lists. Here's just one of Ivan's six points (and I agree totally): "Unless you can absolutely, positively convince me that Steven Spielberg is as underappreciated today as was Alfred Hitchcock at the peak of his powers, stop putting films like Jaws, E.T. and Raiders of the Lost Ark on these lists. You're embarrassing everyone.
   
2. if charlie parker was a gunslinger, there'd be a whole lot of dead copycats. Tom Sutpen was so upset with me the last time I did a meme and said that I wasn't going to bother tagging him because I knew he wouldn't reply that I figured I'd better include him on this one. And besides, the blog, which tom does with Stephen Cooke and Richard Gibson does make me think. The use of large form images with usually sparse text (usually no more than a title and a brief caption) has a significant impact.
   
3. Bill Crider of Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine. Bill has an incredibly eclectic mind and this blog shows it off. Whether it's his fascination with alligators and crocodiles, books, "she who must not be blogged about" (Paris Hilton), Big Foot, books (the ones he has written and the ones he has read), and basically whatever the hell interests him, Bill's aggregation of assorted news stories is a joy. Where else would you find a link to a story with the headline "Killer hippo poo is enemy number one"?
   
4. Sam Johnson of Yours Truly Sam-A-Rama. Sadly, lack of filthy lucre means that Sam doesn't post as often as he used to but when he does it's good. It may be a memory of Tom Snyder working in Savannah, or highlights from ComicCon – despite the fact that he didn't attend (too bad about the Iron Man preview clip) – or a rather heart-felt obituary for Tammy-Fay ("Throughout her entire life, from The PTL Club to the scandals to becoming a sort of cult hero, Tammy Faye faced it, mascara and all. When it came down to over a ten year battle with cancer, she kept on living with the grace she was given.") Sam almost always produces good stuff.
   
5. Ronniecat and her blog Hearing/loss. I've known her from rec.arts.comics.strips, since before we both discovered blogs. What was originally a blog dealing with her adult loss of hearing and the cochlear implant that has restored it, it has mutated into her personal blog with posts about her work with recent immigrants to Canada as an employee of an NGO, her cats, her family, her politics and plenty of other subjects. Currently Ronniecat is experiencing a bit of a computer problem but she'll work it out. Still, I sort of hate to do this too her.
   
   

It’s 8 About Me

I've been tagged by Sam for a meme. I'll be able to do most of it bust as far as passing it on, I'm afraid I'm a dead end. I'll explain at the appropriate time.

Here are the rules.

1. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.
2. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged must make a post about their eight things and post these rules.
   
4. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don't forget to leave them each a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.
   

Okay, here goes.

1. The only car I've ever owned was a 1964 MGB that I bought for $450, and probably overpaid for. It was almost literally held together with spit and bailing twine – well really it was solid core electrical wire and paint and if you think I'm kidding you'd be wrong. The car had a battery box at the back for two six volt batteries and the battery box was so rusted away that the only thing holding the batteries in the car was some wire that connected the two sides of the battery box. Damn I loved that car and it killed me to sell it.

2. I failed my driver's test three times, the last time before I even got out of the parking lot at SGI (Saskatchewan Government Insurance, which also handles driver's licenses in this province). That was about 25 years ago and while I'll probably have another go at it soon I really haven't missed it.

3. When I was 8 years old I was hit by a speeding car while I was writing my bicycle. The only thing that was broken was my bike. And that was in the era before bike helmets. In fact the only bone I've ever broken was one of my toes when I stubbed my toe on the frame of my brother's futon nine years ago. I set it myself because I know that there's nothing a doctor can do for a broken toe.

4. A university final exam (one) cost me my only chance to take a trip to Disneyland, and another final exam (one), several years later cost me my only chance to take a trip to Europe. And yes, I was pissed off, particularly when the one exam (the one that kept me from going to Disneyland with my mother and little brother) lasted only one hour instead of the scheduled three.

5. My musical tastes tend toward '40s Big Band Jazz – Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, and the Dorsey Brothers. I would love to know if there is any recording of Ken Curtis with the Tommy Dorsey band during his brief time as one of many replacements for Frank Sinatra (Curtis, who played Festus Hagen on Gunsmoke, had a truly beautiful singing voice which heard particularly well in the John Wayne movie Rio Grande). I also own a set of five CDs of Canadian Big Bands, which seem to be pretty rare (they aren't even available on EBay).

6. I went to high school with a Playboy Playmate of the Year (Shannon Tweed, who is now featured on A&E's Gene Simmons: Family Jewels) – she was a year behind me and I don't recall ever meeting her – and the Vice President of R&D at Pixar (Darwyn Peachey) who at the time was a close friend. Neither of which gives me much more than a very good Kevin Bacon number – I graduated with Darwyn; Darwyn is credited on Toy Story which starred Tom Hanks; Tom Hanks worked with Kevin Bacon in Apollo 13.

7. I wanted to be a naval officer until it became abundantly clear that my eye sight would mean that I'd fail the physical even for a reserve commission.

8. Five Pin Bowling is the only sport that I've ever really been any damned good at – if you don't count Poker as a sport.

I won't be passing this on. I know that virtually no one on my blog list would respond, so why bother. I mean Sam got Ivan, and basically I know that Tim Gueguen and Tom Sutpen won't respond and Ronniecat probably wouldn't so that basically leaves Linda, who I know loves these things, but if I can only come up with one responder why bother.

Wow! I'm A Filth-Meister!

Who knew?

Mingle² - Online Dating

The rating is apparently based on the presence of the following words on the blog: Death (6 times), Dead (5 times), Suicide (4 times), Fuck (3 times), Fag (2 times), and Enema (1 time).

Let's see, Death and Dead I can discount - you can't write about TV these days without the words coming up, given the number of procedurals that are on the air. Suicide probably comes from defending Hidden Palms from the wrath of the PTC. I used the word fuck in the piece I did about the Second Circuit Court decision on "fleeting expletives" and at least one of those uses of the word came from a quote from FCC Chairman Kevin Martin. Oddly enough I only type the word fuck, I never say it. The two uses of the other "F" word came from a quote from a Blogcritics piece on the first season DVD of the mercifully recently cancelled The War At Home and was in my "Idiot Dad" Fathers Day post. For the life of me though I can't remember when I used the word enema in this blog recently.

Sam's Christmas Meme

My blogging buddy Sam Johnson – sorry, The Real Sam Johnson! – sent out a meme for some of us and I decided that it was worth doing. I’ll let Sam explain the premise:

I gotta Christmas meme for everyone and it's very simple. Santa Claus has sent out an X-mas Genie to only the super good boys and girls out there and he's come to your house. Genies only give out three wishes, but X-mas Genies give four for Christmas. What do you ask for and remember, nothing is off bounds.

So what do I wish for, remembering that nothing is out of bounds?

1. Personal Poker lessons from the greatest and most beloved living poker player, Mr. Doyle Brunson. He can bring some of his friends along with him, Johnny Chan, Howard Lederer, his son Todd Brunson, Annie Duke, Jennifer Harmon, but mostly I want to learn from The Master. And then I want to play in the main event of the World Series of Poker, but I think that with Doyle’s teaching I can handle getting the $10,000 entry fee together myself. Or at least win an online satellite.

2. A home entertainment system set up to my personal standards. I’m thinking a 42 inch LCD, surround sound stereo system HD cable box, DVD Recorder with hard drive, plus a Windows Media Center computer (or maybe something similar from Apple), a Slingbox, a US satellite dish, and a lifetime subscription to every available station on both my Canadian cable and my US satellite system.

3. A spot as a Racer on The Amazing Race (and oh yeah, I'll probably a partner too, one who can drive). I can’t participate in The Amazing Race because I’m a Canadian, but of all of the reality shows in the world this is the one I would do just about anything to be a contestant on. I quite literally dream of being on The Amazing Race and afterwards hobnobbing with other Racers past, present and future including – yes I admit it – Rob & Amber. Oddly enough, in my dreams I never win The Race – I usually come in third or fourth – but the producers like me as a contestant so much that they immediately invite me back for the next installment.

4. This is a tough one, but I suppose it would be to obtain gainful employment as a TV critic with a newspaper – in other to get paid money to do something I enjoy, and oh yes get the screeners and promotional material that real critics get. The part of me that associates Christmas with trains wants the time, money, materials, and a suitable location to build my dream model railway. I suppose that with gainful employment you could build a great model railway, but then again I suspect that if I were paid to watch TV for a living I’d be too busy watching TV do actually run or even build the railway.

You’re supposed to forward a meme to others in hopes that they’ll do something with it. I guess I pick Tim and Linda.

A Random Meme

Here's something I found on BlogExplosion and thought was sort of interesting. It's a meme with the following instructions:

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
5. Don’t search around and look for the “coolest” book you can find. Do what’s actually next to you.

The only thing I can't figure out is if they mean the fifth complete sentence on the page or the fifth sentence, where the first sentence starts on page 122. I've decided to go with the latter, but do what you want. The book is Ball Of Fire by Stefan Kanfer (a biography of Lucile Ball which includes the infamous naked Lucy photo) and the sentence is: "To Lucy, who was brought up in the humdrum sphere of a moderate, well-to-do, middle western, mercantile family, show business is the most glamorous field in the world." (The sentence is part of the premise that Jess Oppenheimer came up with for I Love Lucy.

Let's see, I have to pass this thing on, so how about Sam, Linda, and Ivan, literate types all. I'd add Tim if I thought there was any hope that he'd do it.

Guilty Pleasures - A Meme

Sam had this meme on Sam-a-rama and after he listed the people he wanted to respond he opened it up to his entire blogroll so I'm taking the challenge and I'll even add one at the end.

Guiltiest Song: This is hard for me. I don't listen to much popular music - I listen to CBC Radio 2 for heaven's sake which is pretty much all classical, and I have a great fondness for big bands. I mean it was on Radio 2 that I discovered The Blind Boys of Alabama's tremendous version of "Amazing Grace" done to the tune of "House Of The Rising Sun", but that can hardly be a guilty pleasure. I could mention "Nessun Dorma" as done (to death) by Pavarotti for his encore piece, but when it comes to a really guilty pleasure I have to go with a classic, not classical. It is none other than Elvis Presley singing "Viva Las Vegas".

Guiltiest TV: Is it a guilty pleasure when you tell everyone you meet to watch a particular show? If so then my guilty pleasure is and has been for a while The Amazing Race. I just got my season 1 DVD set which totally makes up for a frustrating week of getting to places where they had the Firefly set on sale... but were sold out. Well almost. I honestly believe that its the best of the realitycompetition shows, which is what makes it painful when they produce a poor season like the Family Edition. Fortunately the real Amazing Race is back this spring, starting in late February or early March.

Guiltiest Food: Sushi from Sobeys. I mean really, a sushi snob (someone who knows the difference between the various qualities of tuna), or even someone who likes to go to a restaurant and get some nigiri or maki from time to time would turn their nose up at this stuff but I just love it, mainly because I can usually get it for Sunday lunch with little difficulty. I usually alternate between the mixed combo and the smoked Salmon. How great is my devotion? I learned to use chopsticks so I could eat it properly.

Guiliest Drink: Forgot this when I originally posted. I rarely drink alcohol (an occassional glass of wine, preferablly white because I usually have a reaction to some components in red wines) , and I also don't drink coffee or tea (neve acquired the taste). What I do drink whenever I get the chance is a Double Gulp Dr. Pepper from 7-11. I used to survive on these until they shut down (and then bulldozed) the neighbourhood 7-11 almost a year ago.

Guiltiest Crush: I don't know how you can have a guilty crush. What makes a crush guilty? Inaccessibility? Some other quality that makes them forbidden fruit? I mean I've mentioned my erotic dreams about Martha Stewart and about Donald Trump's associate Caroline Keptcher, but if you really want to talk inaccessible how about Batgirl and/or Supergirl. Yeah I'm talking about the ones in the comic books, not Dinah Meyer (although I wouldn't kick her out of bed for eating crackers) or Helen Slater (ditto), but the comic book versions were hot. But when it comes to crushes I guess I have to say Emily Procter, who plays Calleigh Duquesne on CSI: Miami. I enjoyed her and sort of had a crush on her on those episodes of West Wing that she did, and I did in fact see that scene in the TV movie Breast Men (and I can safely say that David Schwimmer is a lucky bastich for being in that scene) but it's Calleigh that really does it for me. There's one scene in the current season that sums it up for me. Calleigh has just retaken the ballistics lab from the slacker who was hired to replace her (after she quit because her ex-lover blew his brains out in front of her in that room) and she's test firing a pistol; when she finishes her two shots she breaks into the single most beautiful smile I've ever seen. I'm in love!

Guiltiest Man Crush: I mean I don't swing this way but if there is one man that I find particularly hot in that sort of way it is none other than Mr. Allyson Hannigan, aka Alexis Denisof. Now everyone knows him as Wesley from Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel, but I first became aware of him when he played the villainous Lord Rossendale in the last three episode of the Sharpe series. Rossendale is a cad and a bounder as well as a coward, but looking at a picture like this, one can readily understand why Sharpe's half-witted wife dropped her knickers at the merest indication that he would consider such a creature as she (but of course he was interested in her - she had all of Sharpe's not inconsiderable fortune).

Guiltiest New Fad: I'm addicted to doing Sudokus. I wish someone had bought me a book of them

A Meme from Sam

Okay, I'll play but I don't have anyone to hand it along to so I guess it won't be going anywhere from here.

Five Light Reads

• JSA Comics (from DC)
  


• Any of Max Allan Collins' Nate Heller novels


• Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy


• Any Nero Wolfe stories by Rex Stout


• Positively Fif th Street by James McManus

Five Reads To Make Me Think (then give me a headache from thinking too much)

• The Lord of the Rings Trilogy


• Hawaii by James Michener - Loved the way he used the location as a character


• The National Dream/The Last Spike by Pierre Berton - Proof positive that history isn't boring but how it's presented frequently is.


• Winning At Poker by Dave Scarf - my favourite Poker book but then I still dont own SuperSystem 2 by Doyle Brunson


• Most manuals for electronics - but not in a good way

Five Songs Which Turn Me On

Well I dont know about Turn Me On but:

• La Marseilles (I swear, every time I hear this I get chills up and own my spine)


• Sing Sing Sing - Benny Goodman orchestra


• Your Cheatin' Heart - by Hank Williams but I prefer the Ray Charles cover


• Hurt - the Johnny Cash cover of the Nine Inch Nails song
  


• Crying - the version by Roy Orbison and k.d. lang

Five Best Movie Dramas

• All The Presidents Men


• Original version of The Manchurian Candidate (for Angela Landsbury's performance if for nothing else)


• Original version of Inherit The Wind (Frederic March and Spencer Tracy)


• Casablanca


• The Adventures of Robin Hood (Errol Flynn and Basil Rathbone - they dont make guys likethat anymore)


• Honourable mention to Notorious (Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman have a kissing scene that is explosive).

Five Best Movie Comedies

• Speedy (Harold Lloyd - probably not the best Lloyd but the best of the few I've seen)


• The General (well really any Buster Keaton but this is the one that is always shown)


• Duck Soup (The Marx Brothers)


• Philadelphia Story (Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, Jimmy Stewart)


• What's Up Doc (Ryan O'Neal, Barbra Streisand)

Oh Joy, Another Meme

I know Sam, you're just spreading the "happiness".

What I was doing ten years ago:
5 years ago:
1 year ago:
Yesterday: Pretty much the same answer to all of these - writing when I get the chance and working for my family. Over the years the boss has changed. Ten years ago it was my Grandfather but of late it's been my Mother. Pretty mundane stuff really and I don't want to go into details. Ten years ago I was publishing my own small but reasonably well received Diplomacy zine as a sideline, but the Internet (as a way of playing the game) and some personal problems ended that. Interestingly I average about twice as many hit daily on this blog as I had subscribers for my zine - which shows how pathetic it was.

5 snacks I enjoy:
Dill Pickle flavoured Doritos
Old Dutch Barbecue flavour potato chips
Hawkins Cheezies
Chocolate Chip cookies (the soft chewy type preferred)
Muffins

5 songs I know all the words to:
Oh Canada!
God Save The Queen
The Star Spangled Banner
- As you can see I'm not much of a one for listening to music except as background.

5 Things I would do with $100 million:
Buys some well run businesses - it takes money to make money and once you have it you want to make more of it.
Give $1 million in a trust fund to the Library Fund of the University of Saskatchewan.
Spread another $9 million to various other charities that interest me.
Play poker with Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan and the others at the big game at the Belagio.
Travel... a lot.

5 locations I would like to run away to:
Disneyland - what can I say, the one chance I had to go was thwarted by one University exam.
London - the one in England since I've already been to the one in Ontario.
Rome
Istanbul
New Zealand - I don't know why but New Zealand has always fascinated me

5 bad habits I have:
Forgetting things.
Prevaricating.
Not paying attention.
Either not talking enough or talking too much.
Eating junk food.

5 things I like doing:
Bowling.
Blogging.
Biking.
Playing Poker online.
And of course Watching TV.

5 things I would never wear:
Jeans - I've tried in the past but when I take them off my legs tend to look like I've been sunburned and been really uncomfortable for hours afterwards
Thong underwear - I had enough wedgies in grade school.
Cowboy boots - can't get them to fit my feet.
A muscle shirt - there are some things that would be criminal to expose to the public.
Bermuda Shorts - for the same reason and yes I am talking about my legs.

5 TV shows I like:
The Amazing Race - The only reality show I desperately want to be on and can't because I'm Canadian.
Battlestar Galactica
Iron Chef - Japanese or the new American version, but not the one that was on UPN.
CSI - the original but New York isn't that bad
House
and a host of others of course.

5 Biggest joys of the moment:
My nephew Brian - 2 1/2 years old and I don't get to see him nearly enough.
Online Poker - I enjoy it even if I'm only adequate at it.
Listening to Big Band jazz or even classical music.
Reading.
Having the hearing in my left ear come back.
(This last one requires a bit of an explanation. For the past few years the hearing in my left ear tends to become less than normal for about six months every year - sort of like a permanent case of swimmers ear. It always comes back, usually in June or July.)

5 Favorite toys:
My TV.
My DVD player.
My Computer.
My Shortwave Radio Receiver.
My Bike.

5 Next victims:
Well I could suggest Tim and Ronniecat but I doubt they'd be any more likely to reply than Sutpen or Cooke. On the other hand Linda probably would if she has the time.

My First Meme!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 10 a.m. thanks to my alarm clock. It's just lucky it's on the other side of the room from my bed.

2. Diamonds, pearls or silver? So boring. I like something with colour like rubies, emeralds or saphires. Still, if I have to choose from this list I'd say pearls, but only if they're the rarer coloured ones. The golden pearls that I saw a few weeks ago on The Apprentice are among the most stunning things I have ever seen.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring. It's just too much of a hassle to go downtown to a movie and spend $10 or whatever it is here now, particularly when I can buy a movie I really want to see for the same amount of money if I go to the right place.

4. What is your favorite TV show? Currently The Amazing Race. I know it's a reality show but on the whole there isn't the backstabbing that you see on Survivor or The Apprentice. I used to like The Mole as well but it died when they put celebrities on it. Looking back a bit I liked Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere, and Crime Story. Oh yeah, and there's also the new version of Doctor Who.

5. What did you have for breakfast? I so rarely eat breakfast that it's criminal. Actually about the only time I eat breakfast is when I'm traveling which happens less often than I'd like.

6. What is your middle name? Strictly speaking it's Brent. I share - or rather shared - a birthday with my great-uncle Stan. He was born in 1916 (roughly; his birth records were about the worst I've ever seen - for his pension we found that the only record anyone had for his year of birth was a newspaper item for when he enlisted in the army and that could have been 1916 or 1915) so we were about 40 years apart. No one has ever ever called me Stanley or Stan, and they'd better not.

7. What is your favorite cuisine? I don't really have a favourite kitchen (snicker) but as far as styles of food, I'm pretty flexible. (Cuisine - French for Kitchen. High school French strikes again.)

8. What foods do you dislike? Don't like liver and I'm not crazy about any fish that looks back at you, but the absolute worst is Steak and Kidney Pie. I don't mind the steak part but to me the kidneys taste like the end product of what they process.

9. What is your favorite chip/crisp flavor? For potato chips Miss Vickie's Sea Salt and Vinegar. On the other hand Doritos has just come out with a Dill Pickle Tortilla Chip which may be the best chip to cross my lips. Going beyond chips a bit, Hawkins Cheezies have been a staple with me since before I can remember.

10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? I so rarely use my CD player that I can't really answer. Besides, my taste in music is thoroughly archaic. Just as an example I have the Swing Canada series on a private label that hasn't produced any more.

11. What kind of car do you drive? I don't drive. In the winter or wet weather I take the bus or get a ride with someone. In weather like this I ride my bike when I want to go somewhere. In just about any weather I walk a lot.

12. Favorite sandwich? Corned Beef, preferably on Winnipeg Rye but I'm willing to settle for a Kaiser Roll if that's all I've got. I also like Peanut Butter and Dill Pickle (slice the pickle into thick rounds and put between two pieces of white or whole wheat bread with peanut butter - preferably crunchy - on both).

13. What characteristics do you despise? The combination of greed, selfishness and dishonesty is the worst.

14. Favorite item of clothing? A sweat shirt.

15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? I've always wanted to take a cruise around South America. The old Britannis used to do a circumnavigation but she's been gone for a few years.

16. What color is your bathroom? A sort of beigy pink, with some faux white and blue tiles. I need to do something about it.

17. Favorite brand of clothing? I don't really worry about brands.

18. Where would you retire to? The Monterey Peninsula of California - not too hot, not too cold. I hate temperature extremes.

19. Favorite time of day? Evenings, a bit before dusk.

20. What was your most memorable birthday? In truth none stick out. That's really sad.

21. Where were you born? Saskatoon Saskatchewan, Canada.

22. Favorite sport to watch? Curling. I haven't watched Hockey much since well before the strike, and I'm off of baseball since the Expos moved south, but ask any Canadian and he or she will be able to talk about raises and draws even if they've never played the game.

23. Who do you least expect to send this back to you? Did I happen to mention that I'm a meme virgin. I know Sutpen would ignore it - not sure about his blogging partner Stephen Cooke though.

24. Person you expect to send it back first? No one, but I wouldn't mind seeing answers from Tim and Ronniecat.

25. What fabric detergent do you use? I don't do the washing myself (my mother lives with me and does it) but I believe the preference is for Tide.

26. Coke or Pepsi? Coke, but the Canadian kind please (it has sugar not - or more likely in addition to - corn syrup). In the U.S. apparently the only way to get sugar in your Coke is to buy Kosher Coke around Passover. Actually I prefer a Double Gulp Dr. Pepper but my neighbourhood 7-11 closed in January and I haven't found a replacement yet.