5 questions on this Thursday night

[mvd]

Of course, you can answer them on any day.

1. What did you think of the last book you read?

2. Have you made any new musical discoveries?

3. Do you go to any social networking sites (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

4. Does your place of residence have any strange (paranormal) activity? (you don't have to believe - just wondering if there is something unexplained.)

5. What's your favorite card game?

My answers:

1. Just finished John Grisham's The Associate. Plot was good, but the ending was very unsatisfying. It's like he made no effort to finish it. Unless he made clear the book was to have a sequel, that was no way to end it.

2. Brand new ones include: Grizzly Bear, Au Revoir Simone, The Antennas, Dirty Projectors, Francisca London, Hey Monday, Great Northern, The Low Anthem, Phoenix, Gloriana, Tinted Windows, Kelsey And The Chaos, Desario, Kaci Battaglia, Adam Lambert and Allison Iraheta (from American Idol)

3. Just MySpace, and mostly all for musical discoveries

4. No

5. Solitaire

[Broken_Hero]

1. Okay,

1. What did you think of the last book you read?Flight by S. Alexie, it was pretty good actually, :)

2. Have you made any new musical discoveries?not lately, the only discoveries I find are people's suggestions, I haven't found my own new/good band in a while

3. Do you go to any social networking sites (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) myspace/FB

4. Does your place of residence have any strange (paranormal) activity? (you don't have to believe - just wondering if there is something unexplained.) no, not that I know of, my wife will say otherwise though.

5. What's your favorite card game?Magic the Gathering, but playing card game, Spades.

[mvd]

12. What has your wife experienced?

I like stories involving ghosts, UFOs, etc.

[Broken_Hero]

23. A few things

but I'll leave that to her to explain to you, I'm not very good recalling the details of the incident, because it happened to her, but the main skinny:

A force/spirit holding her down in the room, and a child running past our living room window.

About the only creepy thing that happened to me was about 6 months ago or so. I just laid down for the night(well, about 4am or so) and I was laying there, I could swear that I heard a baby crying outside my window. I got worried, because my Brother in Law lives on our property and he has two kids, one of which has a tendency to walk out of their home and go roaming around at night.

So I figured it was one of my BIL's kids, but the crying I heard really didn't match one of his kids, the cry was close to a little baby cry. So I got up, grabbed my particulars and went outside to investigate. My wife heard me get up, and she got up with me and asked me what the deal was, and I told her.

We looked all around our house, inside our cars, car port, sheds, my mother/father in laws house, and my BIL's house, even checked their doors, all locked.

My wife called my BIL to make sure that his kids were tucked away safe, and they both were. It was a weird experience, because I just didn't hear the cry once...I heard it twice.

[mvd]

24. Thanks for the story

:hi:

My parents have had a couple things happen in their lives (for my mom it was only a strong feeling in the Schifferstadt in Frederick, MD that the tour group was not wanted in a room.) But nothing has happened to me yet.

[Broken_Hero]

26. Well, here is another one, but it didn't happen

at my current home. When I was hmm, 12 years old or so I was in my parents basement taking care of my special needs brother. My brother was crying, and I eventually got him to sleep, and I also nodded off myself.

About half an hour later I awoke to hearing police/fire/ambulance sirens going by the house. When I heard the sirens, I just well, I felt SICK to my stomach, like I just ate a iron brick, but I also felt that something was wrong, and I put my brother down(he was still sleeping), and I went outside.

My parents as well as two of my other brothers were outside painting the house, and when I got out there, only one of my brothers were there. I asked him, where's mom/dad? He said they followed the sirens up the road. I started running up the road(which leads to a baseball field), and when I got to the bridge, my father was running towards me.

He told me to get back home, take care of my brothers, and that he would call me later. We both ran back to the house, he jumped in the suburban and hauled ass back to the ball field.

What happened, the missing brother, who was suppose to be helping my parents paint the house, took off up to the ball game. He was running around with his friends, and he decided to run out into the street for a foul ball. The route he used to get the ball was in between two large trucks parked next to one another, so when he ran out into the street, the guy driving up the road didn't see him, nor did my brother see the car coming at him

My brother was hit by a car going 25mph, and thats what all the sirens and hubbub was about. My brother is fine/alive, and all he got was a concussion and some abrasions, nothing broken.

This was and is, the only time I felt that feeling, that something was incredibly wrong, and I just felt very damn inclined that something horrible had happened to one of my family members. The only way I can really describe the feeling is having an iron brick in my gut, and having a strong sense/desire of something wrong. And to boot, both of my parents felt the same thing...

[bigwillq]

2. Mine:

1. What did you think of the last book you read?
Still reading it. :)

2. Have you made any new musical discoveries?
No.

3. Do you go to any social networking sites (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
Facebook and MySpace.

4. Does your place of residence have any strange (paranormal) activity? (you don't have to believe - just wondering if there is something unexplained.)
No.

5. What's your favorite card game?
Spades

[flvegan]

3. Okay

1. What did you think of the last book you read?

Loved it. "In Defense of Food" by Pollan

2. Have you made any new musical discoveries?

I recently discovered Glas Vegas, who played on The Graham Norton Show. Pretty cool

3. Do you go to any social networking sites (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

Facebook.

4. Does your place of residence have any strange (paranormal) activity? (you don't have to believe - just wondering if there is something unexplained.)

Thankfully no, or at least not that I've encountered yet.

5. What's your favorite card game?

Uno.

[BuelahWitch]

4. Ok, I'll answer!

1. The last book I read was Vincent Price: A Daughter's Biography, written by his only daughter Victoria. While it was well researched (much of it was based on VP's own notes, or from interviews she did with him right before he passed), it jumped around way too much in the timeline for my taste.

2. Last year I discovered Ella Fitzgerald. :hide:

3. Yes, mostly MySpace. Had a Facebook profile but got rid of it.

4. Yes. His name is Frank.

5. Solitaire.

[mvd]

6. Don't worry about finding good older artists late

I've been discovering Sam Cooke's stuff more lately. :hi:

[MorningGlow]

5. Okay

1. I had to review/write a synopsis of Be Yourself--Everyone Else Is Taken. I thought it was fair but trite. Then again, I don't like self-help books, so I had a tough time staying unbiased in the review.

2. No--new music has passed me by. I'm old!!

3. Facebook, but I find it massively annoying. Too many stupid quizzes and "passing a drink" and stuff...but I participate in all of them, to my great consternation.

4. Yes--we have the ghost of a housekeeper from the late 1800s. Her name is Beatrice. She's locked the cat out on the upstairs sleeping porch, opened doors, turned lights on, stuff like that that. She's been quiet for quite a while--I think she's gotten used to us being here and knows that we're not going to destroy the place like the previous residents.

5. I used to know a lot of card games but haven't played in a long time. So now I just do the standard solitaire (I've even forgotten the cool variations an aunt of mine taught me).

[Nicole Lambeth]

7. Sweet! I wanna play.

1. It was "Rain of Gold" by Victor Villasenor, and it's an old favorite. I thought that it was a wonderful family history and memoir, and that it makes me feel much more connected to my dad's side of the family. I reread it when I feel I'm forgetting part of my roots.

2. More like musical re-discoveries. Same with books, too. I was listening to Ani DiFranco and Le Tigre today, when I wasn't jamming out to Irish trad.

3. I have both MySpace and a Facebook pages, but no twitter. I just don't have anything that interesting to say. I play on FB more.

4. Well, something is going on. Wallets, keys, a remote control, and various socks have all gone missing lately. Can't be found anywhere in the house. I'm guessing a goblin took them to another dimension.

5. Spades! But I love it most when hubby and I play with our best buds the Finleys, who are unfortunately 8 hours away in Lubbock, Texas.


*edited for skipping a question*

[madinmaryland]

8. Ok...

1. BICSI's TDDM Version 11. (Extremely boring).

2. No. But I do like the music that introduces the Kojo Nnamdi Show on WAMU-FM (NPR) http://wamu.org/programs/kn/

3. No. Unless DU is considered social networking.

4. No. As a pastafarian, if it happened, it would only be on Wednesday, Prince Spaghetti Day!!

5. Anything I can beat my wife at!!! :D Euchre!

[fNord]

9. OK.....

1. What did you think of the last book you read? The Last words of Dutch Sholtz by Allen Ginsburg. It was actually a screenplay that never got made into a film. I definitely enjoyed it, although he took a few liberties with the history.

2. Have you made any new musical discoveries? Google Bordello, The Duhks, and Willie's Place on Sirius Radio. I don't know if that last one counts, But I'm glad I discovered it anyway.

3. Do you go to any social networking sites? Does DU count? if not, the no.

4. Does your place of residence have any strange (paranormal) activity? There is the occasional moth like creature that is about 6" from head to tail, with two sets (4 total) of wings, pincers AND antennae, and a big white skull mark on it black back. Scares the shit out of me.

5. What's your favorite card game? Seven card stud.

[mvd]

10. I meant other than DU

:hi:

[Jetboy]

11. Here are my answers:

1. The last book I read was a biography of Iggy Pop called 'Open Up and Bleed'. Iggy is a fascinating character and I quite enjoyed the book.

2. No. I collect records so a new discovery to me is an old record I've never heard before.

3. No.

4. Not my current home but when I lived in FLA I threw my shirt into the bedroom and it came right back to me. My girlfriend was a witness. No wind, not stuck to my finger or something; no explanation whatsoever. She also claimed to hear a lot of strange noises in the house we lived in after that.

5. Pepper.

[suninvited]

13. My answers

1. What did you think of the last book you read?
It was laugh out loud funny ! David Sadaris "Me talk pretty one day"

2. Have you made any new musical discoveries?
Not lately. My new satellite internet connection cuts me off when I use too much bandwith, so I cant really browse music like I used to. The last band I discovered that I really liked was the Wood Brothers.

3. Do you go to any social networking sites (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
I have facebook and myspace. My family seems to have all migrated over to Facebook, so I primarily use it now.

4. Does your place of residence have any strange (paranormal) activity? (you don't have to believe - just wondering if there is something unexplained.)
Not where I live now, but when I lived in Pensacola (house was 100 years old the year I moved in) we often had a gentleman walk through our dining room and someone was always looking for something in the kitchen in the middle of the night, making a huge racket with the pots and pans.

5. What's your favorite card game?
Euchre and hearts.

[ScreamingMeemie]

14. Okay...

1. "The Host" by Stephanie Meyers and it wasn't nearly as good as the Twilight series. Yes, I know there are book snobs here that will pooh pooh her books, but I am unapologetic.

2. Not any new ones. I am always amazed by The Killers.

3. Facebook to keep up with my daughter who is working 1400 miles away from me, and I have a Myspace but nothing much ever happens on either of them. People follow me on Twitter (train wreck thing) but I have nothing much to "tweet" about.

4. Hmmmm... It started with my daughter's best friend. She said once that she was afraid of our basement. After we moved both of my children confessed that they were always afraid of my basement. My daughter swears something "peeked out" at her from the storage area, but she is a drama queen.

5. Used to be Texas Hold 'em with MrG (I even won 480 bucks at a casino once!) but I cannot bear it any more. Close second was euchre with PassingFair and her husband but I cannot do that one anymore either.

[mvd]

18. I'm not exactly the target audience..

and I like Twilight. Kristen Stewart is also pretty cool and pretty.

[Blue_Tires]

15. ok

1. What did you think of the last book you read?
Hoping it works in my job search (What Color is Your Parachute '09)

2. Have you made any new musical discoveries?
There was a badassed soundtrack to a Brazilian movie I'm trying to track down...

3. Do you go to any social networking sites (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
I'm on myspace, linkedin and probably 2-3 others that i just signed up for and never came back...I'm not very active on either myspace or linkedin...

4. Does your place of residence have any strange (paranormal) activity? (you don't have to believe - just wondering if there is something unexplained.)
my home? unsure...my general area? almost definitely -- there have been loads of books, stories and alleged sightings over the years...(without giving too much away, let's just say in early settlement times, local puritans would "test" the faith of heretics and nonbelievers until they died)...

5. What's your favorite card game?

cribbage

[tigereye]

16. ok

1. What did you think of the last book you read? Very thought-provoking. It was The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Sharak, and it dealt with 2 extended families and their connections to the genocide Of Armenians during the Ottoman Empire. The writer was nearly arrested for writing about this, since Turkey denies that this genocide occurred. The characters are really cool, and the writer throws quite a few plot curve-balls at the end. I find this period of history and Turkish denial of it, fascinating.

2. Have you made any new musical discoveries? Esperanza - a wonderfully talented young female jazz bassist and singer. Amazing pipes and playing skill.

3. Do you go to any social networking sites (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) Facebook - it's addictive.

4. Does your place of residence have any strange (paranormal) activity? (you don't have to believe - just wondering if there is something unexplained.) No, but we joke that one of our double-paned windows that has a leak making it cloudy, is some kind of religious picture... A previous house we lived in often made me wonder if there were "spirits" around, it was kind of creepy.

5. What's your favorite card game? Uno, and then gin rummy.

[BarenakedLady]

17. Yay something else to help me procrastinate!

I should be doing homework...

1. What did you think of the last book you read?

Really liked it. Kafka On The Shore

2. Have you made any new musical discoveries?

Nope. I kinda got stuck on Seether.

3. Do you go to any social networking sites (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

I have myspace and facebook accounts, but I'm very sporadic using them.

4. Does your place of residence have any strange (paranormal) activity? (you don't have to believe - just wondering if there is something unexplained.)

Not this one. We built it so no previous owners. My new one will be the same. It is built on farmland.

5. What's your favorite card game?

Not big on card games for some reason. I'd like to learn poker though.

[krispos42]

19. Sure

1. Just re-read "The Rising", the first book in a 3-book series by S. M. Stirling and James Doohan. It's a pretty good read; fast-paced and hard to put down. Makes me wish I had the 2nd book in the series (I have 1 and 3)

2. Just that song from the "Geico" commercials, the remakes of "Somebody's Watching Me". I was curious.

3. Oh god, no. There are plenty of other cures for insomnia out there.

4. Nope

5. Michigan rummy

[fizzgig]

20. friday afternoon answers

1. What did you think of the last book you read?
i've been slacking on my reading lately. i'm re-reading the lotr trilogy right now just to have some brain candy. obviously, since i'm re-reading the books, i love them :)

2. Have you made any new musical discoveries?
only as far as hearing some of my fiance's old, old work and some stuff from his old friends and bandmates. i did finally get around to listening to the new green day album and loved it.

3. Do you go to any social networking sites (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
facebook and livejournal. i have a myspace, but never go there anymore.

4. Does your place of residence have any strange (paranormal) activity? (you don't have to believe - just wondering if there is something unexplained.)
not my place, but let's just say i never felt alone in my room in my dad's basement.

5. What's your favorite card game?
probably cribbage. family tradition dictates that any family dinner be followed by at least one game of cribbage during which we drink, curse a blue streak and play for blood.

[frogmarch]

21. ok

Ireland by Frank Delaney was the last book I read. I liked it so much that I'm reading it again.

I recently discovered the bowed psaltery after hearing one at a Celtic concert. I bought 2 1/2 octave one on Ebay and am having great fun playing it.

I don't visit any social networking sites. Friends have told me I'm a member of Facebook, but I don't know how that happened. :shrug:

No, nothing paranormal has happened at my house.

I don't like to play cards. Never have.

[SoxFan]

22. Friday afternoon answers

1. What did you think of the last book you read?

Meh. It was an anthology of "New Weird" fiction, but most of it was just warmed over dystopian science fiction, ie, bad Blade Runner imitations.

2. Have you made any new musical discoveries?

Not "new", but "expanded". Been listening to reggae and gospel anthologies.

3. Do you go to any social networking sites (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

Facebook. I have a Twitter account, but the format doesn't mesh with my personality or writing style.

4. Does your place of residence have any strange (paranormal) activity? (you don't have to believe - just wondering if there is something unexplained.)

My current residence, no. My parents house (where I grew up), yes. I only experienced a few unexplained "thumps" and an occasional cold spot, but others in the family have heard doors open and close and seen orbs at night. What makes it even stranger is that my father, who is very much a skeptic by nature, has experienced this stuff.

5. What's your favorite card game?

Blackjack. I suck at it, too.

[blue_onyx]

25. Answers

1. What did you think of the last book you read?

The last book I read was "My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands" by Chelsea Handler. It was funny


2. Have you made any new musical discoveries?

No.


3. Do you go to any social networking sites (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

No.


4. Does your place of residence have any strange (paranormal) activity? (you don't have to believe - just wondering if there is something unexplained.)

No. I am currently watching a show about paranormal activity on the Travel Channel though.



5. What's your favorite card game?

Uno

[av8rdave]

27. Answers, delayed until Friday (had to consult my attorney first)

1. What did you think of the last book you read?

The Road, by Cormack McCarthy. Dark, but unforgettable.

2. Have you made any new musical discoveries?

I'm an even worse guitar player than I first thought.

3. Do you go to any social networking sites (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

Not much.

4. Does your place of residence have any strange (paranormal) activity? (you don't have to believe - just wondering if there is something unexplained.)

The electric bill gets paranormally high in the summer months.

5. What's your favorite card game?

Eucher (sp?) and blackjack. I'm a simple person and a lousy gambler.

[ghostsofgiants]

28. Word.

1. What did you think of the last book you read?
"Tar Sands: Dirty Oil and the Future of a Continent" by Andrew Nikiforuk. It was excellent. I mean, I already knew the tar sands were fucking up the environment and Albertan society, but it is a really compelling read.

2. Have you made any new musical discoveries?
I recently started listening to HEALTH, who are pretty rad, and Liars. And I also rediscovered how amazing The Walkmen and The Constantines are.

3. Do you go to any social networking sites (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
Facebook, Twitter, Deviantart.

4. Does your place of residence have any strange (paranormal) activity? (you don't have to believe - just wondering if there is something unexplained.)
Nope. None. I'd kinda like to live in a "haunted" house, even though I don' believe in ghosts. It would just be a badass story to tell people, haha.

5. What's your favorite card game?
I don't like card games, but if pressed, I'd have to say Uno.

[Forkboy]

29. Answers...

1. What did you think of the last book you read?

I reread The Liar by Stephen Fry, and liked it as much as the first go 'round.

2. Have you made any new musical discoveries?

Nah, I don't do music....

3. Do you go to any social networking sites (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

I have a Myspace page.

4. Does your place of residence have any strange (paranormal) activity?

Tons of strange activity, none of it paranormal.

5. What's your favorite card game?

Cribbage, or San Juan, a game using cards for buildings, production of goods, etc.

[Deja Q]

30. srewsna

1. What did you think of the last book you read?
Necessary. It was the textbook to "Success Strategies" course.

2. Have you made any new musical discoveries?
I made a certain noise while listening to "Xanadu"...

3. Do you go to any social networking sites (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
Facebook

4. Does your place of residence have any strange (paranormal) activity? (you don't have to believe - just wondering if there is something unexplained.)
Does it have any normal activity?

5. What's your favorite card game?
Uno

[RFKHumphreyObama]

31. Interesting questions as always MVD

:hi:

1. What did you think of the last book you read?
I'm cheating slightly here because I haven't quite finished it but I'm in the final pages -"No Excuses -Confessions of a Serial Campaigner" by Bob Shrum. I know Shrum has a reputation for losing presidential campaigns -i.e. "The Shrum Curse" but I found this book to be a rather honest, straightforward and interesting account of his life and the political campaigns he's been involved him. He's not afraid to analyze the mistakes he made in the past and I found his descriptions of the various political campaigns he's worked on fascinating. He also gives some fascinating and objective insights into some of the interesting Democratic political figures of the last thirty to forty years -including Edward M Kennedy, John Kerry, George McGovern, Edmund Muskie, James Carville, Bill Clinton and Al Gore. His analysis of John Edwards and his character proved to be, in retrospect, quite sound even though I initially didn't want to hear it when I was an Edwards supporter. And his description of Al Gore and his character makes me wish more than ever that he'd been allowed to take his rightful place as President. I highly recommend this book

2. Have you made any new musical discoveries?
Not really, although my dad discovered a radio station that plays hits from the'50s','60s' and '70s' which is really good

3. Do you go to any social networking sites (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
I'm on Facebook

4. Does your place of residence have any strange (paranormal) activity? (you don't have to believe - just wondering if there is something unexplained.)
Not really, although there have been a few incidences where I've woken up at night and felt my bed shaking violently and can't find any real cause for it and that's freaked me out. But that hasn't happened recently. I do have strange dreams which seem to be too real to be just figments of my imagination in which some of my deceased relatives appear but that's not actually related to the place where I live

5. What's your favorite card game?
UNO

[yellowdogintexas]

32. even later on Friday evening

1. What did you think of the last book you read?
I laughed out loud: the book was "Lords and Ladies" by Terry Pratchett and I do love those Witches.

2. Have you made any new musical discoveries?
yes but they are in the classical world, not new music.

3. Do you go to any social networking sites (MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc.) I have Twitter and MySpace currently.

4. Does your place of residence have any strange (paranormal) activity? (you don't have to believe - just wondering if there is something unexplained.) whatever it is we just blame it on the cats

5. What's your favorite card game? Shanghai Rummy followed closely by Canasta