41 posts tagged “qotd”
What is the meaning behind your birth name?
Submitted by turtlegod.
Jonathan = "Gift of God"
Yep, that's pretty much me in a nutshell.
I provided much more detail the last time I answered this question.
What food item would you miss the most if it were removed from your diet and recipes?
Submitted by scorpion1116.
Meat! Oh, wait...I gave that up a while back. Actually, this summer will mark the 10-year anniversary of vegetarianism for me. That makes me feel old.
There are a lot of foods that I would desperately miss if I couldn't eat them anymore. I suppose garlic would be at the top of the list.
What's your musical horoscope? (Put your player on shuffle and write down the first 10 songs that come up.)
I periodically do iPod "shuffle" posts, which is a fun way to write about stuff in my music collection. I don't really understand calling it a "musical horoscope," but here ya go:
Blackalicious - "Chemical Calisthenics" (Blazing Arrow)
I got to see the Gift of Gab do this live at the Sasquatch Festival. Very cool. He's got the flow, ya know?
The Replacements - "I Won't" (Don't Tell a Soul)
Not my favorite 'Mats song, but...
Johnny Cash & Bob Dylan - "Mountain Dew" (The Dylan/Cash Sessions)
This is from a CD of Dylan and Cash jamming together- "Girl From the North Country" ended up on The Nashville Sessions. Although Dylan and Cash singing together sounds like fingernails on a chalkboard (I think Bob is intentionally failing to hold a tune), this song is pretty fun. Heck, the whole album is fun.
The Jayhawks - "All the Right Reasons" (Rainy Day Music)
I've brought this up before, but the d-bags at minneapolis f*cking rocks compiled a list of the 50 best songs to come out of Minnesota, and didn't include a single Jayhawks song. Oh, but they did include four songs from Tapes n' Tapes' The Loon. Idiots...
Johnny Cash - "Four Strong Winds" (American V: A Hundred Highways)
I really haven't listened to this album a whole lot- I think Johnny was sick when it was being recorded. Did he die before it came out? In any case, it's the voice of a wise, old, tired man. Interesting contrast from the duet w/Dylan.
Mason Jennings - "Dewey Dell" (Century Spring)
I'm a big Mason Jennings fan, but I don't know this album very well. I had a CD that was labeled "Century Spring," but it was actually a second copy of his self-titled album. Apparently there's an As I Lay Dying reference here- Dewey Dell is a character in that fun, fluffy, beach read of a novel. I think I made it through 15 pages before I gave up.
The Jackson 5 - "Who's Lovin' You" (The Best of the Jackson 5)
Wow, little Michael had an incredible voice.
Prince - "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" (The Hits/The B-Sides)
As I say quite often, I have a lot of respect for Prince Rogers Nelson, but most of his music just doesn't do it for me. There's some line where music crosses over into "pop" territory, and fails to get my ass shaking.
Robert Pollard - "Kick Me and Cancel" (From a Compound Eye)
I thought this was a Guided By Voices song, since I just loaded 2 GBV albums onto my iPod. Solo Bob Pollard is pretty much the same thing as GBV. That man is a hell of a songwriter. When he leaves this planet, he's going to leave behind thousands and thousands of songs, most of them good.
Belles of Skin City - "Robots Are People Too" (You Do the Company Proud)
Wow- shades of Primus! I had absolutely no idea who this was- I've listened to the album once or twice. They're a Minneapolis band that I never got a chance to see. This song isn't bad. Would actually make a decent running song.
Wilco - "Via Chicago" (Summerteeth)
Man- Jeff Tweedy might be the best songwriter of his generation. I was so blown away by Being There, but then wasn't super impressed with Summerteeth initially, and never gave it much of a shot. I really don't recognize this song, but it's quite good. Looking at the album, I know the first 6 songs, and that's it. Time to do some serious listening to Summerteeth! (I think one of the things that turned me off was the album's title. What's that all about?)
I know I was supposed to stop at 10, but we'll go to lucky #13.
M. Ward - "It Won't Happen Twice" (Duet for Guitars #2)
That's the third band I've had in common with Joy! (And I know she'd approve of the Prince tune.) M. Ward is one of the coolest cats around. Period.
Modest Mouse - "Spitting Venom" (We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank)
A lot of people probably view this album as a disappointment, since it comes on the heels of 2004's sublime Good News... Don't make the mistake of ignoring this album! It's definitely one of my favorite releases of ought seven.
Music-wise, what was the first 45, single or download you bought?
Submitted by Paddy Melt Wagon.
The first (and only) 45 I ever bought was Ben E. King's "Stand By Me," after I saw the movie of the same name, in 1986.
What's the best music documentary or concert film you've seen?
The Last Waltz, hands-down. Scorsese + The Band + Dylan + tons of other musicians = a killer concert film.
What's the greatest video game console on the market? Do you own it or is it on your wish list?
I own an X-Box (not the new-fangled X-Box 360), but I rarely play it.
I grew up on video games. Having two older brothers helped out quite a bit, since my parents allowed them to take me to Rockafellas. Any other St Paul peeps remember that classic arcade on Ford Avenue? Video games were everywhere in the early 80s, so every time my family went out to eat, we'd be presented with a handful of quarters, to give my parents a few minutes of peace and quiet. From Space Invaders, Asteroids, and Pac-Man to Dragon's Lair and Tron, video games were an essential part of my childhood.
In the late 70s or very early 80s, my dad brought home an Apple II Plus computer. Although we played tons of games on it, it wasn't designed for that purpose. It had a tiny black and white monitor, and a mere 48 KB of RAM. One year for my birthday I asked for more memory, and we upgraded to 64K. Complicating things were the fact that most of the games my brother Bill acquired were pirated copies of store-bought games. They all had bugs aplenty.
I'm babbling here. My point was intended to be simple: the two greatest video game systems were ColecoVision and the classic Nintendo Entertainment System. The Butcherts and Mogols had ColecoVisions before the NES was released- favorite games were Donkey Kong, Lady Bug, and Smurfs.
The greatest of all-time has to be the NES, though.
Sure, graphics and AI have gotten more sophisticated, but have the games really gotten much more fun? I don't think so. I miss the days when you could sit down with a game you've never played before, and win it in one evening. You had four directions (up, down, left, right), and two buttons, A and B. The Nintendo graphics and gameplay were 1000 times more advanced than the Atari 2600, but most games were still simple enough that nearly anyone could participate.
I've enjoyed a few games on the X-Box quite a bit (Tiger Woods Golf, Indiana Jones, Halo), but most games require way too much of a time investment. I've still got an NES, and it will forever remain the Greatest Video Game Console.
What is the best beer on planet Earth?
Submitted by Remmy Van Hornie.
This is a very, very difficult question for me to answer. I like many kinds of beer, and I really like switching it up. I always liked to support Summit when I was living in the Twin Cities, and they make some pretty good beer. Now that I'm back in Colorado, the microbrewing capitol of the world, I have an incredible variety of choices every time I'm in the liquor store.
Bell's, out of Kalamazoo, MI, makes a lot of damn good beer. Unfortunately, they're not available in Denver. Their Two Hearted Ale (an india pale ale) is a great beer, but their specialty stuff is amazing, though expensive. The Java Porter is awesome.
Although Fat Tire, brewed by New Belgium, is the best-known Colorado microbrew, I'm not much of a fan. Amber ales are really big out here, but I prefer pale ales, IPAs, porters, and stouts. Breckenridge Brewing has a Vanilla Bean Porter that's quite tasty. New Belgium's 1554 Brussels Style Ale is really good- it's like a cross between an ale and a porter. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is a classic standby...
If forced to choose one beer, it would probably be Red Hook Brewing's Black Hook, a porter. The bars that serve it right pour it like Guiness, with nitrogen (I think) involved, so it's a creamy pour. Yum!
Although the question was asking about he best beer in the world, I don't like many international beers- I'm not a fan of lagers or pilsners. Dark German beers and Belgian ales are pretty good, though. Here's a happy photo of me from South Africa. After nothing but lagers everywhere we went, I had just found a six-pack of Castle Milk Stout!
What does your name mean and why did your parents choose it for you?
Submitted by mommy2two.
Awesome! This is going to be fun to answer.
My birth name was Jonathan Kent Moore. My full legal name now is Jonathan Moore Flanagan. But then there's Lawrence...
Jonathan: Jonathan is a Biblical name, from the Hebrew יוֹנָתָן, meaning "God's gift." (Literally, "Yaweh hath given.") Not a bad name, if I do say so myself (never mind the fact that I'm atheist). After giving birth to my brothers Dave and Bill, my mother had two miscarriages. Then, she had me, at 42 years of age (a very big deal in 1974). Being a devout Catholic, she had said many prayers asking for my safe arrival. Her father was named John. (Officially, Cornelius John Aloisius Flanagan.) So, she decided to pay tribute to her father (the only grandparent that survived long enough to meet me), and give a shout out to the big man upstairs, at the same time. I've gone by "Jon" 95% of my life.
Kent: My middle name (at birth) was Kent. It's a family name on my dad's side- his mother's maiden name, and also his brother's name. I only met my Uncle Kent twice. He died when I was young (9?), and lived in Connecticut. Kent is a county in southeast England, and the word comes from the Brythonic word for "rim" or "border." To be fair, I'd never heard the word "Brythonic" until 5 minutes ago. Welsh, Breton, and Cornish are the three major Brythonic languages.
Moore: My surname for the first 32 years of my life. While my mother is 100% Irish (Flanagan/McGrann), my dad's ancestry has always been a bit of a puzzle. Supposedly, he was about 50% English, 25% Irish, and 25% Scottish. The etymology of the name varies. English: one who lives on a moor or near a fen. Irish: a descendant of Mordha, a name meaning "great" in Gaelic. Scottish/Welsh: a nickname for a big man, from the Welsh word mawr (big/great). Lastly, there's the Old French "Moor"- maybe I'm related to Othello...
Lawrence: my confirmation name. As a 12-year-old, I was supposed to officially accept God into my life. Of course, as a 12-year-old, there really wasn't a "choice." It would be interesting to see how many of my friends would have chosen to get confirmed at 20, or better yet, 30 years of age. Part of the confirmation process was choosing a name, usually that of a saint. Since my initials were JKM, I thought it would be pretty cool to choose a confirmation name starting with the letter L, so I'd be JKLM. My brother Bill had already chosen Luis, so I went with Lawrence. He was killed by being roasted over coals, and supposedly yelled out "I'm quite done on that side- turn me over!" I thought that was pretty bad-ass.
Years later, as a librarian, I discovered that Saint Lawrence was an archivist/librarian at the Vatican, and refused to give over names of Christians. Take that, Patriot Act! He's the patron saint of librarians. Quite a coincidence.
Flanagan: my mother's maiden name, which Jen and I both took when we got married. It derives from Ó Flannagáin, which comes from the word "flann" (reddish).
What are the 10 foods you must have in your refrigerator and/or your kitchen cabinet?
Submitted by Carol.
Is beer considered food? Probably not. If I had to come up with a list of the 10 things I consider essential, I guess it would look like this:
1. Onions - and to think I grew up without them- my mom and brother HATE onions.
2. Garlic - garlic and onions provide the base for 85% of what I cook. And it keeps vampires away, too.
3. Tofu - a vegetarian's best friend! We also eat seitan, tempeh, tvp, and various meat substitutes manufactured by Morningstar Farms, Boca, etc.
4. Broccoli - if I had to identify a favorite veggie, this would probably be it.
5. Hummus- preferably of the home-made variety, but not always.
6. Edamame - so easy, yet so damn good!
7. Lentils - Indian cuisine- mmmmmm. Lentils are easy to prepare, provide lots of nutrients, and taste delicious.
8. Cumin - I use a lot of different spices, but this is numero uno (besides salt, obviously)
9. Cheese - Everything but goat cheese (although Jenny loves it). Cheddar is a staple, but gouda, edam, fresh mozzarella, manchego, and gorgonzola are all favorites.
10. Peaches- #10 is representing all fresh, seasonal fruit. Berries, plums, pears...the Western Slope peaches we're buying right now might be the best of all, though.
If you would have asked me 6 months ago, tortilla chips and salsa would have also been in the top 10. I'm trying to cut back, though. I can down an entire bag of chips in about 2 minutes. Other foods that could easily be in the top 10:
brown rice
avocados
pita
sweet potatoes
bananas
hot peppers
cilantro
spinach
After all the recent season and series finales, what are you watching on TV these days?
Absolutely nothing.
I grew up with no television set in the house. I was a freshman in high school when my mom finally decided to purchase our first TV. The only television shows that I've ever made a point of watching weekly are The Simpsons, The X-Files, and The Sopranos. I've been with and without cable intermittently over the past 14 years. Recently, we axed our cable completely (even for reception's sake)- hopefully less time in front of the TV means more time reading, being outside, etc.
While I enjoy watching shows like Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report, I don't really find myself missing them when I'm without cable. Plus, if there's a must-see clip, it usually can be found online. With the availability of entire seasons of quality television shows on DVD (Deadwood, The Wire, Rescue Me) shortly after the season concludes, there's really no reason for me to ever "need" television again.
A coworker of mine, who's a fellow diehard Twins fan, expressed shock when she found out that I don't have cable: "You don't watch Twins games?!?!?" I do catch some games every now and then- at friends' houses, when I'm out at a restaurant or bar, etc. I also really enjoy listening to baseball games. It wasn't very long ago that only a handful of my favorite team's games would even be televised. I'll survive.
