Kris Johnson's Blog…sort of.

Friday’s Feast

  • Friday Feast for 27 July 2007

    ·

    Kris Johnson

    It’s been a while since I participated in Friday’s Feast, so here we go…

    Appetizer
    Describe a toy you remember from your childhood.
    Optimus PrimeI was in Toys R’ Us a couple of days ago with my young apprentice and couldn’t help but linger at the new Transformers toys. I was disappointed to find only one Optimus Prime toy that actually transformed into a semi. This particular Prime was celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Transformers: The Movie, and would spout various lines from the movie. The Prime I had as a boy was much smaller and had no voice chip, but included both tractor and trailer. In robot mode, Prime’s hands attached to his headlights (which became the ends of his arms when he transformed); in vehicle mode I stowed them in his passenger compartment. Theoretically. The tiny blue fists were constantly getting lost—camouflaged perfectly against the large, dark area rug that covered much of the living room floor—and found again later, almost invariably by a bare foot whose carpeted footfalls were rudely interrupted by a nigh-indestructible hunk of plastic. It wasn’t until I discovered the joys of Dungeons & Dragons that four-sided dice replaced Optimus Prime’s fists as the most unpleasant toy to tread upon with bare feet.

    Soup
    On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being highest) how observant are you?

    I’m nowhere near as observant as I’d like to be; I guess I’m at about a 4 or 5 on the scale normally—I completely failed to notice a vase of roses on the dining room table a couple of weeks ago, even after being in and around the dining room for about an hour—but depending on the situation I can peak around a 7 or 8. I’m definitely more observant when I’m making an effort to notice things. At work, I often take a 20 on my Spot and Listen checks when I’m working on something tricky.

    Salad
    Where would you rather be at this very moment?

    Where ever I could go to comfortably finish listening to Jim Dale read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows without interruption.

    Main Course
    When was the last time you learned something new?

    About an hour ago I learned that I can get a discount on Apple computers through work.

    Dessert
    Fill in the blank: I have ____________ but I haven’t ____________.

    I have taught my young apprentice many things, but I haven’t completed his training.

  • Friday’s Feast – 06 April 2007

    ·

    Kris Johnson

    Time for another Friday’s Feast.

    Appetizer
    When you travel, which mode of transportation do you prefer?

    Depends on where I’m going. Driving thirteen hours to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is a bit of a pain, but previous experience with flying into CMX has proven problematic. The U.P. aside, if the journey would be more than six or seven hours by car, I’d prefer to fly. I’ve never done any serious traveling on a bus or train, but I’d like to try the train someday.

    Soup
    Have you ever met a blogging friend in person?

    Most of the “blogging friends” I’ve met in person I met long before any of us ever had blogs. I met Jonobie in the mid-1990’s, when blogs weren’t even a twinkle in any of our eyes. I met Bob and Wesley (who isn’t so much a blogger as he is a podcaster) just after the turn of the century, when blogging sites like LiveJournal were starting to become popular. I met Chris Miller at a local National Novel Writing Month meeting about a year and a half ago and didn’t realize he was a blogger (and podcaster) at the time. I met Misfit Mick Bradley, another blogger who is mostly a podcaster, last fall.

    Salad
    When was the last time you were really, really tired?

    As opposed to just really tired? Probably when I was sick a couple of weekends ago and went to bed at 7:00.

    Main Course
    If you could have dinner with any one fictional character from a book or movie, who would it be?

    I was going to say Gandalf but then I realized that I’d really just like to have dinner with Ian McKellan, who is allegedly a real person. Steve Rogers, on the other hand, is a fictional character who I don’t strongly identify with a real person; he’s also a personal hero, so I’d like to have dinner with the recently departed Captain America.

    Dessert
    Fill in the blank: One day, I hope to see _______________.

    My young apprentice crush my enemies beneath his bootheel. The enemies as well as the bootheel might be metaphors for social injustice and a new era of equality, tolerance and understanding, respectively, but they might not. So watch it.

  • Friday’s Feast for 23 March 2007

    ·

    Kris Johnson

    Rob over at UnSpace has been doing Friday’s Feast for as long as I’ve been reading his blog and this particular set of questions appealed to me for some reason. I generally shy away from this sort of thing but I’m going to make an exception for Friday’s Feast this week. Whether I participate in the future will depend entirely upon my whim.

    Appetizer
    Who is your favorite news anchor/reporter? Why?
    I liked Peter Jennings for a lot of reasons, most of them silly. My wife had a crush on him. He was Canadian and I enjoyed picking up on the little accent cues. He had a combination of earthiness and earnestness that really endeared him to me.

    Soup
    Name 3 foods that are currently in your freezer.
    I’m pretty sure there’s salmon in there, but I won’t be eating it. There are also steaks and boneless chicken breasts, which I will happily consume when the time comes.

    Salad
    If you were to have the opportunity to name a new town or city, what would you call it?
    There are a lot of factors I would take into account when naming a city: Natural landmarks (Welcome to Big Phallic Rock, Population 11,215), Cultural Heritage (Perkele Hills, Est. 2007), Vanity (Welcome to Salanton, The Narcissism City), and of course, Star Wars (Mos Eisley, A Hive of Scum and Villainy Since 1977).

    Main Course
    What will most likely be the next book you read?
    Fool Moon by Jim Butcher.

    Dessert
    What’s the first thing you notice about the opposite gender?
    The first thing I notice? That they’re the opposite gender. Generally it’s the presence of breasts that clues me in to this distinction. Am I really so shallow? In that respect, I certainly am.