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Mystery Blogger Award

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Thank you to Cass over at Uniquely Cass for nominating me for the Mystery Blogger Award! Cass is a really nice, wonderful person who I’ve enjoyed getting to know recently by reading her blog. She lives near Toronto, Ontario, Canada and I’m excited to be visiting Toronto this summer on a family driving trip from Chicago to Boston. Think “National Lampoon’s Vacation” except we’re heading east instead of west….. and hopefully Aunt Edna doesn’t die, at least until we get to Fenway.

Rules:

  • Thank whoever nominated you and include a link to their blog
  • Tell your readers 3 things about yourself
  • Nominate 10-20 bloggers you feel deserve the award
  • Answer the questions from the person who nominated you
  • Ask your nominees 5 questions of your choice with one weird or funny one
  • Notify your nominees by commenting on their blog

Three Things About Me:

  1. I’ve become obsessed with John Hughes’ movies the last few years and I enjoy visiting the movie sites that he used, most of which are here on the north shore of Chicago. So far I’ve spotted the house from “Risky Business” and Cameron’s house from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”. I know what you’re thinking…….. weirdo movie nerd who wants to join a cult……. a cult of weird John Hughes movie nerds.
  2. I think pet dogs are the biggest scam in the history of humanity. Think about it. The dogs are laughing hysterically to themselves, saying to each other, “Hey Bowser, check it out….. I have an owner who clothes me, bathes me, feeds me primo food, takes me to the pet hospital, everything! Would you believe he even cleans up my poop!?! I know right!…. what a tool. All I have to do is bark and wag my tail a few times and he falls in love with me. He even buys me stupid birthday gifts and play toys and stuff. What a turd! You wild dogs really need to find an owner too. It’s the life man…. I mean dog.”
  3. I could see myself enjoying prison. I mean, all the peace and quiet. Think about all the time to read and relax and consider philosophy and ideas and stuff. Free food and shelter too. In a weird way it’s heavenly, except for the shivs and abuse and lack of freedom and daylight and all that.

My Answers to Cass’s Questions:

1. What is your favourite ice cream flavour?

  • I really dig the peanut butter chocolate. In fact, I dig it the most. I also like the mint chocolate chip. But if you’re gonna hold a gun to my head, or, perhaps send me to prison……. well ok.

2. What is the one thing you cannot live without?

  • Oh man, as you know, “I live for the games”. It’s on my “Dutch Lion” business cards for goshsakes. Seriously, I need competition. I need to watch games. There are a couple days a year with no games on (the day before the MLB All-Star game, the day after, when they put that stupid ESPY’s show on, then the day after that…… panic mode!) and I pull my hair out. I also can’t live without potato chips and cashews. Oh yeah, I can’t live without my beautiful wife and kids either. My dog-walking neighbors on the other hand……..

3. What TV show would you recommend if someone is looking for a show to binge watch?

  • I watch a ton of television so I love this question. My favorites that I’d recommend would be the entire “Spartacus” series from Starz, “Hell on Wheels” on AMC, and currently “The Americans” on FX. These shows have all been on my “Greatest Shows Ever” list in my head over the last 5 years. Wow, I’m getting chills thinking about watching these shows all over again for the very first time. Oh wait! Let me add “Blue Bloods” and “Hawaii Five-O” on CBS. Those are all fantastic but my favorite show ever……..I know what you’re thinking…….. is “Magnum, P.I.” Nobody did it like Tom Selleck, John Hillerman, Roger Mosley, Larry Manetti, and the Donald P. Bellisario and Glen A. Larson team from the 1980s. I grew up watching this with my dad so I have great memories of time shared with him. Then when I grew up I bought each season as it was released on DVD. I’ve watched all 162 episodes at least once and usually many times over. It’s funny, serious, dramatic, intriguing. It’s a mystery, a comedy, a soap opera, an action series all wrapped into one. Do yourself a favor and watch Magnum. It’s 8 seasons of pure genius!

4. What is your go-to late night snack?

As you know, I adore cashews and potato chips so those are typically a part of my late night viewings of “Magnum”, “The Americans”, and assorted other outstanding TV series. Oh yeah, another one! I love “Vikings” on History Channel (it’s a show about vikings, not the Minnesota Vikings). I enjoyed “Black Sails” on Starz too. (it’s a show about pirates in the Bahamas, not the Pittsburgh Pirates or the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.) “Davinci’s Demons” was pretty good on Starz until they (Spoiler Alert!) traveled to South America and met some cannibals. “Rescue Me” on FX……. Oh, it just never ends. I love TV! Oh yeah, back to the question. My favorite midnight snack is/are Totino’s Pizza Rolls (this is a snack, not a TV show, so why did you bold it? I don’t know, stop asking me questions late night writer guy). I usually pop 6-8 into the microwave. If it’s a 40 count bag I usually enjoy 8 pizza rolls. That way, I can count to see if they actually included exactly 40 pizza rolls into the bag. 8 x 5 = 40. It’s exciting as you move closer and closer to the bottom of the bag until the last feeding. Right? PS What is wrong with me?

5. If you could pack your bags right now & move somewhere new, where would you go?

Great question once again. I’ve been talking about moving for years. My wife and I (mostly just me) are so sick and tired of Lake County, Illinois. We live in a suburb of Chicago. The traffic, the property taxes, the roads, the overpopulation, the income taxes, the politics, the weather, the craziness is all too much for me. Plus I live in Cubsville and hate the Cubs, so it’s been a tough 43 years. I’ve lived in Lake County for 38 of my 43 years and I’m so sick of it I could puke. Be right back…….. I’m back, but don’t ask. Where was I? Oh yeah, I hate it here. Now, having said that, we’re not moving until we can retire and collect the full teachers’ pension, which of course will probably not even be there when we educators retire because the state of Illinois is in about $95 billion worth of debt thanks to the politicians of the past 40 years who always borrow from the pension fund to pay for their stupid government programs. They’re borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. Is that the saying? Who’s Peter? Maybe I should befriend him. Sounds like he has/had plenty of dough. I think you know what I meant. Thanks Illinois! Everyone is already beginning to move out of state so meanwhile the rest of us chumbolones will be the ones footing the bill of even higher taxes until we too take the leap and leave.

Anyway, I want to move to the suburbs or rural areas of Lincoln and/or Omaha, Nebraska. Maybe Boise, Idaho, Cheyenne, Wyoming, Oklahoma, Texas, Nevada, or Arizona. I basically want to move out to the open land out west and live where less government and taxes and rules (and did I mention taxes) reign. “Home, home on the range, where the deer and the antelope play.” That sounds free, relaxing, and nice. A warm climate would be a welcome addition to our lives. Live Free or Die! (unless you actually want to try out prison of course)

6. BONUS QUESTION! THANKS FOR ASKING CASS(IUS) CLAY! What movie can you watch over and over without ever getting tired of?
Phenomenal question. I love “Jerry Maguire”, “Hoosiers”, “Donnie Brasco”, “Carlito’s Way”, “Dumb & Dumber”, “Caddyshack”, “Goodfellas”, “Good Will Hunting”, “Silver Linings Playbook”, “Dazed & Confused”, “Road to Perdition”, “Pulp Fiction”, “Heat” (the one with DeNiro and Pacino, not the comedy with the big funny woman) ……. it never really ends. Where do I start? Oh, I think I just did. Get on this list and report back to me ASAP. Oh wait, I thought of a good one I love. “A Lot Like Love” with Amanda Peet and the guy from Iowa…..dude, what’s his name? Ashton Kutcher! Yeah, that one’s really good. So is that movie with Josh Duhamel and Julianne Hough…… the mystery rom-com one….. “Safe Haven”. Man, this just keeps going. Enough! “En Bruges!”, no I’m just kidding, only seen it once. “Home Alone” is awesome, all the John Hughes’ movies (here we go again Mr. North Shore Stalker), “Blood Diamond”, all the Dicaprio, Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise stuff….. OH, OH, OH, “True Romance”! Oh yeah! Glad I thought of that one. Go see this movie right now. It’s Tarantino’s first writing script, I think. It’s Christian Slater, Dennis Hopper, Patricia Arquette, Gary Oldman, Christopher Walken, Brad Pitt, Michael Rapaport, James Gandolfini, that guy from “Perfect Strangers”, and the ex-husband guy from “Frasier” in an action, romantic, how do you label it kind of movie?…..  I know right? What a cast! Great film! That’s it. Let’s stop there. Just watch those and report back to me in a decade or so.

My Nominees:

My Questions:

  1. What is the best sporting event you’ve ever attended?
  2. What are your favorite CDs/albums/records/recordings ever?
  3. What is the first or best concert you’ve ever attended?
  4. Tell me about professional wrestling. Who is your favorite wrestler ever? Why?
  5. If you could go back in time to a five year span in your life and relive it, what age would you pick?

Thanks for reading. I’m sure it was a chore but if you made it this far, you should consider reading some of my other stuff too. You might actually, gasp, like it. Thanks again Cass! You’re the best.

14 comments

  1. I thank you very much and I’m deeply appreciative, but I do not accept awards I’m afraid. I feel my entire blog is about the men of WWII, all I am doing is trying to put the factual material in chronological order along with my father’s information. But I don’t mind answering a few questions: Sports would be at Shea Stadium the 2nd day after it opened, guess I was about 14. I never had a favorite album, always either liked a particular song or didn’t. I went to one concert – Pagan motorcycle gang were the bouncers, and couldn’t hear the singer for all the girl fights going on – never went to one again. I used to like to laugh at Dusty Rhodes!! And i would go back to 28-32, because I was old enough to do what I wanted and still young enough to do it!!!!!
    Hope by not accepting the award will not affect our connection.

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    1. No worries GP! It’s all for fun. Do not sweat it. Thanks for answering my questions. It’s really interesting to learn about people. Shea Stadium sounded like a great place. I used to be a Mets fan in the 80s when I was a kid. As for wrestling, that’s one vote for Dusty Rhodes. Nice! I know him a little but need to find out more about him. For me it was always Macho Man Randy Savage. Ages 28-32 is a great call! I can’t argue with that myself. Thanks for everything. Reid

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    1. Thanks! I’m so weird. You’re the awesome one! I’m just a guy that likes when people read my strange writings. I love your blog. Hopefully we can get together. I’ll be in Toronto sometime around July 6-12. I’ll let you know once we finalize our plans.

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      1. Got to work! Here are my answers Reid

        1. What is the best sporting event you’ve ever attended?
        Cowboys games in general, hands down. AT & T stadium is always a blast or when I saw them in Arizona last September.

        2. What are your favorite CDs/albums/records/recordings ever?
        Another tough one… Probably any Britney Spears, or Kenny Chesney or Tim Mcgraw or Faith Hill or Kid Rock album…. Don’t make me choose…

        3. What is the first or best concert you’ve ever attended?
        Enough with the tough questions…. gotta say either the Backstreet Boys concert a few years ago, any of the Britney Spears ones I’ve been to or Kenny Chesney (he’s my favourite) or maybe that time I saw Kid Rock… I really can’t decide

        4. Tell me about professional wrestling. Who is your favorite wrestler ever? Why?
        uhmmm, I haven’t watched wrestling in a really long time.. totally don’t have an answer here

        5. If you could go back in time to a five year span in your life and relive it, what age would you pick?
        university years hands down (17-21)

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      2. Outstanding Cassandra (guessing that’s your full name). Spoiler alert! My full name is……R-E-I-D. Reid. Like Reid a book, but spelled different.

        Now let’s address your answers:
        #1 I love the Cowboys! They’re my 2nd fave team behind the Bears. I’ve never been to Jerry World but I want to go badly. I did go to a Rangers game right across the way there and took a photo of my daughter with AT&T looming in the background. Great looking stadium.
        #2 I’ve never really been a country guy but I visited the Grand Ole Opry last Summer in Nashville. I can see the appeal. I like Kid Rock and Kenny Chesney. I don’t really know enough about Spears. Faith Hill is cool. Nice
        #3 Best concerts……same as your favorite bands and CD’s……good thinking, no GREAT thinking. Let me make a note to myself: “Go to concerts in which I enjoy the music. Smart idea.” I’m sorry. I’m such a sassy idiot. Seriously, I’m with you. My favorites ever were Guns N Roses in 2016, Fuel, Van Halen in 1993, Hum in the mid 90s in college, Live in 1997 or ’98, that’s about it.
        #4 I absolutely love Macho Man Randy Savage. Start there if interested.
        #5 It’s hard to go away from college. I was so sad when I graduated. You? Where did you go? I went to Illinois.

        Fantastic responses Cass(andra).

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  3. Man, I don’t watch any of those TV shows or movies except Home Alone and Jerry Maguire. But it’s ok, you almost when with mint chocolate chip for ice cream and that’s good enough for me. Now to the questions.

    1. The 2014 Winter Classic in Detroit, followed by the 2 Blue Jays playoff games – their first home playoff game since 1993 which took place 2015, and the series clincher against Texas a year later.

    2. I don’t know if I have favourite CDs, I only have about 3 or 4 in my “collection” and I don’t know if any of them would be a favourite lol. The 30 Seconds To Mars album “This is War” was pretty good. Let’s go with that.

    3. I’ve never been to a concert!

    4. I got into wrestling right after it was really popular so I missed out on The Rock and Stone Cold on a weekly basis. In terms of YouTube, I look up old promos that The Rock gave. Those are my favourite just because everything he said was so clever. I’m having trouble thinking of who my favourite wrestler ever is so I’m stalling. Currently, I like Kevin Owens. He’s just always fuming but has comedic wheels turning in his mind. I like it. Ahh I don’t know who my favourite wrestler ever is. Maybe Jeff Hardy? That was random. Don’t put that on the record.

    5. Age 18 – 23 easily

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    1. This is terrific. A lot to cover here…..
      #1 Incredible answers. I want to know more about those games. I hope you can tell me about them while we’re sitting in a Blue Jays game in Rogers Centre, or at a bar in Toronto this Summer.
      #2 I’ll try to check out your CD suggestion.
      #3 I’m surprised you’ve never been to a concert. I’ve been to plenty. Maybe it’s more of an American thing? I doubt it. You are probably just scared of crowds. Agoraphobia I think they call it. Just kidding.
      #4 Unfortunately you missed out on the heyday of the WWE. Back when I was kid it was called WWF but the old man McMahon had to change it to WWE because of complaints and copyright infringement of the World Wildlife Foundation, I think. Anyway, I’ll check out more Rock promos and those guys Kevin Owens and Jeff Hardy. Do yourself a favor and look up my favorite Macho Man Randy Savage’s promos. Killer. The best! Either him or Ric Flair or Bobby the Brain Heenan gave the greatest promos ever in my opinion.
      5. It’s hard to argue with 18-23.

      Thanks for your comments Paul. I love your answers. I always learn a lot and enjoy your writings. Thanks buddy!
      Reid

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  4. Reid, mint chocolate chip is probably my favorite…although I prefer what appears to now be the harder-to-find “green” style. Growing up, the mint chocolate chip ice cream was appropriately shaded in a mint green. These days, a lot of manufacturers apparently aren’t going old-school. You can still find green mint chocolate chip…just have to work at it a bit. If I was to move right now, I’d head to either San Francisco or Seattle. Even though both have their challenges these days, I’ve always wanted to at least visit them. You could put “Caddyshack” on repeat mode in my house 24/7 and I’d be quite content. Did you see CBS is rebooting “Magnum” for the fall schedule? Apparently, he’s now an ex-Navy Seal returning to Hawaii from Afghanistan. I wonder if CBS will have Tom Selleck guest star…!

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    1. Great stuff Bruce! Yeah, I love the green mint chocolate chip. It tastes better. LOL! I’ve been out to both SF and Seattle. My wife and I visited way back in 2001. We drove from Seattle down to San Fran. Portland was great too. Caddyshack is one of the best. It’s hard to beat it. I DID see the Magnum reboot. CBS posted a 3 or 4 minute video. It looks cool. I should probably write a blog post about it this Summer. Thanks for the comments!

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  5. By the way, Reid…saw your comments on Paul’s blog/post about fantasy sports. If you happen to have any vacancies for fantasy leagues in the future, keep me in mind. In fact, my wife plays fantasy football as well. A WordPress blogger/friends league might also be a cool deal. Won’t be long now until football starts up…and the Eagles get to defend their title. (I NEVER thought I’d type that…!)

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    1. Awesome Bruce. I’ll definitely keep you in mind. My son is doing well so far in fantasy baseball. We’ll see if he wants to try NFL and NBA as well. If I need people though I’ll look for you and/or Paul. Paul also created a WordPress MLB league that is really fun. Maybe he can get you in his league again next year assuming he continues it. We have 9 teams in that one so maybe he would want a 10th. And like you said, maybe he’ll start an NFL league too! Let’s bug him and I’m sure he’ll do it, unless he prefers the CFL of course.

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  6. 1. What is the best sporting event you’ve ever attended?
    I haven’t been to a Green Bay Packers game yet, but so far, I’ve cheered on my high school football to the state regionals. We ended up winning several state championships.

    2. What are your favorite CDs/albums/records/recordings ever?
    I will always love Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, James Taylor’s Sweet Baby James, The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, Journey’s Escape, everything from Josh Groban and Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood’s Some Hearts and Carnival Ride, Kelly Clarkson’s All I Ever Wanted and Stronger, Billy Joel’s An Innocent Man and Glass Houses, and Clay Aiken’s Measure of a Man.

    3. What is the first or best concert you’ve ever attended?
    Best concert ever was seeing Chicago in 2002.

    4. Tell me about professional wrestling. Who is your favorite wrestler ever? Why?
    Wrestling just isn’t my thing.

    5. If you could go back in time to a five year span in your life and relive it, what age would you pick?
    Definitely my college years (2007-2011).

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