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Chit-Chat: What's On Your Mind Today?

JTMacc99

By JTMacc99
in Everything Else

Mod-Tigerkatze
Message added by Mod-Tigerkatze,

We all have been drawn into off-topic discussions, me included. There's little that's off-topic when it comes to Chit Chat, so the only ask is that you please remember that this is the Chit Chat topic and that there's a subforum for all things health and wellness here.

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Bastet

Bastet

2 hours ago, Dimity said:

THis isn't really a peeve more of a befuddlement.  Does anyone else wonder when they see happy birthday wishes being posted on social media to people who are dead? 

I don't use social media, but, yeah, when I see in the Celebrities threads something like "Happy 100th Birthday to [star who's been dead for 20 years]" or "It's [star who's been dead for 20 years]'s 100th birthday" rather than "Today would have been [star]'s 100th birthday" or "Today is the 100th anniversary of the late [star]'s birth", I am a bit befuddled by the phrasing.

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Dimity

Dimity

4 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

On my parents' birthdays, I post a favorite photo & say, Happy Birthday, Mom or Dad! I only have 15 "friends" on Facebook and most are related. Some of them do the same. It's just acknowledging parents' special days & the grandkids post ❤️s. 

 

I totally get that, I should have been clearer and realize I didn't mention this in my original post but I am thinking mainly of birthday greetings to dead celebrities when they say things Happy 70th Birthday to someone who died at 35.  It's not the acknowledgement of the day it's that it is IMO at least not their 70th birthday.

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Bastet

Bastet

(edited)
On 2/10/2025 at 3:58 PM, Absolom said:

Going back to the asparagus.  Snap it, don't cut it.  It will usually snap where the woody part ends.  I always snap it and can't remember the last time I found a woody bit.  My daughter cuts it and there's always at least one piece that was too long.

That always sticks out to me on cooking shows, where they line up the bunch, pick a point, and cut all of them there.  I snap individually, letting each spear tell me where the dividing point should be.  I never have woody bits, either; even asparagus soup comes out perfectly smooth when I puree it with the immersion blender.

Edited by Bastet
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Ancaster

Ancaster

I'm proud of myself today - not only did I mend a ripped seam in a duvet cover rather than guiltily donate it and buy a replacement, but I cleaned two pairs of fairly old ankle boots rather than replace them because they were getting shabby.  They (duvet cover and boots) are all favourites and I hate the overt consumerism of the society I live in, but I'm also lazy and have a fondness for shoes/boots and bags (and I suppose a duvet cover is kind of a bag!).  Which is weird, because I don't generally fall into female stereotypes.  I'm also the world's worst seamstress, and generally draw the line at anything beyond buttons.  Anyway, my parents would have been proud too.

 

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

(edited)
1 hour ago, Dimity said:

I totally get that, I should have been clearer and realize I didn't mention this in my original post but I am thinking mainly of birthday greetings to dead celebrities when they say things Happy 70th Birthday to someone who died at 35.  It's not the acknowledgement of the day it's that it is IMO at least not their 70th birthday.

I suspect the wishing dead celebrities a "Happy 63rd!" evolved out of various publications and institutions honoring, for example, Shakespeare.
But, yeah. Often they missed the point, or don't even know the celebrity (or FB acquaintance) is, well, dead and not so Happy.

 

Edited by shapeshifter
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meep.meep

meep.meep

31 minutes ago, Absolom said:

Going back to the asparagus.  Snap it, don't cut it.  It will usually snap where the woody part ends.  I always snap it and can't remember the last time I found a woody bit.  My daughter cuts it and there's always at least one piece that was too long.

As the granddaughter of an asparagus farmer, I can assure you that you are right and your daughter is wrong.  In the field asparagus is cut, not picked.  So you have to find the spot to break the wood from the good stuff.

My labrador retrievers always liked the stems as treats!

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Absolom

Absolom

(edited)

As an OP stated above the cooking shows do the line it up and cut it thing so daughter thinks they must know, right?  Plus it does take a little longer to snap each piece.  I don't even notice the time though and I'd much rather do it that way than find the woody parts. 

Edited by Absolom
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StatisticalOutlier

StatisticalOutlier

5 hours ago, PRgal said:

I was reminded this morning that I've been blogging in some form for 21 years. 

Twenty-two years here.  In 2003, we bought an RV to travel around fulltime, and created a website so people could keep track of where we were. 

We never turned it into anything even closely resembling a blog, with daily entries.  Instead, we had a running list of locations, with a map, and would write up stories with pictures chronicling the adventures.  

Back a long time ago, the web counter we used would tell you how someone got to your site, and if somebody got there via a google search, it would tell you what the search term was AND it would tell you where your site ranked among the results.  It was always fascinating to see what people were searching for and found us, but then google started making you pay for that sort of information.

What's truly amazing is that for a pretty good while, if you searched for "airplane boneyard" or something similar, our website was like #3 in the google search results because we'd gone to the airplane boneyard in Tucson in 2003 and did a write-up on it with photos.  It was OUR site people would be directed to to see photos of the boneyard.  Obviously the internet was a much smaller place back then, but it still seemed crazy to me.

But unlike you, we kept it up for only a couple of years.  It was a lot of work crafting the stories and curating the photos, and I'm really glad we did it because it's a great chronicle of those first couple of years, when everything was new and we didn't know what we were doing.  But then RV travel blogs started popping up everywhere, and all too often they were just saying this was a travel day and we got to the campground at 4:00 and were going to do laundry but we were out of detergent so Bob went to the store to get some while I fixed dinner.  Sure, I could just not read the really boring ones, but I just didn't want to be part of that ecosystem.  Plus, like I said, it was a lot of work.

But we still do update our location with every move, with a couple of photos illustrating where we are.  And we maintain a map of where we've been, which usually makes people remark, "What the hell do you two have against North and South Dakota and Minnesota?"  😀 

Actually, I'll see if I can figure out how to display the map. 

map.thumb.PNG.a2f70db7ef63ac306954ecbf0ca5dfa0.PNG

Hey, I think it worked!  Each year is represented by a different color.  And each dot is a place we stayed for at least one night, and sometimes longer, and sometimes much much longer (like when we have a free place to stay in a place where we're content to live a while).

 

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Yeah No

Yeah No

2 hours ago, Dimity said:

I totally get that, I should have been clearer and realize I didn't mention this in my original post but I am thinking mainly of birthday greetings to dead celebrities when they say things Happy 70th Birthday to someone who died at 35.  It's not the acknowledgement of the day it's that it is IMO at least not their 70th birthday.

Oh, because I've seen people wish people a happy birthday on their Facebook page not knowing that they were dead. It happened with my father. An acquaintance that hadn't been in touch with him for a couple of years did it. I had to write them privately to break the news to them. I have also seen old classmates wish another old classmate a happy birthday on their page not knowing they had passed.

Yeah No

Yeah No

1 hour ago, Absolom said:

As an OP stated above the cooking shows do the line it up and cut it thing so daughter thinks they must know, right?  Plus it does a little longer to snap each piece.  I don't even notice the time though and I'd much rather do it that way than find the woody parts. 

Rachael Ray beat how to snap the ends off asparagus into my head 20 years ago and I've done it that way ever since.

I avoid thicker asparagus as it tends to be woodier in general. Also it's one of those vegetables like green beans and snap peas that tend to be tougher later in the season. That always bugged me when making green bean casserole because by November fresh green beans can be a little tough. Not always, though. It probably depends on where they're from.

Browncoat

Browncoat

10 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

But we still do update our location with every move, with a couple of photos illustrating where we are.  And we maintain a map of where we've been, which usually makes people remark, "What the hell do you two have against North and South Dakota and Minnesota?"  😀 

That's awesome!  But what do you have against North and South Dakota and Minnesota?  🤣

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

3 minutes ago, Absolom said:

Where would we be without the grandchildren keeping us up to date?  

I had vaguely heard of Kendrick Lamar and Drake.  Thank you TMZ.  I skim the headlines there just so topics aren't completely alien to me.

Yes.
When I was a college librarian, I watched TMZ once a week so I could direct students to academic resources for research on rap, hip-hop, etc.
Of course nowadays I would likely go to apps like TikTok for primary and secondary resources on those topics.

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Ancaster

Ancaster

5 hours ago, Absolom said:

Where would we be without the grandchildren keeping us up to date?  

I had vaguely heard of Kendrick Lamar and Drake.  Thank you TMZ.  I skim the headlines there just so topics aren't completely alien to me.

Being old and British, Drake to me is Nick Drake the English singer/songwriter from the late 60s early 70s, and I'm quite happy with that being my exposure to any Drake.

 

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Bastet

Bastet

49 minutes ago, nokat said:

You know how when you shower, you like to put on your comfy clothes? I'm wondering why I have favorite socks. I have a couple pair that I will wear with shoes I like. I have some fuzzy ones though, I'll wear with my pajamas.

I only wear socks with sneakers (so, when I'm exercising), so I don't have any favorites -- they're all interchangeable no-show athletic socks from Costco.

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

1 hour ago, Browncoat said:

I love all my socks equally, and I have a LOT of socks.  I have a sock problem.  I blame the 80s, when we were "told" our socks should match our tops, so I needed a different pair of socks for every top.

I have 3 drawers full of socks. 
I have socks for all seasons.
I have socks for all reasons. 
Most seasons here require socks.❄️🌬️🥶

They are all in pairs. 

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PRgal

PRgal

2 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I first knew Drake from watching one of the early Degrassi shows!  

Early Degrassi NEXT GENERATION shows.  Early Degrassi would mean The Kids of Degrassi Street, which dates back to the early 80s.  

Fun fact:  After grad school, I spent a fews months studying towards a post graduate diploma in "Corporate Communications" (aka public relations).  The campus?  A building that was used for the set of Degrassi High in the early 90s! 

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EtheltoTillie

EtheltoTillie

3 hours ago, PRgal said:

Early Degrassi NEXT GENERATION shows.  Early Degrassi would mean The Kids of Degrassi Street, which dates back to the early 80s.  

Fun fact:  After grad school, I spent a fews months studying towards a post graduate diploma in "Corporate Communications" (aka public relations).  The campus?  A building that was used for the set of Degrassi High in the early 90s! 

Yup, I'm talking about those really original shows.  I'm old enough for that.  Then there was Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High.  Then I gave up.  I remember when they were going to have shows with Spike and Snake and others as parents, and I tuned in for a bit out of curiosity.  I forget exactly where Drake came in, but he was the basketball player who was shot and paralyzed. 

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PRgal

PRgal

9 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Yup, I'm talking about those really original shows.  I'm old enough for that.  Then there was Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High.  Then I gave up.  I remember when they were going to have shows with Spike and Snake and others as parents, and I tuned in for a bit out of curiosity.  I forget exactly where Drake came in, but he was the basketball player who was shot and paralyzed. 

I will never forgive the CBC for not giving the show enough seasons to see them graduate from high school.  Before Degrassi Jr. High, there was a show called The Kids of Degrassi Street.  

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EtheltoTillie

EtheltoTillie

Just now, PRgal said:

I will never forgive the CBC for not giving the show enough seasons to see them graduate from high school.  Before Degrassi Jr. High, there was a show called The Kids of Degrassi Street.  

Yes, I also saw the Kids of Degrassi Street.  These shows used to be shown on PBS in the US, I think. 

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Dimity

Dimity

(edited)
Quote

’m right there with you 99% of the way, but making reading a punishment just doesn’t feel right. I get how the end result is exposing him to things he’ll probably realize he actually likes, but it still doesn’t feel quite right. 

And +1 to Beverly Cleary! She was writing books when I was a kid, and she was still writing books when my kids were reading them! I wonder how they hit now with the latest generation. Nobody has a paper route, but I’m sure some of the childhood issues are still the same. 

@SoMuchTV  I agree on both counts, never make reading a punishment and bravo to the late, great Beverly Cleary!

I actually didn't read her books as a child.  I have no idea why not but never came across her.  I made a point of making sure my kids were acquainted with her books and Ramona was definitely the favourite.  But all her books for children, and her teen romance books too, were wonderful.

I do wonder as you do if 'kids today' are reading her books.  It sometimes feels like the only books my grandchildren read are graphic novels but I live in hope that they will move on to other forms of literature too.

Edited by Dimity
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kittykat

kittykat

25 minutes ago, Dimity said:

do wonder as you do if 'kids today' are reading her books.  It sometimes feels like the only books my grandchildren read are graphic novels but I live in hope that they will move on to other forms of literature too

I read most of the Ramona books as a kid (late 80s) and most of the subject material held up, maybe a little of it seemed dated but not noticably.  I read Judy Blume at the same time.  I believe most of the Fudge novels, Sheila the Great, Are you there God... were set in the 70s and the books definitely had that feel but the themes were still prevalent when I read them.

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PRgal

PRgal

7 hours ago, kittykat said:

I read most of the Ramona books as a kid (late 80s) and most of the subject material held up, maybe a little of it seemed dated but not noticably.  I read Judy Blume at the same time.  I believe most of the Fudge novels, Sheila the Great, Are you there God... were set in the 70s and the books definitely had that feel but the themes were still prevalent when I read them.

Kid in the late 80s, huh?  Then you must have read Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley as well!  Did you read Sleepover Friends?

I think kids today would look at the Beverly Cleary books like how we saw, I dunno, Little House.  Period pieces.  

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Anela

Anela

1 hour ago, PRgal said:

Kid in the late 80s, huh?  Then you must have read Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley as well!  Did you read Sleepover Friends?

I think kids today would look at the Beverly Cleary books like how we saw, I dunno, Little House.  Period pieces.  

I read Sweet Valley High.  I remember getting the books from the library, when I think I was eleven or twelve, because I remember reading them on the bunkbeds we had, before we moved again.  

I don’t remember Ramona.  The author’s name sounds familiar, though.  I saw the movie from 2010, a couple of years ago.  It was cute.  

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Annber03

Annber03

2 hours ago, PRgal said:

Kid in the late 80s, huh?  Then you must have read Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley as well!  Did you read Sleepover Friends?

God, I loved "Babysitters Club" That was my series as a kid, you could ask me anything about those books and characters and I could rattle it off for you, no problem :p. I also remember watching the HBO TV show and the movie - I saw the movie in theaters when it came out. And I liked the Netflix series that came out a few years back, too.

I know I probably read a "Sweet Valley" book here and there, but that was about it for me, that didn't seem to be a series I followed as much, for some reason. 

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EtheltoTillie

EtheltoTillie

10 hours ago, Annber03 said:

The Fudge series! Yes! I remember reading those as a kid, too. 

I never read the Fudge series until I was about 60 years old!  And I found it hysterical. 

I watched all those Canadian teen shows when I was in my thirties (when they first aired).  I watched the original 90210 then too.  As I got much older I lost interest in teen series. 

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Dimity

Dimity

1 hour ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I never read the Fudge series until I was about 60 years old!  And I found it hysterical. 

Did you ever see the TV show?  I think it was a limited production and can't recall now if it was PBS (as the Ramona series was) or not.  In any event Eve Plumb played Peter and Fudge's mother and I recall it being very well done. 

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fastiller

fastiller

Since we're going down book-related memory lane, did anyone else read the Paul Zindel books?  My Darling, My Hamburger; Pardon Me, You're Stepping on My Eyeball; Teenage Baboon.  And the play The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds.

 

17 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Yes, that was our NYC channel.  You must also be from NYC. 

Yep.  My childhood & teen years were split between NYC and Ireland.

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Mod-Tigerkatze
Message added by Mod-Tigerkatze,

We all have been drawn into off-topic discussions, me included. There's little that's off-topic when it comes to Chit Chat, so the only ask is that you please remember that this is the Chit Chat topic and that there's a subforum for all things health and wellness here.

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