Praise then darkness, and creation unfinished

How old are you?
55, which doesn't feel much different from 54 or 53

Tattoos?
Four: a cardinal (hence my username) on one arm, a heyiya-if in a loosely "tribal" armband on the other, a coelacanth on my belly, and some violets and a bee on one leg. (I'm using the tattoo userpic on this post, since I don't have a good purple-hair one.)

Ever hit a deer?
No.

Ridden in an ambulance?
Yes, a few times: keeping someone company after she fell and broke something; between hospitals in the middle of the night right before my gall bladder surgery; and last year because I'd passed out and cattitude and the EMTs he'd called thought I needed looking at even though I came around quickly.

Sung karaoke?
No, nor plan to.

Ice skated?
When I was a kid; I never got very good at it, but recall enjoying myself, except that the rental place could never find skates in my size, and even the ones my parents bought me were too narrow to be really comfortable. (Given what adrian_turtle has since told me about her brother's problem with feet narrower than expected for boys, if I ever try again I will insist on being given a boy's/men's skate.)

Ridden a motorcycle?
No.

Stayed in hospital?
Once, for a couple of nights, the time they took out my gall bladder. (Chronicled in lots of detail on DW [and LJ] back in 2008)

Skipped school?
Not that I can remember.

Last phone call?
Cattitude, sorting out what groceries to buy.

Last text from?
The pharmacy, which wants me to pick up a prescription.

Watched someone die?
Yes, my mother's husband. This was utterly expected, and I thought I was flying over for a funeral. Simon's death was more prolonged than expected, so I spent some time sitting with her, and him, at the very end, as well as supporting her through the funeral.

Pepsi or Coke?
Pepsi if I need caffeine and neither hot nor iced tea is an option. I don't like either, but Pepsi is more tolerable.

Favorite pie?
Peach, if I can get a really good one (which is rare). Apple, blueberry, and mixed-berry pies are also good.

Favorite pizza?
I'm tempted to say "white pizza with clam, from Pepe's," but I haven't had that in probably twenty years, so let's go with Thin-crust with pesto base, from Mod, with toppings including roast asparagus (seasonal).

Favorite season?
I don't really have one.

Broken bones?
chipped bone in my wrist, in college, if that counts

Received a ticket?
No. (As with the "hit a deer?" question, the answer is no because I don't drive.

Favorite color?
Purple, and I like jewel-tone blue, purple, and green more than other shades of those colors.

Sunset or sunrise?
Either is good, but I'm more likely to be awake for sunset.

This one actually seems potentially interesting, so I'm doing it. If you wish to play:

The list is 100 things that a British publication considers to be interesting and/or exotic food that people should at least try once.

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
2a) Italicize any item you'll never eat again.
2b) Asterisk any items you'd be willing to try but have not yet.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at the originating site linking to your results.

I've added comments on some of the items, including reasons why or why not.

( cut because it's 100 lines long )

At times like this, I remember why it's difficult for me to add entirely new foods (as distinct from new preparations) to my lifetime experience: I've already had a lot of the things that are practicable for me (in terms of logistics and budget) and that are at all appealing. Once upon a time, mango was exotic.

Logos of all the Metro systems ( I've ridden (and remember) )

juliansinger offered to pick a letter for anyone who asked, and then we're supposed to pick ten things that start with that letter, and write about them and what they mean to us.

She gave me T. I started by listing some things, and then selected from them based on what I felt ready to write about. This proved trickier than I thought it would be (lots of T's in that sentence, but not ones I want to use) and the results may be more free-associative than was being asked for.( cut because it got quite long )

The meme of the week is "post an anti-war song in your LiveJournal." What's coming to mind is either the stuff everyone already knows--you can find "Universal Soldier" or "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda"--or things that are a little bit sideways, like Moxy Früvous's "Gulf War Song" and "Drinking Song":

And the band played on
As the helicopters whirred
Drunk on the lawn in a nuclear dawn
My senses finally blurred

He was a rock, to the end, a solid reminder
Couldn't deny a friend
We lived in the noise and the sweet amber poison
Peekin' up the skirt of the end

And we'd drink, two gnarly dudes and some records
Much like plates of black food
)We filled up our faces, saw some far places
Stood on the roof in the nude

And the band played on
As the helicopters whirred
Drunk on the lawn in a nuclear dawn
My senses finally blurred

Between poles, he said "We're like cows in the grass"
Brushing off flies
Chaise lounging around, standing up, falling down
Till we no longer opened our eyes

And we'd drink, ever notice how drinking's like war?
Cup o' troops o'er the gums
To the end of our health, a campaign 'gainst myself
Armed with bourbons and scotches and rums

And the band played on
As the helicopters whirred
Drunk on the lawn in a nuclear dawn
My senses finally blurred

Think of bombs, we're poised on the edge of disaster
Whether it's right or it's wrong
We opened the window, played some Nintendo
Sang a few bars of some pretty old song:

Irene goodnight, Irene goodnight
Goodnight Irene, goodnight Irene
I'll see you in my dreams

Oh to dream, those impotent bones of extinction
Flying graceful and free
None but the best 'cause the man cannot rest
Till he's finally beaten his me

And the band played on
As the helicopters whirred
Drunk on the lawn in a nuclear dawn
My senses finally blurred

Till the end, he passed out on the sundeck that morning
Quietly saying goodbye
But I was so hammered I sputtered and stammered
Told him he couldn't just die

He was a rock, went straight for his own Armageddon
Face froze in a grin
Ambulance flyin' in, I never drank again
Can't really call that a loss or a win

And the band played on
As the helicopters whirred
Drunk on the lawn in a nuclear dawn
My senses finally blurred

As usual, I spent New Year's with papersky, rysmiel, and zorinth, in Montreal. Please take it as a given, if I have not given full details of a situation, a person's identity, or whatever else I happen to be writing about, that I have my reasons for not doing so. cattitude has a new job. There was an egret fishing in the inlet this morning. I just, as my GP advised, called the mammogram place to ask if they could see me earlier. I feel like a robot zombie--I'm trying to collect used electronic brains. First I filled out a form, which included a lot of questions about things like levels of pain and what I can and can't do with the shoulder, including a couple to which the real answer was "I don't know, I'm not stupid enough to have tried it/that's not how I'd lift a gallon of milk," but seemed basically sensible and relevant. The physical therapist--Larry again--is pleased with how I'm doing. From me, or certainly from anyone in or of New Orleans, that would be a reasonable and even calm statement. This was going to be a rest day anyhow--I didn't really get one last weekend, and won't next, in both cases because of travel. Send lawyers, guns and money: Dad, get me out of this. Not so bad.

*The twist is that they aren't all the first post of the month; nor are they selected randomly. An imaginary prize will be offered to the first person compulsive enough to identify the selection criterion.