Inspiration From Bad Music

On Saturday, I read some columns from a Dave Barry book at my folks' house. I'd kind of been working on some crossword puzzles and reading a little bit of Sex With Kings, which sounds like a great book, and should be a great book, but the style is not for me. In my opinion, it is not written or organized well. And so, I also picked up Dave Barry is NOT Making This Up! which is a collection of some of his articles.

One of the last articles I read was the one on Mr. Barry's bad music survey. It was laugh-out-loud funny, which was actually kind of awkward. You see, we were sitting at the counter drinking tea and eating scones. My mother was sitting on my right completely engrossed in The Help, and Mr. Sturm was reading (at my insistence) Sense and Sensibility. There I was laughing out loud and reading Dave Barry. I stand by my choice.

Then, a little more than twenty four hours after reading those articles, I attended the Uriah Heep concert on the river here in Rochester. My colleague, Cadi, was there with her new roommate and her boyfriend, and my friend Derek came down with some of his Morris people. Friends, let me tell you, Uriah Heep is not a fantastic band. I spent a lot of the concert either confused by songs such as what is either called "Dream on, Steven", "McGee Gets Even!", or "Rainbow Demon". The rest of the concert I spent laughing out loud and singing along to such classics as "Hit The Nail Right on the Head". Go listen to it.

What does he want you to do? He wants you to hit the nail right on the head. Over and over again! To be honest, I don't think the lead singer was lucid enough to remember the lyrics to the verses, so we pretty much only heard the chorus for about 20 minutes, which is a long time to hear that sentence. Derek and I have a great idea for his next album. Please see the possible track list below and imagine how the song would go based on what you just heard.


Uriah Heep's Household Tasks Album!

1. Wash the Soap Right Off the Plate
2. Turn that Vacuum On
3. Lather, Rinse, Repeat
4. Stir The Cream of Wheat

And that's really all that is going to fit on the album since, from what I gathered from the concert last night, all Uriah Heep songs are at between 20 minutes and an eternity long.

Anyway, Uriah Heep and Dave Barry got me thinking about bad songs and bad lyrics. There are a lot of bad songs out there, and there are some perfectly decent songs musically that have horrid lyrics. What I would like is for you to think about the worst overall song as well as what song has the worst lyrics. They could be the same song, even, if you would like. Just post as comments so that I can keep track all in one place.

It would be lovely if you could leave your post using the following template, please:

Worst Overall Song:

Reasoning:

Worst Lyrics:

Sample:

Results of the "Forced Sports Watching" Survey

A while back, I asked you to imagine what you might think is an unlikely situation. I asked you, if you were kidnapped by some crazy person who was going to force you to watch sports for six hours straight or else, but they allowed you to choose the sport, what sport would you choose? Even for people who like sports, I think six hours straight can be a bit excessive. The results are as follows:

If you had to watch a sport on television for 6 hours straight (or else), which would you choose?

Baseball	(14%)
Cricket	(0%)
American/Canadian Football	(14%)
Soccer	(28%)
La Crosse	(0%)
Gymnastics	(0%)
Basketball	(14%)
I would rather deal with the "or else" part of the threat.	(28%)

As you can see, as many people chose soccer as claimed they would rather face the "or else" part of the threat. I a not surprised that cricket and la cross received zero votes, but I am confused that no one chose gymnastics. I know people that do actually watch gymnastics for hours and hours on end when the Olympics are on.

Swimming was not included in the survey because, let's be honest, swimming is boring. And I say that with the utmost respect for the sport and as someone who attends swim meets for her little sister. Perhaps figure skating should have been included, though.

Results of the "Childhood Career Dream" Survey

The results are as follows:

As a child, what did you dream of becoming?

Olympic Athlete	(14%)
President or Prime Minister of your country	(42%)
Professional Musician	(14%)
Stay at Home Parent	(14%)
Movie Star	(0%)
Amazingly Successful Recording Artist	(0%)
World-Renowned Artist	(14%)
None of the Above	(0%)
All of the Above	(0%)

At 42%, I think it is safe to assume that many of you are into politics. Someone wanted to be a stay at home parent when they were little, and to be honest, as a little girl the thought crossed my mind as well. It was never my dream, though. I dreamed of being a world renowned musician.

Instead I am a teacher, and that's pretty cool, too. Alright - It's pretty awesome.

You can of course email me or tell me your answers in person, otherwise, leave a comment telling us all about it. How many of you are still working towards your childhood career dreams? How many of you have changed your goal? What do you do now? Hopefully no one has given up on their ideal career!

Results of the "Best Friend From 'The Office'" Survey

Honestly, I am not terribly surprised at the results.

If you lived in the world of the American version of "The Office", your best friend would be:

Michael	(0%)
Jim	(42%)
Pam	(0%)
Dwight	(14%)
Creed	(14%)
Andy	(14%)
Merideth	(0%)
Stanley	(0%)
Phyllis	(14%)
Kelly	(0%)
Ryan	(0%)
I would keep to myself, thank you very much.	(0%)

As you can see, most people want to be friends with Jim. I am glad to see a vote for Phyllis, though, since she seems pretty awesome. If I lived in the world of the American sitcom of The Office, I would definitely be best friends with Dwight. Think about it.

Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica.

Results of the "Disney Princess Quiz" Survey

Since the turnout for the Disney Princess Survey was so pathetic, I asked you to take the quiz at the Disney website and report back which Disney Princess you are most like, according to Disney. The turnout for this survey was marginally better, which is surprising since you actually had to do more work, go to another website, take a quiz, and report back rather than just click an answer, but that's alright.

After taking the quiz, which Disney Princess are you most like?

Belle	(50%)
Jasmine	(0%)
Ariel	(0%)
Snow White	(16%)
Cinderella	(16%)
Aurora	(0%)
I'm not taking that stupid quiz.	(16%)

As you can see, most people, according to Disney, are most like Belle. I think you'll remember me saying that if I could be any Disney Princess, I would be Belle, despite her emotionally (and possibly physically) abusive relationship because of her awesome library. Plus, having a footstool as a pet would be kind of awesome.

On the downside, I guess you wouldn't have any privacy because everything is alive in the castle. That would make bath time kind of creepy and possibly uncomfortable for all those involved, especially the tub and the towel.

Anyway, I took the quiz and Disney says I am most like Cinderella. Whatever. It was my favorite movie as a child, so maybe that says something. I used to be able to re-enact it word for word and make my uncle play along with me.

Also, thank you for your honesty, those of you that admitted you weren't taking the quiz. I completely understand, although I assume you are generally a crabby person who never goes outside to enjoy the sunshine.

Results of the "Disney Princess" Survey

Quite a while back, I asked you the question: If you HAD to be a Disney Princess, which would you be?

The poll has been closed for a while, but I have been putting off posting the results because of the absolutely pathetic number of participants. Only four people on the internet bothered to choose an answer. I even asked male readers to just suck it up and choose.

The results are as follows:

Cinderella (Cinderella)	1 (25%)
Aurora (Sleeping Beauty)	0 (0%)
Jasmine (Aladdin)	2 (50%)
Ariel (The Little Mermaid)	0 (0%)
Snow White (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves)	0 (0%)
Belle (Beauty and the Beast)	1 (25%)

To be completely honest, I am rather surprised that Jasmine had the most (albeit a still pathetically small amount of) votes. Myself, I would have to be Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Sure she's in an emotionally abusive relationship, but she lives in a castle in France, has enchanted household staff that put on dinner shows, and she has an absolutely amazing library. I would spend all my time in that library!

If you didn't provide any input for this survey, I will assume it was because you did not know which princess you are most like and refused to make an uninformed decision. Please take this quiz at the Disney Website and vote on the new poll. Do it. Now.

Results of the "30 Rock Character Survey"

Quite a while ago, the 30 Rock character survey was posted. The poll has been closed for a couple of days now, but I haven't had the chance to come and update the blog and the survey on the blog.

If you read my crazy ramblings every once and a while, you may have read this post where I wonder if I am Liz Lemon. So then, I asked you folks:

If you were a character from "30 Rock" you'd fancy yourself most like:

Liz Lemon	(75%)
Jack Donaghy	(25%)
Tracy Jordan	(0%)
Jenna Maroney	(0%)
Kenneth Parcell	(0%)
Toofer Spurlock	(0%)
Frank Rossitano	(0%)

Obviously, my readers are much like me (in that they are awesome). And we are all like Liz Lemon. And Liz Lemon is kind of like the actor who plays her, Tina Fey. And Tina Fey is amazingly awesome. Therefore, most of the people that read my crazy ramblings and vote on my random surveys are amazingly awesome. I took deductive logic in undergrad. I know what I am talking about.

Some of you think you are like Jack Donaghy. Why is that? What qualities do you possess that make you like the Irish-American, right wing bossman?

Apparently we are all Jacks or Lizzes (Lizs? Lizes?), though, because no one chose the other characters. Unless perhaps no one chose the other characters because they identify more with one that was not listed. Or perhaps they want to be amazingly awesome and so chose Jack or Liz because those are the two most awesome characters. Or maybe some of you don't watch the show, and you just recognized those names.

There are probably other possibilities, as well.

Results of the "How You Keep Your Brain Young" Survey

As a person who is getting crazier every day and may or may not be developing adult onset ADD, I think losing my mind is probably going to happen in the near future. However, volunteering with older folks with Alzheimer's and dementia has made me think that maybe if I "exercise my brain" I can stave off the inevitable for a few extra years (weeks? days? hours?). I love doing crossword puzzles and any sort of game that involves word-play. I have even been trying to learn jazz music to make my brain do math without thinking that it is doing math.

So I asked you, friends and strangers, to tell me your favorite way to "exercise your brain".

Which type of "brain exercise" do you prefer?

Crossword Puzzles	(14%)
Sudoku	(28%)
Jigsaw Puzzles	(0%)
Jumbles	(0%)
I prefer to sit and stare at the wall, slowly allowing my brain to turn to mush.	(28%)
None of the above	(28%)

I am not terribly surprised that just as many of you enjoy sudoku as like to sit and stare at the wall, allowing your brain to slowly turn to mush. Interestingly, the same number chose "none of the above". What does that mean? What do you do? How are you keeping your brain young?

I already told you what I do. It doesn't seem to be working, though. I am constantly walking into rooms and forgetting why I went in there. I can't figure out why everything is blurry if I don't put my glasses on right away in the morning. Most alarmingly, however, I find myself muttering under my breath about teenagers. What are those kids doing, out at the mall at 8pm on a Wednesday night? Damn kids! Riding their skateboards down the side of the highway! Why are they blocking the entire sidewalk? Why?

But my growing sentiments of frustration towards teenagers aside, I think my brain works pretty well. I haven't done any irreparable damage to myself yet.

Speaking of irreparable damage, next Thursday I have a four hour (Yes! That is 4 hour!) appointment at the Mayo Clinic. Hopefully some of the best doctors in the world can help me get this breathing thing under control. When the woman on the phone asked me if my appointment had to do with some sort of work environment or injury thing, I responded, "Nope. This is just the way I am." And she laughed. Nothing funnier than making a joke out of something not funny at all.

I have to go. A bunch of cars are sitting outside my apartment honking at each other. I bet the cars are full of teenagers! Humph!

Results of the "My Next Minnesotan Adventure" Survey

Since I am a huge geek who is kind of lame, loves history, and goes out to intentionally learn more about stuff in my free time and of my own volition, I love to go on little adventures to museums, historical landmarks, or pretty much any educational thing. Also, since I am kind of weird myself, the stranger, odder, more confusing, or quirkier the adventure, the better. This is why I enjoyed Ye Olde Curiosity Shop in Seattle so much. Of course I sincerely got a kick out of the Jacques Cartier House in Montreal as well that provided this confusing and amusing puppet display.

What is happening here?

 My geekiness clearly knows no bounds, but it always nice to be terribly, nerdily informed about not only the world, but the place where you live. It is for this reason I decided to start exploring southeastern Minnesota. With the weather turning nice, I also decided to focus on outdoor activities.

What should I do on my next MN adventure?

Tour of Mystery Cave in Forestville	(75%)
Bluff Country Studio Art Tour in Lanesboro	(0%)
Niagra Cave tour in Harmony	(0%)
Bird Banding Whitewater State Park	(0%)
Mayowood Mansion tour in Rochester	(0%)
Oxbow Park and Zollman Zoo in Byron	(25%)

As you can see, it seems I will be going to Mystery Cave in Forestville. Now the only questions that remain are when? who will go with me? and should I take the one or two hour tour? 

Unfortunately, only four of you voted. This could be due to the fact that I didn't remind you ever, or it could be that none of you care anything about geeky educational activities available in southeastern Minnesota. Either way, I am a little disappointed. But not that disappointed. I am going to go explore a cave! (Although maybe not until the end of May.) And joke's on you, too, because I still fully intend on going to the Zollman Zoo.

Results of the Survey Where You Help the Protagitron and I Decide Where to Go Next

Recently, the lovely, talented, hilarious, intelligent Protagitron and I went to Seattle. Neither of us lives in Seattle, but we decided to meet there for a number of reasons.

1. I wanted to see the Protagitron.
2. The Protagitron claimed to want to see me.
3. I am a school teacher with a spring break.
4. The Protagitron could not fly to MN.
5. It was too expensive for me to fly to Victoria, BC.
6. We wanted to see Seattle.

The Seattle adventure went so well, and there was so much fun and awesomeness, we have decided that we need a new tradition. I visited the Protagitron when she was living in Montreal in July, and then we met in a major city. Next, the Protagitron must visit me. After that, we will meet up in a major city.

This is where the poll came in. Even though this trip could be quite a ways in the future, it is exciting to plan. That way we can look for deals and have something to look forward to for the many months to come.

Which major city should the Protagitron and I visit next?

Boston	(12%)
New York	(25%)
Chicago	(0%)
LA	(12%)
Mexico City	(0%)
Orlando (Mostly for Harry Potter World)	(50%)

As you can see, we will clearly be going to Harry Potter World. Ms. Protagitron herself has informed me that that is where her vote went. It has been my dream since I was a very small child (pre-Harry Potter) to be chosen to attend a magical wizardry school. We are going to make this happen!

Results of the Favorite Tea Survey - Take II

Alright folks. The first time around, nobody voted on the tea survey. This could lead a person to think that none of you drink tea, which I happen to know is just not true. Lucky for you, you were given a second chance - a shot at tea redemption!

The results are as follows:

Tea Survey II: Which of the following do you prefer?

Early Grey	(28%)
Chamomile	(28%)
Mint	(14%)
Orange Pekoe	(14%)
Green	(14%)
Coffee is better.	(0%)

As you can see, Early Grey and Chamomile won, but I have to wonder if that is because they were at the top of the list? Usually, I prefer any kind of tea with mint in it, so if I voted, I would cast my vote for mint. Of course, tea is tea, and as long as it isn't President's Choice black tea sold in bulk and steeped for 5 hours creating an oily film on the top, I will probably drink it and enjoy it. Of course, I drank that President's Choice tea, too. I just didn't enjoy it.

Results of the "Preferred Cake" Poll

The following are the results from the preferred cake survey. I realize that I did leave off some delicious types of cake, as well as some fantastic cake-frosting combinations, and more than one of you let me know. Please note, however, that the question does not ask for your favorite type of cake. It just asks which on the list you happen to prefer. The results are as follows:

What kind of cake do you prefer?

All Chocolate	(25%)
Yellow Cake with White Frosting	(12%)
Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting	(25%)
Spice Cake	(0%)
Coffee Cake	(0%)
All Cake is Good	(37%)
Pie	(0%)

Personally, I like chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, and that is what I insist my grandmother make for my birthday every year I am celebrating in Minnesota. There was one year, however, that I had a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, and I have no regrets there. So I can't say I am surprised that carrot cake and all chocolate cake had the same number of votes.

I'd like to say I would have clicked "All cake is good.", but to be honest, that is not how I feel. I can't describe it here, but I've had some pretty bad cake in my day. Almost all cake is good though. How about that pineapple upside down cake? And chocolate cake with raspberry mousse? That's right. Delicious.

In other news, I went to the Minnesota Zoo today with my third graders, and it was so much fun. I think I may have had as much if not more fun than the five girls in my group. We touched sea stars! And we walked the entire circuit outside! And we got to touch sharkskin and leopard shark eggs! Also, we went to a class on sharks, and I had to stifle my laughter and sometimes pretend like I was coughing. The woman was trying to explain the different ways sharks can reproduce, and the looks on the kids' faces and what I imagined to be going on in their head was hilarious!

Three cheers for the zoo!

Results of the "Favorite Season" Survey

Hello, neighbors! The following are the results of the poll where I asked you what your favorite season is. There were five options because I felt it necessary to differentiate between real winter and the what those pansies in southern states or countries in warmer climates call "winter". It turns out it didn't matter, because no one chose either winter anyway.

What, Dear Reader, is your favorite season?

Winter	(0%)
Winter in a place where that actually means snow and cold	(0%)
Spring	(42%)
Summer	(0%)
Autumn	(57%)

Autumn won, though not by much. In my humble opinion, Autumn is by far the most superior season, closely followed by REAL winter with the snow and the blizzards and the ice and the bitterly cold winds. There is a certain beauty to a particularly harsh winter, and the way the sun sparkles on the snow clinging to otherwise bare tree branches is sometimes breathtaking. Furthermore, I enjoy wearing sweaters, boots, scarves, and mittens. And when I wear a coat, I have more pockets for things like keys and candy. However, autumn offers many of the same pocket/mitten/scarf/flannel shirt opportunities, but the warm colors of the leaves, the crisp air, and the sound of crunching leaves provide such gorgeous scenery and contentedness, that it is at the top of my seasons list.

Results of the "Most Awesome Canadian Province" Survey

You can't see me, but I am shaking my head and pursing my lips in disappointment. Really, folks? Only five of you could muster up the energy to choose a favorite Canadian Province? Even if you haven't been there, you could have chosen based on which one is the most fun to say, the shape on the map, or base it on the people you have met from those provinces.

Tsk, tsk, friends.

The results are as follows:

In your calm, objective opinion, which Canadian province is the best?

Quebec	(80%)
Ontario	(20%)
Alberta	(0%)
Manitoba	(0%)
BC	(0%)
PEI	(0%)
One of the other ones...	(0%)

In my calm, objective opinion, I would have to choose Quebec. My years living there were amazing. What a mixed up, crazy, wonderful place. They offer you such wonders as the Bloc Quebecois, Gilles Duceppe and his eerily blue eyes, Celine Dion, fireworks shows inspired by Celine Dion, the language police, and stop signs that say "arret". Come on, guys!

Of course I will acknowledge that Ontario has given the world one of my favorite people of all time, so that is one point for Ontario....

Do better this time, people. Remember to vote on the poll.

Results of the "Hot Chocolate Topping" Survey

In an interesting twist, this time I let people choose more than one answer. I tried to choose things that I myself enjoy while drinking a mug of hot chocolate, so if you have a favorite that didn't make the poll, let me know.

Mini Marshmallows	(16%)
Regular sized Marshmallows	(16%)
(Real) Whip Cream	(50%)
Reddi Whip	(33%)
Cinnamon	(33%)

I thought it was interesting that real whip cream won overall. And I believe (but you can go back and check and tell me if I am wrong) that this is the first poll where nothing has 0%, so that is exciting. To be honest, I am shocked - SHOCKED - that cinnamon came out ahead of either kind of marshmallows. Who doesn't like marshmallows? Of course, you are reading something written by the person that munches on marshmallows while cooking dinner or boiling water for tea, so perhaps I shouldn't be considered representative of the average population.

In other news, some pretty awesome things happened this evening. While volunteering with my (because they belong to me) old people , I got the quote of the day. We were all doing charades and trying to guess what the leader was doing. Then we played a modified version of "Jive" where one person had to do an action, and all the others had to do it, too. One sister got very confused when another was pretending to milk a cow. She looked at me and in her slow, drawn out voice asked me, "Now what is she doing?"I responded, "She's pretending to milk a cow! Now you pretend to milk the cow!" She looked at the other sister, looked and me and made a big O with her mouth. "OooOOh!" she exclaimed, "That's not how you milk a cow! The cow would be angry!"

Once home after volunteering, I started to go about my decompressing routine (take off my glasses, turn on the computer, pre-heat the oven, etc.). I received a phone call from an unknown number in the area. Usually I only get calls from telemarketers or people I know. And I will tell you I don't know many people around here. "Hello this is Ivy." I answered.* The person promptly hung up.

The phone rang again as I was about to flour the cutting board to roll out the dough. It was one of my students (We'll call him "Oliver")! After a pause from "Hello this is Ivy", I heard in a small voice, "Is this Ivy McDougalhopper?"

"Yes, it is. Who is this?"

"Can Oliver come to the basketball game?"

"Of course. Is this "Devon" (name changed)?"

"No, this is Oliver."

"Didn't your brother tell you you were invited?"

"Yes. But I mean the other Oliver. Can the other Oliver, my friend, come?"

"Yes, of course!"

"Ok. Good. Devon wants to talk to you."

And it only got more interesting from there as Devon proceeded to ask me what I was doing and what kind of food people eat at basketball games and did I know he likes Mountain Dew? I gave my phone number to a couple of families so they could contact me whenever they needed, and some families have it because I call them from my home phone since they won't answer when the caller ID says our school. But I guess I hadn't anticipated it falling into the hands of the students and having them call me on a Tuesday night!


And finally, for the last bit of awesomeness tonight, I made cheesey calzone-esque things for dinner. The one I ate tonight was delicious, and I am already looking forward to lunch tomorrow! YAY!


*Did you see this week's episode of "How I Met Your Mother"? People make fun of me for the way I answer the phone, but Marshall does it, too! Someone must know that we Minnesotans have some sort of polite phone answering patterns.

Results of "From the Mixed up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" Survey

This most recent poll was inspired by the children's novel "From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" by E.L. Konigsburg. Most children read how the youngsters in this novel ran away and deem the adventure too much work. The effort these kids put into living in the Metropolitan Museum of Art is impressive. Even now, as an adult sitting on her couch eating artificially flavored Christmas tree marshmallows, I dream of running away and living undercover somewhere cool.

When I asked you where you would run away to, the results are as follows:

A la "From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler", if you ran away as a kid, where would you live?

The Aquarium	(14%)
The History Museum	(57%)
The Science Museum	(14%)
Orchestra Hall	(0%)
Chuck E. Cheese	(14%)

It looks like the History Museum is the winner. It would definitely be interesting to live there, and at night you could touch all those exhibits and artifacts you can't during the daytime. I just want to feel for just one second how that mummy feels!

I am a little disappointed in the person who chose Chuck E. Cheese. Really, friend? Have you been there ever? The place is scary!

Now, if you haven't read the book, I insist you run out and buy it and read it twice in a row.  I can't find the exact book cover from when I first read it as a kid, but here is a similar one on Amazon:

By the way, I would choose the aquarium. How cool would it be to fall asleep to the sound of waves every night and to watch the whales and penguins whenever you wanted?

Results of the Chess Records Survey

I apologize for the delay, but you can relax at last. Below are the results of the Favorite Chess Records Artist Survey. Participation was down again, but I think that might be because I chose a more obscure topic.

Muddy Waters         20%
Chuck Berry             20%
Etta James                20%
Howlin' Wolf            40%
Little Walter               0%
Bo Diddley                 0%

I'll admit that I am surprised Howlin' Wolf won. I would have put money on one of the first three being the most popular. Perhaps it is because of Howlin' Wolf's name? This time I will not cast my individual vote as I am not even sure who I would vote for. I love Etta James, but Muddy Waters is a pretty big deal. And where would we be today without Chuck Berry?

In other musical news, I went to the MN Orchestra this weekend and quite enjoyed it. They were performing Mozart's "The Magic Flute". While the singing was in German (with subtitles of course), in this production they translated the speaking parts into English, which  was actually ok. Heart of the Beast Puppet Theatre did the puppets to go along with the show, and they were awesome, if not a little nightmare-inducing, as usual.

The only thing is that I forgot that "The Magic Flute" was so long! It was well done, funny, interesting to watch, and all, but I got home to Rochester rather late, which was too bad. Worth it, though.

I think my favorite Heart of the Beast Puppets would have to be the little woodland dancing animals from the first act. There were two skunks that were dancing that were pretty hilarious. If you would like more information on this particular group, you can visit their website.

Now I am looking for someone to accompany me to the opera this spring. Any takers?

Results of the "Favorite 2 Person Board Game Survey" and Chess Records Artists

The results are in for the "Favorite 2-person Board Game Survey"! Yay! At last I will know which two person board game my readers prefer! While I chided you on the last survey for your lack of participation, I am pleased to report that this survey had more than double the participants. Still, participation is low, and those of you who aren't voting know who you are.

There is a three way tie for favorite board game, so after I share the results, I will have to cast my vote and see if that changes anything.


Mancala              0%
Othello                0%
Guess Who?       14%
Checkers             0%
Chess                  28%
Battleship            28%
Stratego              28%

To be honest, I am surprised that chess and Stratego tied with Battleship. Don't get me wrong - I love Stratego and continue to play with the set I've had since I was a child, despite the fact that some of the piece are mangled. AnneMarie, our dog when I was younger, munched on a few of them. Chess is a game I just do not enjoy. To cast my vote, I would have to vote for Battleship, making it the honorary winner of this particular survey.

For the next survey, you may need some background. This particular survey is going to ask you about your favorite Chess Records rock and roll artist. Recently, I watched the movie "Cadillac Records" and enjoyed it thoroughly. Then, while driving around Rochester this evening, I was listening to an evening show about the music of Bo Diddly, and it reminded me how much I really like early rock and roll music. Please see below to find out who these people are, if you are not familiar. And if you are not familiar with some of these folks, go and get familiar!

Etta James: Perhaps best known for "At Last", when she broke through onto the pop charts, this young artist with a rough exterior had many songs you should know. You can hear her put her heart and soul into everything she sings.


"All I Could Do Was Cry"



Can't you just feel her pain? Have you ever had your heart broken? Oh, Etta!

"I Just Wanna Make Love to You"


I dare you to listen to that and sit perfectly still.

Willy Dixon: Willy Dixon wrote a lot of music that was later redone by more famous, white artists including, but not limited to The Rolling Stones.

"Spoonful"

Man knew his blues and his bass.

Chuck Berry: Chuck Berry signed with Chess Records in 1955, after chatting with Muddy Waters in Chicago. His career took off, and he had singles at the top of the rock and roll and pop charts. You probably know "Johnny B. Goode" and "Roll Over Beethoven" at least.

"Roll Over Beethoven"


Howlin' Wolf: Nee Chester Arthur Burnett, this man howled like a wolf! His song "Smokestack Lightning" is listed as one of the songs that helped shape rock and roll.

"Smokestack Lightnin'"



Little Walter: Little Walter brought harmonica to the forefront of blues recording. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March of 2008.

"Juke"


Muddy Waters: You better know who Muddy Waters is! Bringing Mississippi Blues to the Windy City, Muddy Waters was an important Rock and Roll and Blues artist. Even the Rolling Stones were a big fan, and supposedly named their band after one of his songs.

"Rollin' Stone"


Bo Diddley: The man sometimes known as "The Originator" because of his roll in bridging the blues with Rock and Roll. Many of his songs were later remade by artists such as Eric Clapton and The Doors. He also based some of his earlier music on children's tunes including "Old McDonald".

"Who Do You Love?"


So who do YOU love? Choose in the new survey!

Results of the Jane Austen Heroine Survey

Dissappointingly, only three people participated in the Favorite Jane Austen Heroine Survey. Is that because you hated the survey, you didn't know where to find it, or you haven't read any Jane Austen?

The results are as follows:

Emma (Emma)	0%
Eleanor (Sense and Sensibility)	33%
Marianne (Sense and Sensibility)	0%
Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice)	33%
Fanny Price (Mansfield Park)	0%
Anne Elliot (Persuasion)	33%

	Again, I am a bit disappointed in the participation. I guess if I had voted, I would probably have to vote for Eleanor from Sense and Sensibility which would put her as the winner for this particular survey.
	In other news, I spent the entire gift card I received from a student today at Barnes and Noble. One of the books I bought was To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, because I am supposed to have it read by Monday night for the book club I joined. I also purchased Northanger Abbey. Remember when I said I was going to read Northanger Abbey and Emma over winter break? Obviously that didn't happen. But it is my goal to read Northanger Abbey by June 2011. That seems reasonable, right?
	Not having read To Kill a Mockingbird since I was 14 years old, I am pleased to discover that it is quite good. I read about 1/3 of it this evening while baking an orange chocolate torte, making cheesy risotto, drinking tea while waiting for dinner to cook, and while drinking a half glass of white Zinfandel and eating dinner. It is as good as critics say, and even more surprisingly, as good as I remember it.
		Now take the new survey! Quick! Before you forget!

Results of the "New Year's Eve Plans" Survey

The results of the New Year's Eve Plans survey are in, and they are astounding. Drum roll please!

60% of you are staying put. You are not going anywhere for New Year's Eve.
20% of you are going to a friend's house to celebrate.
None of you are going out on the town, bar hopping and such.
Shockingly, none of you are going to swanky black tie affairs, either.

Isn't that fascinating? For those of you that took the time to click your answer, aren't you glad you did? Now everyone should take the new survey so that I can report on that in a couple of weeks!

If you are in Southern Minnesota this holiday season, be careful on the roads. I've heard that there should be a couple more inches of snow and sleet coming our way!