Dream with Our Eyes Open

A meme from sholio, in which I asked for and received three things to talk about "that I may or may not know or care about." I was given:

Lawns: They are a waste of space, really. They are meant to show off buildings and imply that you live in some sort of estate, even if your dwelling is a dilapidated 2-bedroom rancher that looks like a Monopoly house. Ours is patchy and full of nourishing (to the bees and other bugs) weeds: I used to feed dandelions and plantains pulled from it to our bunnies. When we finally get our act together and re-do the house and yard, I want to turn it into a more forest grove-y thing. For now, we pay a local yard guy to come cut it every few weeks, because our lot is steep and uneven and full of holes, and we're getting aged enough that a dislocated knee or broken ankle would be a really bad idea.

Spaceships: I have been a science fiction nerd at least since I could read (including these long-ago juveniles, the Space Cat series by Ruthven Todd), possibly earlier (I was a fan of Astro Boy and Fireball XL5 too). My father and I used to follow NASA's space program avidly as well. So I love reading about spaceships, but actually, the idea of spending much time in one gives me the creeps. I need sky, green plants, etc. The best spaceships iin fiction, IMO, are C.J. Cherryh's. She gets into the nuts and bolts of spaceship living: the Hani crew of Price of Chanur having to fit in a couple extra seat to their tight little galley to accommodate Tully and Khym; Allison Reilly unwrapping all the extra packaging from her station-purchased hand cream and socks when she comes on board Dublin Again, because the ship will toss out every bit of extra weight before it pulls out; the Hellburner crew jumping into the seats of their beloved prototype for its maiden voyage.

My Little Pony: Some context here: the original toy, My Pretty Pony came out in 1981, the year after I graduated from college/uni. The first TV series came in in 1986, the year after I got married. For whatever reason, my daughter, born in 1992, was never really into them. And I don't generally care to watch animated or live-action media except as a social activity. So although My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic sounds like a great thing, I have never watched even a minute of it.

Would you like 3 things? Just let me know!

Introducing the ULTIMATE FANFIC TROPE SHOWDOWN v3.1!!! (See end for link and advice on using it.)

My top results:

Whoa, shocker. I do think that "And they were roommates" is too high and "Supernatural Creature/Human Romance" is too low.

The first time through, the results were No Good. As suggested, avoid picking "I like both" or "No opinion."

Try it here~!

Hat tip: sholio

29. A song that you remember from your childhood

A Bushel and a Peck, sung by Vivian Blaine in the original Broadway cast recording of "Guys and Dolls"

Broadway was big in our house, My mother, who had a pretty decent soprano, used to sing this to me and my sister.

27: A song that breaks your heart

I Can't Make You Love Me by Bonnie Raitt

Here in the dark, in these final hours
I will lay down my heart and I'll feel the power
But you won't, no you won't…

25: A song by an artist no longer living

New York's Not My Home by Jim Croce

Philadelphia native Jim Croce was most known for his rollicking story songs, like "Bad Bad Leroy Brown," sweet love tunes ("I Have to Say I Love You in a Song"), and ballads about being a lonely musician, like this one. The day before his hit single "I Got a Name" was released in 1973, he and his long-time lead guitarist Maury Muehleisen died in a plane crash. He was 30 years old.

(Details from Wikipedia, although I dimly remember the actual events: he died when I was 15 and just starting my record collection. I can sing every word of a number of his songs, including Leroy Brown, "You Don't Mess Around with Jim," and "Workin' at the Carwash Blues.")

23: A song that you think everybody should listen to

My City of Ruins by Bruce Springsteen

He originally wrote this in response to the urban decay of his childhood home, but then 9/11 happened, and it became so much more. This performance is from a live telecast that benefitted "the victims and their families, particularly but not limited to the New York City firefighters and New York City police officers" (contributor's notes on Youtube).

21: A favorite song with a person's name in the title

Daniel by Elton John

The wistful, haunted tone of this song captured my heart from the first time I heard it.

19. A song that makes you think about life

River of Dreams by Billy Joel

We all end in the ocean, we all start in the stream
We're all carried along by the River of Dreams

Wow, I haven't done this for a *month*. Partially it was being sick, partially it was that I'm feeling very guilty because I haven't gone through all the classical suggestions from last time. Jewish Guilt, the gift that keeps on giving.

17: A song that you would sing a duet with on karaoke

Eight Days a Week by the Beatles

I'm basically maximizing my un-super performance abilities here. My vocal range is pretty much identical to John's and Paul's, and I know this song so well that when I sing along with it on road trips, my husband remarks about how in-synch I am (on both singing and hand-clapping) — and he isn't given to flattery.

15: A song that is a cover by another artist

Heatwave, performed by Linda Ronstadt

It was originally written by the Holland–Dozier–Holland songwriting team and first popularized by the Motown group Martha and the Vandellas in 1963. But the Ronstadt version, released in 1975, was part of my teen years. To my adolescent ears, the seemingly raw emotion was the essence of sexy over-my-head in love. Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, yeah yeah, ooooh!