The Disney film Encanto is pretty big in our house and, for some reason, Chronicle Books has decided to release the big art book, The Art of Encanto for free online. So I thought I’d share it.
Author: CaptainJaq
I am a father as well as a world traveling, dog loving, scuba diving, book collecting, writer - currently residing somewhere in Eastern Europe. His words have been spoken by Capt. Jean-Luc Picard and Robin Hood, been read by David Copperfield, and criticized by his 7th grade English teacher. He'd like to thank the members of the Academy, although he doesn't know why. In his spare time, he's a university professor and a kick-ass uncle.
2021 wrap up
Seriously? It’s the end of 2021 already? How did that happen? I mean it’s been a helluva year for sure. We’ve seen friends and relatives die, related to COVID and not. We’ve seen new governments take control and, in some cases, make things better and in some cases make things much, much worse (and while I’d like to say this is an objective statement, I, better than anyone else since I repeat it several times every semester, know there is no such thing as objective.)
Continue reading “2021 wrap up”How was the Storyworth project for you?
This is my last entry in this year-long Storyworth project. It’s number 52 and even though I could write more, I think 52 entries is a good number. I wrote my first one back on December 22, 2020 and now it’s December 29, 2021 and since I was late a few times, this seems like a great place to finish up. Continue reading “How was the Storyworth project for you?”
Do you have a favorite poem? What is it?
I’m having a hard time starting my answer to this one. Yes, there are a couple of obvious responses, which I’ll get to in a minute, but part of my issue is do I include song lyrics or not? I mean, sure, they qualify as poems, but do I count them amongst my favorites? Do they hold up when you remove them from their accompanying music (no semantic arguments about songs like “Tom’s Diner” because the music is inherent in the presentation)? Continue reading “Do you have a favorite poem? What is it? “
What are some of your family traditions?
When I started thinking about this topic, I was having a hard time coming up with a tradition that felt like a tradition. I was focused more on the idea of holidays or things like that, things you do as a family. Except, having been around a while, the idea of “family” has been in flux for a good portion of my life. I left my folks’ house (after a few false starts) for Los Angeles when I was 20 and didn’t return to the same city as them for another 16 years. In between, I had a live-in girlfriend and a wife, and I don’t really remember many traditions there. Continue reading “What are some of your family traditions?”
Did you have any serious accidents as a child?
Did I have any serious accidents as a child? Oh boy, did I!
Let’s see…it all started on a Thursday (was it a Thursday? I don’t know. I think it was and since Thursdays are a thing with me, I’ll hold to that truth) when I was 9 years old. We were living on Monticello, having moved back to Vegas for the second and final time. This is before we bought the house on Fenway, much nearer to Diskin Elementary, my school. Continue reading “Did you have any serious accidents as a child? “
If you could thank anyone, who would you thank and why?
My question this week is “If you could thank anyone, who and why?” Before I delve deep into whatever metaphorical or metaphysical answer I might come up with, I need to start by saying I’d thank my parents because I forgot at my Bar Mitzvah, which was 41 years ago, and they still haven’t let it go.
So thanks mom and dad, on this day that I become a man. Continue reading “If you could thank anyone, who would you thank and why? “
What fascinated you as a child?
As with most of these “remember when” questions, what fascinated me as a child is a complicated query. Over the course of my childhood, which, for argument’s sake, let’s say extends from earliest memories (about age 4) up through getting my driver’s license on my sixteenth birthday, I’ve been fascinated by numerous things. Continue reading “What fascinated you as a child? “
Were you well-behaved or badly-behaved as a child?
Again, when dealing with “as a child” questions, I have to wonder what age range child encompasses? Are we talking about toddler to middle school or up through high school graduation? Also, we should probably define what kind of behavior qualifies as “well” or “bad” considering there’s a range there which is not insignificant. Either way, I don’t think I was a badly-behaved child. I mean, I wasn’t as bad as some, not that I didn’t get into my fair share of trouble. Continue reading “Were you well-behaved or badly-behaved as a child?”
Do you have any funny or embarrassing Thanksgiving memories?
Thanksgiving has always been an interesting time for me. Most of my adult life has been spent living in a different city than my immediate (birth) family and since Thanksgiving is a family holiday, it was always one of the days I would try and make it home. This worked out well in my personal life, too, as most of my partners were either in Vegas or not from America where Thanksgiving didn’t matter. As well, since I was raised Jewish and none of my partners were, this meant Christmas wasn’t an issue, either. Continue reading “Do you have any funny or embarrassing Thanksgiving memories?”
How did you decide to get married?
I had a friend once, guy named Steve, who said to me, when we were discussing women and past relationships, that he’d “marry them all in retrospect…but only in retrospect.”
I’m still not quite sure what he meant. Continue reading “How did you decide to get married?”
On Catching a Break
Monki has not had a great track record when it comes to school attendance. She started her kindergarten* last year just before the pandemic closed everything down, briefly returned in the summer of 2020 until we chose to pull her out for a variety of reasons and our hope was that she’d be able to get into an actual preschool for the 21-22 school year. Continue reading “On Catching a Break”
What have you changed your mind about over the years?
The real question is what haven’t I changed my mind about? I mean when I was much younger my tastes were…questionable. Okay, that’s not exactly fair. I was still a kid, but even so, things that I ate and how I ate them are still comedy fodder for family gatherings.
But okay, let’s take a look at some things I once held very strong opinions about but over time, I have revised those opinions into others. Doesn’t mean I was right or wrong on either side of the equation here, but as the question asks, I have certainly changed my mind. Continue reading “What have you changed your mind about over the years?”
Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever encountered one?
You can tell we’re getting near the end of this particular project, week 42 of 52, since the questions are getting a bit more esoteric. When the question comes through, it’s getting more regular that I need to change it out for a variety of reasons and then, looking through their possible questions, we’re starting to see lots of repeats and variations on a theme.
I’m not sure how many more “what’s your favorite X” I’ve got in me. Continue reading “Do you believe in ghosts? Have you ever encountered one?”
Getting the Hang of Thursdays 