The Big Bang Theory: In Which I Share 2 Pieces Of Advice From Penny + Ask A Few Questions

May 16, 2019 / Ally Bean / 132 Comments

I got 94/100 on The Big Bang Theory Quiz. Click HERE to take it.

I’M LOOKING FORWARD to watching the series finale of The Big Bang Theory. It airs tonight and I want to know how the show ends.

I’ve enjoyed the show, having seen it in reruns and in prime time. I’ve not watched every episode nor have I seen it in a linear way so some of the story lines are a jumble in my mind, but that doesn’t matter.

The Big Bang Theory is all about the characters and their relationships with each other. I especially like Penny. She’s my favorite.

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THE FIRST PIECE of Penny advice is from an episode in which she’s sitting in Sheldon and Leonard’s apartment with them– and of course Sheldon and Leonard start bickering about something academic. As they do.

Penny stops them from talking, then looks at Sheldon reminding him: what did we say about being nicer to your friends? Then she looks at Leonard reminding him: what did we say about not being a gullible weenie?

This scene could be from my real life. I occasionally find myself in the middle of conversations wherein one person needs to remember how to be kind while the other person needs to engage in some critical thinking.

I have yet to say the above out loud directly to anyone, but I’m thinking it. Dagnabbit.

• • •

THE SECOND PIECE of Penny advice is from the end of an episode in which Penny has sat through a tedious Physics Bowl competition at the university. In this competition Sheldon and Leonard try to prove who is smarter.

Later as a way of showing the guys how little they actually know she creates her own pop culture quiz. They, of course, are clueless about what she is asking them. Baffled, Leonard asks her how she knows this stuff.

She answers with a classic line that I find myself saying from time-to-time, a line perfectly suited for ending this post, in fact. She says: I go outside and I talk to people.

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QUESTIONS OF THE DAY

Will you be watching [or did you watch] the series finale of The Big Bang Theory? And if so, which character is your favorite?

Do you like or dislike or are indifferent to The Big Bang Theory? It’s been on the air for 12 years so you’ve had ample time to form an opinion of it. ‘Fess up.

If you took the quiz I linked to under the image of my score, what score did you get?

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I’m Where I Belong As Autumn Begins. And You?

October 2, 2016October 2, 2016 / Ally Bean / 58 Comments

Take the “What State Do You Actually Belong In” quiz. Find out, for sure, where you belong. In case you’re unclear about this. Or you’re just looking for something to do. Which is how I stumbled upon this quiz. Which turned out to be spot on.

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I’ve often thought that if you don’t like autumn around here, then there’s something dead in your soul.

I can understand not liking our gray, snowy winters. They are dreary and can sap your soul, requiring a certain kind of physical and mental strength that not everyone has.

That some years I don’t have. No problem, there. That I get.

But to not like fall here in Ohio?

That seems most peculiar to me, oh Autumn-haters.

• • •

Here’s what I mean.

Autumn is just beginning around here and already the weather has turned cooler, dropping into the 50s at night, and the humidity is gone. I’m sleeping more soundly at night, windows open, and am wearing sweaters, or fleece, during the day.

A more alert me, and you, is good.

The leaves on the trees and bushes have yet to turn colors, but each day a few leaves fall onto the ground, a precursor of what is to come: bold colors, naked trees and clear blue skies by day + dark starry skies by night.

This will be good, just wait and see.

And what about the fact that fall ushers in HallowThanksMasNewYear, a time of endless candy, cookies, costumes, outfits, and decorations? Hmmm? Had you thought of that, oh Autumn-haters?

Sweetness and sparkle is good for all of us.

• • •

Obviously if you, oh Autumn-haters, insist on not liking this season, despite my ~~thrown together~~ well-reasoned and ~~quickly written~~ impassioned entreaty to change your mind, I will let it go.

Which, I do believe, now that I think about it, is the subtext of this entire season.

Don’t ‘ya know? 😉

• • •

A Is For Artichoke, A Good Place To Begin

April 1, 2016May 6, 2021 / Ally Bean / 25 Comments

Okie-dokie, artichokie

… is a slang phrase that I’m guessing everyone has heard, read, or said. It’s one of those goofy ways to communicate agreement without committing to too much interest.

I use the phrase from time-to-time because there are moments when it is appropriate.

For instance, when your husband is telling you a detailed analysis of his current sock situation, and you would prefer that he get to the bottom line of this sock soliloquy, because if he wants you to buy him some more socks, just say so.

But there he is staring into his sock drawer, reflecting upon his hole-y, muddled mess-o-socks, while you stand by patiently, not caring at all about the finer nuances of his sock preferences, but pretending that it matters to you.

That’s when a wise woman says “okie-dokie, artichokie,” then goes to Kohl’s and buys him whatever socks are on sale that day.

• • •

{ SOMETHING TO DO FOR FUN }

Take the Can You Identify These Vegetables? Quiz. Helpful hint: the first answer is artichoke.

• • •

A 3-Question Pop Quiz On Guttering & Muttering

March 15, 2016March 15, 2016 / Ally Bean / 36 Comments

Q1: What is wrong with this picture?

A. Not a thing… did I ever mention my favorite artist is Salvador Dali?

B. How clever! You’ve built a sliding board for Fuzzy the Squirrel.

C. It looks like some more of the gutter has fallen off the back of your house… AGAIN.

D. What’s wrong with this?! Every stinking thing. The end of the world is nigh.

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Q2: What caused this gutter to come undone?

A. I don’t understand the question… you know Dali painted some surreal works with absurd off-kilter angles just like this gutter.

B. A squirrel jumped up and down about a hundred thousand times on the gutter.

C. Ally Bean allowed herself to dream of buying a new laptop computer for herself, not because she needs one, but because she WANTS one.

D. What caused this to come undone?! Every stinking thing. The end of the world is nigh.

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Q3: What did Ally Bean mutter when she saw what had happened?

A. I imagine, like Salvador’s work, her words were a bizarre juxtaposition of pathos and profundity, of oddness and obviousness. A mélange of commonplace utterances and curse words.

B. Where is that damned squirrel!

C. Holy Fricking Mole-y! I gotta call Z-D, who is, of course, out-of-town on business, to tell him I’M. NOT. HAPPY.

D. What did she say?! Every stinking thing. The end of the world is nigh.

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