Ask Luke’s Mother-in-Law – With Bonus Video This Time!

Luke’s mother-in-law is former LAPD, a licensed property appraiser and a self-described crazy cat lady. None of which has prepared her for TR readers. All questions and answers are real.

Hey de ho all!!!! It is another Thursday. Last week, as some of you know, I was visiting our fearless learder LYT and Mrs. LYT for the day. LYT planned a meet and greet – so when he suggested it, I said okay, I would venture out to civilization for a day. Joshua Tree is so different from LA. Anyway we had a pretty good turnout. LYT got some pics and he said he would post them for me. For those of you who were able to make it, nice to meet you. I am still waiting on my nickname suggestions, so keep them coming if you have an idea. Mom is always okay – but I know you are much more creative than that.

So let’s get on down the road with your interesting – and sometimes disturbing -questions this week.

James.k.Polk:
Dear Ms. Ppraisal,

I like to think the goatee is almost Klingon-like, a la Worf from later seasons of TNG. What is your advice here. Clean it off or keep it?

Well, having a picture of you would have helped this with question. But without a picture I will do my best. Personally, I love a mustache on a guy. This come from my crush in high school on a police motor officer. Yummmmmm. But most cops have mustaches. So have you thought of a nice mustache with the goatee? I would give you the thumbs up on the facial hair for sure.

Elizabeth K:
How can I find a friendly, like-minded group of nerdy people irl, outside of a college setting? One that is not all about gaming? It’s hard to find friends as an adult, man.

Okay, so no college or gaming. Have you thought about maybe community theater? I only have a 2-yr college where I live, and it is a commuter college so there are pretty much no activities. Where I am is also a military area so mostly 18-19 yr olds – I’m 57. Not interested in a baby. But I did find community theater. Found really nice people, friendly with lots of various interest. One of my favorite directors (actually 2; it is a husband / wife team) are Klingons. The husband even did, on a local TV show, the intros for when the local station was running Star Trek re-runs. They also do costumes for Ren Fairs and Cosplay.

Even if you don’t think you can act or may be uncomfortable to be on stage in front of people, there are many things you can do. They always need costumers, set builders, light/sound techs etc. Our theater seats 99 people so the audience is not all that big. I like being in the chorus and I love doing musicals. I have a couple of times been a secondary character.

Some other thoughts might be: classes at your local community center, or joining a book club? Where I am we have hiking clubs, rock climbing clubs, mining (they really do find gold), rock clubs and astronomy. The man who heads the astronomy club builds telescopes for national observatories. I have all of these things available out in the middle of the desert. Good luck

Sean B:
Sandra Bullock: bad actress? or best thing about bad movies? Difficulty: without mentioning Oscars, as they’re hopelessly political and are rarely true judges of quality.

I like Ms Bullock, but some of the junk Hollywood turns out is not worth the paper it is written on. A actor can only do so much with what someone is putting in their mouths. Yes, the awards are fairly political. A lot of it is when the project is released. People have short memories so if you do the best movie ever and the powers that be decide to release early in the year, you probably are not going to win. Have you noticed that the later in the year movies generally win some award somewhere? The studios pitch what they want to back. This is a money town, he who can take out the most ads etc can normally get a nod.

In LA the first awards of the season is the Los Angeles Film Critics awards. You should see all of the screeners my son-in-law and daughter get – they are voting members for a couple of different awards. The awards are part of our fantasy living in the LA area. I think Ms. Bullock should get better parts, but a lot of actors are really happy with just getting the paycheck. It is a tough business to survive in.

Brando L:
How would Wolverine stand up against a Sith? Claws vs Light Saber. Healing factor and Tenacity vs rage induced power. Would a light saber be able to cut through his Adamantium bones?

Well, I would go with the lightsaber any time. So my vote goes to the Sith.

Gene H:
Is it inappropriate to be attracted to cartoon characters?

Not necessarily. There are a lot of good role models in cartoon characters. But you need to define: in what way are you attracted? I can think of anything from several bad/weird ways to nice ones where you just love and enjoy the character. As with anything, just be careful not to go overboard with your love/attraction for which every one you love the best.

William C:
How many Lego do you have to step on before it considered a war crime and banned by all sensible nations?

We can NEVER ban Legos. So keep on stepping on them. But why are you stepping on them to start with? In our house the Legos – and yes we had tons of them – were always in a designated part of the family room, These were also along with the original Polly Pockets (not the big ones they have today). When too many got on the floor I would take my bagless vacume and just suck them up and then dump them back in the Lego container. We even had a Lego work table. We took an old card table and got the 12X12 Lego bases, glued them to the table and then a building station. I also learned to shuffle thru that room of the house so as not to directly step on them.

Lucy P:
I’m moving house next week. How many board games should I bring?

Are you moving from one house to another, or moving from an apartment, your parents house etc. to your own house? Lots depends on how much space you will now be having. If you have the same amount of same or more, I say bring them all. Why leave a lonely board game all alone? Besides, if you left it behind, you would decide you want it and would have to go get it from where you left it or you would have to re-buy the game. Even Candyland is important. So take every darn one of them – Leave no game behind.

Well, my friends, that is about all for this week. Next week I may have to tell you about an adventure – but I have to see how it turns out first. My cliff hanger HA HA HA. Anyway until next week – Huggs.

BONUS VIDEO! As requested last week, we got Julia and her mom to do a food-review video together…

If you’d like to add your questions to the pile for Luke’s mother-in-law, leave them in comments below.