2003: A shower meme odyssey
Jun. 11th, 2003 03:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
coyotegothTip o' the Stetson to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
anoisblue for coming up with this niftiness, and to all who have participated; so far, it's been a hoot.
Kenhighcountry's questions
1) Are you a Native New Yorker? If not, how did you come to live there? I'm native to the state, not the city; I went to college in White Plains, roughly an hour away. Endless field trips to NYC during college were all the sales pitch I required; I've lived here ever since.
2) If you had to leave New York tomorrow, where would you go? Assuming I were physically capable, I'd throw a tent and such on my 10-speed and start pedaling west; if not, I'd get a sailboat (and a seaworthy friend) and set any course that looked to feature sun and sweet water.
3) If you could only take three films and three CDs with you, and they were the only ones you could have for the next two years, what would you take? I'd like to burn the works of Godard onto one CD; I often find his work impenetrable, yet brilliant, and two years' study time might rectify that. That aside: The movies would be Citizen Kane (more sheer surprise than any great film I've ever seen; after fifty-ish viewings, I still find it impossible to remember what each flashback cues into, although there's certainly a logic to it); Blade Runner (limitless emotional depths, should you care to look for them. Remind me to discuss with you sometime why I'm convinced that all the blade runners- not just Deckard- are replicants, and how Gaff is the only one who knows it); and Moulin Rouge (a film I found overwhelming to the point of being off-putting on the first go-round, not to mention that I had great difficulties with several of the performances, Leguizamo's and Broadbent's in particular. However, a friend whose judgement on movies I respect greatly had made a plausible case for reviewing the film, and I'm curious.) The CDs would be Toward the Within by Dead Can Dance, the expanded edition of the Who's Live at Leeds (To which at least half of my friends list replies with a rousing, "Whatever..."), and Trout Mask Replica, by Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band. It's an album I've always found fascinating, although difficult to fully embrace on first encounter (Needless to say, this is a subjective judgement; there are moments such as "Orange Claw Hammer" which I find almost unbearably moving, in the Captain's unique style).
4) Other than the obvious, have you found that your voice lessons are changing how you view yourself?It's all about confronting fear. Getting to a place where I can belt a song like "Mister Cellophane"- even in a tiny practice room, with no audience save an instructor I'm paying to listen to me- is not something I could have handled three years ago; the effects are spreading out through the rest of my life in more ways than I could possibly enumerate here.
5) Do you believe that "romantic" love can last? If not, what would be the ideal long term relationship? *remembers some shaven-headed fool getting down on one knee to propose* *sighs* No, I don't think romance- in that blue-flame, Romeo and Juliet mode- is enough to sustain a relationship on its own. An ideal long-term relationship includes acceptance, mutual compromise, an ability to work through times of frustration and doubt, and several other qualities that somehow never worked their way into the script for Titanic.
Jait’s questions
1. Some use the livejournal as a literal diary. Others use it as an open discussion. How do you use yours? It’s embraced aspects of both. My LJ began as an aid for my memory; very quickly, I took note of the inherently shared aspect of LJ, and began to move beyond a laundry list of my days, to more personal discussion of thoughts and feelings. Although I haven’t made my LJ a public forum in the way some LJ members have, there’s certainly an awareness of the public lurking at the back of my mind, and I’m always curious to see what the response to a new post will be.
2. What is the biggest obstacle you've ever had to overcome (and by inference, how did you overcome it)? Back at the end of 1994, I had a near-complete breakdown; about a year and a half later, I had another one. (As close as I can determine, the issue was simply living completely on my own for the first time, without the safety net of the Big Apple Circus’ free room and board, or my father’s house in Potsdam, where I lived over the summers in college.) I don’t have any one "eureka" moment for how I got over it; therapy played a huge role, as did the simple refusal to let myself give in and crumble. Now, when things are at their toughest, I can look and say, "I got through that. I can get through this." Perhaps surprisingly, it works.
3. If you could do ONE thing over again, what would it be, and why? I wouldn’t have let an excess of romantic sentiment induce me to propose to my girlfriend Elizabeth. We had excellent compatibility as lovers, but the strain of contemplating a future together was a make-or-break pressure that wound up breaking us apart. That wasn’t fair to her, or to me.
4. In the past few years you've suffered some injuries, some close-calls and major changes. How have you changed over the past five years? Following the breakdowns, I lived a comparatively reclusive, sheltered social life for several years (although I wasn’t consciously aware of this at the time): I’d associate with Keith, Lynn, our mutual friends, and people from work, but didn’t engage in many of my old pastimes (photography; writing; singing), visit my old haunts, or try to meet new people. Over the last several years, due in no small part tofrostythoughts and my interactions with many people I’ve met directly or indirectly through him, I’ve been working on changing that; it’s very much a work in progress, but a hugely encouraging one.
5. Where do you see yourself and/or hope to be in five years? Further along the path described above.
Mightyafrodite’s questions
1. What is your favorite era in history to read about/discuss? New York in the 1920s.
2. What was the toughest obstacle you've overcome? See the answer to Jait’s second question, above.
3. What is the significance of the coyote for you? (I'm trying to read back postings of your journal, but I haven't been able to yet, so if this has been answered in your past personal non-interview postings, I'm sorry!) In Native American mythology, the coyote is a prankster, continually getting into mischief and playing jokes- but ultimately acting for the benefit of his people, nonetheless. I’m all about that.
4. If you were absolved of all current responsibilities, what would be the first thing you'd do? FIRST thing I’d do? Go for a walk in Central Park, then head home and start a serious attempt at finishing my shelves’ worth of unread books.
5. What's your biggest pet peeve? People who mistake cynicism for wisdom, and/or feel that their differing opinion entitles them to moral superiority.
Roadnotes’ questions
1) What's the next song you plan to sing in public? I’ll be doing "Country Roads" again, no doubt; my singing teacher and I started working on "Fire and Rain" today, with interesting results. I hope to do "Mister Cellophane" or some other song that accommodates more of what I consider belting soon, as well.
2) You're writing and filming a movie in New York; where do you shoot your opening scene? And why? *long, thoughtful pause* This is a good question, not least because a movie’s locale is generally selected after months of preplanning, and the careful consideration of its context within the story- a wedding at your local church down the block will have a very different emotional tone than one set at St. John the Divine. Offhand, my first instinct would be to set the scene at the Cloisters- the museum lends itself to photography rather well, and I’d enjoy showing people a New York they’re not necessarily familiar with. My cinematic New York would begin as one with trees across the river, and grass underfoot, with the skyscrapers a more distant presence, at least to start with.
3) Who's on the soundtrack/writing the score of your movie? Off the cuff, I’ll say Stewart Copeland. He’s done urban-themed movies- Wall Street, Gridlock’d, and Rumble Fish, as well as being able to compose for a wide range of subjects; anyone who can score She’s Having a Baby, Rapa Nui, and Pecker can probably handle whatever I throw at him.
4) Where would you like to be in ten years? Locale? New York City, although I hope to have gotten over my problems with travelling, as well. Personally? I want to get rid of or move past more of the emotional baggage that holds me back, drags me down, smothers my potential in every area. There's too much to do.
5) What country would you most like to visit? Italy for the culture; Tahiti for the openness of the people. Japan, just because it’s been circling through my awareness for so long in odd ways. Canada or New Zealand for sheer love of the land.
Filkerdave’s questions
1) What interest on your LJ interest lists are you most surprised that someone else shares? I haven't filled out any interests, not so much out of the feeling that no 150 entries can encompass my interests, as that they change too frequently. I’m also vaguely unsettled by the notion of someone reading my interests list, and saying, "Hey, look how much we have in common- we’ve got to be pals!" It’s happened to people I know, and it really weirds me out.
2) What would your dream home have in it? A well stocked library (books, DVDs, and music); at least one hammock; a hot tub; an indoor/outdoor pool; a pool table; a music room, with piano and drum set; a well-equipped gymnasium; a trout stream winding through the living room; a really good kitchen; a porch, looking out on the river; a meditation room. An orrery would be nice, too :)
3) If you were a beverage, which one would you be and why?Fast-acting poison, if you can guarantee to get me in the right glass… Water, I suppose- easier to pour me on the ground, and return me to the environment.
4) What flower would you be most likely to give to a loved one as a gesture of affection? I saw some lovely lavender-shaded roses with a particularly lovely scent in a small sidewalk store on the Upper West Side that would fit the bill nicely. No idea what lavender might mean, as far as the symbology of various flower colors, but they pleased the eye.
5) What's the average airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?Nuu! Nuu! 8.9 MPH, so far as conventional wisdom goes- it may not be prevailing wisdom, and it certainly may not be accurate, but it’s definitely more conventional than the thinking of some of these scientific visionaries.
And with that, I’ll see you tomorrow; if you’d like to be interviewed in turn, please leave a comment to that effect. Welcome toandrokles and whippingboy; safe journey to starkyld, who has clearly gotten in touch with her inner Sneetch.
anoisblue for coming up with this niftiness, and to all who have participated; so far, it's been a hoot.Kenhighcountry's questions
1) Are you a Native New Yorker? If not, how did you come to live there? I'm native to the state, not the city; I went to college in White Plains, roughly an hour away. Endless field trips to NYC during college were all the sales pitch I required; I've lived here ever since.
2) If you had to leave New York tomorrow, where would you go? Assuming I were physically capable, I'd throw a tent and such on my 10-speed and start pedaling west; if not, I'd get a sailboat (and a seaworthy friend) and set any course that looked to feature sun and sweet water.
3) If you could only take three films and three CDs with you, and they were the only ones you could have for the next two years, what would you take? I'd like to burn the works of Godard onto one CD; I often find his work impenetrable, yet brilliant, and two years' study time might rectify that. That aside: The movies would be Citizen Kane (more sheer surprise than any great film I've ever seen; after fifty-ish viewings, I still find it impossible to remember what each flashback cues into, although there's certainly a logic to it); Blade Runner (limitless emotional depths, should you care to look for them. Remind me to discuss with you sometime why I'm convinced that all the blade runners- not just Deckard- are replicants, and how Gaff is the only one who knows it); and Moulin Rouge (a film I found overwhelming to the point of being off-putting on the first go-round, not to mention that I had great difficulties with several of the performances, Leguizamo's and Broadbent's in particular. However, a friend whose judgement on movies I respect greatly had made a plausible case for reviewing the film, and I'm curious.) The CDs would be Toward the Within by Dead Can Dance, the expanded edition of the Who's Live at Leeds (To which at least half of my friends list replies with a rousing, "Whatever..."), and Trout Mask Replica, by Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band. It's an album I've always found fascinating, although difficult to fully embrace on first encounter (Needless to say, this is a subjective judgement; there are moments such as "Orange Claw Hammer" which I find almost unbearably moving, in the Captain's unique style).
4) Other than the obvious, have you found that your voice lessons are changing how you view yourself?It's all about confronting fear. Getting to a place where I can belt a song like "Mister Cellophane"- even in a tiny practice room, with no audience save an instructor I'm paying to listen to me- is not something I could have handled three years ago; the effects are spreading out through the rest of my life in more ways than I could possibly enumerate here.
5) Do you believe that "romantic" love can last? If not, what would be the ideal long term relationship? *remembers some shaven-headed fool getting down on one knee to propose* *sighs* No, I don't think romance- in that blue-flame, Romeo and Juliet mode- is enough to sustain a relationship on its own. An ideal long-term relationship includes acceptance, mutual compromise, an ability to work through times of frustration and doubt, and several other qualities that somehow never worked their way into the script for Titanic.
Jait’s questions
1. Some use the livejournal as a literal diary. Others use it as an open discussion. How do you use yours? It’s embraced aspects of both. My LJ began as an aid for my memory; very quickly, I took note of the inherently shared aspect of LJ, and began to move beyond a laundry list of my days, to more personal discussion of thoughts and feelings. Although I haven’t made my LJ a public forum in the way some LJ members have, there’s certainly an awareness of the public lurking at the back of my mind, and I’m always curious to see what the response to a new post will be.
2. What is the biggest obstacle you've ever had to overcome (and by inference, how did you overcome it)? Back at the end of 1994, I had a near-complete breakdown; about a year and a half later, I had another one. (As close as I can determine, the issue was simply living completely on my own for the first time, without the safety net of the Big Apple Circus’ free room and board, or my father’s house in Potsdam, where I lived over the summers in college.) I don’t have any one "eureka" moment for how I got over it; therapy played a huge role, as did the simple refusal to let myself give in and crumble. Now, when things are at their toughest, I can look and say, "I got through that. I can get through this." Perhaps surprisingly, it works.
3. If you could do ONE thing over again, what would it be, and why? I wouldn’t have let an excess of romantic sentiment induce me to propose to my girlfriend Elizabeth. We had excellent compatibility as lovers, but the strain of contemplating a future together was a make-or-break pressure that wound up breaking us apart. That wasn’t fair to her, or to me.
4. In the past few years you've suffered some injuries, some close-calls and major changes. How have you changed over the past five years? Following the breakdowns, I lived a comparatively reclusive, sheltered social life for several years (although I wasn’t consciously aware of this at the time): I’d associate with Keith, Lynn, our mutual friends, and people from work, but didn’t engage in many of my old pastimes (photography; writing; singing), visit my old haunts, or try to meet new people. Over the last several years, due in no small part to
frostythoughts and my interactions with many people I’ve met directly or indirectly through him, I’ve been working on changing that; it’s very much a work in progress, but a hugely encouraging one. 5. Where do you see yourself and/or hope to be in five years? Further along the path described above.
Mightyafrodite’s questions
1. What is your favorite era in history to read about/discuss? New York in the 1920s.
2. What was the toughest obstacle you've overcome? See the answer to Jait’s second question, above.
3. What is the significance of the coyote for you? (I'm trying to read back postings of your journal, but I haven't been able to yet, so if this has been answered in your past personal non-interview postings, I'm sorry!) In Native American mythology, the coyote is a prankster, continually getting into mischief and playing jokes- but ultimately acting for the benefit of his people, nonetheless. I’m all about that.
4. If you were absolved of all current responsibilities, what would be the first thing you'd do? FIRST thing I’d do? Go for a walk in Central Park, then head home and start a serious attempt at finishing my shelves’ worth of unread books.
5. What's your biggest pet peeve? People who mistake cynicism for wisdom, and/or feel that their differing opinion entitles them to moral superiority.
Roadnotes’ questions
1) What's the next song you plan to sing in public? I’ll be doing "Country Roads" again, no doubt; my singing teacher and I started working on "Fire and Rain" today, with interesting results. I hope to do "Mister Cellophane" or some other song that accommodates more of what I consider belting soon, as well.
2) You're writing and filming a movie in New York; where do you shoot your opening scene? And why? *long, thoughtful pause* This is a good question, not least because a movie’s locale is generally selected after months of preplanning, and the careful consideration of its context within the story- a wedding at your local church down the block will have a very different emotional tone than one set at St. John the Divine. Offhand, my first instinct would be to set the scene at the Cloisters- the museum lends itself to photography rather well, and I’d enjoy showing people a New York they’re not necessarily familiar with. My cinematic New York would begin as one with trees across the river, and grass underfoot, with the skyscrapers a more distant presence, at least to start with.
3) Who's on the soundtrack/writing the score of your movie? Off the cuff, I’ll say Stewart Copeland. He’s done urban-themed movies- Wall Street, Gridlock’d, and Rumble Fish, as well as being able to compose for a wide range of subjects; anyone who can score She’s Having a Baby, Rapa Nui, and Pecker can probably handle whatever I throw at him.
4) Where would you like to be in ten years? Locale? New York City, although I hope to have gotten over my problems with travelling, as well. Personally? I want to get rid of or move past more of the emotional baggage that holds me back, drags me down, smothers my potential in every area. There's too much to do.
5) What country would you most like to visit? Italy for the culture; Tahiti for the openness of the people. Japan, just because it’s been circling through my awareness for so long in odd ways. Canada or New Zealand for sheer love of the land.
Filkerdave’s questions
1) What interest on your LJ interest lists are you most surprised that someone else shares? I haven't filled out any interests, not so much out of the feeling that no 150 entries can encompass my interests, as that they change too frequently. I’m also vaguely unsettled by the notion of someone reading my interests list, and saying, "Hey, look how much we have in common- we’ve got to be pals!" It’s happened to people I know, and it really weirds me out.
2) What would your dream home have in it? A well stocked library (books, DVDs, and music); at least one hammock; a hot tub; an indoor/outdoor pool; a pool table; a music room, with piano and drum set; a well-equipped gymnasium; a trout stream winding through the living room; a really good kitchen; a porch, looking out on the river; a meditation room. An orrery would be nice, too :)
3) If you were a beverage, which one would you be and why?
4) What flower would you be most likely to give to a loved one as a gesture of affection? I saw some lovely lavender-shaded roses with a particularly lovely scent in a small sidewalk store on the Upper West Side that would fit the bill nicely. No idea what lavender might mean, as far as the symbology of various flower colors, but they pleased the eye.
5) What's the average airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?
And with that, I’ll see you tomorrow; if you’d like to be interviewed in turn, please leave a comment to that effect. Welcome to
androkles and whippingboy; safe journey to starkyld, who has clearly gotten in touch with her inner Sneetch.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2003-06-11 12:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-11 11:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-11 11:41 pm (UTC)I jsut figured this out -- you always have these weird random characters at the end of your posts and this time it made it bold -- it's fucking line noise isn't it?
Have you watched the whole thing? Have you experienced the tango sequence? Because that was what got me to go, "oh, there's a serious film in here, just... a little to the left of the bright shiny objects"
no subject
Date: 2003-06-11 11:57 pm (UTC)I'm very sure that there's a great deal more to Moulin Rouge than I caught on a first viewing; it's one of those films like Sweet Charity, where you're left dizzy by the director's own exuberance, trying to sort through a disorienting sries of impressions to see what the film is. I'm going to give Moulin Rouge a seconf viewing, now that I have a VCR/TV again; I've been meaning to for a while.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-11 11:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-11 06:44 pm (UTC)Comin' atcha, sassypants...
Date: 2003-06-16 11:34 pm (UTC)2. What do most people not understand about Southern women?
3. What's your ideal dinner- including the company and the locale?
4. If you could be a fly on anyone's wall for a year, whose wall would you pick?
5. If you could keep one of your life's most painful memories, and be rid of the rest, which one would you keep? Why?
Re: Comin' atcha, sassypants...
Date: 2003-06-17 01:46 am (UTC)We met in women's prison.
2. What do most people not understand about Southern women?
That we're smarter than we look and sound.
3. What's your ideal dinner- including the company and the locale?
Hrm. It would be in my own large dining room with my grandmother's dining room furniture. Of course, I don't have a dining room, being as I haven't had one built yet, but one day. There are 8 chairs, so I'd pick 7 of my friends who like to linger around the table and eat in courses and talk with great vigor. I would make Tuscan tomato bread soup, sauteed spinach, sweet potatoes, and pan-seared fish of some sort...maybe salmon because it's pretty. For dessert, I would make carrot cake. Or maybe chocolate layer cake. I can't imagine I'd remember to make coffee, but I'd sure serve it with giant glasses of milk. Everyone would be wearing shorts or something equally comfortable and casual.
4. If you could be a fly on anyone's wall for a year, whose wall would you pick?
Roy Blount Jr.
5. If you could keep one of your life's most painful memories, and be rid of the rest, which one would you keep? Why?
An interesting question, since I choose as my superpower to be able to forget things when I want to...I'd probably choose to forget knowing the paternity of someone close to me, because I struggle with the truth that he needs to know, yet I was sworn to secrecy by someone who had no one else to tell. The knowledge has been like a hot rock, strung 'round my neck on a piece of jute for the greater part of my life.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-14 06:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-14 10:58 am (UTC)