Showers, memes
Jun. 2nd, 2003 05:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gurdonarkI am a person of silly prides and foolish prejudices. One of my silly points of each in LJ terms means that I rarely participate in those "answer these 5 questions" type memes. It's a shortcoming, I know, rather like being ashamed to take surveys which determine important issues like "which Bjork are you?" (thank goodness I am never Robert Bork) or "how compatible are you with the cast of 'Sanford and Son'". Usually, with surveys, I take an ignoble path--I take the survey and then don't post it in my journal.
I realize that this amounts to a form of hypocrisy. But I can take a small step to remedy a part of this hypocrisy. The always-intriguing posteranoisblue invented what she calls the Shower Meme, apparently because its genesis was the shower. I admit freely that I'm impressed, because my own shower time is sometimes spent singing Cheap Trick songs off-key, rather than evolving enhanced LJ interconnectivity. In this interview game, she provided me with five questions to answer. In turn, anyone who wants to play the game from here can state in comments "interview me", and I will supply that person with five questions. The interviewee then answers those questions in his/her journal. Of course, each set of questions will be unique to the commenter. I'm worried that I've already gotten this one wrong, because I forgot to say "please" to anoisblue, but I'll plod on anyway.
Here are the five questions for my "interview".
1. If you were to win the Pulitzer Prize for poetry, would you take it seriously?
Answer:
I give here a qualified yes. The first qualification, of course, is that my opinion of my poetry suggests to me that any such prize would be undeserved, and would give me more than a few chuckles. But the second qualification is more to the heart of the matter. I do believe that some poetry is much more to my taste and the general taste than other poetry. But I tend to encourage people to write what I call "poetry without judgment", and leave those aesthetics behind. I'm not sure there should "be" prizes for poetry. In light of this, one might imagine that I would want to play the saxophone at a jazz club on the night the awards are handed out, as some anti-awards gesture. In fact, though, I think that people try the best they can to make meaning of cultural expression, and to clue one another into its evaluation, and awards are just one more attempt. Rather than scorn the attempt, I'd merely accept any award, but know, deep down, that medals and badges are not what the game is really all about. I'd probably say so in an acceptance speech, but I'd do so in such a nice way nobody would be offended. Nobody, that is, other than the more deserving poets whom I'd trumped without the merit to do so.
2. Are there any adventures you still dream about doing?
Answer:
Yes. I daydream of hiking in remote places, such as the Canadian wilds or the Central American jungles. I suppose I daydream of more practical adventures, as well, but that one comes readily to mind (and is more comfortable to post).
3. What's the most adventurous thing you've done?
Answer:
Although at the time it seemed as natural as mowing grass, in hindsight I'd say working at a Summer job in which we ground gunpowder on an obsolete gunpowder mill. The mill had to be watered constantly, as dried gunpowder explodes. My part was to empty the jerry cans of unground gunpowder (little inch-long or so cylinders) into the mill. Nothing exploded during my grinding days.
4. Did you have a tree house or a hidden place to go when you were young?
Answer:
We lived during much of my childhood in a reconverted 1920s era boarding house my parents rescued from decrepitude. Behind this house, an alleyway ran amid vegetation between houses.
One part of this vegetation was a set of vine-like shrubs, which made a nearly perfect sheet of kid-cover. My brother, my friends and I would hide out in here from time to time. Nearby we climbed a huge tree, from which we could see long distances, so long as no parents saw us. Not far away, a drainage ditch served as a safari zone for us, in which we fished for tiny mosquito fish by affixing minnow nets to the end of long broomsticks. We hardly ever caught any that way (we thought it entirely un-sporting when new kids used a more conventional tow-sack seining operation to catch many), but we felt the thrill of the chase. Mosquito fish is as close as I came to "A River Runs Through It", which probably explains why I don't look like Brad Pitt.
5. What sort of boy were you?
I was a kid with a burr haircut who hovered between thin and overweight. I loved outdoor play. I fell in love with reading when our mother used to read "The Hardy Boys" to us. When I was 8, I discovered The World Book Encyclopedia, in which I read virtually all the few things I now know. I loved sports, but never was more than middling at them. I never really fit in, anywhere, and I think I was best summed up by my college friends, who one day assured me "yes, you ARE weird, but we like you that way". I was a "good kid", who really didn't like to break the rules. I had a really happy childhood, which I have since learned is not the experience of everyone. What sort of boy was I? Weird little kid with a smile, I suppose.
If anyone would like to join in on this meme, please feel free to comment "interview me",and I'll customize fun questions for you.
I realize that this amounts to a form of hypocrisy. But I can take a small step to remedy a part of this hypocrisy. The always-intriguing poster
anoisblue invented what she calls the Shower Meme, apparently because its genesis was the shower. I admit freely that I'm impressed, because my own shower time is sometimes spent singing Cheap Trick songs off-key, rather than evolving enhanced LJ interconnectivity. In this interview game, she provided me with five questions to answer. In turn, anyone who wants to play the game from here can state in comments "interview me", and I will supply that person with five questions. The interviewee then answers those questions in his/her journal. Of course, each set of questions will be unique to the commenter. I'm worried that I've already gotten this one wrong, because I forgot to say "please" to anoisblue, but I'll plod on anyway.Here are the five questions for my "interview".
1. If you were to win the Pulitzer Prize for poetry, would you take it seriously?
Answer:
I give here a qualified yes. The first qualification, of course, is that my opinion of my poetry suggests to me that any such prize would be undeserved, and would give me more than a few chuckles. But the second qualification is more to the heart of the matter. I do believe that some poetry is much more to my taste and the general taste than other poetry. But I tend to encourage people to write what I call "poetry without judgment", and leave those aesthetics behind. I'm not sure there should "be" prizes for poetry. In light of this, one might imagine that I would want to play the saxophone at a jazz club on the night the awards are handed out, as some anti-awards gesture. In fact, though, I think that people try the best they can to make meaning of cultural expression, and to clue one another into its evaluation, and awards are just one more attempt. Rather than scorn the attempt, I'd merely accept any award, but know, deep down, that medals and badges are not what the game is really all about. I'd probably say so in an acceptance speech, but I'd do so in such a nice way nobody would be offended. Nobody, that is, other than the more deserving poets whom I'd trumped without the merit to do so.
2. Are there any adventures you still dream about doing?
Answer:
Yes. I daydream of hiking in remote places, such as the Canadian wilds or the Central American jungles. I suppose I daydream of more practical adventures, as well, but that one comes readily to mind (and is more comfortable to post).
3. What's the most adventurous thing you've done?
Answer:
Although at the time it seemed as natural as mowing grass, in hindsight I'd say working at a Summer job in which we ground gunpowder on an obsolete gunpowder mill. The mill had to be watered constantly, as dried gunpowder explodes. My part was to empty the jerry cans of unground gunpowder (little inch-long or so cylinders) into the mill. Nothing exploded during my grinding days.
4. Did you have a tree house or a hidden place to go when you were young?
Answer:
We lived during much of my childhood in a reconverted 1920s era boarding house my parents rescued from decrepitude. Behind this house, an alleyway ran amid vegetation between houses.
One part of this vegetation was a set of vine-like shrubs, which made a nearly perfect sheet of kid-cover. My brother, my friends and I would hide out in here from time to time. Nearby we climbed a huge tree, from which we could see long distances, so long as no parents saw us. Not far away, a drainage ditch served as a safari zone for us, in which we fished for tiny mosquito fish by affixing minnow nets to the end of long broomsticks. We hardly ever caught any that way (we thought it entirely un-sporting when new kids used a more conventional tow-sack seining operation to catch many), but we felt the thrill of the chase. Mosquito fish is as close as I came to "A River Runs Through It", which probably explains why I don't look like Brad Pitt.
5. What sort of boy were you?
I was a kid with a burr haircut who hovered between thin and overweight. I loved outdoor play. I fell in love with reading when our mother used to read "The Hardy Boys" to us. When I was 8, I discovered The World Book Encyclopedia, in which I read virtually all the few things I now know. I loved sports, but never was more than middling at them. I never really fit in, anywhere, and I think I was best summed up by my college friends, who one day assured me "yes, you ARE weird, but we like you that way". I was a "good kid", who really didn't like to break the rules. I had a really happy childhood, which I have since learned is not the experience of everyone. What sort of boy was I? Weird little kid with a smile, I suppose.
If anyone would like to join in on this meme, please feel free to comment "interview me",and I'll customize fun questions for you.
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no subject
um btw, when you say "..I suppose I daydream of more practical adventures" does that involve naked people?
interview you!
Date: 2003-06-02 04:45 pm (UTC)Glad you're playing! Your five questions are:
1. What career/artistic achievement do you wish to achieve in the next five years that you feel you really can achieve as a pragmatic matter?
2. To what extent do you "fictionalize" your journal persona?
3. I follow your sidejournal/art project LJ "Crystal Park", but somehow never quite get the thread of it. Could you synopsize what has happened thus far?
4. Sometimes your journal suggests to me that you are both a compassionate person with real generosity and a passionate person with a real temper. Do you agree, and could you elaborate on how you work with both aspects of your personality (or, of course, set the record straight)
5. Have you ever really gotten over a broken heart, in those times in your life when your heart has been broken?
no subject
Date: 2003-06-02 04:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-02 05:00 pm (UTC)I like the thoughtful way that you approach things, so, yeah, toss me five if you please.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-02 05:08 pm (UTC)A study in progression
Date: 2003-06-02 05:22 pm (UTC)1. This is what I'll call "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" question, because it is about large goals just missed (if intriugingly attempted) despite hard effort. Sometimes the effort to create a body of work literally saps the life out of a musician. As your journal suggests that you are a passionate, driven artist, I perceive you may point your efforts toward something "large" and "ambitious". How do you think you can both find your unique voice and keep the stamina to try that large thing you seem pointed toward achieving?
2. We both accept the premise that the Word is a very powerful thing. What will you use your words to achieve, in concrete, 'by x I will' terms?
3. The price of intense drive is sometimes intense frustration.
What have you learned about coping with frustration?
4. How do you deal with being misunderstood, and in particular, with people mistaking the outer self/the outer look for the inner person?
5. I love the way you write, and your elusive, allusive persona. But let's take it at counterpoint. When you strip away all the words and images, what really gets you through the hard times?
I'm glad you're playing!
Date: 2003-06-02 05:26 pm (UTC)2. What was the worst thing that happened to you as a teen?
3. If you could have one departed friend or relative back, who would it be, and why?
4. What decision in your life did those around you tell you that you'd regret, that you make again tomorrow without reservation?
5. What has caused your positive transformations lately?
showering thanks
Date: 2003-06-02 05:35 pm (UTC)1. Tell me in detail about the junior high/high school crush that mattered most in your life. Not "gory" details, but the poignant little things about the person that that they didn't ask about in that song in "Grease".
2. What has helped you as a practical matter (speaking mundane external things now) find your writing voice?
3. An angel of the Lord appears to you, and imposed upon you as your doom that she must remove one painful incident from your life, thereby healing you of that incident forever. You are denied the commonplace option of saying "not a thing". What would you choose for your doom?
4. If you could sing like one woman in a duet with one man, who would you choose as the models for your voice? What would you sing?
5. When you stand at the pier of destiny, looking longingly at a ship that sailed away, what is on that ship?
no subject
Date: 2003-06-02 05:52 pm (UTC)interview me! (maybe)
Date: 2003-06-02 05:58 pm (UTC)Not sure.
But why not?! A good writing prompt is a good writing prompt. I guess I can't guarantee honesty...but that's not necessarily required, is it?
Re: showering thanks
Date: 2003-06-02 06:08 pm (UTC)Re: interview you!
Date: 2003-06-02 06:23 pm (UTC)It was a rhetorical question :D
- - - - - - - - - - -
Thank you for these questions and I shall answer truthfully (true!)
no subject
Date: 2003-06-02 07:48 pm (UTC)whorls without end
Date: 2003-06-02 07:52 pm (UTC)1. For 29 years you've nurtured a pearl inside. It will emerge when you are 35. The pearl will be free of your worries and your fears. You cannot foresee the pearl, or guess what it is. But the pearl is not a pearl, really--it's a metaphor. The pearl is a concrete thing that you'll do. It will change you and transform you and perhaps redeem you. Yet, it's not any of the conventional formulae for redemption or change. What is that pearl (or rather, what do you imagine it might be)?
2. You've been assigned to write a profile of an artist nearly totally unknown, but whose work you completely admire. Your editor tells you to submit three names, along with short sketches on why you'd profile that artist. Who are the artists, and what are the blurbs?
3. What passage in a novel completely transported you into a state of grace, and why?
4. You've opened a tea room which accomplishes every dream you've ever had for it. You've been asked to write a paragraph for a visitor's guide in which you pithily but completely sum up
its merits. You know that that this guide is circulated nationwide, and that visitors to your town rely on it heavily.
What does your paragraph read?
5. How have you been affected by racial disharmony where you grew up?
delighted you asked
Date: 2003-06-02 07:59 pm (UTC)1. You travel back in time. Your college advises you that it has reached its quota of journalism majors,but that if you stay, you may study anything else. You choose to stay, but you must completely change fields. What do you choose?
2. You wake up one day and find that by a quirk of Fate, you are to be a Pentecostal preacher for a single sermon, designated by an angel (with a nice smile and a rich sense of humour) to give one sermon. What is your topic, and what is your scriptural reference?
3. If you could forgive yourself one non-personal, non-intimate lapse, what would that lapse be?
4. You begin walking into a tunnel, which leads to the center of all that life means to you. One of your deceased relatives is there, to show you the way. Who is he or she, and what does s/he say to you?
5.What is the one thing you've said to an male friend that you'd now unsay? What is the one thing you've said to a female friend that you'd now unsay?
You cannot succumb to peer pressure when you are peerless
Date: 2003-06-02 08:04 pm (UTC)1. Life grants you 50 years more than your current entitlement.
What new concrete thing would you set out to learn?
2. Tell me in a paragraph what is the most gorgeous photograph that the camera just wouldn't capture?
3. You have been appointed Sir Knight, to fight for the Saxons against the Normans in a jousting tournament. What emblem do you bear on your shield, and what color is the ribbon on your horse?
No "non-violent" easy ways out permitted :).
4. You may return to one cafe for one moment of your life, for ten minutes. What cafe are you in, and what friends join you there?
5. Your job in Heaven, it appears, is to instruct beginners in art. You have divine skills, needless to say. But what would you teach them so that they might really see what beauty means?
I was hoping you'd say that!
Date: 2003-06-02 08:11 pm (UTC)1. You've been naughty, and after your death, you've passed into this curious Purgatory. The good news is that you will ascend to Heaven. The bad news is that in order to do so, you must forgive your mother the thing that burns within you the deepest. Without revealing unduly personal details, what is that thing you must forgive?
2. You are forced to emigrate from Australia. You must choose a place to live, and Germany is out of the question. To which city would you go? Why?
3. What is your favorite poem, and why?
4. In your garden, you may plant one tree and six flowers. What are they, and why?
5. What ordinary thing have you learned to appreciate in the past year that you took for granted before? How will that knowledge shape you?
something interesting learned tangentially about Blaises
Date: 2003-06-02 08:44 pm (UTC)through yours, I found a question in some other survey
which character from nonenglish literature are you?
and I thought a while and said well maybe Blaise from
the old Merlin cycle, and for fun googled the name and found
that one of my heroines Modesty Blaise got her name from
him or Peter ODonnell says:
At that time I was reading a book by C.S. Lewis. It was called 'That Hideous Strength' and featured the resuscitation of Merlin from the days of the Arthurian legend. It was here that I learnt that Merlin's tutor was a magician called Blaise. This was a monosyllable (as required for cadence) and it also had a fiery ring to it. So she became Modesty Blaise.
something pleasaant about this little odd learning from live
journal...thought to share it...since it starts with your
entry,
+Seraphim.
Re: something interesting learned tangentially about Blaises
Date: 2003-06-02 08:52 pm (UTC)I love That Hideous Strength. These little odd learnings make LJ so rewarding.
speed
Date: 2003-06-02 08:58 pm (UTC)I expect the acceleration sufficeintly extended
would relativity being what it is turn them into
middle aged men sitting peacefully on a porch
looking out over the fields with pipe in hand
or something...+Seraphim
no subject
Date: 2003-06-02 10:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-06-03 01:04 am (UTC)Because my heart is beating out of my chest in anticipation, curiosity and trepidation ...
Because I cannot walk away from reading this without asking ...
Please sir, give me five?
Five intriguing questions
Date: 2003-06-03 02:21 am (UTC)1. You're been assigned to prepare the paragraph about your portion of Calgary for inclusion in th Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The blurb may be comic, but must be longer than, say, "mostly harmless". What do you write?
2. Tell me about a moment with a distant relative that will bring you joy forever, even though it was the smallest thing.
If there is no such moment, tell me of a tiny opportunity lost.
3. Please express in five sentences the answer to this question: "People who do not understand me usually miss the following things about me:".
4. On the moon station, your job is to run the hydroponic garden under glass. What plants do you grow, and how does the garden look?
5. You have been granted one wish, with which you may manifest one item not larger than a breadbox, which must not be money, currency or other spendable things. Instead, it must be a gift you must give away. What do you wish for, and to whom will you give the gift?
Five questions to delight and amuse
Date: 2003-06-03 02:32 am (UTC)1. Your doom has been pronounced, and consists of having to re-live ten minutes of your life that seemed so insignificant at the time, but seem so precious now. Which ten minutes shall you re-live?
2. Without invading her privacy, write a detailed paragraph of the one woman other than yourself whose hurt you'd heal, and concrete ways in which that woman would be different without her pain. Be general about identities, but concrete and practical about ways and means.
3. The writer Sandra Tsing Loh observed "All autobiography is fiction". As you compose your novel, what is the one thing about yourself that you wish your readers understood, but that you find impossible to put on the page?
4. During the time from ages 18 to 25, most people make at least one choice, by commission or omission, which sends their lives down various pathways. Imagine that you must make a choice completely different than the major choices you made during that era. How would you re-choose? What do you imagine would have changed? No cheating--it's not an option to keep everything as is.
5. Peace can be so elusive, particularly for those who long for it the most desperately. Tell me three concrete ways in which you've found day to day peace in your life.
no subject
Date: 2003-06-03 06:05 am (UTC)