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June 05, 2006
Jill's Meme
Because as you know I can't resist the damn things... it's an OCD thing, perhaps. Anyway, this one's from Jill.
1. What curse word do you use the most? Without a doubt, it’s the F word. Noun, verb, adjective… it’s such a versatile word. I also tend to use a certain insult quite often… the one about vacuuming roosters. Which makes no sense to use as an insult, actually -- since we men are so gosh-darn thrilled about the act itself, why would committing said act be an insult? Where's the logic in calling someone that when we're unhappy with them? I mean, if... um, anywhoo…
2. Do you own an iPod? Finally got my first one for Christmas; got the video one, though… so when I did it, I did it right.
3. Who on your MySpace “Top 8” do you talk to the most? While I get MySpace’s appeal to others, I don’t and won’t do it.
4. What time is your alarm clock set for? Once I finally fall asleep, I sleep so soundly that I have the uncanny ability to roll over and hit snooze about 8 times without ever waking up enough to realize that I’ve done it. Thus, I have to set my alarm about an hour before I really do need to be awake. So, my alarm clock is set for 5:30.
5. What color is your room? Standard apartment coloring; cream-ish walls, beige carpeting.
6. Flip flops or sneakers? I grew up in the Midwest; we talk differently. Are you asking me ‘sandals or tennis shoes?’ Until a couple of years ago I would have answered with the Nikes, but Florida converted me to being a sandals wearer.
7. Would you rather take the picture or be in the picture? Take the picture. I’d rather play creatively with the composition of the shot, and besides there hasn’t been a good photograph taken of me in 25 years at least. I don’t photograph well.
8. What was the last movie you watched? In the theater? Probably “Walk The Line” -- I never go to movie theaters anymore. On DVD, probably “Good Night and Good Luck.” On a plane, it was a tragically sanitized version of “Caddyshack.”
9. Do any of your friends have children? Almost all of them. I think I only have a couple of friends who have not yet kicked out an ankle-biter or two.
10. Has anyone ever called you lazy? I call myself lazy on a daily basis. No sense hiding from the truth.
11. Do you ever take medication to help you fall asleep faster? As an insomniac, I would inject horse urine if I thought it would help me fall asleep faster. As it stands, Tylenol Simply Sleep occupies a place of honor in my nightstand.
12. What CD is currently in your CD player? One I burned off my iTunes playlist to have in my car. (I hardly ever listen to CDs anymore outside of the car, I’m an MP3 guy.) Among the artists on said CD are The Raconteurs, Pearl Jam, Michael Penn, and Snow Patrol.
13. Do you prefer regular or chocolate milk? Neither. I’m lactose intolerant.
14. Has anyone told you a secret this week? Of course. And for $100, I’ll tell you what it was.
15. Have you ever given someone a hickey? Not since high school.
16. Who was the last person to call you? Probably my brother, who was trying to find out if I’d arrived in DC yet this weekend.
17. Do you think people talk about you behind your back?I’d be rather naïve to think that in the corporate world, people weren’t talking about me behind my back, now wouldn’t I?
18. Did you watch cartoons as a child? As a elementary school child, it was Looney Tunes, Scooby Doo and the old Tennessee Tuxedo/Underdog shows. As an adult child, it’s Aqua Teen Hunger Force (number one in the hood, G!) and the Simpsons.
19. How many siblings do you have? One brother, two years younger than me.
20. Are you shy around the opposite sex? Only when it counts. I can playfully flirt for fun with the best of them… but I get flustered when I really am interested in someone specific.
21. What movie do you know every line to? I’m a guy; we memorize movies like we forget anniversaries. Among the ones I am most prone to sprinkle into my conversations, though, are “Caddyshack,” “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” and “Bull Durham.”
22. Do you own any band t-shirts? Metallica/Dysfunctional Family Picnic 2003, Van Hagar 2004. When Tim and I do our relive-the-teenage-head banging concert every summer, I usually get a shirt.
23. What is your favorite salad dressing? Ranch, maybe, or blue cheese.
24. Do you read for fun? Do you sniff to smell?
25. Do you cry a lot? No.
26. Who was the last person to text message you? I hate texting with the scorching heat of 1000 white hot suns. I refuse to engage in it or to even acknowledge a text message.
27. Do you have a desktop computer or a laptop? Laptop.
28. Are you currently wanting any piercings or tattoo? I’d really like to go get a tattoo. Maybe this summer.
29. What is the weather like? Mercurial, a little precocious, and very droll.
30. Would you ever date someone covered in tattoos? Covered in them? Perhaps not. But a strategically placed tat or two is hot.
31. Is sex before marriage wrong? Only between the best man and the bride.
32. When was the last time you slept on the floor? Do air mattresses on the floor count? If you mean actually on the floor, I think it would have been like May 2001, when spending a few days back in Boston with Dave and Damian at Stover’s place.
33. How many hours of sleep do you need to function? Seeing as how I rarely fall asleep before 2 am, I’ve been getting by on about 3-4 hours of sleep a night for years.
34. Are you in love or lust? Love is just lust strong enough to make you put up with the other person’s s*it.
35. Are your days full and fast-paced? Who wrote this question, Up With F***in' People?
36. Do you pay attention to calories on the back of packages? Not really. That would imply that I had either the time or the discipline to read the labels. Actually, when I do read the labels, I’m looking for sodium content or fat content.
37. How old will you be turning on your next birthday? 38. Anyone saying “happy birthday” to me will be drawn and quartered.
38. Are you picky about spelling and grammar? Mostly, yes. The occasional typo on a blog entry doesn’t bug me, but the deliberate misspelling of words that has resulted from texting/IM culture drives me bat-spit crazy. As for grammar, I am one of those people who has to bite his tongue to keep from correcting people’s grammar when they butcher it.
39. Have you ever been to Six Flags? No. Not really the amusement park type, I guess.
40. Do you get along better with the same or opposite sex? Equally, I think.
41. Do you like cottage cheese? To me it’s just spoiled milk.
42. Do you sleep on your side, tummy, or back? Mostly my back.
43. Have you ever bid for something on eBay? My autographed baseball collection has been compiled mostly on eBay.
44. Do you enjoy giving hugs? For better or worse, I am a hugger.
45. What song did you last sing out loud? “Why" by Jason Aldean. I'm a country fan. Sue me.
46. What is your favorite TV show? It was “The West Wing” until Sorkin left. Now I guess I’d say “Scrubs.”
47. Which celebrity, dead or alive, would you want to have lunch with? Lunch, huh? That’s all it gets to be, is lunch? What fun is that? Fine. Then I’ll talk writing with F. Scott Fitzgerald.
48. Last time you had butterflies in your stomach? Every time I go up on stage in front of some conference, I have a few butterflies. It’s healthy; if you didn’t have ‘em when speaking in front of people, you’d be too confident.
49. What one thing do you wish you had? Kevin Federline’s wife? Nah, too trashy. I’ll just go with ‘a winning lottery ticket for $190 million.
50. Favorite lyrics? Pretty much the entire song “Black” by Pearl Jam.
Comments
I have a few comments here.
4. Snooze buttons are the spawn of satan.
21. How hot is Bull Durham. Sigh.
29. I appreciate your weather description. Wry. Witty. Quite impressive.
50. I love "Black". But I'm a bit concerned for your psychological well-being if those are your favorite lyrics.
Posted by: Jill at June 5, 2006 09:36 PM
Nothing to worry about, Jill. It's just that as a writer, I respect and love when a writer manages to wholly capture a moment in time or an emotional state of being, to the extent that virtually anyone reading or listening will relate and think it's about them.
And I ask you, has any songwriter ever captured the visceral, wrenching pain of being rejected and losing something one believed would always be there, better than Vedder did in this song? If the goal of writing is to reflect life, I think Eddie does it here better than any songwriter probably ever has.
The song doesn't speak to me anymore, at least in the sense of relating to my life. But there was a time when it did, and to this day I have never heard a writer capture my mood and feelings like "Black" did. And so to this day, just as a writer I respect the hell out of the accomplishment.
Posted by: Curmudgeon at June 5, 2006 10:25 PM
Oh, no. It's brilliant. It does all that and more. I respect and adore works that capture darkness so eloquently, I just am mindful of the self-defining power that we can subconsciously give to things we call "favorite", so I try not to associate that word with the terribly negative, no matter how masterful. "Favorite" is a vague--and as such, dangerous--word. I just wanted to make sure you were using it carefully. Don't drown yourself in darkness. Leave that to the goth kids who think they're the first to listen to The Cure.
Posted by: Jill at June 6, 2006 12:03 AM
1) It's 6-6--06. If there's ever been a day to drown myself in darkness, wouldn't this be it?
2) If I weren't drowning in darkness, I couldn't be a curmudgeon, now could I?
3) I still love that song and the brilliance with which Vedder captures those raw emotions and gives them voice.
Posted by: Curmudgeon at June 6, 2006 07:06 AM
My song choice will surprise many.
Posted by: Corey at June 6, 2006 08:50 PM
For #8 and #22, for me it is definitely Caddyshack. I've seen t-shirts that show quotes from that movie and they are so funny. Caddyshack is the best golf movie ever made. Of course, the worst golf movie ever made is Caddyshack 2.
Posted by: Shawn at July 16, 2006 09:25 AM
