An archive of my old LiveJournal
Do you suffer from occasional or frequent insomnia? Do you have any special tricks or remedies? How does it impact your life?
Well, it does take me a while to fall asleep, but really, what I’d diagnose myself with isn’t insomnia as much as doesn’t-have-the-sense-to-go-to-bed-at-a-reasonable-hour-itis.
Have you ever had a nightmarish roommate? What made you incompatible? How did you eventually resolve your conflicts?
This isn’t technically a roommate from hell story. It’s a story about the ex-roommate who (I’m 99% certain) stole my credit card, then convinced his friends that I’d been going after him.
A tale of theft, compulsive lying, police, and not covering one’s tracks.
Happy birthday, Nostradamus. Many people consider the prophecies of Nostradamus to be uncannily accurate, while others remain skeptical. Do you think it’s possible to predict the future?
It’s absolutely possible to extrapolate certain aspects of the future from current and past events. The sun has risen and set every day for the entire length of human history, so we can say with certainty that it will do so tomorrow, even if it’s hidden behind clouds. We can predict large-scale weather and climate patterns, though not details like where next year’s hurricanes will make landfall. We can predict that major earthquakes will hit California over the next few decades, though we don’t know for sure where or when they will strike.
As far as human activity and society, we can predict some things, particularly in the short term, again by looking at what’s happened up to this point and extrapolating. But there’s always the chance that something unexpected will completely derail it. I suspect sociologists and science fiction writers have about as equal potential for accuracy.
As for prophecy and Nostradamus? Say something vague and cryptic enough, and there will always be someone happy to go throught he contortions needed to make it fit something they consider important.
Spike and Angel, President Roslin and Gaius Baltar, Harry and Hermione—shippers often find pairings that the original author might have overlooked. What coupling of fictional characters would you most like to see?
I’m just hoping Desmond and Penny will survive Lost.
A lot of characters in kids’ books have it pretty good, from calling the start of the wild rumpus to ordering room service from their hotel suite. If you could be any character from children’s literature, who would you be?
I’m not sure who I’d want to be, but there are plenty of times when I feel like Alexander, who had the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Maybe I should move to Australia.
[checks Internet] Holy crap, they made it into a musical.
Some people spend their whole lives preparing the answer to this question: What albums are on your personal all-time Top 10 list?
Tori Amos: Toss-up between Little Earthquakes* and Scarlet’s Walk
Vertical Horizon: Everything You Want*
Aimee Mann: Lost In Space*
Conan the Barbarian Soundtrack
Liz Phair: Somebody’s Miracle
Garbage: Garbage
Gin Blossoms: New Miserable Experience
The Nightmare Before Christmas Soundtrack. (The special edition has some decent covers, too, though only the Fiona Apple version of Sally’s song really made an impression.)
Nina Gordon: Toss-up between Tonight and the Rest of My Life and Bleeding Heart Graffiti
Evanescence: Evanescence (I almost listed the Rent cast album instead, but when I thought about it, there’s still a lot of recitative on the recording.)
This is mostly in no particular order, but the ones that came to mind immediately are marked with asterisks. I made a point not to list more than one album by the same artist, but it was tough to pick a favorite Tori album — and I can’t quite choose between the two Nina Gordon albums.
Overall, these just don’t have a single bad track on them. Though I’ll admit I don’t have “Me and a Gun” in rotation on my playlist — it’s just not a song you want to hear unexpectedly…kind of like Vienna Teng’s “Passage.”
What was the first music album you ever bought or owned? Do you still listen to it or have you moved on?
If I remember correctly, the first album I bought was the soundtrack to Glory. I haven’t listened to the album itself in a long time, but the music’s on the instrumental mix.