Game: Ask the Person Below You

[Pompey Bum]

What was the question again?

What is the stupidest thing you've ever done?

[Clopin]

Mmmhhhmmm well I dropped out of high school which I regret doing now and which has probably held me back a little, so that was pretty stupid. Stupidest might have been flying to Vancouver in order to bed a notorious tart I met online when I was sixteen in an effort to lose my virginity (which was successful) and setting myself up for a series of very bad experiences.

Same question,

[Pompey Bum]

There have been lots but stepping in front of that motorcycle in London was right up there.

What living author would you most like to be friends with?

[Clopin]

Tragically I read almost no contemporary writers so my answer is J.K Rowling in the hopes that she might give some of her poorer friends some of that fortune of hers, or at least treat us to nice dinners and what not, or let me stay at her house.

What dead author would you most like to be friends with (I choose Virginia Woolf)

[Pompey Bum]

Probably Dostoyevsky.

What decade of the 20th century would you like to have lived through in your 20s?

[Clopin]

None of them particularly, but I only know of them by caricature, if at all; let's say the 90's then.

Dostoyevsky would be the word friend! You would have to constantly bail him out of gambling debts and fight with him about religion.

What would your last meal be if you were going to be executed?

[Dark Muse]

Hmmm that is a tough one but probably something Italian


What is your most interesting skill?

[Clopin]

None, I have no really good skills (writing that reminded me of Napolean Dynomite haha), and I'm not exceptionally good at anything unfortunately.

Same question since I didn't really answer it.

[Pompey Bum]

Probably reading ancient languages, although I'm not sure that qualifies as "interesting" to many.

Will the United States eventually send ground troops against ISIS? (Not should it happen but will it happen?)

[bounty]

doubtful with Obama as president, possible if a republican wins the presidency and if the situation continues to deteriorate, I say probable.

what are some of the great romances you've seen on screen---what two actors had great chemistry? and conversely, bad chemistry?

[Pompey Bum]

Well, Boris Karloff looked like he meant it when he said, "WOMAN GOOOOOD!" in Bride of Frankenstein. And Bogie and Bacall weren't kidding when they shared spit. Aside from that, though, I've never been much convinced. Love is not like the movies. I think people would be happier if they stopped expecting it to be.

Who was the best character from Popeye?

[Pendragon]

Popeye himself.

Who was number one: Bugs, Daffy, or Porky?

[Dark Muse]

I had a preference for Daffy

What is the last good book you read?

[North Star]

Ansel Adams: Yosemite and the High Sierra, although the only actual reading there is the 16-page introductory essay by John Szarkowski. Dubliners would probably be a more literary answer.


Same question - and a note to you, Dark Muse, to check the famous quoted lines poetry contest thread.

[Dark Muse]

I just finished Year or Wonders by Geraldine Brooks and thought it a wonderful book.

What is your favorite TV show?

[Clopin]

Seinfeld for sure.

Do you prefer a room which is too hot or too cold?

[Dark Muse]

Is there such a thing as too cold? There are times I wish I could have a giant walk in freezer at my house to hang out in.

What would be your ideal place to go on vacation?

[Clopin]

Vvvvvietnam

Same question.

[Pompey Bum]

C-c-c-c-cambodia!

Would you pay money for a massage (neither medically nor sexually related)?

[bounty]

i wanna visit Ireland!

I would not pay for a massage although I wholeheartedly believe in its benefit.

what's a really simple pleasure in life for you?

[Pompey Bum]

Reading in bed.

Same question.

[Pendragon]

Finding a rare book at a price I can afford

Same question

[Clopin]

Drinking coffee on days when I have no responsibilities and reading while doing so :)

What's your favourite drink? (you can't say water)

[Pompey Bum]

Well brandy, although I only drink it a few times a year. Otherwise coffee.

What is the first calendar year you can remember knowing about (in other words, when you understood that it was that year)?

[Pendragon]

1965. I was five, my parents were splitting up, we moved to SW Virginia from Fort Bragg, NC, my cousin taught me to read. How could I not remember that year?

What was the first book you remember reading?

[bounty]

I know when I was little I read lots of dr seuss and go dog go, but I don't have an actual memory of doing so. I also know I read a couple of books I got from the public library, Indians of the east, and Indians of the west, but I don't remember that specifically either. so the memories are too vague for me to say in all honesty, "I remember reading that." same for most things in high school but I can make an exception for ethan frome, which I distinctly remember because I read it in one day, while listening to the toys in the attic album by aerosmith over and over all day long.

the next one might have been, post college years, reading never cry wolf all in one sitting when I was tent bound in Alaska.

what are a few cover versions of some of your favorite songs that you've really enjoyed?

[Pompey Bum]

My goodness, Pen, you are an old reb, aren't you? :)

Mine was 1966, by the way. I have scattered memories before that--some quite vivid--but from 1966 on my life is an unbroken narrative.

Almost nothing for covers. Janis Joplin did a (mostly) superior version of Kris Kristofferson's "Me and Bobby McGee," I guess, but by and large I go for originals.

What book "turned you" into a reader?

[tonywalt]

Catcher in the Rye.

Same question

[Pompey Bum]

The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Changed my life. :)

What was the longest crappy book you ever made it through?

[Clopin]

I basically only read classics and generally I enjoy pretty much everything I read to a large extent. When I read The Idiot I remember not enjoying the first half very much... but then I quite liked the second half and it's a book I need to reread.

The book that turned me into a reader (of serious literature, because I've always read) was Crime and Punishment.

Which philosopher would you feel most comfortable with as a life coach who also had control of your finances and power of attorney?

[Pompey Bum]

Plato as life coach.
Confucius as financial advisor.
Jesus as power of attorney (friends in high places).

That was fun. Same question.

[Clopin]

Schopenhauer can have all three I suppose. I tried to think of independent ones for each category, maybe Kant should be my financial advisor or power of attorney though.

What book would you have everyone on Earth read if you had the power to do so and if you don't pick a book you explode.

[Pompey Bum]

Oh wait, fire Confucius. Adam Smith for financial advisor.

I dunno, maybe A Christmas Carol. It probably wouldn't help, but it couldn't hurt.

Sorry for the lack of creativity today, but I'm curious: same question.

[Clopin]

Haha I'll take Adam Smith too, I was racking my mind to think of a 'philosopher' with financial sense and I forgot all about economists. Think I'll take John Stewart Mill as life coach while we're at it.

I didn't have anything in mind, but either The Compete Calvin and Hobbes if children are reading it, or else The Brothers Karamazov for adults.

Do you have very strong opinions about literature (like Bloom or Nabokov do)?

[Pompey Bum]

My approach to literature (like my approach to religion) is intensely personal. Literary orthodoxies (a la Bloom) like religious orthodoxies are--ironically--anathema to me. So my feelings about literature are strong but--eccentric?

Which Grimm brothers or Disney heroine would you most like to, um, date?

[Clopin]

Who else but Belle? (well... Jasmine for the "um" part)

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JHBAUxllzpU

What literary heroine (she doesn't have to be the main character or anything, Avdotya Romanovna is a valid pick, for example) would you agree to marry (catch, you are transported to her world instead of the other way around).

[Clopin]

Haha watching that clip I wonder how it never struck me that a bookstore can stay in business in a town where a person is considered a dangerous eccentric for even reading a book in the first place.

[Pompey Bum]

Well, Natasha is the obvious answer, although I wouldn't want to live through the French invasion of Russia. Plus Natasha sort of stopped being Natasha after she married Pierre. So, I dunno, maybe Sophia Western from Tom Jones--smart, tough, beautiful (but pre-feminist). And I would love to live the life of an 18th century country squire. On my bad days, I'm way too much like her father (Squire Western) in the first place.

Same question.

[Clopin]

Natasha is a hoe. And it would be cheating to say Susan Pevensie just because I want to get to Narnia and uh... she looks like this,https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/2069215806/image.jpg

Based on character I'll marry... Esmeralda from Notre Dame.

What is your favourite single myth or legend (not epic, keep it short).

[Pompey Bum]

Definitely Sun Wukong's war against Heaven.

Venus or Diana?

[papayahed]

Venus

Have you ever gone country line dancing?

[Pendragon]

Nope. I would rather people think me unable to dance than prove it for them.

Do you play guitar?

[bounty]

i don't play any musical instrument, though i have a wooden recorder i learned the scales on, and hot cross buns too. i really should pick it back up.

(from some posts a bit ago---i remember being especially attracted to agnes, david Copperfield's second wife, and a little bit of caroline and Shirley from charlotte bronte's Shirley)


what are three of your favorite scenes from movies you've enjoyed?

[Pompey Bum]

The housing project raid in Dawn of the Dead
The spider-god comes for Karin in Through a Glass Darkly
Rick puts Ilsa on the plane in Casablanca. *sniff sniff* We'll always have Paris!

Is Ilsa even a name? Isn't it just Lisa with dyslexia?

Who was the best minor character in Casablanca?

[papayahed]

Sam, of course.

Do you have a good egg salad recipe?

[bounty]

even when I used to eat eggs, I didn't eat egg salad. one of the small handful of fairly common foods/food mixes I don't like. the egg and mayonnaise mix, or egg and salad dressing mix was a bad one for me.

I think maybe id want some curry and paprika though...smiles.

if you have seen the movie avatar, what's your favorite scene in the movie?

[Pompey Bum]

When Papa Smurf and Lazy Smurf ate all the sarsaparilla?

Okay, sorry. Same question.

[bounty]

ah I cannot be the only one to have seen avatar am I?

[Pompey Bum]

When all the blue men in the group started to beat the drums really hard?

In your opinion, who was the worst American president in your lifetime?

[bounty]

ive only seen the movie once---am not remembering that part. maybe I can hunt it up.

I like the scene where neytiri figures out to rescue jakes human body and they both say to the other, "I see you" and then at the very end, when jake gives up his human form so his avatar can exist without it, and he and neytiri can be together.

I was too young to pay a lot of attention to jimmy carter, but from what ive read, he was pretty bad---and interestingly enough, often compared/contrasted in that regard, to Obama, who hands down gets my vote for worst president.

should the united states have boycotted the 1980 Olympic games in Moscow? (I know someone personally who didn't get to go).

[Pompey Bum]

No. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan turned out to be a good thing.

What Dostoyevsky novel would make the best Broadway show?

[Dark Muse]

I think The Idiot could be a good Broadway production.


Have you ever judged a book by its cover?

[Pompey Bum]

No. A book's cover has no impact on my choice to buy it or my opinion of the book one I've read it. Still, I like book covers as a kind of art form, and always like seeing them on ebooks. But even then, I don't choose to read because of the cover.

Have you ever been on a flight in which the oxygen masks descended?

[bounty]

flying always scares me, and sometimes it scares the bejeebers out of me! no oxygen masks but one flight I was on was bucking, and rolling and yawing really badly. I was sooooo glad when we landed.

have you ever parachuted?

[Pendragon]

No. My dad was a paratrooper based out of Fort Bragg, NC during two tours of duty in Vietnam. I was born on base...

Do you get vertigo in high buildings?

[Clopin]

I do a little looking over balconies and what not.

Do you suffer from claustrophobia?

[Pompey Bum]

Not as a rule, although I had it once really badly walking through Hezzekiah's tunnel, a narrow (and narrowing) passage cut in the bedrock beneath Jerusalem (featuring rising water as the walls draw closer). So maybe It's just a question of circumstance.

Have you ever felt panic or nausea from being in a large crowd?

[bounty]

not panic or nausea, and not even discomfort, but im always acutely aware of that im in a large crowd (the few times I am) and what that might mean for my individuality and my ethics.

there's a song by country artist eric church, called springsteen. one of the lines is: "Funny how a melody sounds like a memory, Like the soundtrack to a July Saturday night, Springsteen"

(im thinking of it because im listening to springsteen right now)

I understand the message of the lyrics is that some songs take us back to a particular place in time. for eric church (at least in the song), it was springsteen music that did it.

I hope bunches of people answer this one:

do you have some songs in your life that jog your memory, and take you back to special places, or to special people?

[Dark Muse]

Yes I do. To give one example off the top of my head the song Schism by Tool reminds me of a very good friend. He was the one that first introduced me to the band and that was the first song I heard by them and Tool instantly became a favorite band.

What book had the most impact on you?

[Pendragon]

The Bible. Fictional book-- Any of the Original Sherlock Holmes Collections by Doyle

Who is your favorite American author?

[Dark Muse]

That is a tough one but I am going to have to go with Poe above all others.

What is your faveorite childhood movie?

[Clopin]

do you have some songs in your life that jog your memory, and take you back to special places, or to special people?

Yes, but songs don't do it nearly as well as smells do.

Dark Muse my favourite childhood movie is probably Toy Story or Cinderella.

How many books do you own?

[Pendragon]

Hard to say. I have about 150 to go trade at the used bookstore, and the house is filled with filled bookcases.

What is one book you'd love to have if you could afford it?

[bounty]

ive got ~4300 books. years ago I got the idea to keep an excel file in case anything happened to them, the file would be helpful for replacement purposes. also, it helps when im out used book shopping and I don't remember if I have this or that particular book. its also fun to share with friends.

agreed on smells. even though this isn't an example, but interestingly enough, the public library in the city I grew up in (still nearby) has a distinct smell unlike any other library ive been in. I recently told one of the staff you could blindfold me and drop me in the middle of the place and id know where I was.

I don't think I had a favorite childhood movie...but I do remember liking everything we went to the theaters to see.

give a little bit by supertramp takes me right back to a pizza place that was a popular high school hangout, and also reminds me of two old friends from those days who I am going to get to see this summer (soon!) when they are home for their reunion. im actually fetching one at the airport a couple hours away in the wee hours of the morning and really looking forward to it. there are a handful of other songs too.

I tend not to think of books as collectible that way. so I don't have my mind on a first edition huck finn by mark twain, a signed copy of anything by hemingway or anything like that. but I do know I like the instances on pawn stars when someone brings in a book to sell, and rick calls in Rebecca, the book expert (who I have a crush on!) and she talks about the book and its value.

what's your favorite thing about forrest gump (the movie or the character)?

[Clopin]

Haha I just looked up Rebecca Romney on your recommendation, what a cutie.

I like that everything turns out alright for Lt Dan.

If you were to open a restaurant what sort of food would you want to serve? Would it be upscale, pub food, Mexican... etc?

[Pompey Bum]

Chinese, specializing in dumplings.

Which literary or cinematic villain do you feel the most sympathy for?

[Clopin]

Mordred, it's not his fault he's a hunchbacked incest baby whose dad tried to drown him when he was born. "Traitor to king Arthur" my ***.

Same question.

[Pompey Bum]

Maybe Rogojin from The Idiot. He can't help it that he's the devil.

Who is the least appealing hero/main character in literature? (Anti-heroes are off limits).

[Clopin]

I like Rogozhin too, is he the devil? I thought he was just obsessively in love, I should reread The Idiot.

And hmm, let's see... Dante the pilgrim certainly seems like a bit of an *******, Emma Bovary is usually disliked and I dislike her myself, I don't care for Emma Woodhouse either, Arkady Dolgurokov is sort of lame if we're talking Dostoyevsky and Arkady from Father's and Sons doesn't do much if he is the main character...

Okay, Emma Bovary is my least favourite.

Would you go to a Star Trek convention in costume?

[Pompey Bum]

Yes, he plays the devil to Myshkin's Christ, and they end up in the sack together, beside the corpse (or sacrifice?) of the disciple they both vied for. Great book.

If I ever decided to go to a Star Trek convention (just for a lark), I'm sure I would want to wear a costume/disguise.

Assuming you did the same, what character would you choose?

[Clopin]

I honestly have never seen Star Trek, but the Klingon officer I suppose.

How come you don't like Star Wars? (okay so I'm asking the person above me)

[Pompey Bum]

On an artistic level, it helped to move films and culture from the substantive to the "iconic" (something I call Warholism). I see this as a hugely negative trend in my lifetime, which is likely to be rejected (with the rest of Postmodernism) by the coming generation. Aside from that, I found them all a little superficial. I only saw the first three, though, and didn't hate any of them.

Why do you like them? (Question open to all).

[Clopin]

Good music and character design (Darth Vader/Stormtroopers) and I saw A New Hope in theatres when I was seven or something and it blew my mind. I still think they are good movies beyond just nostalgic appeal too. Not the prequel trilogy though, it's horrible, honestly horrible.

How much do you like gossiping about people you know?

[Pompey Bum]

I agree about the music but not the character development. Still, to each his own.

I like gossiping with someone I trust. Otherwise it seems tawdry and I avoid it.

Do you care whether you have a funeral service?

[Clopin]

I don't care much, but I would like to have one.

And I meant character costumes and things like Vader being an asthmatic voiced by James Earl Jones, I agree that the development is pretty trite, though I like Luke.

If you really liked someone and you were gently rebuffed how many times would you (not obnoxiously) try again before giving up entirely?

[Pompey Bum]

Try once more, but wait about six months. You have to make her think she was right to say no, and to be moved by what a steadfast guy you are to have handled it so well. Just don't get too easily a friend in the meantime. You still dig her that way, and she needs to see it. Then if she doesn't break down after six months, have nothing to do with her at all, forever, or until she begs. That's how it works.

Would you start attending a church service because you thought it was a good way to meet people interested in serious romantic relationships?

[Clopin]

I'm not interested in serious relationships, but I attended a church talent show my coworker was involved in because he invited me and was a very nice guy, and I was shocked at how many pretty girls were in attendance. I wanted to join a discipleship when i was in Victoria to learn more about Christianity in a social setting too so yeh, the cute religious girls are a bonus.

And she's on hold for a few years now at least, until I get back there and 'run into' her by 'accident'.

Do you think that in most relationships one person doesn't particularly care, while the other cares quite a lot (about their being together)?

[Dark Muse]

I wouldn't say "most" relationships are like that but than it is probably more common than one would like to think.

Would you stay with someone you weren't really into anymore because you didn't want to have to deal with breaking up with them?

[Clopin]

I would stay with her until someone better came along, or if I really disliked being with her I would just end it and deal with the breakup.

What temperature do you like your room to be at when you sleep and how do you control temperature with blankets/clothing to achieve a perfect temperature (as in, lots of clothing lots of blankets, lots of clothing no blankets, lots of blankets no clothing, etc)?

[Dark Muse]

I like it to be very cold when I sleep so I keep my bedroom window open and sometimes turn on my fan depending on how warm it is outside.

What be your ideal place to go for your honeymoon?

[bounty]

id guess an ideal sleeping temperature would be somewhere in the 50s, low 60s at most.

I would say a 3-4 week bike trip around Ireland but that's just me and im only half the equation.

clopin---I loved that scene where lieutenant dan came back for forrest's wedding and was walking and he had a fiancé!

that's consistent with my favorite thing about the movie, how forrest's enduring love for the people in his life, redeemed them. this was especially true for jenny. in fact, I think the movie was as much, if not more, about her than forrest.

im reading (very slowwwwwwwwwwwly) a Charles dickens biography and it struck me recently, I don't know anyone whose last name is dickens. and then I started thinking, I don't know any hemingways, poes, hawthornes, austens, brontes or bucks either. I do know however some Clemens, hardys, irvings and a few others.

do you know some people who share any famous authors' last names?

[Pendragon]

I share Joel Chandler Harris' last name.

Do you think the Br'er Rabbit stories are racist?

[Pompey Bum]

No, although some have used them to try to humiliate others. Those idiots are to blame, and not the stories.

Do you think the chef on the Muppets was a slur on Swedes?

[bounty]

i suspect there are liberals here and in Sweden who would think so, but for my part no. I just saw him as an exaggerative (and very funny) caricature in the same way the musicians, scientists and statler and waldorf were.

who is the funniest muppet?

[Clopin]

Haha Miss Piggy, but I'm not well versed in the muppets. Also if any group deserve to be slurred it's the Swedes.

Was taking out Colonal Gadaffi the right move?

[Pendragon]

It was a dirty job but someone had to do it I guess. Not sure Libya is any better off.

Why does every ruler the US backs become an enemy? The US backed, for example, Ho Chi Man, Fidel Castro, etc.

[Dark Muse]

Because the U.S. becomes too much of an overbearing parent and they feel the need to rebel.

I am totally drawing a blank for a question so same question

[Clopin]

How come women statistically read quite a bit more than men do but this literature forum only has a couple female posters?

[Pompey Bum]

Good question. It's weird, too, because according to the site stats (I think), the ratio is fairly even. Come back Ms. Reading!

What is the least appealing city you have ever visited?

[Clopin]

Delhi, nothing else is even in the running... Oh, least appealing? Well I found Delhi appealing for it's foreignness, so to me personally it might be Port Coquitlam... or Surray... or Burnaby.

And I know right? I think the stats for hobbyist readers who read fiction strongly favour women over men.

Same question about horrible cities.

[Dark Muse]

My least favorite city is L.A. Most the time the sky is litterally bown. And I don't jive with the people there.

What is the best city you have been to?

[Pompey Bum]

The least appealing city I have visited in Wuhan, the over-populated and over-heated capital of China's Hubei province, which discharges its abundant sewage into the otherwise lovely Yangtze River. My lingering memory of Wuhan is eating. at a greasy restaurant (although cosmopolitan enough to have a polyglot menu: "roast vegetarian," "boiled crap," etc.), and watching a father remove the pants of his toddler-age son, then hold him up for a pee into a potted plant next to my table. Oklahoma City is nothing to write home about, either.

The "best" city I've seen, in terms of beauty and atmosphere, is Venice.

What is the most insipid book you have ever read?

[Dark Muse]

I have to say All the King's Men by Robert Penn Waren. There were a couple of interesting passages but the majority of the book I found to be insufferably boring. I saw the movie before reading the book and was disappointed in it but as soon as I read the book i knew why the movie was so uninteresing.

Most laugh out loud funny book you have read?

[Pompey Bum]

There some laugh out loud moments in Straight Man by Richard Russo (also Nobody's Fool by the same author) and, more recently, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler. None of those are primarily comedies (except maybe Straight Man, which is academic farce), but the funny parts are better for that.

What is the scariest scene that you have ever read (and obviously from what book)?

[bounty]

this might be sacrilege to some, but I am a vociferous opponent of a catcher in the rye, and moby dick, and id add an accidental tourist to the insipid list too.

I so wanted moby dick to be a high seas adventure, a drama, not a treatise on whaling for goodness sake.

Patrick McManus books make me laugh out loud. I recommend anyone who likes the outdoors to read him.

I read a fair deal of murder mysteries and sometimes the situations the psychopaths put their victims in are "scary" but none of them have really impacted me in that regard. Winston, in 1984, with a caged rat on his head comes to mind...but I think the scariest for me and im probably going off in a direction different than the intent of the question, was Sydney Carton (spoiler alert for a tale of two cities) willingly being hauled off in the cart on his way to the guillotine at the end of the book. I found myself strongly identifying with dickens' writing, and the situation to the point where I remember being affected by it---not quite like I was living it, but along those lines.

what movie ending would you like to change?

[Pompey Bum]

Any forced happy ending. Eliza Dolittle ought to leave Henry Higgins like she does in Shaw's play, the Little Mermaid should dissolve into sea foam like she does in the Hans Christian Andersen story, etc. Does Quasimodo survive the Disney version of Hunchback? Whack him, too.

Who is the best minor Dickens character?

[Dark Muse]

Miss Wade in Little Dorrit


What is is the best show on TV right now?

[tonywalt]

VEEP - very sharp writing, alot of ironic dry humour(especially considering it's American), love it.

What is your favourite television show not produced in the country of your residency?

[Dark Muse]

Orphan Black


What is your favorite News Network?

[Iain Sparrow]

Al Jazeera America... similar in look and feel to the BBC, except with more energy.

If you could own any car, what would you be driving?

[Clopin]

Any forced happy ending. Eliza Dolittle ought to leave Henry Higgins like she does in Shaw's play, the Little Mermaid should dissolve into sea foam like she does in the Hans Christian Andersen story, etc. Does Quasimodo survive the Disney version of Hunchback? Whack him, too.

Who is the best minor Dickens character?

They're movies for kids! Yes, Quasimodo, Pheobus and Esmeralda all survive and Pheobus is recast as a great guy who wins Esmeralda's reluctant heart through his charm and friendliness (and looks obviously). It's honestly not the best Disney adaptation.

I don't give any kind of a crap about cars but give me the most hideous, ostentatious Lamborghini or whatever so I can impress really stupid girls into sleeping with me.

What is the worst show on TV which is also quite popular?

[Dark Muse]

Virtually any reality TV show

What would be your ideal type of lodging ( mansion, log cabin, house boat etc.)?

[Clopin]

If I'm self sufficient i'll take the pastoral idyll, on the ocean preferably.

Would you physically fight someone who was obnoxiously hitting on your significant other and being very rude to you?

[Pendragon]

In a heartbeat

Do you have grandchildren?

[Pompey Bum]

Miss Wade in Little Dorrit

Interesting character. The odd thing is that, if the book were written today, Miss Wade would likely be the heroine and Amy Dorrit the "self-torturer." Whether that's a good thing or not is another discussion.


They're movies for kids! Yes, Quasimodo, Pheobus and Esmeralda all survive and Pheobus is recast as a great guy who wins Esmeralda's reluctant heart through his charm and friendliness (and looks obviously). It's honestly not the best Disney adaptation.

And Quasi was their special ed buddy? Hee hee. I may have to break down and see that one.

No grandchildren, Pen.

Should Andrew Jackson's face on the 20 dollar bill be replaced with that of a woman (there is a current effort to that effect), if so, by whom, or if not a woman, by what man?

[Dark Muse]

I don't think it need be replaced by anyone. I think that would be a waste of expense. What does it really matter whose face is on the bill?


Same question

[Pompey Bum]

I couldn't agree more.

Should convicted felons be allowed to vote?

[Dark Muse]

That is a tough one I do have mixed feelings about it, but I think I lean more towrds no they shouldn't.

Do you think an immigrant who has legally become a U.S. citizen should be allowed to run for president?

[Pompey Bum]

Yes, of course. Those who don't want a first generation immigrant to become president can vote for someone else.

Should free people have a right to die?

[Dark Muse]

If by that you mean should a person be able to take their own life or if they cannot do it themselves have another assist them than yes

A person should be able to do with their own life what they want, including end it.

Same question

[tonywalt]

I agree.

Has your favourite dish changed from when you were say 20?- and what is it?

[Pompey Bum]

Same answer, DM.

My favorite meal is a Chinese dumpling fest. At 20 I think it was beer (20 year olds could drink beer in those happy days).

Should education use more or less (or no) standardized testing?

[tonywalt]

hhm, without knowing the regional or national issue in which your question may be framed: yes, in some form or fashion. (I am a realist about issues such as this).

Do you gain news information from the internet more than television at this point? (And as the two blur together anyway)

[Pompey Bum]

I get almost all my real news from the Reuters website.

Should people from the United States call themselves something other than Americans, since there are so many other countries in North or South America?

[Clopin]

Nah, it's sort of like calling people specifically from England 'Brits', and I mean who really cares?

What's the last thing which made you laugh?

[Pompey Bum]

Your recent punctuation, sexist. :)

I agree about the "Americans" thing. You'd be surprised how often I get it, though. PC loves intimidation.

Is the artificial insemination of a chimp in a zoo a kind of rape?

[Clopin]

That punctuation was fine! That comma had to be used to phrase it for aye or nay! And there's a question mark after sexist.

Speaking as a Canadian I always refer to the U.S.A as America and it doesn't bother me or anyone else as far as I can tell.

And I mean, a kind of rape? Of chimps? Perhaps but I've got bigger fish to fry.

Is it?

[Pompey Bum]

Probably. I mean, chimps have minds. But they are endangered so what are you going to do?

Is it wrong to hit a dog for peeing on a chair?

[Clopin]

It's wrong to really try and hurt the dog, but not wrong to give it a discilinary swipe or something. I personally don't like hitting anything but 'wrong' is a bit much.

What's the best way to learn a language while living outside of a region where it is spoken?

[Pendragon]

Rosetta Stone CDs

Which language do you wish you spoke?

[Dark Muse]

Gaelic

Why do a lot of classic books censor the date? For example there will be a sentence that says "In the year 18--"

[Clopin]

Haha I don't know, but on that topic how come a lot of older novels (specifically Russian novels) just give you the first letter and a dash for a town name, like "in S- town"? This practice has always puzzles me.

[Dark Muse]

Lol because the name is too long for the translators to spell out?

Do you think that parents who forget that their children are in the backseat of their car all day should be charged with child abuse?

[Pendragon]

Indeed. You forget an appointment, to pick up a loaf of bread, or to take out the trash. How do you forget that your KIDS are in the backseat? Idiots!

Were you ever spanked as a child?

[Clopin]

Never.

Were you a very obedient kid who tried hard in school or the opposite?

[Pompey Bum]

I was a good boy till girls turned out to like the other.

If you wan't to learn a language, Clopin, hire a tutor or tutor yourself from books, and make friends of native speakers (even if you have to advertise for them) with whom you only speak the language.

I'm not sure about the Monsieur G--- who lived in C--- in the year 18--, either, but I think it was done to give the fiction a "realer" feeling (as if the author was really talking about someone), or simply to make it seem more mysterious.

What movie or book made you cry as an adult?

[Clopin]

I was a good boy till girls turned out to like the other.

Haha, moi aussi! Help me convince Lykren of this.

And well, I haven't actually cried any full on tears during a book or movie -that I can remember at least- but I sometimes get a little misty or feel very emotional. It happens really often but oddly I can't think of very many examples, the ending of The Brothers Karamazov definitely brought me pretty close though.

Same question, maybe we will have some overlap.

[Pompey Bum]

I was very moved by the end of The Brothers K, but I didn't cry, probably because Dostoyevsky is masterful enough to move readers without getting sentimental. The death and vision of Sydney Carton in A Tale of Two Cities made me cry as a young teenager, and again a few years ago when I reread it as an adult. Also, for some reason, the scene at the end of Watership Down when the Black Rabbit finally comes for Hazel (and he doesn't recognize him at first). I read that one alone in Africa, so I probably just didn't care about bawling out loud.

Have you ever felt sentimental at the loss of an inanimate object (as if it were a person)?

[Clopin]

I still haven't read any Dickens, but I agree about Watership Down being sad.

Yes I have, I received an enormous teddy bear for my first birthday and apparently (though I can't remember) it was my absolute favourite thing as a very young baby/toddler, and then a bit later on I slept on it as a pillow until I was about seven and kept it on my bed until I was maybe twelve and after that I don't know what happened to it.

Are you very good at any bar/pub games, such as darts, pool, etc?

[Pompey Bum]

When I lived in the South I was good at pool--though only eight ball, nothing fancy. The trick (for me) was to slowly drink one and a half bottles of beer and then to stop drinking altogether, while my opponent (typically) got hammered. I only played for fun, though, and the real players played for money. But I can't play anymore (or even drink much) because of a physical condition.

Have you ever known a professional musician?

[Clopin]

No.

Would you be sad if your favourite daycare baby was moving to Australia, or happy because, you know, one less baby to deal with?

[Pompey Bum]

Aw croikey! All jess be 'appy if thoiy kin koip th' dingoes off the li'ell toik!

It's okay to care, Clopin.

What books would you recommend to your 22 year old niece who wants to be well read and sees you as the family intellectual?

[Clopin]

Well I'm 23 so i would just recommend whatever I read myself probably (though i'm definitely not 'well read', quite yet) It depends on what sort of a person she is, I think I'm usually good at tailoring book recommendations for people.

If someone is new to reading (literary fiction) my recommendation is always Dostoyevsky. Hemingway, Salinger, Orwell and Austen also make sense to me for beginners. Right now my rec's to anyone would be:

Chekhov, Stories (any collection)
Alice Munro, Stories (any collection)
Italo Calvino, Folktales, Invisible Cities
Yeats, Mythologies, Poems
Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet
Gogol, Stories
C Bronte, Jane Eyre
Adams, Watership Down
White, The Once and Future King

And modernist picks even though you hate them:

Joyce, Dubliners, Portrait of the Artist as a Young man
Woolf, Mrs Dalloway, The Waves, To The Lighthouse, Orlando
Eliot, Poems
Pound, Poems

Ovid is also incredibly fun to read if the reader has any interest in Greek mythology in the first place.

Who is your favourite author from my list and who is your least favourite - is my question?

[tonywalt]

Depends on her personality: The book thief is good if she's into heavier stuff or Norwegian Wood by Murakami. (I'm pretty atypical for linet and don't dwell on very old classics, especially for someone who is 22)

What book has made the largest impression on your life in terms of it's psychological content? (The intellectual's equivalent of self help)

[Clopin]

I read The Brothers Karamazov when I was sixteen and it caused me to pretty much reevaluate everything. After that I think The Book of Disquiet made a pretty strong impression on me, I honestly could have written that book (I mean... I couldn't have, but it consists of ideas very pertinent to my life and personality, most of which I had considered before but nowhere near as lucidly).

Same question.

[Pompey Bum]

Best is Ovid, of course. Pound was kind of full of himself, so he makes a good least favorite, but I haven't read some of them (or much of Pound for that matter), so it doesn't mean much.

Gogol is high on my list of unread authors. What should I read by him (besides, obviously, Dead Souls)?

[Clopin]

I would read his short stories before Dead Souls, and probably The Inspector General too, though it's included in a lot of Gogol story collections. Avoid the often recommended Pevear and V- (something hard to spell) translation because I think they do a **** job on Gogol, accurate or not.

Yeh Ovid really blew me away and I can only read in a plebeian Germanic dialect.

Have you read the Ted Hughes translation of Ovid and did you like it?

[tonywalt]

I have, it's very good.

What is the best book that was made into a movie post 1970?

[Iain Sparrow]

Stephen King's novella 'The Body', adapted to the big screen as 'Stand by Me'... the movie was every bit as good as the original story.

same question...

[Pompey Bum]

Maybe the Merchant Ivory production of Howards End. Certainly not Lord of the Rings.

Do you know your Chinese horoscope animal offhand?

[Clopin]

Year of the GOAT, though I used to claim it was dragon when I was a kid and we talked about our Chinese horoscope, I thought goat was really lame back then but now I'm happy with it. I am also a leo.

Do you believe even remotely in anything related to any kind of horoscope?

[Dark Muse]

I am year of the Dog. No I think they can be fun to read but I don't believe in them.

Have you ever been to a fortune teller of any kind?

[Pompey Bum]

Not unless you count watching the weatherman on TV.

I'm a pig, by the way, and my wife is a rat.

Erich Ludendorff, German hero of WWI, and sometime Nazi, sometime pacifist, expressed a theory at one point that the natural human state was war, and that periods of peace were imposed from time to time by governments. His other nutty ideas notwithstanding, do you think he was right about that?

[bounty]

if you read hobbes' leviathan, I think that's close to his premise and "civilization" is one of the purposes and impetus of government.

and if you argue from Christian theology, that is a part of the "natural man" (as opposed to the spiritually regenerated man) condition also.

so I lean towards at least a partial yes.

favorite scene from either the hunger games movies, harry potter or LOTR? (or all three)

[Clopin]

I like the first Harry Potter movie, my favourite scene might be when they first get to Hogwarts, but I honestly think it's just a well made movie (I don't like any of the sequels though, even if I quite like the first four books of the series). Lord of the Rings, again, I only like the first movie and my favourite scene is Bilbo's party right at the start.

Most sympathetic anti hero in literature?

[Pompey Bum]

I like Wormold, the intelligence fabricator/vacuum cleaner salesman from Our Man in Havanna. Same question, and also who is the least likable anti-hero in literature? (My choice is Alex from A Clockwork Orange).

[Clopin]

Ah well, Raskolnikov springs to mind first (as most likable), though I'm sure there are others. Least likeable? Well since you reminded me of Greene (and Alex) I definitely didn't have much sympathy for Pinky. I like Fowler though, is he an anti hero for killing off poor Pyle?

Mixing alcohol and coffee?

Edit: also eh Pomp, since I know you keep one yourself, have you read Graham Greene's dream diary and is it worthwhile?

[Pompey Bum]

Yeah, I'd say he counts.

I didn't know about Greene's dream journal so I can't say. He wrote some dreamlike short stories when he was an old man, one of which ("Under the Garden") was outstanding, but I never heard of a journal.

And yes: amaretto is wonderful in coffee, so is Kalua, brandy (use coffee brandy--not the Courvoisier), and even Irish whiskey. Someone else should drive, though.

Did you ever hang out with a theatre group?

[Clopin]

I looked the journal up on Amazon and the synopsis makes it sound pretty stupid. Someone whose opinion on literature I don't hugely respect heavily recommended it to me though and I'm still waiting for someone else to tell me it's amazing before I pick it up.

I did in high school I guess, I find most people my age who are involved in theatre, art or music to be pretty insufferable usually.

Your favourite author who you don't think gets enough recognition or credit?

[Pompey Bum]

Ford Madox Ford. Poor guy.

Same question.

[Pendragon]

Alan Dean Foster

Same Question

[Clopin]

Ursula Le Guin doesn't get enough recognition for her books despite being copied/stolen from repeatedly.

Who are your favourite characters from mythologies around the world (one character per region), list as many as you like or know.

[Pompey Bum]

That's a big question and probably deserves its own thread, but here's a fast answer:

I like the Virgin Spring recast as the Grim Reaper in Proserpina, the Roman version of Persephone.

Ishtar (from Mesopotamia) is a much sexier goddess than Isis, her Egyptian equivalent; but my favorite Mesopotamian figure is Siduri, the wise harlot who gives Gilgamesh rest for a time.

Loki is the coolest Norse god because he doesn't really need the rest of them.

Sun Wukong, from Chinese tradition, is my favorite character from mythology and his war against the Taoist Heaven is my favorite story.

Ganesh is my favorite character from Hindu myth because I like the idea of elephants as wise.

Mucalinda is my favorite character from Buddhist folklore. Mucalinda was a snake who wanted enlightenment. The Buddha told him to forget it, but because Mucalinda tagged along, he was eventually made head of security, with the idea that maybe he'd have a better shot at enlightenment in his next incarnation.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot, but that's it for now.

Same question.

[Clopin]

Loki is my favourite figure of Norse mythology, though I like Odin too.

Dionysus or Hecate for Greek/Roman

Krishna for India

I don't follow much beyond that.

How many of these questions would you get right? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAdDUD6L1nc

[Pompey Bum]

I got three. Pretty poor showing.

Would humankind be better if there had never been an internet?

[Clopin]

The internet as an invention is about as valuable to the facilitation of knowledge and the spread of ideas as the printing press was, so no, we would be much worse off (though I feel I would personally be more productive haha).

Should Al Gore be credited with inventing the internet or saving the environment on his tombstone (he only gets one)?

Edit: Also three is good! Most of the time Canadian questions on Jeopardy are either not answered at all (note how they left the entire category until last), or answered incorrectly!

[Pompey Bum]

If he only gets one thing, it ought to be having the biggest *ss in human history.

Rank the following presidents in badness, with the worst at the top of the list:

George W. Bush

Jimmy Carter

Richard Nixon

Barack Obama

[Clopin]

Obama
Bush Jr
Carter
Nixon

Clinton was also bad.

Which president represented on U.S money was the best, and (briefly) why?

[Pompey Bum]

Lincoln. Best sense of humor.

Rank the following regimes in badness with the worst at the top:

Maoist China
Nazi Germany
Apartheid-era South Africa
Jacobin France
Stalinist Russia

[Clopin]

Stalinist Russia
Maoist China
Jacobin France
Nazi Germany (Assuming we're not considering WW2 here and only focusing on the operations of the regime itself)

Huge, enormous gap

Apartheid

How much praise does Nelson Mandela deserve?

[Pompey Bum]

About as much as Yasser Arafat. Maybe a little more, but both were terrorists.

Would it be better for the West if "Arab Spring" had never happened?

[Clopin]

Probably better for the West, yes, has the Arab spring ended though? Or at least is it clearly better or worse? (is my question)

[Pompey Bum]

As far as I can see, it turned into the Syrian civil war, which now includes Iraq. Total disaster.

Will presidential candidate Lindsey Graham's plan to put 10,000 American troops in Iraq gain popular traction (whatever happens to his candidacy)?

[Clopin]

I doubt it, people are sick of that war, and besides, we won already so there's no need to go back.

http://campusbeast.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Bush-Mission-Accomplished_thumb3.jpg

If you could only eat one animal for the rest of your life, but you received an unlimited supply of any and every piece of the animal you wanted, which animal would you choose?

[Pompey Bum]

Oh I dunno. Maybe Bison. It worked for the Plains Indians.

Same question.

[Clopin]

I'll eat sockeye salmon forever please.

Fish or fowl?

[Pompey Bum]

Oh good answer, though I'll have more leftovers.

Well, fish is better, but old fish is as bad as new fish is good, so fowl.

Should the West hold its nose at most of Putin's skullduggery and just work with him to defeat Islamic extremism?

[Clopin]

There's nothing the West can do about Putin short of starting a nuclear war so yes.

How would a bottom up revolution play out today if it took place in a nation with nuclear weapons (China, Russia)?

[Pompey Bum]

It would play out differently in any given country. The one to watch (and worry about) obviously is Pakistan.

Would you rather have known about ISIS before last year, or to have missed all those news reports about childhood obesity, surprise veteran homecomings, and kids with leukemia rescuing puppies from drain pipes?

[Pendragon]

My being obese isn't likely to start WWIII. ISIS, however... Nuff Said!

Does FOX News seem to have stopped even pretending to present the news?

[Pompey Bum]

I haven't watched them for so long I don't know what they're pretending these days.

In Taiwan, Obama is frequently compared to a bat, apparently because of his big ears. What animal do you associate with George W. Bush (based only on physiognomy)?

[Clopin]

Chimp of course.

Should criticism of Israel policy be correctly treated as what it really is, anti Semitic hate speech? (I'm not kidding, this is a Canadian government proposal)

[Pompey Bum]

Not unless there's jail time. The last thing we need is another empty gesture.

If I say there was an Armenian holocaust as I board a train in Istanbul, change my mind on the journey, and state that there was no Armenian holocaust when I disembark in Paris, can I be jailed in both countries at once?

[Clopin]

Sure, can, should and if i may say, must be jailed both times. King Soloman would know just how to sort you out.

Detail your entire beauty regimen, and you have to comment even if it's something as banal as putting on moisturizer once a week.

[Pompey Bum]

King Soloman would know just how to sort you out.

As your confessor, Clopin, I'm pleased to note your spiritual growth.


Detail your entire beauty regimen, and you have to comment even if it's something as banal as putting on moisturizer once a week.

I shower and shave every morning. I brush my teeth at least twice a day, but I never floss. I clip my fingernails once a week. My wife clips my toenails for me every two weeks (because I'm too lazy and it would never get done). She shaves the back of my neck once a month. I wash my hands before meals. That's it.

Same question (and goodnight).

[Clopin]

Haha remember when I asked whether you were more susceptible to snake oil or conspiracy theories in this or that? Well I'm easily swayed by both, but especially snake oil so keep that in mind when you read the following.

1. Skin

My skin is incredibly dry, I have chronic eczema which I treat with corticosteroid cream and living in an incredibly dry region doesn't help much. As a kid a recommended remedy for very bad flare ups was bathing with oatmeal and I make use of these potions to treat dry skin on my face (I don't bother moisturizing my body with any special treatments, it would simply take too long);

1. Olive oil/Yogurt or plain olive oil more often
2. Olive oil/sea salt
3. Cooked oatmeal (moisturizer)
4. Dried oatmeal (exfoliant)

2. Hair

I don't use shampoo or commercial conditioner on my hair, but I do make up and apply the following mask up to three times a week, but usually just once:

Egg/olive oil/lemon/salt

3. Hygiene

I also exclusively take showers with 100% cold water and try to cold water swim as much as possible (I think this helps my chakra, like I said, snake oil).

I think that's it, I bite my fingernails off and shave a couple times a week, my method of removing toenails has grossed out a couple girlfriends but I'm going to keep doing it, it is:

Wait until toenails grow long enough to fold back and forth until they become weakened at a joint and then rip them off, OR, bite off the ones you can reach with your mouth.

I brush and floss once a day.

Do you like ladybugs or dragonflies more?

[Pompey Bum]

Well, biting your toenails is pretty gross, but at least you floss.

Should the lion who killed the idiot who rolled her window down at that drive through park in South Africa be "destroyed"?

[Clopin]

No, but it probably will be. That said, I think people make too big a deal about animals, especially bears; animals just aren't as important as people and sometimes they do need to be... "destroyed" (I've also always found that word usage really weird).

If you were a journalist would you volunteer to cover a war zone?

[Pompey Bum]

Absolutely, if I were young, and fit, and serious about my career.

Should "Lyin' Brian" Williams, the NBC anchor who forgot that he hadn't actually been shot down over Iraq, get his position back?

[Clopin]

No.

Should it be a criminal offense for a news organization to knowingly and purposefully falsify information?

[Pompey Bum]

Good for you, Clopin. Lykren said he "refused to care." :)

Civil charges, if there were damages.

If you were guilty of a felony, would you rather be tried in the US, Canada, or France?

[Clopin]

I'll take my chances in Canada.

Assuming you are twenty years old would you rather go to jail for ten years or lose ten years of your life entirely.

Oh and Lykren doesn't care about anything other than the glorification of his own massive ego! You hear me Lykren? Please come back to wasting time on here if you do.

[Pompey Bum]

You mean get out of prison at 30 or die ten years before I would otherwise have died? Dying early. I don't want to spend my 20s in prison.

And stay where you are, Lykren, and study hard. Come back in the fall and call us names we don't understand in Japanese.

Would you rather lose all memory before today (but be able to make new memories now-- you don't have dementia) or lose both legs at the knees?

[Clopin]

I'll take the loss of legs, my memories are my personality and everything I know about myself.

How do videos like these make you feel, and do you think this type of thing is actually representative of a majority of voters or just heavily cherry picked?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uf7MR0f4XDI

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw8WIia47WE

[Pompey Bum]

The first one repeats the same point over and over and over, which I found kind of insulting to my intelligence (even though I agree with the point). Some of the kids interviewed seemed legit but others seemed like (bad) actors. Also where are the grown ups? As a "campus report" it was, to a degree, inherently cherry picked.

The second one kept showing me its commercial, then throwing me out; but "Hillary has no accomplishments" has been a cpac talking point for some time now, so I assume it's election propaganda, too.

If you hit and killed dog in traffic, would you stop to see if you could find out who the owners were, and then let them know?

[Clopin]

I guess I would have to.

I've noticed that a pretty strong majority of active posters here are religious, do you think there is a connection between people who are interested in literary fiction and people who are religious, if you do then why do you think that is? It only strikes me as noteworthy because off of litnet I don't think I know a single person of any religious orientation.

If that question makes you uncomfortable then how would you feel and what would you do if you had a son, daughter, nephew or some other younger relative who became a total shut in/hikkikimori?

[Pompey Bum]

I've noticed that a pretty strong majority of active posters here are religious, do you think there is a connection between people who are interested in literary fiction and people who are religious, if you do then why do you think thst is? It only strikes me as noteworthy because off of litnet I don't think I know a single person of any religious orientation.

It doesn't make me uncomfortable. I imagine that people who love literature don't have much problem with finding truths to live by in stories with varying degrees of historicity, and that most wouldn't be inclined toward silly (and in my opinion ignorant) "all or nothing" thinking toward the various faiths. LitNet also has little tolerance for bullies, and my experience is that many (though not all) cyber-atheists are little better than that. Probably there are just as many people of faith on other sites, but they are hiding.


If that question makes you uncomfortable then how would you feel and what would you do if you had a son, daughter, nephew or some other younger relative who became a total shut in/hikkikimori

I would tell him or her about LitNet so we could stay on touch.

Have you ever wanted to be a hermit?

[Clopin]

Yes, the general Atheist notion is that religion is eminently silly and ridiculous and that as soon as you're educated enough you will stop believing in it entirely, and I've found that to be very much untrue.

Yes, I have, I get along pretty well alone and I think I could hack it, I wouldn't want to begin to be a hermit for another thirty years at least, however.

To what extent do you think great literature is diluted through translation? I notice that Russian literature is very much esteemed here (and elsewhere) by people who can not read Russian, and I myself love the Russian novels. If the books are made so much worse through translation how do you explain the massive appeal they have for non Russian readers (often much more appeal than novels by English authors like Dickens, George Elliot and Jane Austen)?

[Pompey Bum]

Well, I've said this before, but I made it up, so it's no truism or cliche: reading a translation is like listening to a ballgame on the radio. You can get a really accurate and vivid feel for what's going on, depending on the broadcaster's skill. But to read in the original language is to be at the game. Personally I avoided Russian lit for years because I didn't think it could possibly come up to Dickens or Shakespeare or even Arthur Conan Doyle in English. But in fact--or at least in my opinion--Dostoyevsky surpasses Dickens (and of course Conan Doyle) by far. So does Tolstoy. I have no way of knowing the answer to your question about translations, but it's certainly impossible that the ideas and the underlying humanity of these men does not have quite a lot to do with the way they can touch all readers.

Meet the right girl, Clopin, and you won't want to be a hermit anymore. :)

If you had a child, would you advise him or her to study science or the humanities (one or the other)?

[Clopin]

A hermit can be married!

I plan on making homeschooling my children the top priority in my life so by the time they're old enough to go to university a humanities education would be totally unnecessary as they will have read about two thousand books by then (this isn't that incredible either, if you spent the six hours a day you're actually inside the classroom from preschool to graduation and spent it reading instead you could easily get through several thousand books). I'm convinced kids can pretty much learn anything through being taught at a young age, John Stuart Mill was taught Greek/Latin and the classics when he was eight or so and Laszlo Polgar trained his three daughters into world class chess players. I would advise science I suppose, though I'm not cut out for it and I wouldn't advise my children to do something which was against their natural inclination.

Should porn stars or former porn stars experience stigma or negative repercussions in their lives or in pursuit of other employment options? Should a pornstar be able to transition into an elementary school teacher, for example?

[Pompey Bum]

No stigma if that's all he or she was doing. And if he or she is qualified, there is no reason a former porn star shouldn't be a public school teacher (although I would recommend being discreet about it with the students--and their parents!). Private schools, of course, should be able to hire or not hire whomever they like for any reason they choose.

Would you consider marriage with an ex- (or current) porn star?

[Clopin]

No, I would casually date one though. I want children and I'm just not interested in that being a reality of their lives, or mine for that matter.

And I agree, I think a stigma against porn stars is especially silly when nearly the entire male population makes use of pornography (I still don't want to marry one though).

Same question haha.

[Pompey Bum]

Well, I want to start by saying that the porno magazines and stag films I was exposed to in undergraduate dorm life were utterly boring and (as I said in another thread) the faked orgasms made me miss my old girlfriends too much to really get into the stories. I wouldn't have had anything against marrying a retired porn star, though, if we were in love, and had a financial plan, and had a reasonable chance of reasonably good relations with our inlaws (my Dad would have been cool). A working porn star would have been a problem, though. I imagine the lifestyle would not have been what I wanted, and it probably wouldn't have been a healthy situation for any kids we might have had. She would definitely have had to have put it behind her (no pun intended ;-) ).

Would you date someone who had genital herpes?

[Clopin]

Yes, I could get past that, but it would be a big strike against her and unless I thought she was pretty great I would probably dump her when I found out.

What's your Briggs Myers personality type?

[Pompey Bum]

Libra?

Actually, I don't know anything about Briggs Myers personality types. Is that "Type A personality" and all that? ? I'd rather not think of people like that.


What's yours and what does it mean? :)

[Clopin]

Oh it's like a horoscope, only personally tailored to you (well, personally as in, one of sixteen types you can be after taking the test). I'm sure it doesn't mean anything.

I've taken the test a few times and always get INTP.

http://www.16personalities.com/intp-personality

Are raspberries by far the best berry? And if not, what is (and why are you so wrong)?

[Pompey Bum]

Yes, raspberries are the best berries, especially the red raspberries found in raspberry tarts. Mmmm-boy! Thank you, Trader Joe!

What is the best kind of stinky food?

Also talk to you later.

[Clopin]

Fish sauce. And I'll leave that question open. Ciao.

[Clockwise]

Chou doufu (fermented tofu). Stinky and lovely.

60s jazz beard or hipster beard?

[Pompey Bum]

I know it well, Clockwise. The stench fills the Taipei night markets on lovely hot nights. :)

Anything is better than hipster facial hair, so fine, 60s Jazz beards.

Do you eat the green, gucky stuff inside a lobster?

[Clockwise]

I eat almost everything. Spent too long time in China not to. So yes.

Did you ever read a Biggles book?

[Pompey Bum]

Only Biggles Flies Undone! (An old Monty Python joke).

Who is your favorite character in Romance of the Three Kingdoms?

[Pompey Bum]

http://www.16personalities.com/intp-personality

Well, here's what I got:

People with this type of personality are honest and frank, chivalrous and gallant. They have a calm appearance and strong heart. They do whatever they want with their strength. They are tolerant and optimistic, but not until they become your friends can their virtue, advantages and fidelity to friendship be appreciated. They are quick tempered, but hate arguments and quarreling. They are kind to their loved ones. They are not afraid of difficulties and problems but try to work them out. They treat friends sincerely and they do not tell lies unless they have to. They are kind and light hearted and usually go to sleep easily.

Sounds pretty accurate.

If no one's read Romance of the Three Kingdoms, what character from Shakespeare do you most closely identify with?

[Pendragon]

Well, weight wise I'm Falstaff

Continue question.

[Clopin]

Hamlet for sure.

Outside of Shakespeare what character out of literature do you most closely identify with.

[Clockwise]

Wanted to say a Hemingway code hero but must admit it's probably Kafka's K.

Do you read adventures / mysteries and, if so, who is your favorite author in this genre?

[Pendragon]

I don't really have just one: Arthur Conan Doyle, Agatha Christie, Peter Tremayne, John Dickerson Carr, James Gardner, Rex Stout, Raymond Chandler, and more

Favorite Sci-Fi show?

[bounty]

Sherlock holmes is one of my top two favorite fictional characters, and ive read all the conan doyle stuff and many of the the contemporary authors and have really enjoyed laurie king and larry millet in that regard.

ive also enjoyed matthew reilly and james rollins in that genre. they both write what id call archaeological/thriller/adventure/mysteries with a military flavor. a little like Indiana jones I suppose.

also, but very different from the other two, lee child's jack reacher novels. jack reacher is an ex military cop who wanders the country falling into one adventure after another that always has some mystery behind it...and he's really really good at kicking the bad guys' behinds too!

if I had to read only one, itd be a battle between reilly and child, with maybe a slight nod to child but oh what to do with Sherlock!

if you've read westerns, who have you read and who's your favorite author?

and if you've not read westerns, how come not?

[bounty]

oh star trek for sure pendragon! probably the only actually.

if you've read westerns, who have you read and who's your favorite author?

and if you've not read westerns, how come not?

[Pompey Bum]

I've read Lonesome Dove, Butcher's Crossing, and Blood Meridian. I liked them all, but thought Blood Meridian had the most going for it as literature. So of those, Cormac McCarthy.

What ending of a novel would you most like to rewrite, and how would you have ended it?

[Pendragon]

Leaves of Grass

It would have began and ended with "Leaves of Grass in the dooryard bloomed."

Was it really any surprise that the character of Captain Kirk has never been allowed to actually die? This goes beyond movies and TV and into the official novels.

[bounty]

I was actually really happy pen, but yes a little surprised when after he died in star trek: generations, that he was brought back to life shortly afterwards in one of the books (the name escapes me) by some sort of alien resurrection technology.

one of my favorite lines in all of star trek is in the search for spock, when after faking the Klingons out and luring them onto the enterprise when the self destruct sequence was going, and the ship blew up, he said to dr McCoy, "my god bones, what have I done?" and dr McCoy said, "what you had to do, what you always do, turn death into a fighting chance for life." (or something really close)

and oh---I don't remember ever really being dissatisfied with the ending of a novel---what I think I would have done is, kept the ending of moby dick and rewritten everything up until that point!

what was your favorite best star trek original series character meeting the next generation series? (there was McCoy during the encounter at far point, kirk and picard in generations, spock and data and picard in reunification, sarek and picard in a couple of episodes, and scotty being rescued after 75 yrs in the transporter beam)

[Pompey Bum]

I liked the "Scotty on the transporter" episode because I thought it was a clever way to have kept the character around (and a typically clever trick of Ensign Scott). And okay, dammit, I didn't see a whole lot of the others.

If the Saudi oil fields were threatened (as, for example, by a war with Yemen), would the United States intervene with ground troops (not should it, would it)?

[Pendragon]

They shouldn't but the oil companies have enough influence that they probably would.

If Hitler had not wasted resources on his horrible fixation on eliminating the Jews, do you think Germany would have ruled the world?

[Pompey Bum]

No, not without a hell of a lot more oil, which is what he was doing in Stalingrad.

Which LiNetter would make the best president/prime minister?

[Clopin]

You of course. I would vote for Kiki or JBI as well.

If elected (you must serve) you have to pick your cabinet from litnet members, who gets what position?

[Pendragon]

Secretary of State: Madhuri AKA Memsahib
Secretary of the Treasury: TonyWalt
Secretary of Defense: Logos
Attorney General: Mona Amon
Secretary of Agriculture: Pompey Bum
Secretary of Commerce: Clopin
Secretary of Labor: YesNo
Secretary of Health and Human Services: Dark Muse
Secretary of House and Urban Development: Pensy
Secretary of Transportation: Bounty
Secretary of Energy: Papayahed, AKA Grover
Secretary of Education: Scheherazade
Secretary of Veteran's Affairs: Mtpspur
Secretary of Homeland Security: Captain Pike
Vice President: Virgil
Whitehouse Chief of Staff: AuntShecky
Director of The Office of Management and Budget: qimissung
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency: Niamh, AKA The Froud Fairy
Trade Representative: Samercury
Ambassador to the United Nations: Ampoule, AKA Lady Amp
Chairman of The Council of Economic Advisers: Cacian
Administrator of the Small Business Administration: MotherHubbard

This one was hard!

If you ran for President, which party would you represent?

[Pompey Bum]

Secretary of Agriculture: Pompey Bum

Very funny. I appoint you Undersecretary of Bullsh*t . :)


If you ran for President, which party would you represent?

Art Linkletter's House Party?

Who was the best Monty Python?

[bounty]

in my position as secretary of transportation, can I make bike paths everywhere?? laughs...

oh good question---I couldn't say "best" but rather who I enjoyed the most.

I know I loved how they often had terry jones playing a woman. his portrayals always cracked me up.

I enjoyed them all, id go with slight nod to john cleese.

asked this one before---whats the funniest scene in holy grail?

[Clopin]

Chairman of The Council of Economic Advisers: Cacian

haha, flawless plan.

And it has to be the duck/witch scene from start to finish, so many good lines.

[Pendragon]

Very funny. I appoint you Undersecretary of Bullsh*t :)


If I am not the King of BS I must bow to you, mon ami! :wave:

So who's your favorite comedy actor?

[Pompey Bum]

"Comedy actor" is a contradiction since real humor must be natural. So none, really.

The Nazis typically committed reprisal executions for Jews who escaped en route to the death camps (maybe five killed for every one who got away--I forget). Would you have tried to get away anyway (knowing only rumors about what lay ahead)?

[Clopin]

Yes I would try to escape if I saw the opportunity.

If you were Raskolnikov would you have been able to elude Porfiry/your conscious or would you have met the same end? And doesn't he have a point about the horrible old pawnbroker?

[Pompey Bum]

If I had done such a thing, I am sure that I would have ended my own life in remorse almost right away. As far as Alyona Ivanovna goes, he may have a point about her horribleness, but not about her right to life (or lack thereof), in my view.

[bounty]

going to rescue this and "this or that" from second page oblivion...smiles...

best slam to watch in tennis? Australian, French, Wimbledon, or US Open? and give the reason why.

[Pendragon]

US Open. Duh, I'm American.

Tennis in general, who do you like?

[bounty]

ive been a fan of roger Federer for years, what a class act and a good champion/ambassador for the sport. but alas, his torch is passing...im hoping he'll win one more slam before he retires but its not looking good.

chris evert might have been my first boyhood crush and the friendly rivalry between her and martina Navratilova was epic. in that regard, the contemporary ones between Federer, djokovic, and nadal (and a little bit of andy murray) have been enjoyable and good for the sport too.

too much screeching/shrieking on the woman's side today (for the past decade actually) and it comes close to ruining the game for me. the eye candy component is very good though.

if you could go to any three specific sporting events anywhere in the world, what would they be? cost and location aren't prohibitive.

[Pendragon]

Superbowl. World Series Basketball. Wimbledon Tennis.

Same Question

[papayahed]

World Series (if Detroit is in it)

Should I move to Oklahoma?

[Pendragon]

You got a yearning for places south, then sure!

Do you ever get your ducks in a row and then find out they aren't even ducks?

[tonywalt]

Yes, but i've got a farm and these things happen.

How many social media platforms are you active? (and i include litnet a social media )

[Dark Muse]

Counting litnet I have 5 most are art or literature related. No Facebook or Twiiter or such of that like.

What is your favorite desert?

[bounty]

do you know, its hard to beat cold crisp watermelon, or a peach or nectarine, but from a more traditional perspective, id go with either cheesecake or german chocolate cake, slight nod to the latter.

whats your favorite soup?

[Pendragon]

Vegetable beef with fresh garden veggies!

What sort of sauce do you like on burgers?

[papayahed]

mustard

When is the last time you called off sick to work or school?

[bounty]

I don't think ive done that since high school, at least that I can remember and I would actually give my own students grief about missing class when they are sick.

papayahed have you seen the abbott & Costello bit about mustard?

I might have asked something like this before---do you know any cover versions that you like better than the originals?

[Pendragon]

Pantonic's Little Drummer Boy comes to mind

Is there any fear in your heart when you drive downtown while at home?

[papayahed]

papayahed have you seen the abbott & Costello bit about mustard?


Even though those are three of my favorite things I don't remember seeing that bit.




Is there any fear in your heart when you drive downtown while at home?

Nope.

Are you afraid of thunderstorms?

[tonywalt]

No, but I take certain cautions re: lightening.

What is your least favourite city? (and why)(oh, and please be politically correct)

[Pendragon]

Richmond, VA. Our state capitol has a crime rate almost equal to New York City!

Same question

[Dark Muse]

Los Angeles CA, The sky is usually always a lovely murky brown and it is usually hot, and I don't give with the LA crowd, not that I really jive with any crowd.

What is one of your favorite scents?

[bounty]

oh gee dark muse---almost too many to name and there are so many good ones!

but an interesting component to some of mine is the relationship to memories (which is an answer to a trivial pursuit question actually!)

wd-40 often reminds me of working on bikes in an outdoor shop, with new friends while listening to music. strawberry suave and agree shampoo (hard to find) reminds me of high school athletic days. cut grass, football double sessions. wrestling mats and workout sweat smell pretty much the same everywhere and bring lots of memories even as you build new ones.

and oh, old used books!

papayahed, you can find the abbott and Costello mustard bit on youtube really easily...I suspect they did it more than once but the one that's in my mind is from one of their movies.

what are 2-3 of your favorite scenes from all of harry potter?

[tonywalt]

The Scene: Snape’s mastery of his classroom is epitomised by his contemptuously drawling instruction to “turn to page three hundred and ninety four.” It doesn’t look much written down, but somehow Alan Rickman manages to make it sound like a threat…

Charity Burbage
The Scene: Voldemort’s cruelty is ruthlessly demonstrated by his torture and eventual murder of Hogwarts teacher Charity Burbage at Malfoy Manor. As if to make things worse, her former colleague Snape watches on impassively…

I obtained help with my choices above.

What is your favourite non-fiction book?

[Pendragon]

Theodore Roosevelt and the Assassin: Madness, Vengeance, And The Campaign Of 1912

Your favorite Marvel Superhero?

[bounty]

tony since you mention him, I thought snape (ultimately) was a great character in the stories and one of my favorite scenes is at the very end when harry tells his young son that he is named after one of the bravest men he ever knew, referring to snape.

and I also love, from the last movie, when harry tells ron and Hermione he has to go to the forest to meet voldemort and they all know he's going to be killed---and Hermione cries and says "i'll go with you!"

oh marvel superhero---that's a toughie. I read the comics and watched the cartoons as a kid but so much of the sentiments towards them are shaped by the current movies and each of them has so many neat qualities.

a strong affinity towards iron man---love the humor and incredible intelligence and the go it alone attitude.

but I have to put the nod for thor and captain America for their ability to lead and foster loyal allegiance. don't know if I could pick between them.

favorite DC superhero?

[bounty]

tony since you mention him, I thought snape (ultimately) was a great character in the stories and one of my favorite scenes is at the very end when harry tells his young son that he is named after one of the bravest men he ever knew, referring to snape.

and I also love, from the last movie, when harry tells ron and Hermione he has to go to the forest to meet voldemort and they all know he's going to be killed---and Hermione cries and says "i'll go with you!"

oh marvel superhero---that's a toughie. I read the comics and watched the cartoons as a kid but so much of the sentiments towards them are shaped by the current movies and each of them has so many neat qualities.

a strong affinity towards iron man---love the humor and incredible intelligence and the go it alone attitude.

but I have to put the nod for thor and captain America for their ability to lead and foster loyal allegiance. don't know if I could pick between them.

favorite DC superhero?

[bounty]

%&#^& double posting curse!

[tonywalt]

Shazam.

Favourite film not of your native language?

[Dark Muse]

The Seventh Seal

Favorite genre of music?

[tonywalt]

Classic Rock (but I like many genres)

Same question