How many ...?

[Lykren]

If it makes you happy I had five large bottles today. I think 3-6 was a pretty lowball estimate anyways.

Kk, continuing the game: Nikolai, I think my answer is... zero.

How many art museums have you visited?

[bounty]

maybe ~10-12---the most notable being the Smithsonian (although, maybe not technically "art?"), the louvre, the rodin museum (which I loved!), and the dutch national museum in Amsterdam. the oddest maybe being a cartoon art museum in Westchester county (ny).

I wanna put in some answers to pike's question about time travel.

the star trek episode with called city on the edge of forever is worth watching. star trek first contact, and star trek the voyage home are both time travel movies and are also worth watching. the first movie in the recent reboot, is also time travel related, and well, I just love star trek. and if you are a fan, you might also enjoy the deep space nine episode where they travel back to the time of the original series and find themselves in the trouble with tribbles episode; the episode is called trials and tribble-ations. its pretty neat even just from a cinematic perspective (a la forrest gump) there are other star trek time travel episodes, but those are the biggies.

also---the most recent x-men, days of future past is an excellent time travel movie, highly recommend it!

bookwise---I really enjoyed a Connecticut yankee in king Arthur's court by twain.

how many scenes from movies do you have that you would consider amongst your all time favorite scenes? (and id love to hear about them)

[Pike Bishop]

1. The moment Darth Vader tells Luke he's his father in The Empire Strikes Back.
2, Roy Batty telling Deckard all the beautiful things he saw in his short life before his death in Blade Runner.
3. The three protagonists in Office Space bashing the evil xerox machine to the sound of the Geto Boys.
4. John Wayne walking down the dark hall of his dream home in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, knowing his dream is through.
5. Ripley in Alien singing her way out of fear in her final confrontation with the Alien.
6. The kiss in The Invasion of the Body Snatchers telling the horrified hero he is truly all alone.


How many rock albums truly qualify as masterpieces, and which ones are they?

[North Star]

Favourite scenes from movies? I rarely think in terms of favourite scenes, but lets see what I'll come up with
1) Rome, Open City: when Anna Magnani and the boy run in the street
2) Le cercle rouge: the chase after the escape from the train, some magnificent cinematography.
3) Godfather I: Baptism scene
4) Hunger (Steve McQueen 2008) - the conversation with the priest
5) Apocalypse Now: Ride of the Valkyries, the surfing and napalm

Mostly this list goes to show that thinking of it after a long period has passed from seeing the movie, you end up with a list of mostly grand showpiece scenes, as it's hard to remember the less obviously significant little jewels.



E: Apparently, 17 . . .

Who's Next - The Who
DSOTM - Pink Floyd
Machine Head - Deep Purple
Dire Straits
Hendrix: Axis, Are You Experienced
Queen: II, ANATO, Sheer Heart Attack
Genesis: Selling England By the Pound
Stevie Wonder: Innervisions
Beatles: Abbey Road, White Album, Sgt Pepper
Dylan: Blonde on Blonde
Beach Boys: Pet Sounds, Smile

I'll have to repeat the question of the movie scenes

[Pike Bishop]

Don't you mean the baptism scene in The Godfather?

[North Star]

Don't you mean the baptism scene in The Godfather?

Yes of course, I don't know how that 'II' got in there.

[Pompey Bum]

why pompey, that made me smile...but then I have to ask, can you tell me what it is about me or what ive posted that leads you to think that?

Nothing about you, Bounty. You were just around when I wrote it. My point was that I couldn't get any closer to a number for how many beautiful things there may be in the universe than to say there are a lot of beautiful things; though others are welcome to try.

My favorite movie scenes (off hand) are:

1. When the spider god/helicopter comes for Karin in Bergman's Through a Glass Darkly

2. The final scene in Lawrence of Arabia, in which a discharged and burnt out T.E. Lawrence is being driven away from camp, and a stupidly cheerful driver leans over and says, "Well, sah, goin' 'ome!"; and Lawrence looks at him with dead eyes and says something like: "Mmm?"; and the driver says, "'Ome, sah!"; as a motorcycle passes them (the first scene being Lawrence's death in a motorcycle crash in England).

3. Since, I've got my mind on David Lean Films, I also love the scene in Doctor Zhivago in which Zhivago, having broken off his secret love affair with Laura (of which he is deeply ashamed), is waylaid by Red partisans on a narrow road between two great stands of pine:

Officer: Comrade Doctor, I need a medical officer.

Zhivago: I'm sorry, I have a wife and child in Varykino.

Soldier: And a mistress in Yuriatin!

He never see's his family again, although he later learns that his (beloved) wife believed that he left her for Laura.

Who is your favorite film director?

[Pike Bishop]

Martin Scorsese

Are the Lord of the Rings and/or A Song of Ice and Fire literature, and, if so, why?

[North Star]

(is that a 'how many' question? ;) )
I haven't read the latter one(s), but of course they're literature - they aren't music or paintings, are they? ;)

How many favourite film directors do you have?

[Pompey Bum]

Yes, my bad. Just one: Bergman (you can technically only have one favorite of anything, right?) :)

How many times have you read The Lord of the Rings?

[Pike Bishop]

(is that a 'how many' question? ;) )
I haven't read the latter one(s), but of course they're literature - they aren't music or paintings, are they? ;)

How many favourite film directors do you have?

Actually, no they're not; they're fiction. If all fiction was literature--artistic, literary writing--then Romance novels would be studied as much in world universities as Shakespeare, Proust, and Dante. So, are those texts just fiction or are they literature?

My ten favorite directors:

1. Scorsese
2. Hitchcock
3. Ford
4. Spielberg
5. Bergman
6. P.T. Anderson
7. Tarantino
8. Kurosawa
9. Chaplin
10. Ridley Scott

I've read Lord of the Rings once.

How many of the Beatles albums are masterpieces, and what are they (in order)?

[North Star]

Actually, no they're not; they're fiction. If all fiction was literature--artistic, literary writing--then Romance novels would be studied as much in world universities as Shakespeare, Proust, and Dante. So, are those texts just fiction or are they literature?
They're not Dante, Shakespeare, Milton, Ovid, or Homer. I suppose LotR might be on the brink of literary fiction.
Aren't Romance novels, with a capital 'R', just novels written in Romance languages though - as opposed to romance novels? ;)

How many of the Beatles albums are masterpieces, and what are they (in order)?[/QUOTE]
Chronological order is the best I can do.
1. Help
2. Rubber Soul
3. Sgt Pepper
4. The White Album
5. Abbey Road

How many roads must a man walk before you can call him a man?

[bounty]

I think that's a narrow definition of literature I suspect many, if not most, of us wouldn't subscribe to.

I don't know---can we ask bob Dylan!

how many movie scenes (and which ones) have made you cry?

[Pike Bishop]

They're not Dante, Shakespeare, Milton, Ovid, or Homer. I suppose LotR might be on the brink of literary fiction.
Aren't Romance novels, with a capital 'R', just novels written in Romance languages though - as opposed to romance novels? ;)


You're absolutely right. I would have been damning Jane Eyre, Wieland, and Middlemarch (Romance/Victorian) to the Barbara Cartland heap.

And no Revolver? You're an absolute heathen...;)

This is a bit trite, but one road as a child, one road as an adult husband and father, and one as a sage grandfather. I sound like the sphinx.

How many Film Noirs are masterpieces and which ones?

[Pompey Bum]

1. Sgt. Pepper
2. Revolver
3. Abbey Road
4. The Beatles ("The White Album")

And in that order.

How many times have you lost weight (between 20 and 50+ pounds) only to put it right back on?

[Pike Bishop]

I think that's a narrow definition of literature I suspect many, if not most, of us wouldn't subscribe to.


It's not a narrow description, but it is open-ended. This is a quick thread; I'm not going to write an aesthetic essay on the subject. However, what would be your criticism of it and why?

Two: The death scene in Old Yeller and the final scene in Her.

How many Film Noirs are masterpieces and why are they masterpieces?

[bounty]

the generic definition of literature I am going by simply refers to written works valued for their expression and form. I would place "fiction" as a sub category of literature, which implies that "non fiction" can qualify as literature also. to exclude something like lotr as literature speaks then to a judgment as to the quality of the work (it doesn't rise to the level of dante), as opposed to the nature of it (its still a written work valued for its expression, at least by some). if there is a definition other than that, its slightly esoteric and given that---if it follows then that there is a definition that restricts what counts as literature, it would be more "narrow" on its face.

[bounty]

from pompey:

How many times have you lost weight (between 20 and 50+ pounds) only to put it right back on?

I was a wrestler and my senior year in high school lost about 20 lbs to compete in a particular weight class...and of course yes, put it right back on...smiles...but I know that's not the spirit of the question youre asking.

from pike:

How many Film Noirs are masterpieces and why are they masterpieces?

I have to confess, ive not seen any. maybe you can ask that one again to get more interesting answers.

id like to ask mine again: how many scenes in movies have made you cry?

[Lykren]

Like, none since I was 8 or so. Before that, I can't remember.

How many funerals have you been to?

[Pike Bishop]

the generic definition of literature I am going by simply refers to written works valued for their expression and form. I would place "fiction" as a sub category of literature, which implies that "non fiction" can qualify as literature also. to exclude something like lotr as literature speaks then to a judgment as to the quality of the work (it doesn't rise to the level of dante), as opposed to the nature of it (its still a written work valued for its expression, at least by some). if there is a definition other than that, its slightly esoteric and given that---if it follows then that there is a definition that restricts what counts as literature, it would be more "narrow" on its face.

There's not much of a difference between "artistic, literary" writing and "works valued for their expression and form." So, your definition isn't very different from mine. Works valued for their expression and form tend to be artistic and literary in their expression, although some realist writers and literary genre writers aren't particularly literary in their writing; their creative imaginings and structures compensate for that lack. However, just being valued for it's expression isn't enough, or else Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey would qualify...and they're not literature. And while I would never base my judgment on whether a work rises to the quality of Dante, quality is a factor, as it is in all art. Otherwise, using your broader description, One Direction and Justin Bieber's performances would be art because many people valued the expression.

So, my definition isn't narrow; it's accurate. And LOTR is not literature because there is nothing particularly artistic about the language, the structuring of the plot, or the innovation of the narrative. High quality fiction?...yes. Literature?...no. However, if you're willing to accept Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey as literature, and One Direction and Justin Bieber as art, then at least your overly-broad definition of literature is consistent.

I've been to three funerals...knock on wood.


How many movies are truly terrifying?...and which ones?

[Pompey Bum]

Five. I hated them all and generally don't attend funerals. (I have no intention of going to my own! :))

How many pairs os shoes/sneakers do you own?

[North Star]

Four pairs

(Justin Bieber is music, just as 50S is literature, and neither is art, art music or literary.)
I can think of one truly terrifying movie - Mamma Mia!. ;)

How many movies have you seen this month?

[Lykren]

*sighs* Zero. For some reason I have a really hard time watching movies now! :( I only watch them maybe once every few months. I used to watch one a day though.

How many campfires have you had the pleasure of enjoying? Subtract the number of miserable ones.

[bounty]

I take "literary" just to mean "concerned with literature" and when substitute the phrase for the term in what you wrote, it doesn't make sense to me.

"Works valued for their expression and form tend to be artistic and literary in their expression, although some realist writers and literary genre writers aren't particularly literary in their writing..."

works valued for their expression and form tend to be artistic and concerned with literature in their expression, although some realist writers and concerned with literature genre writers aren't particularly concerned with literature in their writing...

how are you meaning the term "literary?"

anyway---what do you say we turn this into a thread on the main forum?

[North Star]

*sighs* Zero. For some reason I have a really hard time watching movies now! :( I only watch them maybe once every few months. I used to watch one a day though.

How many campfires have you had the pleasure of enjoying? Subtract the number of miserable ones.
Dozens of pleasurable campfires. (My movie watching has gone down lately as well)


How many pikes have you caught?

[Pike Bishop]

I take "literary" just to mean "concerned with literature" and when substitute the phrase for the term in what you wrote, it doesn't make sense to me.

"Works valued for their expression and form tend to be artistic and literary in their expression, although some realist writers and literary genre writers aren't particularly literary in their writing..."

works valued for their expression and form tend to be artistic and concerned with literature in their expression, although some realist writers and concerned with literature genre writers aren't particularly concerned with literature in their writing...

how are you meaning the term "literary?"

anyway---what do you say we turn this into a thread on the main forum?
You can take "literary" to mean anything you want, that doesn't make it so, nor does it make it fall in line with how the term is used in most literature departments. And your term is circular and redundant. If literary means "concerned with literature," and literature means "literary writing," then neither term means anything. So, again, unlike my accurate description, yours is way too broad and unsupported. And, of course, you can't substitute my phrase from my definition into your definition; they're not entirely compatible, and it would be fallacious and (unintentionally) arrogant to judge other definitions by how they gibe with yours. It assumes your definition is already correct before even addressing competing ones.

Finally, I thought I made it clear what I meant by literary in my analysis of LOTR: "And LOTR is not literature because there is nothing particularly artistic about the language, the structuring of the plot, or the innovation of the narrative." Those are consensually accepted standards by which most English professors, including myself, define literary fiction. Of course, the standards are different for poetry and drama, but they're not un-related. And, yes, I will be fine with continuing this on another thread if you wish to start it.



As to the pike question: None...I loathe fishing.

My question: Are there any geniuses/masters left in Jazz? If so, who?

[Pompey Bum]

How many pikes have you caught?

Only one, but hell, one's enough.

How many moose have you seen?

[Lykren]

Call me Mr. Zero (cos I keep answering that).

Have you seen any, Pompey?

How many chess variants/historical versions of the game can you name?

[North Star]

E: None.


My question: Are there any geniuses/masters left in Jazz? If so, who?

Wayne Shorter, Dave Holland, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, Jan Garbarek come to mind. Sonny Rollins is alive and kicking, too, still.


Only one, but hell, one's enough.

How many moose have you seen?
Many a moose by the roads, one in meat and horns, shot by my brother.

How many TV series' are masterpieces, and which?

[bounty]

http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?81785-how-quot-literature-quot-is-defined

[bounty]

(a moose once bit my sister...)

I led a bike trip in Alaska and we saw moose frequently, some really nifty experiences. they are almost like deer in the lower 48, they are all over the place. did a trip in Wyoming too and we saw some in Yellowstone.

oh boy---im far from the arbiter of whats a tv masterpiece! could I just get away with saying what my all time favorites are?

[Pompey Bum]

No really, moose bites can be serious.

(Go ahead).

[bounty]

smiles...

i think the wb series in the early 2000s, everwood, was the best thing on television. it was a family drama that dealt with real life issues (abortion, HIV, romance, teen-age angst, death, loss and daily life) in an amazingly intriguing and moving way. it all felt so real.

i think highly of a special forces show (nbc maybe?) right about the same time, the unit. the plots were fascinating and the stories left me hoping America has people like those the characters played in her service.

i enjoy survivor and lately (and id be happy to say why), ive become smitten with the voice.

so---2-4 for me maybe?

similar question---how many tv series/shows would you count as your favorites?
(id have to throw American restoration in there on that one)

[Pompey Bum]

I haven't watched much TV since Rocky and Bullwinkle.i have been watching The McLaughlin Group regularly since the 1980s, though. It just get funnier every week. And Masterpiece Theatre used to be good till it became Dowton Abbey. So I guess that's two and a half (unless you count F-Troop).

How many teeth have you had pulled?

[Lykren]

4 at once, wisdom. I was fully anesthetized, and given Vicodin after, but still it was no fun.

How many close friends do you have in real life whose interest in literature is roughly comparable to yours?

[North Star]

0 close friends interested in literature.

I liked Everwood, too.

My favourite TV series, apparently 11.

The Wire
All Creatures Great and Small (seasons 1-3 in particular)
Darling Buds of May (It's been downhill for Catherine Zeta-Jones ever since)
Frasier
Morse
House
Sherlock Holmes (Brett)
Sherlock
A Touch of Frost
Lewis
Poirot

Same question, how many, and which, favourite TV series

[bounty]

boris, ees moose and squirrel!

ive been fortunate to have 3 English faculty friends, and I would call them "close" in terms of our spirits and sympathies, but just not in shared life experiences and longevities. if I only count close friends by my latter terms, alas, it's zero, and much to my chagrin too!

how many books on your "im really looking forward to reading these" list?

[Lykren]

Don Quixote
Blood Wedding/The House of Bernarda Alba
100 Years of Solitude/Love in the Time of Cholera
Pedro Paramo
The Book of Disquiet
Days of Abandonment
My Struggle
The Man Without Qualities
Hedda Gabbler
My Name is Red
Hadji Murad
Selected Stories of Chekhov
Ada, or Ardor
Dear Life
Red Doc>
Mason & Dixon
Portrait of a Lady
Blood Meridian
Cathedral
Tender is the Night
The Thousand Nights and a Night
Silence
Complete Dickinson
Complete Stevens
Complete Heaney
Complete Auden
Complete Keats
Complete Blake
KJV, not JKV!

so 29.

[Pike Bishop]

Four:

Slade House by David Mitchell
The Blue Guitar by John Banville--the greatest living English/Irish novelist
Seven Eves by Neal Stephenson
The Peripheral by William Gibson

How many truly great novelists are alive today and who are they?

[Pompey Bum]

Literally hundreds.

Oh I liked All Creatures Great and Small, too, although only for the first two years (I think). Anyway, while Tristan was still there, and up until when James became a partner. After that, it seemed like a different (and not as good) show.

And it's "Boris dah-link," Bounty! :)

How many books that you couldn't finish do you plan to go back to someday?

[North Star]

Oh I liked All Creatures Great and Small, too, although only for the first two years (I think). Anyway, while Tristan was still there, and up until when James became a partner. After that, it seemed like a different (and not as good) show.
James became a partner really early on into the show (as a wedding present). The third season ended with James & Siegfried joining up, and after the Christmas specials, the actress playing Helen changed, and the housekeeper Mrs. Hall didn't return after S3.


How many books that you couldn't finish do you plan to go back to someday?
2 - For Whom The Bell Tolls and Bleak House, both of which I started around 8 years ago, BH translated into Finnish. When I get to it again, it'll be in English, of course.

Same question

[Pompey Bum]

Yes, the original housekeeper didn't return after the second year because she was dead. I think the actress was terminally ill for most of the second season. As I remember, she was wonderful.

One of my quirks is that I finish every book I start, whether I like it or not, and no matter how long it is. So none. There is none.

Hope you enjoy Bleak House when you get back to it. Some of the characters are really amazing.

How many book cases do you own?

[Lykren]

None, I've finished all of the ones I've started, at least to my knowledge. EDIT: None, but I live with my dad and he owns about a dozen.

How many years of school have you attended?

[Pompey Bum]

Too many? At least I've paid for too many. But I consider every year I live to be a year in school. And I still consider myself an autodidact.

Same question.

[North Star]

Same answer ;) apart from the payment part, what with the (almost) free education in Finland.


Yes, the original housekeeper didn't return after the second year because she was dead. I think the actress was terminally ill for most of the second season. As I remember, she was wonderful.Yes, the actress died - unsurprisingly, as she was very old. And she died after the third season. She was wonderful indeed, particularly with Tristan :)



One of my quirks is that I finish every book I start, whether I like it or not, and no matter how long it is. So none. There are none.

Hope you enjoy Bleak House when you get back to it. Some of the characters are really amazing.

How many book cases do you own?
Yes, I tend to finish my books as well, apart from those two, BH partly because I wanted to (eventually...) read the original instead, and FHTBT felt just too dull at the time. And I was rather busy with studies at the time.
One bookcase.


How many authors' complete works have you read?

[bounty]

the all creatures great and small books are amongst my very favorites. I watched a few episodes of the tv series, but just liked the books so much better. I have a number of other things by james herriot also.

im reading a Charles dickens biography right now, but ive not read bleak house. my last dickens book was hard times.

I tried going back to zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance after failing with it a first time....and alas, it bested me again!

only two that im aware of...vince Flynn (who wrote counter-terrorism thrillers) and Patrick McManus (who wrote/writes outdoor humor). im close on tom Clancy, and john grisham. I read classics too, I swear, I really do!

boris dah-link, ees moose and squirrel!

how many peanuts characters can you name?

[Calidore]

Probably just about all of them; Peanuts was some of my earliest reading, and I've been a fan my whole life.

How many stuffed animals did you have as a child?

[Lykren]

Perhaps a dozen. The one I was most attached to was from Lion King II, I think.

How many hikes do you go on per year?

[Pike Bishop]

None...I'm more of a surfing, snowboarding guy.

How many masterpiece albums have there been in this millennium?...and what are they?

[Pike Bishop]

just go past this one, I accidentally posted twice.

[Lykren]

In Rainbows
Visions
For Long Tomorrow
My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
mbv
Modern Times
Figure 8
Love Is Overtaking Me
American IV
American VI
Vespertine


There's gotta be some more, but those are what come to mind. 11 total.

Same question.

[Pike Bishop]

AM--Arctic Monkeys
Funeral--Arcade Fire
Kid A--Radiohead
Veckatimest--Grizzly Bear
Under the Iron Sea--Keane
Easy Tiger--Ryan Adams
Born to Die (Paradise Edition)--Lana Del Rey
Death Magnetic--Metallica
Dear Science--TV on the Radio
Antics--Interpol
Dreamt For Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain--Sparklehorse

[Lykren]

Next Q?

[Pike Bishop]

How many characters in American literature qualify as "iconic"?...and which ones and why.

[Lykren]

TJ Eckleburg's glasses.

The sky in 'Prufrock.'

The sea in Moby-Dick.

Death in Dickinson.

The river in Huck Finn.

The shop in The Golden Bowl.

Yoknapatawpha County.

and many more on channel 4.

How many stocks do you own?

[tonywalt]

12

How many times have you read your favourite book?

[Pike Bishop]

Those are actually literary elements, devices, personifications, and tropes (and I love your choice of the shop in The Golden Bowl)...but not actual characters. Yes, arguments can be made for anything to be a character--such as Middlemarch in Middlemarch--but i was referring to traditional characters...as in people.

So, How many characters in American literature qualify as "iconic"?...and which ones and why. Death in Dickinson, by the way, does qualify under both definitions.

[tonywalt]

12

How many times have you read your favourite book?

[Pike Bishop]

You didn't finish the second half of my question:


So, How many characters in American literature qualify as "iconic"?...and which ones and why?

[Pompey Bum]

How many times have you read your favourite book?

Only twice. There's just too much else to read.

How many times have you accidentally capsized a boat (including canoes)?

[Lykren]

Never, I think. Three times recently, on purpose, for a kayaking class (if that counts).

What's your favorite book Pompey?

How many times have you had a panic attack, or come close?

[Pompey Bum]

I don't think I've had one. Even when I was really near death, I just kept thinking about how to save myself. Looking back, I think it was more irrational denial of what was happening than detached reasoning, but I didn't panic just the same. And I've never had an irrational "panic attack" as a kind of general anxiety.

How many times have you hit a bullseye with an arrow?

[Lykren]

None! Not that my aim is especially bad, I just haven't tried enough.

How many friends have you grown apart from? (continuing the glum theme)

[Pompey Bum]

Taking 20 years ago as a baseline, all but my wife. One or two of those have a bitter story behind them, but most were just part of a healthy going forward with life.

I'm thinking of buying a small property in the western part of the US for when my wife and I are in the country. What state do you recommend?

[North Star]

E: Six friends, I think. I've never been to the States, but from the west coast I might choose Seattle.

How many favourite books can you list?

[Clopin]

All but three friends, though I maintain acquaintanceships with a few others.

How many really serious relationships have you been in so far?

[Lykren]

downtown Santa Barbara, California. Let's hang. Alternately weed will soon be legal in Oregon.

No relationships and about twenty books.

Same book question.

[Pompey Bum]

If you mean really serious romantic relations, there were two, one of which ended in marriage. If you mean, um, just "serious", I suppose it depends what you count. More than ten, less than twenty is what I tell myself. (That's not much for someone who went to college in the seventies).

Books are beyond counting.

Knowing what you know of me from the site, would I be happy in Texas?

[Lykren]

How many people in here can help Pompey Bum out with his decision?

[Pompey Bum]

Oh I'll make the decision. I'm just a bit iffy about Texas, despite the lack of state taxes.

[Lykren]

My advice in any case is to join me in SoCal. Texas is probably hot and full of cowboys.

How many short stories have you written?

[Clopin]

Pomp, go Alberta or go home, you know you want this flat tax.

And no short stories.

How many countries have you been in for more than a week consecutively?

[Lykren]

Canada and the UK. Canada I was in the sunshine coast, and for a day in Vancouver. UK, I visited London, Cambridge, Oxford, and briefly Bath. I was with my dad both times so it wasn't much fun.

How many albums do you really like that have gone number 1? On any major chart, I mean.

[Clopin]

Pompey just move to Banff, you will love it if you like any of the following things:

Clubbing
Australians
French Canadians
Nature
Wildlife
Winter (about eight months thereof)
STD's
Small Towns
Tourists

http://www.discoverholidays.ca/images/tour/ab-fairmount_banff_springs_.jpg

http://media.travelnetsolutions.com/1651d0a558aab9ef023e004a7e67350c/original.jpeg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Moraine_Lake_17092005.jpg

http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2012-10-30-Image5.jpg

[Lykren]

Lol, Banff has a rep for STDs?

Also interesting that a small, naturey town has good places to go clubbing. Something tells me Pompey is not into it though.

See, Santa Barbara is much better, we're also small and gorgeous (mountains and the beach!), proximity to LA for good concerts and events, nice coffee shops, it's a Uni town, and it's always summer. Plus, me.

[Clopin]

Uh huh, well the other day I went for a jog and one minute from my house ran into a field of ****ing elk. What do you have in Santa Barbara? Smog?

And a few weeks ago I was running, turned a corner and there was a great big bull elk right on the trail, I screamed out, leapt back, and he did the same and then I ran my *** off in the other direction, he was enormous.

And yes, Banff is the STD capital of Canada and basically a party town for transient Australians, French Canadians, travelers and people from Calgary.

[Lykren]

The air is good, actually! In terms of wildlife we have coyotes and these little endangered buddies (http://www.richardherrmann.com/images_Showcase/58-L-Ramona-Grasslands2.jpg).

[Clopin]

How many cute toads have you ever seen or captured?

[Lykren]

Many many many, they're endangered but that doesn't stop them from being all over the streams in the local foothills.

How many hot chocolates have you consumed in one day?

[Clopin]

Only two probably.

Max number of peanut butter/jam sandwiches eaten in one day?

[Lykren]

1, I don't care for them.

How many slices of tomato in a sandwich is enough?

[bounty]

as many slices to give you one thin layer for the whole of the sandwich. so somewhere in the 1-2 range depending on the size of the bread.

now onions are a different story. you can pile lots of those on!

how many pieces of bread do you typically eat in a day?

[bounty]

as many slices to give you one thin layer for the whole of the sandwich. so somewhere in the 1-2 range depending on the size of the bread.

now onions are a different story. you can pile lots of those on!

how many pieces of bread do you typically eat in a day?

hmm, double posted----I must really like onions!

[North Star]

Agh! You'd rather have a huge pile of onion on a bread than tomato? I like them both, but large quantities of raw onion are a chore to eat, unless it's with roe and sour cream, or something like that.

How many slices of bread? Maybe 4-6, depends on whether I have porridge for breakfast.

How many reindeer have you seen?

[Pike Bishop]

Santa's 9 every Christmas for the last 16 years.

How many science fiction authors are geniuses and which ones?

[Calidore]

Too many to list all of them. Asimov, certainly, and all the others who are legitimate scientists. Then there's the likes of Iain M. Banks and Peter F. Hamilton, who had/have brilliant imaginations. I could do a much better list if most of my books weren't in storage.

How about overachieving authors? As in, those who make their ordinary ideas extraordinary through force of will and effort.

[Clopin]

Sartre, C.S Lewis, Tolstoy, Flaubert are people I would think of if I'm reading the question right.

[Lykren]

I would add Carver to Clopin's list. He worked hard.

How many naturally gifted writers are there, ie the opposite of Calidore's question.

[Pompey Bum]

A lot of naturally gifted writers, Lykren.

How many scars do you have?

[North Star]

Four scars, two of them from knife cuts to my fingers while doing woodwork as a young lad.

How many scarves do you have?

[Pompey Bum]

Four prominent ones: two "sexy dueling scars" which are actually just from being clumsy as a kid; and two abdominal scars surgery as a young man.

How many times have you been too tipsy to drive safely this year?

[North Star]

Four prominent ones: two "sexy dueling scars" which are actually just from being clumsy as a kid; and two abdominal scars surgery as a young man.

How many times have you been too tipsy to drive safely this year?
Maybe three times, but I wasn't driving, and didn't need to.

And, again - how many scarves do you have? ;)

[Pompey Bum]

Heh heh. THREE!

How many eye-glasses do you have?

[Lykren]

Uno, a very cheap and bent pair that I need at all times.

How many friends do you have whom you see most weeks?

[Lykren]

A lot of naturally gifted writers, Lykren.

Well, okay, duh; but like, who are the top ones?

[Pompey Bum]

Well, okay, duh; but like, who are the top ones?

Oh I dunno, Lykren, it sounds like another desert island list question to me. Someone else can answer if they like.


How many friends do you have whom you see most weeks?

In the States, only my wife and Dad. In Taiwan, maybe three or four, plus my two brothers-in-law. How's that for sad?

Same question.

[Lykren]

That's true, we've done our share of those lists.

I have one friend whom I've been friends with and in continuous contact with for a decade now (we're also going to UCLA together this fall), and we work together now. So that's wonderful. Other than her, though, none; two friends in the Bay Area, one in NY, one in town who's always busy.

How many friends of the opposite gender do you have? How many of the same?

[Pompey Bum]

All guys except my wife. Marriage does that to you eventually.

And congratulations on UCLA! I had no Idea you were so young. You have the understanding of the wise. Good luck with it.

How many times have you been (or felt like you were) in love!?

[Lykren]

Thank you! I'm not 18, though, I'm 22 since I took a year off after HS then went to Community College.

Love!? Haha. Four times already. I'm friends with all of them now...

How many houses have you lived in for more than a year?

[Clopin]

Eight.

How many bugs would you pick out of a ten pound bag of rice before throwing the entire thing away?

[Pompey Bum]

A lot of bugs. Wasting food's bad, m'kay?

How many books would you read by a reputedly good author you can't stand before giving up on him/her?

[Lykren]

2 or 3 600-paged ones I suppose. I usually can at least 'stand' authors I don't like much though.

How many scoops of gelato is just right?

[Clopin]

Two to both questions, two books, two scoops.

How many times would you listen to a reputedly great album you didn't really like before giving up on it?

[Lykren]

Depends on how much I hate it. I gave B*itches Brew like two tries, and The King of Limbs maybe 1. So not many.

How many trees can you say right now?

[North Star]

Say? see? name species? I can see some through the window but it's dark outside. I could name quite a few -
acacia, alder, apple, ash, aspen, beech, birch, cherry, cedar, mahogany, maple, oak, palm, pine, rowan, spruce, teak, willow, etc

How many classical concerts have you been to?

[Pompey Bum]

I used to go to the Boston Symphony all the time when I was younger. So I don't know, lots?

How many things have you done that are you truly ashamed of? (I'm not asking what they were).

[Lykren]

I meant see, oops.

I have been to about 50 classical concerts, I think. Best was seeing Lang Lang performing Mozart's 17th Piano Concerto, but the one I just went to 2 days ago, the Anne-Sophie Mutter Trio performing the Archduke and the Tchaikovsky A minor was pretty great as well. Music Academy of the West's Magic Flute and Santa Barbara Opera's Rigoletto were awesome. I went to the latter with a girl I was in love with, and there were epic feels to be had... sadly not of the physical kind.

I also saw LA Opera's Gotterdammerung a few years ago, and had a good but not great time.

Oh, and Academy of St. Martin in the Field's Beethoven 7, directed by Joshua Bell, turned Beethoven 7 into my favorite Beethoven, so that was great too.

EDIT: 1 stands out. That one I am ashamed of.

Same question (about concerts).

[Clopin]

I used to go to the Boston Symphony all the time when I was younger. So I don't know, lots?

How many things have you done that are you truly ashamed of? (I'm not asking what they were).

Eh truly and deeply ashamed? Let's see... well aside from saying mean things to my mom when I was like fourteen-sixteen I don't think I've done anything about which I need to feel any deep shame and I'm not really all too ashamed of that either.

[Pompey Bum]

In the absence of a question from Clopin, I'll ask: how many things have you done that you are truly proud of? (Again, I'm not asking what they were).

[Lykren]

Hm, learned clarinet, written a few decent poems, I guess that's it. I haven't done anything to be morally proud of.

Same question.

[North Star]

Some of my photography, I suppose, or a few sets linked somehow. I'll count that as a single thing.

How many times have you eaten fish this week?

[Lykren]

None, I rarely eat seafood.

How many times have you dove off a tall rock into a stream (a common activity in these parts)?

[North Star]

No tall rocks next to deep enough parts of bodies of water in the parts to engage in that activity.
How many times have you swam this year?

[Lykren]

Once.

How many emails do you receive a day, on average?

[Pompey Bum]

I wouldn't know. I seldom check.

How many times have you failed to give up meat?

[Lykren]

Never tried, so zero.

How many bosses have you had that you really got along with well?

[Pompey Bum]

All if you mean being able to work well with them; but none if you mean liked or even remotely respected.

How many televisions do you own?

[Lykren]

none if you mean liked or even remotely respected?

:thumbs_up

None but my dad whom I live with owns one.

How many sweaters do you own?

[Pompey Bum]

Only three or four here. None "there."

How many years old do you think you will be when you say, Okay, I feel like I'm ready to get married now if I could find the right lady?

[Lykren]

Christ, I don't think I'll ever be functional enough to say that.

How many unsalaried jobs have you had?

(ie wage labor)

[Pompey Bum]

Only one. I worked as a stock boy in the perfume department of a big department store as a High School student. I had to lift heavy boxes for all these gorgeous (or as they say now, "hot") and "purty-smellin'" 19-year-old-women, who acted like I was such a man for helping them. It was Heaven.

How 'bout you?

[Lykren]

2, the only jobs I've ever had, and as you know from the fact that I am typing this while working the second one, it's kinda plum. The first was at a trendy SoCal froyo chain, Pinkberry.

How many salaried jobs have you had?

[Pompey Bum]

Only three real jobs. And I was never fired. I hated the American office place, but I did it for my wife (who was busy doing it for me). It's important to be financially solvent.

How many venomous snakes have you seen in the wild?

[Lykren]

It's important to be financially solvent.

I know. Damn it. :(

Seen none, heard one.

How many birds of prey have you come quite close to?

[Pompey Bum]

I've been pretty close to osprey while saltwater fishing at various times. And I passed a dead and completely frozen turkey vulture on a road several winters ago: cool, but also sad, since we seldom got them in the NE.There used to be a harrier eagle that would hunt our bird feeder birds when my wife and I were first married. And I've been around lots of red-tailed hawks. Never close enough to touch one, though, which worked fine for me.

If you died today, how many people do you think would come to your funeral?

[Lykren]

5-10 friends, plus at least 30 family members. Not sure at all though.

How many equations for a solid's volume can you remember?

[Pompey Bum]

The only one that comes to mind is stool softener.

How many clocks are in your residence, and how many give the correct time?

[Lykren]

3 analog if that's what you mean, and I believe they are all correct.

How many giraffes have you seen?

[North Star]

I have seen some giraffes in the two zoos.

How many reindeer have you seen?

[Lykren]

Thousands. Of drawings.

How many blankets do you sleep with?

[North Star]

Thousands. Of drawings.
That's hardly the same thing. It's infinitely more annoying to wait for the idiots to move away from the road.


How many blankets do you sleep with?
One blanket.
How many pillows?

[Pompey Bum]

Five pillows, including one of those horseshoe pillows people use on airplanes (I have some chronic neck pain).

Would you rather get arthritis or baldness?

[North Star]

Baldness. I like my hair, but it's not much more than cosmetic.

Same question.

[Pompey Bum]

I have arthritis from an old neck fracture and only small to moderate balding, but I would gladly go cue ball to be out of the pain.

Have you ever seen a bear in the wild?

[North Star]

Haven't ever seen a bear in the wild - they aren't at all keen to come in contact with humans in Finland.

How many times have you seen a fox?

[Pompey Bum]

Dozens of times, most recently on Tuesday.

How many deadlines (for anything) do you have at the moment?

[Lykren]

3 - UCLA and UCSB's statements of intent to register, and Middlebury's summer program's payment.

Same question.

[Pompey Bum]

*Lou Reed imitation* Ah sweet nothin'!

What's for lunch?

[Lykren]

Charming song!

A BLT from the shop across the street from the store.

How many visual artworks are in your house reproductions or otherwise?

[North Star]

No reproductions, apart from the photography books (Atget, Adams, Karsh).
Same question.

[Lykren]

Among about a dozen, my dad owns an oil by Ray Strong (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Strong), who was our neighbor for a long time. I can't find a picture of it online and I'm not at the house right now though.

How many newspapers in your town?

[North Star]

One newspaper in this town.
How many in yours?

[Lykren]

One also! A very plagued-with-controversy paper. Interesting fact: the owner enforces the spelling of 'blond' with an 'e'.

How many times a year do you get a haircut?

[North Star]

Thrice a year

How many times have you laughed aloud today?

[Lykren]

Twice -- at the Another Creative Game thread!

How many people work at your workplace?

[Pompey Bum]

Heh heh. :-P

How many times did you hit your snooze alarm this morning before actually getting up?

[tonywalt]

once, always once.

How many hours a day do you spend on the internet? (and be honest)

[Lykren]

Recently like at least 7!! :( #lazy

How many pickles in a sitting?

[North Star]

Two pickles in a sitting on average, perhaps. A while since I've eaten them, though

How many poems have you written?

[Lykren]

A couple thousand at least.

How many essays have you written?

[North Star]

Quite a few in sr. high, and some in university.

To how many persons have you said 'I love you'?

[Lykren]

1, 2.

Same question!

[North Star]

Also two

How many favourite (visual) artists can you name?

[Lykren]

18.07 ;)

How many days do you wear a shirt before changing it?

[North Star]

It depends, maybe two on average.

How many favourite (visual) artists will you name below your answer? ;)

[Pompey Bum]

None.

If you had only one book, in what 10 prisons or desert islands would you choose to read it?

[Clopin]

Hahaha, I can't possibly think of ten, or even one.

How many people do you know you have made cry in your life?

[Pompey Bum]

Who have made me cry? Just my Mom and maybe a teacher or two. And I'm sure I deserved it each time and grew from the experience. But I've cried on my own--just because I felt like it--lots of times.

Have you ever dated a person of another "race"?

[Clopin]

Who have made me cry? Just my Mom and maybe a teacher or two. And I'm sure I deserved it each time and grew from the experience. But I've cried on my own--just because I felt like it--lots of times.

Have you ever dated a person of another "race"?

No no, people who you have caused to cry.

And no, not yet, but I'm working on it. So how many, is zero ;)

How many Rick Owens leather jackets before you decide enough is en... Okay wait, how many species of reptile or amphibian have you captured and messed around with in your youth?

[Pompey Bum]

Oh it's impossible to know how many people anyone's made cry because many of them do their crying alone.

And on reflection, probably two species: the frog and the snake.

How many deer have you seen in the wild this year?

[Clopin]

Probably over a hundred, I live in a national park and see deer probably once or twice a day. Elk too, I ran into a field full of elk the other day.

I once waded into a pond when I was nine or so with some friends, dived to the bottom to scare the frogs out and we collected at least thirty bullfrogs in a garbage bin. Imagine my horror when we opened the lid and saw small frog legs sticking out of the mouths of the bigger bullfrogs! It was actually quite terrible, anyway after that the property owner killed them all because they are a serious pest!

How many mice have you caught in traps?

[Pompey Bum]

That is completely cool about the National Park.

I probably killed a dozen or so mice in various student-era apartments. I always hated doing it, but what was the choice?

If you could be sure of your water supply, would you ever consider living in a desert?

[Clopin]

Ja, I live here.

http://banffbehavsci.ubc.ca/files/2011/09/Banff-pic-2.jpg

And no I would rather not live in a desert.

Should polygamy be legal if all parties consent to it?

[Pompey Bum]

My God, how beautiful! I'd sing O Canada five times a day for that!

If all parties are also adults, yes.

Should a hoarder be allowed to keep as much scrap metal and junk on his lawn as he likes, even of it brings his neighbor's property values down?

[Clopin]

Haha I thought you would say no to polygamy; I agree by the way.

Again this isn't something I'm totally qualified to answer, I'm not a property owner and i don't know all the rules, and while my heart tells me "property rights", I can understand situations where a homeowner could make life intolerable for all of his immediate neighbours. Undecided but leaning towards no, actually.

Would you collect bottles/cans from the garbage if you could make more money doing so than you do currently, but all your family and friends knew you did this and saw you do it quite frequently?

[Pompey Bum]

Actually, the answer is probably yes, unless there is a compelling public health/safety reason. Property rights are what the law's all about.

If I were that hard up, I might do it to shame the family and friends who wouldn't help me out. But it's hard to imagine that situation being the case outside of someplace like Jakarta.

How many times have you broken a bone?

[North Star]

How many times have you broken a bone?

My own, or someone else's? :D I haven't done either.

Same question.

[Clopin]

No broken bones, no fractures, no stitches, no sprains, no anything for me, ever.

How many items of significant sentimental value do you own?

[Pompey Bum]

Well, my late mother's charm bracelet, that's one. And a cartoon my wife drew for me when we were dating, that's two. Two!

How many keepsakes do you have from ex-girlfriends (std's don't count)?

[Clopin]

Haha only memories; I destroy all physical remnants of my relationships.

How many cups of coffee is too many?

[Lykren]

Uno.

How many cookies is too many?

[North Star]

How many cookies is too many?
Twenty. :)

How many deciliters of ice cream is too much?

[Buckthorn]

Twenty. :)

How many deciliters of ice cream is too much?

Anything over 5.68. I believe in single pint servings (pint partys) for Ice Cream

How many preserves/spreads do you have in the fridge at the moment?

[North Star]

Anything over 5.68. I believe in single pint servings (pint partys) for Ice Cream

How many preserves/spreads do you have in the fridge at the moment?
I think I have finally found a belief system that suits me.

The only 'spread' in there at the moment is some spreadable butter. :(

How many poems have you read this week?

[Pompey Bum]

Too many. I need to get back to dry land.

How many pieces of paper do you have in your wallet, which you stuck there because you didn't know where else to put them, then forgot all about? Go ahead and look.

[bounty]

zero poems...im a pretty rare poem reader/writer. but I did read a couple last week by Robert Louis Stevenson that I enjoyed.

knowing im not much of a poetry reader, but you want to get me to appreciate poetry more, what three poems would you recommend I read?

how many new (to you) musical recording artists have you been turned onto this past week?

[Pompey Bum]

Zero.

How many dreams can you remember from this week?

[Clopin]

One from last night, maybe I should start writing them down.

How many bags of luggage for a trip lasting two weeks?

[bounty]

just one backpack...and it wouldn't be full really.

how many Harrison ford movies can you name?

[Pike Bishop]

American Graffiti
Star Wars
Hanover Street
The Empire Strikes Back
Blade Runner
Revenge of the Jedi
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Regarding Henry
Hollywood Homicide
The Mosquito Coast
Witness
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Air Force One
A Clear and Present Danger
Patriot Games
Cowboys and Aliens
42
What Lies Beneath
The Devil's Own
Presumed Innocent

[Pompey Bum]

how many Harrison ford movies can you name?

A lot of Harrison Ford movies, Bounty.

How many hours of minutes of quiet reflection do you typically set aside (or at least get) each day?

[Lykren]

I never consciously set time aside.

How many times a month do you eat out?

[Pompey Bum]

In Taiwan, many dozens of times; in America, only three or four.

How many beards have you had (that is, between periods of being clean shaven)?

[Lykren]

Erm, I hate shaving so I've had dozens of short-term beards.

How many bearded women have you seen?

[Pompey Bum]

Well, not to be blunt, but all of them. ;-) But if you mean "bearded ladies," none.

Same question

[Clopin]

I've never grown a full beard, and I've never seen a woman with a full beard.

How many friends have you maintained for at least half of your entire life (0 here).

[Pompey Bum]

I no longer have any close friends from that time or before, although I sometimes get calls from a few of them.

How many times have you run into an ex-teacher in public?

[Lykren]

Many times, I grew up and live in a small town.

I have one friend I've had for a decade, and one I've known for 15 years. So just one since I'm 22, but in a year it'll become 2.

How many Miles Davis songs have you listened to?

[Clopin]

I no longer have any close friends from that time or before, although I sometimes get calls from a few of them.

How many times have you run into an ex-teacher in public?

Just once. I ran into my seventh grade homeroom (so the one you spend the most time with) teacher when I was fourteen after having just moved to Banff, we both gave each other a sort of "wait, do I know him?" look and passed by. I should have talked to him, he was definitely one of the best teachers I've ever had, nice man.

How many times have you run into an ex lover in public?

[Pompey Bum]

A lot of Miles Davis songs, Lykren. :)

I don't really remember how many ex-lovers I've met (I've been married for 20+ years), but I ran into an old lover at a party a few years ago. It had been a very serious relationship that almost ended in marriage. I hadn't seen her in maybe 25 years. I walked out of a bathroom and straight into a conversation she was having with my wife. (Each had figured out who the other was, though they had never met before). I just looked at them and said: "Uh-oh." They both cracked up. Great party.

Same question.

[Clopin]

Three, one of them is friends with people I am friends with back in Victoria so I run into her every so often and one, who I dated for three years I ran into a few weeks ago and it was sort of horrible haha.

How many different political parties have you ever voted for?

[Pompey Bum]

Only the two major ones here. I'm an independent and a moderate, though. Party loyalty means nothing to me.

The eternal political question: would you vote for a candidate who had no chance of winning, out of principle, if it took a vote away from an acceptable compromise candidate in a close race with a completely unacceptable one?

[Clopin]

Yes, definitely and I would campaign for that candidate as well to spread awareness. This sort of thing is why proportional representation can be much better, though it has flaws as well and first past the post seems a little outdated.

I don't think a candidate I would find acceptable would have a shot at presidency however, so it's sort of a moot question. Between Obama and Romney I'll take Ron Paul in a heartbeat and between Cameron and Miliband i'm voting UKIP.

How many politicians have you had the opportunity to vote for in your life and who you believed would truly bring about positive change?

[Lykren]

Zero, because of course nothing will ever change.

How many times have you set yourself a major life goal and then completely abandoned it?

[Clopin]

Well my life goals are

Read a few thousand books (in progress)
Become a professional level chef (in progress, begun)
Become a professional level drawer and painter/artist (just began last week)
Learn French and one additional language fluently enough to read the literature (not even begun, though my French is sort of higher than a beginner's)
Have Children (not really begun)
Learn an instrument (have not started)
Win a Smash Brothers Melee tournament (practicing, begun)

So I mean, yes, I sort of abandon them, but I always keep them in mind.

Same question.

Oh and I want to get really fit and learn a martial art/boxing, but I haven't really started that either.

[Lykren]

Read Genji and Snow Country in their original language - started, looks like progress is going okay
Become a regularly-published poet - well, I have one poem published, but recently I re-read my poems and now I have serious doubts again
Become damn good at improvising on the piano - have been practicing for years, but I just need regular access to a piano :/
Read Proust in the French
Get married, have kids - I keep giving up on and re-starting this one

How many life goals do you think you will realistically accomplish?

[Clopin]

All of them, no doubt.

[Pompey Bum]

No doubt.

I've voted in every American presidential election since Reagan's first term victory. All brought change.

How many animals have you personally killed?

[Clopin]

Maybe a dozen or so fish, lots of crabs I used to catch with a trap, lots of clams and mussels and oysters and other shellfish to eat. Also I stomped on a rat once which had been partially run over and was gasping for breath on the road, but that was a mercy killing. Nothing else to my knowledge.

Same question.

[Pompey Bum]

I killed and butchered countless fish who were dumb enough to take my bait; and decapitated countless chickens for dinner when I lived in Africa. I swallowed countless live shellfish growing up in New England (it was them or me). I trapped my share of mice, poisoned one rat, and beat another to death with a club. Later in life I found a mole in my lawn and was about to kill it with a shovel (moles tear up your lawn), but instead I trapped it in a net, drove it to a field far from me, and set it free. When it realized it was trapped in the net, it started screaming.

How many children do you want to have?

[Clopin]

(it was them or me)

I laughed out loud. And then I laughed at the screaming mole...

Between two and four, though I've recently become worried that this life goal might be impossible to complete.

How many times have you nearly died or been in a situation where dying was a likely outcome (fighting a battle, a car crash, etc)?

[Pompey Bum]

Several times, actually (at least where death was a possible outcome). I was hit by a motorcycle in London and thrown head first onto the curb (landing on my eye and tearing the lid open). I didn't lose the eye, but still have limited feeling on the left side of my forehead. It was a strange experience: I was completely amnesiac (no pain, just high as a kite); I had no idea where I was, but I knew I was outside and thought maybe I'd gotten really drunk at a cookout, and that was why I was so confused. Eventually I touched my head and realized I'd been hurt when my whole palm came back red with blood. The cops later told me that I had been wandering in traffic.

I also collapsed in a remote African market one time (the guy with me told me that my eyes rolled back completely and my limbs were flailing). It was probably just too much sun. We emptied the market, though, since the locals were convinced I was being attacked by a kind of vampire ghost that ate souls. All I remember, though, is really loud Bruce Springsteen music playing in my head, and a feeling of being grabbed by the lapels and shaken around.

The worst one, though, was after I had returned to Africa following surgery to remove my spleen (which probably rendered my immune system too compromised to return safely, but there I was). I was staying with a girlfriend in a small town about 800 miles into the rainforest. A plane came to the local airstrip once a month to bring mail (no email in those days). My girlfriend had left for Libreville that morning and was not expected back until the following week. During the night, the rainy season started, which washed mud into the little shack. But worse, I became nauseated, then very nauseated, then my abdomen started to hurt like hell, then the pain moved to the left side. Acute appendicitis. Immuno-compromised. 800 miles of rainforest between me and a surgeon. No way out. I don't know if you've ever had appendicitis, but it really hurts. I tried to get out of the house, but I couldn't even stand up. I tried to crawl out, but only managed to lie flat in the mud. Not that it mattered much. No one could have helped me even if I had made it out. There was nothing to crawl to. I stayed that way for hours, the pain getting worse and worse, when quite unexpectedly, the door opened and my friend walked in to say that the rains had delayed the plane and that she was still in town. To make a long story short, she saved my life by carrying me, screaming all the way, to the airstrip (she was this big strapping Irish-German girl), where she convinced the pilot to fly me to the city, then convinced an expatriate Jewish doctor (no kidding) to take my appendix out for free. Now that was a friend. I've had several other close calls, but that was the worst.

How many times have you walked out on a movie because it was just so bad?

[Clopin]

Woah, crazy stories! I have never had a brush with death myself.

Just one, this piece of trash http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/I'm_Still_Here_(2010_film)

Though I was tempted to walk out of The Hobbit as well.

How many times do you cook in a day?

[Pompey Bum]

Eeeeeuuuuwwww! Hope you didn't miss the big defecation scene. (What a waste of coffee grounds and hummus).

In America, my wife and usually I cook rice in a rice cooker (lasts days) and have some kind of vegetable with it (which we cook each night). Anyone who wants more to go with it makes it. I make breakfast, unless it's just something fast. In Taiwan, though, we buy breakfast and lunchbox every day (usually just by walking down to the street), and go out for dinner two or three times a week. It's a food culture, with lots of cheap eats if you know where they are.

How many days/hours/minutes do you typically wait after finishing one book before you start the next one?

[tonywalt]

minutes. I usually have one lined up. (this is the desired order).

How many minutes/hours do you typically read in one sitting?

[Pompey Bum]

I'm retired, so it's often five or six hours at a time.

How many dollars should I stick in the Cayman Islands?

[Lykren]

None of them, Pompey. You should give them to me. ;)

How many cafes have you become a regular at?

[Clopin]

One when I was fifteen and pretending to do correspondence school.

How many coffee drinks do you know you like?

[Lykren]

Lol I like that iced caramel sh*t you probably have no patience for.

How many years old were when you got drunk for the first time?

[Clopin]

Fourteen years old.

Same question.

[Lykren]

19.

How many dreams do you remember per week?

[Pompey Bum]

It depends. Sometimes one, sometimes none, sometimes several. I've kept a dream journal for years, but I only write nightmares in it (which tend to be the ones I remember).

Do you have any recurrent dreams?

[Lykren]

I think once I had a dream that recurred after a ten-year interval, but that may have been de ja vu.

How many children is too many?

[Pompey Bum]

One more than parents can afford is too many.

How many glasses of wine is too many?

[Lykren]

About four or five.

How many recordings of the composition you have the most recordings of do you have? (wow do I even speak English)

[North Star]

About four or five.

How many recordings of the composition you have the most recordings of do you have? (wow do I even speak English)
Six recordings of the Beethoven PS in C major Op. 53 'Waldstein'. I'm pretty sure that's the piece I have most recordings of.
Same question.

[Lykren]

I have five recordings each of the Appassionata and the Hammerklavier.

How many olives in a medium-sized loaf of olive bread is appropriate?

[Pompey Bum]

Four or five glasses of wine? Remind me never to drive in California!

Jeez, I dunno, Lykren, why don't you just fish them out of a dozen martinis? :)

How many jobs have you ever applied for?

[North Star]

I have five recordings each of the Appassionata and the Hammerklavier.

How many olives in a medium-sized loaf of olive bread is appropriate?
I have only four of both of those.
Many olives.

The most books from one author, how many, who and which? (Individual Shakespeare plays don't count)

E: Maybe a half a dozen job applications

[Pompey Bum]

Probably Dickens, I'm not sure.

How many jobs have you ever applied for?

[Lykren]

Four or five glasses of wine? Remind me never to drive in California!

Jeez, I dunno, Lykren, why don't you just fish them out of a dozen martinis? :)

How many jobs have you ever applied for?

Haha, I rarely ever drink that much. And I would drink them over the course of a long night.

I've applied to maybe 3 dozen jobs.

I have every book by Nabokov. I stole them, though, does it still count?

[Pompey Bum]

Only if you stole them from a minor.

How many times have you been in a church, temple, or mosque (for any reason) this year?

[Lykren]

Zero.

How many t-shirts that have words or pictures representing things you like do you own?

[Pompey Bum]

I don't know, probably most of them, but I don't have that many. I do have a cap with the letters 103 written in parts Taiwan's flag on it. Since it's hard to see the flag if you're not looking for it, and since the colors of the Taiwan flag are red, white, and blue, I get all sorts of inappropriate respect when I wear the hat in America. I think people figure I must be a combat veteran of the 103rd something-or-other. Actually it just commemorates the 103rd year since the founding of the Republic of China (I got the hat for going to the parade).

Should veterans have entitled status in our society?

[Lykren]

Well, the government should recompense them for damage taken in its defense. But in terms of discounts in stores and such, I don't see how that makes sense. Sue me.

How many people with Lyme disease do you know?

[bounty]

two people who are friends who have had lyme disease, and another 1-2 who I am not remembering specifically.

how many countries haven't you been to that youd really like to visit?

[Pompey Bum]

A lot of countries, Bounty. :)

How many times (if ever) have you been shot at?

[bounty]

laughs...you said that last time I asked!

never shot at, but was told once by someone "I have a gun" (fun story behind that one) and was threatened once with a knife.

how many ounces/milliliters of fluid can you chug without stopping?

[Pompey Bum]

A lot of fluid ounces, Bounty. Then I'd die.

What is the best way to stay hydrated if you get lost in the desert?

[Lykren]

Not sweating.

How many helium balloons would it take to lift you off the ground?

[Pompey Bum]

A lot of helium balloons, Lykren (OH THE HUMANITY!!!)

How many hours did you work in the past week?

[Lykren]

26.5

How many concerts have you been to this year?

[Pompey Bum]

0.0

I did see Yes in 1976, though.

How many haircuts have you had in 2015?

[Lykren]

Also none, but I'm overdue.

How many short stories by the same author would you read in a single sitting, if you really enjoyed that author?

[Pompey Bum]

(Just got my first one today).

I usually read in spurts of three to six or seven hours, so as many as I finished in that time. I'd finish the whole book, though, before starting anything new.

How many cookouts do you estimate you will be expected to attend this year?

[Pendragon]

Hopefully, none.

How many books do you read per week?

[tonywalt]

at most 1 - but generally one every two weeks.

How many times a week do you drink alcohol? (caveat: if you don't drink then question is not applicable)

[Clopin]

No times a week generally and maybe six times a year at most.

How many really great parties have you been to?

[Pompey Bum]

I drink about the same amount as Clopin. I had a glass of wine over the weekend, which I think was my first drink all year.

Twelve stunning birthday parties, and a handful of fun-ish adolescent dos. But all "single life" parties were pretentious beaver shoots, including the ones crashed by Fritz Mondale and (especially) Ted Kennedy. And married-life parties were pretty lame, too. I like family get togethers though, although we don't have them that often. But my brothers and I have managed to form a, well, a brotherhood over the years.

So, I dunno, maybe 20?

How many famous authors have you met/seen in person and who were they?

[tonywalt]

Not too many: michael ondaatje and john updike, in terms of very famous LITERARY writers.

Same good question.

[Pompey Bum]

Which one was the good question?

[tonywalt]

How many famous authors have you met/seen in person and who were they?

[Pompey Bum]

Kurt Vonnegut, Ann Rice, A.S. Byatt. So three.

Same question.

[tonywalt]

David Foster Wallace

How many books (on a percentage basis) to you begin reading but then put down?

[Pompey Bum]

0% over about 30 years (maybe longer).

Same question.

[Pendragon]

Less than 2% of what I start.

How many negative book reviews have you written?

[tonywalt]

20% are negative.

How many pages in the book you are currently reading? (and what is it?)

[Pike Bishop]

Page 30 of William Gison's The Peripheral

How many British Romantic poets do you consider great and which ones?

[tonywalt]

Blake
Keats
Wordsworth
Coleridge
Gordon
Byron (perhaps overly romantic, but gifted)
Shelley

How many times have you worn a tuxedo/dinner jacket to an event in the last 3 years?

[Pompey Bum]

Five or six.

How many religious services have you attended this year?