Happy Birthday JBI!!

[papayahed]

:bday_2::banana:Happy Birthday JBI:banana::bday_2:


http://www.intimateweddings.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/book-cake.jpg

http://dancenet.s3.amazonaws.com/images/i907/428675.954canada_day_cake_larg.jpg

[Mathor]

Happy birthday JBI!!!!

[Lynne50]

Happy Birthday To You:bday_2: JBI

[Helga]

have a wonderful birthday JBI!!!

[Scheherazade]

Happy Birthday, JBI! :)


An interview with JBI:

Why are we doing this interview thing?
Because all the cool kids were doing it :$

Are you sure you want to do this?
...

Are you male or female?
Male, most of the time anyway

What is your name (if you don't mind sharing it with us)?
Jonathan Ben-Israel

Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?

You, did baby, you did: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/crashtestdummies/keepalidonthings.html That's so 90s

If you had a personal theme song what would it be?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtrthXXmKgA

What makes you keep coming back to the Forum?
The people, and the fact (though it is a close call) I haven't been bananad yet.

It has been a year since the last interview. What have been the high and low points?
- Didn't get one last year, but I've been in school studying languages (and a little bit of English lit).

The best and worst books you have read during last year?
Best book: http://www.amazon.com/Chinese-Poetry-2nd-ed-Revised/dp/0822319462/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249431191&sr=8-2

Worst book: http://www.amazon.com/Journey-Northern-Ocean-Samuel-Classics/dp/1894898605/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249431254&sr=1-1

Part 1:

The biggest surprises of the past year (both pleasant and unpleasant)?
Pleasant - me studying Chinese this summer, which was a bit of a spontaneous decision
Unpleasant - the actual studying (I haven't had time to read anything this summer)

What has been the the biggest change in your life since your last birthday?
Location - I am not in Italy, less people live in my house, I speak more languages, and have far less free time.

Do you feel comfortable in your walk with God/atheism?

12
Colors blind the eye.
Sounds deafen the ear.
Flavors numb the taste.
Thoughts weaken the mind.
Desires wither the heart.

The Master observes the world
but trusts his inner vision.
He allows things to come and go.
His heart is open as the sky.

Dao De Ching - LaoZi

Given the option, what animal would you choose to be?
Walrus


What is your role in an emergency situation: the 911 dialer, the person who runs to the scene to help, the video recorder, or the person too overcome by shock to do anything?
Neither, probably the person who doesn't stop and just keeps on walking. It's not that I'm mean, but if there is an emergency, and other people are around, I'd rather not have to get involved with all that.

What song is in your head at the moment?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfegOxTCuOQ

Which book are you reading at the moment?
A few of them, but currently, the ones open on my desk, http://www.amazon.ca/Enfants-bonhomme-dans-lune/dp/2760410552/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249431993&sr=8-2

http://www.amazon.ca/Modern-Canadian-Plays-Jerry-Wasserman/dp/0889224374/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249432083&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.ca/Anthology-Chinese-Literature-Beginnings-1911/dp/0393971066/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1249432136&sr=1-1

The last book you finished reading?
Now, a better question - Just finished doing a comparative study in translations from French and Italian and English of Dao De Ching by LaoZi.

What are you wearing at the moment?
Not enough to discuss - it's hot outside.

Which LitNet members would you like to meet in person if you could?
Oh, now is the part where I leave people out unintentionally, so, the first thing one needs to ask, is where.

Anywhere, probably JinJang, Silas Thorne, Crystalmoonshin, Neely, EyeMaker, Limajean, Bazarov, Etienne, amongst others.

Outside the US - Mortalterror, St. Lukesguild, Virgil, DrkShadow -

Sorry if I missed anyone.

Last food did you have?
A bowl of egg-noodle soup, with barbequed pork and duck in Toronto's China town - went with one of my friends from Hong Kong so she ordered in Cantonese.

What should you be doing at the moment instead of answering these questions?
Copying out Chinese Characters.

Last dream you remember having?
I don't remember/have any dreams - can't remember any.

Are you mostly happy with life or are you still in pursuit?
I'm quite happy, but as Tennyson put it,

I am a part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethro'
Gleams that untravell'd world, whose margin fades
For ever and for ever when I move.
How dull it is to pause, to make an end,
To rust unburnish'd, not to shine in use!
As tho' to breathe were life. Life piled on life
Were all too little, and of one to me
Little remains: but every hour is saved
From that eternal silence, something more,
A bringer of new things; and vile it were
For some three suns to store and hoard myself,
And this gray spirit yearning in desire
To follow knowledge like a sinking star,
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.

I think anyone who disagrees is probably lying to some extent.

How often do you tell lies?
I don't lie, ever, but, as Dickinson put it:

Tell all the Truth but tell it slant---
Success in Cirrcuit lies
Too bright for our infirm Delight
The Truth's superb surprise
As Lightening to the Children eased
With explanation kind
The Truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind---

What gives your life meaning?
Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll - and Leopardi.

What type of Faerie would you like to be and why?
One of those weird Japanese Anime ones.

If you were a colour, what colour would you be and why?
Hot pink - I think anyone who knows me can say why.

Do those animated smilies ever get tired? Think of them day after day, dancing or crashing computers or laughing or crying till the end of time...
I wondered if the organ player stops when people aren't in the church, or the Gregorian Chanter stops chanting when the building is empty - I bet it is the same way.

One thing you would like to do before your next birthday?
Not get banned from here.

One final word of wisdom for LitNet users?
Novels suck, poetry is better.

[Zee.]

"Not get banned from here"


ahaha, Happy Birthday!

[Nightshade]

:bday_2:Happy birthday JBI! :bday_2:
:D

[LitNetIsGreat]

:santasmil Happy Christmas! :thumbs_up

(I'm really sorry I just love that little Christmas dude.)

[Janine]

Happy Birthday! Hope it was a great day for you and you haven't been banned yet. LOL

[Logos]

Happy Birthday JBI :)

[Virgil]

Happy birthday JBI. :bday_2:

What a lovely piece of music that was. Loved it.

Nice interview. I am so impressed with your ability to speak languages. Thank you for mentioning me. We certainly have a lot to talk about if we met. ;)

Here's something for you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aKAH_t0aXA

http://www.spacepimping.com/graphics/myspace-happy-birthday-graphics/HappyBirthday36.gif

[kasie]

Happy Birthday and a peaceful, healthy and successful year ahead.

[Pensive]

Happy Birthday, JBI! :)


How often do you tell lies?
I don't lie, ever, but, as Dickinson put it:

Tell all the Truth but tell it slant---
Success in Cirrcuit lies
Too bright for our infirm Delight
The Truth's superb surprise
As Lightening to the Children eased
With explanation kind
The Truth must dazzle gradually
Or every man be blind---
Now you quote one of my favourite poems! :)

[islandclimber]

happy birthday jbi

[Scheherazade]

What song is in your head at the moment?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfegOxTCuOQ

Is that "If You Go Away" in French?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpgnFFf7PME

[*Classic*Charm*]

Happy Birthday!

[JBI]

Is that "If You Go Away" in French?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpgnFFf7PME

No, If You Go Away is ne me quitte pas in English - Brel is the original.

[stlukesguild]

Which LitNet members would you like to meet in person if you could?

Oh, now is the part where I leave people out unintentionally, so, the first thing one needs to ask, is where.

Anywhere, probably JinJang, Silas Thorne, Crystalmoonshin, Neely, EyeMaker, Limajean, Bazarov, Etienne, amongst others.

Outside the US - Mortalterror, St. Lukesguild, Virgil, DrkShadow -

Come on JBI... don't tell me you need the home field advantage to deal with Mortal, Virgil, or me?!!:lol:

Happy Birthday!:banana::banana::banana:

[JBI]

NAh, I just don't want to get shot.

[Maximilianus]

http://img114.imageshack.us/img114/3623/4eer.gif

[andave_ya]

Happy Days, JBI.

[mortalterror]

Happy Birthday, dude. Drink that, smoke that, hit that!

[mono]

Happy (belated) birthday, JBI - I hope you had a fantastic day! :)

[stlukesguild]

Believe it or not, JBI, some of us Americans don't even own a gun... in spite of living in one of those "crime infested" big cities. Of course my in-laws have a descent sized arsenal... so if the need were ever to arise...

[mortalterror]

Don't show any weakness, StLukes. Letting people know you're unarmed is just asking for trouble. Tell everyone your house is surrounded by landmines!

[JBI]

Believe it or not, JBI, some of us Americans don't even own a gun... in spite of living in one of those "crime infested" big cities. Of course my in-laws have a descent sized arsenal... so if the need were ever to arise...

Yes, but I know if we had a conversation, I'd say something that, being overheard by those select few who do own a gun, would most certainly get me shot. No need to shove my hand in a beehive.

[Stargazer86]

Happy Birthday :)

[jinjang]

Happy Belated Birthday, JBI! I am very sorry to have missed this yesterday.
Me in the list? I am actually blushing crimson red.

You like Jacques Brel?

Please check out Léo Ferré. Do you know him? He was a French poet, composer, and singer. His poems are full of metaphors and even after translations they are not obvious to understand all. Let me offer this as a BD present:

Léo Ferré - avec le temps
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPZSsBfVlro&feature=related

[JBI]

I know him, but don't particularly care for him - my favorite of that sort of time period is Jean Ferrat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdRZL_Q3ujs&feature=PlayList&p=31C1EE595CE2EB47&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=23

[Niamh]

Happy (belated) birthday JBI :)

[Joreads]

I am late as well happy belated birthday JBI

[qimissung]

My new work is a very Canadian form of self portrait - me describing myself in terms of what I am not.
Greg Curnoe, artist Happy Birthday!

[optimisticnad]

Happy Birthday JBI.

I thought you were female, I've no idea why now that I think about!

Can we get banned from here? Uh oh....

[JBI]

Thank you everybody for your well wishes.

[Jozanny]

I missed this; many happy returns young man!

[Virgil]

JBI, I meant to ask, where in Italy did you live?

[JBI]

JBI, I meant to ask, where in Italy did you live?

Primarily in Florence - but I moved around quite a bit. I was supposed to go to Sicily for a week though, but once I hit Naples, the heat was too much for me to handle, and I went north instead.

[Virgil]

Primarily in Florence - but I moved around quite a bit. I was supposed to go to Sicily for a week though, but once I hit Naples, the heat was too much for me to handle, and I went north instead.

Florence is the ideal place to live!! So jealous :) I guess the heat is tough for a Canadian. :p

[JBI]

Florence is the ideal place to live!! So jealous :) I guess the heat is tough for a Canadian. :p

I'm Israeli, but it's tough for everyone - 45+ heat every day, mosquitoes, and no air conditioning or screens on windows. Meanwhile, when you walk down the street, you need to keep your hands in your pockets, and all that luggage on your back - not an ideal trip, better taken in April-May, instead of Mid-August, when, coincidentally, everything happens to close down.


Though, I was there for educational reasons, so naturally, Florence, or at least Tuscany was the ideal place (and they paid, so I won't complain). If you are going though, it's better to not stay in Florence, and to stay in a suburb or small town, as everything will be cheaper, and the food will taste better.

[eyemaker]

Happy Birthday JBI! I'm quite late am I? hehe
anyways, I wish you all the blessings..:)