Happy Birthday Fifth! May your day be filled with poetry as sophisticated as you are!
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Happy Birthday Fifth! May your day be filled with poetry as sophisticated as you are!
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Happy Birthday Fifth. :)
happy birthday!
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Fifth's got a December birthday too!! Happy Birthday my dear political nemeses. :D :bday_2:
I remember your matchstick men blogs, so I thought you would like this.
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You know I heard your Queen has made this a special day in your honor. ;)
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Happy birthday my friend. :)
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Happy birthday Fifth!!
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Happy Birthday! Hope you get some neato books!
Happy birthday
Happy Birthday!
Thanks Andy - I wish my poetry was anything at the moment, but your kind words make me smile like this :D
and Virgil, Matchstick Man may be making a come back. He's been a bit miserable and not very talkative of late but things seem to be on the up! I quite like the idea of being a nemesis, mwahahahaha!
Drama yes! Lots of good books, thanks! My boss got me a really ace book called Sharp Teeth which is a novel length poem. Should be some fun reading that!
and thanks to mercy mankind, motherh, pussnboots, Sweets ;) Jo and Classic Charm! Your kind wishes are very welcome :D
Happy birthday! :)
Happy Birthday!:D
Happy Birthday!
Oh how did I miss this special day?! :blush:
Fifth, I truly hope that you had a very happy birthday and I am very sorry for how late you are receiving my well wishes.
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~K♥zzo
Happy Birthday Fifth!
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Belated birthday wishes from side, Fifth! :)
Belated Birthday Wishes, Fifth!!
More belated birthday wishes to you Fifth, I hope it was a great day :D
Hope your birthday was a great one! :)
An interview with TheFifthElement:
1 - How did you come about this site and what makes you keep coming back?
I was looking for philosophy and happened across the site. What makes me come back: curiosity? OK, nosiness then.
2 - Have you visited other countries than your own and what did you like about it or not like? If you could live somewhere different from where
you live now, where would it be and why?
I’ve been to Wales quite a lot, does that count? Only kidding. I’ve been a few places: Spain, France, Belgium, Italy, Morocco, Romania, Thailand, USA. The advantage to living in Europe is that there’s a lot of good places close by that are good to visit. It’s just finding the time. I love Italy, Italy is a really friendly place. If I was to live somewhere else I’d probably go for New Zealand or Canada as I wouldn’t need to learn the language and culturally they’re not massively different to UK but they do have the advantage of space/smaller population. I’d like the snow in Canada. I have it on good authority that there are hobbits in New Zealand.
3 - What are your favorite hobbies?
Favourite is a strange concept. I like to read, write, cook, cycle, roller skate, hike. Those sorts of things.
4 - Do you have any pets?
I don’t like the whole pets thing, I think I’ve said that before. There is a cat that lives with us, but she’s free to go if she wants there’s nothing to prevent it. Instead she continues to sponge off us, demand affection, poop on the kitchen worktops and scare the kids. Kind of like having an old Granny in the house. But I don’t begrudge sharing our space and resources. I’d hate to think of her as ‘kept’.
5 - What makes you happy?
Running around. Playing with the kids. Big fat rainbows. Trees. Lemony things. Rain. Snow. Sunshine. Being alive. The smell of hot tarmac. Ice cream. Otters. Learning something new. Naked bottoms. Being proved wrong. New baby smell. The moon. Yellow. Sheep. Big hills and rocks. Finding a good book. Roller skates. Old people. Wine.
6. What is mankind's biggest achievement, and its greatest downfall?
Hmm, not sure I’m qualified. Biggest achievement = not wiping itself out. Greatest downfall = consumerism.
7. If you had a long day of hard work ahead of you what music would you be playing on your mp3, while working?
I’d get sacked if I played my mp3 player at work. Besides, my job is a thinking job, so with a hard day’s thinking ahead I think I’d prefer the sweet sound of silence. Actually, a soundproof booth would be nice. Can you arrange that?
8. If you could take one book, music album and one video with you to a desert island, what would they be?
Well, unless there was a generator or some sort of power supply I’d leave the album and video and take 3 books. The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter, The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami. No point having an album and a video if there’s nothing to play them on. If there’s power I’d take a radio and give myself the blessing of choice.
9. Do you feel comfortable in your walk with God?
Can’t say I’ve ever met anyone by the name of God, or walked anywhere with them. I met someone called Jesus once, when I was 13 and on holiday in Spain. He was kind of short and a bit silly and he walked like his legs were made from elastic bands, and he tried to kiss me but I was 13 and not much into boys back then. I remember he smelled like garlic and he was very skinny. But no God, no, I don’t recollect ever having walked with anyone called God. Of course the memory is a bit on the fallible side, I could be wrong.
10. Which actor should play you in a movie based on your life?
Only Jeff Goldblum is weird enough to play me.
11.Given the option, what animal would you choose to be?
I’d be a treefrog, ‘cos I like trees and jumping and I’m pretty excellent with the old ribbit sound. That or a penguin, I like sliding on my belly.
12. What were your favorite things to do the past? What about now?
I used to like playing with toy animals, and I still do.
13. What activities make you lose track of time?
Most things make me lose track of time. I’m not a clock watcher. I don’t really believe in time as a tangible thing. Time is like miles, or litres or things like that. I don’t measure my life like that. I have a really nice watch though, it’s blue and it’s got cows on it.
14. What makes you feel great about yourself?
My kids. They’re pretty good at making me feel special.
15. Who inspires you most? (Anyone you know or not. Family, friends, authors, artists, leaders, etc.) Which qualities inspire you, in each person?
You know, this probably sounds cheesy, but my husband inspires me a lot. He’s very balanced about things. Kids in general inspire me. They remind me how important it is not to get stuck in your ways. I don’t do the celebrity worship thing, though I do like Edward Norton’s bum. Edward Norton’s bum inspires me.
16. What are you naturally good at? (Skills, abilities, gifts etc.)
Figuring things out. Counselling. Jumping and tickling. Finding things wrong. Making a serious bubble bath. Eating. Remembering things. Being pedantic. Appearing knowledgeable. Telling lies and getting away with it. Typing.
17. What do people typically ask you for help in?
Everything. Apparently I am the font of all knowledge.
18. If you had to teach something, what would you teach?
Monkeys.
19. What would you regret not fully doing, being or having in your life?
I’m not big on regret. I made my choices, I’m happy with them. If I wasn’t happy with them I’d change them. Easy.
20. What song is in your head at the moment?
Underground, overground, wombling free / the wombles of Wimbledon Common are we / making good use of the things that we find / things that the everyday folk leave behind. You get the picture. Actually, this is a really fun game you can play: how to get annoying tunes in other peoples’ heads. It’s really easy. Just whistle some annoying kids TV theme tune from the 80’s or something, and about 10 minutes later do a tally of the number of people also whistling it. Try it. You’ll be surprised.
21. The last book you bought/borrowed from the library?
The Castle, Kafka. Journey to the East, Hermann Hesse. Moon Palace, Paul Auster.
22. Which book are you reading at the moment?
Re-reading The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster.
23. The last book you finished reading?
The Abortion: an historical romance, by Richard Brautigan.
24. Favorite food?/ Comfort food?
Bread, fresh out of the oven, slathered with butter.
25. What time of day do you most often find yourself on the LitNet?
Whenever I should be doing something else.
26. What are you wearing at the moment?
A big, thick, pink jumper. Blue jeans that I like because they’re a bit baggy and make me feel thin. Fluffy green socks. Do you want to know the colour of my underwear?...no, you’ll just have to guess that one.
27. Favorite poem?
I like so much poetry I couldn’t pick a favourite. I like a lot of poets, including some on Lit-net: blp and firefangled stand out for me. Also Louise Glück, Mark Strand, Kapka Kassabova, Jean Sprackland, Wallace Stevens, Adrian Mitchell, Fleur Adcock, Ted Hughes, Pablo Neruda, Sharon Olds, Carole Ann Duffy. There’s a really great poem in my Bloodaxe Anthology: Staying Alive, called Snow by Vladimir Nolan. I’d recommend that one.
28. First novel you remember reading on your own?
Oh I don’t know, I can’t remember that far back. It was probably The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark. because I liked the fact that the owl was called Plop.
29. Favorite TV shows?
I really like the new version of Battlestar Gallactica which is an excellent example of Science Fiction at its best. I’m enjoying the recent BBC adaptation of Little Dorrit, that’s been pretty good too. Family Guy. Family Guy makes me laugh a lot. Any nature programme by the good old Beeb, especially if David Attenborough is involved, like Blue Planet. Beautiful stuff.
30. Which LitNet members would you like to meet in person if you could?
Well, don’t take this the wrong way but meeting forum members isn’t something I’d really consider doing. It’s just too weird. But there are lots of people that I like so if I was having a Lit-net reunion I’d invite: Prince Myshkin, Firefangled, Virgil, Ampoule, Sweets America, blp, Cdn Reader, symphony, Pendragon, Qimissung, Dark Muse, BeccaT, Optimisticnad, MHockenberry, Autolycus, Niamh, Sleepywitch, qimissung, kiz paws, sprinks, Lily Adams, Jozanny, pussnboots, LadyW..oh, probably just everyone actually. And not forgetting Jon1jt who is absent now. It wouldn’t be a party without him. Then I’d turn up and pretend to be someone else.
Actually at the moment I would like to meet Cdn Reader, ‘cos I’d like to share some poetry with her, and a laugh and a cup of tea, and do whatever I could to make her feel comfortable and well again.
31. Favorite post on the Forum?
Nothing springs to mind.
32. Favorite thread?
Hmm, maybe the shared haiku thread. That’s pretty cool.
33. Last food did you have?
Steak, mushroom and onion pannini.
34. Last words you said out loud?
Yes.
35. Last person you hugged/kissed?
My hubby. He’s tired and not very well. Perfect hug conditions.
36. What do you do (for a living) to be able to keep your LitNet addiction going? And are you happy with your chosen profession?
I work in a specialist type of insurance. Yes, I can hear you yawning already! It’s not the kind of profession that you choose but rather a profession that chooses you. I like my job. It’s quite varied. My official job title is Underwriting Manager, which means that my job is to lead a team of underwriters, check that the other underwriters do their job properly, and to provide specialist advice and technical assistance. I have a team of 24 people and together we manage an account worth, roughly, £6m. Not bad really.
37. What question would you like to ask yourself?
Can you please shut up?
38. What would you like to be if you could change your profession?
Oh I could never decide what I wanted to be, I wanted to be everything. Park Ranger, perhaps. I think that’d be a pretty cool job.
39. Least favorite book/song/movie?
I don’t like Jurassic Park, it scares me.
40. The most generous thing you have done?
Giving my children to the world.
41. What is your most outstanding feature?
My bottom. Ask anyone.
42. If you could change one thing about the way you look, what would that be?
I’m not sure I’d change anything. Most of the time I can’t see myself, and if I did see myself and didn’t look like myself I’d be a bit freaked out.
43. Which book do you wish you had written?
A book called The Library. It’s by me. If I’d written it I wouldn’t still have to be writing it. What a relief that would be.
44. What is your favorite book cover?
What a strange question. I’m not so interested in the cover as what’s inside it. I have a really pretty copy of The Magic Toyshop.
45. Most and least favorite characters from books?
I like Finn in The Magic Toyshop, for some reason he’s always stuck with me. Least favourite? Probably the entire cast of characters from The Great Gatsby. Didn’t really do it for me. But maybe that’s just because I’ve read it quite recently. Maybe I’ve blocked out all my previous bad reading experiences.
46. What would your biography be titled?
Yawn.
47. What should you be doing at the moment instead of answering these questions?
Getting the kids to bed.
48. Wonderful Superman or depressing Batman?
Oh Batman. There’s something very attractive about the dark side and if you don’t believe me, ask Darth Vadar.
49. The most embarrassing moment in your life?
I think I’ve already told this story. When I was 18 I was involved in a nasty car accident (my then boyfriend, now hubby was driving. He has a lot to answer for.). We were taken to hospital and because I am a girl and therefore fragile they decided I needed to have X-Rays, so they made me get into one of those lovely hospital robes and wheeled me on a stretcher down to the X-ray department. I was there a long time. It wasn’t very comfortable so I was shifting around a bit, and after a while a man came over and started chatting to me. He was telling me about the reason for the delay, apparently someone had been involved in a hang gliding accident and they’d suffered very serious injuries. He seemed really nice and we chatted for about 20 minutes. He was waiting with a friend. Then he said ‘well it’s been really nice chatting with you but, just a word of advice, you might want to put your knees down, ‘cos it’s a lovely view and all but I don’t think it’s something you want everyone to see.’ Then he went to sit with his friend. Nice.
50. Which literary character (s) have you been told to resemble the most?
Hermione Granger. I really don’t see it.
51. List some of the things that annoy you immensely.
Mobile phones. Hypocrites. Reality TV and the new wave of game shows like Strictly Come Dancing, X Factor and the like. Inconsistency. Phoney excuses. Hysteria. Janet Street Porter. Followers. My kids when they talk about Pokemon. Marks & Spencer’s adverts. Perfume. Horse poop on the pavement.
52. Anything that you want to forget but you never can?
No, I have a very convenient memory.
53. One final word of wisdom for LitNet users?
What’s the worst that can happen?
54. What would you like to ask to the person to be interviewed after you?
If you had to lose one of your senses, which would you choose and why?
Happy Birthday Fifth!
Happist of Birthdays to you FifthElement!
Hope you like strawberries and chocolate.
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Enjoy!
Happy Birthday Fifth!!!
Wonderful interview Fifth. And Italy is a very friendly country. For the most part. ;) And thank you for mentioning me. :)
great interview, Fifth!