iMeme

(Cross-posted to LiveJournal)

Here are the rules - post this list on your [whatever] replacing my answers with yours.

48 Questions.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
The mother of God ("in one religion" - Eddie Izzard); and my father.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
Ugh. Probably in Ikea. Though I almost cried during Up. The little old people remind me too much of my maternal grandparents.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
It's fine.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVO(U)RITE LUNCH MEAT?
Turkey, probably.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
No.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
This is a silly question.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM?
Nevar!

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Maybe ... it would depend on the circumstances.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVO(U)RITE CEREAL?
Cocoa Puffs are pretty great, but I never eat them. I've been stuck on Kashi for a long time.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
Not if I can help it.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVO(U)RITE ICE CREAM?
Chocolate chip is my usual standby. Sweet cream is good. So is coconut. None of the flavors with chunks of fruit in it, however (coconut flakes are different and more in a chocolate/vanilla category in my mind); fruit mixed into things grosses me out to no end.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Posture.

15. RED OR PINK?
Oh, I like Kat's answer. "Crimson."

16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVO(U)RITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
My introversion. [...]

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?
The artists in my life. I never get to see them anymore.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO COMPLETE THIS LIST?
No, I don't care that much.

19. WHAT COLO(U)R PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Dark-wash denim and black with silver embroidery.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
Last.fm -- "Dirty Business" - The Dresden Dolls

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
I'd be a clump of those mistreated crayons that they melt into cupcake papers in the oven.

23. FAVO(U)RITE SCENTS?
Anything that comes off clean pleases me. Sickly sweet things stay away!

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
I have no idea. I don't really use my phone for vocal conversations. Mayor Thomas M. Menino left a message on my voice mail the other day in promotion of the AIDS Walk--but I didn't talk to him.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
Yeah, Kat's the best!

26. FAVO(U)RITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Um. No. I don't care.

27. HAIR COLO(U)R?
Light brown/dirty blonde.

28. EYE COLO(U)R?
Gray-blue.

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
Sometimes, but not often.

30. FAVO(U)RITE FOOD?
Junk, pizza ... I've lately had a return of my yen for wasabi peas, though they make me feel ill shortly after eating them.

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
I am a film junkie and can be easily pleased by both of these things.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
House of Wax (the Vincent Price version).

33. WHAT COLO(U)R SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
A purple T-shirt over a black camisole.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
Summer.

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
This depends on who's doing the hugging/kissing. Most of the time I don't want people touching me.

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Oh, I have no idea, as I'm not going to be tagging anyone--but feel free to do it, if you wish.

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
(Ditto. Sort of.)

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
A few different ones, but Wuthering Heights is the one I have with me (by virtue of the Stanza application on my iPhone).

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
I don't have, nor do I need, a mouse pad. My mouse operates with a laser, not a roller ball.

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT?
I didn't watch any actual television last night. I watched Secret Window on DVD when I got home, and then used the Netflix Instant Queue to watch House of Wax.

42. FAVO(U)RITE SOUND(S).
Music. Rain. The ocean. I don't know--the peaceful sounds you hear when there aren't any people around.

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
My answer will change on any given day, and sometimes I'll probably say: "Neither."

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME?
South Island, New Zealand

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
I don't know.

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Pennsyltucky.

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
I don't really think I'll get any back.

48. HOW DID YOU MEET YOUR SPOUSE/SIGNIFICANT OTHER?
HAHAHA.

Turn the page ...

Close the book ...

top 5's

Sob-fests and children's books ...

Today, from thewhyfive ...

Top 5 Sad Movies:

1. The Joy Luck Club - It's all about relationships, the generation gap, hopes and dreams fulfilled and dashed. The ending with the sisters' uniting always makes me cry.
2. Moulin Rouge - Not a "sad" movie, per se, but the ending is MISERABLE. Again with the crying.
3. Finding Neverland - The mother is dying from the moment the audience sees her. You know she's going to die, but the ending is still a bawl-fest when she "sees" Barrie's imaginary world come to life.
4. Pan's Labyrinth - Again, not exactly a sad movie, but Javier Navarrete's score pulls at the heart-strings.
5. The Last Samurai - Beautiful and sad, it's about the destruction of a terribly graceful way of life.

Honourable mention: The Fox and the Hound. This made me cry as a child. It probably still would.

Dishonourable mention: Atonement - Because it's sad, and did make me cry, but definitely went above and beyond the call of duty to wrench out the viewer's heart and stomp on it for good measure. Definitely a bitter "oh, fuck you, movie-makers" kind of cry.

Top 5 Favorite Children's Books:

1. Where the Sidewalk Ends and other Shel Silverstein books -- gently grim poetry for youngsters.
2. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak -- You have to love monsters you can play with.
3. Strega Nona by Tomie dePaola -- because who doesn't want a Magic Pasta Pot?
4. The Woodland Folk in Dragonland by Tony Wolf -- I would spend hours looking at the illustrations in this book--beautiful and riddled with short episodes about the woodland folk's interactions with dragons (good and bad but mostly bad).
5. Anything by Dr. Seuss -- fun pictures and [usually] good messages (Hop On Pop was probably not a good message).

Honourable mention: Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling, as I was not a child when it was published.

Turn the page ...

Close the book ...

meme [in bed]

Tagged by Mel ...

List 10 fictional characters you wouldn't kick out of bed (in no particular order) and tag five people to do the same.

1. Jack Harkness -- John Barrowman might be gay, but his character is omni, and reported to be fabulous in bed.
2. The Tenth Doctor -- can come along with Jack (but we'll need a bigger bed).
3. James "Sawyer" Ford -- and yes ...
4. Strife -- bound to be kinky
5. Geoffrey Chaucer (ala A Knight's Tale, though technically a real--and very dead--person)
6. Mr. Darcy (the 1995 BBC version, please), though probably too proper to randomly show up in one's bed uninvited (or unmarried) *sigh*
7. George Emerson (of the 1985 film adaptation)
8. Don Juan DeMarco
9. Cupid (or practically any other Karl Urban character) -- I imagine the wings take up a lot of room, but hell if I care
10. Spike -- to finish with another borrow from Mel's list


No tagging from me. If you want to do the meme, do ...

Turn the page ...

Close the book ...

the why's

This is more to do with my livejournal blog (the journal I more faithfully update), Book of the Black Rabbit.

1. my username is________ because ________.

Masquedbunny -- My sororiname is Bunny, and I have a thing for (and collect) Venetian masks and masquerade dress.

2. my name is ________ because _______.

Maria -- My mother wanted to name me after the Holy Mother in such a way that was compatible with my German last name and her own Italian heritage.

3. my journal is titled ______ because __________.

"Book of the Black Rabbit" -- I respect Watership Down's version of Death, a shade-bunny, and have a tendency to address morbid subject matter.

4. my friends page is called ______ because ___________.

"meine merkwürdige Lieblinge" -- I studied German, and liked the idea of calling my friends "my freaky darlings" in another language. Let's face it, some of you are odd ducks, too; and I love you.

5. my default userpic is _______ because _________.

"Masqued" -- It's just another play on the masquerade theme and masks.



"Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth." - Oscar Wilde.

Turn the page ...

Close the book ...

1983 Top 100

A music meme, courtesy of Mel.

Go here ( http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1983.htm ) and change the number in the URL to reflect the year you were born to get the top 100 songs of that year. Strike through the songs you hate(d). Bold the songs you love(d). Italics the songs you like(d). Leave blank those you don’t care about or don't recognize.

1. Every Breath You Take, Police
2. Billie Jean, Michael Jackson
3. Flashdance... What A Feelin, Irene Cara
4. Down Under, Men At Work
5. Beat It, Michael Jackson
6. Total Eclipse Of The Heart, Bonnie Tyler
7. Maneater, Daryl Hall and John Oates
8. Baby Come To Me, Patti Austin and James Ingram
9. Maniac, Michael Sembello
10. Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This), Eurythmics
11. Do You Really Want To Hurt Me, Culture Club
12. You And I, Eddie Rabbitt and Crystal Gayle
13. Come On Eileen, Dexy's Midnight Runners
14. Shame On The Moon, Bob Seger and The Silver Bullet Band
15. She Works Hard For The Money, Donna Summer
16. Never Gonna Let You Go, Sergio Mendes
17. Hungry Like The Wolf, Duran Duran
18. Let's Dance, David Bowie
19. Twilight Zone, Golden Earring
20. I Know There's Something Going On, Frida
21. Jeopardy, Greg Kihn Band
22. Electric Avenue, Eddy Grant
23. She Blinded Me With Science, Thomas Dolby -- odd, but sometimes I like this and sometimes I hate it
24. Africa, Toto
25. Little Red Corvette, Prince
26. Back On The Chain Gang, Pretenders
27. Up Where We Belong, Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes
28. Mr. Roboto, Styx -- another like/loathe
29. You Are, Lionel Richie
30. Der Kommissar, After The Fire -- I can't remember what this sounds like.
31. Puttin' On The Ritz, Taco
32. Sexual Healing, Marvin Gaye -- a WTF song
33. (Keep Feeling) Fascination, Human League
34. Time (Clock Of The Heart), Culture Club
35. The Safety Dance, Men Without Hats
36. Mickey, Toni Basil -- awful and typically 80s, but kind of retro-charming
37. You Can't Hurry Love, Phil Collins
38. Separate Ways, Journey
39. One On One, Daryl Hall and John Oates
40. We've Got Tonight, Kenny Rogers and Sheena Easton
41. 1999, Prince
42. Stray Cat Strut, Stray Cats
43. Allentown, Billy Joel
44. Stand Back, Stevie Nicks
45. Tell Her About It, Billy Joel
46. Always Something There To Remind Me, Naked Eyes
47. Truly, Lionel Richie
48. Dirty Laundry, Don Henley
49. The Girl Is Mine, Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney
50. Too Shy, Kajagoogoo
51. Goody Two Shoes, Adam Ant
52. Rock The Casbah, Clash
53. Our House, Madness
54. Overkill, Men At Work
55. Is There Something I Should Know, Duran Duran
56. Gloria, Laura Branigan
57. Affair Of The Heart, Rick Springfield
58. She's A Beauty, Tubes
59. Solitaire, Laura Branigan
60. Don't Let It End, Styx
61. How Am I Supposed To Live Without You, Laura Branigan
62. China Girl, David Bowie
63. Come Dancing, Kinks
64. Promises, Promises, Naked Eyes
65. The Other Guy, Little River Band
66. Making Love Out Of Nothing At All, Air Supply
67. Family Man, Daryl Hall and John Oates
68. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', Michael Jackson
69. I Won't Hold You Back, Toto
70. All Right, Christopher Cross
71. Straight From The Heart, Bryan Adams -- I have a soft spot for Bryan Adams
72. Heart To Heart, Kenny Loggins
73. My Love, Lionel Richie
74. I'm Still Standing, Elton John
75. Hot Girls In Love, Loverboy
76. It's A Mistake, Men At Work
77. I'll Tumble 4 Ya, Culture Club
78. All This Love, Debarge
79. Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy, Sammy Hagar
80. Heartbreaker, Dionne Warwick
81. Faithfully, Journey
82. Steppin' Out, Joe Jackson
83. Take Me To Heart, Quarterflash
84. (She's) Sexy + 17, Stray Cats
85. Try Again, Champaign
86. Dead Giveaway, Shalamar
87. Lawyers In Love, Jackson Browne
88. What About Me, Moving Pictures
89. Human Nature, Michael Jackson
90. Photograph, Def Leppard
91. Pass The Dutchie, Musical Youth
92. True, Spandau Ballet
93. Far From Over, Frank Stallone
94. I've Got A Rock 'N' Roll Heart, Eric Clapton
95. It Might Be You, Stephen Bishop
96. Tonight I Celebrate My Love, Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack
97. You Got Lucky, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers -- Soft spot for Tom Petty too.
98. Don't Cry, Asia
99. Breaking Us In Two, Joe Jackson
100. Fall In Love With Me, Earth, Wind and Fire

You know, I don't even recognise 75% of them ...

Turn the page ...

Close the book ...

I am more me

Type summary here.

Everyone's doing this: Belief-o-Matic

1. Unitarian Universalism (100%)
2. Neo-Paganism (99%)
3. Secular Humanism (80%)
4. New Age-ism (79%)
5. Liberal Quakerism (75%)
6. Mahayana Buddhism (74%)
7. Theravada Buddhism (70%)
8. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestantism (62%)
9. Reform Judaism (60%)
10. New Thought (55%)
11. Scientology (53%)
12. Hinduism (52%)
13. Nontheism (49%)
14. Taoism (46%)
15. Sikhism (45%)
16. Jainism (44%)
17. Orthodox Quakerism (41%)
18. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (40%)
19. Bahá'í Faith (38%)
20. Orthodox Judaism (23%)
21. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormonism) (21%)
22. Islam (20%)
23. Mainline to Conservative Christianity/Protestantism (14%)
24. Seventh Day Adventism (14%)
25. Jehovah's Witness (12%)
26. Eastern Orthodox (11%)
27. Roman Catholicism (11%)

I thought Secular Humanism would be at the top of the list, but my ambivalence involving the notion of deity is probably revealed by my answers to a lot of the multi-check questions.

Unitarian Universalism -- The United Church of *Shrug*

As for the Quakers bit ... Yeah, I'm not sure. It was probably the fact that on the "good deeds and compassion" question, I rated my answer as "high." But, on a second round there are other answers I would've listed as "high" that I didn't. Oh, well. I can always re-take the silly thing.

[edit: Re-taken, with no great changes, really. Secular Humanism, New Age, and Liberal Quakers have played musical chairs a bit. Roman Catholicism is still last, in spite of--or maybe because of--its being my introduction to world religion. I also altered the titles, because they were bothering me; some of them are still bothering me. Faiths deserve nouns--not adjectives being treated as nouns.]

Turn the page ...

Close the book ...

a Christmas meme

Everyone else is doing it.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I will say wrapping paper, though I've been known to use gift bags in a pinch. Really, if I have the time and opportunity, I will wrap every present. College and life in an apartment turned me lazy for several reasons--one, "I can't find the paper;" two, "I'm all out of scotch tape;" three, "hey, look, here's this bag I've been keeping around for no particular reason." And so it goes.

2. Real tree or artificial? Real. I understand the aggravation of prickly trees, having had a few in the past, but that's why you don't choose the prickly kind and go for a Blue Douglas or something with the short and blunt needles.

3. When do you put up the tree? It was very touch and go with my parents. Sometimes it's right after Thanksgiving. Sometimes it's the weekend before Christmas.

4. When do you take the tree down? Whenever it starts to look peaky. Mid- to late-January?

5. Do you like eggnog? Yes, and all the available flavours, too.

6. Favourite gift received as a child? My parents like to tell me that I was most excited about the 3-foot high Big Bird when I was three years old. In recent years, my Mac and my first iPod.

7. Do you have a nativity scene? My parents have a wee one that my father picked up in Germany during Weihnachten. It was made by wood craftsmen there, features dowel-people and trees with leaves made from wood shavings. It's actually very interesting. Maybe I'll take a picture when I visit.

8. Hardest person to buy for? My mom. Because the things she wants are very general, but she's very fussy about the specifics of these general items.

9. Easiest person to buy for? My friends, generally. They appreciate the notion of "wish lists."

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I don't know. There have been things I wasn't wild about, but nothing noteworthy. It's corny, but it's the thought that counts.

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? I'm not one to judge. I'm HORRIBLE about casual correspondence, period.

12. Favourite Christmas Movie? Like my friend Nicole, I love Home Alone. I also love the second Home Alone, Lost in New York (mostly due to Tim Curry -- "We love you!"). Lately, I've had the urge to watch The Santa Clause, and today we were talking about it at our staff meeting (because I work with a bunch of parents, holy crap). OOH! Other favourite Christmas movie? The Ref:

Mary Chasseur: Maybe they'll catch him, and then let him go in the spirit of Christmas ...

Connie Chasseur: That is not the spirit of Christmas --The spirit of Christmas is either you're good -- or you're punished and you burn in hell.
Who would catch a criminal, and then let him go free?

Mary Chasseur: Republicans?

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? December, usually. This year, I will be shopping this weekend.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I don't think so, and that sounds pretty gauche to me.

15. Favourite thing to eat at Christmas? Of the non-baked-good variety? Lasagna. And clam dip. Mmmmmm. Clam dip. And mashed 'taters, if they're around. I heart mashed 'taters (as the inches on my waist can attest).

16. Clear lights or coloured on the tree? Coloured. Blinking or not, it's all good. If they're blinking, though, I might stare at the tree for a long long time. Because I am easily-distracted by shinies.

17. Favourite Christmas song? "Greensleeves," which, honestly, if you read the lyrics, hasn't got much to do with Christmas. I also have a slew of records that I like to keep in rotation at my parents' house. Elvis, The Nutcracker, Rainbow Brite Christmas, Cabbage Patch Christmas, Sinatra, and the list goes on. Mostly, I become addicted to The Nutcracker, though. ... And not just any rendition of The Nutcracker, either. It has to be this version:



18. Stay home or travel for Christmas? Traveling to my parents' home.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen; Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen, but do you recall the most famous reindeer of all? Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer ... etc. So, yes.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? We have both. It looks dumb.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? One the night before. The rest in the morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? People. Everywhere.


Yay for wasting time.

Turn the page ...

Close the book ...

3x Thursday: A Little Help

I am not as ambitious as Melissa, and cannot come up with thirteen things of a single topic in a day's blog entry. Instead I'll do this.

1. Do you believe there's such a thing as a chemical imbalance? Do you think that treating these problems with drugs is a good thing? Why/why not?

Yes, on both accounts. I have had family and friends who suffer from depression attributed to chemical imbalances. Without the drugs, they would fall apart to the point of dysfunction each and every day. My mother has no thyroid. She needs to take prescription drugs so that her body may accomplish what a body with a healthy thyroid would do on its own. It should also be said that being without a thyroid (or an over-active thyroid) affects not only your physicality but also your mental functions as the chemicals go to all parts of the body, including the brain.

I'm not sure what you intend by the word "good"--I would say that it's good that people can now do for themselves what was never even in the realm of possibility half a century ago. My great grandmother spent the better half of her life in an asylum due to any number of mental problems (and probably thyroid dysfunction, too), because no one knew what to do for her. My mother doesn't have to suffer the same thing because she can take drugs for her problems. Yes. I call that good.

2. What about drugs for brain-related stuff like depression? Do you think one should be able to get over it themselves, or do you think sometimes we all need a little help, and sometimes we need meds for a while?

I don't believe there's an all-inclusive answer to this question. Anything brain-related should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Prescriptive drugs will help some people some of the time. Sometimes just exercise will help. Sometimes turning to religion helps. But then sometimes nothing will help an individual. Don't get me wrong. I don't think anti-depressants and anti-psychotics should be given out like M&Ms, but I disagree wholeheartedly with those who would discount them entirely.

3. Whom do you turn to when you have emotional crisis? Why?

It might be a lazy cliche, but "I get by with a little help from my friends"--and when I'm done pouring my heart out to whomever, I sit down and write my reflections. Writing is a very therapeutic activity for me.

Bonus Question: Are you ready to deal with Christmas? Will you be happy or sad when the holidays are over?

I know this was meant for the comment section on the source site, but I may as well go on, right?

I'm nearly ready for Christmas to be here, though I'm still not entirely convinced that it is nearly here. I'm in Boston, and it's been unseasonably warm here for the past three months; I think we've only had two days where it flurried a little. I suppose I'll have a bout of sorrow after the day passes, but it probably won't hit me until January is underway. Mostly, I'm looking forward to the after-Christmas sales.

Turn the page ...

Close the book ...