79 replies to this topic

[Captain Jack]

Can we have an "EI member who raises the most hell of the week" too?

Edit:  I kid, I kid...

Edited by Captain Jack, 08 July 2009 - 02:56 AM.

[NeuralClone]

Drew, this is an outstanding idea. This alone makes OT worth visiting again for me. So, thank you. I agree that this is definitely worthy of being pinned.

Edited by NeuralClone, 08 July 2009 - 03:15 AM.

[SparkyCola]

Agreed! Awesome idea Drew And thanks Specs

There are some great questions here.

Who is your favourite musician/band?
What are your top interests/hobbies?



Sparky

[Spectacles]

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Drew: I'm sure you've read her book of letters: "The Habit of Being." I recommend it to everyone who is curious about what made O'Connor tick, not just for the insight to so many of her stories and novels, but the things that mattered to her and drove her forward. It's awesome.

You know, I haven't. I've only read excerpts from it. Thanks for bringing it up, though. I need to snag a copy of that.

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I used to be on an O'Connor LISTSERV back in the early days of the 'net. Had some great discussions there.

I bet. She has that effect....Very cool to meet another Flannery fan.

[Spectacles]

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Specs, Pittsburgh is such a huge sports town. Do you follow any of the local teams? Nearly everyone in my family went to West Virginia University, so Pitt was our great rival.

Cardie

Well, as far as college football goes, I follow Alabama--intensely. But I have always been a Steelers fan, even before I lived here. My mom became a big Steelers fan when she moved up here, too. It was cute to watch her getting hooked. Before long, she was yelling through Steelers games with the same enthusiasm she had for the Crimson Tide.

[Spectacles]

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Elara: All I can think of is: who is your favorite comedian (living or dead)?

I love Lucy.

Also George Carlin and Stephen Colbert.

[Spectacles]

szhismine, on Jul 8 2009, 12:52 AM, said:

awesome idea Drew.

Specs--how did you find/meet your cats?

Uh-oh. Asking me about my cats is like asking some people about their grandkids. Got a day?

Actually, it's a wonderful story. I'll try to give the bare-outline:

I began feeding the strays and ferals on my back porch in February 08. A gray, striped tail-less cat caught my eye, literally. I looked through the door one day and he looked up with these huge, intelligent golden eyes and I was hooked.

It took me until the end of that May to win his trust enough to be able to pet him. From that point on things progressed rapidly.

My horrible-wonderful old dog Izzy passed away on June 21 after a long illness. Stubby walked into the house that afternoon for the first time.

He began taking his meals in the kitchen--breakfast, lunch, and dinner. By then, he had formed a friendship with a big, soft charcoal-blue cat that I'd seen wandering the neighborhood for a long time. She was his ladyfriend, so she became Ladyfriend to me. I thought she belonged to someone, but she never went home. Instead, she lived in a semi-abandoned house across the alley.

The evening of July 21, after exactly one month of taking his meals in the house, Stubby decided to stay rather than go out into a storm. And that was that. I took him to for shots and neutering and he's turned into a fat little protective funny sweet guy.

Ladyfriend is more skittish by nature. She had obviously belonged to someone because she was declawed and spayed. The few times I tried bringing her in the house, Stubby attacked. He wants to be the only kitty. So when winter rolled in, I couldn't coax her in the house.

It was awful. I don't know how these cats live through through winter. I fixed shelters on the front and back porches, and Ladyfriend stayed on the front porch. By January, she had learned to knock on the front door for her cooked chicken. Finally, at five on the first day of the semester, she had had enough of sub-freezing temperatures. I had shut Stubby up in a room and she came in--tentative but very sweet.

She now has her own room upstairs. Because Stubbs can be such an ass to her and because she's been through so much "out there," I keep them separated and split my time between them. She's my reading buddy. All she wants in the world is to lie down next to me while I read with one hand on her head.

*snif*

Anyway, those are my cats. I still miss my horrible dog something terrible, but they have helped me bear the loss, and they are wonderful company.

And I still feed the strays. My regulars are Tippy, Ernie, Betty Boop, and Pet Semetery Cat.

[Spectacles]

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Lil: Where is your favorite travel destination and why?

Currently, my cousin's farm in Alabama. It's in a gorgeous valley and there's nothing like sitting outside and sipping Jack Daniels and talking with my kinfolk and watching the hummingbirds and blue birds and cattle and horses....

But I also want to get back to Ireland. My aunt and I hope to make it there next May as soon as the semester is over.

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Sun or snow?

Snow.

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Do you have a green thumb?

I used to. These days I can't work the outdoor garden anymore because of my back. But my house plants are lookin' good.

[Spectacles]

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Captain Jack: Pardon me, but do you have any Grey Poupon?

Nope. But I do have some really sucky honey-mustard in the fridge. Will that do?

[Nittany Lioness]

If a Xena re-run came on would you sit down and watch it?  
(I assume you haven't bought the DVD's)

[Spectacles]

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My question - given your spiritual evolution - have you concluded in favor of atheism, or some other spiritual understanding? And why, in either case?

QT

I don't think I'll ever again trust any organized religion. I remain a Christian, mainly because I find Jesus absolutely fascinating and wise beyond eons. As for the "magic act" aspects of the faith, I don't get into them that much, and I honestly think that our insistence on stressing salvation and heaven and hell and all that stuff has tragically distorted Jesus.

My grandmother, my mother's mother, had enormous faith and, like my mother and aunts, I prefer to emulate hers. She did not try to save anyone or condemn anyone. She didn't preach at all. She just responded to those in need around her as best as she could.

I wish I could join a church, but I can't. I've even tried attending a really cool, socially liberal Presbyterian church that blesses gay unions and is actively involved in the poorer community that surrounds it. I can't get past the core theology. It bothers me to dwell on the crucifixion of someone I really, really like. I envy loved ones who can.

One of my colleagues is a conservative, evangelical Christian who belongs to a small sect, the Brethren. As different as we are, we've become good friends and have, off-and-on, for years had long discussions about theology.

So, I'm not hostile to people of faith and actually consider myself one--in an eclectic way. My faith is that there is much more than our little pea-brains can comprehend and that one day physics and metaphysics will merge completely and we can unburden "God" by finally letting go of our archaic ways of looking at God....And maybe we'll finally start thinking about how we can live in harmony with the creative and the good.... I can't connect with organized religion, though.

[Spectacles]

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Sparky: Who is your favourite musician/band?

I'm a huge Rickie Lee Jones fan. I also like Hendrix, the Beatles, the Stones, your basic rock 'n roll--plus a dash of Joni Mitchell, Glenn Miller and Louis Armstrong and Beethoven.

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What are your top interests/hobbies?

I used to like to get drunk and dance around to Hendrix. But then I grew out of that--in my 40s. Now I read, hang out with the cats and birds, and, despite my best efforts, I remain a political junkie....The older I get, the more I simply like quiet. There are days when I never even turn on the television. I like just being alive and looking out the windows and being grateful that things are as well as they are in my little world.

[Spectacles]

Nittany Lioness, on Jul 8 2009, 08:23 AM, said:

If a Xena re-run came on would you sit down and watch it?  
(I assume you haven't bought the DVD's)

Sure, why not. And if the episode is from Seasons 1 or 2, I'd probably watch it all the way through.

[Nick]

This is a really great idea, Drew.  Thanks for getting this started, I think it'll turn in to something really awesome.  I'll think up some more questions for Specs while she's in the hot seat on my drive to work.  In the meantime, I'd suggest not pinning this thread just yet--at least not as long as it's "naturally" near the top of the OT . . . I think pinned threads tend to get overlooked, and the organic visibility will get more participants.

[sierraleone]

Do you have any (and what are they if you do) favourite quotes/sayings/mottos/expressions/etc?

ETA: Oh and this Flannery O'Connor stuff sounds awesome... Is it easy to find/get or more difficult? Would it likely be at the local library?

Edited by sierraleone, 08 July 2009 - 09:32 AM.

[Spectacles]

sierraleone, on Jul 8 2009, 10:31 AM, said:

Do you have any (and what are they if you do) favourite quotes/sayings/mottos/expressions/etc?

ETA: Oh and this Flannery O'Connor stuff sounds awesome... Is it easy to find/get or more difficult? Would it likely be at the local library?

I'm drawing a blank so I guess I'm not much of a quotes/sayings/mottos/expressions/etc kinda gal....

But I'm thrilled to hear you're interested in reading some O'Connor. Her stuff would most definitely be at your local library. There's a wonderful, fat collection of her complete short stories and also some smaller collections. And she wrote a novel, Wise Blood, but I think most people prefer her short stories. Truly intriguing, funny, disturbing stuff that challenges us not to get too smug.

[Drew]

Spectacles, on Jul 8 2009, 11:09 AM, said:

sierraleone, on Jul 8 2009, 10:31 AM, said:

Do you have any (and what are they if you do) favourite quotes/sayings/mottos/expressions/etc?

ETA: Oh and this Flannery O'Connor stuff sounds awesome... Is it easy to find/get or more difficult? Would it likely be at the local library?

I'm drawing a blank so I guess I'm not much of a quotes/sayings/mottos/expressions/etc kinda gal....

But I'm thrilled to hear you're interested in reading some O'Connor. Her stuff would most definitely be at your local library. There's a wonderful, fat collection of her complete short stories and also some smaller collections. And she wrote a novel, Wise Blood, but I think most people prefer her short stories. Truly intriguing, funny, disturbing stuff that challenges us not to get too smug.

Wise Blood is very strange. Apparently there was a film version with Brad Dourif. Have you ever seen it?

[Peridot]

Drew, this is very creative, and a great idea!

I have often wished, and occasionally said, that I wish people who post mainly or only in OT would also visit the Beach and get to know others a little better.  But it never occurred to me to bring a little bit of the Beach into OT!



Specs, I'll have to think of a question and come back with it.

Peridot

[Bad Wolf]

Specs I know you're a Xena fan (well..erm...to a point...) but I don't recall seeing you post in discussions about other "genre" shows or books and I'm wondering if you like any other fantasy or science fiction shows/books/films...

[Nonny]

Excellent idea, Drew!  

Spectacles, on Jul 7 2009, 07:43 PM, said:

Lately I've been on a Janet Evanovich kick.

Morelli or Ranger?       Which JE book did you read first?  

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5. Favorite thing about where you live?

The sense of community. It's a blue-collar, mostly slavic and Irish Catholic neighborhood with a Main Street and old people sitting on benches. People smile and say hello and hold doors for each other.

Sounds a lot like the NE Ohio town I grew up in.