Return of the meme from the forgotten past

[same_difference]

Or the question and answer meme people were doing back in December. Here are the answers to the question meme that many people kindly did for me. I seem to have found the inspiration to give answers I feel worthy of the questions at last:


marmaladecat

1. All I want from life when it gets right down to it, is a cat, a ninja, a log fire and my SO. What do you want from life?

I want, well my SO obviously (not a phrase I've used before - and there's only one person I can ever imagine it referring to), my family and friends - as good people make life better, and make bad people less bothersome. Two cats because it seems more sensible than one. Somewhere to cook properly - good food is worth the time and effort it takes, but it needs a reasonable amount of space. A view which at least matches the one I grew up with. Oh and fresh bread - life without fresh bread does not bear thinking about.

2. If you were to write a book, what kind of book would it be? What would the genre and the message be?

I have no idea. It's one of those things I've never considered doing. It would be a work of fiction, I think - probably fantasy- if only because I feel that would be easier, I'm not sure I could be bothered to properly research a non-fiction book. I'm just not sure I could do it well enough, and the last thing I'd want to do is write a bad book. Message wise – I suspect it would involve people getting what they deserve as it doesn't happen frequently enough in real life.

3. What's the best film you've seen this year? In the past five years? Ever? Why?

I would have to say the best film I saw last year (when you asked me that question) was Batman Begins (I can't remember what I may have seen before and since). I think it got the balance of action, story and characterisation right without falling into the traditional comic book film cliches. In the last five years probably one of the Lord of the Rings films – the extended versions, not the cinema releases. Not sure which one, I'm tempted to group them all together and count them as one. It was a very good adaptation of a story that was long, complicated and highly detailed in places. Ever, I can't decide; too many possibilities and not enough memories to say. I don't normally think in terms of favourite films or favourite anything really. You can't make direct comparison between films that easily as they can vary too much in genre, style and purpose.

4. Would you like to live abroad at some point in your life? Whereabouts? If not, where in Britain do you want to stay?

I think I would I'm just not sure a country exists in which I'd want to live if that makes sense. There are advantages and disadvantages to every possibility, and I don't know enough to make an informed choice. I don't have any immediate or long term plans to leave the Bath area anyway, so I’d guess I'd like to stay where I am.

5. If you could magically gain proficiency in any musical instrument, which one would it be? If you don't like music, which language would you like to be fluent in?

At last an easy question. The drums. Though I'm not sure I'd like to magically gain proficiency in it. It something I've wanted to be able to play since, well probably since I was old enough to realise that if you hit something it makes a sound. I actually own a drum kit now, I have done so over two years now, but I've rarely found the time to do much on it. Something I’m going to have to try and rectify.

Language wise Italian, German and Japanese. German so I could better appreciate some of the things P enjoys, and understand some of the conversations she has with her sisters. Italian because I can understand some, but speak very little, and it would be good to be able to join in with the conversation when my Dad’s side of the family starts using Italian. Japanese because it’s interesting.


elmyra

1. Would you ever leave Bath and go live somewhere else? Why/why not?

Probably not, at least not outside the immediate area. I like Bath, I feel reasonably comfortable in the city, which I don’t do in most. It meets the criteria of being reasonably pretty, near the majority of people I want to be near, and is currently providing me with a job. Obviously I can’t rule anything out, but there’s nothing driving me to leave as of yet.

2. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up and why?

I think the earliest memory of wanting to be something I have is wanting to be a vet. Out of the fairly common childhood desire to be around animals and look after them for a living. I don’t think it lasted a long time though; the realities of seven years of degree level study put me off all forms of medicine. I think that was followed by wanting to be a palaeontologist as I was reasonably obsessed with dinosaurs when I was younger. I didn’t know what I wanted to do for a long time, other for than couple of years when I was small.

3. What attracts you in women?

P, to put it simply. She quite simply epitomises everything I find attractive in women. On a more general level. Personality is key, people who come across as being nice I generally find more attractive, conversely I find some women traditionally/socially regarded as attractive very ugly because you can tell they’re unpleasant people. Generally with regards to looks I find my tastes are very person specific, with almost no common physical attributes that I can spot. Though having said that I am very definite that an attractive woman needs to be of a healthy build, I find very skinny and overweight people anything from unpleasant to disgusting/revolting to look at. In summary I’m quite picky.

4. If there's a work of art (book, picture, movie, piece of music, anything!) which particularly resonates with you (makes you cry/makes you happy/you find deeply meaningful, etc.) what is it and why?

No single work of art, book or piece of music springs to mine as resonating particularly more than others. There have been several films and pieces of music that have had that effect on me, I just can’t necessarily name them. The only example that immediately springs to mind is the Sandman graphic novels; I finished everyone feeling thoughtful, as if I could feel my mind just tingling with thoughts and feelings slightly out of reach.

There are two other occasions which have been particularly meaningful to me in the same way. One was walking back home up an almost completely empty Bathwick Hill, and then past the university after dark and following a quite heavy snow fall that was by then falling slowly in big gentle flakes. It’s one of the few times Bath has looked really beautiful, and the experience was incredible peaceful.

The second and more moving experience was driving down Brassknocker Hill on my way home, about 3 years ago at night. I come around the blind corner just before the valley becomes visible to see a bright full moon, in a perfectly clear night sky, directly over the dip in the hills at the centre of the horizon illuminating this unbroken sea of fog that stretched the whole way across the valley from the horizon to just in front of me. It’s one of the most beautiful and spectacular views I have ever seen.

Overall the thing that resonates most with me is the valley I grew up in, I can feel so much joy, peace and thoughtfulness just standing in my parents garden gazing at it.

5. Name one bizarre/obscure interest of yours that we, your geeky friends, would never guess.

Well I have a tendency to tell people a lot about me, so I’m not sure there’s much people don’t know. Plus bizarre and obscure take on whole new meaning with the company I keep. Does the fact I like designing games count, and that I made (designed, and physically produced) several board games, and a simple card game when I was younger. I still do so now very occasionally, but more focused on designing computer games, and campaigns for a couple of mod-able games. Oh and I’ve technically produced a web comic (it’s a comic, it’s readable on the web I think it qualifies), well three strips based on some of the shared experiences of a group I’m in, in a browser based zombies apocalypse web game. They don’t look too bad considering they were done in paint and I have practically no artistic ability what’s so ever.


almosthonest

1) Er, same_difference , where've you gone? Oh no, you've fallen into the Harry Potter universe, and ended up at Hogwarts. So, what would you do there? ;-)

Run for my life as fast as I can. Assuming I haven’t gained any magical ability what so ever I think I’m in quite a bit of danger. Failing that attempt to break all of them by explaining to them how they are all fictional characters, in an over-hyped fantasy series, and everything bad in their lives is actually JK Rowling’s fault, and so they should go take her out in a suitable painful way before she makes it any worse for them.

2) If you couldn't have your current LJ name, what new one would you choose? Any significance?

I don’t know, same_difference is very me. Perhaps relatively_relative. It’s a phrase I once managed to use meaningfully in a conversation with one of my friends from before university. He spent quite a lot of time afterwards attempting to use it appropriately in conversation afterwards.

3) Is there any particular time period in history you'd have liked to have seen? (You're allowed to spectate, then come back afterwards - or indeed go forwards, if there's a major event you can guess at.)

I think it would have to be some kind of whirl wind tour of the dinosaur era. I’ve never entirely lost my childhood fascination with them, and I still find it hard to imagine things like them alive and wandering around. I think I’d leave human history alone, I doubt I’d particular happy finding out what anything I visited was actually like.

4) Given half a chance, is there any particular TV series you'd see brought back to the little screen?

Yes the Strangerer’s. It was a quirky little comedy that lasted a season on Sky with a couple of people who were on the fast show. It was well written and well performed and ended on a cliff hanger. On that I’d like to know the truth behind Space Above and Beyond, fairly good sci-fi space combat show, that just started to reveal a complex plot at the end of it’s first and only series – which also ended on a cliffhanger.

Actually what am I saying I want Firefly, lots more Firefly. That continues the story both before and after the events of Serenity.

5) Choose a couple of our friends to reassign each other's physical heights to. How d'you think they'll cope?

yamamaya and ailsa_chan obviously. ailsa_chan would obviously be very happy, but I don’t think it would stop her wearing platform boots and similar. yamamaya would be annoyed, but I suspect would quickly find ways to use his reduced height to his advantage against ailsa_chan.


yamamaya

1) You're a fan of Johen Vasques, but what is it about his work that appeals to you?

The odd sense of humour, and the way he manages to pull off really stupid, unpleasant characters where they’re clearly over the top, but also feel oddly real. His art style works for the stories he tells (I’ve never seen the bad art work book), or he tells stories to match his artwork – either way it’s good. Also the randomness is great, there’s not enough randomness in most things these days.

2) Quoted as being a "natural born mage" (though I'm sure that was directed at Andy at the time...) whilst LARPing, which class would you actually be if you were born in a fantasy world?

Some kind of paladin I think. I getting very angry with a lot of the nastiness in the world, and the fact I can’t just stop it and just make people better. Plus I just like swords, shield and platemail. While there is a certain attraction to having immense power at your finger tips, I think I’d prefer a more hands on approach. So Paladin, or at least quasi magical warrior who deals the punishments people deserve to them (with a fairly harsh set of punishments).

3) Do you have any hidden talents which we don't know about?

Not that I’m aware of. I’m fairly open when it comes to myself, and there’s not a lot I don’t tell people. At least that I’d mention here. I’m good at office golf, as I discovered on my last project. Does that count?

4) Where do you see yourself in a month, a year and 10 years?

In a month, at work in IPL looking forward to a 36 hour. Probably still on my current project. A year hopefully still working for IPL, helping to keep P not to stressed as she comes to the end of her final year, and still working in Bath. Ten years – I would hopefully have a house and be married if everything works out as planned, maybe still working for IPL or doing something else computer related.

5) Which is the better mode of transportation, motorbike or horse?

Depends on circumstances, and terrain. Motorbikes need fuel, horses don’t but do tire out. Motorbikes are faster, horses are more stable and can jump – without use of ramps. Motorbikes can be repaired but need maintenance, horses can heal, but also need to be cared for. Motorbikes can fail mechanically, horses can be seriously injured or die. However in general I think I’d feel safer on a motorbike than on a horse, assuming the motorbike was the right type for the terrain I was travelling on, and I knew how to ride them. I think I’d prefer travelling on a bike to travelling on a horse, not that I’ve done either.


ailsa_chan

1)You end up stuck on a desert island with only the backpack you had with you. What's in the backpack and how do you escape?

The backpack I'm carrying with me anyway? Well if I'm travelling it would contain the stuff I need to travel. Otherwise based on it's normal contents pain killers, antacid, a pen, some tissues and possibly D&D books and dice. If the island was nice enough, and I had P with me I'd see no good reason to escape. Escape would probably involve painstackingly building a raft/making a signal fire.

2)Getting stuck on a desert island was very careless. How did it happen?

It's my brothers fault, somehow. I have no idea how I'd end up on a desert island but I'd guarantee it would make a good story. Nothing of any signifigance seems to happen in my life if it doesn't make a good story. It would also involve a boat trip.

3)Having escaped from the island and returned home, you wake up to a perfect morning. What does it look like?

Warm and sunny, and not too hot with a gentle breeze. Probably about early May. The air is clean, and most people aren't about. It's 9:45, and I've woken up naturally. P's next to me.

4)You are clearly an evil genius, what is your plan for world domination? (pun intended)

Trick almosthonest into doing all the work for me, and becoming the public face of the new world order, while secretly running everything behind the scenes. Or wait for almosthonest to take over the world and then trick the world into crowning me at his coronation ceremony - shouldn't be hard it's not like he'll be there on time.

Most likely I would slowly continue the spread and evolution of Domish around the world, so all communication is done in my own particular tongue, before tricking the various world powers into signing total control to me through clever use of ‘thing’. Either way kill all the dissenters as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Dissenters would of course be defined in Domish.

5)What is your ideal evil fortress?

Big imposing, maze like and built close to, but not exactly to, the evil orderlord list guidelines. It would fly, and be sturdy enough to use to squash things. It would also be environmentally friendly, and armed to the teeth. Oh and it would look deceptively welcoming.

Comments

[almosthonest.livejournal.com]

Wow, cool answers! Though, with no false modesty, I'm quite impressed by my questions - I was on form asking those ones. Feel quite ashamed in light of my current effort.

And:

Or wait for almosthonest to take over the world and then trick the world into crowning me at his coronation ceremony - shouldn't be hard it's not like he'll be there on time.

-dies laughing- Dammit, that'd work as well! -grumbles- I'd go with that over power behind the throne - I think I have something like five volunteers who are waiting for me to gain power before they stack in behind the throne - it'll have to be a biiig throne. :-)

[drabbit.livejournal.com]

it'll have to be a biiig throne

Not for very long... Though it should probably be red.

[elmyra.livejournal.com]

Aerm, are you sure those are my questions? On some of them I don't even recognise the style as mine. I suppose it's possible I was particularly inspired, or I just lifted some of them from another interview...

[same-difference.livejournal.com]

Yep. Look at your entry on 26/11/2005 (http://elmyra.livejournal.com/352468.html). Those were the questions you asked me, where you got them from I don't know.