Mood: Sleepy
Listening to: Ghost song in my head: 'The Last Supper' from JCS

Thailand Gal suggests that everybody answers these 35 questions. Sometimes I think it's easier to give a point of view if you're prompted for it, rather than come out with odd snippets out of the blue... and some of these things are good to own up to.

I enjoyed filling this out. Some questions I've answered before (but can still come up with something new), whereas others were quite hard to answer, and made me think.

1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
A more inclusive world with more balanced aims and methods and far fewer control freaks.

2. What is your greatest fear?
Being misunderstood, spurned and never fully heard.

3. Which living person do you most admire?
I really don't know. I tried to think whose ways I've rather liked recently, and the first to leap to mind was C.J. from the Eggheads. Don't ask me. That was just the first figure to mind. After Stephen Fry.

4. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Not living up to my own expectations.

5. What is the trait you most deplore in others?
The tendency to dismiss other people, views and experiences as worthless or 'wrong'.

6. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
I have to agree with Thailand Gal - it's being 'hard working'. You have to see the bigger picture and the people around you - not just your own little treadmill.

7. On what occasion do you lie?
Polite lies - "I really enjoyed the dinner." Or "I would love to come but I'm too busy that day."
Also, "I would really love this job because..."

8. What do you dislike most about your appearance?
My hair needs cutting - and my talons need filing or trimming or something. Again.

9. What is your greatest regret?
Not knowing older family members better, including my dad who died when I was 24.

10. What or who is the greatest love of your life?
A certain lad from Singapore. He came the closest to accepting me for who I was.

11. Which talent would you most like to have?
Clearer, more fluent speech.

12. What is your current state of mind?
'Hunger' seems to be the best description - not for food, but for all the things I want to say and achieve right now. I want more hours in the day.

13. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I have to say it, because it's true - I would welcome nice crisp hearing, just a little bit better than everybody else's! Just for a change.

14. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
2002 Winning the British Mensa Championsh.... oh, wait! That wasn't me, that was C.J.
Several times Best in Show Oriental... nuh uh, that was Sharky.
Er.
Oh I know... getting born. All those other spermatazoa were loooooosers.

15. If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?
A cat - a well-loved one in a warm home.

16. What is your most treasured possession?
My little house.

17. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
When I worry that nobody understands where I'm coming from and is not prepared to try. A sinking suspicion that people are too busy going round and round in their hamster wheels to stop and really connect.

18. Where would you like to live?
Kenya - or a more rural area of Scotland.

19. What is your most marked characteristic?
Worry.

20. Who are your favorite writers?
Writers with three-dimensional characters, intelligent plots, humour, perceptiveness... who do not have an abrasive style.

21. Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Same as Thailand Gal's - Anne Shirley. She was a writer and a dreamer. I tried to come up with somebody different, but got stuck. Moominmamma? You'd all think I was crazy.

22. Who are your heroes in real life?
It has to be my family - I see their lives first hand, with the various trials and tribulations that beset them.
'Look at all my trials and tribulations.... sinking in a gentle pool of wine. What's that in the bread? It's gone to my head; until this evening this morning life was fine.' [Jesus Christ Superstar]

23. What is it that you most dislike?
Narrow-mindedness; lack of empathy; sweeping views; derisiveness; coarseness; loudness.

24. What is your motto?
'It will all be the same in a hundred years.'

25. Favorite journey?
Chuffing across Kenya by overnight train.

26. What do you value most in your friends?
Willingness to communicate; reliability; kindness.

27. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
"Personally..."
"What?"
"Sorry, didn't catch that."
"Oddly enough..."
"I was just thinking..."
"Oh, I didn't realize."
"Sigh."

28. Which historical figure do you most identify with?
GMB (without the drinking)!! If you could call him a historical figure. He certainly liked his history.

29. What is your greatest extravagance?
Books. Bears. Gifts. Nice furnishings for my Most Treasured Possession.

30. If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?
Their age - I would roll it back.

31. What is your favorite occupation?
Pottering around at home.

32. What is the quality you most like in a woman?
Connection of minds.

33. What is the quality you most like in a man?
Connection of minds.

34. How would you like to die?
In my sleep.

35. If you could chose what to come back as, what would it be?
I thought we answered that one! Definitely a cat. Or maybe C.J.

Mood: Avoiding the X Factor on TV downstairs
Listening to: 'The Lion Sleeps Tonight'

Pieces of Eight meme (edited) pinched from Blue Moon Girl:

8 Things I Am Passionate About
1. For humanity to chill out more
2. Passion? What's that?

8 Things I Say Often
1. Blut
2. Bleep!
3. Drattles
4. Hello, wotchoo bin doing? (to Sharky)
5. D'yoo want some food? (to Sharky)
6. Don't DO that!
7. What I was going to say was...
8. Nooooooooooooooo! (first thing in the morning)

8 Books I’ve Read Recently
1. George Mackay Brown: The Life by Maggie Fergusson
2. Stars of the New Curfew by Ben Okri
3. Starship Voyager: Caretaker by L.A. Graf
4. The Tales of Olga da Polga by Michael Bond
5. The Saint of Dragons by Jason Hightman
6. Ffangs the Vampire Bat and the Kiss of Truth by Ted Hughes
7. The Blue Lion by Robert Lynd
8. Joys of Single Blessedness by George Ade

8 Songs I Could Listen to Over and Over
1. The Lion Sleeps Tonight / Wimoweh (any version) - ANIMATED CLIP
2. Kingston Town by UB40 - CLIP
3. Karma Chameleon by Culture Club - CLIP
4. Souvenir by OMD - CLIP
5. Enola Gay by OMD - CLIP
6. Dream a Lie by UB40 - CLIP
7. Mr Bassman (especially as performed by the Muppets) - MUPPETS CLIP
8. Going Home by Runrig (wot - no clip??)

Mood: Disillusioned
Listening to: House buzzing

I followed the 'What Classic Movie Are You?' questionnaire and apparently I'm "Platoon. An anxious foot soldier on the battlefield of life, seeking to avoid danger and preserve her security."

Mood: See title
Listening to: House humming

On Geosomin's blog I found this meme, posted because she was feeling lousy. Though it's nearly the other end of the day, I thought I would try it in case it holds a miracle cure.

Current clothes: Café latte coloured Indian skirt with sequinned trim. White petticoat. Grass-green T-shirt.

Current mood: Tired and disillusioned.

Current music: Nothing.

Current annoyance: Spammer who got into Blogigo. Nothing happened for a long time before today, but last night I got a pricking of my thumbs for no reason other than feeling cheesed off, and decided to reset my preferences so that any new comments coming from the outside world would need to be activated. I assumed spammers wouldn't even bother registering with Blogigo just to post on our blogs, but I was wrong - and that's where the spam came from. So it got past me anyway. It wasn't there very long - bim, bim, bim, and I changed my preferences, so all comments are being moderated just now. I'm in the mood to change to WordPress (I called up their site last night) but don't have time. That's my other annoyance.

Current thing: You caught me between 'things'. Zzz. Possibly a BlogFriday post which is in the offing for tomorrow, and I was thinking of trawling the NaBloPoMo membership list for new blog reads.

Current desktop picture: An improved photo of Sharky sleeping on Mum's bed. I like the way the blue sweet pea design shines out.

Current book: The Terry Wogan autobiography. I'm reading slowly - not his fault!

Current song in head: I did this meme at the wrong time, as there's no music playing there right now!

Current DVD in player: Nothing.

Current refreshment: Nothing.

Current worry: Will everything be sorted out before Christmas?

Current thought: It's time the world moved away from 'money'.



To cheer anyone else who's feeling lousy, my sister sent a link to a design-related video this morning. It goes on for a while, but be sure to watch it to the end - that's where the best bit is.

Mood: Normal
Listening to: Mum saying 'oil should be good for their coats'

I found this over at Kateblog's (Itisi).

The idea is, I create a list of things which are important to me, or which say a lot about me using the letters of my name. I will use 'Dids' as it's shorter!

Difficulties overcome - makes one feel pleased with oneself.

Internet - source of information, communication, art, work and entertainment.

Dreaming - both day and night.

Sleep - offers escape and healing.

I couldn't believe I couldn't list coffee, chocolate, books, bears, blogs, trolleys and such things...

I'm now supposed to tag people but I'll go along the do it if you want to path.

Mood: Lazy
Listening to: Ghostly song in my head: 'Amazing Grace'

Hmm - tried it again, changing my mind about some of my answers (for instance switching to "yes, I have a map" (actually several, but I thought the question was about globes!) and "yes, I watch Jeopardy" (actually I never have - I don't remember being given the option to watch it; but I watch various other quiz shows. Why don't they count?) If you say "no, I don't watch Jeopardy," the next question asks if you get the questions right, and there is no option to repeat that you've never seen the show - or that you get as many questions right as you get wrong. It bothered my tidy mind.

Considering that I only changed a few of my answers, the scores have adjusted themselves considerably. Do I get 'geek' points for having done it again?

Regardless of such blips, this is my new title:

Cool Nerd Queen.

Better.

Mood: Lazy
Listening to: 'Don't Wanna Dance' by Eddy Grant

... History / Lit Geek.

I have some pathetic scores here compared to BEG, Pacian, Geosomin and Udge. Why am I a blogger?

Mood: Waking up
Listening to: 'Killer on the Rampage' by Eddy Grant

Two quizzes I discovered at Geosomin's The Supposed Golden Path blog:


Book Quiz

You're The Poisonwood Bible!
by Barbara Kingsolver
Deeply rooted in a religious background, you have since become both isolated and schizophrenic. You were naively sure that your actions would help people, but of course they were resistant to your message and ultimately disaster ensued. Since you can see so many sides of the same issue, you are both wise beyond your years and tied to worthless perspectives. If you were a type of waffle, it would be Belgian.
Take the Book Quiz at the Blue Pyramid.

Question - how can one be wise and worthless at the same time?


Alphabet Meme

As Geosomin says: "you're to write something you think / like / believe / follow / captures your 'essence' for every letter of the alphabet. Feel tagged if you like. I'm too tired to chase you all down today."

After clouds, sunshine.
Business for the sake of making money is missing the point of life.
Carrot juice is nectar.
Dance while the music still goes on.
Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die.
Fortiter vivamus (let us live bravely).
Go gently.
Hate is the other side of love.
It will all be the same in a hundred years.
Judge not, lest ye be judged.
Knowledge is power.
Look before you leap.
Make up your own mind.
Nothing lasts forever.
Our birthplace is Africa.
People are animals too.
Question everything.
Read everything you can lay hands on.
Satire is the lowest form of humour.
There's nowt so queer as folk.
Ugly is as ugly does.
Variety is the spice of life.
We are stardust.
Xmas is for everybody.
You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink.
Zooming around is not such a bright idea...

Mood: Even more subdued
Listening to: Coughing on the stairs

Your Dominant Intelligence is Spatial Intelligence

You've got a good sense of space and how the world around you looks. You can close your eyes and "see" images. You have innate artistic talent. An eye for color and shapes, you're also a natural designer. Since you think in pictures, visual aids and demonstrations help you learn best. You would make a good navigator, sculptor, visual artist, inventor, architect, interior designer, or engineer.

I remember getting the results of a careers questionnaire at school (I think it was called JIGCAAL, but I'm not sure). The computer printout said I had unsettling leanings towards art and should find something more lucrative to study. (Ha ha). Every time I think about that, I get quite angry. Why should money matter more than what people want to do?

Have just been watching Spiderman 2. (Sharky leapt up every time the Octopus got active, and tried to leave the room). Spiderman's girlfriend (Mary Jane) annoys me - is it just me?

Mood: Tired
Listening to: A twig snapping deep in the forest

I found this test at What's That You Said?

Link: The What is Your Spirit Animal Test written by FindingEros on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

It also said this:

"How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 99% on Nobility."

How many other people my age and gender have taken this test?

I do not feel that my spirit animal is a wolf - I could be wrong. Do spirit animals get offended when you stare at them with astonishment and say "YOU? Get away!" And if I'm only just starting to figure things out, does that mean I can graduate from a Wolf to the nobler animals? I didn't think so...

Though that reminds me of struggling to remove a shelf that was tightly wedged in a cupboard, and Mum came and yanked it out straight away. "How did you do that?" I asked, astonished, and she said "that's the difference between 40 years' experience and 70 years' experience."

Anyway, I feel no connection with that spirit animal at all! It's more as though I'm looking at someone else's.

Mood: Quiet
Listening to: Ghost song in my head: 'I Think it's Going to Rain Today' by UB40

Also tried this quiz:


Hmmmmmm........

Mood: Quiet
Listening to: Ghost song in my head: 'Annie's Song' by John Denver

Hmm - sounds a little dull.

Which Hogwarts house will you be sorted into?

Have to say I felt in some questions that none of the answers were quite right for me - and in some cases I needed more detail before I could say with any confidence "I would have done such-and-such".

I'm just a pedant though - the quiz really doesn't matter that much.

All the same...

It's a bit like Mum saying "no, we don't need to paint the shelves in the cupboard; they look fine - and we don't need to sand the cupboard thresholds to match the others, because they're only cupboards." She's being completely rational and saving our cash and energy; whereas I want everything to be 'just so'. I was struggling with that, so I opened my mouth and said "er... but... but..." and then "alright." Then a few minutes later, as I started to varnish the kitchen threshold, Mum said "go round in that direction.... I'll sand the ones in the cupboards."

Are the Hufflepuffs pedants? If they are, then I'm in the right House.

EDIT: This arrived just now via Owl Post...

Mum thought, 'Anything for a quiet Hufflepuff'

Mood: Drowsy
Listening to: Distant housely humming

This isn't the name of this meme, but that's the one that came to mind. I've been tagged by The Goldfish - and I don't always tag, but there's a generous allocation here, so maybe I will this time.

The rules:

1. Let others know who tagged you.
2. Players start with 8 random facts about themselves.
3. Those who are tagged should post these rules and their 8 random facts.
4. Players should tag 8 other people and notify them they have been tagged.

Now, for some random facts:

1. I've just finished a novel called Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. As one of the comments on the cover says, it's very convincing. Mum happened to suggest I go out and walk N's dog just as I was part of the way through the description of three little girls having their feet bound. It was such a shocking passage I couldn't walk anywhere at all till I finished it. Two little girls contracted with each other to be lifelong friends - after some discussion about whether or not their '8 characters' were in alignment. The novel is the story of that lifelong relationship.

2. Today we were in B&Q - it was only when we looked at our receipt that we found there was a 10% discount on everything. Not sure how or why. Nice, though.

3. When I was a little girl I was fond of potted meat from the butcher's, calling it Jelly Nice. I called carrots, lettuce etc 'rabbit food', but have a feeling that had something to do with my father...

4. I'm told I also liked eating raw liver, but I don't believe that for a minute. (??) I hate liver.

5. Sharky came in with a deep scratch on his nose a while back, and now it's a scar. We'll have to start calling him 'Scarface Claw' - but perhaps it will give him some street cred with Mum's cats when we finally move in with her.

6. Was struck once by the realization that even when you think something is one of your favourite things, it isn't always - sometimes you like something better that you haven't noticed as much. Our perceptions work in strange ways.

7. Someone suggested one of my abstract pictures was too dark, and sent me a smaller version which had been tweaked. I thought it had a nice golden tone to it, and tried to duplicate it as per instructions, but whatever I did, all the detail was washed out or it remained so dark that it was hardly worth tweaking. I started to get a bit frantic - this was MY picture; how come someone else was doing it better and I couldn't equal it even when given precise instructions? Finally (with a little quiet experimenting) I worked out that the changes had been made to the smaller version. When I reduced the picture to the same size and then made the changes, I got that same golden tone. There was no way I could duplicate this change in the bigger version, simply because it was bigger and more detailed. It just shows, perhaps - suggestions for improvement might not work if they're coming from a different perspective.

8. I have a small rack of music CDs on the table next to me. The 8th CD down is World Moods: contemporary music from around the world. The 8th track on disc one is Incantation by Cacharpaya. The 8th track on disc two is Ever So Lonely by Monsoon.

The eight blogs I'm tagging (though it's optional in all cases):
Beefy or Peachy
Nine Lives
Posted Notes
Reflections
Space Cat Rocketship
The Quacks of Life
The Supposed Golden Path
Timorous Beastie

Mood: Tired
Listening to: Ghostly song in my head: 'D.I.V.O.R.C.E.' by Tammy Wynette

There are suddenly a lot of memes about! They come in waves. I stole this one from Pacian at Space Cat Rocketship.

* Your most marked characteristic?
Not sure, but Mum once said I was pedantic. I had no idea why she said that, but one of my friends laughed and said 'yes.' Huff.

* The quality you most like in a man?
The courage to stand by you - doesn't tag you as 'too difficult' and disappear.

* The quality you most like in a woman?
Perceptiveness.

* What do you most value in your friends?
That they value me.

* What is your principle defect?
Hermit-like tendencies.

* What is your favourite occupation?
Daydreaming.

* What is your dream of happiness?
A society that's more relaxed, secure and accepting.

* What to your mind would be the greatest of misfortunes?
For Waterworld to come true.

* What would you like to be?
Able to join in the conversation.

* In what country would you like to live?
Wherever my family lives.

* What is your favourite colour?
Pastel pink - or a nice summery blue. Depends on my mood.

* What is your favourite flower?
Lavatera.

* What is your favourite bird?
Eagle owl.

* Who are your favourite prose writers?
Neil Gunn, Rudyard Kipling, Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, Tove Jansson, George Mackay Brown.

* Who are your favourite poets?
Ted Hughes, Alfred Tennyson, Andrew Marvell, John Donne, John Keats, John Masefield, e e cummings.

* Who are your favourite heroes of fiction?
Slippery Jim diGriz from the Stainless Steel Rat series by Harry Harrison.
Jonny Good Boy Tyler from Battlefield Earth by L Ron Hubbard.
Rincewind from Terry Pratchett's Discworld books.
Sam from Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
The family d'Alembert from a series by E.E. 'Doc' Smith.

* Who are your favourite heroines of fiction?
Granny Weatherwax from Terry Pratchett's Discworld books.
Anne Shirley from the Anne of Windy Willows series by L. M. Montgomery.
Mrs Rosen, the former award-winning swimmer in The Poseidon Adventure (though the series of events in the film improved on the events in the script. See here for some trivia on this film).
The family d'Alembert from a series by E.E. 'Doc' Smith.

* Who are your favourite composers?
Mozart. Of course. Oh, and Vivaldi. And Pachelbel, just for his Canon in D.

* Who are your favourite painters/photographers?
Don't have any. Some children's book illustrators are very good, but I've never looked out for any in particular. Also, not all artists are 'painters' and 'photographers'.

I've found an interesting perspective in Pete's blog post Nature in Art. Images related to animals and children do seem to be treated as though they shouldn't be taken seriously; many (especially those with light colour schemes) get landed with the description 'chocolate box'. Computer art, digital illustrations and certain abstracts are also considered 'not proper art', just as digitally improved photographs are 'cheating' - and film photographers never do anything artificial in the darkroom; never touch up their photos; never use filters on their cameras; never shoot in black and white; never specially adjust their lighting??... It's all in the way you think about things, and the way people think can be oddly biased.

* Who are your heroes in real life?
Sefton, the Household Cavalry horse. Apart from his survival of the evil that men do, I don't think I have any heroes. Maybe Winston Churchill, who got it right.
By the way, I got a bit of a shock when I researched Sefton online and read the first line there! It's the other name he was given...

* Who are your favourite heroines of history?
Mother cat who scorched her fur off saving all her kittens from a fire, one by one. (It happened years ago - so it's history!) In fact, all mothers are heroines, especially supportive ones who look after the soul as well as the body.

* What are your favourite names?
Mythological names, fantasy names and 'fancy' names. I tend to think normal names (such as Tom and Max) are unimaginative when used for pets - that's just my own opinion, though. I certainly prefer 'Tom' and 'Max' to abusive names (and there are a few about). I used to think up names for show cats. My suggestions tended to be airy and romantic rather than witty and original, which wasn't necessarily what breeders/owners were looking for - they used some of my names, though. People would rather think up names of their own, so now I just keep quiet, except for a few sops so that they will think I'm trying when I'm really not.

* What is it you most dislike?
Insensitivity, lack of imagination and the crossroads between the two. (That was Pacian's answer, but I can't think of a better one. I might add to it: witch hunts and the 'mob' mentality. Applies to blogs as well - a group of them can get on the war path at times. Or you get non-blog commenters getting together to rain on someone else's parade - I've seen that happen, though the victimized blogger simply switched his settings to 'please register to comment' - and that stopped the howling mob in its tracks. Heh).

* What natural gift would you most like to possess?
I find these strangely hard to answer - already struggled with "What is your principle defect?" OK, I've thought of a natural gift - it has to be 'space'. Fewer people treading on my heels in the street and jamming themselves into the back of my chair in cafés. More space would do me a lot of good - other natural gifts (such as 'confidence', 'employment' and 'general good humour') would swiftly follow.

* How would you like to die?
Gently, in my sleep, during a pleasant drowsy dream - and without giving anyone a nasty shock in the process. That means I have to be very old or very ill, so that people know it's going to happen. Just not dragging on for ages, though!

* What is your present state of mind?
Disillusioned. But...

* What is your motto?
"After clouds, sunshine."

Mood: Slightly down
Listening to: Nothing in particular

Found this meme over at Snoskred's - thought it might cheer me up!

Six weird things about me.

1. I've been bitten all over by safari ants.

2. I lost a black gym shoe in the Indian Ocean (when I was 7 or 8). Do you suppose it's still out there?

3. I feel limp after watching Beaches. I used to like it - can't think why.

4. If I can't hear something and somebody spells it out loud, I still don't seem to get it. Maybe because I don't hear the letters any better than I hear the words, or because I put so much effort into just hearing them that I don't have any energy left over for stringing them together... but your guess is as good as mine.

5. When I was little, I lost a tiny teddy bear in the African bush. It scarred me for life.

6. I collect children's books - today I came home with an old Paddington Bear paperback. The cover shows him messing about in the street with a shopping trolley. I still miss our local teddy bear shop - I'm angry they closed down (and not for lack of custom or local goodwill).

Mood: To sleep
Listening to: Ghost tune in my head: 'Oh what a beautiful morning' by Howard Keel

I've been tagged by The Bunnyman:

‘The rules are simple. There are 9 questions (3²), each of which has 3 answers, to give a total of 27, or 3³. The whole point is that the questions are somewhere between eclectic, banal and downright bizarre, so that you can answer completely truthfully without actually giving much away. Just put down the first three answers that come to mind if you can’t work out the “most appropriate” three.’

Objects Within One Metre Of You

   1. A glass bowl of chocolate Revels
   2. A fairy teddy bear with pink wings and a green dress
   3. A peacock feather standing on the floor, rrreaching out towards me.

First Names of People You Sat Next To At School

   1. Una
   2. Jane
   3. Susan

TV Programmes You Won’t Watch

   1. Big Brother (waste of time)
   2. 'Secret camera' things (depressing)
   3. British soaps (also depressing)

Favourite Trivial Pursuit Categories

I only played the game a few times (years ago), so I can't remember what the categories are

   1. Probably Literature, if it's there
   2. "Sorry, let me see the card, I can't hear what you're asking"
   3. "Oh, I had that question three times before; now let me think..."

Superpowers You’d Like To Have

   1. Invisibility
   2. Superhuman strength, so nobody can make me do anything I don't want to do
   3. The ability to read minds (so long as I could switch it off occasionally)

Newspapers, Magazines or Periodicals Read Regularly

   1. The Thinking Fish’s Diary
   2. The Radio Times
   3. The Scotsman Online

Songs You Dislike

   1. Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick by Ian Dury and the Blockheads
   2. There's No One Like My Grandma
   3. Mistletoe and Wine by Cliff Richard (though I agree with Mum that the words are good. I just hate the sound of it).

Blog Posts of Your Own That You’d Recommend.

I think you should read them all! No? Only 3? Well - try these...

   1. Escape from One Brave New World to Another
   2. Blessed Confidence
   3. Beleaguered Crumb

People You’d Like To See Answer These Same Stupid Questions

   1. Anyone reading this post who hasn't already done this meme, whose name (or assumed name) begins with G
   2. Anyone reading this post who hasn't already done this meme, whose name (or assumed name) begins with P
   3. Anyone reading this post who hasn't already done this meme, whose name (or assumed name) begins with any other letter of the alphabet (if you would like to!)

Have fun.

Mood: Ever optimistic
Listening to: House's comforting buzz

I couldn't resist this quiz, which I pinched from Nana Sadie's Place. It seems I check out as Marianne Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility.

Not a surprise... I always identified a little bit with her, mainly because of the type of relationship she had with her mother and sisters. And then she goes around quoting 'Love is not love which alters when it alterations finds...'

Deep, fluttering sigh.

I don't think the sonnet means that the 'not love' was a bad love - it means it was never a love. If that makes sense?

Which heroine would you be, guys? Anne Eliot? Elizabeth Bennet?

Take the Quiz here!

 

Mood: Even flatter
Listening to: Still nothing

Pinched this meme from Mrs Chili in Blue Door:

Name a movie you have seen more than 10 times.
I don't think I've seen any movie more than 10 times - certainly not all the way through. The most likely are:
Mary Poppins
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
The Terminator
Robocop
Death on the Nile
Evil Under the Sun

Name a movie you’ve seen multiple times in the theatre.
None.

Name an actor who would make you more inclined to see a movie.
Hugh Grant.

Name an actor who would make you less inclined to see a movie.
Michael Palin. He wasn't my first choice, though - my first choice in this category was a comic actor with white hair. I just can't remember his name. I think he's in .... oh... can't remember the name of the film! The one with Chevy Chase where they're all rushing around in ... those articles of clothing.... pretending to be Mexican heroes. Ah, got it - the Three Amigos. The white-haired actor is Steve Martin. Well, we got there in the end...

Name a movie that you can and do quote from.
The Terminator: "I'll be back".

Name a movie musical from which you know all of the lyrics to all of the songs.
Um - hard one to answer. For some I've known them all (or most of them) from somewhere, but whether I still remember them.....
If I'm honest, I don't think there are any I could recite perfectly here and now, but it doesn't mean I didn't know them once upon a time, and couldn't rattle them off again if the songs came on.

My Fair Lady - that's the likeliest.

Lots of chocolate for me to eat
Lots of coal, making lots of heat
Warm face, warm hands, warm feet
Oh, wouldn't it be loverly!

Name a movie to which you have been known to sing along.
None. I can't sing well enough; I would spoil the experience.

Name a movie you would recommend that everyone see.
The Will Truman Show, maybe. I'm not feeling very intelligent right now, but seems to me that's a film with something to say - and it has its funny moments too. I love it when he tries to get on the boat, and can't even walk down the quay. When he turns and walks away, suddenly he's a lot better. That's a feeling I know well, though not about boats specifically.

Name a movie you own.
I don't own a movie! But I have videos and a couple of DVDs...
Muriel's Wedding.

Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? If so, what?
Yes. I can't remember what we saw - there were a few. One might have been Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. I only seem to remember the Flintstone cartoons that came on as well.

Name a movie you keep meaning to see but just haven’t got around to yet.
Nope - I'm currently up to date. :-).

What’s the first movie you remember seeing in the theatre?
Beatrix Potter. The one where the mice and things do ballet dances in full costume. It went on for three hours and I was bored stiff.

What is the scariest movie you’ve seen?
Alien. Though, come to think of it, the one that left me looking over my shoulder afterwards was Deep Blue Sea.

What is the best page-to-screen adaptation you’ve seen?
Probably Mary Poppins. I hated the way the last Harry Potter ended, with everybody clapping and cheering and running happily into each other's arms.... corny.

Mood: Horrid headache
Listening to: Leaning into silence

This is my Star Wars horoscope:

Star Wars Horoscope for Gemini

Like most Geminis, you are a playful little creature. You tend to be extremely curious, craving knowledge but sometimes having a short attention span. For the most part, you are charming and loveable. But at times, you can seem scattered and high-strung. Star wars character you are most like: Ewoks

PS: Awful headache - scatting off to bed now.

Mood: Lacking va va voom
Listening to: Ghost song in my head: 'Going Home' by Runrig

Will post this tomorrow when I'm thinking straight - zzz. Meme pinched from Geosomin - somewhat edited as I'm sleepy!

1. What’s the meaning of life?
Oh! I had that all figured out the other night, but I've gone and forgotten.

2. You’ve climbed a really steep hill. What’s the best way to get back down?
Frantically clutching every grass tussock on the way.

4. How many hats do you own?
Let's see...
1 - Cute floppy denim bonnet with poppits to clip back the brim at one side or the other.
2 - Snug black fleece winter hat with under-the-chin ties (and pom-poms).
3 - Strange cylindrical fleece hat with no ties or poppits.
4 - Thick furry Russian-looking head band (it's a sort of hat).
5 - Wide brown waterproof dryasabone hat from Australia - being worn by one of Mum's bears.
Five hats.
I don't actually wear any of them - they make my hearing aids squeak.

7. Do you like beans?
Yes - slightly less sure about broad beans, but I don't reject them.

8. On toast?
Baked beans are not the only kind of beans, you know! I went completely off the tinned variety when I bought a bad batch. The tin was full of far more 'glut' than sauce or beans. The white-clear 'glut' was lying sluggishly at the bottom of the tin, and I felt so ill I didn't have any supper that night. Now when I see a tin of baked beans, I can't face it any more - and this is years after! I was watching Anne Frank's Diary, so I connect the two forevermore.... baked beans and Anne Frank living in an attic.

9. You’re walking somewhere, and your shoelace is undone. There’s only a short way to go. Do you stop in the street and tie your lace, or do you hope no-one notices and that you don’t trip?
I walk very carefully - and haven't fallen down yet. Smuggity smug... it takes serious ice (and a downhill slope) to make me fall. Whoops... forgot about the gremlins.

10. A huge demon-monster thing is about to vaporise your home, but being the reasonable type he says you can keep one room. Which room would you keep?
Computer room. I would be able to send SOS messages, then surf the internet till someone comes. (Unless all the wires were vaporized). At least then the cat and I would still be here, as the computer room is where we both are, with the box of chocolates.

11. Given that god is infinite, and that space is also infinite… Would you like a toasted teacake?
I'm not sure what a toasted teacake IS. Is it English?

12. Which song would you like played at your funeral?
I don't want a funeral. I want people to remember me in their own different ways. Maybe have a memorial-blogathon... "X is what I liked about Diddums... Diddums had such a great sense of humour! Who got Jolly the Trolley? Tarnation, I wanted him!"
No, I wouldn't object to a memorial-blogathon. You could play any music you wanted - maybe go through all the ones I mentioned in my blog posts. 'White Flag' by Dido shows up frequently - also 'Nothing Lasts Forever' by Roxy Music. And don't forget UB40, OMD and Runrig - they're very important. You could do far worse than Runrig's 'Going Home'.

14. You’re in the Big Brother house. How many weeks would you last before you’re voted out?
I am? When did that happen...? I would be astonished if I stayed half a week.

20. You’re due to meet someone, but they’re not there yet. What do you do? And don’t say ‘wait’ because that’s just boring.
Order my cappuccino and look at the scribbles in my neon pink notebook. Stare out the cafe window at the traffic and the seagulls, and watch discreetly as yet another customer leaves the door cracked open so that one of the staff has to go and shut it. And yes, I was a major culprit till I realized the door wasn't shutting properly by itself...

22. Who’s going to have Christmas Number 1?
Nobody... they just rush right through as though they were never there, and don't sing proper Christmas songs any more. The bands in the 70s and early 80s knew what fun and entertainment was - not so sure about now?

25. If you were a ghost, who would you go and spook first?
Nobody - I would choose someone I loved, and float around sadly while they made supper and fed the cats. They would never know I was there.