The wonderful Cenobyte has tagged me for this meme.
The rules are as follows:
• Each player creates a list of eight random personal facts/habits.
• At the end of your post, list eight people who you want to tag to also do this meme.
• People who are tagged will write their own list of eight personal facts/habits and, if they have a blog of their own, post these rules and their list.
Here goes with my eight things:
1. My tastes in music are eclectic: I can move easily between Tom Waits, Loretta Lynn, Bruce Springsteen, Enya, and Mozart.
2. I give my animals the names of people (although I’ve been tempted by the name Snap).
3. I love to read about food and cooking.
4. I like to go barefoot in all weathers.
5. I like having a flower garden, but I don’t enjoy gardening.
6. I only want foliage houseplants.
7. I always use pens with black ink—I don’t like blue ink.
8. I’m interested in geology and like to pick up small rocks that catch my eye (they sit on my computer table under my table lamp).
Here are the four people I’ve tagged:
A Sweet, Familiar Dissonance
Alone On a Boreal Stage
Cara Winsor Hehir
Head Tale
houndcats’ books and blather
Manageable Imaginations
Politics ‘N Poetry
rockstarpoet
Posted by Amy as Memes at 1:22 AM EDT
7 Comments »
Susan at I Buy Books has found a fun meme: 10 Things I Like.
There’s a twist to it, though; each thing that you like has to begin with the same letter. Those who want to take part get in touch with the person on whose blog they’ve found the meme, and that person assigns them a letter.
Susan gave me the letter C, so here goes.
1. Cats. If I could have only one animal to live with, it would be a cat.
2. Chickpeas.
3. Count Basie: whenever my spirits need a lift, Count Basie is a surefire cure.
4. Computers: writing, browsing the web, E-mail, building my own website, blogging. They’re almost my whole life!
5. Chocolate (that’s almost too easy).
6. Channa masala.
7. CBC Radio Two.
8. Christmas—especially the carols.
9. Comics and comedy.
10. Cute Overload.
If any of you would like to do this, leave a comment and I’ll give you a letter. Or, alternately, pick a letter yourself and go ahead and have fun!
Posted by Amy as Memes at 6:43 AM EST
5 Comments »
Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate?
Hot Chocolate.
When do you put up your decorations?
Early in December if I put any up.
What kind of decorations are on your Christmas Tree?
We often don’t have Christmas trees just because we have a lively group of animals who would soon destroy them.
If we did, however, it would be blue lights and a silver and blue theme. I like tinsel, but it’s not good for animals, who tend to eat it, so we likely wouldn’t have it.
Snow! Love It or Dread It?
I love snow and I even don’t mind the cold and the wind.
Can you ice skate?
This Sagittarius on skates? Shudder. No, I never did learn how.
What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you?
Being with my husband, my family, and my husband’s family.
What is your favorite Holiday Dessert?
My mother’s pumpkin pie or Christmas pudding. I’ve never had any better. Ask me about her fudge!
What is your favorite holiday tradition?
• having Christmas on Christmas Eve
• our family’s annual pre-Christmas excursion (a holiday brunch plus something festive afterward, such as a Christmas concert or visit to an art gallery with Christmas programming)
• the Christmas Cow, an ornament my sister made when she was about 10 (the rest of the family hates it but they humour me)
• listening to Christmas carols (it just isn’t Christmas for me unless I’ve listened to a concert—either in person or on the radio)
• listening to Stuart McLean’s “Dave Cooks A Turkey”—one of the funniest pieces I’ve ever heard, Christmas or otherwise. By the way, it’s just not the same reading it to yourself; you have to hear him do it. If you’ve never heard this piece, you can find it on Vinyl Café: A Christmas Collection
What tops your tree?
This year my sister made me a tree for my office, and there’s a silver cherub on top.
What is your favorite Christmas Song?
Just one? That’s almost impossible. But I think it would be “Silent Night,” especially a bilingual version with bits of German: Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht.
Candy Canes! Yuck or Yummy?
In very small doses they’re o.k. (like maybe a ½” piece).
Via Heather at Orange Blossom Goddess.
Posted by Amy as Memes, Holidays at 7:40 AM EST
2 Comments »
I’ve been tagged for a meme called the People Collecting Meme.
It’s an odd name, but here goes.
PLEASE LEAVE THE FOLLOWING IN ALL PEOPLE COLLECTION POSTS
‘Remember that it isn’t always the sensational stuff that writers are looking for, it can just as easily be something that you take for granted like having raised twins or knowing how to grow beetroot. Mind you, if you know how to fly a helicopter or have worked as a film extra, do feel free to let the rest of us know about it.’
Maxine (at Petrona), who tagged me, gives the following explanation:
The above is a rather spooky practice, “people collecting”, in which you are charged to provide five little-known facts about yourself on your blog, so that writers can have some research material.
I agree with Maxine when she says “what are they going to do with the material and who are they anyway?”—but that’s fine—she’s tagged me, and I’m happy to oblige.
Here are the five little-known facts about me:
• I love learning other languages and have a passing acquaintance with Old English, German, and Latin and have reached an intermediate, if rusty, level of Medieval English and French
• it drives me nuts when people mispronounce et cetera (etc.) as “eck” cetera
• I love children—I just don’t want any
• like my paternal grandmother, I sometimes have dreams that predict the future (but unlike her, I can’t tell the difference between them and regular dreams)
• I love going on meditation retreats that are held in silence (including no eye contact)
Apparently I’m to tag three people, so here goes: Berlynn (Politics ‘n’ Poetry), Brenda (Alone On a Boreal Stage), and Tracy (Unmanageable Imaginations).
Posted by Amy as Memes at 1:46 AM EDT
3 Comments »
Name five things that make you insanely happy for absolutely no fathomable reason:
• hot pink stick-it notes
• windy days
• seeing that my asparagus fern is sending out a new shoot after years of languishing
• the smell of clover
• hearing a meadowlark
Via Head Tale.
Posted by Amy as Memes at 3:40 PM EDT
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October is Women’s History Month in Canada.
I thought about Women’s History Month when the blogger, poet, and political activist at Politics ‘N’ Poetry tagged me for the following meme: the five things feminism has given me.
That’s an interesting question. It’s a valuable one, too; too many people today—women and men—take women’s current status for granted and don’t realise how we had to struggle to get here.
In a way that’s good, because it shows how far we’ve come, but I get very distressed when I hear people sneer at feminism.
If it weren’t for feminism, women wouldn’t be able to own property, vote, hold elected office—just for starters.
We still have so much to work for, too: until there is no wage disparity or violence against women (to list just two) how can anyone say that feminism is pointless or a thing of the past? Or, worse yet, not applicable to them?
Feminism has given so much that it’s hard to keep it to five, but here are my top picks:
• having children is now a choice: I can choose whether to have them at all and if I were to have them, I could choose the time that’s best for me and the children (e.g. after I completed the education that would allow me to support them; after I was mature enough to be a good parent)
• the right to an education
• the right to protection from violence
• the right to tell my own story and to have it heard; no longer will women’s lives or experiences be considered unimportant just because they’re women, and no longer will women have to accept the male version of their lives (nothing against men, but women and men experience the world differently)
• the right to not marry if I didn’t want to (and to not be branded a failure if I didn’t)
There’s also the right to be taken seriously (o.k., I know that makes 6 things–so sue me).
But to see what I mean, check out this excerpt from an article I wrote about fire-fighting that was published in 2000 in the Regina Leader-Post (the source for the original research is an 1884 edition of the Regina Leader-Post):
At 5:00 a.m. in late November 1884, Mrs. Dixie Watson thought she smelled smoke. . . . Mrs. Watson told her husband, but Dixie Watson “was not inclined to pay much attention to what he thought was ‘only the hallucination to which ladies are liable.’”
Humph.
For further reading, here are links to the Wikipedia entry on feminism, the Canadian government website for Status of Women Canada, and the website for the Canadian group the National Action Committee on the Status of Women.
To pass this on, I’ll tag Jackie, Rhett, Cara, Maxine, and Jill.
Posted by Amy as Special Days/Weeks, Memes, Women at 1:30 AM EDT
5 Comments »
Melissa Kronenthal at The Traveler’s Lunchbox has an interesting project going.
She’s collecting lists from people itemising the five things they think everyone should eat before they die. So far she’s received enough entries that she’s up to 1,220. You can read the list of “Things To Eat Before You Die” here.
Some of the items are particular dishes in specific restaurants; others are very general (“a vegetable you have grown yourself”).
I agree that everyone should eat vegetables fresh from the garden before they die, but that’s a little too general for me.
I came up with my own suggestions, but it was tough keeping it down to five. Here they are:
• mangoes
• basmati rice
• channa masala (curried chick peas)
• falafel served in a pita with a garlic sauce
• peach pie
Via Yahoo! Picks.
Posted by Amy as Food, Memes at 1:51 AM EDT
2 Comments »
Here’s a fun little meme: the Random 5 Quotations.
You go to Random Quotes: The Quotations Page and choose 5 that explain your beliefs or worldview.
Here are the ones I picked:
• “Take what you can use and let the rest go by” (Ken Kesey)
• “A human being is only interesting if he’s in contact with himself. I learned you have to trust yourself, be what you are, and do what you ought to do the way you should do it. You have got to discover you, what you do, and trust it” (Barbra Streisand)
• “Learning is not attained by chance. It must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence” (Abigail Adams)
• “Not to know what has been transacted in former times is to be always a child. If no use is made of the labors of past ages, the world must remain always in the infancy of knowledge” (Cicero)
• “Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music - the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself” (Henry Miller)
Bonus quotation from Mark Twain:
I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him.
Via Ancrene Wiseass.
Posted by Amy as Memes at 2:15 AM EDT
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Here’s a meme that I saw quite a while ago but never got around to working on until today.
1. Have you ever been searched by the cops?
No.
2. Do you close your eyes on roller coasters?
I don’t even go on roller coasters!
3. When’s the last time you’ve been sledding?
Never. That’s shocking, coming from someone who lives through Saskatchewan’s winters, but true.
4. Would you rather sleep with someone else, or alone?
Well, it depends . . .
5. Do you believe in ghosts?
I keep an open mind.
6. Do you consider yourself creative?
Yes.
7. Do you think O.J. killed his wife?
Yes.
8. Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie?
I’ve heard of both but don’t know anything else about them.
9. Do you stay friends with your ex’s?
I don’t have any, unless you count two boyfriends from when I was 15 and 16. I’ve been with my husband since I was 17.
10. Do you know how to play poker?
No.
11. Have you ever been awake for 48 hours straight?
Good Lord, no. I managed 23 hours once when I was 18.
12. What’s your favorite commercial?
I love—love!—the Geiko commercials with the talking gecko. Some commercials make me hit the mute button or change channels; this one makes me turn the sound on and up.
13. What are you allergic to?
Feathers.
14. If you’re driving in the middle of the night, and no one is around do you run red lights?
No. I’m hopelessly law-abiding.
15. Do you have a secret that no one knows but you?
No.
16. Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees?
Toronto Blue Jays. Oh, o.k.—the Sox.
17. Have you ever been Ice Skating?
Once, for about 5 minutes.
18. How often do you remember your dreams?
Most mornings I remember at least one.
19. When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried?
Maybe a year ago?
20. Can you name 5 songs by The Beatles?
Penny Lane, Revolution, Love Me Do, Back In the USSR, She Loves Me
21. What’s the one thing on your mind now?
This questionnaire.
22. Do you know who Ghetto-ass barbie is?
No, but it sounds funny (funny ha-ha).
23. Do you always wear your seat belt?
Yes.
24. What cell service do you use?
SaskTel.
25. Do you like Sushi?
I’ve never had it.
26. Have you ever narrowly avoided a fatal accident?
Yes (a semi once sped through a red light; thank goodness that I double-checked).
27. What do you wear to bed?
Humph.
28. Been caught stealing?
Nope.
29. What shoe size do you have?
Depends on the shoe. 8, maybe?
30. Do you truly hate anyone?
No,.
31. Classic Rock or Rap?
Classic rock.
32. If you could sleep with one famous person, who would it be?
Humph.
33. Favorite Song?
Nessun Dorma.
34. Have you ever sang in front of the mirror?
No.
35. What food do you find disgusting?
Eels, octopus.
36. Do you sing in the shower?
No.
37. Did you ever play, “I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours”?
No.
38. Have you ever made fun of your friends behind their back?
Definitely not.
39. Have you ever stood up for someone you hardly knew?
Yes.
40. Have you ever been punched in the face?
Not yet!
Via Edward Champion’s Return of the Reluctant.
Posted by Amy as Memes at 7:41 AM EDT
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Here’s a fun little questionnaire that I found recently.
Three People Who Make Me Laugh
· my sister
· Brent Butt
· Kinky Friedman
Three Things I Love
· reading
· listening to music
· researching
Three Things I Hate
· people who complain constantly but who don’t do anything about what they’re complaining about
· liars
· people who are deliberately mean or downright cruel
Three Things I Don’t Understand
· extroverts
· physics
· cruel people
Three Things On My Desk
· a pile of writing that I’ve been revising
· lots of little stones that I’ve picked up over the years
· a stuffed animal (I think it’s a seal)
Three Things I’m Doing Right Now
· listening to my ferrets eat
· this survey
· wishing I hadn’t been woken up in the middle of the night by the people visiting my neighbours!
Three Things I Want To Do Before I Die
· move into a bigger house in a nicer neighbourhood
· figure out FTP
· own a piano
Three Things I Can Do
· multi-task
· cook
· deal with bureaucracy
Three Ways To Describe My Personality
· introverted
· friendly
· optimistic
Three Things I Can’t Do
· sing
· skate
· draw anything that resembles anything
Three Things I Think You Should Listen To
· your instincts
· good advice
· music
Three Things I Don’t Think You Should Listen To Ever
· the advice of untrustworthy people
· the advice of people who don’t like you
· the negative things people say when they’re angry, sick, tired, or hurt
Three Things I’d Like To Learn
· to sing
· to speak Italian
· to play the piano
Three Beverages I Drink Regularly
· water
· soda water
· Pepsi
Three Shows I Watched When I Was A Kid
· Bugs Bunny
· Spiderman
· The Jetsons
Via Daring To Be Remarkable.
Posted by Amy as Memes at 2:05 AM EDT
6 Comments »
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