Saturday, June 25, 2005

Proust Would Be Proud. Vanity Fair, that confusing jumble of celebrity journalism, random factoids, and actual journalism that piques my interest every so often... (Note: I love the Hollywood and Music issues -- so sue me, I know I'm a sheep -- and their political stuff is often quite engaging...even if Andrew Donaldson is going to mock me for thinking so...if he even notices this) ...publishes a little something called the Proust Questionnaire on the back page of every issue. They talk to authors, movie stars, political figures...you name it. The answers are rarely that revealing -- just another excuse for carefully calculated publicity -- but when it appears that the subject has answered honestly and sincerely, it can be rather fascinating to read. Someday I hope to be an author of some note -- C flat, actually -- so perhaps I'll end up doing the PQ for real one day. For now, though, I'm going to quiz myself, and put it here. Feel free to answer it yourself in the comments... BUT NO MEME-ING IT! MEME-ING IS ONLY FUN UNTIL SOMEONE LOSES AN EYE. The Proust Questionnaire What is your idea of perfect happiness? To go to sleep at night knowing the people I love are safe, happy, and just as close as I desire them to be -- and that I did all I could to bring them to that place. That, and a really big coffee handed to me by the lovin' hunk of burning love that is...well.... What is your greatest fear? Being thought careless or unkind; not being able to make a difference. And butterflies. Which historical figure do you most identify with? A combination of Dorothy Parker, Myrna Loy, and Flannery O'Connor -- I had to choose cultural figures because I haven't done anything important enough to identify with an Eleanor Roosevelt or a Mother Theresa. If all those are taken, Statler and Waldorf from the Muppets. What is your greatest extravagance? Magazines, coffee and email....and all the time I give them in my day. What is your favourite journey? Falling in love. And to coffee shops. What do you consider the most overrated virtue? Mine? Ha! What do you dislike most about your appearance? My crookedy teeth, my round-apple cheeks, and the way my face moves too quickly to ever have a remotely appealing presence in pictures. Which living person do you most despise? Child pornographers, en masse. What or who is the greatest love of your life? We'll see... When and where were you happiest? As a child, at Cannon Beach in Oregon, leaping in the waves with my parents and my brother and the MacPhedrans... If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be? I think I'd be married. Not that I am dying for it, but it might be fun! But otherwise, my family is lovely. What is your most treasured possession? My grandmother's rings. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery? Being an AIDS-afflicted orphan in a third-world country. What is your favourite occupation? Student of everything. And, of course, writers. What do you most value in your friends? Nonjudgment. Who are your favourite writers? O'Connor, Faulkner, Joyce, Parker, Fitzgerald, Tolstoy, Sedaris, Richler, Trillin, and Dostoevsky. Who is your favourite hero of fiction? I couldn't possibly narrow it down. No way. Who are your heroes in real life? My parents. Is that a cheesy answer? It's still true. What are your favourite names? Olivia, Kate, Lily, Matthew, Ivy, Aidan, Jack, Madeleine, Louisa, Jacob, James, Eva, Ella and Max. What is your motto? 'Don't let the bastards get you down...' and 'Love first.' 2:33:15 AM    build me up, buttercup... []

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