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fpb1. Leave a comment saying you want to be interviewed.
2. I'll reply and give you five questions to answer.
3. You'll update your LJ with the questions answered.
4. You'll include this explanation.
5. You ask other people questions when they want to be interviewed. And it just keeps going, and going, and going....
1. Is there a particular work (book, song, play, poem, painting, anything vaguely creative) that you can say has influenced you in your life?
2. Are you a day bird or a night owl?
3. How far do you resemble your star sign, if at all, regardless of whether you believe in astrology or not?
4. Is there any one ambition that you can single out which you want to achieve, over and above all the others?
5. Rice Krispies chocolate cakes... good or bad? :p
1. Oh my goodness... many, many. The work of Georges Dumezil, the greatest historian in the twentieth century, determined the direction of my own research; and that of generations of great comics artists, a mountain range crowned by the titanic peaks of Jack Kirby and Hayao Miyazaki, made me a cartoonist. Then there are the great classical musicians: Beethoven, Schubert, Verdi, Mozart, Bach, Haendel, Rossini, Pergolesi, Vivaldi, Palestrina and so on and so forth and so following. Popular music: Louis Armstrong, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Francesco Guccini, Edith Piaf. Movies... Oh my God, where do I begin? And then Keats, Virgil, Dante (the greatest poet I ever read), Goethe, Shakespeare, Dickens, Dr.Johnson, Sappho, Aeschylus, Homer, Thomas Mann, Kalidasa, Horace, Rabindranath Tagore.... I do not think that there is a place at which I can stop. I have read and seen and listened to and watched many, many things that I have loved, and I have learned from everything I have loved. And yes, there were Cathy, Ruth, Clare and Debbie, too. They do not count as works of art, except of course from God's hand, but they taught me what life was about.
2. Hard to tell. It depends on how much I ate the previous day, really.
3. Quite a bit, especially if you take in the Chinese year system. I was born in the month of the Lion of the year of the Tiger. Figures, does it not?
4. Depends what you mean. That I would like to achieve and think I can: to become well known as a historian (preferably without prostituting my views or my professionality). That I dream of: to marry the woman I love.
5. Good: for the taste. And bad: they probably have the nutritional value of dirty water.
2. I'll reply and give you five questions to answer.
3. You'll update your LJ with the questions answered.
4. You'll include this explanation.
5. You ask other people questions when they want to be interviewed. And it just keeps going, and going, and going....
1. Is there a particular work (book, song, play, poem, painting, anything vaguely creative) that you can say has influenced you in your life?
2. Are you a day bird or a night owl?
3. How far do you resemble your star sign, if at all, regardless of whether you believe in astrology or not?
4. Is there any one ambition that you can single out which you want to achieve, over and above all the others?
5. Rice Krispies chocolate cakes... good or bad? :p
1. Oh my goodness... many, many. The work of Georges Dumezil, the greatest historian in the twentieth century, determined the direction of my own research; and that of generations of great comics artists, a mountain range crowned by the titanic peaks of Jack Kirby and Hayao Miyazaki, made me a cartoonist. Then there are the great classical musicians: Beethoven, Schubert, Verdi, Mozart, Bach, Haendel, Rossini, Pergolesi, Vivaldi, Palestrina and so on and so forth and so following. Popular music: Louis Armstrong, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Francesco Guccini, Edith Piaf. Movies... Oh my God, where do I begin? And then Keats, Virgil, Dante (the greatest poet I ever read), Goethe, Shakespeare, Dickens, Dr.Johnson, Sappho, Aeschylus, Homer, Thomas Mann, Kalidasa, Horace, Rabindranath Tagore.... I do not think that there is a place at which I can stop. I have read and seen and listened to and watched many, many things that I have loved, and I have learned from everything I have loved. And yes, there were Cathy, Ruth, Clare and Debbie, too. They do not count as works of art, except of course from God's hand, but they taught me what life was about.
2. Hard to tell. It depends on how much I ate the previous day, really.
3. Quite a bit, especially if you take in the Chinese year system. I was born in the month of the Lion of the year of the Tiger. Figures, does it not?
4. Depends what you mean. That I would like to achieve and think I can: to become well known as a historian (preferably without prostituting my views or my professionality). That I dream of: to marry the woman I love.
5. Good: for the taste. And bad: they probably have the nutritional value of dirty water.
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no subject
Date: 2006-01-09 08:17 am (UTC)2. Your child or children are constant presences at the edge of your LJ writing, but I am not clear about him or them. Tell me about them.
3. Ditto your partner or wife.
4. Tell me about your involvement in showbusiness, and if you have any more smutty stories (like the Bennifer one), share.
5. Tell me one dish you really love, and, if possible, give me the recipe.
1. Why Malta?
Date: 2006-01-09 12:19 pm (UTC)I like its small size and population, as well as its quite stable economy.
I like its relationship with the UK and Germany, both places which I would very much like to visit more just a few times.
Based on research, I like its culture and lifestyle. I like the same of several other countries, too. This bit was actually near the bottom of the list.
I am fascinated by old and antique places, and Malta certainly falls into that category. I know I could pick a lot of other places for that, but Malta seems more fun to me, at least for right now. Its proximity to Italy -- another country big on historical features -- is also a hope, skip, and a jump away. Bonus.
Having lived in the USA for so long, I would really like to live somewhere very small. The USA, I believe is too damn big, and I reckon I'm just reacting to that.
(If I think of any more, I'll add to this entry.)
2. About my children (Part One)
Date: 2006-01-09 01:16 pm (UTC)These are, of course, the twins. These days Nicholas has wonderful long, blond hair down to his shoulders. Such is the current rage with their age group and all the way up to college. Like mine was when I was his age, it is long, wavy, and extremely blond. Christopher, on the other hand, likes to keep his close-cropped, not much different from Nicholas' in the above picture.
Christopher is the older of the two, having beaten Nichalas into the outside world by all of two minutes. One of my nicknames for him is "Eldest", for obvious reasons, but I don't use it much at all. It is usually reserved for when his behavior warrants reminding of his age, and that really doesn't happen all that much. Christopher is generally subdued, astute, and usually fairly mindful of others. His sense of humor is no less dangerous, and he is quite silly from switching gears to monumentally silly at the drop of a hat. He is a chip off the old block in that respect. He likes apple juice, Doctor Who, Curious George, is very good at small unit tactics in real-time video games, likes drawing and writing, and one of the things he doesn't like to let on is that he is deeply emotional. He also plays basketball and likes riding his new bike.
Nicholas is a rock star, Mr. Personality. He smiles quite a lot, to the point he is already getting smile lines at the tender age of 11. He is a social animal. In sixth grade now, he is already getting quite popular with not only his classmates but the seventh, eighth, and some ninth graders. Every teacher since third grade has made a remark along the lines of "He tries to hide his intelligence, but it never works." Nicholas is an avid writer, reader, and conversationalist. Again, he's a chip off the old block. He likes cran-grape juice, drawing, puzzle video games, ninjas, broccoli, and is known to have an easily bruised ego (like most class clowns and social animals). Like Christopher, he is deeply emotional but tries not to let on. He, too, likes watching Doctor Who, but for him it isn't a moral entertainment imperative like it is for some in the household.
Both enjoy my love of food, particularly Italian and Chinese foods.
2. About my children (Part Two)
Date: 2006-01-09 01:30 pm (UTC)This is Noah. He is 7 years old and in second grade. He is my sidekick these days, very much a 'Daddy's Boy'. If he isn't involved in some enterprise of his own or playing with his brothers, he is usually loitering around me and asking what I am doing and asking if he can help or just watch. Noah likes to read, draw, and just chat about things in general. One of his favorite things is just to sit down with me and have me ask him questions. One of his other favorite things is just to sit down and ask me lots of questions. Spelling tests are always a favorite, in either case.
Noah is very much a survivor. Growing up with identical twin older brothers, he has had to fight for what he sees as his fair share of things. He learned the art of the deal early on, and he's quite good at it. Like his brothers, deep down he's a big softy, despite the sometimes gruff exterior. Generally, Noah is inqusitive and happy. He is also a big-time Doctor Who fan. He also enjoys Italian food very much, particularly calimari, as well as Chinese food. He is a very deep sleeper, loves swimming, likes animals, and he enjoys computer games moreso than console video games. Noah has had to del with an awful lot for such a little boy, and like his brothers, he has met every challenge admirably and with courage.
3. About my wife
Date: 2006-01-09 01:46 pm (UTC)The next several years were very tough. My health went up and down from 1995 on, often to alarming depths, and things were generally bad financially. Family came through to the rescue so many times it is impossible to recall. By 1998, things had calmed down, and I had finally resumed gainful employment and was doing well. After Noah was born I was transferred to Knoxville, Tennessee and promoted, but after we got there tow things happened. 1) The company organization in Knoxville resented me coming in, and 2) I began having acute liver failure. Three months after moving to Tennessee, we had to move back. Then I had to get another liver transplant, but I had to wait five months in hospital to get it. But I did get it, but as before, things were never the same.
Employment was very hard to get, much less to keep, and I was having awesome bouts with depression. Jan was having a very bad time of it as well. While she was glad I was still alive and still loved me, all the stress of everything over the years really did a job on her. Despite her understanding of what had been happening, resentment built up, and in February, 2003 she said she wanted a separation. It took until November, 2003 for us to actually be able to get to a point she could do it, but it was done. We were separated until September of last year.
Going beyond the historical account is difficult for me, because I'm at the moment quite torn as to how I feel about things. I will relate more later, or at least I'll try.
Re: 3. About my wife
Date: 2006-01-09 01:51 pm (UTC)Re: 3. About my wife
Date: 2006-01-09 01:56 pm (UTC)4. Show business
Date: 2006-01-09 01:53 pm (UTC)Alas, I have very few smutty stories to tell. I may post them later on their own. :)
5. Just one dish?
Date: 2006-01-09 02:00 pm (UTC)