Five Questions
Jun. 5th, 2003 06:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tahnanThere's a five-question meme being thrown about. So ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sensational asked me, because I asked her to:
1) If you could teach at any university you like when you're done with your PhD, which would it be?
Ah hell. The problem is that many of the places I would want to teach there are good and pressing reasons not to. I'd love to be at MIT, but I don't know that I'd want to be there too soon after finishing my doctorate. I'd love to be at Emory, for the location, if only they had a department; I'd probably like OSU except for the location.
In the end, possibly UMass Amherst in terms of location and program (but of course they're having budget problems, being a state school).
2) Do you think that spending most of your youth in the south has shaped you in significant ways, given the urban setting? How?
"Most" is a little misleading, since I lived from ages seven to thirteen in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Nevertheless, yeah, I think it has. Well, "significant" might be strong for it; but I think it has in some ways.
The main influence it had on me may actually not be a Southern/Northern thing, but the fact that I grew up in a more conservative and more Christian culture than, say, Massachusetts-bredjadelennox. It doesn't make me any more conscious of being Jewish, I don't think (she's still more Jewish than I am), and possibly not any more conscious of being liberal (she's probably also more liberal than I am), but there is in my subconscious something of an understanding that not everywhere in the country is like Cambridge, MA.
Then again, maybe everyone has these things, so maybe the real effect is that I say "Coke" for "soda."
3) Have you ever been out of the country? Where did you go?
Only once, in thirty years, which seems sort of surprising to me, but it's true. I was in Vancouver, BC, last summer for the National Puzzlers' League convention, and that's the only time I've been out of the country.
It's not the only time I've been out of U.S. jurisdiction; I visited the United Nations once, in New York, which is technically international, I think. And I might've made it far enough off the coast on a trip to the beach, though it's doubtful. I've also been out of the continental U.S. once, on a trip to St. Croix back in high school.
4) How many books do you have? A rough estimate will do. What percentage--again, roughly--are non-fiction?
Oh god. Lots? There are a bunch at the office, of course, and some in a pile on the floor of my room, and...perhaps 500? I estimate very badly, but that might be around the right number. (leighjen might be able to correct that.)
As for non-fiction--I mentally don't file "reference" and "puzzle" in non-fiction; they're different categories. (And of course "linguistics" is all kept elsewhere...) If you were to look at my non-fiction shelf at home, it would be easily less than 5% of my books. But if you count books that aren't actually fiction, like the thesaurus sitting here, and the Heim and Kratzer textbook, and so forth, then probably closer to 15-20% of my books are non-fiction.
(Again, leighjen may be able to refine that number.)
5) What's the last movie you saw (video and television work, as long as you hadn't seen it before), and what did you think of it?
Oh--the last movie I saw was actually Charade, which I watched with Michelle on Sunday. Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn are a joy to watch, and I love con game movies. This isn't really a con game, but there's stolen money and secret identities involved, which is close enough. But I'd seen it before. (I found it does hold up well to repeated viewings.)
The last thing I watched that I hadn't seen before was Lucinda Williams singing "Righteously" on Letterman last night, which I found quite disappointing; to me the song just oozes passion and lust, and she just sort of stood there singing. Then again, that might be because my mental image of Lucinda Williams is actually Susan Tedeschi. Except that she has dark hair. In my mental image. But I think the problem was a lack of passion.
The last actual thing I saw that I hadn't seen before must have been four episodes from the middle of the second season of Buffy, which I saw last Wednesday. (Well. I'd seen one of them before.) They were quite good; fun writing, not too bad plotwise, neat characters.
Which means it's my turn to pass five questions along to them as wants 'em. Feel free to ask.
sensational asked me, because I asked her to:1) If you could teach at any university you like when you're done with your PhD, which would it be?
Ah hell. The problem is that many of the places I would want to teach there are good and pressing reasons not to. I'd love to be at MIT, but I don't know that I'd want to be there too soon after finishing my doctorate. I'd love to be at Emory, for the location, if only they had a department; I'd probably like OSU except for the location.
In the end, possibly UMass Amherst in terms of location and program (but of course they're having budget problems, being a state school).
2) Do you think that spending most of your youth in the south has shaped you in significant ways, given the urban setting? How?
"Most" is a little misleading, since I lived from ages seven to thirteen in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Nevertheless, yeah, I think it has. Well, "significant" might be strong for it; but I think it has in some ways.
The main influence it had on me may actually not be a Southern/Northern thing, but the fact that I grew up in a more conservative and more Christian culture than, say, Massachusetts-bred
jadelennox. It doesn't make me any more conscious of being Jewish, I don't think (she's still more Jewish than I am), and possibly not any more conscious of being liberal (she's probably also more liberal than I am), but there is in my subconscious something of an understanding that not everywhere in the country is like Cambridge, MA.Then again, maybe everyone has these things, so maybe the real effect is that I say "Coke" for "soda."
3) Have you ever been out of the country? Where did you go?
Only once, in thirty years, which seems sort of surprising to me, but it's true. I was in Vancouver, BC, last summer for the National Puzzlers' League convention, and that's the only time I've been out of the country.
It's not the only time I've been out of U.S. jurisdiction; I visited the United Nations once, in New York, which is technically international, I think. And I might've made it far enough off the coast on a trip to the beach, though it's doubtful. I've also been out of the continental U.S. once, on a trip to St. Croix back in high school.
4) How many books do you have? A rough estimate will do. What percentage--again, roughly--are non-fiction?
Oh god. Lots? There are a bunch at the office, of course, and some in a pile on the floor of my room, and...perhaps 500? I estimate very badly, but that might be around the right number. (
leighjen might be able to correct that.)As for non-fiction--I mentally don't file "reference" and "puzzle" in non-fiction; they're different categories. (And of course "linguistics" is all kept elsewhere...) If you were to look at my non-fiction shelf at home, it would be easily less than 5% of my books. But if you count books that aren't actually fiction, like the thesaurus sitting here, and the Heim and Kratzer textbook, and so forth, then probably closer to 15-20% of my books are non-fiction.
(Again, leighjen may be able to refine that number.)
5) What's the last movie you saw (video and television work, as long as you hadn't seen it before), and what did you think of it?
Oh--the last movie I saw was actually Charade, which I watched with Michelle on Sunday. Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn are a joy to watch, and I love con game movies. This isn't really a con game, but there's stolen money and secret identities involved, which is close enough. But I'd seen it before. (I found it does hold up well to repeated viewings.)
The last thing I watched that I hadn't seen before was Lucinda Williams singing "Righteously" on Letterman last night, which I found quite disappointing; to me the song just oozes passion and lust, and she just sort of stood there singing. Then again, that might be because my mental image of Lucinda Williams is actually Susan Tedeschi. Except that she has dark hair. In my mental image. But I think the problem was a lack of passion.
The last actual thing I saw that I hadn't seen before must have been four episodes from the middle of the second season of Buffy, which I saw last Wednesday. (Well. I'd seen one of them before.) They were quite good; fun writing, not too bad plotwise, neat characters.
Which means it's my turn to pass five questions along to them as wants 'em. Feel free to ask.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2003-06-05 04:34 pm (UTC)Now ask me.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-06-06 02:19 am (UTC)1) "Linguistics" isn't a common major; do you ever feel that you should have, on the one hand, majored in something more useful, or on the other, made more use of your major?
2) Is there some book, play, movie, etc. (fiction or nonfiction) that you read or saw that you feel as if you should have liked, but didn't? If so, what was it, and why didn't you?
3) Which is or was harder: living far from your family, so that you saw them too little, or living near your family, risking seeing them too much?
4) What--other than weather--was the worst part of being a Southerner living in Michigan?
5) Which would have most been better without: love, curiosity, freckles, or doubt?
(no subject)
Date: 2003-06-06 02:19 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-06-06 02:03 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-06-06 02:28 am (UTC)1) In your experience roleplaying, is the experience better (on average) online or face-to-face?
2) Have you had any reaction to being thirty, or was your "it's exactly like being twenty-nine" response accurate as well as smart-alecky?
3) Is there a book you're resisting reading even though you suspect you'd like it? If so, why?
4) Given a week's vacation and the money to finance the trip, where would you spend it?
5) [borrowing from bibliogirl to sensational] Coffee or tea?
This should be fun
Date: 2003-06-06 05:32 am (UTC)Re: This should be fun
Date: 2003-06-06 11:28 pm (UTC)(1) What do you miss the most about living in Northfield, Minnesota? (Other than friends, because that's an easy answer, and not quite as much a fact about Northfield, and it eliminates the fact that I was part of living in Northfield.)
(2) As a "formative experience," was Westminster a good thing, a bad thing, or so irrelevant now that you can't even tell?
(3) Have you and your husband gone on a vacation that did not involve seeing family or friends? Where (or: why not)?
(4) Of the things you cook, what is your favorite?
(5) What would be your ideal job (realistically--that is, "sitting around doing nothing and getting paid $500,000 a year" doesn't really count)?
I may yet live to regret this
Date: 2003-06-06 06:04 am (UTC)moo
-leighjen
Re: I may yet live to regret this
Date: 2003-06-06 11:41 pm (UTC)(2) Having grown up with parents from different regions, and having moved a great deal from place to place, do you think of yourself as a Southerner? a Midwesterner? something else? some mixture? or do you have no regional identity at all?
(3) Given the choice (and not taking the locations of friends into account), where in the world would you most want to live?
(4) What (other than people) is the best thing about living in the Boston area?
(5) Which musical performers would you most want to see in concert?
(no subject)
Date: 2003-06-06 06:26 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-06-06 11:52 pm (UTC)(1) What is the best thing to have come out of your time spent on PernMUSH (not counting friendships with any given person)?
(2) Of all the aliases you might have chosen, what made you pick "bibliogirl" as your LJ username?
(3) [though I asked it of
(4) What book would make an excellent movie, that hasn't already been turned into one?
(5) To get away from the book questions, Bibliophile Lass: what's your poison? That is, what's your preferred form of alcohol? ("Bibulous Lass"?)
(no subject)
Date: 2003-06-07 05:50 am (UTC)5 questions
Date: 2003-06-06 12:23 pm (UTC)Re: 5 questions
Date: 2003-06-07 12:03 am (UTC)(1) How much do you and Jen cook? Do you have favorite dishes?
(2) Of the puzzles you've written, which one is your favorite, or are you proudest of? (If it's possible to pick one.)
(3) Have you always lived in the Pacific Northwest? Could you have settled elsewhere (New England, Southern California, Paris...), or is the PNW the best place for you?
(4) [stealing from
(5) What's the most passionate song you know?
Re: 5 questions
Date: 2003-06-10 12:18 pm (UTC)IOU 5 ?'s
1. What is your general theory on "the college experience," and is it really for everyone?
2. If there were going to be a movie made about your life, who would they get to play you and the three main costars?
3. What is your most favorite phrase to hear from another person, and what is your least favorite phrase to hear from another person?
4. Five years ago, would you have seen yourself where you are now?
5. What word/phrase/entry would you like to see in a crossword that you haven't seen yet?
(no subject)
Date: 2003-06-07 04:32 pm (UTC)You're right. Just watched it myself (now having some extra belief it was worth doing so; it's been sitting on my Tivo since Sunday or so). Very good movie. It occurred to me that this is the movie that Entrapment was trying to be (and missed).
Unfortunately it cut off the last minute or two: she says "Marriage li--"
Is there anything interesting after that? :-)