This meme was shamelessly appropriated from SamuraiFrog.

List 10 musical artists (or bands) you like, in no specific order (do this before reading the questions below). Really, don’t read the questions below until you pick your ten artists!!!

1. XTC
2. Frank Black
3. "Weird Al" Yankovic
4. Neko Case
5. Dresden Dolls
6. Nellie McKay
7. They Might Be Giants
8. Fastbacks
9. Tori Amos
10. Stephin Merritt

What was the first song you ever heard by 6?
I think it was "Ding Dong."

What is your favorite song of 8?
I'd say "Old Address of the Unknown."

What kind of impact has 1 left on your life?
A fair amount, I'd say. I associate them very closely with my college years.

What is your favorite lyric of 5?
"Coke and Pepsi finally found a compromise." (From "Modern Moonlight")

How many times have you seen 4 live?
I think maybe seven? Once was with the New Pornographers.

What is your favorite song by 7?
It's Not My Birthday

Is there any song by 3 that makes you sad?
By Weird Al? No, I don't think so.

What is your favorite song by 9?
Black Dove (January)

When did you first get into 2?
My senior year of college, when I bought Teenager of the Year used

How did you get into 3?
Not even sure. While I didn't actually get any of his albums until high school, I've been familiar with his work for much longer than that.

What is your favorite song by 4?
Deep Red Bells

How many times have you seen 9 live?
Several. I've lost count, but I saw her once in college, and bethje and I have seen her most of the times she's come to the area in the past few years.

What is a good memory concerning 2?
Seeing him at both an in-store and a regular concert in November 2002

Is there a song by 8 that makes you sad?
I can't think of one, but some of them are kind of melancholy.

What is your favorite song of 1?
Burning with Optimism's Flames

How did you become a fan of 10?
I heard a few Magnetic Fields songs through the magic of the Internet, and eventually decided to buy the albums.

countblastula had a meme up about which authors he'd read the most books by, and that seems like a pretty cool activity. I'm actually not sure who my top author would be, though. L. Frank Baum would definitely rank pretty highly, and I've read most of his fantasy, but surprisingly little of his other works (no Mary Louise or Boy Fortune Hunters, for instance). Terry Pratchett would also have to rank up there, as I've read every Discworld book plus Good Omens. There are times when I read more by series than author, although if I like one series, I'll sometimes branch out into an author's other work. Let me try for a Top Five:

1. Terry Pratchett - 38 - Thirty-seven Discworld books (including the young adult ones), plus Good Omens (co-written with Neil Gaiman, but I'm counting it anyway)

2. Piers Anthony - 32 - All of the Xanth books except the latest one, which I'm working on now.

3. L. Frank Baum - 28 - Fourteen main Oz books, Queer Visitors from Oz, Little Wizard Stories of Oz, Mother Goose in Prose, The Magical Monarch of Mo, Dot and Tot of Merryland, American Fairy Tales, The Master Key, The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus, The Enchanted Island of Yew, Queen Zixi of Ix, John Dough and the Cherub, The Sea Fairies, Sky Island, Policeman Bluejay

4. Ruth Plumly Thompson - 24 - Twenty-one Oz books, The Curious Cruise of Captain Santa, The Wizard of Way-Up and Other Wonders, Sissajig and Other Surprises

5. Douglas Adams - 8 - Five Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books, two Dirk Gently books, and The Salmon of Doubt

Actually, I think there might be some authors of Oz apocrypha (Chris Dulabone, for instance) in between the fourth and fifth, but I don't feel like counting those up right now. And I could easily be forgetting something.

Here's an old favorite, this time taken from ozma914.

vovat's Halloween party:

1womp dressed as Adam-the-first-man but the fig-leaf was far too big.
3x1minus1 dressed as Pavlova the ballerina -- dancing on point too.
alicornmoon dressed as Jack the Ripper in a time machine, complete with gory knives.
aliste dressed as a W&H Computers employee.
anjeelou dressed as Camilla Parker-Bowles when she becomes Queen.
annamatic dressed as Sybil - except that Sybil didn't show but the other 14 personalities did.
arfies dressed as something surface, but what, specifically, you can't tell.
auronsgirl dressed as a sub-adjunct software reinstaller.
bec_87rb dressed as a bottle of Glyovur.
bethje dressed as Dan Fouts.
bibliophile21 didn't even show up and doesn't get any candy.
billiedoll dressed as Rubeus Hagrid.
blitzchamp dressed as a 1980's yuppie child.
bluesilverkdg gets drunk, strips naked, and somehow emerges dressed as Barbra Streisand.
brostron forgot to put on clothes!
burningofroissy dressed as Elizabeth Regina on steroids and roller skates.
carvinkeeper12 dressed as Josephine Baker but the banana "skirt" didn't survive the night.
chhinnamasta dressed as a character from Harry Potter and the Coalition of Steel.
chrisstangl dressed as George Lucas riding a eagle.
chu_hi dressed as Mary-Kate Olsen with her very own conjoined Ashley.
cog1201 dressed as a character from a Silent Hill game.
colbyucb forgot to put on clothes!
colleenanne dressed as Ichabod Crane, the schoolmaster from Sleepy Hollow.
countblastula dressed as Susan Lucci - tarred and feathered.
dave_noisy dressed as a pimp.
daveychu dressed as Mary Queen of Scots ... without her head. Most convincing.
dennisanfuso didn't dress up, spoilsport.
doktor_x dressed as the Viscount of Old Sherman.
dragonxbait dressed as Hurricane Dorothy.
eagledna dressed as a disturbing self-made character called "Zippy Girdlehiney".
farmanimalsrock dressed as a referee.
gick dressed as the Vicomte des Boules-Velues, though it looked more like Rutherford B. Hayes.
gloworm59 dressed as a safety for the Rams.
goldenmoonbear dressed as the Duke of Apliuflu.
graycardinal dressed as a first baseman for the Padres.
i3uffalogirl dressed as a walking Guillotine.
jazzsammich dressed as David Letterman.
jenhime dressed as Daniela Pestova.
k1cup dressed as Jennifer Love Hewitt.
kevenn dressed as Guy Fawkes but the exploding barrel of dynamite didn't go down too well.
kristenjarrod dressed as Josephine Baker but the banana "skirt" didn't survive the night.
kyrie1618 dressed as Marie Antoinette going to her death.
leolapyre dressed as William McKinley.
listenesmerelda dressed as Worf from "Star Trek".
little_octagon dressed as a rabbit.
logical_con dressed as a mummy.
lozenger8 dressed as a grating ghost.
majellen dressed as blues legend Skinny Eyes Lee.
matt_argos dressed as a skeleton, though it looked more like Mr. Sulu from "Star Trek".
mikeleffel dressed as the Innocent Power Ranger.
mmpoetatheart dressed as the King of Romania.
not_glimmer dressed as James Buchanan.
notaboyscout dressed as a new superhero: White Squirrel.
nova_one dressed as Sigfried in need of testosterone.
obsessical dressed as Karl Rove.
odontv dressed as a very fake witch-doctor complete with a collection of shrunken skulls.
onesto_hotel dressed as the love child of Jim Carrey and Hillary Clinton.
onib dressed as a Level 5 bard, though it looked more like a witch.
ozma914 dressed as legendary space hero Pack Rockbone.
petie_s dressed as Optimus Prime.
pixielust dressed as a funny drizzle.
poisonyoulove dressed as the Governor of Wisconsin.
possumworld dressed as the spirit of their dead grandmother Gail.
punterschlagen dressed as a new superhero: Yak Master.
radiantwterror dressed as Mde. Lachienne Foutue d'Enfer -- you don't wanna know.
revme didn't even show up and doesn't get any candy.
rockinlibrarian dressed as a disturbing self-made character called "Cheeseball Rhinolips".
sailorptah dressed as a goblin.
sapsorrow dressed as a particle.
science dressed as a pitcher for the Red Sox.
secondlina dressed as Drew Barrymore's grandmother.
secretnthewings dressed as Helga the wisewoman, although the live snake was a mistake.
shadarko dressed as your brother.
skylark_king didn't even show up and doesn't get any candy.
speciesof1 dressed as the resurrected dead -- complete with the most convincing coffin.
spookydiblover dressed as a deer.
suegypt dressed as a data entry intern.
themall dressed as the main character of "The Station Agent".
therealtavie dressed as Jay Leno.
thestraggletag dressed as Nosferatu the Supreme Vampire.
tisok dressed as Lady Godiva without the horse and far too little hair!.
travspence didn't even show up and doesn't get any candy.
twobitme dressed as Optimus Prime.
unclemilo dressed as a success.
vee_ecks dressed as Ivan the Terrible of Russia.
vilajunkie dressed as a new member of the Wu-Tang Clan, Unlucky Knight.
yosef dressed as Trent Reznor.
zaph didn't even show up and doesn't get any candy.
zimbra1006 dressed as Sigfried in need of testosterone.

Throw your own party at the Hallomeme!
Created by sigma7: More info here.

Here's a meme that I got from the now-infrequently-posting obsessical.

Number of Songs Total: 10,062
Total Length of Songs: 23:20:43:08
Most recently played: A Thousand Lovers in a Day - Future Bible Heroes
Most recently added: The Baseball Project's album

Sort By Song Title
First Song: A #1 - Sadies
Last Song: 99 Red Balloons - Goldfinger
Last Song Starting with a Letter: ZZ Top Goes to Egypt - Camper Van Beethoven

Sort by Artist
First Song: Drink to Me Babe Then - A.C. Newman
Last Song: I'm Only Human - 6ths
Not Counting Digits: Helpless - Zoogz Rift

Sort by Time
Shortest Song: The Sky Is a Harpsichord Canvas - Olivia Tremor Control (0:04)
Longest Song: Marais La Nuit - Neko Case (31:39)

Sort by Album
First Song: Weeds and Dirt - Flat Old World (album: The Abasement Tapes)
Last Song: The Casino - Sugarplastic (7x7x7)
Not Counting Leading Digits: That Was - Fastbacks (Zucker)

Top 10 most played songs
1. Your Kisses Are Wasted on Me - Pipettes
2. Pull Shapes - Pipettes
3. It's Not Just the Size of a Walnut - Soft Boys
4. Runs in the Family - Amanda Palmer
5. See Fernando - Jenny Lewis
6. Circus Fish - Vermillion Lies
7. The Astronomer - Vermillion Lies
8. City of the Damned - Gothic Archies
9. Complicated Game - Moonshine Willy
10. Totally Nude - Talking Heads

First 10 Songs That Come Up on Shuffle
1. Respectable - Nellie McKay
2. Dear Jenny - Dresden Dolls
3. Jane - Elf Power
4. Supercollider - Fountains of Wayne
5. Hiroshima - Ben Folds
6. Fall of the High School Running Back - Mountain Goats
7. Medley: Rock 'N' Roll/Night Clubbing - Human League
8. Shades of Gray - Monkees
9. Placebo - Posies
10. Leave It There - Odds

TOP TEN FAVORITE BANDS/MUSICAL ARTISTS:
1. They Might Be Giants
2. XTC
3. Frank Black/Black Francis/Pixies
4. Young Fresh Fellows/Minus 5/Fastbacks/Sgt. Major
5. Magnetic Fields/Future Bible Heroes/6ths/Gothic Archies
6. Neko Case
7. Camper Van Beethoven/Cracker
8. "Weird Al" Yankovic
9. Dresden Dolls/Amanda Palmer
10. Tori Amos

And according to last.fm, my top ten most played artists are TMBG, XTC, the Magnetic Fields, Allan Sherman, Camper Van Beethoven, the Fastbacks, the Monkees, Weird Al, Sloan, and Tori. There are quite a few similarities, actually.

First, a meme from burningofroissy:

Reply to this meme by yelling "Words!" [or just saying you want to participate -ed], and I will give you five words that remind me of you. Then post them in your journal, and explain what they mean to you.

Mythology

It's been one of my most significant interests for years. I guess I have a special fondness for the myths involving weird monsters.

Oz fandom

Oz has been my first literary love for years now, and I've done a fair amount of my own writing pertaining to L. Frank Baum's fairyland.

Thoughtful essays

Not sure why anything thoughtful would be associated with me, but I think that's definitely the best kind of essay.

Logic

I'm not always (and perhaps not even usually) a logical person, but I think I ASPIRE to be. Not necessarily to Vulcan levels or anything, but I appreciate the ability to reason.

Music

Well, it hath charms to soothe the savage breast, doth it not?


Okay, what else? Well, bethje and I watched The Sixth Sense last night. I don't know how much it was ruined for me by already knowing the twist ending, but I can usually enjoy movies (and books) even when I do know what's going to happen. It's the journey that's important. Here, however, the journey was incredibly slow-paced (although nowhere near as bad as The Village, from what Beth tells me), and didn't seem to consist of much other than hints that Bruce Willis' character is dead. And at the end, they pretty much hit you over the head with it, as if M. Night were thinking, "Even the dumbest viewer will understand the twist in THIS movie!" I'm not sure why it was a big hit back in its day.

Top ten moments from the mid-sixties Batman movie:

10. Batman, Robin, and the Commissioner figure out what villains are involved through word association.
9. The automatic costume-changing lever (I wonder how that works {g})
8. The Penguin buys a surplus submarine under the name "P.N. Guin."
7. As bethje mentions, she has a coat the same color as the Joker's hair.
6. The Batcave has a device for sorting dust.
5. The Penguin dresses in a costume, but still keeping his cigarette holder in his mouth the whole time. Also, while Batman and Robin see through this costume, they can't see through Catwoman's.
4. The villains have a secret weapon that dehydrates people into colored dust, but they can be restored by simply adding water.
3. When the Penguin accidentally restores some pirate henchmen with heavy water, though, they pop at the slightest impact.
2. Batman tries to dispose of a bomb, only to run into something at every possible opportunity (nuns, a baby carriage, ducklings, etc.).
1. Shark repellent bat-spray

One other thing I notice about Batman is how, even when people are taking the character much more seriously, a lot of the same absurdities still show up (nobody being able to recognize someone in a lame mask, machines that do totally ridiculous things, Batman being able to figure anything out in five seconds, etc.). I guess one thing you can say for the sixties series is that it REALIZED how silly it was. Not that I haven't enjoyed some of the serious takes on Batman, although I'm probably the only American who has yet to see The Dark Knight.


And here's a meme that I got from poisonyoulove:

• • TYPE YOUR NAME INTO www.urbandictionary.com and see what comes up! +then post

( Results under the cut )

So I'm a ladies' man with huge genitalia who was born from an unplanned pregnancy? I don't think any part of that is true!

From poisonyoulove:

01. Anyone who looks at this entry has to post this meme and their current wallpaper at their LJ.
02. Explain in five sentences why you're using that wallpaper!
03. Don't change your wallpaper before doing this! The point is to see what you had on!

( It's under the cut. )

And now, to change the subject abruptly, I came across a link to this list of sci-fi movie conventions that need to die from SamuraiFrog's blog, and I thought it was worth commenting on. So here are my thoughts on each item:

6. I think this one is just a throwback to the cheap special effects of early Star Trek.

5. I don't mind this one so much, but it did always seem to me that Star Trek characters spent an awful lot of time talking about what, to them, would have been ancient history.

4. I think the part about logical holes is what particularly gets to me. And it's not just sci-fi that does this. I mean, look at how often magical devices in fantasy aren't used when it would make sense. (Magic Belt, anyone?) I guess I like consistency in what things can do. For the same reason, magic that grants wishes can be an irritating trope in many situations.

3. I have to agree whole-heartedly with this. I can recall even noticing as a kid how weird it was that entire planets would have one culture and a single ruler (if not a single ruler for an entire galaxy), when such obviously wasn't the case on our own planet. Mind you, I still used the trope in some of my own stories. I was in elementary school at the time, after all. But really, why bother using planets and aliens when their entire civilizations are less diverse than the local country club? And I know I've seen several people point out how Star Wars is full of desert planets, ice planets, swamp planets, and the like. They're all fit for human habitation, yet consist of only one environment. Does every part of each planet somehow receive the exact same amount of sunlight? Or ARE there other environments on these planets that we just never see?

2. This just makes me think of the part in the Futurama episode "The Birdbot of Ice-catraz" where Bender just flies the ship out from the middle of Old Man Waterfall's peace ring.

1. A society with advanced military technology relying on infantry? Well, that's basically what we had in Vietnam, wasn't it?


And finally, another quiz result:

Your Brain is 60% Female, 40% Male

Your brain is a healthy mix of male and female You are both sensitive and savvy Rational and reasonable, you tend to keep level headed But you also tend to wear your heart on your sleeve

Here's a fandom meme, which I got from poisonyoulove:

1. What got you into this fandom in the first place?
2. Do you think that you'll stay in this fandom or eventually move on?
3. Favorite episodes/books/movies/etc.?
4. Do you participate in this fandom (fan fiction, graphics, discussions)?
5. Do you think that more people should get into this fandom?

I was given The Simpsons, They Might Be Giants, and Kids in the Hall, so let me start:

The Simpsons:
1. Well, it is (or at least was) an excellent show, and I was about the right age, you know? I watched it from the beginning, but didn't become a really dedicated fan until around the fifth and sixth seasons.

2. I'm pretty sure I'll watch it until it finally becomes unprofitable. And I have the DVD sets, so there's a good chance I'll come back to certain episodes even after cancellation. So yeah, I guess I'm staying.

3. I think the show hit its peak in the fifth through seventh seasons. Ones that immediately come to mind as favorites are "Homer the Heretic," "Bart Sells His Soul," and "Much Apu About Nothing."

4. I used to read and post to the alt.tv.simpsons newsgroup back in my college days. Now, my only real contribution is writing reviews of the new episodes on my journal.

5. I'm not sure that's possible. The show has been around long enough and been such a fixture in the past two decades that I can't imagine anyone who has access to a TV not having watched it at least occasionally.


They Might Be Giants:
1. I'd heard some of their songs prior to college and liked them, but it was really during college that I got into them. I lived in a nerd dorm, so there were a lot of other fans around. {g}

2. I'm really not a moving-on kind of guy. I add new interests and sometimes temporarily put old ones on the back burner, but it's rare for me to totally lose interest in anything. So no, I don't expect to move on from TMBG, even if they stop making music.

3. I'd still say my overall favorite song of theirs is "It's Not My Birthday." Other high-ranking ones are "Reprehensible," "Dinner Bell," and "Sleeping in the Flowers."

4. I used to be a pretty frequent poster on the alt.music.tmbg newsgroup and the now-defunct tmbg.org e-mail list.

5. Yes, but annoying frat boys and the like need not apply.


Kids in the Hall:
1. bethje, basically. She was a fan before she knew me, and got me interested as well.

2. Well, I plan to remain at least as long as it takes me to watch the rest of the episodes. {g}

3. I haven't seen all of them yet, so I don't really want to pick right now. I do have to say that "The Dr. Seuss Bible" works for me on several levels, though. {g}

4. No, but I've really only become a fan recently anyway.

5. Yeah, I think so.


And while no one chose this for me, I'm also going to answer these questions for Oz.

1. Return to Oz piqued my interest, but it was my dad giving me copies of the first two books to read that really resulted in my immersing myself in L. Frank Baum's world.

2. While nobody knows what the future will bring, I have to say my interest hasn't particularly flagged in the past twenty years, and I would expect it to remain.

3. The Patchwork Girl of Oz is my overall favorite.

4. Quite a bit, actually. I've written my own stories, participated in both scholarly and light-hearted discussions, and attended conventions.

5. Definitely. More people need to read these books.


If anyone else wants to do this, let me know!

I've done this same basic thing before, but I couldn't resist doing it again. This time, I took it from annamatic.

Go to Google Images and do an image search for your answer to these questions, then post one of the pictures that come up.

1 Your first car?
2 Where you grew up?
3 Where you live now?
4 Your name?
5 Your middle name?
6 Your favorite pastime?
7 What do you do for a living?
8 Your grandfather's name?
9 Your grandmother's name?
10 Favorite food?
11 Favorite drink?
12 Favorite song?
13 Favorite smell?
14 Favorite pair of shoes?
15 Where do you wish you were right now?

Go to Google Images and do an image search for your answer to these questions, then post one of the pictures that come up.

( Pictures behind the cut )

The most recent Simpsons episode was pretty lame, honestly. Doing four stories meant they didn't leave much time to develop any particular one. The Queen Elizabeth one seemed like it had some potential, but it was practically over right after starting. The Snow White one had some good jokes, especially with the working animals, but still struck me as lacking. I didn't care much for the Macbeth segment at all, but Maggie's Fountainhead was kind of cute.

Family Guy actually did a better job with the multiple out-of-continuity stories thing, which they do a lot less often. I remember the genie/superpowers/Little Rascals one, and the one about Griffins throughout history, but I think those might have been the only two. All three of those were pretty amusing, even though I've never actually seen The Shawshank Redemption. (I haven't read any Stephen King either, but despite the reference to books at the beginning, the segments were obviously parodies of the film adaptations.) American Dad was pretty good as well, and I appreciate that they maintained the character development, with Stan no longer being totally homophobic.

While on the subject of cartoons, here's a survey-meme-thing that I got from secondlina:
( Life is like a cartoon movie. )

Okay, first of all, I'd better reveal the answers to that lyrics quiz.

1. What's the matter with the songs he's singing? Can't you tell that they're pretty lame? "It's Still Billy Joel to Me," by "Weird Al" Yankovic (nova_one, rockinlibrarian, revme)
2. I can understand why you'd want a better man, but why you wanna make him out of me? "Spitting in the Wind," by the dB's. I don't think I would have gotten this one either.
3. The color of infinity inside an empty glass. "Experimental Film," by They Might Be Giants (carvinkeeper12, petie_s, zimbra1006, nova_one, revme)
4. I know that you're in there. I can see you. You're saying you're okay. I don't believe you. "Learn to Live with What You Are," by Ben Folds
5. So I guess I'll give it up. Yeah, I guess I will. What's the use in pushing when it's all uphill? "(Believed You Were) Lucky," by 'Til Tuesday
6. Take off into space from this terrible place, won't be 'round for a year. "Weather Perfectly Clear," by the Fastbacks
7. I'm gonna [title], like a pussycat. "Pounce," by Nellie McKay
8. Never thought I'd fall, but now I hear the call. "I'm Gettin' Sentimental Over You," by TMBG (revme)
9. On the way home from the party, neither of us said a word. "Scotch Grove," by the Mountain Goats
10. One part sad and two parts brave. "To the Stars," by Erin McKeown
11. "Why do cupids and angels continually haunt her dreams like memories of another life?" is printed on her shirt in capitals. Oh, come on, I was sure someone would get this! It's "Trompe le Monde," by the Pixies.
12. Billie, you're a miracle, and God knows I need one. "My Only Friend," by the Magnetic Fields (zimbra1006)
13. Desmond has a barrow in the marketplace. Molly is the singer in a band. "Ob-Li-Di, Ob-La-Da," by the Beatles (carvinkeeper12, burningofroissy, little_octagon, petie_s, zimbra1006, nova_one, rockinlibrarian, vilajunkie, revme)
14. There was a face on a hoarding that someone had drawn on. "Better Off Dead," by Elton John
15. I spring up from the ground. I stretch myself up and look around this whole world. "Spring Succeeds," by the Olivia Tremor Control

As usual, a few really easy ones, and mostly ones even I wouldn't be able to guess. This game never works out as well as I would hope.

Also, happy belated birthday to leolapyre, and here are some cartoon reviews for your reading pleasure.

Simpsons: This one actually had a halfway decent plot, but wasn't particularly funny. Even parts that seemed like they SHOULD have been funny, like the dream sequence, really weren't. Come on, how do you mess up an appearance by the ghost of Oscar Wilde? And Homer's becoming a supertaster was never resolved. Also, was this Lunchlady Doris' first speaking role since Doris Grau died?

Sit Down, Shut Up: No, the second episode wasn't an improvement over the first. And the combination of bad drawings with actual photographic images is pretty bizarre.

Family Guy: With all of the TV and movie clichés that the show has mocked, I don't think they'd done the one with the popular kid dating a loser before. Not a bad episode overall, but it did come across as yet another one where the plot really just fizzled out at the end, possibly due to lack of time. And nothing really came of the Stewie subplot, although his tough-guy behavior was kind of amusing.

American Dad: I liked it, but I have to wonder why they'd choose to show two Stan and Steve bonding episodes in a row.

You know the drill. These are the first lines of songs that came up randomly on my MP3 player. Your job is to guess what songs they are.

1. What's the matter with the songs he's singing? Can't you tell that they're pretty lame?
2. I can understand why you'd want a better man, but why you wanna make him out of me?
3. The color of infinity inside an empty glass.
4. I know that you're in there. I can see you. You're saying you're okay. I don't believe you.
5. So I guess I'll give it up. Yeah, I guess I will. What's the use in pushing when it's all uphill?
6. Take off into space from this terrible place, won't be 'round for a year.
7. I'm gonna [title], like a pussycat.
8. Never thought I'd fall, but now I hear the call.
9. On the way home from the party, neither of us said a word.
10. One part sad and two parts brave.
11. "Why do cupids and angels continually haunt her dreams like memories of another life?" is printed on her shirt in capitals.
12. Billie, you're a miracle, and God knows I need one.
13. Desmond has a barrow in the marketplace. Molly is the singer in a band.
14. There was a face on a hoarding that someone had drawn on.
15. I spring up from the ground. I stretch myself up and look around this whole world.

Comments will be screened, so as to give everyone a fair shot to get as many as they know. I'll probably reveal the answers in about a week.

I've done memes like this several times in the past, and I haven't seen anyone else do it recently, but I'm in the mood to solicit some suggestions, so why not?

Recommend to me:

1. A book you think I should read
2. A video game I should check out
3. A musician/band I should look into
4. A blog/journal you think I might like (and don't suggest your own LJ, because I'll check that out anyway if you comment)
5. A topic you think I should cover on my own journal

If you want to give more than one suggestion for any category, or you can't think of anything for one or more of them, that's fine with me. It's all very informal, you know?

annamatic did this meme wherein you request to play and are given 3 people to whom you must assign one role each: do you marry them, shag them, or throw them off a cliff? Post pictures of your candidates in your response.

( My answers )

If you want to do this, let me know, and I'll do my best. Also, let me know whether you want guys, girls, or both.

Oh, and happy birthday to farmanimalsrock!

So, it's back to this meme again, with the subjects chosen by themall:

1.puns

We learned in high school English class that puns are considered the lowest form of humor, and a lot of people hate 'em. I've always been fond of both making and hearing them, but it's definitely possible to go overboard with them.

2.oz

Well, I've already written about Oz, but getting back to the first item, the abundance of puns is one of the things I like about them. In fact, there's a fair amount of humor in general, yet the authors still take the stories seriously.

3.libraries

Hey, you can take books home and read them FOR FREE! How could I NOT like that? I studied Library Science in school, but I'm still waiting for something more than temporary or part-time work to come from it.

4.xtc

Andy Partridge has been putting out amazing songs for the past thirty years. And while he doesn't seem to be doing as much writing nowadays, I get the impression that there are still plenty of ideas in the man's head.

5.pennsylvania

What can I say? It's Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with Alabama in the middle. {g} Seriously, I've never been to Alabama, so I couldn't say for sure, but central Pennsylvania does seem a bit dull. I grew up in the southeastern part, myself.


Oh, and I'll also mention that I received three new books from bethje today, namely Belle and Sebastian: A Modern Rock Story, The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales, and a book on Alphonse Mucha. She also gave me Dragon Quest V last Thursday, so she truly went above and beyond for this anniversary. I guess I'll remove some things from my Amazon wishlist now.

Here's my third visit to this meme, this time with the topics chosen by lozenger8.

1. Old-style video games

Why does everyone choose this one for me? Not that it's not an interest of mine, just that I should think I have enough other interests without repeating any. Oh, well. Video games have always been present in my life, even when I wasn't actually playing them. I remember picking out a Pac-Man pillow and eating Pac-Man popsicles (they were lemon-flavored, I think) when I was a kid, but I don't think I got much of a chance to play Pac-Man. There was just always something about video games that appealed to me, though, and older ones have nostalgic value for me. For some reason, that even applies to the ones I didn't know about until later in my life. I guess it's more nostalgia for the general feel than for the specifics.

2. Futurama

I've been a Simpsons fan for years (more on that in the fifth item), so I was pretty excited when I learned that Matt Groening was coming out with a new show, and one that mixed science fiction and comedy at that! As much as I love The Simpsons, I felt that the nerdier subject matter of Futurama was more directly geared toward people like me. And it looks like it's been gaining in popularity since it was canceled, which is a good sign in more ways than one.

3. Oz

Okay, what do I have to say about Oz that I didn't say last time? Well, plenty, obviously, but most of that is more specific. I can say that one thing I like about Oz fandom is that, while it's small, there are other people involved in it who are just as geeky about it as I am, doing research and discussing Oz as if the stories were real. For me, it adds to the verisimilitude of a fictional land that I often wish WERE real.

4. Frank Black

I got interested in him by way of They Might Be Giants, as there's not only significant overlap in the fanbases, but the Johns are fans of Frank's and vice versa. They both have a large amount of nerdy appeal, but it's more undercover with Frank. While the Johns have kinda whiny voices and use the accordion a fair amount (albeit less so in more recent recordings), Frank sounds more traditionally cool, even when singing about UFOs and Irish mythology.

5. The Simpsons

I still consider this to be my favorite show, and I watch all of the new episodes, even though I consider it to be well past its prime. Old habits die hard, you know? I've been watching the show since the beginning, but I was more of a casual watcher at first, only becoming really obsessed around the fifth or sixth season. Of course, I'm sure there are fans now who weren't even born when those seasons were first being aired, so I guess I'm an old-school fan by modern standards.

This is a continuation of this meme, with the topics chosen by burningofroissy this time around.

1. Oz [of course]

I'm not entirely sure why this particular fantasy series has stuck with me more than any other, but I think a lot of is the combination of surrealism and believability, with a heavy dose of humor thrown in as well. Also, there's a very friendly feeling to them. There was a Futurama episode where Fry says of Star Trek, "But most importantly, when I had no friends, it made me feel like maybe I did." Oz was much the same way for me, especially in my adolescent years.

2. Mythology

Well, I just discussed mythology the last time I did this, so I'll look at it from a different angle. I guess my interest in classical mythology arose when I was in elementary school, and I started reading all the books on the subject that I could. It was mostly Greco-Roman stuff at first, but I later read a bit of Norse mythology for a school project, and found that it was even MORE messed up.

3. Informative posts

Well, my main goal is to entertain, but I like to think you can sometimes learn things from my posts as well. {g} Seriously, I guess it comes out of my general fondness for research. Writing entries expounding on various subjects is sort of like writing research papers without the boring parts.

4. TMBG

My favorite band for over ten years now, I got into them in college, and have been a fan ever since. Their songs have a kind of weirdness that I can identify with to a certain extent, not to mention really catchy melodies.

5. Video games

As I've said before, the role-playing genre is my favorite, but I quite enjoy others as well. I'm just not very good at them. As with books, I like it when the characters and setting have lives of their own, so to speak.

Association Meme: Comment to this post and I will give you 5 subjects/things I associate you with. Then post this in your LJ and elaborate on the subjects given.

I got these from unclemilo:

1. Old Video Games... and I mean 80's stuff (like Bubble Bobble... which I played all the damn time).

I'm not totally sure when all of the games I enjoyed as a kid were released, especially the ones I just rented, but I guess a good rule of thumb is that Super Mario Bros. 3 came out in 1990 (in the United States, that is; it had already been out for a while in Japan). But anyway, before Nintendo became the biggest thing on the planet, most of the video game experience I had was on my family's Texas Instruments computer. TI initially released a combination of original games (like the space shooter PARSEC and the role-playing game Tunnels of Doom) and others that were largely rip-offs of arcade titles (TI Invaders and Munch Man being the most significant examples on that front). Eventually, Atari started porting their titles to the TI, which is how I first played games like Jungle Hunt and Shamus. I was never all that good at most of these games, but I still enjoyed playing them. It seems like that's kind of the way with old games, in that even if you're not that good, you can still have fun and not miss out on much. While I greatly appreciate the added variety and more advanced plots of recent games, they seem to be infinitely more frustrating when you get stuck. Or maybe that's just a result of my growing older. I don't know. My family got the NES much later than most other kids of my generation did, but I was enthralled by it. I still love the Mario and Zelda series, even though I could hardly get anywhere in them myself. Since you specifically mentioned Bubble Bobble, I'll say that it felt more like one of the earlier games that you didn't have to be particularly good at to have fun with (which is basically what I said in review last night, I guess).

2. Music.

I tend to be someone who has strong opinions on music. That's not to say that there aren't plenty of songs I like casually, but when I get into a particular artist or band, I REALLY get into them (not literally). And I like music, even if it's NOT good, to be in the forefront. I've never been the kind of person who thought much of background music, because for me it's impossible NOT to listen to it. Which is why I'd rather work to no music than to bad music, a contrary opinion to those of some of my previous co-workers.

3. And more specifically... XTC

I usually consider them my second favorite band, after They Might Be Giants. I love the variety to their music, the general Britishness of it all (yeah, I guess I'm one of those Yanks who has a mild case of anglophilia), and the poetic style and clever wordplay to the lyrics. They're sort of the first band whose songs really resonated with me. I mean, as great as TMBG's lyrics are, it wasn't as often that I found a lot of meaning in them.

4. Being Married.

bethje and I were already in a committed relationship before getting married, so it hasn't changed all that much in our day-to-day lives. I now have health insurance, and her mom let me live at her house, so some things have definitely improved. But I've never really understood the couples who are together for years, and then everything goes to shit once they get married (or, alternatively, everything gets better when they're married, but I don't hear about that as often). I am glad to be married, but I don't think things would be too different if we'd just stayed together without telling the state.

5. Mythology.

I guess you could consider mythology my main passion in life, in that most of my other interests can be connected to it. Sure, I probably write more about Oz than about straight-up classical mythology, but the Oz books have their own mythology of a sort, and plenty of influence from the classics. Much of my interest comes down to how engaging and often just plain bizarre the stories are, but there's more to it than that. I've never been a religious person, but the idea of supernatural forces having their own personalities has a certain appeal to me. I think a lot of the idea of divine personalities has been sucked out of modern religion, with so many people talking about God and Jesus, but not really caring how the Bible characterizes them so much as whether everyone is following arbitrary and repressive rules, some of which aren't even IN the Bible. And I think there are a lot more similarities between ancient pagan religions and modern belief systems than many people would care to admit, both good (parables about the human condition) and bad (people insisting on following ancient rules and ceremonies without being concerned about the reasons behind them).

Here are two list-type memes I came across recently. Actually, with the latter, I've seen it a lot of times, but never got around to doing it myself.

First, some comments on this list of comfort foods:

• Apple Pie - I like it, although I can't really eat a whole lot of it. Pie crust is so filling.
• Baked Beans - No, I've never liked them.
• Banana Pudding - You'd think I would like it, but I don't remember being too keen on the kind I had at Charlie Brown's Steakhouse. I'd like to try Kelly Hogan's, though. And bananas in and of themselves are a favorite of mine. They're my Ray Comfort Food. {g}
• Beef Stew - I'm not a big fan, but it's okay sometimes. Stew is one of those things that can really taste like just about anything, you know?
• Brisket Pot Roast - I've had pot roast, but I don't think briskets were ever involved, and I wouldn't consider it a comfort food.
• Chicken & Dumplings - Well, Chick-fil-A is a comfort food for me. I like chicken served in other ways, but it's too messy for me to be totally comfortable with it.
• Chicken Pot Pie - While I like pot pie better than stew, it has similar variety in quality. My favorite brand of frozen pot pie is Myers, which I don't think they sell outside my general area.
• Chicken Soup - Well, chicken noodle, maybe.
• Chili - I've never been a big fan, but I guess it can be okay if it's not too spicy.
• Chocolate Chip Cookies - Yeah, I think they'd qualify, although I actually prefer oatmeal raisin. I'm weird that way.
• Corn on the Cob - Not a comfort food, but pretty much the only way I actually enjoy eating corn.
• Fried Chicken - I guess that qualifies, although, like I said, it's messy.
• Gelatin - Not by itself, but my mom used to make a mixture of Jell-O and yogurt that I think would qualify as a comfort food for me.
• Green Bean Casserole - I don't think I've ever had it, or that I'd want it. Green beans are all right, but I've never been too keen on casseroles.
• Hot Dogs - Sure, I think that qualifies.
• Ice Cream - Yeah, another fairly safe one that fits the bill. No plain chocolate ice cream, though.
• Macaroni & Cheese - Yeah, I like it. My dad used to make baked macaroni that was really good, but he'd often insist on throwing in onions and celery, which kind of ruined it.
• Mashed Potatoes - I mention this pretty much every time there's a list of foods, but I've never liked mashed potatoes. I'm really not big on potatoes in general, but especially not mashed.
• Meatloaf - Another food I never really liked.
• Potato Salad - Not only do I not like potatoes, but it just LOOKS gross.
• Pumpkin Pie - Not sure I'd qualify it as a comfort food, but I do like it.
• Shepherd's Pie - Don't they have mashed potatoes in them? I just SAID I didn't like those!
• Spaghetti - Definitely, especially with meat sauce.
• Tomato Soup - See, the thing is, I remember eating tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches with my dad as a kid, but I think I've lost my taste for it. It's not terrible, but I can't eat much of it.
• Tuna Casserole - I've never been a fan of tuna. There's a reason cats like it so much, and that's because it essentially IS cat food.


And here's a list of bands/artists I like, one for each letter in the alphabet. I tried to go with my overall favorite for each letter, if I had one.

Tori Amos
Frank Black
Neko Case
Dresden Dolls
Elf Power
Fastbacks
Gothic Archies
Hypnotic Clambake
Interpol (I really don't know too many I bands, so I just went with the one I have the most MP3s by.)
Elton John
James Kochalka (Superstar)
Tom Lehrer
Magnetic Fields
New Pornographers
Olivia Tremor Control
Pixies
Queen
Rasputina
Sugarplastic
They Might Be Giants
Unit 4+2 (I only know one song by them, but it's pretty much all I have under U in my iTunes library. Anyone want to recommend a U band?)
Vermillion Lies
Rufus Wainwright
XTC
Young Fresh Fellows
Zombies

The three most recent books I've read:

Doctor Dolittle's Post Office, by Hugh Lofting - I believe this was the third book to be written for the series, although it actually takes place before the second one. (I think all of the ones after that do as well, for that matter.) It involves the Doctor setting up a post office in a small African kingdom, using birds to deliver the mail. I appreciate how the Doctor really only has one unusual ability, but can use it to get out of pretty much any situation.

The Atlas of Legendary Places, by James Hardur and Jennifer Westwood - A coffee table sort of book featuring both mythical locations (like Camelot and the Garden of Eden) and real places of legendary significance (the Taj Mahal, the Himalayas, King Tut's tomb, etc.). Unfortunately, the library copy that I read was missing some pages, but I found it interesting, and it had some great pictures. One of the mythical places mentioned was Avalon, which I hope to feature in one of my mythology posts in the near future.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard, by J.K. Rowling - Of all of the books mentioned in the Harry Potter series, I'm not sure why this is the one that Rowling would actually produce, but I liked it. The stories themselves, written in a traditional fairy tale style but with plots of particular interest to wizards, are pretty good. The real highlight, however, are the notes, written in character as Dumbledore, and explaining the morals and history behind each story. One problem with the book was, as zaph pointed out, the stories were supposed to have been written in fifteenth-century Europe, yet had to be translated from "ancient runes." There could be an explanation for this, like a secret language used by wizards of the time, but there's certainly no indication of such a thing in this book or the main series. It seems like Rowling wasn't quite sure how old she wanted these stories to be, and so gave us contradicting references. One footnote that particularly interested me gave us a tantalizing glimpse at the history of Nearly Headless Nick, although it didn't explain why he was executed. Maybe Rowling is saving that for her encyclopedia, if she ever writes it.

Speaking of books and authors, this utility says, "http://vovat.livejournal.com has a slight similarity with the works of Edgar Allen Poe." I'm not quite sure how, and suspect it might just be random. I mean, I can't expect too much from a site that doesn't even know how to spell Poe's middle name. (It's actually "Allan.")

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