questions from cyan_blue

1. So what's your favorite kind of sushi? (Which we are, sometime, gonna go out for...)

when it's really fresh, there's nothing i like better than shiro maguro.

2. What part of Pacifica is the prettiest, in your opinion?

tough call... i guess Vallemar, though. it's just gorgeous back there, with all the trees and vegetation. almost rainforesty.

3. What's the best-kept local secret that you know of?

Spanky's Diner makes a truly outstanding turkey sandwich.

4. What's the story behind those interlocking feet in your icon?

i was in Quebec City a few years ago for winter carnival with a bunch of the talk_bizarre crowd, and we were all hanging out in Kludge's room drinking moonshine. i put my feet up on the bed, and suddenly everyone was talking about my toes, wanting to know how i did that. i had no idea it wasn't something everyone could do. so several people took pictures, and when i created my livejournal and was thinking about what to use as a user icon, i realized the toes would be perfect.

5. Tell us one of your culinary "oops" stories!

hmmmm. the first thing that comes to mind is the time i put together a lovely pasta dish with leeks and smoked salmon for some guests -- but when i put it into the serving bowl, the bowl shattered, showering everyone with bits of glass and pasta.

so we cleaned it up and ordered a pizza.

so if you were thinking about complaining about your life today...

these people in Natwarghad, India, are trying to get water from a nearly-empty well:



damn.

dinner music

tonight i went to the Beach Chalet for dinner, hoping some good food and pleasant atmosphere would improve my state of mind. i was also curious about the band playing tonight, called "Shig 'n Buzz", which was billed as "surf jazz".

the atmosphere worked, but the food was not as good as i'd hoped, and the waiter couldn't remember anything; first he couldn't remember if i'd ordered a cup or a bowl of clam chowder, then he brought me a plain caesar salad instead of one with grilled chicken, and then he thought i'd ordered the chocolate sandcastle dessert rather than the apple crisp. still, it was good to sit and enjoy the view and read and have a beer.

the band seemed okay; basically "surf jazz" appears to be what happens when surf music gets all the life sucked out of it by anal-retentive people who have more passion for their gear than for the actual songs. it was... pleasant dinner music. no more, no less. when i wandered by to get a closer look at the musicians, the drummer looked like he might have a discernible personality, but the guitarist and bass player were staring intently at their effects pedals as they played and the keyboardist, a moderately attractive asian woman, was gazing fixedly ahead as though she were reading from an imaginary score. none of them smiled. only the drummer looked like he might be having any actual fun.

i bet every one of them is a programmer.

however, on the way home, i was mysteriously hit by a phrase that quickly snowballed into part of a song, and when i got in the door the first things i did were drop my purse, kick off my shoes, and pick up a notebook and a guitar. i guess it took me about an hour to write. i came up with a guitar line that is very similar to some of my other songs in some ways, but a bit different in others; it's hard for me to play, because it requires a fingering change between bar chords. that's something i find incredibly difficult to do because my finger joints are so loose that the joints hyperextend and lock when i fret a bar chord.

so i don't know, the guitar line might have to change.

anyway, i tried to record it with my cheap computer mic (since my good mics and things are all over at dwenius and canetoad's place) and couldn't get my laptop to record, and i can't be bothered to sort through the spaghetti in the back of my desktop machine to hook it up tonight -- especially since it's already after 10 and i don't want to keep Warren and Shirley awake all night trying to get a solid take. so you'll have to make do with the lyrics for now.

( here they are... )

questions courtesy of kratkrat

1. Why do you think some claim to have found you intimidating? Are their claims warranted?

i think it's probably got to do with my sometimes-unhealthy intensity. which sounds really lame when i say it about myself -- "dude, i'm, like, really intense!" -- but i think people who don't know me well often mistake my way of expressing myself for aggression, especially in combination with my physical presence. i sometimes think if i were a guy, people wouldn't react the same way at all.

are their claims warranted? well, yes and no. i'm not a physically violent person at all, and i rarely lose my temper. but if i'm really, really angry or someone is fucking with one of my friends... yes. i am ready, willing, and able to inflict whatever sort of damage i think is called for. but i'll always use words first, and so far that's been enough to take care of everyone i've ever tangled with.

2. If you had to pick one of your cats that you thought you were most like, which would it be and why?

i have to say Iceberg Slim. Daddy-O and i have superficial similarities -- we're both fat and lazy and we love to eat -- but Iceberg and i are more similar personality-wise. we're both spazzes, prone to inexplicable mood swings. we both tend to hide from people. we both love attention but aren't all that comfortable with getting it. and we're both too damn smart for our own good.

3. Have you ever watched "Big Trouble in Little China" while _NOT_ stoned?

yep. it's good that way too.

4. You only get to listen to one album again, ever. Which album would you pick?

The Beatles, "Please Please Me". i've already listened to it more often than everything else in my CD collection combined.

5. Say something nice about yourself that you firmly believe.

i write songs that almost anyone can relate to, and i think that's a really cool thing.

questions from abraxas13

1. If you could cast a celebrity to be your physical manifestation, who would it be? (Note: doesn't have to remotely resemble you)

janeane garofalo.

2. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

my health.

3. Has anyone broken your heart (and by that, I mean been in the drivers seat, and opt out)?

yes. more than a few people.

4. What childhood myth do you hold dear?

if you get a fifty-cent piece, make a wish on it and keep it. when your wish comes true, pass it along so someone else can make a wish.

5. Do you believe that people are superior to animals?

hell no. look at all the work we have to do to be successful. alligators, on the other hand, have remained unchanged for millennia, and all they do is lie around in the sun and occasionally eat someone. alligators know where it's at, man.

6. If you could have three people, living or dead attend a dinner party, who would they be?

Orson Welles, Dorothy Parker, and Thorne Smith. not only would the conversation be fascinating, we could all make bets on who'd pass out first.

7. Make one true statement.

i adore my cats.

8. What is your favorite kitchen utensil?

a chef's knife. sorry, i know you were hoping i'd say something exciting, like a spork or a meat cleaver, but i don't have a spork, and i mailed my meat cleaver to rwx.

9. You are using a time machine to travel back to the year 1850 and you may take one item from the modern era. What would you bring?

birth control.

10. If you could have any super power, what would it be? Why?

super strength. because it's so useful! it would rock to be able to pick up a bus.