What color are you? I am purple sage, need to know the reason behind things, have an innate desire to learn, my mind is deep and penetrating, and I’m not satisfied with superficial results or people. Ok, I’m not satisfied with a lot of people, but the rest I’ll take. What’s yours?

a book meme:

Total number of books owned:

I have no idea. Truly.

Last book bought:

Flea Market Style, it’s a great book that I can pick up again and again and draw inspiration from. Flea Market is probably closest to what my house is done up in. I love finding things and putting them into context alongside other discoveries.

Last book read: The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s Eye View of the World, Michael Pollan

Five books that mean a lot to you:

1. The Lines of My Hand, Robert Frank-The Americans is the more popular work and an acknowledged masterpiece, but I like this monoprint better because it’s more lyrical and personal, and full of fleeting moments. The photos have an honesty, and even at times, an innocence.
2. The Hotel New Hampshire, John Irving-Even for enthusiastic Irving fans, this one’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Often, you either love it or hate it; it’s too bizaare for some. I never recommend it to anyone. But it reminds me, in an inflated, over the top way, of my own family and myself, in spirit, before my father died. Just about every character fits a family member, and the dynamics and history aren’t too far off from my own family, literally or symbollically. Franny is myself before I got all quiet and subdued by my father’s passing.
3. Signs On the Wind, Lenore Tawney-I often take this one places with me if I anticipate a wait in line. She’s one of my favorite artists; quirky, playful. I never get tired of this one.
4. The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy-The ending is not everyone’s cup of tea. But I read this and there it was: my inner life as a child, right down to the lyrical quality, the wistfulness and wonder, the cutting cruelties, the terrors, the word and sound play. Arundhati Roy is the writer I would like to be. I just wish she wrote even one more book. But she’s doing something more meaningful to her as an activist. Good for her.
5. Written On the Body; Jeanette Winterson-For me this was her best book; not too clever as some of her books can be. It’s a long meditation on departure and loss; poignant, beautiful. It struck a nerve, and it comforted me and spoke my feelings when my sister was dying of cancer. The main character also stuggles with commitment. I related to that.

stolen from dok h.

1. Never in my life: will I ever cede my independence to another person. My self esteem is dependent upon free will.

2. When I was five: the world was the world, unmanipulated, pure, and magical. Too much has happened since then.

3. High School was:  a blur of caffeine, bad beer, truancy, unmet potential (to the frustration of my teachers), exhaustion, lots and lots of daydreaming, and, thank heavens, an awesome set of friends who were a lot like me. Oh, and there was ART.

4. I will never forget: I still remember my grandfather’s optimimistic belief that if he drank more clam juice, it would help him cure his cancer. I think of that still, every now and again.

5. I once met: This was wierd, especially to those who knew me in um, high school. I was 22 and shopping at my favorite store, The Limited, in downtown Springfield before my voice lesson. I looked up and saw a very skinny, heavily made up Latoya Jackson, with a mannish looking Asian woman hovering close by. Her husband and manager, a very creepy older guy, struck up a conversation with me, which made me feel queasy. Anyhoo, Ms. Latoya started being a total bitch and began copping an attitude toward the poor store clerks, barking orders to remind them that she apparently was important. I arrived late to my voice lesson, told my teacher, a genuine diva about the faux diva, who was not amused or the least bit impressed.

6. There’s this girl I know who:  is from Indiana and hasn’t emailed me in a million years, ahem.

7. Once, at a bar: Hmm, if I can remember the last time I was at a bar. Well, there was the time me, Erooo and Moo convened to celebrate Frank (Sinatra’s) birthday and requested for the tv to be playing Frank movies on some channel. For some reason, I’d mentioned boxing and an old guy nearby couldn’t believe a chick would know so much about it. Whatever.

8. By noon, I’m pretty much finally awake.

9. Last night: I had a strange dream about one of my neighbors. Nothing erotic; just wierd, though I can’t remember all of the details.

10. If I only had: all the time I ever needed. Like, three or four lifetime’s worth to be everything.

11. Next time I go to church:  will likely be at a wedding (kind of unlikely, actually; I’ve trying to avoid weddings these days. Most are so boring.), or at a funeral, which I’d also rather be an unlikely event.

12. What worries me most:   Not living to see the kiddo grow up. For no particular reason, other than that my father and my sister didn’t see their kids grow up.

13. When I turn my head left, I see: books.
14. When I turn my head right, I see: books!
15. You know I’m lying when: I don’t do it often. In the past, it seemed to be when I said the famous last words “nothing will happen”. And something would. Which made a liar out of me.

16. What I miss most about the eighties: I miss the outfits my friend Bonita would wear, every day. She was into punk, dance, urban, and tribal stuff.

I just want to add that I don’t miss the big hair, make up, chunky jewelry, and bad movies. The jury is still out on the music.

17. If I were a character in Shakespeare, I’d be: This is bad, but I’ve always felt this kinship with Ophelia. I mean, just what does that say about me? I’m also very, very fond of Ariel the  wood sprite in The Tempest. The actress that portrayed her at Edith Wharton’s place in the Berkshires stole the show in a cast that included a young, young Keanu Reeves (who was actually good, too, and just of that Excellent Adventure movie).

18. A better name for me would be:  I’ve always felt like a Kate. My actual name….this early sixties, girly-girl name, which makes me think of bouffants and pale liptstick…makes no sense to me. But then, my mother’s name made no sense to her, either. She was named after a movie star, right down to the last name, and hates it. However, this weekend, I realized while reading a newspaper article, that this movie star was originally from my grandfather’s area, which might of shed some light on that selection.

19. I have a hard time understanding:  willful cruelty.

20. If I ever go back to school, I’ll: I’ll play and do what pleases me and not give a thought to grades and having the right answer; all of that.

21. You know I like you if:  I’ve nicknamed you. By a few names, especially. They’ll probably sound silly and be some sort of play on words or sound, and make no sense, except, that I like you.

22. If I ever won an award, the first person I’d thank would be: the kiddo, I think. She changed everything.

23. Take my advice, never:  touch me to wake me up. I’ve accidently decked those that do.

24. My ideal breakfast is:  I’m very fond of cookies for breakfast.

25. A song I love, but do not have is:  Patti Smith’s The Jackson Song

26. If you visit my hometown, I suggest:  watching it around the cops. They hate outsiders and will stop a car for anything.

27. Why won’t people: slow the fuck down? unless it’s an emergency, why? why? why?

28. If you spend the night at my house: you must love animals and kids, cuz I coo all the time over all of nine. Come hungry, so I can feed you. But good luck finding a seat. Everyone takes mine.

29. I’d stop my wedding for:  If I had a wedding, I’d have to be stopped.

30. The world could do without:  the sort of people that populate the town where my daughter goes to school. Elitist, pompous, and ultimately boring. But the school’s worth it.

31. I’d rather lick the belly of a cockroach than: talk to my ex.

32. My favorite blonde is:Moo.

33. Paper clips are more useful than: um, I don’t know….staples?

34. If I do anything well, it’s: find interesting stuff and put it all together in interesting contexts. If I’m ever absolutely sure of one talent I have, it’s that I have an excellent eye for that sort of thing.

35. And by the way:  I’m starving, and it’s a half hour before lunch time. Curiously, I crave sweet peppers, and cheese; grilled.

Six unspectacular things about me:

1. I’m frugal. Very frugal. Not stingy though. Crack couponer. Reuse, Recycle, Repurpose, etc. It bores people, but it fits right in with my philosophy on simplicity in life.
2. I’m slow. I like slow. One of my favorite pieces of advice on hairy situations is to slow it down. It is often greeted with looks of confusion or exasperation. Or a reckoning of my sanity. It confounds friends. But it works for me.
3. I find feathers all the time, everywhere I go. It’s nothing of monetary value (what will I do with them all, really?), or some super power, but I secretly think it means something.
4. By the time I was ten, I’d read the Bible in its entirety. At the time, I thought it was a spectacular feat, but reading something that long without fully comprehending it is kind of a waste of time. So, not so spectacular.
5. I can’t go a day without reading a newspaper. I start getting this itchy, cranky feeling. I fully expect the kiddo to one day join me in this addiction.
6. I am a terrible, terrible liar. I just can’t lie successfully, or sans queasiness or a crisis of consciounsce. I don’t even bother anymore. It’s not worth the time, effort, or anxiety.

Great late night albums?
1. Paris 1919-John Cale
2. Lost In Translation Soundtrack

3. Anything by Miles Davis
4. Ditto, Charlie Parker

Name 5 wistful/bittersweet songs:
1. I Know-Fiona Apple
2. Martha-Tom Waits
3. Lovers of Today-The Pretenders
4. Love is a Losing Game-Amy Winehouse
5.The Greatest-Cat Power

The 4 Best Songs Ever Written:
1. Angel-Jimi Hendrix
2. In Dreams-Roy Orbison
3. Thank You-Led Zeppellin
4. Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen

3 Current Favorite Songs:
1. I Keep a Close Watch-John Cale
2. I’ll Keep it With Mine-Anyone’s version
3. Crashing Cars- Snow Patrol

3 All Time Faves That Never Get Old To You
1. Stay(Faraway, So Close)-U2
2. Little Wing-Jimi Hendrix or Sting
3. More Than This by Roxy Music

Song You Want (or did) To Play At Your Wedding:
If I did, then You Do Something To Me-Cole Porter

Good Angry Songs:
1. I Am Stretched On Your Grave-Sinead O’connor
2. The Hardest Button to Push-White Stripes
3. The Idiot Wind-Bob Dylan

Cover Song Arguably Better Than the Original:
Hallellujah-John Cale

Great Dance Song You Maybe Never Realized Was a Great Dance song Back in the Day:
Not sure I can answer this…

Good Album to Clean The House To:
Anything by Yello

Good Album To Love On Each Other To:
LoveSexy-Prince

A Good Album To Put You In the Mood (that is NOT Sade, Marvin Gaye or Barry White):
Almost anything Roxy music

Good Album To Sleep To:
Anything by Harold Budd

3 Good Rock Songs That You Can Dance To:
1. Modern Love-David Bowie
2. 1999-Prince
3. Amadeus-Falco

One of Your Favorite Lyrics:
From Ani Difranco’s Hour Follows Hour:

everything is governed by the rule
of one thing leads to another
you can’t really place blame
cuz blame is much to messy
some was bound to get on you
while you were tryin to put it on me
and don’t fool yourself
into thinking things are simple
nobody’s lying still the stories don’t line up
why do you try to hold on
to what you’ll never get a hold on
you wouldn’t try to put the ocean
in a paper cup

Song That Is Too Damn Sad:
These Days-Nico

Great Love Song

You Do Something to Me (Somewhere Deep Inside) -Paul Weller

Honorable Mention:
Groovy Kind of Love

Song To An Ex That Isn’t Meanspirited:
I Keep A Close Watch-John Cale.

Breaks.my.heart. Every single time. That litlting Welsh accent puts it over the top. Pure poetry. Damned Welshmen. Nothing but trouble.

Song To An Ex That Is Kinda Meanspirited:
It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue-Bob Dylan

Song to Listen to While in The Country Looking at Stars:
Almost anything on Bjork’s Vespertine album
or Cowboy Junkies

Song to lose your Mind to:
Closer-NIN

Song To Cry In Your Pillow to:
Roads-Portishead

Songs That Make You Feel Amped and Inspired:
1. Under Pressure-Queen & David Bowie
2. Kool Thing-Sonic Youth
3. Hyperballad-Bjork
4. Genius of Love-Tom Tom Club
5. Pride-U2

Song That Makes You Miss Your Mom:
Songs don’t make me miss my mom. Movies do.

Criminally Underrated Band That Didn’t Get Attention and Then Broke Up:
Not sure.

Best Screw You I Am a Teenager in Pain Song:
Head Like a Hole-NIN

Song No One Would Expect You To Love:
Umbrella, by Rihanna

Album No One Would Expect You To Dislike:
Any of Tori Amos’s most recent albums.

Album No One Would Expect You To Really Know:
Led Zeppellin II

Emo Album You Actually Like:
I’ve missed the boat on the whole Emo thing. Anything by the Smiths is as close as I get.

Good, But Overrated Cause Of Indie Revisionism:
what???

5 Desert Island Discs off the top of your head (30 sec clock):
1. The Singles-The Pretenders
2 When the Pawn…Fiona Apple
3. 1966-Bob Dylan
4. Post-Bjork
5. Fragments of A Rainy Season-John Cale

3 Contemporary Artists That Were Your Faves 10 Years Ago:
Tori Amos

The Cranberries

Sarah MchLachlan
Music That Makes You Feel Sophisticated:
What a silly question.

Fave Electronic Record You Own:
I don’t.

Hip-Hop Song You Know All the Lyrics Too:
Is Jennifer Lopez hip hop? “If You Had My Love”. Too easy.

Random Albums You Loved In High School But Are Afraid To Admit It:

Seals and Crofts Greatest Hits
Steely Dan-Aja
Supertramp-Breakfast In America
Album You May Have Listened To More In High School than Any Other Album:
Aiyiyi…Thriller-Michael Jackson

If You Could Enter A Wrestling Ring to a Song It Would Be:
Fighter-Christina Aguilera

Album To Clear A Room With:
Anything by Mariah Carey ]]> http://petitmeditations.wordpress.com/2008/06/07/mother-of-all-music-memes/feed/ 1 petitmuse http://petitmeditations.wordpress.com/2008/05/24/some-kind-of-meme/ http://petitmeditations.wordpress.com/2008/05/24/some-kind-of-meme/#comments Sat, 24 May 2008 12:53:51 +0000 petitmuse http://petitmeditations.wordpress.com/?p=385 ]]>

stolen from H. Labs, natch

What Was I doing ten years ago? Ten years ago, I was at the tail end of my newspaper job in my hometown in upstate New York, traipsing around, interviewing ordinary people and writing stories, designing tedious little ads when I wasn’t traipsing around, and discovering through the ordinary people, things I kinda liked about my little town. Then, left said job to go to Norway. Because I’d never been to Norway before. Climbed fjords and shivered. Rode ferries, hung out in Sweden among outrageously beautiful people. Loved and fought with a Norwegian. Then, bye-bye. In a huff. Flounced and sobbed on a seven hour flight to boomerang to my usual psychic parking place, a small artsy town in western Mass and settled among too many poseurs while I plotted my next adventure. Discovered that I liked bike riding, which was a good thing, since I decided to take a mundane job while I licked my wounds, making candles for a famous candle company. Twenty mile rides offer lots of therapueatic thinking time.

What are five things on my to-do list today? I have no real plans today, beyond playing with the kiddo, attending to my zoo, and mucking around with my container garden.

Snacks I enjoy: Cashews. Chocolate almond candy bars. Cheese, all sorts of cheese. Hummus and pita bread. These little fried rice balls that I make from Jessica Seinfeld’s Deceptively Delicious book. Cottage cheese with salt and vinegar potato chips. French fries with bleu cheese or queso sauce. Ice cream!

Things I would do if I were a billionaire: Pay of all debts. Build houses in the Adirondacks, Vermont, and Rhode Island. Start a finch aviary and a sanctuary for various domesticated animals. Start my alpaca/lama farm. Visit Japan, Amsterdam, Morocco, Tibet, Scotland/Ireland, and of course, France. Maybe India. Build two houses for my mom. Right next to each other. One for her stuff, and one to live in. Actually, it would probably be a part of “the compound”, Kennedy style, that my brother and sisters imagine. Pray that we don’t kill each other. Fund whatever it is my sibs want to do (kind of curious as to what that would be). Bankroll the kiddo’s Waldorf education, and pray she selects Wesleyan College as the next destination. Get a pilot’s license. Make philanthropy, in innovative ways, my new job. Hire Holly to help me.

Places I have lived: Northern New York, Manhattan, various places in Massachusetts, Norway, and Connecticut.

spiritual! Ok, not really. I stole this from dok H.

Astrological Sign? Sagitarrius. Indeed.

Chinese Astrological Sign? Wait while I go google this…well, well—I’m a snake! Mom will be so pleased. Not.

What are you currently setting your intention on or praying for? I pray for bird babies. I pray when I see Finn-Finn lounging on my sweater(s), that he hasn’t peed on it, though my nose suspects he has territorially pissed on one or two. I pray that this upcoming date in the Deciding Room, the one with the dusty bannisters I’ve spoken of before, is the LAST time, please, please, please. Please.

Who do you pray to? Ok, I really don’t consider it  praying in the literal sense, though I used to pray ALOT as a child. And liked it.  Now I meditate to put whatever is on my mind out there, onto and into some mass, communal swirl of energy of collective thoughts and actions.

Do you believe God created humans or humans evolved from primordial goo? I’ll take goo, though I will say that I believe there is some sort of intelligent, or higher force behind evolution. But it’s not a person.

Do you believe in Sin? Interesting how the “s” is capitalized. No, I don’t believe in sin, not in the sense of the decided upon sins that hold one accountable to a higher power, no. That’s too subjective. I do believe in karma though.

Do you believe in Evil? No. That makes poor choices too conveniently unaccountable; as in, “the devil MADE me do it! Save me, I’ve seen the light!” I call bullshit.

What do you do when you see 11:11? am or pm? When I see either the a.m. or p.m. version, I’m usually thinking of some state of rest, if in fact I notice, which is rare.

Do you believe in Angels? as people, yes, there are angels around us. As otherworldly beings, no. Which is odd, because my favorite movie  has angels in it, and I’m down with it as an exercise in existential exploration.

Do you believe in God? If so, what does God look like to you? If there is a God, I hope he’s like Pentyne’s version; an amused sort of boy genius who made an experiment gone awry. I personally don’t believe in God, no.

Is there an aspect of your religion/belief that you haven’t made up your mind about? My religion believes in reincarnation, which is hugely appealing to me and makes sense. But totally commiting to that is in conflict with my strong belief in spirits and “the other side”. I swear I’ve felt a connection to that, so I ask myself sometimes where reincarnation could fit in with that dimension.

Is there a religion that you don’t follow, but deeply respect or admire? I’ve studied Wicca and like the idea of a religion so attuned to nature and the seasons. I love that it’s one of the few religions that revere femine energy and make the female the more divine of the two sexes. I suspect Christianity cobbed quite a few of its customs and holidays from Wicca. I get the idea behind casting spells in a channeling energy sort of way, but it’s just not my thing.

Who has inspired you the most on your spiritual path? No one specifically.

In your opinion, what is the worst mistake we make, as a species? Greed, something no other species seems to possess, at least on the level common to ours.

What is something you would like to believe, but don’t? Santa.

Do you believe in soul mates? Yes.

Reincarnation or heaven? I believe in the possibility of both, at the best of times, when I’m not wondering if there’s just nothing. After all that evolving through various incarnations, a state of rest would be a good and logical idea.

Best “ah ha!” moment/epiphany? In sixth grade, when we had a unit on the Middle East and the three “major” religions that evolved out of there. At first I had a sort of adolescent spiritual crisis, then I concluded  there was more, and perhaps better, out there after thinking about it further.

Required spiritual reading? My favorite so far are the poems of Rumi, because of the scope of states expressed–joy, ecstacy, wisdom, sorrow, love, lust, etc. It’s the most living, breathing, and connected spiritual reading I’ve ever read.

If you could pick, in your final moments, what would your last words be? I have no idea. In the best circumstances, I hope I say something indicative of great love I feel for those I leave.

Advice for a lost soul? Read. Explore. Experiment. Play! Avoid anything that induces guilt. Spend time outdoors, connected with nature.  Leave room for possibilities and less for absolutes.

A song that encapsulates your beliefs? I’m sure there’s one but I can’t think of any off the top of my head.

and it’s not that I haven’t been doing anything…there’s all the cooking I’m doing, per the kiddo’s demands for chili, roast, roast chicken, and muffins, brownies, and cookies–that’ll keep anyone busy…and then there’s dress shopping for the upcoming wedding (though I did fall for the first gown I tried on). Setting up a studio space. On the cheap. Meetings. Activities (such a common word when one has children, no?).

I want my cat Nelly’s life. For a week. Nelly has quite a reputation as a merciless hunter, but since coming to my pad, she likes to while away the daytime hours under my bed, snoozing. Then she gets up at night and guards my sleeping self from Fat Cat. Poor Dex.

So, in the absence of any noteworthy deep or wierd thoughts (even my dreams have gone on hiatus!), I have another meme:

in which I answer Dr. H’s tag:

8 things I’m passionate about:

1. La Kiddo
2. Making good food
3. Being comfortable
4. Animals
5. Nature
6. Reading good books.
7. Art
8. The people I love

 8 things I want to do  before I die:

1. Visit Japan
2. Build a house
3. Take a trip on a motorcyle
4. Get published
5. See the kiddo find herself
6. Haunt  a few Paris flea markets
7. Do work I’m really proud of and comfortable with.
8. Find a sweet, freethinking playmate to do some of the above with, stuff I haven’t thought about, and stuff I’ll never talk about here.

8 things I say often

1.  That’s odd
2. What does this mean?
3. Settle down! (for the kiddo)
4. Where did I put….(insert last thing I used)
5. I can’t find my keys.
6. Where’s my phone????
7. various unintelligible cooings to my cats, the kiddo, and my fish.
8. Wow……

8 Books I’ve read recently (or am still reading):

1. The Life of Pi
2. The Uses of Enchantment
3. After the Ecstacy, the Laundry
4. The Hotel New Hampshire ( I usually read this once a year)
5. A Prayer for Owen Meany (same thing)
6. The Essential Rumi
7. Yoga Body, Buddha Mind
8. The Old Testament (aren’t the stories fantastical and kind of fab and scary in their fervor ? )

8 Songs I Could Listen to Over and Over (And do!)

1. U2’s Stay (Far Away, So Close)
2. Bob Dylan’s I Shall Be Released
3. Bjork’s Unravel
4. Sinead O’Connor’s Just Call Me Joe
5. Kate Bush’s Deeper Understanding
6. The Pretender’s I Go To Sleep
7. Jimi Hendrix’s Angel
8. Ani Difranco’s Joyful Girl

8 Things that Attract Me to My Best Friends:

1. Humor
2. Quirkiness
3. Kindness
4. Tolerance (you know, that dusting thing, Holly)
5. curious minds
6. fun!
7. likeminded tastes in books, mostly. Music and movies too.
8. integrity

People I Think Should Do Crazy Eights: T, Holly, Bets, Pentyne, Gerti.

I’ve been tagged. Twice. I’m still working on one sent my way by Dok. Seems yesterday, unbeknownst to me, it was Blog Day. I know this because Sigrid, a reader in Italy who herself has an awesome cooking blog; il cavoletto di bruxelles (love the photography), tagged me and let me know. So I thought I’d share three blogs that I’ve never mentioned here. Enjoy:

DearAda: This is a blog after my own heart. You may have noticed the absence of links for what I like to call pretty-pretties recently. I still peruse around for them; just have been too distracted for posting. Pretty-pretties everywhere here, and when I’m in dire need of eye candy, here I go.

Bright Stupid Confetti: I always find wonderful artists working in all sorts of mediums on this blog. I love and trust their eye.

3191: This is a beautiful collaboration between two friends who happen to live 3191 miles apart; simple, stunning, and precious. An ongoing visual blog  of morning capsules of life around and abound. I love peeking in.