Eight Facts & Habits
My friend "Three-Thumbs" Tim had the nerve to tag me with one of these pointless internet "meme" things. I'm an old-enough fart that they seem rather like glorified chain letters to me. Yes, yes, I know all about memes and such — I suspect I've read more books by Dawkins and his ilk than most of the people who carry on about memes with such enthusiasm.
I don't object to the notion of memes at all, despite appearances, although I think the name is hopelessly silly. In fact, memes have always sounded to me basically like a notion that Karl Popper (one of my very few favorite philosophers) developed in the 1970s or 1960s, that ideas have an existence independent of the human minds that created them, largely because of writing. I believed it then, although I don't think they take on any sort of tangible existence beyond human minds, and I believe it now even when it's called a "meme" and the notion becomes glib and a bit cheapened with this unsophisticated internet / blog version.
So there. Nevertheless, I like to be remembered and picked for the team as well as the next person, so I can curse and kiss Tim for his tagging, whether thoughtful or thoughtless. On to the wretched meme:
The Rules are: Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
Here's a list as they come to mind.
- I never sang solo in public before our Theatre Troupe's production of "A Grand Night for Singing" in 1998. Six months later I played the part, with singing, of Captain Courageous in "Dames at Sea". My parents were so disbelieving that they flew 2000 miles to see a performance with their own ears. I now sing a fair amount, both in musicals and with a small group that performs renaissance literature.
- I write adult gay fiction under the name "Jay Neal" and have been publishing stories since 1999, about three dozen publications so far. This is no secret, of course, but I can use the publicity from mentioning it again. For those who might be interested: Jay Neal's website.
- I play 'cello, something that I've done continuously since I was in fourth grade, with a hiatus of a few years during graduate school and most of my years working at the University of Maryland. I've even been paid to do it on occasion. This, too, is no secret by any means, but there are forever people turning up who learn about it for the first time and are surprised.
- When I was in High School I played 'cello for a year with the Kansas City Youth Symphony. For one concert our guest conductor was the actor Werner Klemperer, famous for his role as Colonel Klink in the old TV sitcom "Hogan's Heroes". He was actually a very good conductor — music was his avocation and his talent was not a big surprise since his father was the world-famous conductor Otto Klemperer.
- I once dined with Sheldon Glashow, Nobel-laureate in physics from 1979. There were three other people in our group. I won't name names right now because there were unusual relationship dynamics going on at the time of which I really had no part despite appearances to the contrary. I also had one of the worst migraines of my life during that meal, as our waiter found out when he was over perky in asking "How are we tonight?"
- I had a severe heart attack in January of 2004, when Isaac and I were in Kansas City for my mother's funeral. I was 47 at the time. Well meaning nurses kept saying things like "but you're too young to have a heart attack". What could I do but shrug my shoulders? I had two rounds of angioplasty and 5 stents put in. Of a week spent in the hospital (KU Medical Center, where I had excellent treatment), 5 days were in intensive care. In private I tell an anecdote about getting a catheter put in that inevitably makes my male listeners cringe.
- I stopped smoking in January 2004, having smoked for about 25 years. Not coincidentally, cessation was accomplished during intensive care. I spent a good part of 5 days heavily drugged and by the time I came out of my haze, I had no craving and it never returned, so I decided to work with it.
- My best friend and I in graduate school, at Wesleyan University, used to spend sunny afternoons watching the men — younger or older, it didn't matter so much — walk across the main quad. After suitable visual evaluation and contemplation we would jointly rate their individual callipygian attainments.
Oh dear, it seems that my list is all facts and no habits. Perhaps I'll think of some really juicy and disgusting habits to share another time. On second thought, let's have each of my four regular readers think up two really eccentric habits for me, and I'll do my best to oblige.
Now about this tagging thing. I'm disinclined to do that, largely because I don't do chain letters, but also because I'd have to think of eight people to irritate.
How about a stochastic approach? I hereby tag the first eight people to read this who want to pick up the meme. Leave a trackback or comment so I know and then I can tag you retroactively.
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on Tuesday, 3 July 2007 at 14.17
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eight things, hmmm?
well, I don't actually put text into my livejournal space (I'm "trawnapanda"), I just use that persona to read and chip in to other peoples' blogs. So I'll leave the eight here.
1 – I was born in 1953 (coronation year) and I'm 53 now, which seems quite symmetrical. my birthday is just before Guy Fawkes day, and so several times when I was little, my birthday party was combined with bonfire night / fireworks / burning the Guy. I could literally show you scars, from the time a hot blob of burning sparkler fell down my wellington boot and burned through my sock.
2 – I share a birthday with two US presidents (who are frequently used in statistics texts to illustrate the Birthday Coincidence); with Marie Antoinette and with k d lang.
3 – I emigrated to Canada with my parents and sister in 1965, aboard RMS Carmania, arriving at Quebec City on 18 August. (surprising how often I had to come up with that information until I became a Canajun citizen)
4 – I love writing with fountain pen. We learned to write (printing) in pencil, then we were taught cursive script ("joined up writing" was actually the phrase used) again in pencil, and then graduated to pen and ink. As in, dip pens, inkwell in the desk. (to this day, the smell of ink takes me right back to Class 13, Mrs Lewis' room). Once we'd learned to manage dip pens, you were allowed to bring a fountain pen (preferably Osmiroid(tm) or Parker(tm)). Took me ages to get around to that, so went around for nearly 2y with full-time blue-black stains on the thumb and first two fingers of my right hand. We were not allowed to use Biros(tm) (ball point pens) under any circumstances, and indeed, in the early 60s they were pretty poor quality. In Canada I went through 15c ballpoints pretty fast, like everyone else, and my handwriting was horrible. Annoyed at the pen-loss, I thought to buy a slightly more expensive (about $2, I suspect) fountain pen, and maybe I'd keep it longer. It worked, and the fountain pen slowed me down enough that my writing became much clearer (an unintended consequence). I really like the feel of the words flowing out of the tip of a fountain pen, and my handwriting is actually quite good.
5 – when I was little (as in, pre speech) I had an aural fixation (couldn't spell either). Instead of sucking my thumb, I played with my ears, with the result that the external parts are really quite soft – I can twist them a lot with no discomfort. A few years later, I learned how to fold them and tuck 'em in so that they stay folded in (or folded back, which looks distinctly mr-spock-like) While tucking them in requires finger action, I can pop 'em out by manipulating facial muscles. I still play with them without thinking about it. It's kinda fun to fold 'em up with someone who's never seen it before. they notice, they get puzzled. sometimes they comment on "what's wrong with your ear?". At that point I make frosty comments on not nice to make fun of deformities – and then pop it out when they're not looking ,and enjoy the subsequent confusion.
6 – I have no spleen, having smunched it up in a motor vehicle accident in 1975 (the bits were removed less than 10h later, along with my at that point perfectly healthy appendix "since we're in there anyway"). Being asplenic apparently makes me vulnerable to pneumonia, and to malaria, so I'm not spozed to travel to areas where the anopheles mosquito is endemic.
7 – when unpacking the wash-disher, I make a game of taking all of one kind of cutlery out of the basket before starting on another — so you gotta get ALL the forks out before starting on the soup spoons. It's extra points if you can manage to get all four categories (knives / forks / big spoons / small spoons) out sequentially without mixing 'em up. (unusual items, like can opener or cheese wire, can come out at any point. Thems the RULES)
8 – I have a number of habits my mama bequeathed on me; not that I actually think bad luck or world disaster will ensue if I *don't* throw spilled salt over my left (not right) shoulder, but I honour her memory by so doing. Lessee, what are a few:
** turn your wallet (or money/coins) over in your pocket the first time you see a new moon
** NO quotations from the Scottish Tragedy
** if you give someone an item with a blade or a point – new knives, or a brooch with a pin, etc – they have to give you a penny to "buy" the object, or the sharp edge will cut the friendship.
** likewise, buy (or give) salt, rather than borrowing it from your neighbour: "borrow salt, you borrow sorrow".
** no laundry on Good Friday. Do it the evening of Maundy Thursday, or leave it until the saturday.
** on the first day of the month, the first words out of your mouth in the morning should be "white rabbits."
** soft boiled eggs, you MUST eat from the little end. Then once you've finished the egg (prolly dipping toast fingers ("soldiers") in the yolk), turn the egg upside down in the cup, and break a hole in the bottom to let the fairy out.
** the aforesaid spilled salt over the left shoulder.
Supestitious? moi?
no eight friends to tag, but see how this goes.
on Monday, 9 July 2007 at 00.30
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Chris, you're tagged retroactively. Thanks for leaving your eight here, although they are so fascinating that I feel inadequate with my eight now. #4 we share — these days I write all my fiction long hand with my fountain pen. It's more conducive, somehow.
Oh, and I completely forgot ears! I didn't play with mine, but they were made much fun of since they've always been the size they are even when my head was much smaller. That may be the reason why I learned, c. 4th grade or so, to wiggle them. I could even wiggle one side or the other, or alternate. I'll want to see the folded ears sometime, you know.
on Monday, 9 July 2007 at 15.45
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I'll want to see the folded ears sometime, you know.
when I mentioned this on soc.motss a while ago, some expressed curiousity, so for them (under the title "aural aurigami") I took pix and posted same. they're still there, er, here:
http://www.chem-eng.utoronto.ca/~ambidge/ears.jpg