pauraque_bk (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
pauraque_bk) wrote2004-02-10 10:59 pm
pauraque_bk) wrote2004-02-10 10:59 pm
interview questions from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
asphodeline
1)you seem to have a wealth of knowledge of many things and that which impresses me most is linguistics. Are you self taught or did you study ( assuming you have not lied about your age, you have squeezed a lot of studying into precious few years! )
Self-taught. I took French in school, but that was all practical, no theory. I always read my parents' books on language when I was a kid (Sapir was an early favorite), and when I was older and able to hit the library on my own, I kept reading. In recent years I've been able to learn even more online.
2)which historical character ( real ) would you most like to meet?
Hm, tough one. So many choices. Shakespeare comes to mind. I'd want to know what his writing process was like, if he wrote outlines, if he wrote scenes in order, what he thought about various characters, etc. (Assuming I could stop fanboying him long enough to ask anything relevant at all...)
On that note, another one I'd be extremely interested to meet is Caius Cassius. I've invested a lot of time reading different accounts of his life and what he did, and I would love to hear it in his own words. See for myself what he was like as a person.
3)I know you particularly like Snape but you also like Pettigrew - what is the attraction there?
I like Peter because he comes across as a three-dimensional, psychologically realistic character, moreso than almost anyone else in the books. When I first read the Shrieking Shack scene, he really made me sit up and take notice -- he's inarticulate, he contradicts himself -- he talks like a real person. He keeps looking around at the doors and windows (JKR mentions it three or four times), so there's a hint that he's always thinking, that there's some kind of calculation beneath the hysterics. And the way he thinks Harry should show him mercy because James would -- or because *he* thinks James would -- I love that confusion, that disjointed almost-logic barely held together with powerful emotion. You can't quite pin it down; I love that twisted realism.
I'd also say Peter is the most genuinely frightening character in the series. He's not a Bond villain type who's going to try to match wits with you, give you a chance to escape -- he'll just blow your head off. He's wonderfully scary in GoF -- the moment when he's got Harry tied up and goes to mutilate him, that's some *freaky* stuff.
The other thing that keeps me coming back to Peter is that he's very difficult to write. You can't really fake it with no understanding of the character; it seems false. A good Peter characterization is something I'll always remember about a story, because, like in canon, there's a desperate intensity about him that steals the scene.
Does that answer your question at all? *g*
4) If you were stranded on a desert island and could take only one book what would you take? ( apart from a religous text that is )and if it isn't asking an extra question, why?
I wouldn't take a religious text; I don't belong to any organized religion.
As dorky as this may sound, I might pick Bernard Comrie's "Languages of the World", which is a great huge linguistics textbook. I've read bits of it at a library an hour's train ride away, but they don't let you take it out (which is probably a good thing, because I'd have stolen it by now). I wouldn't even consider taking a work of fiction I've already read. I very rarely re-read fiction at all, much less during my entire term as governor of my very own Caribbean island. I'd want new information that I know would be interesting, and Comrie fits the bill.
But will there be palm leaves on this island? Because if not, I'd forgo Comrie in favor of a blank book and a sturdy pen.
5) what is your shoe size?!!
10 1/2. I was going to say that my answer wouldn't be very informative because men's and women's shoe sizes are different, but then I realized that it's worse than that -- American and European shoe sizes are also different!
Thanks for the fun questions; I'll have five for you in a bit. If anyone else wants to ask me questions, go for it.
*
I sure do like Fantasia. I noticed her early on, and she was certainly a cut above the others tonight. I have a feeling the voting will be a race for second place.
Damn, those were some weird song choices. *Journey*?! About the only person who chose the right song was the Walking In Memphis guy, but unfortunately he also had the weakest voice. He has the same range as Cher, but none of the vocal power.
Was it just me, or did Simon seem really distracted? They're singin' away, and he's just sittin' there thinking about Chinese food and Lost In Translation...
Self-taught. I took French in school, but that was all practical, no theory. I always read my parents' books on language when I was a kid (Sapir was an early favorite), and when I was older and able to hit the library on my own, I kept reading. In recent years I've been able to learn even more online.
2)which historical character ( real ) would you most like to meet?
Hm, tough one. So many choices. Shakespeare comes to mind. I'd want to know what his writing process was like, if he wrote outlines, if he wrote scenes in order, what he thought about various characters, etc. (Assuming I could stop fanboying him long enough to ask anything relevant at all...)
On that note, another one I'd be extremely interested to meet is Caius Cassius. I've invested a lot of time reading different accounts of his life and what he did, and I would love to hear it in his own words. See for myself what he was like as a person.
3)I know you particularly like Snape but you also like Pettigrew - what is the attraction there?
I like Peter because he comes across as a three-dimensional, psychologically realistic character, moreso than almost anyone else in the books. When I first read the Shrieking Shack scene, he really made me sit up and take notice -- he's inarticulate, he contradicts himself -- he talks like a real person. He keeps looking around at the doors and windows (JKR mentions it three or four times), so there's a hint that he's always thinking, that there's some kind of calculation beneath the hysterics. And the way he thinks Harry should show him mercy because James would -- or because *he* thinks James would -- I love that confusion, that disjointed almost-logic barely held together with powerful emotion. You can't quite pin it down; I love that twisted realism.
I'd also say Peter is the most genuinely frightening character in the series. He's not a Bond villain type who's going to try to match wits with you, give you a chance to escape -- he'll just blow your head off. He's wonderfully scary in GoF -- the moment when he's got Harry tied up and goes to mutilate him, that's some *freaky* stuff.
The other thing that keeps me coming back to Peter is that he's very difficult to write. You can't really fake it with no understanding of the character; it seems false. A good Peter characterization is something I'll always remember about a story, because, like in canon, there's a desperate intensity about him that steals the scene.
Does that answer your question at all? *g*
4) If you were stranded on a desert island and could take only one book what would you take? ( apart from a religous text that is )and if it isn't asking an extra question, why?
I wouldn't take a religious text; I don't belong to any organized religion.
As dorky as this may sound, I might pick Bernard Comrie's "Languages of the World", which is a great huge linguistics textbook. I've read bits of it at a library an hour's train ride away, but they don't let you take it out (which is probably a good thing, because I'd have stolen it by now). I wouldn't even consider taking a work of fiction I've already read. I very rarely re-read fiction at all, much less during my entire term as governor of my very own Caribbean island. I'd want new information that I know would be interesting, and Comrie fits the bill.
But will there be palm leaves on this island? Because if not, I'd forgo Comrie in favor of a blank book and a sturdy pen.
5) what is your shoe size?!!
10 1/2. I was going to say that my answer wouldn't be very informative because men's and women's shoe sizes are different, but then I realized that it's worse than that -- American and European shoe sizes are also different!
Thanks for the fun questions; I'll have five for you in a bit. If anyone else wants to ask me questions, go for it.
*
I sure do like Fantasia. I noticed her early on, and she was certainly a cut above the others tonight. I have a feeling the voting will be a race for second place.
Damn, those were some weird song choices. *Journey*?! About the only person who chose the right song was the Walking In Memphis guy, but unfortunately he also had the weakest voice. He has the same range as Cher, but none of the vocal power.
Was it just me, or did Simon seem really distracted? They're singin' away, and he's just sittin' there thinking about Chinese food and Lost In Translation...