every question that I ask, I get a lie, lie, lie

1. When was the last time that you felt your world got turned upside down? the past month has not been kind. I wouldn't have necessarily pulled the phrase "my world has been turned upside down" out of the air, but things do feel pretty messed up overall.
2. Should the United States do more to help its own citizens before helping people in other countries? "the United States" as an active body is one of those theoretical constructs that bogs me down in a spiral of meaninglessness. U.S. foreign aid is pretty extensive; it could be more productive. U.S. domestic programs are extraordinary, but could be far less bureaucratic while retaining (and improving) their methods. Individual states (and their component administrative units) have traditionally held primary responsibility for "helping their own citizens" and should continue to do so to the extent that they are able, including the fair distribution of federal funds. And we as individuals should be capable of training ourselves and each other to do more with less, in myriad ways.
3. What was something you memorized for school and still can recall? wow, my mind is swimming with data that does not apply--Bible verses (and the order of its books); the lyrics to "Juan Paco Pedro de la Mar"; and long cheers (memorized when I was in pep band). I've got nothing from actual school. I'll keep thinking and come back to this one: "Super Man Helps Every One"--the Great Lakes from West to East: Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, Ontario.
4. With what types of people do you tend to associate? punks and preps. Srsly? "Types of people"? Um...generally only the tall.
5. Besides blogging what is the last creative thing that you've done? tonight's dinner invention: beef soup
6. In nature, what outdoor activities do you enjoy the most? watching the river go by. Walking.
7. When was the last time that you had a great belly laugh? last Friday night at Applebee's. It was over one of the best rum & lemonades I've ever had, mostly because the company was perfection and the setting was the antidote to a frustratingly craptastic shopping experience. Should've stayed there all night!
8. What kind of fashion-sense attracts you? depends. I'm leaning toward a sleek sort of early Johnny Cash look for myself lately, all black and jeans-tucked-into-boots sullen. On guys...guh. I'd really prefer never to see another male again in my lifetime, thanks. And my female friends should all wear shirtwaists with pinafores. Yep, I'm really, really sleepy.
9. What traits in others turn you off? intolerance, cowardice, failure to adhere to some moral code, even if it's not my own. Oh, and also guys who don't like (or who pretend they don't like) to kiss.

[from The Cat, who got it here; title quotation from "Cry! Cry! Cry!" by Johnny Cash (his first hit single, from 1955)]