we have found that morals are not, like bacon, to be cured by hanging

1. If you could interview anyone on your blog (alive or dead) who would you chose and why?
   David James Duncan (he's my favorite writer of all time), or Ann Beattie (she's the famous writer who--I'm told--writes the most like I do), or Beth Ann Fennelly (her poetry rocks), or Dan Wilson (formerly of Semisonic; his lyrics are twisty and dreamy like I wish I could write)...but really, I think, at this moment, if I could sit down with anyone and "interview" and have the results posted here, that person would be Brian-from-MadTown. I've got some questions that could use some answers.
2. What do you feel is your strength as a blogger?
   er, introspection?
3. Can you share a little bit about yourself that you have not already mentioned on your blog?
   I highly doubt that there's much that I haven't mentioned at some point in the past seven years. Seriously, it's all likely here somewhere, if you're dedicated enough to dig for it and tenacious enough to figure out WTF the abbreviations and nicknames are all about.
   But, yeah, sure. For the sake of being cooperative, I'll finally answer that one burning question that I've been asked many, many times:
   yes
4. If you were forced to change the name of your blog, what would you change it to? Why?
   "70 Bacon Sandwiches." Why? Just to be a provocative pain in the ass.
5. What do you think is the most fulfilling part of being a blogger?
   all the hordes of comments that I wade through on a daily basis. Really, it's the feedback that keeps me going and makes me want to continue.
6. What would you do with your last day if you found you had only one more day to live?
   in the blogging sense, or generally? I'm sure that my last blog post would be, um, frighteningly confessional. But if you mean that in a more global fashion...I'd probably try really damned hard to communicate my feelings to the people who matter the most.
7. You’ve been doing medical research for decades and have finally found a cure. What was it that you found a cure for and why did you choose this particular ailment?
   headaches, of course. Because I've had migraines for more than half my life, I know several others who are also afflicted, and they suck. And once I cured headaches, I could get started on other stuff, like allergies, arthritis, and other autoimmune diseases.
8. What is your most guilty pleasure?
   new books. I don't go very long without acquiring them. I know there are other ways, but I'm incorrigible.
9. Answer only one: what is your favorite book, movie or TV show?
   The Brothers K by David James Duncan. I could read it every six months for the rest of my life and never get tired of it, and always get something new out of it. I always do get something new out of it. Maybe I'll start it again tomorrow.
10. What do you think is the very best smell in the world? The one smell that can take you back to a time and place of a very vivid memory in your past?
    lefse baking. That sounds ridiculous, even as I write it, because I don't even like to eat the stuff, but the smell immediately takes me back to hanging out in the kitchen while my mom and some combination of her sisters and my grandma made lefse for holidays when I was little. It's a big part of holiday meals where I come from, so they made it in massive quantities, which requires an insane amount of prep and perfectly-timed rolling and baking in order to keep the griddle the right temperature and for nothing to burn. The kitchen would get grossly hot--just cooking the potatoes would do that, much less keeping the griddle at 500° for an hour or two--and everyone would be sweating and pink, but I also remember everyone laughing and jostling each other good-naturedly, sneaking pieces of hot lefse to eat while they worked. I miss that, more than I'd realized before I started writing this. It just proves that good smells aren't necessarily just about eating.

[from The Cat, naturally--best wishes for a speedy recovery, you--who got it from here; title quotation by William Cooke Taylor]