to read a book for the first time is to make an acquaintance with a new friend; to read it for a second time is to meet an old one

January 29: acquisitive

Although some of my blog posts imply the contrary, I am not a terribly acquisitive person. "Stuff" makes good 'press', though, and those sorts of posts serve the dual purpose of answering the familiar "But what present can I get for you?!" questions without their having to be asked.

February 29: hegemony

I like to think that I've broken free of the constraints of my upbringing, but only on the very micro and very macro level am I anything other than the hegemony dictates.

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1. What is the strangest thing you’ve ever eaten?
   "Chinese casserole" via the mother of my former spouse. No food should be that pale, or bland.
2. If you could bring one character to life from your favorite book, who would it be?
   Everett Chance, from The Brothers K (by David James Duncan), or Jonathan Bovaro, from The Girl She Used to Be (by David Cristofano).
3. What dead person would you least want to be haunted by?
   anyone of whom I'm not fond in life, I suppose. Let's start with whomever created the Geico caveman advertising campaign.
4. If you had to be trapped in a book for a month, which book would you choose? (you can also pick what character you would want to be as well)
   It's tempting to say The Rich Part of Life, and though I adore that book, there's too much there that's heartbreaking, too, to live it. It's an obvious choice: The Brothers K, to be Kincaid.
5. If you had to be trapped in a TV show for a month, which show would you choose? (you can also pick what character you would want to be as well)
   the only recurring series I'm watching right now is The Big Bang Theory, and it's just not that kind of show for me. I would love to go back to be Jill on ReGenesis. Not only was it a good part, smart and feminine, brainy and physical, and real, but also playing off of the most drop-dead sexy actor ever, Peter Outerbridge. Loved the show, loved the characters, loved the guy.

[from The Cat--it rose from mysterious origins; the title quotation is a Chinese proverb]