he loved her, as you can only love someone who is an echo of yourself at your time of deepest sorrow

22. What do you think about vegan activism? 

    I'm far too busy to get active about anything new, thanks

23. What’s the biggest personality change you’ve undergone? 

    people who knew me when I was little thought of me as bright, outgoing, and basically happy. Something changed from college, through grad school, and then law school. No less bright, maybe, but less outgoing and maybe not so basically happy.

24. Would you steal or beg for food if you were homeless with no money, and working was not an option for some reason? 

    Well, yeah. Who wouldn't? I'm not going to starve to death on purpose. 

25. Are you concerned about being spied on by a government or a corporate entity? 

    not exactly, on a daily basis. I'm absolutely sure it happens - just read the news. Every day there's a data breach, inappropriate data collection, and somebody else stepping in to remediate or regulate or punish it. Companies, and government agencies, have no clue what they're collecting, how best to maintain it, how they can permissibly use it, and how to prevent it from being misused. Data is not private, practically speaking. It's only a matter of time until computer systems or stupid/bad/greedy individuals either lose it or sell it or take it.

    All this means that I'm not concerned about it, but I am aware of it and careful about what I share. For instance, I don't participate in loyalty programs or email newsletter memberships or store credit cards. When "required" to enter a phone number online when I'm not a customer, I use a faked random number. Even if it's supposedly intended to save money, loyalty programs are primarily about marketing. I don't need to receive more marketing than I already get. 

26. Do you think death will come easily? 

    what an awful question! There is no answer that wouldn't be creepy at best.

27. What do you think about romanticizing crime and debauchery in media? 

    you mean, like martial arts movies, or books about war, or gangster films? Westerns, rap music, and (especially older) country music? Graphic novels about superheroes who overcome the forces of evil? There's a difference between realistic portrayal—even sympathetic portrayal—and glamorization. Anyway, exposure to these things can help people understand the value of being and doing good.

via GIPHY

28. What would you do if you realized you have a relationship with a destructive person? 

    I already do have that sort of relationship, with more than one person. That's part of life, of knowing people who might be different from me but with whom I have something in common that's worth the rest of it.  

29. Do you think any real value can be extracted from shock entertainment such as horror films? 

    "any real value" made me laugh. Entertainment for entertainment's sake is enough "value" for me. Plenty of people get more entertainment from that than they would from more bucolic things like nature poetry or romance novels. Anyway, who am I to say what is valuable to others?

1. Would you want to be present at your child’s birth? 

    uhm, since I'm female it would (without extreme assistance) not be my choice

2. What’s the best birthday gift you ever got? 

    a card. The right words get to me like objects never could.

  [from here; the title quotation is by Orson Scott Card, from Speaker for the Dead]