Me. Yet Again.

Seven things about me, requested by the lovely Kat (please do check out her blog here, if you haven't already, I'm such a fan of her wonderful writing) in exchange for a bouquet of flowers and some sweetness! I'm never one to shy away from going on and on about myself, so I am happy to oblige. Although in the interest of maintaining some distance, I did initially ask Sarge to do it for me (a new twist on a meme, if you will). He rolled his eyes and said, "you want me to tell seven things about you for a blog post?" "yes." I said. "Can you handle it if I tell the truth?" he asked. I realized right then that the only truth about me would have to come directly from me and not him, otherwise we would be entering marital encounter group territory. And who wants to do that?



Anyway, here's seven things about me:

1. Gosh do I love having my hair pulled. Probably too much information right off the bat?

now for an uncomfortable juxtaposition

2. I still like to cut out paper dolls sometimes.

and a non-sequitur

3. I think the rooftop sex scene between Christian Bale and Ewan McGregor in "Velvet Goldmine" is the most beautiful love scene in all of cinema. The first time I watched it I was overwhelmed to the point of tears.

4. I have watched "Velvet Goldmine" more times than I can count. I mean that literally. Can I somehow convince you to see this movie? If you see it, you'll know what the inside of my head looks like--and I mean that figuratively.

Okay, if number four is getting a little too weird for you, how about

5. I had a true craving for pickles when I was pregnant, just like the stereotype. But the craving only lasted one day. I bought a jar, bit into a juicy cold half-sour, was elated, sated, and done. I never had the craving again after that.

talking about one's pregnancy is gauche. Sorry about that.

6. There is only one person in the world who is allowed to call me a "J.A.P." If anyone else were to call me that I would slug 'em. Even if it were true a little bit. Which it is. Which is why I laugh when she calls me that.

and to end with something that I feel deeply, seriously:

7. To me, the written word is more seductive than the spoken. Oh, far more seductive.


I'm too shy to tag anyone, but feel free to leave me a secret about yourself in the comment section below. I would really appreciate it.

I Love/I Hate

First of all, I love memes. I can't help it. This one came from Megan. Sort of like the equivalent of summer beach reading. Not too taxing, but fun.

Things I Love/Things I Hate:

1. Most Loved Food: Pizza. Boring, I know. But I love pizza and could eat it for every meal for a year.
Most Hated Food: Cooked green pepper.  Ugh.

2. Most Loved Person: Two-way tie between Hedgie and Sarge.  And I've just got to throw my sister and mom in the mix there too.

Most Hated Person: I can't say it here.  So I'll go for my second-most-hated person, Hitler.  Yes, Hitler is only my second-most-hated.

3. Most Loved Job: Teaching college.  Sometimes I really miss it.  

Most Hated Job: Door-to-door for Greenpeace.  Honestly, I wasn't even sure what they did.  I couldn't defend the organization against the hollerers.  And frankly, I wasn't keen on interrupting people's dinner anyway.  I sucked at it, and quit after three terrifying days.  Funnily enough, I'm still not sympathetic to the Greenpeace-ers when they ring my doorbell.  Oh and a well-kept secret of Greenpeace is that a large portion of your donation goes directly to pay the door-to-door nudges.  

4. Most Loved City: New York City

Most Hated City: New York City

5. Most Loved Band: A tie between The Pogues and The Who

Most Hated Band: Rage Against the Machine.  

6. Most Loved Website: 

The Onion

Most Hated Website: Any website that prominently features any celebrity.

7. Most Loved t.v. Program: M.A.S.H.

Most Hated t.v. Program: Rachel Maddow.

8. Most Loved Movie: "Velvet Goldmine"

Most Hated Movie: "Religulous" and I've never even seen it!

9. Most Loved Artist: Courbet

Most Hated Artist: Monet.  It's just too pretty.  His art is like the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction."  It's become a cliche and I can't even see it clearly any more.

10. Most Loved Book: "These Happy Golden Years" by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Most Hated Book: "In the Belly of the Beast" by Jack Henry Abbott.  For many reasons, not the least of which is that it's crappily written.

11. Most Loved Shop: The Lion Brand Yarn Studio in NYC

Most Hated Shop: Salvation Army, Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn (don't get me wrong, I love Salvy, but this particular branch is where the cockroaches crawl off to die).

12. Most Loved Organization: The U.S. Army

Most Hated Organization: NAMBLA.

13. Most Loved Historical Event: When we elected the first woman president.  Oh wait, shit, that hasn't happened yet.  

Most Hated Historical Event: I'm with Megan on this one: The Holocaust.

14. Most Loved Sport: I don't follow any sports cause I'm a lame-ass girl, but I love the sound of football and baseball on the t.v. or radio when Sarge watches it or listens to it.  I think that sound is cheerful.

Most Hated Sport: ditto above.  

15. Most Loved Piece of  Tech: My ipod

Most Hated Piece of Tech: My cell phone

16. Most Loved Annual Event: The Passover Seder.

Most Hated Annual Event: The "Christmas costs less at Walmart" version of Christmas.

17. Most Loved Daily Task: tucking Hedgehog into bed and giving her goodnight kisses.

Most Hated Daily Task: Shlepping groceries up four flights of stairs.

18. Most Loved Comedian: Jerry Stiller

Most Hated Comedian: Janeane Garofolo.  Smug.

Your turn.  If you're bored or have insomnia and need something to do!

Favorite Corner Meme

I was thinking about what some people suggested--that the question "what makes a house a home?" from my previous post would make a good meme. In the spirit, I decided to create this related meme, A Favorite Corner in Your House, and pass it around a little, see if anyone would like to do it. I know I'm looking forward to that prurient glimpse into the private corners of other people's worlds...

So to get the ball rolling, here's a few pictures of one of my favorite places in my house: my dresser. The dresser belonged to a bedroom set of my grandparents. It is quite large, completely out of scale with our small bedroom (Sarge and I have a double bed--not even a queen size--which should tell you something. At least it's cozy!). Everything on the dresser is special to me: the dresser scarf, black silk and wool embroidered in great detail, given me by my mother; a special jewel box I bought for myself when I was still working, still had my own money!; my framed Tintin posters; a postcard of a turn-of-the-century photo of a medium doing her spooky business, from an exhibit at the Met that I loved; a photo of my grandpa Max with his camera equipment; a postcard of religious Yemenite women in full hijab and niqab, just to remind me of my own freedom; my perfume collection; the broken Lalique container jar; my grandmother's thread holder; her paperweights; and a little clay pot with a lid, made for me by Hedgehog in first grade.

I love the dark reds and the history and the personal references that feel so comfortable and remind me of who I am.

I won't tag anyone in particular, but please join me in this one if you like!

Here's what you do:

1. Tell me if you're going to do it, I'd love to check it out!

2. take a photo of a favorite place in your house, it can be just a corner or an object, something that you feel represents you or makes you feel happy or that you just like for whatever reason.

3. Post the pic, linking back to this link, on your blog.

4. Tell us something about the photo and the place/object.

5. Tag someone else specific if you like!

There. That should be vague enough.

Enjoy!