1. What author do you own the most books by? Salinger, Anita Brookner and May Sarton, I almost have all their novels, I think.
2. What book do you own the most copies of? Art of War and Bhaggavad-gita, got two of both.
3. Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions? Not really. My prepositions are weak and uncertain. Prepositions still confuse me sometimes.
4. What fictional character are you secretly in love with? My love is no secret. I think I fall a bit in love with particular characters to be truly engaged, then I totally forget about them. My heart is fickle and promiscuous.
5. What book have you read the most times in your life? Something on spirituality.
6. Favorite book as a ten year old? The Hardy Boys series.
7. What is the worst book you’ve read in the past year? There’s always redemption at the end no matter how weak a book is. This is more of a self-indulgence for me so I don’t get upset or have self-loathing, I try to find crumbs I can cart away before I close a book forever.
8. What is the best book you’ve read in the past year? I have not actually read for almost a year because of an illness. Maybe, the essays on fishing, I forgot the title.
9. If you could force everyone you know to read one book, what would it be? The Jungle so they would also have bouts of rage and depression as I had. It's a punishing novel, I have to say.
10. What book would you most like to see made into a movie? None that I can think of at the moment.
11. What is the most difficult book you’ve ever read? Those authored by French post-modernists, damn.
12. What is your favorite devotional book? The Psalms and Rilke
13. What is your favorite play? Brecht’s Mother Courage
14. Poem? Epitaph for the Western Intelligentsia, mostly because of the last line "We bark like dogs and learn to wag our tails"
15. Essay? Anything about literary criticism and critical theory usually interest me.
16. Who is the most overrated writer alive today? No Comment. Ask the critics.
17. What is your desert island book? A book on humor and poetry. Maybe, some Woody Allen's.
18. And...what are you reading right now? Finishing “Tale of Two,” a book about Lucille, an adorable dog.
Showing posts with label Dyn's Lists. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dyn's Lists. Show all posts
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Defrosting in Proust
Several years ago, VF ran this Proust Questionnaire, not at all credited to Marcel Proust but believed to be character-revealing. Hmm...I'm trying my hand on it. See how it works.
What is your current state of mind?
Brimming with hope. A little nostalgic and sentimental
What is your greatest fear?
When I was young and full of shit, the prospect of becoming irrelevant. But that was pure humbug. Later, the thought of outliving my loved ones and sure enough, God’s warped sense of humor made sure I dealt with it gallantly. I am fully orphaned and dealing with cancer. Now, it’s losing my memory, my humanity, my resolve to sanctify life and love.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Romantic optimism about people and life in general, oftentimes neglectful that it has its limits.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Lack of compassion; absence of integrity; not having a mind of their own; too much self-importance.
Which living person do you most admire?
Is Jesus dead? This is tough. Abbas Kiarostami whose films are amalgams of poetry and philosophy .
Which living person do you most despise?
My wrath is reserved for oppressors and exploiters, people wrapped in hate and greed and only love themselves.
On what occasion do you lie?
Every occasion. I’m a lousy liar, I need years of practice before I can lie with a straight face and credible conviction.
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
Life itself and its attendant trappings. Life has not been exactly easy but I strive to celebrate it. I am grateful, despite and inspite of its imperfections and intricacies.
When and where were you happiest?
Inhaling the rarefied air, in the company of family and friends whom I consider family.
Which talent would you most like to have?
Music - crafting it, playing it or understanding the human condition in the context by which it has to be interpreted.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I wish I had more ambition and focus.
If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would it be?
I’ve blogged about this quite recently. I wish to be a polygot, a physicist and a superb dancer, I wrote. In addition, I wish to swim and drink like a fish in the next life. Have a fat bank account, perhaps? And Good Lord, not to have cancer. If I were to choose one disease, it would be nymphomania.
What is your favorite occupation?
Not to have one? Be in development work, work at the grassroots. Maybe teach again. I don’t know.
Who are your favorite writers?
I am a fan of my friends’ writings. Some Continental authors, a few Anglo-Saxon.
Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Would Logan of “Veronica Mars” or Tony Soprano qualify? Phoebe in “Catcher in the Rye”; Atticus Finch
Who are your heroes in real life?
People who are governed by compassion, moral courage, and integrity.
What are your favorite names?
I like the name Rodrigo.
What is your greatest regret?
That I have been more self-absorbed at times.
How would you like to die?
By the ocean with the whisper of the waves beckoning me home or by the forest and birds are singing.
What is your motto?
Love is the strongest drug? It’s got to be from Goethe – “What is the path? There is no path. On into the unknown.”
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Preserving my humor and sanity or at least, a semblance of it. Let me bring to the dinner-table Ralph W. Emerson “to laugh often and much/to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children/to earn the appreciation of honest critics/and endure the betrayal of false friends/to appreciate beauty/to find the best in others/to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition/to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived/this is to have succeeded.
What is your current state of mind?
Brimming with hope. A little nostalgic and sentimental
What is your greatest fear?
When I was young and full of shit, the prospect of becoming irrelevant. But that was pure humbug. Later, the thought of outliving my loved ones and sure enough, God’s warped sense of humor made sure I dealt with it gallantly. I am fully orphaned and dealing with cancer. Now, it’s losing my memory, my humanity, my resolve to sanctify life and love.
What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
Romantic optimism about people and life in general, oftentimes neglectful that it has its limits.
What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Lack of compassion; absence of integrity; not having a mind of their own; too much self-importance.
Which living person do you most admire?
Is Jesus dead? This is tough. Abbas Kiarostami whose films are amalgams of poetry and philosophy .
Which living person do you most despise?
My wrath is reserved for oppressors and exploiters, people wrapped in hate and greed and only love themselves.
On what occasion do you lie?
Every occasion. I’m a lousy liar, I need years of practice before I can lie with a straight face and credible conviction.
What or who is the greatest love of your life?
Life itself and its attendant trappings. Life has not been exactly easy but I strive to celebrate it. I am grateful, despite and inspite of its imperfections and intricacies.
When and where were you happiest?
Inhaling the rarefied air, in the company of family and friends whom I consider family.
Which talent would you most like to have?
Music - crafting it, playing it or understanding the human condition in the context by which it has to be interpreted.
If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
I wish I had more ambition and focus.
If you were to die and come back as a person or thing, what do you think it would it be?
I’ve blogged about this quite recently. I wish to be a polygot, a physicist and a superb dancer, I wrote. In addition, I wish to swim and drink like a fish in the next life. Have a fat bank account, perhaps? And Good Lord, not to have cancer. If I were to choose one disease, it would be nymphomania.
What is your favorite occupation?
Not to have one? Be in development work, work at the grassroots. Maybe teach again. I don’t know.
Who are your favorite writers?
I am a fan of my friends’ writings. Some Continental authors, a few Anglo-Saxon.
Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Would Logan of “Veronica Mars” or Tony Soprano qualify? Phoebe in “Catcher in the Rye”; Atticus Finch
Who are your heroes in real life?
People who are governed by compassion, moral courage, and integrity.
What are your favorite names?
I like the name Rodrigo.
What is your greatest regret?
That I have been more self-absorbed at times.
How would you like to die?
By the ocean with the whisper of the waves beckoning me home or by the forest and birds are singing.
What is your motto?
Love is the strongest drug? It’s got to be from Goethe – “What is the path? There is no path. On into the unknown.”
What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Preserving my humor and sanity or at least, a semblance of it. Let me bring to the dinner-table Ralph W. Emerson “to laugh often and much/to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children/to earn the appreciation of honest critics/and endure the betrayal of false friends/to appreciate beauty/to find the best in others/to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition/to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived/this is to have succeeded.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Alone Again, Naturally
"Take a sad song and make it better"
- Beatles, "Hey Jude"
A movie's final sequence convincingly portrays the protagonist conquering all odds and you leave the theater feeling triumphant over the victory of good versus evil. But you won't pay to watch the same movie again. Same with novels. Once you put them down, you don't find yourself reopening the pages. But with songs, the experience is intense to the point of being spiritual - soul, heart, and senses in one swoop and you find yourself repeatedly consuming the same songs whose representation have not diminished by time.
Two years ago, in the month of July, a 'debasement tape' of sorts to honor a friend's bleeding heart was carelessly prepared. 7 songs consisted that list:
1. Circle (Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians) - Being alone is the best way to be/When I'm by myself/ it's the best way to be/Everything is temporary anyways.
2. Fortress around your heart (Sting) - If I built this fortress/around your heart/encircled you in trenches/and barbed wire.
3. Fact and Fiction (Kristen Hall) – I’m weighing the fact and fiction/Diluting the truth with diction/and empty promises.
4. Fake Plastic Trees (Radiohead) – If I could be/who you wanted/all the time.
5. God Only Knows (The Beachboys) – If you should ever leave me/life would still go on/believe me/the world would show nothing to me/so what good/would living do me.
6. World Before Columbus (Suzanne Vega) – If your love/were taken from me/all the trees freeze/in the cold ground
7. Half A World Away (REM) – This could be the saddest dusk/I’ve ever seen…My hands are tied/my heart aches/I’m half a world away.
An updated list is in order, I decree. Senti.
1. I Eat Dinner (Rufus Wainwright) - No more candlelight/no more romance
2. Hand on your Heart (Jose Gonzales) - It's one thing to fall in love/but another to make it last/You know it's one thing to say you love me/but another to mean it from the heart.
3. To The End (Blur) - You and I collapsed in love/And it looks like/we might have made it.
4. Shattered Like (Rivermaya) - Have you been drinking/have you been messing up your life/as you did mine/not long ago
5. Clever as You (Sheila and the Insects) - I could have loved you more/but my heart/is not as clever as you.
6. Disarm (Smashing Pumpkins) - The bitterness of one who's left alone
7. The District Sleeps Alone Tonight (Postal Service) - And I am finally seeing/why I was the one/worth leaving.
8. One More try (Kuh Ledesma) -It really is quite tough/when love is not enough
9. Fragments of Forever (Nonoy Zuniga) - Now we're left with nothing more/thank God, there's still worth living for/than fragments of forever/we saved along the way
10. Country Feedback (REM) - You wear me out, you wear me out.
I'm tired of this. Get a life - memo to self.
- Beatles, "Hey Jude"
A movie's final sequence convincingly portrays the protagonist conquering all odds and you leave the theater feeling triumphant over the victory of good versus evil. But you won't pay to watch the same movie again. Same with novels. Once you put them down, you don't find yourself reopening the pages. But with songs, the experience is intense to the point of being spiritual - soul, heart, and senses in one swoop and you find yourself repeatedly consuming the same songs whose representation have not diminished by time.
Two years ago, in the month of July, a 'debasement tape' of sorts to honor a friend's bleeding heart was carelessly prepared. 7 songs consisted that list:
1. Circle (Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians) - Being alone is the best way to be/When I'm by myself/ it's the best way to be/Everything is temporary anyways.
2. Fortress around your heart (Sting) - If I built this fortress/around your heart/encircled you in trenches/and barbed wire.
3. Fact and Fiction (Kristen Hall) – I’m weighing the fact and fiction/Diluting the truth with diction/and empty promises.
4. Fake Plastic Trees (Radiohead) – If I could be/who you wanted/all the time.
5. God Only Knows (The Beachboys) – If you should ever leave me/life would still go on/believe me/the world would show nothing to me/so what good/would living do me.
6. World Before Columbus (Suzanne Vega) – If your love/were taken from me/all the trees freeze/in the cold ground
7. Half A World Away (REM) – This could be the saddest dusk/I’ve ever seen…My hands are tied/my heart aches/I’m half a world away.
An updated list is in order, I decree. Senti.
1. I Eat Dinner (Rufus Wainwright) - No more candlelight/no more romance
2. Hand on your Heart (Jose Gonzales) - It's one thing to fall in love/but another to make it last/You know it's one thing to say you love me/but another to mean it from the heart.
3. To The End (Blur) - You and I collapsed in love/And it looks like/we might have made it.
4. Shattered Like (Rivermaya) - Have you been drinking/have you been messing up your life/as you did mine/not long ago
5. Clever as You (Sheila and the Insects) - I could have loved you more/but my heart/is not as clever as you.
6. Disarm (Smashing Pumpkins) - The bitterness of one who's left alone
7. The District Sleeps Alone Tonight (Postal Service) - And I am finally seeing/why I was the one/worth leaving.
8. One More try (Kuh Ledesma) -It really is quite tough/when love is not enough
9. Fragments of Forever (Nonoy Zuniga) - Now we're left with nothing more/thank God, there's still worth living for/than fragments of forever/we saved along the way
10. Country Feedback (REM) - You wear me out, you wear me out.
I'm tired of this. Get a life - memo to self.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Files for the Next Life
After journeying from one reader to another, this Sting autobio I could not afford to buy when it came out is finally in my bookshelf, thanks to Regiedor's charity. RP who has read it swears it's a superbly written book - not a phrase wasted, not a word carelessly placed. If Sting were a tailor, RP analogizes, his work wouldn't show a thread hanging loose. But Sting is no tailor, he's ex-husband #1.
An old interview flashed back with his sardonic humor in total display, poking fun at people undergoing hypnosis. After snapping out of neverland, he noted that everybody usually claims to be part of the Russian tsar family or some noble lineage in their past lives. How come, he dared, nobody confesses to be a louse in Rasputin's beard or a door knob in some Victorian castle. I am not sure if this anecdote is in this book, I am just in Chapter 2.
Past life. A topic of a recent conversation is the exact opposite: reincarnation. How shall you design the next life?
(1) Since I am a fetishist in this current life, I want to be a physicist in the next. I've said this a thousand and one times - gifted with ample intelligence, I would have majored in Physics, not PolSci.
(2) To be a monogamist polygot and be able to freely converse with cabdrivers in their native tongue and read T. Mann and other non-English writers in their original texts. For the monogamist part, to be able to clasp hands and stare intently at a Beloved in whatever terrain, frontier, hill we are perched on.
This is where my imagination falters - the crucial meeting of paths, the conjucture by which one comprehends that kismet is neither an hour early or an hour delayed. Wong Kar-Wai's "In the Mood for Love," is one of the most sensuous, languorous movies that compounded my inarticulateness on the where-and-when conjectures of love in full bloom.
There's a paragraph, however, in Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" that I jotted down in an old journal that describes this spellbinding moment of recognition which shall be sharply instructive I suppose, in the next life: "It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of reassurance that you may come across 4 or 5 times in life. It concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you, that at your best, you hoped to convey."
If that human being is already in your life, give thanks for this precious gift. The rest of us are enticed to look towards the horizon of an afterlife.
(3) Be a great ballerina or just to be able to dance, period.
Is this too much to hope for?
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