5 Things

[mneme]

You know the drill.


sweetmusic_27 asked about: 1. Filk 2. Waltzing 3. Garth Nix 4. Scotch 5. Gadgetry

Filk: I first encountered filk when I first encountered fandom -- at a NYC Ferry meeting in '91. (Thanks, Sam!). It was easily -- beyond the prospect of like minds -- the strongest attractor to fandom, and I started attending evening filks as soon as I started attending cons. Some years later (98? 2000? something like that), I finally started writing filks of my own.



Waltzing: I made a lot of attempts at learning waltzing growing up -- but I don't think I -really- learned to waltz until Susan de Guardiola started teaching it in NYC at Elegant Arts, breaking down the footwork down to individual steps. At this point, I'm very comfortable in two distinct waltzes (circular waltz and victorian "New waltz"), a bunch of variations to those, and can waltz with nearly everyone. Waltz variations are a lot of fun -- but really, it's all about the spinning. And the embracing, of course.



Garth Nix: I first encountered Nix's work when the Sabrael trilogy was nominated for the Mythopoeic award. And it was wonderful; dark, lyric fantasy with the mix of the urgent and the divine that marks literary descent from Tolkien, contained within a profoundly original world. Naturally, I sought out his other works as soon as I had some free reading time. Some left me cold, while others (like the Keys to the Kingdom books) are wonderful enough that I'm just waiting until they're complete. The world needs more Nix filk!



Scotch: I'm not quite sure when I decided I liked scotch. That said, fandom is an ideal place for experimentation, so certainly by '95, I was a confirmed scotch drinker when I was drinking recreationaly (is there any other kind of drinker?). I like the warmth it brings, moving around my mouth, the smoothness as the various flavors merge, and the variety between different varieties of scotch. While I've occasionally tasted some of the -really- good stuff, I tend in my own purchases to favor stuff costing less than $70 a bottle, and while I'll happily drink something a bit harsh like a young Macallan or peaty like Laphraig, what I'll usually order in company outings or in "I want a bottle so I can bring flasks of this to cons" are good highland scotches.



Gadgetry: I didn't grow up as a deprived child -- but I did grow up with parents who weren't hugely into presents, going to school on the upper east side (where most of the parents were substantially more affluent than mine). This meant I -did- grow up wanting toys; little handheld games, computers, all those stuff that was easily available in the early 80s, but not so much if one was economizing. This meant that when my own means got to the point where it was worthwhile, I slowly (because a personal habit of economy does take a lot of time and effort to break) started buying gadgets that appealed to me. At home, I've got a PS3 (and a surrounding AV system with surround system and an LCD screen), a couple of shuttle desktops (one of them I've even finally gotten working and have ubuntu on), and misc useful or useless gadgetry. On my person, I keep a G1 phone (latest in a long line of both handheld computers and electronic phones; this one is both), a leatherman (actually, this comes down to my father, who typically carried a swiss army knife), a digital camera, a snap-on keychain (this is because I'm a flake who'd lose my keys if they weren't tied on), and when I own one, an MP3 player (Phone sorta serves that purpose, except that its miniscule battery life makes it hard to rely on).


So, you know the drill. Ask me more stuff if you like and I'll see if I can answer it -- or ask for words and I'll see what I can do!

Comments

[sweetmusic-27.livejournal.com]

That's awesome!