Politics is the art of the next best.

Art Deco attraction. Fitzroy Place, Sandy Bay. November 2011.

The W.T.F. Meme

1. One of my favorite TV shows recently changed the actors who played two characters. Have you ever been bothered by a TV show or movie series changing actors who play a character you love?
I can't say that I have ever been so invested in a show.

2. A coworker recently shared a link to a blog listing the "five things you should know before dating a journalist." As a journalist, I can honestly say the writer was spot-on. What are some things people should know before spending time with you?
That I am an emotional terrorist.

3. What is something you often do without realizing that you're doing it?
Fly aeroplanes. Well, either that or biting my fingernails. One of the two.

4. Who has the capacity to make you angrier than anyone else in your life, and what in particular does he or she do to make you so angry?
I find that pretty much anyone can make me angry, provided that they hit the right buttons.

5. If a fairy waved a magic wand and gave you the house of your dreams, where would it be and what features would it have?
A sound proof play area would be nice. A pool with a retractable roof, with a sauna attached to the side.

6. What’s a belief that you hold with which many people disagree?
That some value systems are just better than others. I'm also uncomfortable with including the "TI" part in "GLBTI". Sexual identity and gender identity are quite distinct things, and I'm not certain that it helps to fuse the two.

7. I used to talk in my sleep. In fact, I could carry on a conversation with someone when I was fully asleep, and my mom used this fact when I was a teenager to find out if I did anything wrong and was hiding it from my parents. If you were talking your sleep tonight, what do you think you would say?
Something about people needing to be quieter.

8. The fourth installment of the "Twilight" movie series ("Breaking Dawn Part I") will be released in theaters soon. Movie theaters started selling advance tickets for midnight showings months ago. Have you ever attended a midnight premiere showing of a movie?
No, can't say that I'm much interested either.

9. On Tuesday, tigers, lions and bears were let loose in Zanesville, Ohio, by their owner before he committed suicide, leading to a hunt in which 49 of the animals, including 18 endangered Bengal tigers, were killed. How would you react if you saw "Caution exotic animals. Stay in your vehicle" being displayed on a road sign?
Get my camera ready to snap away!

10. If a company opened a theme park aimed at adults, what would you name one of the rides?
Fanny Hill's Ye Olde Time Slippery Dip.

11. Imagine you just moved onto Sesame Street. Which puppet would you want as your new roommate?
Guy Smiley.

12. Have you ever had a weird crush on a famous person that didn't make sense to you?
I did have an odd attraction to Ricki Lake.

13. If you get ten minutes to interview any celebrity of your choice, who would you like it to be?
Václav Havel.

14. You've just won the complete DVD collection of all the movies starring one actor or actress. Which actor/actress would you pick?
I'm not much of a movie guy these days, so it would be somewhat wasted on me. Let me pick a director and I'll go with Krzysztof Kieślowski. Actors are boring.

15. Actor George Clooney recently told People Magazine that he doesn't use Twitter "because I will drink in the evening and I don't want anything that I could possibly write at midnight to actually end my career." What is something you've said through social media and then regretted it?
I've sent the odd e-mail and regretted it, but can't remember anything through social media.

16. VH1 has re-introduced its hit show "Pop-Up Video," which gives behind-the-scenes facts for popular music videos. What musician would you be most interested in learning behind-the-scenes facts about?
Gary Glitter. What's he up to these days...?

17. If you stumbled across someone's personal written journal that was accidentally left in a public place, would you read any of the content?
I'd have to read part of it in order to locate the owner. Whether I read more than that would really depend on how interesting I found it.

18. What is the title of a self-help book that you'd never want to see on a store bookshelf?
Smite Them Soon As Look At Them: Child-rearing the Old Testament Way.

19. Many media outlets have been asking this question a lot this week... Which Halloween costume do you think will be overdone this year?
We don't have Halloween here. From what I read, any outfit containing the word "slut" will be overdone (e.g. slutty nurse, slutty policewoman, slutty vampire etc).

20. Should a marriage license have a renewal date or expiration date, like a driver’s license?
No.