The lovely and talented Stacy Campbell interviewed me today as part of her general effort to interview the world, or at least as we know it on the interweb. Be sure to check out her website. She is also one of the high priestesses of Indiebloggers, which is worth a look as well.
I answered, because she asks really good questions, and also because someone finally CARED, I'm telling you. They CARED to construct questions just for me. I did name names and share the not-very-sordid details and did not once, you'll notice, mention any reality television show, which is pretty good for me these days. I did, however, refer her to my publicist on all matters related to Jake Gyllenhaal. There are some things I'm just not ready to share. Stay tuned to People.com for that. I'm the one who looks a lot like Reese Witherspoon these days.
Here we go. I only droned on a little bit. Try to pay attention.
1. I notice you love, as I do, the Gary Jules Donnie Darko/Tears for Fears cover. It’s fantastic and, like you, I can listen to it over and over and over again. You say it’s a sad song and I totally agree. Why do you listen to it over and over? Me, I like sad music. What kinds of music are you most drawn to and why?
Ah, "Mad World." Why? Hmmm. I probably listen to it over and over like I re-read old letters that told me they loved me. Just your garden variety sucker. Haha. No, really - in this case, it's the piano, and the violin (I'm especially a sucker for strings.) Also his hypnotic repetition and deceptively simple rhyme scheme...I love songs that are like short stories (I'm a frustrated fiction writer - just can't do it) and this one qualifies.
"And I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad, the dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had. I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take. When people run in circles, it's a very, very mad world" Gah! So appropriate for my reaction to recent world events, now that I see it in print.
I am drawn to so much music it's sort of ridiculous. One of the greatest regrets of my life is that I wasn't handed an instrument as a small child, because my efforts to learn them in adulthood have been unsuccessful so far. Piano and guitar lessons were soooo humbling. Drums are next. I have a lot of energy to burn and quite good rhythm so maybe that'll work. In the meantime, I'm a fangirl. I have so many favorites. I grew up listening to 70s rock and Motown courtesy of my parents, which morphed into country (I'd probably still cross the street to hug George Strait, and I still love bluegrass especially.) High school was Duran Duran and 80s new wave that turned into hair bands and metal (Metallica is still one of the best live music memories of my life, and the 1988 Monsters of Rock tour one of my best memories period.) Led Zeppelin is...well, very important stuff.
In college I listened to Tracy Chapman's first cd over and over and discovered songwriting. Embraced grunge - loved Soundgarden, and feel that "Temple of the Dog" is one of the best complete cds ever recorded. I'm sort of a hybrid singer/songwriter plus rock and roll/r&b girl, with a deep love for the holy trinity of Al Green, Marvin Gaye and Aretha Franklin. I love the Dixie Chicks - "Taking the Long Way" was arguably the best cd of 2006. I'm currently addicted to Patty Griffin, listen to Prince consistently, and see the Indigo Girls and Cowboy Junkies just about every time they come to town. Hem is a great band and so is Girlyman, a folk-pop group out of Brooklyn (currently). Essentially I like stuff that makes me happy to be alive and listening, and that doesn't suck. I admire and can easily identify instrumental talent, and I like to sing along. Loudly.
2. You just found $20 on the ground and no one is around who could possibly have lost it or could claim it. How do you spend it? Assume you have to buy something for yourself, no more than $20, but you have to spend the entire bill.
If I found 20 bucks I'd honestly probably spend a little more on lunch. Isn't that sad? But lunch is very important. I love it. It's my most communal meal of the day generally and I hate to blow my cash (Although I do. So consistently!!!!) so finding some would ease the pain a little bit. I might also feel compelled to go to Whole Foods and buy some olives and mozzarella. Sweet Lord I love Whole Foods olives and mozzarella. Know how they buried the Pharaohs with provisions for the journey? Those would be mine. If it wasn't food - like if I was feeling okay about lunch - it'd be a book or a cd. I'll know I've made it - if indeed I do - when I can buy either of those things without thinking twice. Full price. Hardcover. Whatever. That would be so excellent.
3. You love reading, and I think we have similar taste in books so I love seeing what’s in your reading list. What were your favorite books as a child? Try to refrain from mentioning the “old standby” books (Cat in the Hat, etc.) and focus on the not-so-mentioned.
My favorite book that I first remember was a hardcover version of "Heidi" that I made my poor grandmother read to me over and over and over. And I remember being obsessed with the part where Heidi's grandfather made toasted cheese for breakfast, because frankly I was quite jealous of little Heidi, 'cause dude - toasted cheese for breakfast. The illustration was such that I kind of thought in my kiddie state that I'd like to eat it right off the page. If he'd made lunch I'd likely have lost my tiny little mind. (All those people who think I've grown up are wrongwrongwrong.)
I still have a copy of that Richard Scarry "I Smell Christmas" book where you could "scratch and sniff" the orange and the pine tree and the gingerbread man. I loved "The Poky Little Puppy" - Golden Book kind of stuff. A rebel from day one, I eschewed "Cat in the Hat" for Seuss's lesser-known "Yertle the Turtle", cementing my interest early on in loveable villains done in by their own pride - and also burping turtles. I read those ridiculous "Bobbsey Twins" books obsessively. They were brown-covered hardbacks and involved two sets of twins who were siblings - Bert and Nan (oh, the insufferable Bert and tight-assed Nan. Killing me, man.) and Flossie and Freddie. Seriously. They were always getting into some scrape or the other, on Blueberry Island, or at the "seashore" or in the country. Mommy and Daddy Bobbsey should have grounded their asses years before. I was also a big Nancy Drew fan - and swore to God I should have been born in South Dakota because Laura Ingalls and I totally would have been friends. You know, if I hadn't been struck dead by the prairie fever. Yes. Geek. All doubts should be removed at this point.
4. You write the animal/pet column for BlogHer, which pretty much means that I will adore you for a lifetime. What do you love most about animals and why? Be specific. What is one of your favorite animal/pet memories of all time?
I love animals in a general sense because we really don't know what they're thinking. It's a great mystery how we coexist (although sometimes humans handle our end poorly) and so many animals are just so beautiful. I love dogs, specifically - because they generally don't know malice and have an infinite capacity to forgive. My dog is the only breathing creature who has always been happy to see me (besides my grandma - and we're getting to that one, yes.)
Favorite memory is hard because I have so many. Going to pick Punkin up from his first home qualifies, I guess - although I had no idea I was going to get him. I had my sights set on another dog - a female, because you know, girl power and all. But he kept jumping up in my lap and climbing up over my leg when I was sitting on the floor, to the point that I just felt like a jerk for rejecting him, because obviously he felt he was the one for me. This is the only time this reaction to that particular tactic has turned out for the good. A second runner up is when I had two dogs - Sunshine died in 2000 - and we lived in Ohio. I'd come home from work and play the White Album, and when "Ob-la-di-ob-la-da" came on, we'd all dance in the dining room (where there was no other furniture.) I can also see them both in my mind, standing up on their back legs looking out the window of the huge truck that I drove us home to Maryland from Ohio in. They looked out most of the way. So cute.
5. You once wrote and submitted to IB a touching post about Valentine’s Day and your Grandma. (She sounds like a beautiful person, by the way.) Other than Grandma, who are your role models and why? In what ways do you strive to be like them?
Thanks for recognizing that relationship. It's been really important to me, obviously, for my whole life.
I have so many role models for different things, but I'll choose what comes to the top of my heart now. I admire people who live with integrity and intention, who are smart and funny and kind. I also admire a great capacity for growth and reinvention - I love Elton John, you know?
My grandfather deserves equal time for his faith and absolute decency. My friend Karen has shown me how to be hopeful and to honor my heart. My friend Audrey - how to show grace and kindness, no matter what, and to be a positive force in the world. Denise for making me pay attention to what's right for me and goading me to stand up for it. My old friend Mike for persistence, and belief in and pursuit of one's best self. My friends Marcus and Carmen for loyalty and strength of character and purpose. Older adults like my friend Bernice who live healthy, productive lives (working full-time and getting an honorary degree at 84 - seriously.)
All the writers and artists I know who consistently dare to put themselves out there in spite of risk and lack of any immediate reward. Women like Margaret Bourke-White and Dorothea Lange who were professional photographers when it was a lot more difficult to break in. Journalists like Molly Ivins and Maureen Dowd who speak truth to power. Anyone who looks out for the good of others and for their community.
And of course my mom for her successful efforts to sustain a family and meaningful career, and her devotion to all of us, and my dad for his dedication to maintaining his commitments even when he didn't necessarily want to and when it wasn't easy at all. My parents are quite remarkable people.
Thanks, Stacy. That was fun. And now I don't have to talk about myself for at least two days, which is a relief.
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