Dabysan in Hammersmith Palais

QotD: Endings

Do you think it's true that "All good things must come to an end?"

This is getting really embarrassing. When you combine my near-abandonment of the Voxosphere with Vox's total abandonment of QOTD, you get three posts in a row of me providing increasingly inane answers to the same question. This cycle is something I could stand to see come to an end.

QotD: Endings

Do you think it's true that "All good things must come to an end?"

Whoa. Deja vu.

QotD: Endings

Do you think it's true that "All good things must come to an end?"

My goodness, QOTD. This is a bit morbid for you, isn't it? I mean, the transition from "what's your favorite vegetable" to this little meditation on existential dread is a little much to take. 

The vedic texts tell us that everything that all things that posses qualities like "good" and "bad" are impermanent, and therefore must come to an end. So I suppose the answer is yes. Thanks for bumming me out.

QotD: Eat Your Veggies

Today is "Eat Your Vegetables Day." What vegetable do you love to eat? Hate?

First off QOTD, allow me to thank you for not having this sponsored by the meat council or some such. I pine for the Golden Age of QOTDs that were simply banal, rather than banal and cynical. 

I am a vegetarian, and thankfully, love most vegetables. As I've gotten older I've realized that many of the vegetables I abhorred as a child -- peppers, brussels sprouts, eggplant, etc. -- can actually be quite delicious, providing that they are fresh and prepared properly. Today, my favorite meal in the world is my grandmother's eggplant parmesan, which I wouldn't have touched as a kid. While some people cling to their limited childish palates, I have quite enjoyed the evolution of my own.

If I had to provide a vegetable that I "hate," my inclination would be to offer the inglorious lima bean into the sacrificial fire. But the reality is that I haven't had a lima bean in years, if not decades. From what I remember they have an unpleasantly mealy quality, but I wonder if I might actually enjoy a fresh lima bean, prepared correctly. 

Aslo, speaking of brussels sprouts, I am actually leaving for Brussels, Belgium in about 6 hours for a work trip. Maybe I'll take the opportunity to post an actual, non-QOTD post. I need to make a strong late-season run to regain the upper hand in Comment War.

QotD: It's So Hard to Say Goodbye

What's the hardest goodbye you've ever had to say?

Mmmmm nope. Not in a confessional mood today QOTD, sorry. I'll just quote Boyz II Men and say that it's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.

QotD: In a crisis...

Who do you call first when you have a crisis?

CarrieNation. That was easy. How about a yes/no question next week?

QotD: Traveling Companions

What gadgets do you travel with when you’re going on a relaxing vacation? Do the gadgets you choose to bring tend to help you relax or keep you so plugged in that it’s hard to unwind?
Sponsored by: Sponsored by My LifeScoop: Bringing You Tips for a Connected LifeStyle

Awesome. Another banal, sponsored QOTD. Normally I'd wait for something better, or at the very least for something that isn't shilling some Web site I don't care about, but I've got a kind of wacky schedule this week, and I don't want to default on the Comment War that I am just on the verge of staging a comeback in.

As it happens, I am in San Francisco for work and about to head to Portland for vacation and I've got all my gadgets with me. Whatever I can carry is my motto. I had my computer and phone on my honeymoon and yet still didn't have any trouble at all ignoring them all day to lie on the beach. Maybe I'm just a relaxation savant.

QotD: Reincarnation

What would you like to come back as in your next life?

As a yogi, I'm not entirely comfortable spouting off a flippant answer to this question, but as a blogger whose main currency is flippancy, I don't feel all that interested in delving into a serious discussion of karmic doctrine. So I'm kind of in a bind here.

I suppose as long as I come back as someone who appreciates the true superiority of pie, I'll be just fine.

100 Favorite Movies

I've wanted to get in on the 100 Favorite craze that's been sweeping the voxosphere of late, but have felt daunted every time I opened iTunes to start the painful process of separating the wheat from the ... not quite as good wheat. Because I have seen considerably fewer movies than I have heard songs, I figured a 100 favorite movies list might be easier. Here are my caveats:

1) I am composing this in my Vox window, as I think of it, and cannot be bothered to get off my couch to look at my DVD collection.

2) It's too late to copy edit, so I may misspell the names of some of my favorite films. (I'm also not ruling out the possibility that I will repeat myself, or leave out things that I have sworn are the best things ever set to celluloid).

3) It is entirely possible -- nay likely -- that I will give up at some point between now and 100 movies and just post what I have.

4) The only order these are in is the order in which I think of them.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, For a Few Dollars More, Fistful of Dollars, Dr. Strangelove, Full Metal Jacket, Tampopo, Cyrano de Bergerac (Gerard Depardieu version), The Three Musketeers (Michael York Version), The Four Musketeers, Henry V (Branagh), Big Trouble in Little China, Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Paths of Glory, Crimson Tide, Oceans 11 (George Clooney Version), Master and Commander: Far Side of the World, LA Confidential, His Girl Friday, A Christmas Carol (Alastair Sim - the ONLY version worth watching), Miracle on 34th St., Rocky, Rocky III, Dazed and Confused, Miller's Crossing, Godfather, Godfather II, Goodfellas, Monthy Python and the Holy Grail, A Fish Called Wanda, Bloodsport, Enter the Dragon, Ong-Bak: Thai Warrior, Wedding Crashers, The Wedding Singer, Ben Hur, Gladiator, The Duelists, Play it Again Sam, Animal House, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Life of Brian, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?, Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Inglorious Basterds, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, X-Men 2, The Dark Knight Returns, Spiderman 2, Iron Man, Avatar, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, The Return of the King, The Hunt For Red October, Das Boot, Trading Places, 48 Hours, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Conan the Barbarian, Two Mules for Sister Sarah, The Usual Suspects, Tombstone, The Decline of Western Civilization (Part 1), Hoop Dreams, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, This is Spinal Tap, The Wind that Shakes the Barley, In the Name of the Father, Last of the Mohicans, Bloody Sunday, This is England, Clerks, Gandhi, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Raising Arizona, Midnight Run, The Blues Brothers, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Anvil: The Story of Anvil, The Karate Kid, Superbad, The Killing, The Princess Bride, Kill Bill Volume 1, Kill Bill Volume 2, Romeo and Juliet (Franco Zeffirelli), Akira, Troy, Elizabeth, Time Bandits, South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut, Out of Sight and oh, let's say Spartacus.

That's 100. At least 50 or so ought to be right. I can't promise I'll stand by it tomorrow.   

QotD: BFF Forever?

Who was your best friend when you were a kid? Are you still in touch with that person?

I was always a best friend kind of kid. I tended to bond with one friend and radiate my social circle out from that friend. Because I moved around a lot, I went through a good number of best friends. Here are some of the most significant best friends I had through age 18:

1. Ian - Ian and I were friends literally from the crib. We drifted apart at around age seven or so, but got back together at around 11-12 when we were both budding juvenile delinquents. He's a doctor now and lives a few states away. We're not that close, but still keep in touch from time to time.

2. Doran - Doran lived behind me when I was in middle school, and was notable for having much better musical taste than me. My heavy metal records got no play at his house, where I was forced to listen to a who's who of 1980s hardcore (Minor Threat, Black Flag, TSOL, DRI, DI, Circle Jerks, etc, etc.) I just noticed that he is on Facebook, but haven't spoken to him in decades.

3. Tony - Tony was my best friend and partner in crime through high school. We made all manner of really questionable decisions. I don't know what he's up to these days, and I'm not all that keen to find out.