Five things

[vaneramos]

Yes, I'm doing a meme. The ones requiring thougtful or creative responses can be interesting. Here's how this one works:

You comment to this post, and I list five things I associate with you. They might make sense or they might be totally random — then you post that list, with your commentary, to your lj. I and other people get our lists from you, and the meme merrily perpetuates itself.

Here's my list from ghostsandrobots:
3. Canada: I wouldn't know where to start, except I'm reminded immediately of the first time ghostsandrobots drove up here to visit. She brought Hymns of the 49th Parallel, k.d. lang's 2004 album covering Canadian songs by the likes of Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen. Until then I was barely aware of lang and most of the songs on the album. She isn't the greatest songwriter, but her voice is one of the most beautiful in popular music. This has become one of my top five favourite albums of all time. While we're on the topic, have you seen Dame Edna's interview in which she catches k.d. lang off-guard? The singer loses it. It says more about being Canadian than I can put into words. After you see part 1, you can click through to the related videos to see k.d. and Edna sing a duet, "I'm every woman".

In case the video isn't embedding properly, here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW7HLqOgM20


2. Cicadas: In one of my earliest memories I was running barefoot through the soft grass at Poplar Bluff, the beautiful place where I grew up, and heard a loud noise from the silver poplars nearby. Behind the trees was a hydro pole with a transformer supplying the pump, which pumped water from Lake Erie to the golf course behind our house. For a few years I believed that noise was emitted by power lines on hot days. We would often find new adult cicadas emerging from their skins on the trunks of trees, especially on the big mulberry beside our house. They were so ugly they were beautiful. It took a couple years before I connected those bugs with the loud drone coming from high in the trees on summer days. My first weekend date with djjo, the man I love, we went for a walk in the woods at Turkey Point Provincial Park and heard cicadas, a different species than I was familiar with. I got to tell him all about them. Once ghostsandrobots and I posted something about cicadas on the same day, discovering afterwards. We had several similar experiences of bizarre synchronicity. It was one of the things that cemented our friendship.


3. Butterscotch and oatmeal: These squares are perhaps my signature recipe, handed down from Mom. Once I arrived at a potluck party with a plate of these, handed them to someone, and by the time I had taken my boots and coat off, they had already made the rounds and were half gone. They are awfully easy and seductively chewy-crispy. They were always one of my favourites, but can also be made gluten-free, so they have survived the shift in my diet. Unfortunately oats tend to get polluted with wheat, so the gluten-free variety is expensive. This treat has become a bit more of a luxury than a simple comfort food.


4. Writers' Circle: For years I wished I could have local writer friends to hang out with and share ideas. I found the connection online for a while. I've shared ideas with missprune for more than a decade now, and we've hung around LJ since 2003. For a while, this was my writers' circle. But even this could not satisfy my desire for face-to-face interaction with creative friends and peers. When I started volunteering at Out On The Shelf in 2006, I began to meet other local writers through the queer community, and took the opportunity to begin a Writers' Circle, which meets every Tuesday evening. Regular attendance is encouraged. We critique one another's work, report on our creative endeavours, and do fun writing exercises together. The group has waxed and waned, and I've made a several close friends. Currently the group includes me, Ashley and Carla, so we hope to recruit a few more. Five or six seems an ideal number. I can't say the group has moved me any closer to finishing or publishing any significant works, but it encourages me to continue writing every day, and that's the most important thing.


5. Long-distance roommate: I have lived alone since 1998, except when my daughters would sometimes spend extended time with me during the summers while they were still young. Living alone I have grown to take responsibility for my own life in ways I never did while sharing space with other people. I have no one else to blame or resent when chores pile up, so housework has become a mode of self-care. Sometimes I hate living alone, but mostly I recognize solitude is essential to my creative process, whatever that is. For seven years djjo has been my primary romantic partner. He lives in Toronto. We spend about three weekends per month together. Some people might not take it seriously because we don't fall into a familiar pattern, but we are profoundly comfortable in one another's company. Relationships are just as unique as people, and we ought to respect that uniqueness. Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir maintained separate apartments, and Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Burton live in separate houses with a connecting doorway. I suppose it is not uncommon for creative characters to require a high level of space and autonomy.

Comments

[fivecats.livejournal.com]

Comment left; "Cats" doesn't count. : )

...

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

creative process
preserving
Victoriana
North Carolina
seeing

[daisydumont.livejournal.com]

when i first saw that k.d. lang interview with dame edna, i was bowled over. it's wonderful!

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

It always cheers me up!

Do you want me to give you five things?

[daisydumont.livejournal.com]

no, i don't think so -- i wouldn't carry the meme on in my lj. for some reason, i'm feeling very quiet there in recent months. but thanks for offering, van!

[daoi.livejournal.com]

This could be interesting, I'll take five things, please.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

language
make-believe
horror
Prismacolor
scent

[leafshimmer.livejournal.com]

I love k d lang's Bond song, "Tomorrow never dies." It's simply brilliant.

She did a concept album during the 1990s about Cigarettes in music; I think it was called drag. It included a cover of Valley of the Dolls that I finally caught up with some years ago.

The album sounds beautiful. I'd never heard of it.

Thanks for the fun Dame Edna clip. I was just craving some Dame Edna hilarity before I left on my trip.

hugs, Shimmer

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Hymns of the 49th Parallel is an apt title because the album has a devotional quality, songs like "A Case of You" (Joni Mitchell) and "Helpless" (Niel Young). Other songwriters represented include Leonard Cohen, Jane Siberry, Bruce Cockburn, Ron Sexsmith and one beautiful track by lang herself. I highly recommend it.

My good friend, Sylvie, also recommended the other album you mentioned, Drag, even though she like me has never smoked. I had my doubts, but now I have it on iTunes and love it. Occasionally her lyrics are vapid, and occasionally she makes unnecessary grammatical errors that jar me, but I still love listening to her voice.

May your trip be wonderful and return you home safely and fulfilled.

Hugs,
Van

[missprune.livejournal.com]

Thanks for posting the KD Lang interview, I laughed so hard my husband made me play it over for him!

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

That's good medicine. I watch this every once in a while and it always perks me up!