Interview Meme and Dream Analysis
1. Interview meme. Here are the rules:
1) Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me!"
2) I will respond by asking you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3) You will post the answers to the questions (and the questions themselves) on your blog or journal.
4) You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5) When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions. And thus the endless cycle of the meme goes on and on and on and on...
Here is my Q&A with medland .
1. What's your real name? In our house you're known as 'I'm in a hurry'. :p
Dude, that's how everyone knows me. Which I find confusing, because I look at my pseudonym and see the sentence it is.
Yes, it's a sentence. I've said this before, but I'll say it again: there are two Arabic words that could be transliterated as "amal." The first is امل, which means 'hope.' The second is عمل, which means work. My psuedonym is either عملنا حرية or املنا حرية, our work/our hope is freedom. Amal/hope is a woman's name in Arabic as well.
Anyway, there are real reasons I don't want my real name associated with my fanfic. It's not that I'm not proud of it; in fact, I think what I do as Amal is among the most interesting stuff I've ever done, intellectually and artistically. But there are two things that keep me from owning my work. First, tenure. It is an incredibly difficult process to get tenure (a permanent job) at most colleges/universities; it requires a good publication record, good teaching reviews, and the approval of your colleagues. This is one of the reasons that women, people of color, and queers are tenured at much lower rates than white straight men: something as simple as not being 'one of us' can tank you. You know what else could tank a politically radical queer woman? That she writes porn on the internet. Not to mention the fact that my area of research is politically sensitive. I'd rather not find people looking for my work to find Amal's, much as I like it.
The second is adoption. I have no legal relationship to Isk right now, because we're still dealing with his adoption paperwork. A judge gets to decide if it's in the best interest of my son that he is my son. This is absurd and awful in many ways. And, you know what convinces social workers that you're an unfit parent? That you write porn on the internet.
I will say that each of the pseudonyms I use here has a definite relationship to the names my family uses in their meatspace lives; I didn't just make it up. But, you're all going to have to keep calling me the hurry girl until I've got tenure and completed adoptions. So, you know, see you in fifteen years or so.
2. Do you plan on having more kids?
Right now, we're planning on one more, at least that Leigh would be pregnant with. There's also the question of whether Isa stays a part of our daily family unit once he pairs off and has kids (if he pairs off, though I think he'd prefer to). So, God willing, one more pregnancy for Leigh, and then a bunch of cousins for the kiddles.
I like kids, but I don't need to have a bunch of them. Frankly, we could stop at Isk, and I'd be cool. But I've been told siblings are cool. (Mine are too far apart in age for me to have a real sense of what it's like to grow up with them.)
3. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
Honestly, I'm already living where I've always wanted to live. But I would love to live in France for a stretch, either in Paris or somewhere in the South. Palestine is the most beautiful place I've ever been to, and I wouldn't mind spending some time there. If I had total control and infinite cash, I'd have a place in San Francisco, a place here in New York, and a place in Paris.
4. What would your superpower be if you could have one?
I suppose the ability to start being able to keep deadlines is a sucky superpower. So would be the ability to keep my calendar straight. (Plus, I totes have Leigh to handle that shit for me. Be like a straight man: marry someone who's willing to be your secretary.) I think breathing underwater. It would be great to be able to swim laps without having to time your breathing.
5. Have you always been a writer?
I suppose so. I wrote a magazine for my school when I was in first grade; I've been writing stories and plays and poems for as long as I can remember. In high school, I was really identified as 'the writer,' mostly creative writing. But I never wanted to be a professional writing; I figured, very few writers make a living by writing, so I'll need another job, and I'd rather not whore out my writing, so it'll be in something other than writing.
When I went to college, I got really involved both in academics, and in campus activism. I also really wanted to break with my high school identity, so I basically stopped writing. Well, I switched from fiction to poetry, and got involved briefly in the slam scene, but that only really lasted a year. I didn't start writing again until senior year, when I took some fiction-writing seminars. Then there were some other pauses, and now this. So, I'm back to writing now. I like it. This way is easy, and has nekkid people in it, which is kinda awesome.
And, just for kicks, here is the BSG themed dream I had this morning. I haven't yet seen Islanded in a Stream of Stars, so no real spoilers, but I'll mention without specifics one spoiler I accidentally heard.
In this dream, Kara was flying along in her viper, leading the CAP. [Incidentally, in my dream, I know I'm coming in to the middle of the episode, and I decide that they've already handled all the Adama/Roslin business in the first part, so I'll have to go back and watch that later. This is, like, the Kara part of the episode.] Then she, like, makes a right turn, and goes off following a viper she can't quite see. She keeps going, and then that new viper leads her to Earth. Only, like, for real this time; suddenly she's flying her viper through New Jersey, specifically the bit of 440 that goes between the Jersey Turnpike and the Outerborough Bridge. And the other viper is still there, and you can't really see who is in it, but I know it is the person whose return I was spoiled for. Then she's hanging out on a roof with some other people--not BSG people, I think the people who own the house. They talk about how difficult it will be to assimilate into Earth society, and I think also there is some discussion of her relationship with Lee. I think there is some hinting about the person in the other viper. Then she gets back to Galactica. I think this is the point where Isk woke me up.
It wasn't until I wrote it down that I realized it was exactly like Crossroads, only with Bonus Extra New Jersey Added.
1) Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me!"
2) I will respond by asking you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3) You will post the answers to the questions (and the questions themselves) on your blog or journal.
4) You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5) When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions. And thus the endless cycle of the meme goes on and on and on and on...
Here is my Q&A with medland .
1. What's your real name? In our house you're known as 'I'm in a hurry'. :p
Dude, that's how everyone knows me. Which I find confusing, because I look at my pseudonym and see the sentence it is.
Yes, it's a sentence. I've said this before, but I'll say it again: there are two Arabic words that could be transliterated as "amal." The first is امل, which means 'hope.' The second is عمل, which means work. My psuedonym is either عملنا حرية or املنا حرية, our work/our hope is freedom. Amal/hope is a woman's name in Arabic as well.
Anyway, there are real reasons I don't want my real name associated with my fanfic. It's not that I'm not proud of it; in fact, I think what I do as Amal is among the most interesting stuff I've ever done, intellectually and artistically. But there are two things that keep me from owning my work. First, tenure. It is an incredibly difficult process to get tenure (a permanent job) at most colleges/universities; it requires a good publication record, good teaching reviews, and the approval of your colleagues. This is one of the reasons that women, people of color, and queers are tenured at much lower rates than white straight men: something as simple as not being 'one of us' can tank you. You know what else could tank a politically radical queer woman? That she writes porn on the internet. Not to mention the fact that my area of research is politically sensitive. I'd rather not find people looking for my work to find Amal's, much as I like it.
The second is adoption. I have no legal relationship to Isk right now, because we're still dealing with his adoption paperwork. A judge gets to decide if it's in the best interest of my son that he is my son. This is absurd and awful in many ways. And, you know what convinces social workers that you're an unfit parent? That you write porn on the internet.
I will say that each of the pseudonyms I use here has a definite relationship to the names my family uses in their meatspace lives; I didn't just make it up. But, you're all going to have to keep calling me the hurry girl until I've got tenure and completed adoptions. So, you know, see you in fifteen years or so.
2. Do you plan on having more kids?
Right now, we're planning on one more, at least that Leigh would be pregnant with. There's also the question of whether Isa stays a part of our daily family unit once he pairs off and has kids (if he pairs off, though I think he'd prefer to). So, God willing, one more pregnancy for Leigh, and then a bunch of cousins for the kiddles.
I like kids, but I don't need to have a bunch of them. Frankly, we could stop at Isk, and I'd be cool. But I've been told siblings are cool. (Mine are too far apart in age for me to have a real sense of what it's like to grow up with them.)
3. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
Honestly, I'm already living where I've always wanted to live. But I would love to live in France for a stretch, either in Paris or somewhere in the South. Palestine is the most beautiful place I've ever been to, and I wouldn't mind spending some time there. If I had total control and infinite cash, I'd have a place in San Francisco, a place here in New York, and a place in Paris.
4. What would your superpower be if you could have one?
I suppose the ability to start being able to keep deadlines is a sucky superpower. So would be the ability to keep my calendar straight. (Plus, I totes have Leigh to handle that shit for me. Be like a straight man: marry someone who's willing to be your secretary.) I think breathing underwater. It would be great to be able to swim laps without having to time your breathing.
5. Have you always been a writer?
I suppose so. I wrote a magazine for my school when I was in first grade; I've been writing stories and plays and poems for as long as I can remember. In high school, I was really identified as 'the writer,' mostly creative writing. But I never wanted to be a professional writing; I figured, very few writers make a living by writing, so I'll need another job, and I'd rather not whore out my writing, so it'll be in something other than writing.
When I went to college, I got really involved both in academics, and in campus activism. I also really wanted to break with my high school identity, so I basically stopped writing. Well, I switched from fiction to poetry, and got involved briefly in the slam scene, but that only really lasted a year. I didn't start writing again until senior year, when I took some fiction-writing seminars. Then there were some other pauses, and now this. So, I'm back to writing now. I like it. This way is easy, and has nekkid people in it, which is kinda awesome.
And, just for kicks, here is the BSG themed dream I had this morning. I haven't yet seen Islanded in a Stream of Stars, so no real spoilers, but I'll mention without specifics one spoiler I accidentally heard.
In this dream, Kara was flying along in her viper, leading the CAP. [Incidentally, in my dream, I know I'm coming in to the middle of the episode, and I decide that they've already handled all the Adama/Roslin business in the first part, so I'll have to go back and watch that later. This is, like, the Kara part of the episode.] Then she, like, makes a right turn, and goes off following a viper she can't quite see. She keeps going, and then that new viper leads her to Earth. Only, like, for real this time; suddenly she's flying her viper through New Jersey, specifically the bit of 440 that goes between the Jersey Turnpike and the Outerborough Bridge. And the other viper is still there, and you can't really see who is in it, but I know it is the person whose return I was spoiled for. Then she's hanging out on a roof with some other people--not BSG people, I think the people who own the house. They talk about how difficult it will be to assimilate into Earth society, and I think also there is some discussion of her relationship with Lee. I think there is some hinting about the person in the other viper. Then she gets back to Galactica. I think this is the point where Isk woke me up.
It wasn't until I wrote it down that I realized it was exactly like Crossroads, only with Bonus Extra New Jersey Added.