February 2024 Prompts - Part 1
I’ve been busy with several things worth writing about, but first let’s look at the first group of last month’s questions.
1. Are We Becoming ‘Numb’ to School Shootings? I’m afraid it looks that way. There’s no longer the same level of news coverage and associated shock. I’m not sure I’d limit that to school shootings, however. I think the American public has become numb to mass shootings in general.
2. What Words Do You Hate? I’m not, in general, a big fan of casual cussing. That doesn’t mean I never use strong language, but I like people to know I really mean it.
3. What Recent Events Will Most Likely Be Featured in History Museums Someday? The Hamas massacre of Jews on October 7th. The MAGA Insurrection of January 6th. The Russian war on Ukraine. The collapse of the Haitian government.
4. When Do You Choose Making a Phone Call Over Sending a Text? It really depends who I’m talking to and what the context is. My brother doesn’t really text, nor does the Gentleman With Whom I’m Conducting the World’s Longest Running Brief Meaningless Fling. A couple of my friends are, however, text-a-holics.
5. What Temperature Do You Set the A/C or Heat To Be Comfortable? I set the heat to about 73 Fahrenheit in Winter and about 80 Fahrenheit in Summer.
6. What Are Your Favorite Works of Art? There’s really too many to list. But to name just a few, Van Gogh’s Starry Night has been high on my list since I first saw it as a child when my father took me to the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase is the piece that revolutionized the way I think about modern art, because the verb “descending” is the key to understanding it. The Gobelin tapestries in the Grandmaster’s Palace in Valetta, Malta are simply beautiful, and while I’m in that city, I’ll also mention Caravaggio because there are a couple of his paintings in St. John’s Co-Catherdral that are masterpieces of realism. Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party is a great example of political art.
7. How Do You Remember What You Need to Remember? I write lots of things on lots of scraps of paper.
8. Have You Ever Stumbled Upon a Cool Public Performance? It depends on how you define “public.” I’ve sometimes heard something really interesting as part of free art show or street festival, for example, but I’m not sure if that counts. One example of that was my first introduction to The Bobs, who were performing at the KPFA arts fair in Berkeley umpty-ump years ago. I’ve also heard some interesting street musicians / buskers, e.g. After the Storm.
9. What Are the Animals in Your Life? I travel too much to have any animals. I have a few friends who do have very sweet cats, however.
10. What Did/Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up? Mostly, I wanted to be an astronaut or a chemist. But other careers that interested me were acting, driving race cars (specifically, I wanted to be the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500), or pitching for the Mets.
11. What Are Your Favorite Viral Videos? I’m a big fan of The Kifness. And of the Try Channel.
12. Should a College Education be Free? In general, I don’t think people really value things they get for free. There are plenty of ways for talented students to get their education paid for and what we really need is better guidance on identifying those for particular students.
13. When Did You Last Have a Great Conversation? I play board games with two particular groups of friends (some from the Loser Community and some from the Puzzle Community) and both entail great conversations along the way.
14. How Do You Feel About Valentine’s Day? I have no particular feelings one way or the other about it. It’s nice to get recognition from someone you’re in a relationship with, but getting small acts of attention at random times is more important.
15. Is Shakespeare Too Hard? Not really. One does have to get used to some of the language, but the gist of the stories is actually pretty accessible.
16. Are You the Same Person on Social Media as You Are in Real Life? I think so.
17. Does Punctuation in Text Messages Matter? It can be helpful. I am part of the cult of the Oxford Comma, for example.
18. Where Do You See Yourself in 10 Years? At my age, I just hope I am still above ground and able to go places.
19. Do You Speak a Second, or Third, Language? I speak a little bit of a lot of languages, but I don’t speak anything other than English fluently. Fortunately, the words for “chocolate” and “coffee” are similar in almost every language, so I can get my most basic needs met.
20. Did You Like School? For the most part I did, though there were particular classes and/or teachers I disliked.
21. Is It Harder to Grow Up in the 21st Century Than It Was in the Past? I think every era has its own challenges.
22. Have You Ever Performed for an Audience or Shared Creative Work With Others? In elementary school, I was in choir and in orchestra and string quartet (playing viola). I was in the chorus for at least one summer camp show. I had minor roles in a couple of community theatre plays in my teens. Nowadays, I tell stories, which suits my talents much better.
23. Should Terminally Ill Patients Be Allowed to Die on Their Own Terms? Mostly yes, but with the caveat that my biggest concern is making sure it really is their own choice and they aren’t being coerced.
24. How, and by Whom, Should Children Be Taught Appropriate Behavior? Ideally by their families. In particular settings, any adult leading the children in that setting should demonstrate what is appropriate. For example, in school, children need to learn how to behave towards other members of their class. In religious settings, they should learn whatever is customary in that religion.
25. Do You Like to Exercise? I like certain types of exercise. I enjoy walking, for example. I love many types of dancing.
26. What Places Do You Remember Fondly From Childhood? The first one that comes to mind is the secret place my brother and I and one of my friends had, which was just a clearing deep in a whole block of empty lots in my neighborhood. The other two I thought of right away were the factory blocks that were right behind the street my house was on and a place called Wayside Chinchilla Ranch that was a candy store which also sold stuff like model airplane kits. Oh, and I can’t forget the seaplane port at the edge of town, which I went to after school almost every day.
27. Can Graffiti Ever Be Considered Art? I think it can, as long as it is done with the permission of a property owner.
28. Do You Believe in Ghosts? No.
29. Are Digital Photographs Too Plentiful to Be Meaningful? It’s handy to be able to take a photo whenever you happen to see anything you think is photo worthy and I see no reason why any particular means of doing so should be considered less meaningful.
1. Are We Becoming ‘Numb’ to School Shootings? I’m afraid it looks that way. There’s no longer the same level of news coverage and associated shock. I’m not sure I’d limit that to school shootings, however. I think the American public has become numb to mass shootings in general.
2. What Words Do You Hate? I’m not, in general, a big fan of casual cussing. That doesn’t mean I never use strong language, but I like people to know I really mean it.
3. What Recent Events Will Most Likely Be Featured in History Museums Someday? The Hamas massacre of Jews on October 7th. The MAGA Insurrection of January 6th. The Russian war on Ukraine. The collapse of the Haitian government.
4. When Do You Choose Making a Phone Call Over Sending a Text? It really depends who I’m talking to and what the context is. My brother doesn’t really text, nor does the Gentleman With Whom I’m Conducting the World’s Longest Running Brief Meaningless Fling. A couple of my friends are, however, text-a-holics.
5. What Temperature Do You Set the A/C or Heat To Be Comfortable? I set the heat to about 73 Fahrenheit in Winter and about 80 Fahrenheit in Summer.
6. What Are Your Favorite Works of Art? There’s really too many to list. But to name just a few, Van Gogh’s Starry Night has been high on my list since I first saw it as a child when my father took me to the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase is the piece that revolutionized the way I think about modern art, because the verb “descending” is the key to understanding it. The Gobelin tapestries in the Grandmaster’s Palace in Valetta, Malta are simply beautiful, and while I’m in that city, I’ll also mention Caravaggio because there are a couple of his paintings in St. John’s Co-Catherdral that are masterpieces of realism. Judy Chicago’s The Dinner Party is a great example of political art.
7. How Do You Remember What You Need to Remember? I write lots of things on lots of scraps of paper.
8. Have You Ever Stumbled Upon a Cool Public Performance? It depends on how you define “public.” I’ve sometimes heard something really interesting as part of free art show or street festival, for example, but I’m not sure if that counts. One example of that was my first introduction to The Bobs, who were performing at the KPFA arts fair in Berkeley umpty-ump years ago. I’ve also heard some interesting street musicians / buskers, e.g. After the Storm.
9. What Are the Animals in Your Life? I travel too much to have any animals. I have a few friends who do have very sweet cats, however.
10. What Did/Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up? Mostly, I wanted to be an astronaut or a chemist. But other careers that interested me were acting, driving race cars (specifically, I wanted to be the first woman to win the Indianapolis 500), or pitching for the Mets.
11. What Are Your Favorite Viral Videos? I’m a big fan of The Kifness. And of the Try Channel.
12. Should a College Education be Free? In general, I don’t think people really value things they get for free. There are plenty of ways for talented students to get their education paid for and what we really need is better guidance on identifying those for particular students.
13. When Did You Last Have a Great Conversation? I play board games with two particular groups of friends (some from the Loser Community and some from the Puzzle Community) and both entail great conversations along the way.
14. How Do You Feel About Valentine’s Day? I have no particular feelings one way or the other about it. It’s nice to get recognition from someone you’re in a relationship with, but getting small acts of attention at random times is more important.
15. Is Shakespeare Too Hard? Not really. One does have to get used to some of the language, but the gist of the stories is actually pretty accessible.
16. Are You the Same Person on Social Media as You Are in Real Life? I think so.
17. Does Punctuation in Text Messages Matter? It can be helpful. I am part of the cult of the Oxford Comma, for example.
18. Where Do You See Yourself in 10 Years? At my age, I just hope I am still above ground and able to go places.
19. Do You Speak a Second, or Third, Language? I speak a little bit of a lot of languages, but I don’t speak anything other than English fluently. Fortunately, the words for “chocolate” and “coffee” are similar in almost every language, so I can get my most basic needs met.
20. Did You Like School? For the most part I did, though there were particular classes and/or teachers I disliked.
21. Is It Harder to Grow Up in the 21st Century Than It Was in the Past? I think every era has its own challenges.
22. Have You Ever Performed for an Audience or Shared Creative Work With Others? In elementary school, I was in choir and in orchestra and string quartet (playing viola). I was in the chorus for at least one summer camp show. I had minor roles in a couple of community theatre plays in my teens. Nowadays, I tell stories, which suits my talents much better.
23. Should Terminally Ill Patients Be Allowed to Die on Their Own Terms? Mostly yes, but with the caveat that my biggest concern is making sure it really is their own choice and they aren’t being coerced.
24. How, and by Whom, Should Children Be Taught Appropriate Behavior? Ideally by their families. In particular settings, any adult leading the children in that setting should demonstrate what is appropriate. For example, in school, children need to learn how to behave towards other members of their class. In religious settings, they should learn whatever is customary in that religion.
25. Do You Like to Exercise? I like certain types of exercise. I enjoy walking, for example. I love many types of dancing.
26. What Places Do You Remember Fondly From Childhood? The first one that comes to mind is the secret place my brother and I and one of my friends had, which was just a clearing deep in a whole block of empty lots in my neighborhood. The other two I thought of right away were the factory blocks that were right behind the street my house was on and a place called Wayside Chinchilla Ranch that was a candy store which also sold stuff like model airplane kits. Oh, and I can’t forget the seaplane port at the edge of town, which I went to after school almost every day.
27. Can Graffiti Ever Be Considered Art? I think it can, as long as it is done with the permission of a property owner.
28. Do You Believe in Ghosts? No.
29. Are Digital Photographs Too Plentiful to Be Meaningful? It’s handy to be able to take a photo whenever you happen to see anything you think is photo worthy and I see no reason why any particular means of doing so should be considered less meaningful.