(no subject)
OK, well, first things first is the answers to the last entry's meme...done. Under the cut in said entry.
Now, for another one. It's a biggy, so it goes under a cut also.
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
WRATH
1. With whom did you last get angry?
Myself, the other night.
2. What is your weapon of choice?
My tongue.
3. Would you hit a member of the opposite sex?
I sure hope not.
4. How about of the same sex?
Not since the Grade Six - I prefer to settle things verbally. It pisses off your opponent more and is more satisfying if you don’t get angry.
5. Who was the last person who got really angry at you?
Mishka. She had the right to be.
6. What is your pet peeve?
People who ask me ‘Oh, you’re doing Arts. With a Philosophy major. So where exactly is that going to take you?’ with smug looks on their faces.
7. Do you keep grudges, or can you let them go easily?
I only have a couple. Aunty Tish, Ray, you know who you are.
SLOTH
1. What is one thing you’re supposed to do daily that you haven’t done in a long time?
Shave. Well, until this morning. And only if ‘a long while’ can be three days.
2. What is the latest you’ve ever woken up?:
About 4pm I’d say, the day after the Les Misérables closing-night party. Which finished at 7am.
3. Name a person you’ve been meaning to contact, but haven’t:
Chloé.
4. What is the last lame excuse you made?
Dad: ‘Why don’t you ride your bike to uni and save on the bus fare?’
Me: ‘I’m a lazy sod.’
5. Have you ever watched an infomercial all the way through?
Hah! N3v3rz.
6. When was the last time you got a good workout in?
West Side Story. Don’t laugh - that dancing was tough work. And that in turn was nothing to the fight scenes.
7. How many times did you hit the snooze button on your alarm clock today?
My alarm is my mum bringing in a cup of coffee. That’s right. I’m a spoilt junkie. And she was half an hour late. Doesn’t matter - I was still ready in time.
GLUTTONY
1. What is your overpriced yuppie beverage of choice?
Just a capp at the Den. Cinque Lire if I feel like splurging.
2. Meat eaters: white meat or dark meat?:
Depends.
3. What is the greatest amount of alcohol you’ve had in one sitting/outing/event?
A few weeks ago. I *think* I wound up snogging a good friend.
4. Have you ever used a professional diet company?
Eek! Get away from me!
5. Do you have an issue with your weight?
I could do to lose a few more pounds but I’m a lot better than I used to be.
6. Do you prefer sweets, salty foods, or spicy foods?
Again, it all depends on the occasion.
7. Have you ever looked at a small housepet or child and thought, “LUNCH?”?
Haha. No.
LUST
1. How many people have you seen naked (not counting movies/family)?
Maybe half a dozen, no more.
2. How many people have seen YOU naked (not counting physicians/family)?
Less than that.
3. Have you ever caught yourself staring at the chest/crotch of a member of your gender of choice during a normal conversation?
Who hasn’t?
4. Have you “done it”?
Oh what a childish question. No.
5. What is your favorite body part on a person of your gender of choice?:
Shoulders, eyes and breasts. Sorry ladies, that’s the way it is.
6. Have you ever been propositioned by a prostitute?
Hah, no. Yuck. But there was this one time when we dressed Dan up as one and paraded him around St Kilda.
7. Have you ever had to get tested for an STD or pregnancy?
No - no point yet.
GREED
1. How many credit cards do you own?
If money is the root of all evil, then credit cards are the flowering bud! None.
2. What’s your guilty pleasure store?
Borders.
3. If you had $1 million, what would you do with it?
Pay off my HECS, do a Ph.D, buy a Smart Roadster and a nice apartment, deck it out with a quality A/V system, and invest the rest. If there was any.
4. Would you rather be rich, or famous?
Rich. As I want to be successful as an author or a musician, that necessitates being famous.
5. Would you accept a boring job if it meant you would make megabucks?
If it was merely boring, I’d do it.
6. Have you ever stolen anything?
Nothing material - I have destroyed reputations.
7. How many MP3s are on your hard drive?
Seven days, seven hours, fifteen minutes and 28 seconds’ worth. A bit over 23GB, almost all at maximum resolution.
PRIDE
1. What one thing have you done that you’re most proud of?
The idea for Hawking’s Time. Writing the damn thing is another matter. I think it’s a fantastic and potentially bestselling idea, but the actual words are garbage as often as not.
2. What one thing have you done that your parents are most proud of?
Probably my ENTER. Hoping to rectify that by getting published.
3. What thing(s) would you like to accomplish in your life?
Become financially independent doing something I love. And to find somebody to love.
4. Do you get annoyed by coming in second place?
No; I get inspired to improve.
5. Have you ever entered a contest of skill, knowing you were of much higher skill than all the other competitors?
Does life count?
6. Have you ever cheated on something to get a higher score?
I don’t need to. Generally. If I could have tweaked my Lit score just enough to get into the Dean’s Scholarship I’d have been tempted; however if I’d known how I’d go I’d rather just have studied that little bit more. (I missed out by a single mark.)
7. What did you do today that you’re proud of?
I haven’t finished it yet.
ENVY
1. What item (or person) of your friends would you most want to have for your own?
Rocky’s love and intellect; salaciouskitten’s stubborn determinedness and brutal honesty; Emily’s financial situation; Dan’s Fonz-type apartment; Julian’s library; Andy’s sideburns; Claire’s enthusiasm; rougedragon’s maturity; barnabus’s genius; Mick’s guitar skills; Nabilah’s zest; Steve’s sheer awesomeness.
2. Who would you want to go on “Trading Spaces” with?
I don’t think I would. “Trading Spaces”? What is that exactly? Another lame-arse reality show? Yeesh.
3. If you could be anyone else in the world, who would you be?
Daniel Radcliffe. Cos he got rich doing something I would kill to do.
4. Have you ever been cheated on?
No.
5. Have you ever wished you had a physical feature different from your own?
I’d like to be a little slimmer and less hairy (below my neck that is).
6. What inborn trait do you see in others that you wish you had for yourself?
See 1. above.
7. Finally, what is your favorite deadly sin?
Lust - isn’t it everyone’s?
THE SEVEN HEAVENLY VIRTUES
FAITH
1. What religion do you follow?
I’m a bright, but not an atheist.
2. What religion were you raised as?
Catholic. I decided at about 14 that too much of it was nonsense up with which I would not put.
3. Do you believe that forgiveness is a religious property, or a human property?
Qué? I believe that if you’re forgiving only for religious reasons, it doesn’t make it any less sincere. But I think it’s more fundamental than mere religion.
4. Do you believe in magic?
I don’t believe that anything that cannot be explained at present must be inexplicable; I tend to subscribe to the view - I don't recall whose - that anything that does happen must be by definition possible; therefore there can be no miracles - or rather, a miracle by virtue of happening becomes nonmiraculous. I am not inclined to discount paranormal phenomena as hocus-pocus out of hand. Science is based on evidence, and there is no evidence that some of them are not genuine, though I think the vast majority are likely scams.
5. What was the last promise you broke?
I think I meant to water the garden the other night.
6. Have you ever said the words to a prayer and not meant it?
The last few years I went to church, because I was dragged along.
7. Do you believe that anyone could be perfect?
No; but that doesn’t excuse you from trying.
HOPE
1. Did you get everything you wanted over the last holiday season?
No, but I got some stuff I was very happy with.
2. Regarding your future, what is the best thing you could hope for?
Money and love, and plenty of both.
3. Do you let yourself get your hopes up for something even if you know that there is a large chance of failure?
If it depends on me, then I have to pressure myself somehow; if I can’t help it, then I don’t worry about it.
5. Have you ever bought a lottery ticket?
I think the family is in a syndicate.
6. Do you gamble?
Not with my own money.
7. Have you ever had something called off on account of bad weather, but then gone ahead and done it anyway?
That’s a strange question.
CHARITY
1. What causes do you support?
I give blood, and I support Make Poverty History - but being relatively poor myself, I can’t give much of anything material. See the third movement of Five for something else about which I believe most strongly that something must be done.
2. What causes have you given money or time to?
Do op-shops count? Hehehe.
3. Have you ever worked in a soup kitchen or done another kind of outreach for the homeless?
I’m afraid not. As I recall, the one some of us did in school was too closely associated with the Church. I’m all for religions helping people - they have to make themselves useful somehow - but not when you’re made to feel unwelcome if you don’t follow their faith.
4. Would you ever consider joining the Peace Corps, Amnesty International, or another travel?
Never say never - but I doubt it.
5. Do you give money to the homeless on the street?
Not as a matter of course. I might give a dollar or two on occasion. I’m a poor uni student - I can’t afford to give much.
6. Have you ever helped out a friend with basic needs, like rent or food?
I would always help if I could, and they would do the same for me.
7. What's the greatest extent you've gone to help a friend in need?
I don’t know. I don’t count the cost. Mostly it’s not monetary or measurable help. God, I sound so stingy, don't I!
FORTITUDE
1. What are you most afraid of?
Being unhappy and alone.
2. What did you do today that was really brave?
Nothing. No need. I really need to step out of my comfort zone more.
3. Who is your favorite superhero, and why?
The Doctor from Doctor Who. He has all the best bits of every superhero. Gadgets, powers, alien tech, two hearts, moral inassailability… he doesn’t even get the girl, he’s that cool. And he has a really neat way of cheating death.
4. Would you put your life in danger to rescue someone?
If it would actually save them, if it would be more than just a futile gesture that is; and if the person was a true paydhe (a word from the Tacretta language in Hawking’s Time for which there is no English equivalent, descended from the archaic word for ‘brother’ but meaning, in latter days, more or less ‘comrade’ and indeed interpretable as ‘one whose life you value equal to or greater than your own’).
5. If you were to face the Wizard, would you want more courage, more brains, or more heart?
I would want a fucking army!
6. Have you ever gotten stage fright?
Yes; but I love being on the stage, and I don’t get it any more.
7. Do you consider yourself to be a leader or a follower?
It depends. Sometimes I like to lead; sometimes I like to follow. I suppose it depends on the sort of people. I’m not a sheep, though. I’m not even the black sheep, I’m the fucking wolf! (Thanks to rougedragon for that analogy.)
JUSTICE
1. Have you ever been summoned for jury duty?
No.
2. If they reinstituted the draft (for both genders), would you go, or would find some way out of it?
I would attend the mass protest that would spontaneously break out.
3. Do you support capital punishment (the death penalty)?
Not when life imprisonment is a viable alternative.
4. Which should be guaranteed legal?
Anything that does not cause undue harm to anyone else physically or mentally. I think people should be free to destroy themselves if they so wish. Forcing someone else to submit to your own subjective ideas of morality is just childish.
5. Do you believe that Dubya is rightfully President of the USA?
What do you mean by ‘rightfully’? I think if he was elected by anything fewer than 50% of those entitled to vote - regardless of whether they did vote - then he is not a democratically-chosen leader. Given that he was elected very narrowly, and that many many people did not vote, then he was not democratically elected. Regrettably, John Howard was; but I think he may not have been if voting was not compulsory. This is not contradictory. I think voting should be optional, but you still should need 50% of the potential vote. That ensures that people don’t just vote for the status quo, and that only the opinions of those who want them to matter will matter. Given the system by which the U.S.A. operates, Dubya is legally the rightful leader; but man is under no moral obligation to recognise an unjust law.
6. What was your favorite media circus trial?
Oh please. Schapelle was unjustly imprisoned, but not because she was innocent - I don’t know whether she was and frankly, I don’t care - but because I believe that everyone has the right to do what they want with their own selves, and that includes drugs of any sort - provided it is an informed (not necessarily rational) decision.
7. Have you ever written a letter to a politician?
Yes, I was bitching about something or other. Foreign debt, I believe. It was a long time ago; I’m smarter now. The only way to get the bastards to listen is by voting them out, and when you do, the other lizard gets in.
TEMPERANCE
1. What do you have the hardest time moderating yourself on?
Coffee.
2. Do you collect anything?
I used to collect LEGO. I still have most of it, assembled and on display or in a cupboard. I have the special DVD editions of all the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings films, and the boxset of the Matrix trilogy. I also have the special edition of Halo 2 and will get the 4-disc set of Halo 3. And I want to collect the Red vs. Blue DVD set. And every Pink Floyd album. And (if I were a rich man, yaha deedle deedle bubba bubba deedle deedle dum) the back-catalogue of Doctor Who DVDs.
3. Are you addicted to anything?
Coffee. And Peri Peri chicken.
4. Have you ever put anything on layaway or used an installment plan?
I don’t think so. I’ve never even used a credit card and don’t intend to get one. My only debt is my HECS fees for uni.
5. What's your preferred method of paying for things?
Cash or direct debit. Never credit.
6. Tell us one thing you wish you hadn't let yourself do?
Bite my fucking nails!
7. Do you feel that you obsess over things?
Sometimes. Don’t get me started on Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, Doctor Who, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, or my own Hawking’s Time and the language I am creating for it. Actually, I should put a rudimentary description of Tacretta up on deviantART...
PRUDENCE
1. Who is the wisest person you know?
salaciouskitten. Wisest person in the Universe? Douglas Adams.
2. Have you ever participated in a vigil?
I don't recall.
3. Do you take advice when it's given?
Often. Certainly I’m not usually afraid to ask for advice.
4. What area are you wisest in?
I have a well-thought-out and consistent ethical system which I’m very proud of; I also have an affinity for language (hell, I’m designing my own for fun).
5. Do you drive defensively?
I don’t drive much; when I do, I’m certainly not aggressive..
6. Have you ever had unprotected sex outside of marriage?
I’ve never been married. And I’m a virgin.
7. What did you learn today?
That rougedragon’s first impression of me was as a ‘ladies’ man’. Wtf!
Aslo taht you can atulalcy uedsantnrd Egslinh txet pfcelrtey wlel even if olny the frsit and lsat ltertes of ecah wrod are in the rghit pitosoin.
8. And of course, what is your favorite heavenly virtue?
I think justice. Certainly that’s what I feel the strongest about, what I wrote the most about here, and what I’m basically writing my rock symphony Five about.
In other news, writing continues apace on Hawking's Time. I'm writing at an average of about 1000 words a day, and deleting an average of 250 or so. We have a big net gain, is the important thing.
I am also continuing work on my other current project: the metal/prog/rock symphony. The five-movement structure is all planned out, thematically, and the third movement is largely written.
I. Blame
II. Concealment
III. Mother and Daughter
IV. Blindness
V. The Tyranny of the Majority
yibbida yibbida.
Now, for another one. It's a biggy, so it goes under a cut also.
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
WRATH
1. With whom did you last get angry?
Myself, the other night.
2. What is your weapon of choice?
My tongue.
3. Would you hit a member of the opposite sex?
I sure hope not.
4. How about of the same sex?
Not since the Grade Six - I prefer to settle things verbally. It pisses off your opponent more and is more satisfying if you don’t get angry.
5. Who was the last person who got really angry at you?
Mishka. She had the right to be.
6. What is your pet peeve?
People who ask me ‘Oh, you’re doing Arts. With a Philosophy major. So where exactly is that going to take you?’ with smug looks on their faces.
7. Do you keep grudges, or can you let them go easily?
I only have a couple. Aunty Tish, Ray, you know who you are.
SLOTH
1. What is one thing you’re supposed to do daily that you haven’t done in a long time?
Shave. Well, until this morning. And only if ‘a long while’ can be three days.
2. What is the latest you’ve ever woken up?:
About 4pm I’d say, the day after the Les Misérables closing-night party. Which finished at 7am.
3. Name a person you’ve been meaning to contact, but haven’t:
Chloé.
4. What is the last lame excuse you made?
Dad: ‘Why don’t you ride your bike to uni and save on the bus fare?’
Me: ‘I’m a lazy sod.’
5. Have you ever watched an infomercial all the way through?
Hah! N3v3rz.
6. When was the last time you got a good workout in?
West Side Story. Don’t laugh - that dancing was tough work. And that in turn was nothing to the fight scenes.
7. How many times did you hit the snooze button on your alarm clock today?
My alarm is my mum bringing in a cup of coffee. That’s right. I’m a spoilt junkie. And she was half an hour late. Doesn’t matter - I was still ready in time.
GLUTTONY
1. What is your overpriced yuppie beverage of choice?
Just a capp at the Den. Cinque Lire if I feel like splurging.
2. Meat eaters: white meat or dark meat?:
Depends.
3. What is the greatest amount of alcohol you’ve had in one sitting/outing/event?
A few weeks ago. I *think* I wound up snogging a good friend.
4. Have you ever used a professional diet company?
Eek! Get away from me!
5. Do you have an issue with your weight?
I could do to lose a few more pounds but I’m a lot better than I used to be.
6. Do you prefer sweets, salty foods, or spicy foods?
Again, it all depends on the occasion.
7. Have you ever looked at a small housepet or child and thought, “LUNCH?”?
Haha. No.
LUST
1. How many people have you seen naked (not counting movies/family)?
Maybe half a dozen, no more.
2. How many people have seen YOU naked (not counting physicians/family)?
Less than that.
3. Have you ever caught yourself staring at the chest/crotch of a member of your gender of choice during a normal conversation?
Who hasn’t?
4. Have you “done it”?
Oh what a childish question. No.
5. What is your favorite body part on a person of your gender of choice?:
Shoulders, eyes and breasts. Sorry ladies, that’s the way it is.
6. Have you ever been propositioned by a prostitute?
Hah, no. Yuck. But there was this one time when we dressed Dan up as one and paraded him around St Kilda.
7. Have you ever had to get tested for an STD or pregnancy?
No - no point yet.
GREED
1. How many credit cards do you own?
If money is the root of all evil, then credit cards are the flowering bud! None.
2. What’s your guilty pleasure store?
Borders.
3. If you had $1 million, what would you do with it?
Pay off my HECS, do a Ph.D, buy a Smart Roadster and a nice apartment, deck it out with a quality A/V system, and invest the rest. If there was any.
4. Would you rather be rich, or famous?
Rich. As I want to be successful as an author or a musician, that necessitates being famous.
5. Would you accept a boring job if it meant you would make megabucks?
If it was merely boring, I’d do it.
6. Have you ever stolen anything?
Nothing material - I have destroyed reputations.
7. How many MP3s are on your hard drive?
Seven days, seven hours, fifteen minutes and 28 seconds’ worth. A bit over 23GB, almost all at maximum resolution.
PRIDE
1. What one thing have you done that you’re most proud of?
The idea for Hawking’s Time. Writing the damn thing is another matter. I think it’s a fantastic and potentially bestselling idea, but the actual words are garbage as often as not.
2. What one thing have you done that your parents are most proud of?
Probably my ENTER. Hoping to rectify that by getting published.
3. What thing(s) would you like to accomplish in your life?
Become financially independent doing something I love. And to find somebody to love.
4. Do you get annoyed by coming in second place?
No; I get inspired to improve.
5. Have you ever entered a contest of skill, knowing you were of much higher skill than all the other competitors?
Does life count?
6. Have you ever cheated on something to get a higher score?
I don’t need to. Generally. If I could have tweaked my Lit score just enough to get into the Dean’s Scholarship I’d have been tempted; however if I’d known how I’d go I’d rather just have studied that little bit more. (I missed out by a single mark.)
7. What did you do today that you’re proud of?
I haven’t finished it yet.
ENVY
1. What item (or person) of your friends would you most want to have for your own?
Rocky’s love and intellect; salaciouskitten’s stubborn determinedness and brutal honesty; Emily’s financial situation; Dan’s Fonz-type apartment; Julian’s library; Andy’s sideburns; Claire’s enthusiasm; rougedragon’s maturity; barnabus’s genius; Mick’s guitar skills; Nabilah’s zest; Steve’s sheer awesomeness.
2. Who would you want to go on “Trading Spaces” with?
I don’t think I would. “Trading Spaces”? What is that exactly? Another lame-arse reality show? Yeesh.
3. If you could be anyone else in the world, who would you be?
Daniel Radcliffe. Cos he got rich doing something I would kill to do.
4. Have you ever been cheated on?
No.
5. Have you ever wished you had a physical feature different from your own?
I’d like to be a little slimmer and less hairy (below my neck that is).
6. What inborn trait do you see in others that you wish you had for yourself?
See 1. above.
7. Finally, what is your favorite deadly sin?
Lust - isn’t it everyone’s?
THE SEVEN HEAVENLY VIRTUES
FAITH
1. What religion do you follow?
I’m a bright, but not an atheist.
2. What religion were you raised as?
Catholic. I decided at about 14 that too much of it was nonsense up with which I would not put.
3. Do you believe that forgiveness is a religious property, or a human property?
Qué? I believe that if you’re forgiving only for religious reasons, it doesn’t make it any less sincere. But I think it’s more fundamental than mere religion.
4. Do you believe in magic?
I don’t believe that anything that cannot be explained at present must be inexplicable; I tend to subscribe to the view - I don't recall whose - that anything that does happen must be by definition possible; therefore there can be no miracles - or rather, a miracle by virtue of happening becomes nonmiraculous. I am not inclined to discount paranormal phenomena as hocus-pocus out of hand. Science is based on evidence, and there is no evidence that some of them are not genuine, though I think the vast majority are likely scams.
5. What was the last promise you broke?
I think I meant to water the garden the other night.
6. Have you ever said the words to a prayer and not meant it?
The last few years I went to church, because I was dragged along.
7. Do you believe that anyone could be perfect?
No; but that doesn’t excuse you from trying.
HOPE
1. Did you get everything you wanted over the last holiday season?
No, but I got some stuff I was very happy with.
2. Regarding your future, what is the best thing you could hope for?
Money and love, and plenty of both.
3. Do you let yourself get your hopes up for something even if you know that there is a large chance of failure?
If it depends on me, then I have to pressure myself somehow; if I can’t help it, then I don’t worry about it.
5. Have you ever bought a lottery ticket?
I think the family is in a syndicate.
6. Do you gamble?
Not with my own money.
7. Have you ever had something called off on account of bad weather, but then gone ahead and done it anyway?
That’s a strange question.
CHARITY
1. What causes do you support?
I give blood, and I support Make Poverty History - but being relatively poor myself, I can’t give much of anything material. See the third movement of Five for something else about which I believe most strongly that something must be done.
2. What causes have you given money or time to?
Do op-shops count? Hehehe.
3. Have you ever worked in a soup kitchen or done another kind of outreach for the homeless?
I’m afraid not. As I recall, the one some of us did in school was too closely associated with the Church. I’m all for religions helping people - they have to make themselves useful somehow - but not when you’re made to feel unwelcome if you don’t follow their faith.
4. Would you ever consider joining the Peace Corps, Amnesty International, or another travel?
Never say never - but I doubt it.
5. Do you give money to the homeless on the street?
Not as a matter of course. I might give a dollar or two on occasion. I’m a poor uni student - I can’t afford to give much.
6. Have you ever helped out a friend with basic needs, like rent or food?
I would always help if I could, and they would do the same for me.
7. What's the greatest extent you've gone to help a friend in need?
I don’t know. I don’t count the cost. Mostly it’s not monetary or measurable help. God, I sound so stingy, don't I!
FORTITUDE
1. What are you most afraid of?
Being unhappy and alone.
2. What did you do today that was really brave?
Nothing. No need. I really need to step out of my comfort zone more.
3. Who is your favorite superhero, and why?
The Doctor from Doctor Who. He has all the best bits of every superhero. Gadgets, powers, alien tech, two hearts, moral inassailability… he doesn’t even get the girl, he’s that cool. And he has a really neat way of cheating death.
4. Would you put your life in danger to rescue someone?
If it would actually save them, if it would be more than just a futile gesture that is; and if the person was a true paydhe (a word from the Tacretta language in Hawking’s Time for which there is no English equivalent, descended from the archaic word for ‘brother’ but meaning, in latter days, more or less ‘comrade’ and indeed interpretable as ‘one whose life you value equal to or greater than your own’).
5. If you were to face the Wizard, would you want more courage, more brains, or more heart?
I would want a fucking army!
6. Have you ever gotten stage fright?
Yes; but I love being on the stage, and I don’t get it any more.
7. Do you consider yourself to be a leader or a follower?
It depends. Sometimes I like to lead; sometimes I like to follow. I suppose it depends on the sort of people. I’m not a sheep, though. I’m not even the black sheep, I’m the fucking wolf! (Thanks to rougedragon for that analogy.)
JUSTICE
1. Have you ever been summoned for jury duty?
No.
2. If they reinstituted the draft (for both genders), would you go, or would find some way out of it?
I would attend the mass protest that would spontaneously break out.
3. Do you support capital punishment (the death penalty)?
Not when life imprisonment is a viable alternative.
4. Which should be guaranteed legal?
Anything that does not cause undue harm to anyone else physically or mentally. I think people should be free to destroy themselves if they so wish. Forcing someone else to submit to your own subjective ideas of morality is just childish.
5. Do you believe that Dubya is rightfully President of the USA?
What do you mean by ‘rightfully’? I think if he was elected by anything fewer than 50% of those entitled to vote - regardless of whether they did vote - then he is not a democratically-chosen leader. Given that he was elected very narrowly, and that many many people did not vote, then he was not democratically elected. Regrettably, John Howard was; but I think he may not have been if voting was not compulsory. This is not contradictory. I think voting should be optional, but you still should need 50% of the potential vote. That ensures that people don’t just vote for the status quo, and that only the opinions of those who want them to matter will matter. Given the system by which the U.S.A. operates, Dubya is legally the rightful leader; but man is under no moral obligation to recognise an unjust law.
6. What was your favorite media circus trial?
Oh please. Schapelle was unjustly imprisoned, but not because she was innocent - I don’t know whether she was and frankly, I don’t care - but because I believe that everyone has the right to do what they want with their own selves, and that includes drugs of any sort - provided it is an informed (not necessarily rational) decision.
7. Have you ever written a letter to a politician?
Yes, I was bitching about something or other. Foreign debt, I believe. It was a long time ago; I’m smarter now. The only way to get the bastards to listen is by voting them out, and when you do, the other lizard gets in.
TEMPERANCE
1. What do you have the hardest time moderating yourself on?
Coffee.
2. Do you collect anything?
I used to collect LEGO. I still have most of it, assembled and on display or in a cupboard. I have the special DVD editions of all the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings films, and the boxset of the Matrix trilogy. I also have the special edition of Halo 2 and will get the 4-disc set of Halo 3. And I want to collect the Red vs. Blue DVD set. And every Pink Floyd album. And (if I were a rich man, yaha deedle deedle bubba bubba deedle deedle dum) the back-catalogue of Doctor Who DVDs.
3. Are you addicted to anything?
Coffee. And Peri Peri chicken.
4. Have you ever put anything on layaway or used an installment plan?
I don’t think so. I’ve never even used a credit card and don’t intend to get one. My only debt is my HECS fees for uni.
5. What's your preferred method of paying for things?
Cash or direct debit. Never credit.
6. Tell us one thing you wish you hadn't let yourself do?
Bite my fucking nails!
7. Do you feel that you obsess over things?
Sometimes. Don’t get me started on Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, Doctor Who, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, or my own Hawking’s Time and the language I am creating for it. Actually, I should put a rudimentary description of Tacretta up on deviantART...
PRUDENCE
1. Who is the wisest person you know?
salaciouskitten. Wisest person in the Universe? Douglas Adams.
2. Have you ever participated in a vigil?
I don't recall.
3. Do you take advice when it's given?
Often. Certainly I’m not usually afraid to ask for advice.
4. What area are you wisest in?
I have a well-thought-out and consistent ethical system which I’m very proud of; I also have an affinity for language (hell, I’m designing my own for fun).
5. Do you drive defensively?
I don’t drive much; when I do, I’m certainly not aggressive..
6. Have you ever had unprotected sex outside of marriage?
I’ve never been married. And I’m a virgin.
7. What did you learn today?
That rougedragon’s first impression of me was as a ‘ladies’ man’. Wtf!
Aslo taht you can atulalcy uedsantnrd Egslinh txet pfcelrtey wlel even if olny the frsit and lsat ltertes of ecah wrod are in the rghit pitosoin.
8. And of course, what is your favorite heavenly virtue?
I think justice. Certainly that’s what I feel the strongest about, what I wrote the most about here, and what I’m basically writing my rock symphony Five about.
In other news, writing continues apace on Hawking's Time. I'm writing at an average of about 1000 words a day, and deleting an average of 250 or so. We have a big net gain, is the important thing.
I am also continuing work on my other current project: the metal/prog/rock symphony. The five-movement structure is all planned out, thematically, and the third movement is largely written.
I. Blame
II. Concealment
III. Mother and Daughter
IV. Blindness
V. The Tyranny of the Majority
yibbida yibbida.