Ten Things

[theorangemonkey]

So, thanks to linden_tree, I've been challenged to list ten of my favourite things, starting with the letter P. If you would like a similar challenge, post a comment below, and then I'll give you a letter; then you go to your journal and list your ten favourite things starting with that letter.

Anyways, in no particular order:

1. P stands for Pearl Jam. This one should be of no surprise to anyone reading this, I don't think, so I'm just going to list it first and get it out of the way. I've been a fan of Pearl Jam's since their first album came out in 1992 - I remember wanting to call Much Music's Combat de Clips to vote for Jeremy as best song of the week, but being told no, because there was no way my parents were letting the phone be charged $.75 to vote for some stupid music video, did I think they were made of money. I've listened to them all the way through high school, university, and now "adult life", and have always found stuff in their music to relate to what was going on in my life at all points. Last time I remember looking at the Pearl Jam folder in Itunes, I believe I had a total of 40 hours of PJ material, if one was to include all of the bootlegs/live versions/Christmas singles I've downloaded over the years. I've also had the pleasure of seeing the band twice live, and the show earlier this year is without a doubt one of the greatest concert experiences I've ever had.
   
   
2. P stands for Painting. Around a year ago, I decided I was going to start experimenting with painting. I bought a set of paintbrushes, and a starter set of watercolour paints, and started painting. Some of the results are on my webpage; overall I think that what I've done is good for a beginner with no formal training. I haven't painted much in the past few months, though; hopefully I'll be able to produce at least one more piece before the end of the year.
   
   
3. P stands for Punk Music. Again, not one that should be too much of a surprise for those that know me well. I've had an idea floating in my head for awhile now that every song in the history of music can ultimately be put into one of two categories: folk music, and chamber music. Music for the heart or for the mind, respectively. Some may say that that is needlessly and dangerously reductionistic of me, but I think it's a good basic structure. Punk music is definitely a folk music, predicated on the idea that all people should be involved in the creative process, rather than having separate classes of "talented, elite creators" and "accepting, sedentary audience". I also love that punk has a 'big tent' sort of atmosphere to it - 70s punk, hardcore, ska, skatepunk, riot grrrl, psychobilly, emo; all can fit under the label of 'punk'. Well, I'm sure there are some haters that would disagree with me, but to hell with them and their elitist ways.
   
   
4. P stands for Photography. I've been trying to keep a camera with me as much as possible when I'm out and about in the city. Because you never know when a perfect piece of found art might be waiting for you, wanting to be seized and shown to the world. I try to be artistic with my photography, but like with everything else, I'm still a bit of a neophyte. I have a Flickr photostream& that I post my pics on, and I keep some of the ones I'm most fond of on an online gallery on my webpage (which, actually, really needs to be updated).
   
   
   
5. P stands for Poetry. Lately I've become a regular writer of haiku, the Japanese poems based on a seventeen-syllable, three-line structure. I even maintain a mailing list/zine that publishes every week. In the new year, I'm thinking about trying to write some sonnets, as well, just because. I think it's sad that the latter half of the twentieth century has seen a massive dwindling of poetry as a popular art form, and hope for it's resurgence in the 21st.
   
   
6. P stands for Pizza. My favourite food, I don't care about how unhealthy it may be. Best pizza I've had was New York pizza, which is odd, as I'm usually not a big fan of the thin crust; it really does taste substantially different from pizza elsewhere, though. Best local pizza I've had is from a place in Mississauga called Marconi's. Greasy, fatty, but soooooo tasty all the same.
   
   
   
7. P stands for Psychology. I hope I enjoyed this one, as I majored in it in university! I think it's a very rich, exciting branch of science, one that is often misunderstood and somehow both exalted and debased at the same time. I think it's all fascinating, though: personality theory, social psychology, community psychology, cognitive psychology, all of it. I think that part of why I never went further in my studies in this area was my inability to pick just one area of specialization that I was interested in.
   
   
   
8. P stands for Portmanteaux. Words that are created by combining two existing words in English. As an example, creating the word "blaxploitation" out of the words "black" and "exploitation". I think it's amazing that the linguistic part of our brain can decipher the new words as two existing words, and understand the meaning even if the word itself is novel. I do not, however, enjoy when this is being done to combine the names of celebrity couples into one 'cutesy' name - you don't get to do that to someone unless you're close friends with them (only allowable exception: Filliam H. Muffman). Sadly, Google Images did not have any interesting pictures relating to portmanteaux, but I suppose that's to be expected, given that it's an abstract literary concept.
   
9. P stands for Politics. As Nader once said, "if you're not turned onto politics, politics will turn on you." I love to talk politics with people. I'm generally left-leaning on most issues, although on some issues I can agree with more conservative goals, although I often strongly disagree with how they want to go about achieving those goals. I strongly believe that the inclusion of some proportional representation in federal politics would go a long way towards reducing regional alienation and increasing people's faith in democracy. I've voted in every election I've been eligible for; the next federal election may be the first time, though, that I vote for a different party than the one I usually do. Politicians I respect include Jack Layton (well, usually, but not always), Elizabeth May, Garth Turner, and (internationally) Howard Dean.
   
   
   
10. P stands for Palpatine. Emperor Palpatine, that is. Greatest villian ever. For all the crap that Star Wars gets as being "kiddie SF", the fact still remains that the central villian of it was able to masterfully manipulate events around him, bringing around the fall of the Weimar Republic Old Republic and becoming an all-powerful ruler, whose tyranny is ultimately accepted by most of those in the galaxy as a needed instrument of peace and stability (well, except for a small group of uppity rebels)