Question meme

[ariadnes_string]

So, this meme was doing the rounds weeks ago, and linaerys gave me this great set of questions. Finally, almost a month later, I have answers, though I think they reveal me to be the pretentious and overly serious person I am in my non-fannish life. I usually try to shield y'all from this aspect of me, sorry! Feel free to defriend me now that it's been

Comments

[linaerys]

Thanks for the great answers! And the clip, which I shall watch tomorrow.

I'm trying to recall if it was Fagles's translation of the Illiad that I found a bit too modern in its idiom. Is that something he does?

[ariadnes_string]

There is a translation of the Iliad that uses very modern idiom--updates the similes to contemporary images, etc.--It's not Fagles, but I'm blanking on the name of the translator (it may be a poet). Fagles is less stodgy than some of the older translations (which make everybody sound like Klingons, one of my students once informed me), but I don't think it's modern in that way. Possibly not to everybody's taste, tho'

Enjoy the clip--it's part of a 12 minute scene filmed in a single take--

thank for the questions!

[linaerys]

Wow, that was an intense clip. I'll watch the whole movie at some point. It hits so many of my interests that I will try to deal with the starving-to-death stuff.

Oh, and if you'd like to lob some questions my way, I'd enjoy that. No pressure, though.

[ariadnes_string]

Isn't it? It's also more talking than he does in the rest of the movie put together--otherwise he's equally intense (if not more so) in a purely physical way

[taste_is_sweet]

That definitely wasn't pretentious. You are a very interesting person. :D

And yes, my darling, you can ask me questions if you like. :)

[ariadnes_string]

Glad it wasn't pretentious--I get self-conscious when I start talking about books :)

Here you go, sweetheart:

1. If you could go out tonight, anywhere in the world (or in time), where would you go?

2. What is your favorite kind of landscape, to walk in or look at?

3. What was your favorite book (or series) when you were growing up? Would you read it again now? Would you read it to your kid?

4. Do you have any hobbies--sports, crafts, stuff like that?

5. What surprises you most about your life right now?

[taste_is_sweet]

Neat questions. Thank you. :D

[ariadnes_string]

you're very welcome--looking forward to the answers!

[anniehow]

Well, ice-skating has a pretty active fandom (or had one, during the winter olimpics), I don't see why dance shouldn't! (one of my students is a ballet dancer at a pretty high level, and just yesterday she was telling me about some of the top stars at the bolshoy... now you're making me wonder)

[ariadnes_string]

oh yeah, I'm sure there is an active fandom for ballet out there--probably a pretty interesting one, too! (though I wonder whether something needs widespread media distribution (like skating during the Olympics) to generate fic? probably not :)

Fandom is an awesome thing!

[lilith_lessfair]

I'm trying to imagine a fandom for ballet or modern, though there certainly may well be one. It's such a small and insular world it's hard for me to imagine, but then I suppose that would be the case for professional skating or theatre or any number of other things that do have large fannish followings.

A week in London on my own with enough money to stay in a nice hotel and go out to the theater/opera/various forms of performance art every night.

Ah, yes, that would be nice. So many things to see.

But the book that really blew my mind last year was Robert Fagles’s translation of the Aeneid.

Really? I'm curious. I've read it, but it never made much of an impression on me. I also think a good, modern translation is far from an easy thing, so I may have to check it out.

[ariadnes_string]

I don't know much about the current ballet world, but when I've read biographies of Balanchine or Nureyev, etc., it seems like one wouldn't even need to invent loony stories to have a fandom. Modern dance is harder to imagine, I agree.

Though, when you think about it, so much dance is "transformative fiction"--versions of other people's stories in a new medium....

The Aeneid made very little impression on me the first time I read it, too--I'm not sure if it was the translation or the timing of the re-reading, but the Fagles translation definitely changed that--worth a try, if you like classical epics :)

[mainecoon76]

Late to the party as usual... But yeah, why not. Since I'm not really volunteering a lot of personal information on my journal, as it is... You can ask me questions if you like.

And no, not a single reason to defriend. :)

When I was in college, I flirted with the idea of doing something medical-being a doctor, maybe...

So did I, for similar reasons. I sometimes wish I'd taken that road. But I suppose I wouldn't be the person I am now, because what we learn and study has a huge influence on how we turn out to be, hasn't it? And not just in terms of occupation. It's really strange to think about it; so many things would have gone differently.

[ariadnes_string]

Yeah, it's quite hard for me to imagine having chosen another profession. Though I would have liked a bit more choice about where I lived. I love where I live now, but there have been some rough spots in between.

Delighted to give you some questions!

1. I know you do some fencing, but what other non-fandom, non-family & work things do you enjoy?

2. What is the best book you've read lately?

3. Other than the one you live in, what historical period do you think would have suited you best?

4. If you could have any dessert (magically free of calories) what would you have?

5. What surprises you most about your life right now (I have to ask everyone this question).

thanks for playing!

[mainecoon76]

Thanks! Hmmm, those require a bit of introspection (but of the pleasant kind).

It'll take some time, though, with RL being a really busy place at the moment...

[ariadnes_string]

no worries--there's no rush!