Announcement! Member of the Month, January Edition: volcaniclastic

[volcaniclastic]

Good morning, everyone! This is five days late, because time doesn't function at a constant rate when I'm unemployed, and I only just realized that's it's January this morning.

For those of you who don't remember the description from last month, MotM is a monthly series where we (the staff) choose three participants, and you (the Supporters) vote on who the member of the month should be. Then, we (the staff) bring the results to the entire forum, and for this month only, we can ask our winner questions and expect answers (within reason, of course).

Da Rules:
- Only myself and the winning participant (which I guess, is, err, me, this time) can post in this thread.
- All questions you want to ask must be PM'd to me.
- I will then post the questions here.
- Our winner (me) will then answer them.

Let's pay attention to the rules, because it keeps this streamlined, and less messy.

Now...

Our MotM for January is: Uhh, me.

Starting Questions:

1) What is your favorite word, and why?
- I don't actually have a favourite word, but for the purposes of this exercise, I'll choose 'anarchy'. I don't believe anyone should have the power to tell me what to do.

2) What is your least favorite word, and why?
- I'll give you my least favourite phrase. It's a british phrase - "You just can't win, can you?" ...hate it. I can do what I want.

3) What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
- Anything which is untamed, unfettered, and undeniably raw.

4) What turns you off?
- Constraints, having to live within a definition of a word, etc.

5) What is your favorite curse word?
- I actually very rarely curse.

6) What sound or noise do you love?
- Falling rain on concrete, falling rain on leaves and bushes, the sound of the ocean inside a seashell (or anywhere, actually), the sound ptarmigans make....the list is really huge.

7) What sound or noise do you hate?
- When my dog chews on his bone, police sirens, the sound of a mass of people's voices all at once. This is a really big list too.

8) What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
- Ecology, ecotourism, maybe being a writer, but I'd probably hate it, and being a pro cycle tour racer.

9) Do you believe in an afterlife?
- Nope.

10) What is your spiritual path?
- To be wholly human in every step I take. To seek sanctity. To see the natural processes of this world and worship. Or...to coin a term Thal uses, bioregional pagan naturalist.

[volcaniclastic]

Re: Member of the Month, January Edition: volcaniclastic

11) What are your three favorite books and why (the why being optional)?
- I don't have favourite solitary books. I do, however, have favourite series. So I'll list those instead, and the list is by no means comprehensive. I probably have several dozen favourite book related anythings.

1. The Kushiel series, Jacqueline Carey. Why? The series most closely correlates with my world view. And because the writing is floral and beautiful, the emotion raw and unforgiving, yielding and gentle.

2. The Last Herald Mage trilogy, Mercedes Lackey. This is the first trilogy I read as a teenager that had mention of a homosexual protagonist. The writing is simplistic, but the story is good.

3. The Sword of Truth series, Terry Goodkind (up to and including Confessor, but not beyond that). Disclaimer added that Terry Goodkind had a good thing going, with the first portion of the series. It's a classic Joseph Campbell hero's journey type story. After Confessor, which I believe is the 11th book in the series, he started writing 'a Kahlan and Richard Novel' continuing series, and it's balls. Don't read them.

12) What are your three favorite movies and why (see above)?

1. Garden State: because I love shitty, artsy indie films, Zach Braff, and Natalie Portman.
2. Beauty and the Beast: because in my tiny little kid heart, Belle had the grandest adventure.
3. Only Lovers Left Alive: Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, real and proper vampires (not the kind that sparkle) and a sweet, sweet soundtrack.

13) What book or books do you hate most?

- While the premise was good and really well founded (and I'm now playing a D&D campaign based off the book), Johnathan Strange and Mr Norrell was terrible to read. I couldn't get into it. I also couldn't get into the Silmarillon (hater's gonna hate).

14) What movie or movies do you hate most?

- I don't watch scary movies. This includes horror, thriller, suspense, paranormal, etc. I also really don't like chick flicks, romances, or coming of age stories (unless they are part of a shitty, artsy indie film. Then I'll watch anything). Specifically though, nothing comes to mind.

15) If a random omnipotent being offers to place you anywhere in time and space to live and provides everything (to include but not be limited to knowledge of local language, starting funds, period relevant skills in a craft and a history that will stand up to any mortal scrutiny) necessary to start a comfortable life, where and when would you pick?

- Presuming my gender is also subject to change (last I checked, females didn't do a whole lot in antiquity) ...I'd go with either an archer in a dark ages Scotland, an ancient Greek noble, or I'd learn to be a blacksmith.

- - - Updated - - -

16) What/where is your favourite place to be and why?

- just in general, outside. Anywhere outside. I've got a soft spot for the lush rainforests and rocky beaches of my childhood, but I don't live anywhere near those, now. Hm, favourite place on the planet? I really enjoyed Orkney Main in Scotland. It's a little island above the treeline, there's rolling hills, little farms dotting the landscape, and seals by the shore. And you know that stereotype about Scotland where they have ALL the weather ALL the time? Orkney. Also, they make good scotch. Otherwise, I'd say India. Because there isn't anything at all I don't love about India.

17) What is one thing that brings you instant calm?

- cycling outside in the summer. listening to celtic music with the candles lit and the lights off. adventure.

[volcaniclastic]

Re: Member of the Month, January Edition: volcaniclastic

1. What's one (or small handful, if you have more than one) physical activity you really want to do some day, to say you did it. (eg. skydiving, deep sea diving, flash mobbing, what have you...)

Oh god. Skydiving for sure. Squirrel suiting. Free solo climbing. Outdoor climbing (I boulder, but not climb outdoors). Mountain biking in Bend, Oregon. Mountain biking in Moab, Utah. Canoeing down the Mackenzie. The list goes on. If I could die doing it, I will want to do it.

2. If you could have dinner with one person, living or dead, whom would it be, where would you go and what would you want to talk about the most?

- I'm probably supposed to tell you some famous author, or a painter from a hundred years ago. But right now, I'd pick my friend Tom, and our words would be whistles in the wind, and we would talk about this, or that, and it wouldn't matter, and that would be perfectly okay.

3. If you had the opportunity to make one global change, what would it be?

- Everyone should just chill out and love more freely.