Curious Queries – Interview II

[€uroMeinke]

I love the interview thread with it’s thoughtful questions and answers, but it takes quite some time to keep that one going, so I thought I’d start something along the same lines but a little less restrictive. That said come here and pose your curious questions to your fellow swankers. These can be simple one-off questions with the only restriction being that they a directed to specific person or person(s).

So I’ll start off with a couple of questions for Eliza Hodgkins 1812:

Robots – when began your fascination, and what about them do you love so much? Do you have favorites? What in your mind makes a really good robot.

Graphic Novels – when began your interest in these. Do you remember your first? Would you like to write your own – or have you already? What makes for a superior graphic novel?

[€uroMeinke]

Darn you people who don't hang on the internet all day! Okay, I shall try to get a few more questions going:

MousePod - as a relative newcomer to this community, I don't think we've heard you Disney story yet. What was it that started your obsession with the Mouse. What was the first park you visited and how old were you? When did you relize that you were a bit more obsessed about it than most others?

What other (non-Disney) things draw your attention? What is your favorite collection?

[€uroMeinke]

Not Afraid

Punk Rock – You’ve often referred to your punk rock past, What was it that made you a punk rocker, what distinguished you from the possuers who came after? How are you still most like a punk rocker. What about you is the least punk rock?

[LSPoorEeyorick]

Whoring your own thread, C? Tee hee. Let me ask some too, so you're not alone.

EUROMEINKE! You have such insightful and clever things to say on the board. You are an awfully quiet man in person. This, of course, has its charm, and I don't mean to belittle it. I'm simply curious about why the internet draws out your conversation, and why hanging out inspires you to keep more mum. Also, is it possible to keep more mum? Is that a sorely-phrased expression?

[mousepod]

Originally Posted by €uroMeinke

Darn you people who don't hang on the internet all day! Okay, I shall try to get a few more questions going:

MousePod - as a relative newcomer to this community, I don't think we've heard you Disney story yet. What was it that started your obsession with the Mouse. What was the first park you visited and how old were you? When did you relize that you were a bit more obsessed about it than most others?

Since this looks like it's a quick 'n' dirty thread, I'll try to give you short answers. My obsession with the mouse is actually an adult thing. When I was a kid (late 1960s- early 70s) I had what I considered to be typical exposure to things Disney. My family watched The Wonderful World of Disney on television, we saw all of the first-run and rerelease movies in the theaters, and I read the occasional Disney comic book. My first visit to a Disney park was Disneyland at the age of 6, and I was too scared to go on a lot of the rides. In my adolescent and teen years, my obsessions veered toward the seamier side of pop culture - comics, punk rock, strange movies... that sort of thing. Disney wasn't exactly gone, but took more of a back seat, along with other "safe" things like The Beatles. Fast-forward past my druggie/alky ordeal (pretty boring stuff, really) and into my first year of sobriety. I'd met a bunch of cool people at an ICYPAA (International Conference of Young People in AA) and they invited me to come to a local conference in SoCal. Long story short, a bunch of us 18-21 year olds wound up spending an afternoon and evening in DL. Holy Crap! Sober fun. Given the opportunity reexamine the Disney empire with a new set of eyes was enlightening. And I've been a fan ever since.
For more details of my obsession, see The MousePod

What other (non-Disney) things draw your attention? What is your favorite collection?

Honestly, there are too many to mention. I don't think I'm a "casual fan" of anything. If I read a good book, I need to read everything the author has written. If I see a good movie, I want to experience the director's entire oeuvre. I have thousands of records, books, cds, videos... My favorite collection at any moment is the one I'm currently researching. Right now, there's this Japanese singer that I'm obsessing on. I have all of her CDs and DVDs, but none of her emphemera. There are a couple of shops in Tokyo that might have what I'm looking for. Wanna come along?

[Matterhorn Fan]

All these serious questions. I'm going to ask a trivial, silly one (at least I think it's trivial and silly).

Cadaverous Pallor, I believe you've posted before that you use Pantene shampoo (me too). What do you think of their new formula? If I am mistaken about your shampoo, tell us about what shampoo you do use; you have very pretty hair.

[Not Afraid]

Originally Posted by €uroMeinke

Not Afraid

Punk Rock – You’ve often referred to your punk rock past, What was it that made you a punk rocker, what distinguished you from the possuers who came after? How are you still most like a punk rocker. What about you is the least punk rock?

LOL!

I was a rebellious kid. I was raised in a very strict fundamentalist Christian household with a Mother who cares a bit too much about what everyone else thought. I always hated her attitude and the "little white lies" that went along with them.



When I got into HS, I started to find my own way (which was quite a bit different than the way I was brought up). I got into new types of theater, music, art and dance that were different from the traditional forms I had been exposed to. The friends I was attracted to were all of different races, religions and sexual orientations.



One day my BF brought home a single of Siouxsie and the Banshees "Hong Kong Garden". It was so wonderful and different from the boring, unimaginative Foreigner, Boston, ELO, Foghat, Kansas etc. We started to go see bands that were new and different - usually at small, intimate venues.



Through the club excursions, I met more people and saw more bands - some of them local. I started hanging out with other punks and bands, started shopping at thrift stores (Mother was appalled ), cut my long red/blond hair and dyed it black and generally threw ALL of the teachings of the church and my parents out the window as I discovered my own sense of "normal" - which I discovered doesn't really exist. I learned to questions things (like authority ) and find my own answers.



How is that different from the poseurs that came after? I think we were forging a new type path that was different that what had come before. We were defining American Punk in the late 1970's and early 1980's and it was a different attitude than the English Punk that inspired it. It was less about economics and more about attitudes, beliefs, religion, anger, authority, and government (although English Punk has some of the same focus). The music that came out of these attitudes expressed our beliefs and it was hard and fast and exhilarating! Those that came after (and continue today) adopted the style of Punk, but the attitude is rarely there. It's more of a fashion statement than anything - with a few exceptions. The conformity gets to me because it is so not punk.



Why am I still punk? I take my own road in many ways. I seek out things that are challenging and interesting. I don't follow much of what the masses do - especially in creative endeavors; music, art, dance, etc. I'm still very rebellious about getting involved in certain "popular" social phenomenon. I hate TV, I won't watch the News, I only listen to public radio, I usually don't read "bestsellers" and I'm very careful about how I spend my time and money. I still seek out the interesting and odd. But, I'm less punk in how I "look" (although I still wear a lot of black). I don't feel the need to make my opinions know all of the time. I don't need to convince anyone else I am right. I've become more comfortable in my own skin and am not out to change the world through my opinions. I don't really know if that is less Punk or not. But, it sure is a different attitude than the one I had when I was learning what rebellion was all about.

Interesting question! Thanks!

[€uroMeinke]

Originally Posted by LSPoorEeyorick

EUROMEINKE! You have such insightful and clever things to say on the board. You are an awfully quiet man in person. This, of course, has its charm, and I don't mean to belittle it. I'm simply curious about why the internet draws out your conversation, and why hanging out inspires you to keep more mum. Also, is it possible to keep more mum? Is that a sorely-phrased expression?

Whew – good question, I wish I knew the answer and would be interested in hearing some theories. I suppose in many ways, I’m more comfortable with expressing myself in the written word than in the spoken word. But that seems too simple and pat an explanation.

I think in many ways I’m a reluctant leader, call it shy, or maybe even codependent, but when a group gets going, it creates a certain momentum and I hate to get in it’s way. I’m uncomfortable competing for the attention that live groups seem to have. I usually wait for a lull to step in, and then very tentatively. Lack of confidence? Fear of rejection? Perhaps those come into play – whatever it is, it’s probably irrational.

I much prefer one-on-one conversations, and in those situations I can be quite verbose – or so I’m told.

I suppose the internet works for me in that I can put myself out without talking over anyone else. People can choose to ignore what I say, so I don’t feel so bad about putting it out there. I am very fascinated with other people’s stories, and love to hear about the things that make them unique. So I suppose my whoring this thread is perhaps a fine example of a way in which I feed my intellectual voyeurism.

But I do wish sometimes, I could import my internet self into the real world. Perhaps someday I'll be able to Matrix myself in

[Not Afraid]

Whew! I thought he was going to say that his wife was to loud for him to get a word in edgewise.

[€uroMeinke]

Kevy Baby - You've mention a few times you desire to be a parent. What is it you look forward to the most, about having a child? What is the one piece of wisdom you hope to pass on? And what do you hope your child will think about you as he or she becomes an adult?