Saturday, November 25, 2006

the consumer is king and unhappiness is treason

Remember in my last post when I mentioned that, were the day to come when I purchased a new computer, it would be a PC notebook? Well, that day came and passed this week and I found myself scooting to the Apple store to adopt an adorable little MacBook instead. Two-fingered scrolling... how did I live without it? The iSight kind of unnerves me a little, though. It feels a little HAL-like. So I'm currently all wireless and delighted, sitting at Spot and enjoying a grilled cheese focaccia and a surprisingly not nasty apple-cinnamon café au lait (they messed up my order, in which I asked for a café au lait and an apple-cinnamon Italian soda. Oh well). I had a fairly productive Christmas shopping excursion to Parkleigh after having my eyebrows plucked half-to-death at Scott Miller.

It's a gorgeous day here. High 50s, sharp sunlight, just a few wispy clouds. I think I'll spend the rest of the day Christmas shopping, or more likely tearing my hair out wondering what to give my father.

Right, well 12.30 so I really should get on with it all. I'm off to one of my mother's favorite boutiques to see if I can check her off my list.

Friday, November 17, 2006

ask me i won't say no how could i

More questions of the day because I'm a little too tired to write anything properly, and stupid Dr and Mr Doris Haggis-On-Whey held up my Amazon shipment. I did recently finish The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke, though, which was delightful. Quite nearly as enjoyable (and not nearly as long) as Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. Very charming.

What's your favorite music for a Sunday morning?
My Soul Mix (Otis, Geno, Al, etc.)

What song makes you rock the karaoke mike?

Eddie Money's 'Take Me Home Tonight.'

What's on your top 5 video games list?
Video games? Really?

What's the worst pickup line you've ever heard?
'Listen luv, I don't have time to chat you up, but do you fancy a shag?' Clearly, I swooned.

What comedian makes you pee your pants laughing?
Well that's a bit extreme! But of course it's Eddie Izzard.

What's your method for calculating a tip?
Restaurant: a little more than double the tax. Bar: $1 for just about everything. Hairdresser: $15. Eyebrow waxer: $5.

What character in a book can you connect with or relate to the most?
Mon petit prince.

What song best describes your current mood?
'(Don't Go Back to) Rockville' - R.E.M.

What's the most drastic change you've ever made to your appearance?
Hm. I don't really do drastic. I once dyed my hair blonde. That didn't last long.

How do you eat your pizza: folded, flat, or with a fork and a knife?
Folded. It has to be a big, floppy slice. I'm not so sure I could get on board with someone eating takeout pizza with a fork and knife. My unconfirmed theory is that anyone who eats pizza with silverware is bad in bed. Feel free to do your own field work.

Windows, Mac, Linux - What's your preference and why?
I really, really don't care. I use my computer for the most basic functions: e-mail, IM, music, interwebs. From a design point of view, yes, Macs are delicious. But I actually really like my Vaio and I think my next computer will be a cute Vaio notebook. Plus, we all know John Hodgman is utterly awesome and in serious contention to ascend to the right hand of Stephen Fry in my personal pantheon of greatness. PCs win by association.

What's your dream career?
Getting paid obscene amounts of money to travel and do research. Oddly enough, 'money' and 'academia' rarely go hand-in-hand.

What's your favorite radio station, past or present?
WBER circa 1993-1998.

What would the title of your autobiography be?
Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live? Why?
Well if I could figure that out it'd be half my problem solved, wouldn't it? I'm going to say London, though. I have friends there who are fantastic and I completely fell in love with the city.

How did you pick your Vox name? Does it mean something?
Actually, Blogger is just about the only place where I'm not 'fauxarbres.' My Blogger name 'clockworkbird' doesn't really mean anything. I just liked the imagery and connotations of it. As for good old fauxarbres... it's been with me since my days on AOL, so circa 1998. I was obsessively into Radiohead at the time and wanted a screen name that was Radiohead-related. As it happened, half of the world was obsessively into Radiohead at the time, so such screen names were a little hard to come by. So I decided to translate something into French. 'Faux Arbres En Plastique' was too long, et voilà! Faux arbres!

What is your favorite scent?
A few that I love: freshly-cut lawns and gas-powered lawn mowers; garlic and onions cooking; autumn.

What's your sign? Do you believe in astrology and horoscopes?
No, I don't believe in horoscopes. That said, I'm a Libra and sometimes I think that certain aspects of my sign completely apply to me (hates conflict, has a tough time making decisions, is happiest when in love, wants things to be placid and beautiful). But then again... meh.

What did you think you would never ever do... but did?
Live abroad.

Do you remember your first flight? Where did you go? Why?
I was 6 and went to visit my Aunt in California. It was awesome. Ever since then I've loved travel.

What's the weirdest thing you've ever eaten?
Jellied eel, I suppose. I like to think I have a rather adventurous appetite, but rarely do I have the opportunity to exercise it.

What food or drink do you love when it's cold out?
Tea. Mulled wine. Spiced spiked cider.

Do you listen to podcasts? Are there any you'd recommend?
I listen to some NPR ones and The Word Nerds.

Tell us about your first kiss. Who was it with? How old were you?
To be honest, I don't remember. It was probably with our family friend B, but I could totally be making that up. I want to say it was around Kindergarten or 1st Grade though.

What do you do to get rid of a cold or the flu?
Mainline Nyquil and sleep.

What are your top 25 most played songs?
On iTunes you mean? Uh, lemme see...
1. Refreshing Rain
2. Inspiring Thunderstorms
(Those are both white noise that I put on repeat to fall asleep, hence why they're the most played).
3. Strange Powers - the Magnetic Fields
4. I'd Rather Dance With You - the Kings of Convenience
5. Hard to Beat - Hard-Fi
6. Ready 2 Wear - Felix da Housecat
7. I Luv the Valley, Oh! - Xiu Xiu
8. Hung Up - Madonna
9. Ladytron - Roxy Music
10. Maple Leaves 7" - Jens Lekman
11. Minnesoter - the Dandy Warhols
12. Blood - Editors
13. I Die: You Die - Gary Numan
14. You Are the Light - Jens Lekman
15. Modes of Transport - Astrid
16. Hanging On the Telephone - Blondie
17. Ooh La La - Goldfrapp
18. Heartbeat - Annie
19. Heaven Hammer (Missing) - Beck
20. In a Big Country - Big Country
21. Bonnie and Clyde - Serge Gainsbourg
22. Just What I Needed - the Cars
23. Take Me Home Tonight - Eddie Money
24. Maybe You Can Owe Me - Architecture in Helsinki
25. The Dreaming Moon - the Magnetic Fields

Which cartoon character best represents you?
Does the Little Prince count?

What's your favorite thing to shop for?
Books. Books and clothes. And house stuff.

What was your very first job?
Stocking shelves at Wegmans.

What's the best way to spend a rainy day?
Well, I'm guessing it's probably going to be inside the butterfly garden at Strong Museum. That's where I'll be spending my next rainy weekend day. Otherwise, there's always reading at a café or poking around the Eastman House or Memorial Art Gallery.

What do you like to make or order for brunch?
Mimosas. Stuffed french toast.

What gameshow or reality show would you kick butt on?
Remember 'Rock n' Roll Jeopardy' on VH1? I could've rocked that.

What's the most memorable building you've lived in?
My apartment on North Parade in Bath. Absolutely stunning, and fantastic views. I miss my parapet.