An interesting Q&A exercise

The question isn't answered if an answer isn't questioned
An answer has a meaning when new meaning has a truth

~~ "A Question Isn't Answered" by Temples

With the recent passing of James Lipton, a meme has been circulating on Facebook of the questions he would routinely ask his guests. I found them intriguing enough that I thought I would answer them here. 

A short response isn't enough to explain the answers. These are intriguing questions to me because they hint at something deeper. Why did you answer the way you did? Exploring that is as much fun as thinking of what the answer is. 

Sometimes I am a little too introspective for my own good. I can easily get lost in my own head. Most of the time, it's a pretty fun place to be. I have really interesting dreams and my mind takes me to some unexpected places sometimes. I don't mind it at 4 in the afternoon, but it usually happens at 4 in the morning, which means that I have some sleepless nights. Maybe if I write about this tonight, my brain will be satisfied and I can get a good night's sleep! So, let's go! 

1. What is your favorite word? 

Penultimate. I used to think this meant 'even more ultimate,' but I learned from Dick Cavett, of all people, what it meant. It means 'second to last.' I don't know why I love it. It's a little obscure, but not archaic or anything. I love to use it as often as possible, as in "It's the penultimate episode of this season of 'The Walking Dead' and I am so excited!"

A close second is one I learned recently: petrichor, which is the smell of rain falling on dry ground, like after a drought. What a wonderful word, one whose meaning can evoke the exact smell in your brain! 

2. What is your least favorite word?

I honestly can't think of one. I know the usual answer here is 'moist,' but I quite like that word, mostly because I know the way it pushes people's buttons! It's also fun to say in a whispery voice. Try it. 

There are many concepts of words that I hate, words like 'lynching' and 'Nazis.'  But that's hating the actual thing, not the word. I just can't think of a word that makes me cringe when I hear it. But hey man, I worked as a Microbiologist, so I routinely dealt with words like 'sputum' and 'pus' and 'exudate.' If anyone can come up with an actual word that grosses me out, I'll buy you a beer. 

3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? 

First, I would like to see a comma between 'spiritually' and 'or,' but that's another topic entirely. I'll take each separately because while connected, they can all be very different for me. 

a) Creatively: Seeing evocative photos or paintings. Or abandoned buildings, especially hospitals. Things that make me wonder what the story is behind it. Those are the things that make me want to write a story, to try to imagine what happened there. Edward Hopper's paintings especially do that to me, and I once wrote a story about a picture I took of a light shining on a corner of a metal building. Abandoned hospitals make me wonder about patients who were there. This muse doesn't hit me on the head very often, but when it does, I love to free my mind and see where it takes me. Knowing me, it's usually fairly dark!

b) Spiritually: Well, I'm an atheist, so religious stuff doesn't move me this way. However, I find that nature is what makes me feel 'spiritual,' whatever that truly means. Sitting outside in the summer, feeling a warm breeze on my face, hearing the birds in the trees, a butterfly landing on my arm and watching its proboscis touch my skin. Why does it do that? Is it getting moisture off my arm? I don't know, but it delights me and makes me feel joy and awe. And it tickles. The world is an amazing place and I guess that is where I find my inspiration for spiritual matters. 

c) Emotionally: How much time do you have? Seriously, so many things make me feel emotion. The older I get, the more emotional I get. Even the simplest, silliest things can just slaughter me. A commercial. A song. A phrase in a piece of writing. The way Sheeba meows at me and looks up at me and wants me to pet his head. Of course, I can also feel anger and sadness, but more often, I feel joy. All three of these things are connected, too. Integrating them brings me happiness and makes for a contented life. 

4. What turns you off? 

Another two-parter for me. You might notice a common thread between the two.

a) Bullies: I have absolutely zero patience for anyone who bullies someone else. If you pick on someone, there is something wrong with you and you need to see a shrink, you insecure, petty jerk. 

b) Willful ignorance: There is no excuse for this. If you don't know about something, educate yourself. Don't say crap like, "I don't know about that and I don't need to know." Just regular old ignorance is understandable. We're all ignorant of certain things and it's okay to say "I don't know," but it should usually be followed by "but I'm going to find out the answer." That is how we learn. 

Now ask yourself who I might have in mind when I'm thinking of a willfully ignorant bully. Be best, people. 

5. What is your favorite curse word?

Well, fuck, this is an easy one! I didn't even have to think about this one. It's just so all-encompassing, you know? You can express approval or disgust. You can tell someone to go away or you can express desire for them. It gives everything a little extra oomph. It is truly the most versatile curse word and you can even make up your own variations on it. A personal favorite I've begun using lately is 'fucko.' I'm sure I didn't originate it, but it signifies the worst disapproval you can give. But you can even change the meaning by the tone of your voice. If you call someone a fucking lunatic when they're coming at you with a meat cleaver, you're expressing genuine horror at their action and their state of mind. But if your friend or whoever makes an outrageous joke or does something wild but fun, you can say, "You fucking lunatic!" with a laugh, and it's a whole different meaning. Isn't that fucking fun?

I'll admit that I have a mouth like a sailor and it's gotten worse the past three years (see Question #4) but I can behave myself when I need to. I don't talk that way around certain people, including kids, but if you're my friend, you get the full fucking vocabulary! Case in point: I just saw a bug on the ceiling and thought, "Fuck, is that what I think it is?" I walked closer and saw that it was a stink bug. I said, "Oh, fucking hell. Fuck me!" I hate those things.

This is getting long enough, so I'll finish the rest of the questions another time. In the meantime, put this in your earholes! 

Beth’s Music Moment: Seek and Ye Shall Find

A topic came up on Facebook today, one that I see pop up every so often. A friend posted a story in which a ‘70s rocker said that something like how rock is “dead” because of downloading and filesharing. That’s some major bullshit right there. Not to mention any names, but maybe this rocker who used to wear a lot of makeup and has an extremely long tongue is just pissed because HIS music isn’t selling much anymore!

Anyway, my friend went on to say that he thinks rock is dead because “a lot of the new stuff sucks.” This isn’t a slam on him, by any means. He is one of my favorite Bookface friends and he posts a lot of great stuff (love ya, Gregg!). But I think he is dead wrong on this and I said that I disagreed with him. We had a productive (if short) discussion there, and he asked for a few recommendations.

I really don’t like this pronouncement and I hear it way too often. No, rock isn’t dead. No, current music doesn’t suck. Some of it does, that’s for sure! But as I pointed out, you aren’t going to hear the good stuff on the radio. This is where the dedicated, proactive music fan needs to step up. There is all kinds of great music being made out there, but you have to step outside your usual zone in order to find it. This is one reason the Interwebz is so great; even if you don’t have a vibrant music scene in your community, you can still check out music that is being made all over these United States and all over the world! It’s wonderful!

Here are a couple of ways to find new music that trips your trigger.

1. Free download sites like NoiseTrade. This is where I’ve found tons of great new music I never would have found otherwise. You can tip the artists whatever amount you want, but I’ve found that if a band just immediately jumps out at me (one of those “Holy shit, this is GREAT!” moments), I usually seek out their music to purchase via whatever method I can. It is often Amazon, but sometimes I get it through Bandcamp, which is another great site to find new music. Speaking of Amazon, they also sometimes offer free MP3 downloads of compilations or single songs. I’ve found some good stuff that way, too.
2. If you have a local music scene, GO SEE THE BANDS. Groove to their music, get up and dance, cheer them on, buy their merchandise, and as I always say, show the band some love! We are fortunate in that South Bend has a vibrant music scene and quite a few venues to see these local bands. It’s not like a big concert with the light show and big-time audio. It’s just local bands setting up their own equipment and working hard to entertain the audience. Be in that audience! Let the bands know that their talent and hard work is appreciated!
3. Have a pal or a relative who is into finding new music and is always willing to turn you onto something they think you’ll love or who posts about the new stuff they find. Shane and I have been Music Buddies for decades, and we are always saying, “Hey, check this out!” One of my fantastic recent finds was, if I recall correctly, a free download from Amazon. That was Temples, one of the best new bands I’ve heard in years. An amazing throwback psychedelic sound. It blew me away and I knew that Shane would love it, too. I was right!

Since Gregg asked for some recommendations, I told him a few of some of my recent finds through these avenues, and I’ll share some videos here.

First up is Shake Before Us out of San Diego. I immediately loved the ‘70s garage band sound, complete with...not sure about my instruments here...is that a Moog? A Farfisa? I don’t know, but it’s a rave up!

Next is Broncho. They are out of Oklahoma City (What?! I know!) and they are so much fun! We actually got to see them live in Chicago when they opened for Billy Idol on several dates on his North American tour. They were great live, and I only wish they had played longer than a half an hour.

Next is Velcro Mary out of Charlotte, North Carolina (What?! I know!). More garage band sound (are you sensing a pattern?) and it turns out that Velcro Mary consists of one guy, Jason, making music in his home. We exchanged several emails and it was fun to learn more about him and about his music. You can get VM’s new album, “Leave a Light On” here.

Finally, here’s a video from one of our most-beloved local bands, The Rutabega, from right here in South Bend. They are an absolute blast to see live and we do so every chance we get. They make an amazing sound for just two guys, with an additional vocalist on some songs.

If you love music, get out there and look for the good stuff. It really is out there. (I haven’t even touched on long-established artists who are still making great music, including The Rainmakers, Prince, Devo, Bowie, and of course, my beloved Duran Duran!)

Happy listening!