Interview from the Top
Jun. 6th, 2003 10:32 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
robotech_masterOn my friend ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
demiurgent's LJ yesterday, I saw a meme go by: the livejournal interview. Someone poses you questions in their livejournal, and you answer in your own, posting a comment in response to say where your answers can be found. I kind of like this idea; it seems more personal than those interminable zillion-question LJ polls that people are always posting, and it gets you to thinking about things that you might otherwise not consider putting into words. So, behind the cut, here are my answers to demiurgent's interview questions.
1. You're known for your use and love of unicorn imagery. What are your favorite unicorns in fiction and myth? What is your favorite bright unicorn image and your favorite dark unicorn image?
Probably my very favorite unicorn is the title character from Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn. I came to it relatively late in life, only having found out about it a few years ago, but it just struck a chord with me as soon as I read it, and in some sense I've never been able to put it down. I liked it enough that I ordered the German region-2 DVD of the Rankin-Bass animated movie despite Rosemary's Baby's Mother's atrocious attempt at singing (it's now the only non-region-1-or-universal DVD that I own), and I'm eagerly awaiting next year's live-action version. It's hard to explain just why that book is so fantastic. It's sort of like a secret decoder ring to life; every time you read it, you come back with new insights you never knew were there. Even Beagle himself feels that way.
A close second would be the unicorns from Ridley Scott's Legend. The storyline isn't that great, and it has Tom Cruise in it, but Ridley Scott captured the dreamy look and feel of unicorns perfectly (even if their horns do wobble now and then), even if he did end up burning down the famed 007 soundstage while doing it.
As for images...well, I don't think I've yet found the "perfect" unicorn image, so I don't know if I can say I have a particular favorite. I have several pictures and posters adorning my room, including the one below left. The middle one is my occasional desktop, and a printout of it adorns my cubicle at work (even if the unicorn's nose looks like it belongs more on a cow than a horse). I'm also partial to the ancient tapestry of a unicorn purifying a stream of water from a fountain (the one which was used in the credits of the Last Unicorn movie) but can't find an image of it on the web. Last but not least, I quite like Jordan Greywolf's style of black-and-white inking, and I maintain a gallery webpage of a lot of his unicorn art (some of which I use as LJ-icons). Of those, one of my favorites is the image below right. Click on any of them for a larger version of the image.
As for dark unicorn images, I really haven't seen that many. However, if you allow images to include imagery, I'd have to go with Heather Alexander's filk song "Black Unicorn". Someday I need to find out if that song is based on any particular fantasy novel, as filk songs tend to be, and if so, find and read it.
2. What food do you crave on rainy summer days?
Domino's pizza, thin-crust, double-pepperoni. The concentrated and distilled essence of pizza.
3. You're granted the gift of noteriety. What would you like to become famous (or infamous) for throughout the land, if you didn't have to do any of the preparation or work to get there?
Filmmaker, novellist, or roleplaying game writer. The kind who actually can make enough money to live on out of his work.
4. What four songs are first on the mix tape of your life's soundtrack?
Vertical Horizon - "Everything You Want" — I've never been the most socially ept person in the world, and it's let me in for a lot of frustration over the years. This song perfectly encapsulates and sums up just how I've felt sometimes. (I have a few other songs that fit the same frame of mind: Fastball - "Out of My Head" and Blackmore's Rainbow or Night's version of "Self-Portrait"—but those would be on the full mix tape.)
Yes - "Open Your Eyes" — This song sort of ties back to the previous one, but it's a bit more optimistic. Which is what I need to hear sometimes.
Dog's Eye View - "Everything Falls Apart" — This song sums up how my life went in 2002 and the early part of 2003. It feels so nice to have a job and be making money again.
Margie Adams (or Peter, Paul, & Mary) - "Best Friend (the Unicorn Song)" — This song just fits me somehow.
5. If you could study any subject in greater detail than you've been able to so far, no cost, what would it be and where would you do it?
That's easy: Japanese TV/movies (animated and live-action), and the Japanese language. The more I see of anime or live-action stuff like Kamen Rider, the more fascinated I am by the differences between Japanese and American culture. I'd really love to know more. Most of all, I'd like to pick up a basic understanding of the Japanese language, so I can understand shows better without needing subtitles. And, as long as we're fantasizing, I'd do it in Japan. :) (Though there are actually some good courses in Japanese animation taught at universities here in America, though I couldn't say which ones without doing more research than I'm really willing to for this interview.)
demiurgent's LJ yesterday, I saw a meme go by: the livejournal interview. Someone poses you questions in their livejournal, and you answer in your own, posting a comment in response to say where your answers can be found. I kind of like this idea; it seems more personal than those interminable zillion-question LJ polls that people are always posting, and it gets you to thinking about things that you might otherwise not consider putting into words. So, behind the cut, here are my answers to demiurgent's interview questions.1. You're known for your use and love of unicorn imagery. What are your favorite unicorns in fiction and myth? What is your favorite bright unicorn image and your favorite dark unicorn image?
Probably my very favorite unicorn is the title character from Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn. I came to it relatively late in life, only having found out about it a few years ago, but it just struck a chord with me as soon as I read it, and in some sense I've never been able to put it down. I liked it enough that I ordered the German region-2 DVD of the Rankin-Bass animated movie despite Rosemary's Baby's Mother's atrocious attempt at singing (it's now the only non-region-1-or-universal DVD that I own), and I'm eagerly awaiting next year's live-action version. It's hard to explain just why that book is so fantastic. It's sort of like a secret decoder ring to life; every time you read it, you come back with new insights you never knew were there. Even Beagle himself feels that way.
A close second would be the unicorns from Ridley Scott's Legend. The storyline isn't that great, and it has Tom Cruise in it, but Ridley Scott captured the dreamy look and feel of unicorns perfectly (even if their horns do wobble now and then), even if he did end up burning down the famed 007 soundstage while doing it.
As for images...well, I don't think I've yet found the "perfect" unicorn image, so I don't know if I can say I have a particular favorite. I have several pictures and posters adorning my room, including the one below left. The middle one is my occasional desktop, and a printout of it adorns my cubicle at work (even if the unicorn's nose looks like it belongs more on a cow than a horse). I'm also partial to the ancient tapestry of a unicorn purifying a stream of water from a fountain (the one which was used in the credits of the Last Unicorn movie) but can't find an image of it on the web. Last but not least, I quite like Jordan Greywolf's style of black-and-white inking, and I maintain a gallery webpage of a lot of his unicorn art (some of which I use as LJ-icons). Of those, one of my favorites is the image below right. Click on any of them for a larger version of the image.
As for dark unicorn images, I really haven't seen that many. However, if you allow images to include imagery, I'd have to go with Heather Alexander's filk song "Black Unicorn". Someday I need to find out if that song is based on any particular fantasy novel, as filk songs tend to be, and if so, find and read it.
2. What food do you crave on rainy summer days?
Domino's pizza, thin-crust, double-pepperoni. The concentrated and distilled essence of pizza.
3. You're granted the gift of noteriety. What would you like to become famous (or infamous) for throughout the land, if you didn't have to do any of the preparation or work to get there?
Filmmaker, novellist, or roleplaying game writer. The kind who actually can make enough money to live on out of his work.
4. What four songs are first on the mix tape of your life's soundtrack?
Vertical Horizon - "Everything You Want" — I've never been the most socially ept person in the world, and it's let me in for a lot of frustration over the years. This song perfectly encapsulates and sums up just how I've felt sometimes. (I have a few other songs that fit the same frame of mind: Fastball - "Out of My Head" and Blackmore's Rainbow or Night's version of "Self-Portrait"—but those would be on the full mix tape.)
Yes - "Open Your Eyes" — This song sort of ties back to the previous one, but it's a bit more optimistic. Which is what I need to hear sometimes.
Dog's Eye View - "Everything Falls Apart" — This song sums up how my life went in 2002 and the early part of 2003. It feels so nice to have a job and be making money again.
Margie Adams (or Peter, Paul, & Mary) - "Best Friend (the Unicorn Song)" — This song just fits me somehow.
5. If you could study any subject in greater detail than you've been able to so far, no cost, what would it be and where would you do it?
That's easy: Japanese TV/movies (animated and live-action), and the Japanese language. The more I see of anime or live-action stuff like Kamen Rider, the more fascinated I am by the differences between Japanese and American culture. I'd really love to know more. Most of all, I'd like to pick up a basic understanding of the Japanese language, so I can understand shows better without needing subtitles. And, as long as we're fantasizing, I'd do it in Japan. :) (Though there are actually some good courses in Japanese animation taught at universities here in America, though I couldn't say which ones without doing more research than I'm really willing to for this interview.)
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Unicornische Interview
Date: 2003-06-06 05:32 pm (UTC)