questions, questions, questions

Lynn did this, and I'm procrastinating, so I guess I'll do it too:

1. One of my favorite TV shows recently changed the actors who played two characters. Have you ever been bothered by a TV show or movie series changing actors who play a character you love? . I can't really remember this happening. I admit I'm more bugged when the lead guy and lead woman "give in" and fall into bed together. That ruined "Moonlighting" for me many years ago, and more recently, it ruined "House, MD" for me. (Well, I was already getting fed up with that show, because it became more about the drama between people, and less about the interesting rare diseases)

2. A coworker recently shared a link to a blog listing the “five things you should know before dating a journalist.” As a journalist, I can honestly say the writer was spot-on. What are some things people should know before spending time with you? 1. Don't talk CONSTANTLY. I will not say a word if you are talking constantly. Also, if you want me to talk, you will probably have to ask questions. 2. Sometimes I "run out of words" and don't feel like talking that much. 3. I really don't like argument; if I disagree with you on something I just prefer not to discuss it. 4. I get really embarrassed by over-effusive praise about anything. 5. I don't like being made the center of attention so if you're taking me out to a restaurant on my birthday, PLEASE DO NOT get the waiters over to sing to me.

3. What is something you often do without realizing that you’re doing it? I run a knuckle along the wall when I'm walking down the hall at work. And I tend to purse my lips a lot when wearing lipstick and wear it off.

4. Who has the capacity to make you angrier than anyone else in your life, and what in particular does he or she do to make you so angry? There is a person who sets me off, because what I "hear" them saying is "I don't think you're capable of being responsible, so I'm going to remind you of all the things you are supposed to be doing even though you are doing them any way." Anything that makes me feel like I'm not being taken seriously as an adult, or that I'm not smart enough to run my own life makes me mad.

5. If a fairy waved a magic wand and gave you the house of your dreams, where would it be and what features would it have? Out in the woods, on a big lot, so I have a huge sound buffer between myself and the nearest neighbors. But it would still be close enough to town to be able to get decent internet and stuff. It would be much like the house I own now, except with better storage, and maybe a larger "studio" room that would be big enough for me to fit a longarm quilting machine in. And a separate library. And a separate music room just for my piano and maybe a sofa in case I ever have people over to hear me play. And a bedroom up on the top floor with a nice view.

6. What’s a belief that you hold with which many people disagree? . I don't know. I try to avoid too much disagreement, or at least voicing beliefs I know people will disagree with. One belief I hold that some people disagree with? That ketchup isn't a very good condiment. I really don't care for ketchup.

7. I used to talk in my sleep. In fact, I could carry on a conversation with someone when I was fully asleep, and my mom used this fact when I was a teenager to find out if I did anything wrong and was hiding it from my parents. If you were talking your sleep tonight, what do you think you would say? I'd probably be muttering about the things I need to remember to do tomorrow.

8. The fourth installment of the “Twilight” movie series (”Breaking Dawn Part I”) will be released in theaters soon. Movie theaters started selling advance tickets for midnight showings months ago. Have you ever attended a midnight premiere showing of a movie? Nope. Not even "Rocky Horror Picture Show" - all the cool kids would do the midnight showings of that in the place where I grew up. I never went. Just never wanted to, and probably couldn't have gotten permission from my parents if I had.

9. You’re on the road, somewhere west of the Mississippi where it’s a long, long way between towns. It’s long after lunchtime and you’re very hungry. Finally you see a shabby little building with gas pumps in front, a faded, painted wooden sign that says “Cafe” and a pink neon sign in the window that says “Eat”. Do you stop there and get something to eat? . I suppose I would, though I admit I'm leery of places like that after eating at a few "Hey, this will be great - all the truckers eat here" places on vacation that turned out to be HORRIBLE.

10. If a company opened a theme park aimed at adults, what would you name one of the rides? "Sit down and watch the scenery." It would be kind of like the Small World ride at Disneyland, but without the endless-loop song and animatronic figures: instead, it would travel through panoramas of beautiful landscapes from around the world.

11. Imagine you just moved onto Sesame Street. Which puppet would you want as your new roommate? I...have no idea. Is Mr. Snuffleupagus still on there? As much as I liked the Muppets as a kid, I can't think of any Sesame Street muppet I'd want to room with. Is there an Invisible Muppet who never makes noise and wouldn't empty out the fridge or make a mess?

12. Have you ever had a weird crush on a famous person that didn’t make sense to you? Yes, but I'm not telling you who it was. (It was a he, for whatever that's worth)

13. If you get ten minutes to interview any celebrity of your choice, who would you like it to be? Does Lauren Faust count as a celebrity? I think I'd be most interested in talking to her. Or maybe Andrew Zimmern; he would be fun to interview I think. Or Mike Rowe, for that matter.

14. You’ve just won the complete DVD collection of all the movies starring one actor or actress. Which actor/actress would you pick? Probably Cary Grant, both because I like a lot of his work, and also because he made a ton of movies. Or I'd pick Barbara Stanwyck, who's probably my favorite actress of that era and is in several of my favorite movies.

15. Actor George Clooney recently told People Magazine that he doesn’t use Twitter “because I will drink in the evening and I don’t want anything that I could possibly write at midnight to actually end my career.” What is something you’ve said through social media and then regretted it? I tend to be pretty circumspect about what I say. Occasionally I've said stuff in frustration that I thought, "whoa, if the person I'm talking about recognizes themselves, it could come back to bite me" but it never has.

16. VH1 has re-introduced its hit show “Pop-Up Video,” which gives behind-the-scenes facts for popular music videos. What musician would you be most interested in learning behind-the-scenes facts about? Honestly? A lot of the behind-the-scenes facts I've learned about musicians and composers have been kind of disappointing to me or changed my image of them. I sort of prefer to let the work stand for itself.

17. If you stumbled across someone’s personal written journal that was accidentally left in a public place, would you read any of the content? No, and if it had the person's name on the cover or something, I'd try to find them to give it back.

18. A. What is the title of a self-help book that you’d never want to see on a store bookshelf? "Introvert: fix thyself. How to become an extrovert like everyone really should be."

B. What is the title of a self-help book that you would like to see?
Either "You're really not as weird as you think you are" or, better, "Think you're weird? So is everyone else."

19. If you could change the traditions associated with one holiday what would it be and what would you change? (I have to admit I like Lynn's answer on this one, so I'll sort of steal it:) Valentine's Day should be more about love and friendship in general - love of family, love of friends, and the emphasis on romantic love should be less. Because there are an awful lot of us out here who DON'T have romantic love in our lives, and even for those people who do, V-day sets up such expectations...there are ads essentially implying a guy's a jerk if he doesn't buy jewelry for "his lady," or similar things. And then we get things like that godawful Teleflora ad...

Also, all workplaces should stop work at noon or so on Valentine's day and have a party, like we did in grade school, with red Hi-C punch and cupcakes. (And, okay, have a veggie tray for the inevitable person who is on a diet or who won't eat sugar).

20. Should a marriage license have a renewal date or expiration date, like a driver’s license? That seems an utterly stupid idea to me. If people want to renew their vows/ commitment, that's wonderful - but it shouldn't be a condition. (And having to go to the marriage equivalent of the DMV and wait in line....I could see THAT leading to divorces.)