34 posts tagged “qotd”
Congrats - TIME Magazine voted you "Person of the Year"! What's your acceptance speech?
I'm afraid there's been some kind of mistake. I didn't win it, you did.
(boo)
Windows, Mac, Linux - What's your preference and why?
Submitted by ramblingsbymark.
I've used a Mac since my dad brought the little beige 128K Mac home in 1984. I used to go with him to Mac User Group meetings at UCSD, and fall asleep until the very end where they demoed shareware games.
I strayed around 2000 and bought a Windows laptop. Then I installed Linux on my old PowerMac. I hated both. When Mac OS X came out, I knew I had found home again.
The two key questions I asked my girlfriend on our first date were: 1) dogs or cats, and 2) Mac or Windows.
She answered both correctly, dogs and Mac. From there on, the only religious debates we've had have been actual religious debates.
What is your earliest memory?
Submitted by Megan.
As I get older, I increasingly doubt my earliest memory, because it seems too early. I couldn't have been more than a year and a half old. But the fact that it's been burned into the ol' neurons since such an early age – I've had this memory with me for as long as I can remember and can call it up instantly – I still can't fully deny its validity.
It's not much of anything, really. The time is compressed or distorted, but I can distinctly remember being passed from my mom to this other presence, this male presence that wasn't my dad, and being walked into what is the back bedroom of my grandparents' house. The presence had a calmness and tranquility to it, and I'm pretty sure I fell asleep.
That's it.
The reason it's significant for me is that it's the only memory I have of my maternal grandfather, who died in an accident not long afterward. Even today, when I walk into that room at my grandmother's house, I know that's where my earliest memory happened.
Tell us about your first kiss. Who was it with? How old were you?
There was a new girl at school junior year. I was the shyest kid in class. It took me weeks to talk to her, and I don't mean two weeks. I mean more like eight or nine. In fact, I think we first spoke to each other on the day before Christmas vacation, when only the good nerdy kids bothered to show up for school, and we just hung out in the classrooms of our favorite teachers. She was beautiful, with long dark hair and huge brown eyes – but equally shy, and had roughly two friends at school.
We picked things up after Christmas vacation and started talking on the phone, but we were never able to see each other outside of school. She lived on the nearby marine base and had a very strict father. Her father was a marine, if I haven't made that clear. A marine.
To be fair, she had been protected from a very young age because of health problems. She had been born with her heart positioned backwards in her chest and had been through a number of surgeries. The girl with the backwards heart.
When junior prom was announced, I asked her, and she made it clear that she wanted to go, but was scared to ask permission from her father. We spent some time figuring out the best way for her to ask. Then she said she wanted a sign of encouragement. I had a tennis match coming up (yes, I joined the tennis team when a classmate pointed out I didn't have any extracurricular activities to put on my college applications). She said, "If you win your tennis match, I'm sure he'll say yes." It was a silly statement, but we needed something to hold on to.
But jesus, I hadn't won a tennis match all year. I played first team doubles with my friend Alex, and we always had a great time, but we didn't really have a killer instinct. We were more interested in playing mindgames with our opponents, but that usually didn't work well since our opponents were almost always beating us. This request was about the same as asking me to swim the English Channel – possible, but unlikely.
I want to say I applied myself and trained like Rocky and beat the living daylights out of our next opponents. It really would be the proper time for a music montage were we making this story into a film. In truth, we had the scheduling windfall of playing the only local high school team worse than us. We beat the living daylights out of our next opponents, who looked like they had been recruited at the last minute from the chess club. Oh joy! I rushed home to call her and share the news.
Her dad said no.
That wasn't the end of the story. Somehow over the ensuing weeks she managed to wear him down and agree to let her go, provided he drove us there and picked us up. I agreed, because I had no leverage.
The day came. We had coordinated my tie with her dress color. My feathered hair was perfect, and she looked beautiful. But I was sick, and on cold medicine. The event was at one of the hotels in Waikiki (I realize I haven't mentioned I lived in Hawaii). It was strange to see all these kids who wore t-shirts, board shorts and occasional footwear to school every day now all dressed up.
The event included dinner and dancing, and we sat at an empty table and just kind of gazed at each other for a very long time. One of the beach bimbos that sat down at our table with us asked what drugs we were on. Dinner was served, and when the dancing began, we moved out to a sofa in the hallway. I said it was because I wasn't feeling well, but really I was scared to death of dancing.
The setting was there. We held hands. Looked at each other. Moved closer. Closer. The theme song of the prom, The Cure's Just Like Heaven, came on. Closer. We stayed that way for a long time. My heart was pounding, and somehow I still had it in my head that even though our eyelashes were fluttering against each other, she still might rebuke my attempt at a kiss. I could feel her breath.
Then one of the teacher chaperones walked by, and we backed off and had to start the whole process over. Not even inching closer. We were centimetering closer. My cheeks were flushed. It had been so long that my leg was falling asleep. Finally, our lips were actually touching, but just the corners. She was waiting for me to turn my head to make it an actual kiss. Waiting. Waiting. I had a conversation with myself in my head, weighing my options, trying to convince myself to go through with it.
Finally I tilted my head, and we were kissing. It was sweet and soft and melty. The whole time I was thinking "I'm kissing her!"
And too soon, the event was over, and her dad was waiting for us in the lobby. We held hands on the ride home, and she wound up catching my cold. The girl with the backwards heart.
What do you do to get rid of a cold or flu?
Submitted by ashenflowers.
I usually suffer and complain and mope around the house. If that doesn't work, I'll resort to bundling up on the couch and watching movies.
What are your top 25 most played songs?
Submitted by Cooxie.
- I'd Rather Dance With You - Kings of Convenience
- Such Great Heights - The Postal Service
- Somebody Told Me - The Killers
- Haiti - Arcade Fire
- Like Eating Glass - Bloc Party
- Everybody's Changing - Keane
- This House Is Not For Sale - Ryan Adams
- Obstacle 1 - Interpol
- It's A Hit - Rilo Kiley
- The Dark of the Matinée - Franz Ferdinand
- White Confection - The King of France
- Nowhere Again - The Secret Machines
- Smile Like You Mean It - The Killers
- The Sporting Life - The Decemberists
- Somebody That I Used To Know - Elliott Smith
- Bitter Sweet Symphony - The Verve
- Beetlebum - Blur
- Unconditional - The Bravery
- (So I'll Sit Here) Waiting - The Like
- Fire Fire - M.I.A.
- Pink Bullets - The Shins
- Blue Orchid - The White Stripes
- Gold Mine Gutted - Bright Eyes
- Since K Got Over Me - The Clientele
- Biggest Star - The Elected
If you are going to dress up for Halloween, what will you be? Why?
Submitted by Auweea.
Since I'll be en route to Atlanta on Halloween, I don't have any kind of costume planned yet.
But while we're on the topic, why is it that with women and Halloween costumes, it always has to be a "Sexy __fill_in_the_blank___"... A Sexy Nurse, a Sexy Witch, a Sexy French Maid, a Sexy Devil. How about a Sexy Pepto-Bismol Bottle? My girlfriend is going as a Sexy Tin Man. What is that?
Not that I'm complaining. I'd rather the ladies had sexy than un-sexy costumes. But notice that guys don't do the same thing. Like I'm not going as Sexy Cowboy, or Sexy Dracula. Actually, I'll amend that statement and say that I haven't seen that anywhere outside of West Hollywood. But even then, the guys are dressed as Sexy Nurse, Sexy Witch and Sexy French Maid!
What are your weekend plans?
My girlfriend is out of town this weekend, visiting her new little niece. You'd think that would mean: party. And in fact, there are opportunities this weekend.
It's a weekend of First Annuals: downtown today they're having the First Annual Detour Fest, featuring acts like Beck, Queens of the Stone Age, Of Montreal, Blonde Redhead, Basement Jaxx, !!!, The Like and more. From that list, the only bands I haven't seen are Of Montreal and Basement Jaxx. Still, the people-watching element would be entertainment enough. But when my girlfriend asked if I was going, I told her it wouldn't be fun without her. Granted, if any of my friends had approached me about going, I'd have considered it. Still, there's another big event going on downtown at Bunker Hill, and the Dodgers-Mets game at nearby Chavez Ravine. Traffic and parking are likely to be hellacious.
Then on Sunday is the First Annual Taste of Los Feliz, which will be held a few blocks from my house. But it's happening a) during the Chargers-Steelers Sunday night football game, b) around the time my girlfriend's flight lands. Downer.
So my weekend is looking considerably more tame: clean the house, sweep and wash the back deck, rake the leaves in the backyard, pick up a few pairs of jeans from Denim Revival (when did they change the name from Denim Doctors???), choose colors to paint the office next weekend, get the dog some exercise and maybe a grooming.
What's your favorite restaurant?
It's too much pressure to decide on one favorite restaurant. There are so many great places in my neighborhood, Los Feliz (and adjoining Silver Lake):
The Alcove – Were we to judge by sheer frequency of visits, The Alcove would win hands-down. Set back from Hillhurst Ave. by a charming patio, it's part café, part American cuisine restaurant. You order at the counter, take a number, and are served your food at one of the patio tables. The most prominent feature is their display case full of scrumptious-looking cakes. I've sampled many of them and can vouch for each. The staff is also exceptionally cheerful.
Vinoteca – A block up Hillhurst and across the street is Vinoteca, technically a wine bar begun by block neighbor Farfalla, they serve food prepared at Tropicalia, the Brazilian restaurant next door. Vinoteca gets the nod for their excellent wine selection, severe lack of seating (there are 4 two-person tables, several 4 person tables, and the bar), and general ambiance—it's darker and more candle-lit than Tropicalia. We frequently stumble from a light meal at Vinoteca to the aforementioned Alcove for a slice of cake.
Malo – It's name means 'bad', but it's so good. The nouveau taqueria just east of Fountain on Sunset has two parts: a dining room (with outdoor patio), and the bar. The bar is where it's at, and you can eat from the full dinner menu there. Any of the carnitas dishes are amazing. It's also worth trying the four varieties of gourmet salsa they serve with freshly-made tortilla chips: the habañero & creme fraiche and tomatillo and hass avocado are my favorites. They don't mess around with girly blended margaritas. It's on the rocks or nothing here. And the jukebox kicks ass.
Blair's – Probably the overall best restaurant in the area, Blair's is a little unassuming place on Rowena that houses some of the best dishes available in Los Angeles. I believe the chef came from downtown's Water Grill, which is L.A.'s best seafood place. Every dish here (that I've had) is a winner. I've overcome my negative associations with this place (having had a bad argument here), but my girlfriend and I still call it "Blaine's", as in Ducky from Pretty in Pink's "BLAINE?!?! That's not a name, that's a kitchen appliance!" But it really is a phenomenal place. I highly recommend the blue lake beans with sausage.
Edendale Grill – A steak and American fare place built in an old firehouse. Good ambiance. The adjoining bar, Mixville, is also great, because they serve Blue Moon beer with orange slices, something I hadn't seen since visiting the midwest.
And that's just for starters. I haven't even mentioned the restaurants on Vermont, or some of the other good ones on Hillhurst (Home, Mexico City, Purans), nor have I gotten into the heart of Silver Lake (Cliff's Edge, Cafe Stella, Koda Sushi).
By the way, this weekend is the Taste of Los Feliz, where a number of these restaurants will be presenting their food. Yum!
Are you a morning person or a night owl?
Lately, the answer is "yes."
I go to bed after my girlfriend and wake up before her. I'm not sleeping very well lately: about 6 hours a night, but it's choppy, fitful sleep. I think I might need to buy a new bed.
In high school, I was definitely a morning person. I used to wake up at 5am every morning to do my homework, because I was sharper (I'm the type that can be instantly awake upon sitting up in bed), and because I work better when I'm timebound. So if I had to get ready for school at 7am, I only had two hours to do my homework, instead of 7 or 8 hours to procrastinate and let it drag on after getting home from school.
