Okay, so there's this game going around the blogosphere right now. It's like a chain letter or something. I got these five questions from Christopher Rowe (http://www.journalscape.com/ChristopherRowe). The deal is I answer them in my blog (aka here) and then you all can post in comments if you want me to make up five questions for you to answer in your blog (also here in some cases). So, here we go.
Questions for Catherine:
(1) You like the fast red sports car, eh pretty American girl?
Depends if it's domestic or imported. Oh, wait, were we talking about cheese...?
(2) Do you think writing non-fiction articles for a magazine that's primarily known as a fiction magazine requires a different approach than writing similarly themed pieces for "straight" magazines? Are you interested in doing popular science articles for other magazines besides Analog?
Writing for Analog's audience is fun. Basically, I'm writing about science for a bunch of geeks who are much better educated and smarter than I am. What a rush. Then they can skewer me in "Brass Tacks." Analog tolerates a lot more speculation and scientific jargon than the average magazine. I have done some writing for a local monthly newspaper and a couple of other places, and I'm ruthlessly using those and my Analog clips to try to land assignments from bigger, richer magazines. I'd like to maintain a steady stream of science writing work to support my unhealthy fiction habit.
(3) Whatever happened to Scotty Baio?
He married Joanie, but they divorced a couple of years later when Joanie checked herself into the Betty for painkiller addiction. He fell in with an exotic dancer named Ginger and went to school nights to become a dental hygenist. Ginger and Scotty are now living in a double-wide somewhere in Commonwealth County Kentucky.
(4) Do you consciously try to "guide" your son's reading, and his taste in "media consumption in general? Are you trying to make him a science fiction fan?
My son's favorite book right now is Walter the Farting Dog. This is an amazing book. It never gets any less funny, no matter how many times you read it. You always helplessly crack up when Walter farts in the veterinarian's face, and when Uncle Irv lets one slips and blames it on Walter, and when Walter swells up with a giant gas bubble from the strain of holding in his farts which finally bursts forth like a geyser of polluted air and--well, I'll let you read the ending for yourself. Suffice to say, if I had any influence over my child's taste in literature, I would not have been forced to memorize Walter by reading it out loud twenty-five times a day. If it's any comfort, I do think he'll grow up to be a science fiction fan. He loves "action" cartoons as he calls them and spends a lot of time in imaginary play which features robots, aliens, and more robots. (and lots of flatulence.)
(5) So, if three hours prep time for every hour of class time is the rule in college, what's the proper research/composition ratio for a short story about teleoperated robot fighter craft duking it out in near Jovian space?
To solve this problem you need to integrate the area under the research/robot curve and apply the result to your adjusted gross income (AGI) minus any interest invested in tax exempt municipal bonds multiplied by your tax rate from the chart on page 543.
And it says here I have to include these...
RULES:
1 - Leave a comment, saying you want to be interviewed.
2 - I will respond; I'll ask you five questions.
3 - You'll update your journal with my five questions, and your five answers.
4 - You'll include this explanation.
5 - You'll ask other people five questions when they want to be interviewed.
I would consider answering questions, but to be honest, I am feeling way too stressed and over-committed to feel like I can take on even the small voluntary responsiblity to provide new questions for others.
Posted by: Lisa | January 28, 2004 at 11:59 PM
Questions for Lisa:
1. What's the source of your fascination with Chinese culture? Have you been to China?
2. Why do people giggle and say "oil" around you?
3. How many coconuts can an unladen African gray parrot carry on its migration?
4. What comes first for you? Plot or character?
5. Who's your favorite classical composer and why?
Posted by: Catherine | January 29, 2004 at 07:12 PM