hummingwolf (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
hummingwolf) wrote2002-01-31 10:15 am
hummingwolf) wrote2002-01-31 10:15 am
Entry tags:
An old poll
I'm too tired to think of something original to say this morning (I've been trying), so here's a poll I wrote back in October for a mailing list I'm on.
-----
After skipping class yesterday on the theory that it would be a
waste of time to do my course requiring Internet access if they
hadn't gotten the DSL yet, today I missed class 'cos I'm feeling
sick. My body's timing stinks. Anyway, since my mind is
wandering everywhere, here's a poll.
1. Do you see the forest or the trees?
A. I see the forest.
B. I see the trees.
C. I see a complex interplay of color and form.
D. My eyes are oozing too much for me to see anything,
okay? Now could you please hand me those antihistamines?
My answer:
Most of the time C. If I'm in the middle of the forest, it's A
unless the canopy is so thick that very little sunlight gets
through, in which case it's either B or nada. If I am within
100 miles of a forest and it's spring pollinating season, the
answer is an emphatic D.
2. You are awakened in the middle of the night by your
exceedingly apologetic fairy godmother. There have been these
budget cutbacks, you see, which is why she hasn't been around
much lately. But now she's here, and she's offering you a
choice of gifts. Apologizing once again, she informs you that
in accepting any one of these gifts, you are eliminating your
chances of receiving any of the others within the next five
years. Which do you choose?
A. A portfolio of the most valuable stocks in all the
hottest industries.
B. Your own syndicated TV show, appearing in all major
markets.
C. Perfect health.
D. Your dream man/woman.
E. A home which functions as a perfect sanctuary from the
outside world.
F. The library of Alexandria, restored--and the ability to
read and understand it.
My response:
This Fairy Godmother question was inspired by a similar question
I saw which included A and B and a couple of other answers, but
not the thing I really want. Me, I'd go for perfect health. At
this point, I'd even go for halfway-decent health.
3. Your demon godmother shows up, giving you a decision to
make. She is going back in time, somewhere between 150 and 500
years ago, in order to kill someone. You can choose whom she
will kill and when she will kill them, or she will kill someone
at random. No matter who gets killed, you will continue to
exist--you cannot commit suicide by proxy--but all the rest of
the world can be affected by your choice. Do you make the
choice, or refuse to be responsible for anyone's premature
death? If you make a choice, what is that choice?
My response:
The Demon Godmother question is the sort of thing a friend of
mine & I used to go around asking random people in college, so
I've had plenty of time in which to word the question so as to
eliminate the easy, obvious answers. You can't pick Hitler; you
can't pick anyone now living; you can't off yourself but must
live with the choice you make; you can't kill the founder of
your least-favorite ancient religion; and, while you can try to
avoid responsibility by refusing to choose to kill, this evil
demon's going to change the timeline no matter what so you may
as well exert some influence in the matter. Given all this, I'd
still probably go for one of the relatively obvious choices,
like Hitler's grandmother or John Wilkes Booth. If I knew more
about history, I could probably find some Renaissance man nasty
enough to deserve premature offing.
4. If you were a body of water, which one would you be?
My response:
I like Dan's answer of Lake Agassiz, mostly 'cos I'm tired
enough tonight that I feel about that old.
5. Which superhero would you most like to have around in your
daily life?
My response:
Daily life? Superman. He seems better able to deal with
day-to-day living than most of the others.
6. Describe the perfect wrapping paper.
response:
Opaque, self-wrapping, and shimmering.
7. If you could take a week-long vacation in any painting,
which one would it be?
response:
One of those Impressionist paintings of people sitting at a cafe
or lounging in the forest at a picnic. C'mon, if you're going
to spend a week someplace, they'd better have food.
8. Have you ever tried to do exercises shown in magazines or on
TV only to realize that you didn't have the vaguest clue which
muscles to move in order to get your body in those positions?
Did you wonder if those exercises were in fact designed for a
species not very closely related to your own?
response:
Yes and yes. Not just magazine and TV exercises, either--this
happened in physical therapy.
"Okay, move your leg this way."
"Um, how?"
"Now, I know it's a stretch, but you can do it."
"How?"
"C'mon, just..."
"Patti, I'd love to move it that way if I knew *how*..."
"Over here..."
"I don't have muscles that will move that way! I'm a mutant! A
mutant!"
9. Have you ever been astonished by the fact that you cannot
fly, when you can clearly remember how your wings feel as you
take off and how you used your tail as an aid in steering?
response:
Yes.
10. Is your favorite color one that cannot be seen with the
human eye?
response:
I don't have a favorite color. There are no bad colors; there
are only bad combinations of colors.
This time of year my favorite combination is the trees (I'm not
sure which species they are) that have deep red leaves on their
outer twigs while keeping dark green on the inner branches.
Most of the other trees this year seem to be turning brown &
dropping leaves before they hit their brightest color. While I
like the brighter years, the varying shades of brown do have
their subtle charms and the leaves are nice and crunchy
underfoot.
-----
After skipping class yesterday on the theory that it would be a
waste of time to do my course requiring Internet access if they
hadn't gotten the DSL yet, today I missed class 'cos I'm feeling
sick. My body's timing stinks. Anyway, since my mind is
wandering everywhere, here's a poll.
1. Do you see the forest or the trees?
A. I see the forest.
B. I see the trees.
C. I see a complex interplay of color and form.
D. My eyes are oozing too much for me to see anything,
okay? Now could you please hand me those antihistamines?
My answer:
Most of the time C. If I'm in the middle of the forest, it's A
unless the canopy is so thick that very little sunlight gets
through, in which case it's either B or nada. If I am within
100 miles of a forest and it's spring pollinating season, the
answer is an emphatic D.
2. You are awakened in the middle of the night by your
exceedingly apologetic fairy godmother. There have been these
budget cutbacks, you see, which is why she hasn't been around
much lately. But now she's here, and she's offering you a
choice of gifts. Apologizing once again, she informs you that
in accepting any one of these gifts, you are eliminating your
chances of receiving any of the others within the next five
years. Which do you choose?
A. A portfolio of the most valuable stocks in all the
hottest industries.
B. Your own syndicated TV show, appearing in all major
markets.
C. Perfect health.
D. Your dream man/woman.
E. A home which functions as a perfect sanctuary from the
outside world.
F. The library of Alexandria, restored--and the ability to
read and understand it.
My response:
This Fairy Godmother question was inspired by a similar question
I saw which included A and B and a couple of other answers, but
not the thing I really want. Me, I'd go for perfect health. At
this point, I'd even go for halfway-decent health.
3. Your demon godmother shows up, giving you a decision to
make. She is going back in time, somewhere between 150 and 500
years ago, in order to kill someone. You can choose whom she
will kill and when she will kill them, or she will kill someone
at random. No matter who gets killed, you will continue to
exist--you cannot commit suicide by proxy--but all the rest of
the world can be affected by your choice. Do you make the
choice, or refuse to be responsible for anyone's premature
death? If you make a choice, what is that choice?
My response:
The Demon Godmother question is the sort of thing a friend of
mine & I used to go around asking random people in college, so
I've had plenty of time in which to word the question so as to
eliminate the easy, obvious answers. You can't pick Hitler; you
can't pick anyone now living; you can't off yourself but must
live with the choice you make; you can't kill the founder of
your least-favorite ancient religion; and, while you can try to
avoid responsibility by refusing to choose to kill, this evil
demon's going to change the timeline no matter what so you may
as well exert some influence in the matter. Given all this, I'd
still probably go for one of the relatively obvious choices,
like Hitler's grandmother or John Wilkes Booth. If I knew more
about history, I could probably find some Renaissance man nasty
enough to deserve premature offing.
4. If you were a body of water, which one would you be?
My response:
I like Dan's answer of Lake Agassiz, mostly 'cos I'm tired
enough tonight that I feel about that old.
5. Which superhero would you most like to have around in your
daily life?
My response:
Daily life? Superman. He seems better able to deal with
day-to-day living than most of the others.
6. Describe the perfect wrapping paper.
response:
Opaque, self-wrapping, and shimmering.
7. If you could take a week-long vacation in any painting,
which one would it be?
response:
One of those Impressionist paintings of people sitting at a cafe
or lounging in the forest at a picnic. C'mon, if you're going
to spend a week someplace, they'd better have food.
8. Have you ever tried to do exercises shown in magazines or on
TV only to realize that you didn't have the vaguest clue which
muscles to move in order to get your body in those positions?
Did you wonder if those exercises were in fact designed for a
species not very closely related to your own?
response:
Yes and yes. Not just magazine and TV exercises, either--this
happened in physical therapy.
"Okay, move your leg this way."
"Um, how?"
"Now, I know it's a stretch, but you can do it."
"How?"
"C'mon, just..."
"Patti, I'd love to move it that way if I knew *how*..."
"Over here..."
"I don't have muscles that will move that way! I'm a mutant! A
mutant!"
9. Have you ever been astonished by the fact that you cannot
fly, when you can clearly remember how your wings feel as you
take off and how you used your tail as an aid in steering?
response:
Yes.
10. Is your favorite color one that cannot be seen with the
human eye?
response:
I don't have a favorite color. There are no bad colors; there
are only bad combinations of colors.
This time of year my favorite combination is the trees (I'm not
sure which species they are) that have deep red leaves on their
outer twigs while keeping dark green on the inner branches.
Most of the other trees this year seem to be turning brown &
dropping leaves before they hit their brightest color. While I
like the brighter years, the varying shades of brown do have
their subtle charms and the leaves are nice and crunchy
underfoot.