Saturday, January 20, 2007

Tagged

The "Seven Things" Meme

Saint Pat has tagged me with a most challenging meme. (You're merciless, Pat!) I've seen other memes. They ask easy questions. This one is going to reveal what a common dolt I am. Ah well, so be it.

1. Name a book that you want to share so much that you keep giving away copies
There are a couple – depending on the person and the level of generosity I'm feeling at the moment.
One that I often give to cat-lovers like me is May Sarton's The Fur Person. It's simple. But I like it.
For truly special people of a liturgical and Anglican bent, my giveaway book is the New Zealand Prayer Book. But given its hefty price, this one only goes to select people.

2. Name a piece of music that changed the way you listen to music
This one's easy. It's Aaron Copeland's Fanfare for the Common Man. I grew up in a tiny town in very modest circumstances. My parents listened to The Platters, The Limeliters, Mahalia Jackson, Tennessee Ernie Ford, and lots of country music. I went 600 miles away to college in an urban area, and in my first week there, they took us freshmen to the symphony orchestra. They opened with Fanfare for the Common Man. I can still remember how I sat transfixed, leaned forward into the music. It was my first exposure to classical music. I've grown to love other pieces in the intervening decades. But I still remember how that evening opened me up to a whole 'nother world of music.
Mind you, it didn't change the way I or others listened to music in the dorm. There, we were still blasting and singing along with Jerry Jeff Walker's "Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother."

3. Name a film you can watch again and again without fatigue
I'd love to pretend that it's some marvelous, significant, classic movie. But I can't. There are two movies that I can't seem to quit watching. One is Ordinary People, partly because it shows me a more healthy family than the one I grew up in. The other is Ghost.

4. Name a performer for whom you suspend all disbelief
There are many of them, actually. I suspend my disbelief quite easily when watching performances. But I'll mention a couple.
From the time I saw the first Prime Suspect on PBS, it's been Helen Mirren. Long before she became popular, I said I could happily watch her read the phone book.
On the other end of the spectrum, there's Arnold Schwarzenegger, the John Wayne of our time. You just know that the bad guys can't hurt him. There's a scene in True Lies where he's being shot at from all directions, and is "taking cover" (if you could call it that) behind ... wait for it ... a lightpole. And he gives this quick grin toward the camera, letting all of us know he'll come out of this just fine. Now, sadly, I am having a hard time suspending my disbelief in his current long-running role as governor of California. I long for the days when he was fighting off the bad guys.

5. Name a work of art you’d like to live with
Any of Henry Moore's sculptures. Of course, I'd need a much larger house to accommodate them.
Or just about any of Edward Weston's photographs.

6. Name a work of fiction which has penetrated your real life
Anything written or said by George W. Bush. They are complete fiction. And they sure do have a horrible impact on my life.

7. Name a punch line that always makes you laugh
Does anybody else remember this horrible, politically incorrect joke that ends:
"Would I?" [aka "wood eye"]
"Hare lip!"
You either remember this one or you don't. And you need to have a 12-year-old sense of humor to appreciate it.

So … now … challenged to tag some other unsuspecting bloggers … I tag Ann, Catherine, Tom Woodward (who really ought to do more blogging!), Elizabeth Kaeton (who will shock me if she responds), and the Admiral of Morality.

And if you want to observe a true master at work, go see Brother Causticus' responses to the meme.

Update: Well, dog my cats! Both Ann+ and Elizabeth+ have answered the challenge. Click on the "Comments" to see their responses.

Yes, Elizabeth, I am officially in a state of shock! I did not expect you to take up this silly challenge. My hat's off to you. But I don't know what it's going to take for me to recover from this huge shock. Thanks, my sistuh!

6 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

here are my answers:
1. Book - anything by Terry Pratchett I want more people in discworld.
2. Music - anything trumpet or brass - but especially Hummel played by Hakan Hardenberger,
3. Film - Smoke Signals - especially the soliloquy at the end - how we do we forgive our fathers.
4. Performer- Helen Mirren, yes.
5. Art - anything that challenges my view of the world,
6. Fiction - Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett. guess it would not be good to say The Bible!
7. Punch line - silly bible jokes - like where is baseball mentioned in the Bible - in the big inning, did you know David drove a sports car - his Triumph was heard throughout the land, and Jesus drove a Honda - his disciples were all in one Accord.

1/20/2007 2:08 PM  
Blogger Lisa Fox said...

Great answers, Ann. Thanks! But aren't you a wee bit concerned that the Order of St. Verbosa is going to strip you of membership? These answers are mighty short and to the point. {g}

1/20/2007 2:35 PM  
Blogger Elizabeth Kaeton said...

Okay, somebody declare Lisa in an official state of shock.

I'm going to try to answer these after being in NYC since Thursday with a daughter who is recovering from oral surgery and diocesan convention today.

Lord have mercy.
Christ have mercy.
Lord have mercy.

1. BOOK: HOW TO BE YOUR DOG'S BEST FRIEND by the Monks of New Skeet. I often use parts of it in spiritual discernment for the priesthood.

2.MUSIC: Theopholis Monk. I had never heard the themes in Jazz music before. Suddenly, there it was and I was in absolute bliss. I adore Jazz because of TM.

3. FILM: Oh, there are so many, but I think CASABLANCA would do it. At least, tonight. Second choice: The HBO Series: ANGLES IN AMERICA. Third: Anything by Monty Python's Flying Circus, but especially Life of Brian. I make everyone who comes to me for spiritual discernment to priesthood watch it.

4.PERFORMER: No problem: Meryl Streep. Lord, have mercy. She is the best. Well, she and Susan Sarandon. And, Halle Berry. Denzell Washington is amazing. Well, so, if it has to be: Meryl's the one.

5. WORK OF ART: Anything by Monet or Paul Cezanne. Romantic. Dreamy. Perfectly lovely and beautiful which, as Dorothy Day often reminded us, if you're going to do the work of justice, you need to have beautiful things around you all the time.

6. WORK OF FICTION Anything by Mark Helprin, but especially my all time favorite: A WINTER'S TALE

7. "The moon must be in Uranus." This is me, laughing already.

Okay, Ms. Lisa. Pick yourself up off the floor. Your moment of being in shock has now officially ended.

1/20/2007 7:56 PM  
Blogger Catherine said...

Lisa, I have answered your challenge as well. Go check it out at The Table... :-)

Catherine+

1/23/2007 12:01 AM  
Blogger Thomas B. Woodward said...

from Tom Woodward
1. Book: "Mr. Blue," by Myles Connally. I have given away over 30 copies.
Of equal rank: "The Great War and Modern Fiction" by Paul Fussell, which illustrates how WWI actually changed the English language and "Among the Thugs" by Bill Buford, a documentary which takes you into the experience of the soccer gangs in England -- an amazing experience.
It was Norman Pittenger's book Making Sexuality Human, which shifted my understanding of homosexuality.
2. Oscar Peterson and Lionel Hampton, "Flying Home." I used to listen to it 20 times a year. Two others probably not on anyone else's list are: "Purple Onion," by Booker T. and the MG's and "I Would Have Wrote You a Letter, But I Can't Spell (Raspberry)..And That's All I've Got to Say" by Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs.
3. Film: "A Thousand Clowns" with Jason Robards and Martin Balsam, with the great line: Social worker: "Murray, you've got to come back to reality." Murray: "OK, but only as a tourist." Others are Harold and Maude and Home for the Holidays.
4. Performer: Avner the Eccentric, who is really Avner Eisenberg. He is a stage clown/mime as well as the best street performer ever. I used to teach with Avner -- and when he performed, my stomach ached for days from laughing so hard and for so long. Check him out on his web site.
5. Anything by Botero, especially one of his Mona Lisa as a Young Girl. I would also go for Picasso's Guernica, which I used to visit regularly (along with Botero) at the Museum of Modern Art, but it won't fit in my house.
6. Fiction: Steinbeck's "East of Eden," Graham Greene's "The Heart of the Matter," and "The Book of Bebb" by Frederick Beuchner. I love Manuel Puig's "Kiss of the Spiderwoman" (so much better as a novel than film or drama) and "Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter," by Mario Vargas Llosa.
7. "Be that as it may, Ms. Richards will now sing 'The Star Spangled Banner.'" by Eleanor Roosevelt at a fund raising event. ER had previously introduced Ms. Richards (not sure of the name) as singing The Star Spangled Banner when some guy at the back of the room yelled out "Ms. Richards is a c...sucker." To which ER calmly replied, "Be that as it may, Ms. Richards will not sing. . . . ."

1/24/2007 1:00 PM  
Blogger Thomas B. Woodward said...

A terrible mistake. The last line by Eleanor Roosevelt was:

"Be that as it may, Mr. Russell will now sing. . . ."

1/24/2007 1:02 PM  

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