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Category: Personal
Can you write a poem about yourself?
jIDel’eghmeH jIbomchugh, chay’ vIta’?ghopwIj roSHa’moH qaD, ’ej jatwIj qa’..i mi te pemci mi .ei ta’i ma.i go’i lesedu’u mi mo daKiel poemi pri mi mem? Ĉu praala stilo estu? Aŭ ĉu forbalaa?De memet si canendum, fulminaextinguant niteantque carmina.Περὶ ἐμοῦ εἰ γέγραφ’ ἀγαθά,ψευδῶς· ψευδῶς γ’ εἰ πλεῖστα χαλεπά. A poem on myself? It won’t scan far.Best […]
What’s your process for writing poetry?
Clear my head No, really clear my head Have a vague idea of what the argument is that I’m going to write Have a concrete idea of what the form is that I’m going to write in Start thinking up phrases in iambic pentameter Keep thinking up phrases in iambic pentameter Wait till my heart […]
What does your happiness routine involve? What kinds of things do you routinely do to keep your sanity, or to treat yourself to something nice?
I don’t do enough of this, especially right now. But I’m more of an introvert than I like to think, and I’m happiest when I’m walking down a street, late at night on my lonesome; or (as tonight) when I stay back in the office, in the quiet, and with the lights off. It’s calm. […]
What do you look like with and without eyeglasses?
I don’t wear glasses much any more; just for driving or concerts, really, and I don’t do much of either. In fact, I had to go back one and a half years to find any photos of me with glasses at all. So, Answered 2017-04-24 [Originally posted on http://quora.com/What-do-you-look-like-with-and-without-eyeglasses/answer/Nick-Nicholas-5]
What would be your epic last words?
An adolescent question like this deserves an adolescent poem as its answer. Here’s one I prepared earlier. As an adolescent, in fact. Taktas jarojn tiuj, kiuj dankasDion – trance, kun vagstulta fido. Trafas kraŝon tiuj, kiuj tranĉaspor si hastan vojon – kun venkrido. Tanĝas homojn tiuj, kiuj talpas mensizole, ĉar en si kontentas. Transas homojn […]
How do you know that you are doing your job well? I’m looking for specific examples.
Interesting. I’ve been in a series of jobs and/or avocations where it is very hard to know, because there haven’t been straightforward quantitative metrics. A lot of what I’ve been doing has been government sponsored culture change (promoting IT interoperability), and that is slow. Writing policy papers: well, I dunno, I write the papers, the […]
Have you ever lied about your nationality while traveling abroad?
Nope. Australians enjoy a good reputation in the parts of the world I have been to (Europe, North America), and I have not been to the parts of the world where they might not (India, Papua New Guinea?). I have been to New Zealand, but any animus there is jocular and reciprocated. The Austria/Australia confusion […]
If you could have someone understand you by listening to a song, what would it be, and why?
You know, the songs that are candidates for this question, I’ve already posted as my favourite songs. But with David Caune and Kat Rectenwald both asking me, sure, I’ll answer again: The regrets of my life, my falls from grace, my sadness at leaving things behind: Gustav Mahler: Der Tamboursg’sell O Galgen, du hohes Haus,Du […]
What is your favourite fish dish?
I was a late convert to fish; it grossed me out until adulthood, and even now I’m on the picky side. But I do have a holy trinity of fish faves: Sashimi in general, and salmon sashimi in particular. Raw delicate flavour goodness. Canned tuna with chilli oil. Particularly, Sirena Tuna with Chilli in Oil. […]
How old are you and to what age would you like to go back/forward?
I’m 45. I would not like to go forward. It’s already started being downhill physically, and I’m happy to take the leisurely route towards senectitude. Not back to 16. I wasn’t really socialised back then, even if I was at my most physically rigorous. Not back to 20. Still not properly socialised, and pretty adrift […]