I just got done reading an interview with Felicia Day over on Entertainment Weekly, where I saw the “Pop Culture” personality test again. Since hell will likely freeze over before EW wants to interview me, I’ll just answer the basic questions on my own. Since no one else wants to play with me, I’ll just play with myself. (Okay, that came out all wrong… Moving right along!) Here are their questions, and my answers.
When do you yell at the TV?
I yell at 90% of reality television out there, for starters. American Idol makes me cringe (especially the early recruiting phase, which is some folks’ favorite part), possibly because I have a music and singing background. I lettered in Music in high school and went to college on a modest music scholarship for piano and voice. I have tolerance for cooking reality shows, though, so I find myself watching Gordon Ramsay with my wife, Top Chef, or The Next Food Network Star. I still don’t go seeking those out, though. But I’ll sit through them.
But bad writing is worse than bad reality shows. I yell when characters break from their basic natures to do something convenient for the plot. Or when coincidence and luck makes things happen for the heroes and they don’t have to earn it. Deus ex machina drives me crazy!
How many TiVos do you own?
I have two. One for the big TV in the living room and one in the bedroom. Might end up with three when the new DirecTV HD TiVos hit. I hate having just a regular DVR in my living room, since I had my first TV in 1999 when most people had not even heard of them yet. I could never go back to live TV. It’s been nearly ten years of being spoiled by pausable, pre-recorded television.
Your TiVos would kill you if they didn’t tape what show?
Good Eats on Food Network, which is hands-down my favorite show on television. Alton Brown and I have a fair bit in common. We’re unapologetic geeky film buffs from north Georgia who love to cook (and eat). He redfined how you can do a cooking show (by making it — gasp! — not boring) and manages to entertain while educating and showing how to prepare tasty dishes that rarely steer me wrong, all while tossing pop culture references. The fun A.B. seems to have with Good Eats reminds me of my early years making scripted home movies with a video camera.
This last season I’d also have to list Supernatural, Chuck, Dollhouse, Fringe, and Castle as runners-up.
The movie you have to watch every time you spot it on cable?
Raiders of the Lost Ark is probably my favorite movie of all time from the first time I saw it. My three college disciplines (after I dropped the music program) were English, History, and Religion — and you can see all three in Indiana Jones’ first and best adventure on film. But my tastes range all over the place, so I’ll have watch things like Fast Times at Ridgemont High and The Lion in Winter. For no other reason than I like ‘em.
The movie that makes you cry?
The French duology of Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources. I was forced to watch the movies in high school, but they completely broke my heart. It’s a slow story and a true tragedy in the best sense. Lots of Americans have no clue that these movies exist, but if you’re a film guy like me you should watch them and see if you can hold back the tears.
Do you smuggle snacks into the movie theater? If so, what?
Yes, because I’m cheap. I’m always torn between things like Nestle BunchaCrunch, Raisinettes, or Reese’s Pieces. Because I love a little sweet to go with the giant tub of buttery, salty popcorn that I’m going to devour while slurping down a Coke. I’ve given up soda in other parts of my life, but I have to have my popcorn-candy-Coke trifecta when watching a movie in the theater.
Your best communal moviegoing experience?
I was twenty-one years old when Rumble in the Bronx hit the local theater. I was already a fan of Jackie Chan’s Drunken Master flicks, and my friends and I took up an entire row of the theater shouting “Are you ready to rumble?!” (before the lights went dark). It was a blast! I also remember we all went to see Tommy Boy starring Chris Farley and David Spade and had a goofy blast.
The piece of pop-culture memorabilia from your childhood you wish you still had?
Half a dozen things that were in my old room as a child. I had a poster of Atlanta Braves center fielder Dale Murphy hitting a ball. I had a bunch of original-series Garbage Pail Kids cards, some of my duplicates orbiting Murphy’s poster. One wall was decorated with a mural of a famous moonscape photograph with the Earth rising on the horizon. My very first computer, the Texas Instruments TI994A with a speech synthesizer that could run cartridge-based software but also could record and read off of audio-cassette tapes with sounds simliar to a fax machine. I also would love to have my Dad’s old electronic chess set I used to play with, the Chess Challenger, that had an awesome digital voice.
What is your geekiest possession?
Hard to know where to start? My desk is covered with large plastic dragon models. I own enough dice to fill a bathtub and enough unpainted miniatures to fill the bed of a Chevy Silvarado pickup truck. My shelves are covered with roleplaying games and sci-fi/fantasy novels. I wore a Dr. Horrible t-shirt to the Renaissance Festival. I have several swords and one dragon-handled sacrificial dagger. And the door of my office has a “I Survived the Tomb of Horrors” bumper sticker on it.
What is your position on karaoke, and what is your song?
I love karaoke, and my friend Jeremy runs a charitable karaoke party company and does most of the major game conventions after years of entertaining the crap out of us at Dragon*Con. The rule is that I’ve always put down at least a few Jägerbombs and just sing my heart out. My sisters and I always do “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen, and I get requested to sing “Big Empty” by Stone Temple Pilots and Metallica’s version of “Turn the Page” a lot. But I’ll sing anything that isn’t Rod Stewart.
Your guilty pleasure dance song?
I rarely dance, for the safety of myself and others. When it happens, I possess the natural grace of a one-legged cow.
The ringtone on your cell phone?
Alternates between several songs. Right now it’s the “Fruity Oaty Bar” song from Serenity, but it’s sometimes the chorus of STP’s “Big Empty” (see above) or the Bad Horse Chorus from Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog.
The band you’ve seen most often in concert?
Performer I’ve seen most is my obsession since 11th grade: Tori Amos. I know that I’m not a lesbian woman, but deep down inside I must be one. Tori’s music, lyrics, and ability to tickle the ivories just does something for me. I just got her new album and I’m gonna listen the moment I’m done with this fake interview.
Seeing Stone Temple Pilots in concert last year at Summerfest was badass, though. They performed everything from “Dead and Bloated” to some of their better covers. I was convinced I’d never see them live after they broke up, and it was so worth it to see them in a great venue.
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