Wednesday Hodgepodge
My good friend, Cathy over at Tales of the TCKK Family, has been doing the Wednesday Hodgepodge for a while. I've always enjoyed reading her posts and have often thought about what my answers would be to these questions, which is what led me to finally click on the link and sign up for the Hodgepodge myself...so here we go.
1. What makes love last?
I've actually never seen love last in any capacity...not in the love of a husband, or a parent, or even a friend, so I'm not sure it can last. It is a feeling and feelings are never constant. You can work to keep the feelings intact or stable, but if you ever stop working, it easily dies. I've never seen true love in action, so I can't speak on it.
The Beatles made their U.S. debut fifty years ago this week. Are you a fan? If so, what's your favorite Beatles tune?
I don't hate The Beatles and given the choice between The Beatles or The Stones, I'd easily pick The Beatles (although I've never understood that analogy since they are two completely different types of music), but I don't go out of my way to listen to them. If I was choosing music around that generation, I'd probably pick the Monkees. If I had to pick a favorite song, it would probably be Hey Jude (because I've always had a soft spot for Julian Lennon) or St. Pepper's, but I can't say I know too many more than those.
3. Valentine's Day-your thoughts? Do you celebrate in any way? Do anything special for the people you love? Expect anything special from the people who love you?
Evil holiday meant to isolate and ridicule singles and make them feel inadequate and lonely...but I'm not too bitter about it! Given the choice, I would probably be more than happy to get a dozen roses and a box of chocolates!
4. Steak or burger...you have to choose. Now that that's settled, how do you like it?
Steak, bleed'in, but not moo'in.
5. The Hodgepodge lands on the birthdate (February 12th) of Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States of America. Lincoln is quoted as saying, "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test his character give him power." Do you agree? Why or why not?
Agree. Nothing corrupts a person more than power and I've never seen it any other way. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Give someone an inch and they always take a mile. I've even had trouble with it myself.
6. Honest Abe's picture is on the US penny (1 cent coin) so I'm wondering...what do you do with your pennies (or your country's equivalent)? It's been suggested the US stop making the penny, and two bills have been proposed suggesting just that, but neither were approved. What say you?
All my pennies (and other change) gets saved for Disney. I think pennies are needed...the removal of it means that everything will either have to be raised or dropped (and I'll bet it will be raised) 4 cents - which is probably why the government wants them removed.
7. Do you think pop culture deserves serious study?
Recent pop culture...no. And, come to think of it, I can't say that even past pop culture needs "serious" study except in a reflective capacity. Do we really gain anything from knowing what the popular art or music was three hundred years ago? The only thing that studying popular culture grants us is the knowledge that just because someone is popular or unpopular at the time, doesn't mean that stay viewed that way for future generations. Van Gogh is always the first artist that springs to mind, but how many others died in poverty and unrecognized until long after their death? Austen, Monet, Poe, Keats, Darwin, the Brontes, Galileo and so many others that were not only unappreciated but sometimes executed for their beliefs. Just take the Romantic poets...Keats, Shelley, Byron and the lot were the Beibers and Cyrus' of their generation, wasteral druggies who really served no purpose to their contemporaries (although the thought of Beiber or Cyrus becoming icons like the Romantic poets scare the crap out of me!). Contemporary study can't reflectively or objectively view the current climate due to the heightened emotions...once the fires die and the wounds heal, only then can we view the past with an open mind.
But then again, taking the other side of the argument (a bad habit of mine), studying contemporary culture documents it for future study. Studying the past gives us insight into who the icons of the day really were and make us seriously reconsider their importance to the day. With everything we know of Washington and Kennedy now from discovered documents and accounts, their private lives and their goings-on, should we view their place in history differently? Were they really good presidents, or just put on a pedestal by the people of the day, not to be questioned by future generations? If we had documented proof that Shakespeare really was illiterate, would it change our view of his plays or just transfer our affections to the proper author? Picasso is always a sore spot with me, but an example of the opposite...because he is a "sort of" contemporary and we have documentation of his life, should that affect how we perceive his art? (Although, I've always hated his art for this very reason, so there you go.) Can you paint a woman in a loving light if you hate women? Isn't that just faking it and doesn't that belittle his accolades as a "great artist"? All good questions for future generations, but without the facts being documented, even Beiber could have ended up canonized if we weren't a "document everything" society and given the mindset of his fan base.
What do I know? I still listen to the same music from 30 years ago, still worship the Renaissance artists, and still love Classical British literature. Has a popular icon's importance changed in my eyes when their personal failings come to light? Sure, it's happened once or twice, but, nine times out of ten, my spidey-sense picked up on their hidden shortcomings in the first place and I didn't like them to begin with. Will Duran Duran, Take That, or even Darren Hayes be important to anyone a hundred years from now? Probably not, but they were always a big part of my life. But I've never been one for following popular opinion and, at least to me, only my opinion matters anyway! HA!
8. Insert your own random thought here-
How does one move a mass volume of collectibles across country without breaking any? A thought that has been on my mind a lot lately for some reason (like I could afford to move cross-country anyway - but once I win the lottery, I've got a lot of Disney stuff to move to my house in Golden Oak!).
1. What makes love last?
I've actually never seen love last in any capacity...not in the love of a husband, or a parent, or even a friend, so I'm not sure it can last. It is a feeling and feelings are never constant. You can work to keep the feelings intact or stable, but if you ever stop working, it easily dies. I've never seen true love in action, so I can't speak on it.
The Beatles made their U.S. debut fifty years ago this week. Are you a fan? If so, what's your favorite Beatles tune?
I don't hate The Beatles and given the choice between The Beatles or The Stones, I'd easily pick The Beatles (although I've never understood that analogy since they are two completely different types of music), but I don't go out of my way to listen to them. If I was choosing music around that generation, I'd probably pick the Monkees. If I had to pick a favorite song, it would probably be Hey Jude (because I've always had a soft spot for Julian Lennon) or St. Pepper's, but I can't say I know too many more than those.
3. Valentine's Day-your thoughts? Do you celebrate in any way? Do anything special for the people you love? Expect anything special from the people who love you?
Evil holiday meant to isolate and ridicule singles and make them feel inadequate and lonely...but I'm not too bitter about it! Given the choice, I would probably be more than happy to get a dozen roses and a box of chocolates!
4. Steak or burger...you have to choose. Now that that's settled, how do you like it?
Steak, bleed'in, but not moo'in.
5. The Hodgepodge lands on the birthdate (February 12th) of Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States of America. Lincoln is quoted as saying, "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test his character give him power." Do you agree? Why or why not?
Agree. Nothing corrupts a person more than power and I've never seen it any other way. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Give someone an inch and they always take a mile. I've even had trouble with it myself.
6. Honest Abe's picture is on the US penny (1 cent coin) so I'm wondering...what do you do with your pennies (or your country's equivalent)? It's been suggested the US stop making the penny, and two bills have been proposed suggesting just that, but neither were approved. What say you?
All my pennies (and other change) gets saved for Disney. I think pennies are needed...the removal of it means that everything will either have to be raised or dropped (and I'll bet it will be raised) 4 cents - which is probably why the government wants them removed.
7. Do you think pop culture deserves serious study?
Recent pop culture...no. And, come to think of it, I can't say that even past pop culture needs "serious" study except in a reflective capacity. Do we really gain anything from knowing what the popular art or music was three hundred years ago? The only thing that studying popular culture grants us is the knowledge that just because someone is popular or unpopular at the time, doesn't mean that stay viewed that way for future generations. Van Gogh is always the first artist that springs to mind, but how many others died in poverty and unrecognized until long after their death? Austen, Monet, Poe, Keats, Darwin, the Brontes, Galileo and so many others that were not only unappreciated but sometimes executed for their beliefs. Just take the Romantic poets...Keats, Shelley, Byron and the lot were the Beibers and Cyrus' of their generation, wasteral druggies who really served no purpose to their contemporaries (although the thought of Beiber or Cyrus becoming icons like the Romantic poets scare the crap out of me!). Contemporary study can't reflectively or objectively view the current climate due to the heightened emotions...once the fires die and the wounds heal, only then can we view the past with an open mind.
But then again, taking the other side of the argument (a bad habit of mine), studying contemporary culture documents it for future study. Studying the past gives us insight into who the icons of the day really were and make us seriously reconsider their importance to the day. With everything we know of Washington and Kennedy now from discovered documents and accounts, their private lives and their goings-on, should we view their place in history differently? Were they really good presidents, or just put on a pedestal by the people of the day, not to be questioned by future generations? If we had documented proof that Shakespeare really was illiterate, would it change our view of his plays or just transfer our affections to the proper author? Picasso is always a sore spot with me, but an example of the opposite...because he is a "sort of" contemporary and we have documentation of his life, should that affect how we perceive his art? (Although, I've always hated his art for this very reason, so there you go.) Can you paint a woman in a loving light if you hate women? Isn't that just faking it and doesn't that belittle his accolades as a "great artist"? All good questions for future generations, but without the facts being documented, even Beiber could have ended up canonized if we weren't a "document everything" society and given the mindset of his fan base.
What do I know? I still listen to the same music from 30 years ago, still worship the Renaissance artists, and still love Classical British literature. Has a popular icon's importance changed in my eyes when their personal failings come to light? Sure, it's happened once or twice, but, nine times out of ten, my spidey-sense picked up on their hidden shortcomings in the first place and I didn't like them to begin with. Will Duran Duran, Take That, or even Darren Hayes be important to anyone a hundred years from now? Probably not, but they were always a big part of my life. But I've never been one for following popular opinion and, at least to me, only my opinion matters anyway! HA!
8. Insert your own random thought here-
How does one move a mass volume of collectibles across country without breaking any? A thought that has been on my mind a lot lately for some reason (like I could afford to move cross-country anyway - but once I win the lottery, I've got a lot of Disney stuff to move to my house in Golden Oak!).
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