Friday, November 13, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
Good questions.
So over at the Metamagician, Russell filled out a questionnaire of sorts that I thought was interesting, so without further ado...
Why do you blog? - Because it’s a little like a conversation that anyone can join, and I’m always up for a conversation.
What are your favorite blogs? - Pharyngula (P.Z. Myers), News From Me (Mark Evannier), ***Dave Does the Blog (Dave Hill)
Who are your intellectual heroes? - Charles Darwin, Elie Wiesel, Robert Ingersoll
What are you reading at the moment? - The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution, by Richard Dawkins.
What is your favorite poem? - Halfway Down by A.A. Milne
What is your favorite movie? - If I must choose, “The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek.”
What is your favorite song?- Cannot be answered.
Who is your favorite composer? - Verdi
Can you name a major moral, political or intellectual issue on which you've ever changed your mind? - I once tried to conform to the standard Christian view of human’s place in the world. In my intellectual journey, I have come to realize that I do not see evidence for this point of view and I therefore have abandoned it for a secular view of humanity.
What philosophical thesis do you think it most important to disseminate? - The solution to ours problems must come from our own minds.
What philosophical thesis do you think it most important to combat? -That those in power are inherently right because they are in power.
Who are your political heroes? -Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, Ted Kennedy
If you could effect one major policy change in the governing of your country, what would it be? – Start a return to a strict interpretation of separation of church and state by ending faith-based the initiative.
Do you think the world (human civilization) has already passed its best point, or is that yet to come? - The best is likely ahead, but how we treat the planet has a lot to do with our continued success.
What would be your most important piece of advice about life? - Don’t let some perceived shortcoming on your part stop you from reaching out to people around you.
Do you think you could ever be married to, or in a long-term relationship with, someone with radically different political views from your own? No.
What do you consider the most important personal quality? - Kindness.
What personal fault do you most dislike? - Ignorance
What is your favorite proverb? -Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear. Mark Twain
If you were to relive your life to this point, is there anything you'd do differently? -I’d have gone on to graduate school and get a degree in Museum Studies.
Who would play you in the movie about your life? -There will be no film of this life.
Where would you most like to live (other than where you do)? -Manhattan
What would your ideal holiday be? -Spending time with my friends anywhere in the world.
What is your most treasured possession? -My photographs.
If you had to change your first name, what would you change it to? -Shanna
What would be your ideal choice of alternative profession or job? -First Amendment lawyer
Who is your favorite comedian or humorist? -George Carlin or Lewis Black (if the comedian has to be alive).
Who are your sporting heroes? -Tony Gwynn, Vance Mueller, Jerry Coleman
How, if at all, would you change your life were you suddenly to win or inherit an enormously large sum of money? -I’d buy a slightly bigger house since I need room for the books and I’d try to do more for the charities I support.
What animal would you most like to be? -Dolphin