Wednesday, June 12, 2002
Blogger Inside continued from Distant Sun
#3: Have you ever come upon a phrase that suddenly made you laugh, or shout, or cry? What was it, and where did you find it?
Oh yes. And this is why I keep commonplace books. I have four notebooks filled with quotations, phrases and short poems. I find these everywhere: newspapers, books, song lyrics..
# 4: My sympathies on recently losing your great grandmother. Even with the distance you two developed later in life, you sound as if you really love her, and will really miss her. What is your most cherished memory of Lily?
It changes every day. Right now it was her sudden bursts of laughter. She did not laugh very often, but when she did, it was always infectious.
#5: Your written English is more skillful and precise than that of many native speakers I've encountered! How long have you known English, or studied it? What other languages (aside from your native Danish) do you speak, read, or write?
I've studied English at various levels since I was 11 - which makes it 15 years. I've also lived in English-speaking countries. I read Swedish, Norwegian, some Icelandic and Faroese, basic Dutch, easy German and very, very, very basic Russian. I know enough Latin to pass myself off as well-educated and I can always try to decipher Ancient Greek. I can guess my way through some French and make a quasi-educated guess at Spanish. I have a long-standing interest in Indo-European philology so I attempt to use my knowledge of that whenever I encounter a language.
#6: Tagging back to the language question again: do you also keep a blog in Danish, or just the two primarily in English? I am a linguist by training, and I'm interested in learning why multilingual people, particularly anylanguage/English multilingual people, will choose to keep an online journal in primarily in their secondary language rather than their primary.
No. I tried to keep a journal in Danish, but I lost interest after two days. I suppose I view blogging as a relaxed extension of my 'academic being' - and my 'academic being' speaks, reads and writes English. It is my 'trade language'. I also read all my serious, high-brow academic books in English - even if they are written by Danes.
#7: Hurrah, another bibliophile! When did you develop your passion for reading?
I taught myself to read the local newspaper when I was four. I took it from there, really.
#8: You're in some interesting discussions with other bloggers about the warp and weft of blogs and their attendant comments. Are these discussions centralized anywhere? I would be fascinated to read them all one day, with my coffee mug near to hand (and I think other bloggers would be interested too, even if our blog voices are pretty casual.)
No, I do not think they are centralised anywhere. Actually, I think that plays well into an early point I made about about blogs: the de-centralised structure. Mind you, I think you could do worse than head towards Torill and Jill's blogs. They look at blogs from an academic point of view. And I think my voice is casual too!
#9: Speaking of that great substance, coffee: black? Cream? Sugar? Regular or decaf? Describe your best coffee experience, and also (if you have one) your worst. If you were to recommend a coffee drink to a non-coffee coffee drinker (someone who'd never tried it before, not someone who didn't like coffee) what would you recommend?
Firstly, I'd like to answer the last question: flat white. A milky, not very sweet bit o'coffee. Almost a latte, but not quite. It is not quite as agressive a taste. Add syrup to the latte for all I care, but try a flat white first. Secondly, my best coffee experience is the one with Matt. My worst? Microwave-nuked Nescafe.
#10: Folded. Given up the fight. Surrendered to current tech culture and bought a cell phone (me too...I still feel vaguely like a traitor at times.) What made you finally decide to go cellular? What one thing will you never ever do with your cell phone - not ever, under any circumstance, no way, not at all, inconceivable?
I was given my celluar and since I'm moving soon, I'd like a somewhat regular phonenumber so people can keep in contact. A call I'd never make with my cell? I have no idea. Except I'd never discuss my love life on the celluar in public.
Woo. Thanks to Laughing Muse for those.
#3: Have you ever come upon a phrase that suddenly made you laugh, or shout, or cry? What was it, and where did you find it?
Oh yes. And this is why I keep commonplace books. I have four notebooks filled with quotations, phrases and short poems. I find these everywhere: newspapers, books, song lyrics..
# 4: My sympathies on recently losing your great grandmother. Even with the distance you two developed later in life, you sound as if you really love her, and will really miss her. What is your most cherished memory of Lily?
It changes every day. Right now it was her sudden bursts of laughter. She did not laugh very often, but when she did, it was always infectious.
#5: Your written English is more skillful and precise than that of many native speakers I've encountered! How long have you known English, or studied it? What other languages (aside from your native Danish) do you speak, read, or write?
I've studied English at various levels since I was 11 - which makes it 15 years. I've also lived in English-speaking countries. I read Swedish, Norwegian, some Icelandic and Faroese, basic Dutch, easy German and very, very, very basic Russian. I know enough Latin to pass myself off as well-educated and I can always try to decipher Ancient Greek. I can guess my way through some French and make a quasi-educated guess at Spanish. I have a long-standing interest in Indo-European philology so I attempt to use my knowledge of that whenever I encounter a language.
#6: Tagging back to the language question again: do you also keep a blog in Danish, or just the two primarily in English? I am a linguist by training, and I'm interested in learning why multilingual people, particularly anylanguage/English multilingual people, will choose to keep an online journal in primarily in their secondary language rather than their primary.
No. I tried to keep a journal in Danish, but I lost interest after two days. I suppose I view blogging as a relaxed extension of my 'academic being' - and my 'academic being' speaks, reads and writes English. It is my 'trade language'. I also read all my serious, high-brow academic books in English - even if they are written by Danes.
#7: Hurrah, another bibliophile! When did you develop your passion for reading?
I taught myself to read the local newspaper when I was four. I took it from there, really.
#8: You're in some interesting discussions with other bloggers about the warp and weft of blogs and their attendant comments. Are these discussions centralized anywhere? I would be fascinated to read them all one day, with my coffee mug near to hand (and I think other bloggers would be interested too, even if our blog voices are pretty casual.)
No, I do not think they are centralised anywhere. Actually, I think that plays well into an early point I made about about blogs: the de-centralised structure. Mind you, I think you could do worse than head towards Torill and Jill's blogs. They look at blogs from an academic point of view. And I think my voice is casual too!
#9: Speaking of that great substance, coffee: black? Cream? Sugar? Regular or decaf? Describe your best coffee experience, and also (if you have one) your worst. If you were to recommend a coffee drink to a non-coffee coffee drinker (someone who'd never tried it before, not someone who didn't like coffee) what would you recommend?
Firstly, I'd like to answer the last question: flat white. A milky, not very sweet bit o'coffee. Almost a latte, but not quite. It is not quite as agressive a taste. Add syrup to the latte for all I care, but try a flat white first. Secondly, my best coffee experience is the one with Matt. My worst? Microwave-nuked Nescafe.
#10: Folded. Given up the fight. Surrendered to current tech culture and bought a cell phone (me too...I still feel vaguely like a traitor at times.) What made you finally decide to go cellular? What one thing will you never ever do with your cell phone - not ever, under any circumstance, no way, not at all, inconceivable?
I was given my celluar and since I'm moving soon, I'd like a somewhat regular phonenumber so people can keep in contact. A call I'd never make with my cell? I have no idea. Except I'd never discuss my love life on the celluar in public.
Woo. Thanks to Laughing Muse for those.
Thursday, June 06, 2002
Interview with David Lodge (one of my favourite contemporary novelists):
The book he talks about is - of course - the brilliant Small World.
So as always with writing, the pursuit of some device, like using the Grail legend as a structural principle, suggests things to put in the story which you wouldn't otherwise have thought of. It actually begins to dictate the modern level of the story.
The book he talks about is - of course - the brilliant Small World.
