SDMB Proust Questionnaire

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I enjoy reading the Proust Questionnaire section of Vanity Fair magazine. For those unfamiliar, each month a celebrity answers selected questions that are attributed to a party game the esteemed writer Marcel Proust once played as a young boy. Proust did not invent the questionnaire.

Most of us SDMBers are not celebrities but we should have a chance to be Proustian too. There are many questions so I picked a few of the best (imho) to ask. Apologies if this has been done before , but I could not find anything to support this idea. Let’s play!

What is your greatest extravagance?
Shoes

Which words or phrase do you most overuse?
What I mean is…

Which talent would you most like to have?
I would love to be able to paint portraits. I dabble in painting and sketching but I have no real talent.

What is your most treasured posession?
An emerald ring that belonged to my grandmother.

Where would you like to live?
New York City, but in a high rise and near Broadway.

What do you most value in your friends?
Loyalty and truth. If I’m acting like an ass, call me on it. I won’t mind. Well, not for long.

Who are your favorite writers?
Dickens, Austen, Twain, Tolstoy, David Sedaris, Tennessee Williams, Beth Henley

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Scarlett O’Hara. She was one tough cookie.

What are your favorite names?
Abigail, Emma, Sasha, Damon, Otto, Jackson, Evangeline, Siobhan, Hannah, Caleb, Jean Louisa.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Laura Ingalls Wilder. She was a smart woman with limited education, but yearned to be a writer. Wilder didn’t live long enough to see her success, but generations after did and will continue to read her books.

Which living person do you most admire?
Bill Clinton. Deal with it.

{Mr. Roarke} Post, everyone, post!{/Mr. R}

2

What is your greatest extravagance?
Umm, I spent altogether too much money on olives.

Which words or phrase do you most overuse?
Aye, but…

Which talent would you most like to have?
I would love to be musical - any instrument.

What is your most treasured posession?
I’ve got my old teddy bear that I had when I was a baby. That’s the only thing I’ve got much of a sentimental attachment to.

Where would you like to live?
I like here, but I’d like somewhere in Italy for a holiday home.

What do you most value in your friends?
Random late-night conversations.

Who are your favorite writers?
Hemingway, Tolkien, Gould, Sagan, Iain (M) Banks, Ian Rankine

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Hazel

What are your favorite names?
Louis, Carla

Which historical figure do you most identify with?
No-one really.

Which living person do you most admire?
David Attenborough

3

What is your greatest extravagance?
DVDs (as of this morning, 742 titles and buying - and, oh, yeah - there is always Christmas tommorrow …)

Which words or phrase do you most overuse?
Are we having fun yet?

Which talent would you most like to have?
I would love to be able to sing.

What is your most treasured posession?
My 12 string guitar.

Where would you like to live?
If I had to choose a place other than where I am, that place would be Pinedale, WY

What do you most value in your friends?
Honesty.

Who are your favorite writers?
James P. Hogan, Issac Asimov, Douglas Adams, Arthur C. Clarke. Not necessarily in that order.

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Dent. Arthur Dent. (or maybe Marvin …)

What are your favorite names?
Lucy (and not for the obvious reason …), Caleb, Jerrimiah.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Too many to choose from. But if pressed, perhaps Thomas Jefferson. Or Alexander The Great. George Patton? Like I said …

Which living person do you most admire?
James Randi

4

What is your greatest extravagance?
Cigarettes and coffee. $42 per week for my I’d-be-better-off-without-but… vices.

Which words or phrase do you most overuse?
…You know?

Which talent would you most like to have?
I would love to be able to draw/cut/write in a straight line.

What is your most treasured posession?
I have nothing that I couldn’t live without.

Where would you like to live?
In a city with more than 100,000 people, in a state that doesn’t consider 50,000 to be metro/urban/what have you.

What do you most value in your friends?
I value the efforts of relationship-maintenance returned. I refuse to feel like a doormat.

Who are your favorite writers?
I plead the fifth so as to not incriminate myself as a poser.

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
I don’t know. I read fluff, so the heroes aren’t very heroic outside of the plot. I couldn’t say with conviction that any would be great people outside of his or her story.

What are your favorite names?
Nicolette, Jane, Alexia, Nicolas, Andrew

Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Erm… not applicable. I try to move through life, ticking off the days until death, in the best way I know. I don’t (or try to not) waste my time comparing myself to others.

Which living person do you most admire?
I don’t. I try to see the bad in everybody: an idolization prevention measure.

5

[QUOTE=Abby_Emma_Sasha]

What is your greatest extravagance?
Books (or maybe DVDs)

Which words or phrase do you most overuse?
In writing,* literally*. In conversation “Anyway, anyway, rewind, where was I?”

Which talent would you most like to have?
The ability to play piano beautifully (or at all for that matter).

What is your most treasured posession?
A gold ankh ring that was a gift from my mother.

Where would you like to live?
I don’t think I’ve found it yet. If I had to choose, I’d take a condo in D.C. with a summer house somewhere beyond the Beltway.

What do you most value in your friends?
Humor, understanding, acceptance, loyalty.

Who are your favorite writers?
Mark Twain, Fannie Flagg (well, really only Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, Truman Capote, Gore Vidal (non-fiction only- I don’t like his novels), George Bernard Shaw, Kurt Vonnegut,

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Hmmm. Several come to mind, but none really stick. Scarlett is definitely up there because of the determination and commitment. Pity she was so… scarletty. Rhett also, for the way he realized in the end that which he had tossed away as unimportant (tradition, family, background) isn’t unimportant. Claudius (in Robert Graves’ take), except for his naivety.
Ultimately, I’ll go with Huckleberry Finn. The scene where he writes the letter to Widder Douglas telling her where Jim is, then makes the great “All right then, I’ll go to hell” comment as he rips it up, is one of my favorite and one of the most admirable in American literature.
What are your favorite names?
Unisex: Selwyn, Jordan, Llewellyn.
Male: Asa, Micajah, Michael (though I think there needs to be a 10 year hiatus in which no more than 200 per year can be named that), Declan- lots of Celtic and Biblical names in general.
Female: Regan, Leah, Joanna, Melisande, and (again) Biblical and Celtic names.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Hmmm. That’s the toughest one (plus anything I choose is going to sound pretty egomaniacal :slight_smile: ).
Robert E. Lee to a degree- the choice he had to make twixt those he loved and what he knew to be right (though I’d probably have chosen differently).
A strange one for a gay agnostic to choose, but Brigham Young. At 41 (1842) he was largely a non-entity who’d lived his life in the shadow and or service of others, but was slowly [and then rapidly] coming into his own. Had he died at 44 nobody would ever have heard of him save for Mormon History buffs.

Which living person do you most admire?
Miep Gies (though as she’s 99 I had to check to make sure she’s still alive).

6

What is your greatest extravagance?
Books (or maybe DVDs)

Which words or phrase do you most overuse?
In writing,* literally*. In conversation “Anyway, anyway, alt tab, where was I?”

Which talent would you most like to have?
The ability to play piano beautifully (or at all for that matter).

What is your most treasured posession?
A gold ankh ring that was a gift from my mother.

Where would you like to live?
I don’t think I’ve found it yet. If I had to choose of places I’ve spent significant amounts of time in, I’d take a condo in D.C. with a summer house somewhere beyond the Beltway.

What do you most value in your friends?
Humor, understanding, acceptance, loyalty.

Who are your favorite writers?
Mark Twain, Fannie Flagg (well, really only Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, but that one’s so great I include her anyway), Truman Capote, Gore Vidal (non-fiction only- I don’t like his novels), George Bernard Shaw, Kurt Vonnegut, and (with qualifications) Flannery O’Connor.

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Hmmm. Several come to mind, but none really stick. Scarlett is definitely up there because of the determination and commitment. Pity she was so… scarletty. Rhett also, for the way he realized in the end that which he had tossed away as unimportant (tradition, family, background) isn’t unimportant. Claudius (in Robert Graves’ take), except for his naivety.
Ultimately, I’ll go with Huckleberry Finn. The scene where he writes the letter to Widder Douglas telling her where Jim is, then makes the great “All right then, I’ll go to hell” comment as he rips it up, is one of my favorite and one of the most admirable in American literature.
What are your favorite names?
Unisex: Selwyn, Jordan, Llewellyn.
Male: Asa, Micajah, Michael (though I think there needs to be a 10 year hiatus in which no more than 200 per year can be named that), Declan- lots of Celtic and Biblical names in general.
Female: Regan, Leah, Joanna, Melisande, and (again) Biblical and Celtic names.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Hmmm. That’s the toughest one (plus anything I choose is going to sound pretty egomaniacal :slight_smile: ).
Robert E. Lee to a degree- the choice he had to make twixt those he loved and what he knew to be right (though I’d probably have chosen differently).
A strange one for a gay agnostic to choose, but Brigham Young. At 41 (1842) he was largely a non-entity who’d lived his life in the shadow and or service of others, but was slowly [and then rapidly] coming into his own. Had he died at 44 nobody would ever have heard of him save for Mormon History buffs.

Which living person do you most admire?

Miep Gies (though as she’s 99 I had to check to make sure she’s still alive).

7

What is your greatest extravagance?
Kind of a toss-up between books and software. I spend about equal amounts on both. Oh, wait…I guess it would be dogs. I have 4 now, and I’m looking for another one. It’s kind of a pricey hobby.

Which words or phrase do you most overuse?
Either, “Oh no you don’t!” or “Why, I oughta…”

Which talent would you most like to have?
I wish I could program computers. I’d love to be able to undo all the bad things other programmers >cough< EA >cough< do.

What is your most treasured posession?
My home.

Where would you like to live?
In a house on a high bluff overlooking Lake Superior.

What do you most value in your friends?
The ability to laugh at themselves.

Who are your favorite writers?
Kurt Vonnegut, Cormac McCarthy, Robert Heinlein, Jon Hassler [sob], Carl Hiaasen (sp?), L. Frank Baum

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
The Stainless Steel Rat

What are your favorite names?
Milo, Levi, Micah, Alida, Jay

Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Edgar Allan Poe seems about right.

Which living person do you most admire?
Jack Kevorkian

A really interesting idea, A_E_S! Thank you!

8

What is your greatest extravagance?
I would say smokes, but as an extravagant luxury I enjoy cheese and have been known to pay inordinate amounts for some foreign, moldy, stinky cheese just to say I’ve tried it.

**Which words or phrase do you most overuse? **
“Does that make sense?”

**Which talent would you most like to have? **
I would love to be able to draw portraits. I can draw most things fairly decent, but for some reason faces completely elude me.

**What is your most treasured posession? **
My immaterialism, either that or my acceptance of the impermanance of things.
(short answer: none)

**Where would you like to live? **
Somewhere “Down Under”. I love deserts, I love mountains and I love dense forests. I think Austrailia and New Zealand are absolutely beautiful and would love to live there.

**What do you most value in your friends? **
Willingness to lend me money. No, really just honesty.

**Who are your favorite writers? **
Douglas Adams, Soren Kierkegaard, Dean Koontz, Emily Dickenson, Steven King and Stan Lee

**Who is your favorite hero of fiction? **
The Silver Surfer.

**What are your favorite names? **
Anything that starts with a Lou or has a Lee in it somewhere.

**Which historical figure do you most identify with? **
I kind of self identify with Tesla in a largely misunderstood sort of way.

Which living person do you most admire?
My wife, for putting up with me.

9

What is your greatest extravagance?
I’m young and single, but I wanted to buy a house and live in it by myself, and by golly I did, and by golly I do.

Which words or phrase do you most overuse?
“Surely”, “actually”, “one” as a pronoun.

Which talent would you most like to have?
I want to be a contortionist.

What is your most treasured posession?
My cat?

Where would you like to live?
Oxfordshire in the warm months, Key West in the cold ones.

What do you most value in your friends?
Good conversation.

Who are your favorite writers?
E.M. Forster, Austen, Melville, Irving

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Ishmael

What are your favorite names?
Olivia and Samuel

Which historical figure do you most identify with?
Hard one. I don’t, really. Laura Ingalls Wilder?

Which living person do you most admire?
Another hard question.

10

**What is your greatest extravagance? **
Clothing (and shoes… and handbags, though to a lesser degree)

Which words or phrase do you most overuse?
“…and stuff”

**Which talent would you most like to have? **
I wish I could sing - properly that is, as opposed to the off-key wailing that I’m currently limited to.

**What is your most treasured posession? **
My antique replica roll-top desk.

Where would you like to live?
Somewhere by the ocean in Nova Scotia, a swank mid-century modern pad in Montreal, or exactly where I am in Toronto.

**What do you most value in your friends? **
Their ability to tell me when I’m being irrational or silly, and their ability to drag me out of my shell when all I want to do is play hermit crab for a while.

Who are your favorite writers?
Tom Robbins, Neal Stephenson, Neil Gaiman, Mark Kurlansky and Margaret Visser all make regular appearances on my bookshelves.

**Who is your favorite hero of fiction? **
Carrie Bradshaw (since the question doesn’t specify written fiction)

**What are your favorite names? **
Gabriel/Gabrielle, Alexander, Olivia, Felix, Sebastien.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?
None.

**Which living person do you most admire? **
Dr Henry Morgentaler - for being equal parts survivor, fighter and humanist.

11

What is your greatest extravagance?
fresh produce

Which words or phrase do you most overuse?
Well, I’m not dead yet.

Which talent would you most like to have?
I wish I could draw.

What is your most treasured posession?
my land

Where would you like to live?
hereabouts, but with 3000 acres

What do you most value in your friends?
They accept me. They’re smart, honest, rude, and funny.

Who are your favorite writers?
it’s more individual works for me: Zelazny’s Lord of Light, Maugham’s The Razor’s Edge, Roberts’ Pavane, Miller’s A Canticle for Liebowitz, Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, and Vonnegut’s Slapstick. Hi ho.

Who is your favorite hero of fiction?
Great-souled Sam, the Buddha

What are your favorite names?
Hannah, Rebecca

Which historical figure do you most identify with?
buhh…

Which living person do you most admire?
Russ Feingold