Sorry I have been out of pocket-am having major computer issues, but my help desk swear that it will all be fixed...very soon...
In the meantime, my Cheddar:
1. What TV show do you remember most from your childhood, and why?
Maybe because I am the product of a broken home (but aren't we all), I watched a lot of TV. I still do. I swear it is my God-given right to watch as much TV as I want. That being said, when I was a kid the two winners were "The Great Space Coasters" which I suspect no one remembers, and "Gilligan's Island"- I just thought the Professor was so cool. This later morphed into a fondness for "Mork and Mindy", mostly since it made me laugh (and hence helped me identify key features in a man I desire. It includes a sense of humor, ability to stand on his head, and an immense pelt of body hair.)
2. Do violence and drugs in entertainment media cause violent or delinquent behavior in minors?
I'm sorry, I have to say that inherently it doesn't. I really think it's a function of parenting (and I can say that, since I am a dog-owner). Violence is of course not a healthy thing to watch-here in Europe, people are more likely to edit out the violence than the sex (for instance, the movie "Trainspotting". In the US, they edited out a pretty risque sex scene. Over here, they edited out some of the more graphic violence. In the end, I gotta' side with the EU on this one. Make love, not war). If teenagers watch shows like "Jackass", but don't have someone around to tell them that, well, only Jackasses do those kinds of stunts, then to me it falls upon the shoulders of the guardian.
3. What are your current views on Iraq? How do they compare to your views from before the war?
I am torn. I read reports of how rape of young women has gone up enormously, how women that were previously allowed to work before the war no longer are. How unemployment is skyrocketing and people are starving. And I think-wow, does GWB think he has really helped these people? So he's saved them from a dictator, but has he thought through for their humanitarian needs? And my answer, staunchly, is no.
4. What phobias do you have? (Fear of spiders, crowds, etc.)
I have a few, actually. I recognize this one from a previous post-I am afraid of:
- Clowns (hate those evil bastards. Their buddies The Mimes can all be done away with, too)
- Poo or any bowel movement related talks. We all have a bodily function we cannot cope with. For my sister, it's vomit. For an ex of mine, it's menstruation (a part of his ex-status, actually). For me, it's poo.
- Losing my job. And this is becoming more and more of a fear all the time.
- Growing old. Guess there is no solving that one.
- Growing fat. Also a fight against time and genetics, I guess.
5. If you could change one facet of American (or your) culture what would it be?
There has been one big lesson that I have learned since I left the US and got out into the big world. You know how in Civics and US Government classes they teach you that everyone wants to be an American? That people all over the world are giving up their lives to do so? That everyone envies the American life?
Yeah. Not true.
I have been all over the world, I have been to so many countries and met so many people. In all of my travels, I have only met one person who wanted to be an American. ONE. He is a Turkish guy I worked with here in Sweden, and he said his dream was to move to L.A. Everyone else I have ever talked to says that their image of the US is not that good, actually. That we are bossy, domineering, and full of fat people that are ignorant (thanks, really, Jerry Springer. You have done wonders for the image of my country).
I know what you are going to say-if they hate the US, why watch our movies? Our songs? Why accept our foreign aid? Well, why NOT? I can say this-now that I am away from the US, I can see many great things about it. I can also, from this view, see things that need improving. And maybe it would help our image if we took a look around and realized that no country is better than another one. We are all just different, with different possibilities and limitations on offer.
I will get off my soapbox now, lest I be crucified.
-H.
