and also some questions

From the question-a-day meme:

August 19: What was the first musical record/tape/CD you ever bought with your own money?

It was either the Style Council's first EP Introducing the Style Council, which is slightly embarrassing, or something by Styx, which is much, much more embarrassing. I would have been about 13, still young enough that I found Styx's concept albums profound.

I think my urge to listen to music by queer* men, which led me to try the Style Council and later the Smiths, made my taste a good deal better than it might have been otherwise.

(*Paul Weller and his Style Council partner Mick Talbot were widely rumored to be romantically involved; I literally read about it in a music magazine before I'd ever heard anything by them. Weller has denied it, with a sometimes unpleasant level of vehemence. Morrissey certainly seems to be some flavor of queer, however little we now want to claim him, but I know he was very cagey about it in interviews back in the 80s and I don't know if he's gotten more outspoken since. It would be just like him to keep silent about the one thing he could--maybe--do some good with, while he ceaselessly airs his racist politics.)


August 20: How well do you take criticism?

I try to take constructive criticism well, but it's a struggle. I do best if I have time to be calm and reflect, and worst if it's face to face, with some kind of immediate response expected in a moment when I'm feeling hurt, upset, embarrassed, defensive, angry, guilty, etc.


21 What lifts your spirits when you’re feeling down?

I don't think anything does, to be honest. Sometimes you're just down, and you have to live with it. (And by "you" I mean me. Your mileage may vary.)

Being near water is something I used to find helpful. Now, alas, I live in a near-desert.

I hadn't thought I could have *more* of a crush on him

I've been listening to the horror podcast panel that Rusty Quill released, and my main reaction is this:

Citing the work of Raymond Williams (dominant, residual, and emergent cultures) and then trying to disclaim it because he thinks he's been pompous is Peak Alex. *hugs him and rumples his Big Boy suit*

(Pompous!ex-academic!me nevertheless notes that the way Alex uses the terms is, shall we say, a significant extension of how Williams defined them.)


In other Rusty Quill news: I'm still adoring everything that's going on in Rusty Quill Gaming right now. I really really hope that eventually, as a bonus or something, they release the video of some of these episodes. I want to see Lydia's expressions! (Also Helen's, but with Helen, you can usually hear her expression in her voice. With Lydia it's harder.)