Is that a bandwagon I see before me?
What with the general lethargy caused by the heat and my weird shift patterns at the moment, I've been stuck for inspiration on anything to post about beyond the odd link or two. This post by British Spin sums up my attitude to posting anything about the Hutton Inquiry, so instead I've jumped on the latest meme that I found at Green Fairy:
1. If you want to participate, leave a comment saying "interview me."
2. I will respond by asking you five questions - each person's will be different.
3. You will update your journal with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
So, unable to resist the temptation to let someone ask me whatever they wanted (which is a rather strange temptation, I admit), I signed on and here's what she asked me:
1. What is the greater sin, hypocrisy or greed?
Leaving aside any of my qualms at the use of 'sin' as a concept, I think I'd have to go for hypocrisy. It's based around a central dishonesty of saying one thing and doing another, whereas greed, for all the problems it may cause, is not necessarily dishonest. People who are greedy can be very upfront and honest about (not always, of course) but hypocrites, by their very nature, are always being dishonest on some level.
2. Are you living the life you right now that thought you would be as a child?
This is a tricky one, because I'm not sure I ever really envisaged in any great detail how my life would pan out. That's not to say I haven't had dreams about things I want to do, but I've never been one for setting out great long-term goals or directions in my life. I always recoiled from the idea of 'careers' at school and college, as the idea of saying some kind of 'yes, this is what I want to do and I'm going to do it for the rest of my life' kind of scared me, maybe because I've always had some form of commitment-phobia. So, while I might not have achieved some of the dreams I had as a child, most of them are still within the realms of possibility - though I've accepted that my hopes of being a global rock star or captaining England to World Cup glory aren't that likely to happen now.
3. What appeals to you about football?
Now, I could be all high-minded about this and talk about how it's the 'beautiful game' that draws the world together and provides moments of skill, beauty and genius and how the best matches are like mass theatre with plots, sub-plots, emotional upheavals and incredible stories, but I think that would be a rationalisation rather than a real reason. That said, Bergkamp's winning goal for Holland against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup was art and drama combined.
In truth, it comes down to one of the reasons Nick Hornby identified in Fever Pitch - it's provided one of the constant things in my life. I first became a Wolves fan when I was just four years old - on holiday, I'd got a new pair of trainers that were partly a yellow/gold colour so I asked my brother what football team played in that colour. He said 'Wolves' so I replied 'I'm a Wolves fan, then' - the wind must have changed at that point as it stuck and I'm still supporting them twenty-seven years later. It's just one of those things that gets ingrained in you, and no matter how hard you try you can't shake it. In a way, it can take the place of religion in that it gives you something outside yourself to believe in. As I've said before, being a Wolves fan is very similar to being a Catholic - there's lots of pain and suffering, with promises of a rosy future and you have to regard a slightly dotty old man as the supreme authority.
4. Assuming the inevitability of burial for a moment, what would you want on your gravestone?
'Born 1972 - Died 2593'
Or, to be serious, either 'He made a difference', 'He will be remembered' or something of that ilk - I think that's really the best thing anyone can hope for.
5. 'Dr Pepper is clearly better than Vimto, and what's more cream soda is disgusting.' Discuss.
It's been years since I drank cream soda, but my memories are of a substance that was almost impossibly sweet and tasted far gloopier than a liquid ever should. However, I have to take the side of Vimto over Dr Pepper, but I'm not sure there's a rational reason for it - I've only rarely tasted Dr Pepper firstly because I think there's a subconcious reflex that says anything with 'pepper' in the name is going to taste...well, peppery and secondly, the first time I encountered it as a child I was told that it wasn't a drink in itself, it was just made from mixing together what was left of all the other drinks at the pop factory. It really is quite amazing the kind of deep subconcious implications combinations of fizzy water, sugar and flavourings can have, isn't it.
So, my response would be that Vimto edges out Dr Pepper in my personal taste test, though either one would be preferable to cream soda. However, all soft drinks should kneel and pay homage to the mighty Irn Bru.
Update: Questions for Mala and James in the comments section.
Update 2: Answers from Mala and James, and a set of questions for Ryan in the comments.
1. If you want to participate, leave a comment saying "interview me."
2. I will respond by asking you five questions - each person's will be different.
3. You will update your journal with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
So, unable to resist the temptation to let someone ask me whatever they wanted (which is a rather strange temptation, I admit), I signed on and here's what she asked me:
1. What is the greater sin, hypocrisy or greed?
Leaving aside any of my qualms at the use of 'sin' as a concept, I think I'd have to go for hypocrisy. It's based around a central dishonesty of saying one thing and doing another, whereas greed, for all the problems it may cause, is not necessarily dishonest. People who are greedy can be very upfront and honest about (not always, of course) but hypocrites, by their very nature, are always being dishonest on some level.
2. Are you living the life you right now that thought you would be as a child?
This is a tricky one, because I'm not sure I ever really envisaged in any great detail how my life would pan out. That's not to say I haven't had dreams about things I want to do, but I've never been one for setting out great long-term goals or directions in my life. I always recoiled from the idea of 'careers' at school and college, as the idea of saying some kind of 'yes, this is what I want to do and I'm going to do it for the rest of my life' kind of scared me, maybe because I've always had some form of commitment-phobia. So, while I might not have achieved some of the dreams I had as a child, most of them are still within the realms of possibility - though I've accepted that my hopes of being a global rock star or captaining England to World Cup glory aren't that likely to happen now.
3. What appeals to you about football?
Now, I could be all high-minded about this and talk about how it's the 'beautiful game' that draws the world together and provides moments of skill, beauty and genius and how the best matches are like mass theatre with plots, sub-plots, emotional upheavals and incredible stories, but I think that would be a rationalisation rather than a real reason. That said, Bergkamp's winning goal for Holland against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup was art and drama combined.
In truth, it comes down to one of the reasons Nick Hornby identified in Fever Pitch - it's provided one of the constant things in my life. I first became a Wolves fan when I was just four years old - on holiday, I'd got a new pair of trainers that were partly a yellow/gold colour so I asked my brother what football team played in that colour. He said 'Wolves' so I replied 'I'm a Wolves fan, then' - the wind must have changed at that point as it stuck and I'm still supporting them twenty-seven years later. It's just one of those things that gets ingrained in you, and no matter how hard you try you can't shake it. In a way, it can take the place of religion in that it gives you something outside yourself to believe in. As I've said before, being a Wolves fan is very similar to being a Catholic - there's lots of pain and suffering, with promises of a rosy future and you have to regard a slightly dotty old man as the supreme authority.
4. Assuming the inevitability of burial for a moment, what would you want on your gravestone?
'Born 1972 - Died 2593'
Or, to be serious, either 'He made a difference', 'He will be remembered' or something of that ilk - I think that's really the best thing anyone can hope for.
5. 'Dr Pepper is clearly better than Vimto, and what's more cream soda is disgusting.' Discuss.
It's been years since I drank cream soda, but my memories are of a substance that was almost impossibly sweet and tasted far gloopier than a liquid ever should. However, I have to take the side of Vimto over Dr Pepper, but I'm not sure there's a rational reason for it - I've only rarely tasted Dr Pepper firstly because I think there's a subconcious reflex that says anything with 'pepper' in the name is going to taste...well, peppery and secondly, the first time I encountered it as a child I was told that it wasn't a drink in itself, it was just made from mixing together what was left of all the other drinks at the pop factory. It really is quite amazing the kind of deep subconcious implications combinations of fizzy water, sugar and flavourings can have, isn't it.
So, my response would be that Vimto edges out Dr Pepper in my personal taste test, though either one would be preferable to cream soda. However, all soft drinks should kneel and pay homage to the mighty Irn Bru.
Update: Questions for Mala and James in the comments section.
Update 2: Answers from Mala and James, and a set of questions for Ryan in the comments.
Nick got away with this at 6:41 PM
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